Hello............Is keyboard technology much different than computer technology in general?? This is just my thoughts............I'm not supporting or not supporting Yamaha on it's marketing decisions. $1000 (or $2500??) buys way more of a keybord than it did 5 or 10 years ago. And I expect the same to hold true in the future. I see Yamaha making a TON of money off their upcoming PSR1500 and PSR3000. Sure.......They will continue with the Tyros or its replacement, but the quantity of PSR1500/3000's sold will be a hundred times as many. I wonder if or how much past loyalty figures into any corporate decisions anymore?? I also wonder if Yamaha ever expected so many people to be using PSR1000's and 2000's for gigs? Not having bought a new arranger for over 5 years I am still impressed with how my PSR2000 sounds. Last week I heard a Casio WK-3500 played thru some amplified speakers. It sounded excellent even though it only has 2 style variations, but look what you can get for less than $400!! After hearing that $400 "toy" now I have even more expectations if I'm going to spend $1800 on a PSR3000.
As far as promised upgrades........Those promises aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Any upgrade I have seen has been nothing radical............Nothing to make an older board have equal features to what's new. The technology is just changing to fast. Even a 3 year old computer that was claimed to be upgradable cannot be upgraded to processor speeds equal to what's sold today. I believe the same holds true for electronic instruments.
Today, I feel better spending under $2000 for a keyboard and just replacing it every 2 years with the newest technology than spending more and having something "outdated" 3 or 4 years later. I have always gotten good resale value on 2 year old gear too.......which certainly offsets the total replacement costs to keep things new. Besides......I get bored too quickly. I need and WANT something new more often. -charley