Thanx fellas for the super posts.....
Mike you are so right, judging by the non existent T2 owner posts who will not respond due to what Mike is talking about in his post !! But hey reality is just that....REALITY! Its just a keyboard, its just a tool of the trade for me ....its a small investment that brings in Mucho monetary returns over & over again, after a few gigs the rest is Gravy! I'll admit a few weeks ago I had many doubts about the T2..but stuck it for lack of a quick swap...
I have no patience....but I'm sought of glad I did take some time which isn't easy with my schedule & tear the T2 apart to tweak it & edit it enough to make it passable enough to perform with to my standards...
So as of today's two gigs ....Honestly, IN Stereo only, it sounds pretty good...but in no way think the T2 out of the box is acceptable.....anyway for now I appreciate the discussion, opinions, thoughts form my friends here whatever they may be & I will see how it goes down the road thru the summer shows......I'll report back then.

l8tr

Donny...
The same is true of the 2K and 3K. Out of the box, both were bland. With time, patience and tweaking the styles and voices went from black and white to full color.
Eddie

i dont understand DNJ. You have only had the instrument 5 minutes. I know that you are a gigging musician and its hard to find the time outside of gigs to really absorb the depth of the instrument but I am sure that you could make any instrument sing given enough time and i dont se how the T2 should be any different. I am not a T2 owner , i prefer the PA1X as i have explained probably too many times!!

The point i am making is that from what i have heard of the T2 live , i dont understand how making great music with it is such an effort in your eyes (ears). I know that you will work with the instrument a little longer but i sense that it might not be long before DNJ makes another swap...

What exactly are you looking for in an instrument that you have not quite found in the T2 ? Or is it just a case that the T2 has been overblown and you are dissappointed because no instrument can live up to the hype this particular machine has enjoyed ?

I think it's really a matter of tweaking things the way you like them and getting used to the sounds and touch of any new instrument. I know it's taken me awhile every time I made a switch.

Sure I can play them "alright" but to get my personal sounds style down takes time and mainly patience.

I went from Lowrey organs which were a breeze because they were set up for senior hobbyists with little or no real parameters for change, so you just found the sounds and styles you liked and ignored the rest.

From there to the KN1000, still pretty organ oriented, but with a lot of tweaking possiblities which I didn't fool with then, just played it like the arranger organs.

Then the PSR2000. A new challenge. I drove myself nuts with it for a long time, mostly because of all the choices for personal settings. Then after getting used to it, the sounds the styles and even putting about 600 songs in the Music Finder, and having it just the way I liked it, and I really, really did like it.

Then I got the Tyros 1. It took me weeks before I felt I made a good decision. Even though I tried it out 3 times before I new I liked it. But, I didn't get one for several months. Over a long period of time, I got more and more used to it, got used to the touch so I could use the inflection that was important to my ears in order to sound good. Had to redo the whole Music Finder, etc, etc. Grrrrrrrr

Fiddled with a PSR3000 and a Midjay before I realized that all they were doing was taking my time away from the Tyros and after working to get used to the touch of the 3000 found it uncomfortable to switch back to the Tyros.

So I made the decision to dump them and concentrate on the Tyros,

Then I get the Tyros 2. I thought it would be a very close switch from the Tryos 1. Not for me. Too many changes. A major portion of it is really mainly getting used to it, and working with what is there. Along with getting your personal setting. Thank goodness Michael Bedesem has the program now were you can transfer the Music Finder info from one to the other quite easily.

I am still getting used to the new key feel. Being more of an organist than a pianist, I preferred the touch of the Tyros 1, as it has the soft organ touch.

Have I been frustrated with the Tyros 2 on occasion, yes, just like evey other new instrument.

Is there a better choice out there for me. No. Not any in that weight catogory which is something that is important to me.

So, there's my slant on it. I would prefer "instant arranger keyboard" right now because I'm busy enough as it is. But, I know that I made the best choice, especially in getting it now when it has first come out on the market. Because now when I get the brainy idea of swichting to a new keyboard, I'm pretty sure it will be a quite a while before there is another super duper have to have keyboard

Best
Scott Langholff
http://ScottLMusic.com

Ouch...:-o
I tough that the T2 was the best worldwide keyboard, the absolute perfection at all..L-)
Impuls, are you maybe asking the features of the T3 or T4?

