What few mention, BTW, is that this NAMM is NOT the debut of the T4 by any means. Yamaha demonstrators have had considerable time to play with the final product, and craft demos that leverage its best sounds and features.

One wonders what they could have done given the same time constraints and unfamiliarity, if given a beta T4 just before a major show...

And yes, I completely agree about how SOME keyboards are given a 'pass' for lousy user videos, where others AREN'T. If ALL we knew about the T4 was floor cellphone recordings, I'm sure the general consensus (except among Yamaha devotees) would be underwhelming. In fact, I seem to remember when it DID come out, the first few user demos left many wondering what all the fuss was about.

Rumor-mongering drives the business. We have had 'little birds' whispering all KINDS of rubbish (and the very occasional truth) here at SZ since time immemorial. Trouble is, some actually take these Kreskin moments as truth!

Strangely, Yamaha get a pass for tons of pre-T4 launch hype, but this from Korg at NAMM, essentially the same thing, gets held to a higher standard. I must admit, I agree with Scott... While the Kronos and many other keyboards gets a pass for lousy user videos, the Korg PA3 seems to be almost the ONLY one that doesn't. Perhaps our prejudices are showing more than we would like to admit?

I believe that Yamaha have a MUCH more professional marketing and demoing staff, and Korg could do much to emulate them. But, OTOH, are we REALLY so sheep-like as to count on these as any way to make our OWN minds up? Marketing and demo-ing should only influence those that CAN'T play. The rest of us simply need to wait until we have our hands on the real thing to make our minds up. If you are in the market for a TOTL arranger NOW, are you honestly going to base your decision on whether to get the PA or not on just this pre-release showing? If you are, you deserve whatever you get stuck with! Buy in haste, repent at leisure...

But, as I've said before, those that have already made the manufacturer decision (Korg over Yamaha, Yamaha over Korg, whatever) neither the T4 nor the PA3 is going to change anything. And neither is a great demo or lousy one, either. As radically different in sound, styles and features as most of the TOTL arrangers are, 99% of us stick with what we already know we like.