I wish I had not tried that PA80.

It makes comparison to other keyboards TOUGH due to its excellent key feel and excellent sounds !!

But the keyboard operation is AWKWARD !!!

what to do...what to do...

maybe I just get a Casio WK1800 and wait until someone makes a keyboard that I like.

Someone pls don't let me make this horrible decision....... buying a CASIO....Oh nooooo !!!

Hello

You may need to try both a little more. At first I preferred the PA80 over the PSR2000. BUT, the more I played them and pushed buttons I am glad I got the PSR2000.

For me anyway, the PSR2000 has much better voices except for possibly the organ. The jazz organ on the PA80 is quite good. But if you play with the buttons a bit on the 2000 you can get some real good organ sounds too, which I don't remember hearing on the PA80.

As far as key feel it took me a little while to get used to the PSR2000. Once I found the section to set the key touch the way I liked this made a big difference.

The PSR is far more user friendly. Try downloading and reading the owner's manual for the PA80, OUCH!!! About 300 pages that will definately keep you off the streets. If you don't like reading owners manuals as much as I don't consider the PSR2000. I figured most out just by pressing a few buttons and rarely looking in the manual.

Another idea check out a few forums for both instruments. This alone may help you make the decision. Go to the Yamaha section from the home page of SynthZone. Check out especially the PSR2000 Users site, and the Yamaha PSR styles group. The PSR2000 users site is the best. I know Korg has nothing like this. Then check out IrishActs which can be found by clicking on Korg on SynthZone home page. I found this stuff very hard to understand. I am more into making music than button pushing.

And even the video demos for the video manual for the PA80 was confusing.. One thing that they were showing, I don't remember what, but it was something that should have been relatively simple I found astounding. It said do this, then do that, then do this, then scroll over to page 13. and I knew this wasn't for me.

Maybe you are more of a computer head than me. If so the PA60/80 may be great for you.

The other idea I had for you is : you might want to get the Tyros which will be out soon. I probably will. It will for me just be an upgrade to my 2000 which I love.

I hope some of this helped. Remember, this is only my opion and experience. Try those boards out a lot before you buy. A lot of things people don't try until they get it home turns out to be suprizes. Anticipate what you are going to use it for and check as many features out as you can.

Good luck

Scott Langholff

The PSR-2000 is a great keyboard. Key feel has never been an issue for me. This may be due to the fact that I came from a PSR-630, but in any event I think that key feel is to a degree a matter of personal taste. Besides, it's not hard to adapt to a new feel, and the velocity response curve is adjustable. It would be a very impressive board at any price, but at $1,000 it's a real steal. The sounds (in general) are excellent and very playable, the styles are impressive and varied, and the OS is so user-friendly that the manual is almost a waste of paper.

Terry said something on another thread that rings true. For the most part it's hard for me to really tell how well a board will work for me until I have had it and played around with it at home for at least a week or so. That said, luk has already stated that he doesn't like the sounds of the 2000 as much as the PA80. I'm in agreement here, as sounds are subjective and my tastes lean toward the PA80 over any of the PSR boards. Some of you will likely disagree because you may like the Yamaha sounds better, but sounds are subjective ( I think we can agree to that ). This is a matter of personal taste, and luk likes the Korg sounds better. It's also one of the things I CAN tell about a board without really having to bring it home.

I can't recommend a Yamaha to him for this reason. If he said he liked the sounds as much or better than the ones from the PA series, then it's a whole different story.

Luk, there are other alternatives out there. The VA76 does have good sounds and styles, and the OS doesn't seem to be as difficult to navigate as the ones from the previous generation of Roland's ( the G series ). The XD9 is certainly worth a look. I know that demo's don;t always give a completely accurate picture of what a board is or what it can do, but the demos are so good that I'm willing to drive almost 5 hours to try an XD9 out, and I really don't need another arranger.

Maybe one of these or even something from the Technics or Gem line will suit your tastes better, or maybe not, but you won't know if you don;t try. I can't recommend the Casio line at all ( you mentioned this in another thread as well ). The MZ2000 has a lot of cool features and sounds, but it won;t stack up against the others, particularly for a person who may use it for a live solo act. Forget the WK series, the lower end PSR's are better.

We spend a good deal of money for these boards, so why settle for something that doesn't suit you. None of them are perfect, but I would not recommend limiting yourself to a choice of two boards when neither seem to satisfy you, at least until you can try a few of the others out..

AJ



[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 10-23-2002).]