Greetings everyone! It's been quite a while since I last posted. I heard the official demos and they do sound very good. The ac piano seems much improved and the guitars sound really good too. But I'm guessing the keys are still.. what's the word? Oh right, cheesy? But that's basically always been the case with Yamaha's PSR line of keyboards. I see they bumped up the speaker output to 15 watts which is a plus.

I've given up waiting for Yamaha to produce another 76 key high-end arranger. 50 percent of consumers actually prefer 76 keys over 61 keys (according to polls) and we've begged Yamaha for years but it has all fallen on deaf ears. I understand that Yamaha is in business to make money, and consequently, it does whatever is in its own best interest(s). But it just goes to show you that no matter what Yamaha customers (or potential customers) desire from them... Yamaha always ends up doing exactly what serves in their own best interest(s). While consumers are left waiting in the lurch desiring something from them that never seems to materialize. Which is very disheartening when you consider Yamaha's main priority seems to be only in looking out for themselves, as opposed to the actual people who buy their keyboards and other products, which keeps them in business. The data has shown that there is a viable market for quality 76/88 key arrangers, as evidenced by Korg, Roland and even Casio. And don't forget the Audya. But I digress. I'm just venting a little steam. Having been absent from the forums for so long I guess I need to get a lot of things off my chest. Critique should not be a lost art. If taken into consideration it can, in many instances, make a good company even better. If the company actually listens of course.

If the keys are better on the PSR-S950 than previous PSR models then I think fans of 61 key arrangers will be quite happy with the PSR-S950. If you don't mind the lack of audio style functionality that is.

There are some arranger keyboardists out there who actually prefer mushy keys. Just ask Gary. So maybe that's why Yamaha continues to produce them? But when you realize that most keyboardists actually prefer great key action, it would seem to make much better sense (to me anyway) for Yamaha to produce better action key-beds for their PSR line of keyboards. The same line of reasoning should apply to their Drum kits as well in my opinion. If the Drum kits and key action were vastly improved on Yamaha arrangers they would undoubtedly sell "more" of them right? Sounds logical to me. So that must mean Yamaha is being illogical?? Or maybe it's just that they don't care?? Or perhaps they sell enough arrangers as it is that selling a boat load 'more of them' doesn't really appeal to them?? I guess when you're "king of the hill" you can do whatever you please. Which is the rationale and course of action that Yamaha seems to be taking. At the 'chagrin' of many of their customers (and potential customers) unfortunately. Oh well. That's Yamaha. Like it or lump it.

I'm gonna check out the PSR-S950 hopefully soon. My local GC has them in stock. If the keys are actually decent... I know I know, don't hold your breath, right? I might spring for one and then run it through an 88 key controller when using it for piano parts.

It's been quite a while since I've owned an arranger and the PSR-S950 seems to be a great price vs. performance option when comparing it to the much higher priced Tyros4. Since an 76/88 key mid/high-end arranger from Yamaha is out of the question, running the PSR-S950 through a 76/88 key controller is the only other option. Yamaha could 'theoretically' add enhanced features to the PSR-S950 with an OS update too. Audio style looping would be nice. I also like the extra memory. But mushy keys will probably be a deal breaker for me. Playing strings, guitar, sax, or whatever, on mushy keys, is not only a drag, it's also potentially bad for your hands. Having a firm amount of resistance in the key action actually improves muscle strength and control in the hands. I could tolerate the less than stellar Drum kits I suppose. But cheesy keys? I don't think so. I noticed in the official videos when the player depressed the keys it looked as if the keys didn't provide sufficient action or resistance. Having played a PSR-910 I can attest to the fact that Yamaha has a tradition of producing "cheesy keys" on their arranges. I'm hoping it's improved on the PSR-S950. We'll see.

All the best, Mike