You are certainly right there, George.
DonM

I did just walk up to the keyboard, at the store and started playing, without any assistance from the salespeople, but I did make sure I was selecting the live sounds. On the acoustic guitar, I made sure I pressed the keys harder and lighter and I did not hear a difference as far as the natural nuances. I went home and listened to the Tyros sample sounds and then the PSR 3000 sample sounds and again, there was a distinct difference, especially with the accoustic guitar.
Does anyne know what the cost of the Tyros is? Also, If I consider the Tyros, is there something else at that price range that is better, as far as sounds/styles go?

George Kaye,

Since I do not have any music stores in the PA or NJ areas that have the Roland G70 and Tyros in their stores (that I know of), do you sell both of these and what is your professional opinion between these two arrangers?

Many thanks,
Tony

Tony,
I believe you were playing the correct voices called "live" voices, however you must not have been playing the guitar voices that contained the multi layered samples. It is easy to select other guitars that don't contain these "extra" sounds when played with different degrees of harder and softer velocity. Perhaps you were playing the guitars not containing them and maybe you just weren't playing the "mega" guitars at the range on the keyboard that would trigger these more realistic guitar sounds. Regardless, someone who knows these keyboards should have been showing them to you.
Yes, I sell both the G70 and the Tyros, however I don't have a Tyros on the sales floor currently because I feel that with a new Tyros II soon to be released, I don't want to have a first generation on my sales floor if it's value will go down and it will be harder to move. It's not that the Tyros is not a great keyboard, it's just an economic thing at my store.
Comparing the Tyros and the G70 is a tough one. I like the 76 key G70 for it's size and it's solid feel. The Tyros only has 61 keys.
I love the sliders and ease of use of the touch screen on the G70. The vocal harmonizer on the G70 is a bit smoother to my ear. I really like that the Roland's sequencer always displays the chord progression of ANY song you playback, even if there were no chords added by the composer. I really like Roland's pianos. It's a toss up for sounds, styles (although the Yamaha has way more unplugged type styles stock from the factory). Ease of use for the Yamaha might not be quite as easy as the Roland yet it is easy once you've played with it for a short time. Both have 128 note polyphony. The Roland 16 track sequencer is the easiest I've used yet. Yamaha's sequencer takes a while to get used to it. The Roland keyboard is built in Italy and is very solid, the Yamaha is built in either China or Indonesia (can't remember exactly). The Roland costs almost $1000.00 more than the Yamaha, so this contributes to the decesion as well.
I have sold dozens of Tyros keyboards over the past 2 years. The Roland has only recently come to market and I've only had 6 to sell so far. Some love it and some think it's too close to the VA76 product it replaces. When customers came in and played the Tyros, they all thought this was really a brand new keyboard. Now, we also have the PSR3000 for much less money and most beleive it is almost the Tyros for 1/2 the price.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Curious, George. From your comparative, it seems clear you sell more Tyros but you prefer G70 at all. Actually, your analysis is all time referring the advantages G70 has in your opinion: 76 keys, better key feel, sliders, touch screen, better sequencer, better harmonizer, better piano voices, styles, built solidity, etc.
The only advantage you say of Tyros is price...

It's not that easy....There are those that will by a Roland no matter what.....and a Yamaha no matter what......and they are very similar yet different. It's really what's most or more important to you! Tell me what your criteria is for a new keyboard and maybe we can figure out which is best for you.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

George,
In your opinion, is the PSR 3000 the best out there for under $2000?
I think that a G70, based on what you're saying is $1,000 more than the Tyros, puts the G70 at approx. $4,000 (correct me if I'm wrong). Most likely this will be a bit steep for the budget I have to work with.
The main purpose of what I need an arranger for is that I lead worship at church, and many times I have to go solo, as the band cannot make it. An arranger gives me that flexibility to have a "one-man" band. Currently I'm using a borrowed PSR-740, and I defenitely need to upgrade to better sounds and styles. I don't use the vocal harmonizer on the PSR-740, but part of that is because I'm not crazy with the quality of the vocals and the lead part seems to be degraded as well, compared to a direct connect of a mic into a mixer board.
I don't use much synthesized sounds, but moreso the natural instruments (piano, guitar, bass, strings, brass, sax and flute, as the primary voices). I would like for these to be very good and natural sounding.
The other criteria for me is the styles, since I go solo often. The more natural the style sounds and transitions from one fill to the other, the better.
Another criteria is that it needs to be easy to use. How would you rate the PSR-3000 in terms of ease of use, to the Tyros and G70? If you recall what the PSR-740 was like and you can compare it to that as well, the better, since it's what I use today.
If there's anyone out there also that has experience with a PSR-740 and upgraded to a PSR-3000 and can provide feedback as to the experience, it will be very appreciated and helpfull with my decision making. I'm curious to find out what the learning curve is on the PSR-3000 or Tyros, coming from a PSR-740.
Thanks to all in advance for your feedback. It is much appreciated.