Hey guys,
I want to get a new arranger. I am not a pro and not have much time and mood for plugging and connecting to the pc all the time. So I want something that can "produce songs" in a tolerable quality. I play rock, pop and latin. I also like natural classical sounds.
I liked the samples and the features of yamaha psr s900. ANyone experienced in recording? Is the result good? Does the mic voice mixes well with the rest?
Also thinking of korg pa-500 that is also much cheaper in Greece where I live. ANy other proposals?
I make funny songs and remakes. I also try to persuade a very tough girl and hope that this will help me creating something that will touch her!!

Hi Yogurt,

Using just an S900 and a laptop(or a PC), you can make very nice CDs.

The S900's Audio to USB is a doddle to use, and the resulting recording is in WAV format.

The vocal mixes very well with the rest.

I make my own CDs using an S900 and I'm more than pleased with the results.

The S900 also has the benefits of awesome third party support, so there are plenty of styles available.

If you like "natural" sounds, the S900 serves up a nice helping of SA, Mega, "Live" and "Cool" voices...nothing in it's price range can touch it for sheer sound quality.

I'm a Yamaha aficionado, and my view is a tad skewed...but my information is accurate...and it is the "best bang for the buck" available.

Ian

I agree with Ian...Yamaha S900 should do the trick for you for sure.

Mind you, if you are from Greece, Korg's have a LOT more features specific to ethnic musics. Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Far East... Korg's tend to be the choice if these kinds of musics are going to be played, even if it's not your PRIMARY form...

I'm not sure, but I don't think the Korg PA-500 has Audio to USB...but Diki is right...they do seem to cater more to ethnic music...if that's your thing.

Ian

Read his lips "I play rock, pop and latin. I also like natural classical sounds." Doesn't sound like he needs a keyboard that plays Ethnic sounds. The S-900 will do everything you want and then some.

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Read HIS lips... "in Greece where I live"

You might play primarily oldies, but if ONE arranger plays country and western better than all the others, even if it isn't your PRIMARY music, you might chose it for how much better it does that, while other things remain equal... (let's pretend that every other arranger SUCKS at C&W, for this example)

What an ethnocentric view... 'classic' to YOU may be entirely different to someone from another continent...

Diki,

The last time I was in the Mediterranian area, and in Greece, they were playing American music at most of the bars, clubs, etc.. The same was true in Spain, France and Italy. Granted, that was a long time ago, and I imagine things have changed a bit, but I would suspect the swing has gone even farther toward American and UK music. I would love to see a post from a member residing in the area pertaining to this.

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Thank you all very much guys for your advice and for the will to help.
I tend more to psr s900 allthow is 50% more expensive here than korg pa500. 1600 euro (offer price) vs 1050 euro consedering that in USA the price difference is very small. But yamaha seems to be what I want.
ABout your argue you all have a point. Korgs are the most used here indeed. And Greek music is played maybe more than western in no tourist areas. But Actually my style is not ethnic. I am not very intrested in ethnic styles and sounds. Of course I might play for fun sometimes and I would prefer having nice ethnic sounds than having nice country sounds but it's not a priority. Priority for me is the western sounds and styles and how easy i can produce and record. Also the Korg ethnic sounds, sound at allmost any Greek club/restaurant/etc with live music and I am bored of hearing them!
If the recording result of the psr is satisfying as Ian said, that makes things easy for me. Could I hear or download somewhere any sample or demo of your work?
Thank you very much again and any opinion and advice is acceptable.
Dimitris

Gary, sorry...

When I visit a foreign country, I make it a point to NOT go to bars and clubs that play the same music I hear every day back home, and try to avoid the tourist areas like the plague! This might have given me a different view on what most foreign musicians play..

But at least here you don't see me recommending what I use personally, over all things. I DO try to consider SOME of what another musician might need, and here I was mistaken. It is rare to find a musician from a country with a strong ethnic music flavor that wants to perform NONE of it at all!

My mistake...

Hi Dimitris,

I must agree with the ethnic music thing...where I live, Celtic music is very popular, and it is one type of music I will not play very often...I'm more into pop, latin, jazz and even country.

My e-mail is in my profile...contact me and I will send you a few MP3's made on the S900 using the Audio to USB, and recorded "live" with no overdubs.

