Jeanie - I HOPE SOMEONE FROM YAMAHA READS YOUR VERY REASONABLE MESSAGE !!! READ THIS PLEASE YAMAHA !!! You state the problem very well. The typical "manual" in the synth business (especially YAMAHA) just dryly explains "what the functions are but NOT how to use them", exactly as you state. It is truly mind boggling. I had an S80 ($2,500) and got SICK of it for that very reason. Seeking help from Yamaha - long waits for partial answers by email - was useless. I don't care HOW amazing a synth is according to all the techno geeks lurking around these synth forum web sites. I AM A MUSICIAN. If I buy one of these contraptions I need to know HOW TO USE it. (What a concept!) It's like these companies pride themselves on talking to you at this high-tech level that is just for the geeks who are already and mainly just involved with the technology itself. Pathetic. Or else you hafta buy the really low-end plastic crap at K MART for 99 bucks with color coded buttons and a Mr. Rodgers manual written for third graders. THIS %$%#@*@%ING SYNTH INDUSTRY NEEDS USER FRIENDLY MANUALS for MUSICIANS who are trying to use the higher end gear!!! DO YOU EVER READ THESE WEB SITES YAMAHA ????? Good luck, Jeanie. Sorry I can't help-LifeForceExplorer