Re: PSR640 . . .

DON'T DO IT!

spring for the PSR1000 or buy a PSR550 . . .

why?

I have a BRAND NEW PSR640 here on my stand. It is going back to the shop tomorrow. just try saving voices and registrations with this keyboard! Impossible unless you store the custom settings on FLOPPY! There is NO battery backup for voices. Yamaha WAS going to put batteries in (there is a D-cell sized hole in the bottom, but for COST reasons apparently, they did not!
All custom settings are LOST after about 1 week (less in my experience) when the powersupply is unplugged . . . )

Buy a PSR550 if you're short on cash . . . it has 8 meg of ROM voices . . . AND still has the batteries, I think . . . I just don't much like the way it looks, or I would have bought it instead of the '640 . . .

The PSR640 SOUNDS FANTASTIK, LOOKS FANTASTIK, but is a royal pain in the butt to use due to the lack of battery backup or flash ROM, and the REALLY SLOW floppy drive.

The PSR1000 has 'flash ROM' which stores all settings without the use of the floppy drive (although, I would backup all custom settings just in case of a ROM wipeout!)

Good luck . . .

by the way, I am upgrading from a 6 year old PSR410, which has performed FLAWLESSLY (except for contact strip replacement) . . .

I just wish the PSR1000 looked as GOOD as the PSR640!

B in Toronto