Anyway, finally one HONEST reply and test from DNJ, for sure now all the other manufactures are reading and interesyed how this post will continue....

I agree with Eddie (Btweengigs). Out of the box, the keyboard is flat, needs tuning and tweeking. However, keep in mind that very few arranger keyboard players take the time to crack open the owner's manual, sit down at the board and page by page go through the book and learn all the features these boards have to offer. This is an important aspect of any keyboard--not just Yamaha boards. It's rare to hear a keyboard that sounds great right out of the box, and off the top of my head I cannot think of one that did not require a significant learning curve and lots of late nights before getting it to sound acceptible.

Forums such as this one have been of immense help in solving some of the tweeking and tuning challenges, and more often than not the information offered up by a number of individuals provides the insight needed to make appropriate changes. Their recommendations are usually from a practical standpoint, resulting from personal experiences using the keyboard. Keep in mind, however, that there are vast differences between the needs of a full-time working OMB entertainer and somneone that plays strictly for their own enjoyment in a home studio setting.

I sincerely believe Yamaha's operating system is among the easiest to use, the most versitile, and offers the greatest number of options--especially for the OMB entertainer. The secret to success is to utilize as many of these options as possible, tune them to perfection, then utilize them in such a manner to where navigating the keyboard is second nature. Everyone has his or her own method of doing this, and there is no right or wrong here--it's just what works best for your needs.

The next part of the equation for OMB entertainers, especially those of us who set up and tear down two, and sometimes three times a day, is to streamline the entire setup to facilitate this in a timely manner. When I first entered the world of the Synthzone I was lugging around monster Peavey speakers, and more damned equipment than anyone can imagine. It took 8 trips to the van with a refrigerator dolly to unload the gear, everything weighed a ton, the wiring was a rat's nest that took 25 minutes to hook up and the total setup time was about 45 minutes. Through lots of creative engineering this task has been shortened to 10 to 15 minutes for the most part, and this includes loading and unloading time. The load now fits on a single Rock "N" Roller cart, rolls in the door of every venue with ease, and you don't even work up a sweat.

Yes, I'm still playing the PSR-3000s, love the sounds, and while I tend to dig into more of the OS than most folks, after two years I'm still discovering things that I didn't know about the keyboard. Sure, there are times when I think something could sound better, and when I encounter this type of problem it is addressed the very next day. I didn't buy the Tyros or Tyros2 because they did not have onboard speakers, which in my case provide me with an onboard monitor that's right in my face all the time. If the T2 had speakers, plus a sunlight viewable LCD display I would have bought a pair of them.

In the end, when it comes to how the keyboard sounds, I gauge the measure of success by what I hear, and my ability to provide my audiences with seamless entertainment. The true measure of success, IMO, is when you look in front of you at a packed dancefloor at lots of smiling faces, people who come to see and hear you perform week after week, month after month, and year after year. When you look at those folks in wheelchairs who are tapping their feet and singing along with you while you provide then with an avenue of escape for an hour or two, you know all the time and effort you put into the keyboard was worthwhile.

Damned, I just wrote another book!

I'm outa' here--I'm going sailing,

Gary

------------------
Travlin' Easy

Where is Scott Yee when you need him to chime in?

Mike. you're WRONG! Though Tyros2's VH hardware may be similar to the Tyros1's, I know for a FACT that the VH's OS (software) was re-designed to improve vocal tracking, as evidenced by T2's newly added VH "Vocal Tracking" feature which allows you to specifcally set it to: Normal, Low, or High. Tyros1 does NOT include this. I can clearly appreciate & hear the vocal harmony sound improvements that this new feature provides.



Donny: I need only say this:

Tyros2 has INSPIRED me to live performance record more than any other arranger keyboard I've ever owned.

My Tyros2 recorded songs include:
Come Running
Corcovado (Quiet Nights)
This Could Be The Start Of Something Big
Nine Million Bicycle In Beijing
I Get Along Without You Very Well
Nice n' Easy
California Here I Come

Scott

Vocal harmonizer IS improved.
DonM

Quote GaryD: " I didn't buy the Tyros or Tyros2 because they did not have onboard speakers"

From what I have heard everyone say about the Bose PAS, is that you, the performer can hear everything exactly as what everyone else in the room does. If that is the case, why would you not get a Tyros 1 or 2? Why do you still think you need montior speakers on the kb?

Scott

[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 06-17-2006).]