Bachus,

I should make things a bit more clear and say that my Tyros4 sounds "different" (as opposed to "better") than a standard Tyros4, as well as the stock Tyros5 (that is comparing identical sounds and styles shared by both) and the difference is more subtle than marked, and that difference is my perception of what a Yamaha arranger should sound like, again for my needs.

My friend Johnny's Tyros5-76 sounded excellent out of the box, as did my own Tyros4, but the latter lacked a certain personalization that I try to inject in all my arrangers, including my PSR's, and right back to my PSR-8000.

It's a combination of Master EQ and compressor settings, as well as [i]individual[/i] Part EQ for each edited style, so basically I don't use any factory styles, and haven't for many years. I'm tickled that several of my clients like my styles so much they basically only use my tweaked and reprogrammed versions for their instruments. If they happen to like a particular Factory style, they frequently ask me to try and further tweak it, or even re-voice/reprogram it, and the results are often preferred over the original.

Although these tweaks are usually done only for long term clients and friends, I have shared folder on PSR Tutorial...even now, most of those styles have been further tweaked as I play with them and discover little improvements (in my estimation) they could use.

I also tweak the occasional panel voice (and OTS) settings, but it's mainly the styles, which are what make our arrangers so unique, that get most of the attention.

That's the beauty of our arranger...it can be left as is, or it can be constantly evolving and growing to suit our own expanding needs. I like to make the most of the instruments I buy, a trait left over from when owning one meant a lot of financial sacrifice, and it was only my job as a clinician that allowed me to delve into the other models, including some I would have never been able to afford at the time.

And, yes, these Yamaha instruments (especially Tyros) are incredibly "playable", a nice perk, mainly due to Yamaha's quest to make things relatively easily accessible to even a rank beginner, as a good portion of their clientele are home/hobbyist players. I used to prefer the PSR keybed, as I also have an organist background (and yes, the T5's pipes are incredible), and I liked the Portatone's shallower, quicker throw, but now I'm really hooked on the Tyros's FSX keybed and simply love how it responds.

My friend Johnny, is now living in another city, Halifax, which is several hours away, so I won't get a chance to tweak his Tyros5-76 for at least a few weeks and he comes to visit.

Agin, to be very clear, the people who seem to like my tweaks share quite a bit of the same taste in music, so I'd fully understand if they don't work for a lot of people, but, again, that's the subjective and personal aspect of how we want our arranger to sound.

Bachus, once again, I am glad you are connecting nicely with your Tyros5-76...and happy playing!

Ian