Mind you, I do only instrumental music...perhaps someone else that uses an S900 can send you somnething with vocals.

Ian

Most people that sing THROUGH the arranger will tell you the Yamaha's harmonizer is WAY inferior to the Korg's.

Just in case you were considering using it on ANY music...

And worrying about whether a built in mp3 recorder is any good or not is kind of moot in these days of SD card pocket audio recorders at under $200 that can record at 24bit 96kHz if you want it. AND offer lots of other possibilities (got to have the arranger with you if you want to record ANYTHING, throw the pocket recorder in your pocket to use it anywhere!). If you want to make a decent CD, HAVING to record in MP3 format first is already one strike against it... JMO.

I think something I said originally got lost, along the way. "ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL" the arranger that allows you to play your ethnic music better AS WELL as cover the other bases might be the choice to look at. The new Korg's are very well respected here, and may, even for the main kind of music you play, work out just as well as a Yamaha. Add in the fact that they CAN play the ethnic music, and the Yamaha's can't (or do it poorly, at least) and the equation might look differently.

Just a thought...

I guess, though, my main advice always stands... Don't listen to us HERE. Go listen to the arrangers THERE... Make your OWN mind up!

I may be wrong, but I believe the PA500 doesn't even have a vocal harmonizer. The S900 has one and it is usable, but not as good as the ones in the high-end Korg, Roland and Ketron.
DonM

The PSR-S900's Audio to USB records in WAV...perfect for CD...you can easily convert to MP3 if that's the format you want.

Making a CD is a no muss, no fuss operation.

Ian

Actually, the PSR-S700 is probably the best for ethnic styles, voices, etc.., far superior to most other manufacturers. And, if you're looking for third-party, ethnic styles, well, Yamaha beats them all in that category. Korg has some neat stuff, as well as some neat sounds, but it is quite limited.

Not just JMO,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

The PA500 does not have a harmonizer, or even a mic input for that matter.

Yep, my mistake... I forgot he wasn't talking about the PA800.

That right about the S900 recorder, Ian...? Wow! All anyone has talked about so far (AFAIK) was the MP3 recording. I didn't know it did .wav. Once again, mea culpa (seems like today is my day for dumb posts ).

Mind you, I still stand by the fact that an SD recorder (H2, Edirol, etc.) is FAR more useful, simply because it means you can record ANYTHING, not just your arranger...

And sorry, guys, but as Ian always points out, sales numbers are the final arbiter. Korg outsells all other arrangers in the middle eastern market. Guess that makes it the best...

Maybe you are right DIki. A korg pa-500 and a digital recorder are still quite cheaper than psr s-900 in Greece. Also the market at pro arrangers here is 60% Korg , 30% Roland, and 10% Yamaha. From the other hand I prefer making things that sound a bit different. I make funny songs that are quite popular at internet and many people will hear them.
Yamaha is also expensive here. psr s-900 costs 1600-1700 Euro , and korg pa-500 1050 Euro! !
I have heard samples by s-900 like Ian's arrangments too that I doubt Korg can create. Also Yamaha is very reliable. I use Yamaha 15 years since I was 13 and both keybords still work perfect. I don't trust Korg that much and I also don't trust touch screens!!
They will get me the s-900 next week to test it, cause I live in an island. And then I think must follow my heart!

How can that be?

Ian keeps telling us Yamaha don't make ANY pro arranger keyboards

Anyone that lives on a Greek island has already followed his heart! Where are you based? That is one of the most beautiful areas in the world, IMO...

BTW, other than direct sunlight (which will screw with ANY type of display), the touch screen on my G70 has been bomb-proof and utterly reliable. Things have improved enormously since the Triton days. I haven't heard anything bad about the Korg screen, so I would imagine that is one less worry....

But good for you for listening first... It's always the best way to be SURE.

(how about a link to one of your funny songs?)

I don't think you are going to apreciate my sense of humor , the lyrics are in Greek )
And when I say pro arrangers I mean not cheap keybords )
I found some very nice samples from Korg pa500 too , and I am very troubled now. The samples also had a better stereo than yamaha but propably they worked the mix a lot at the pc. If I get the Korg I will also buy a 4 or 8 channel digital recorder. It will still be cheaper and gives me more possibilities.
But when I played the Korg at the music store I did not see so many nice styles and also did not find some classical organs I am intrested in , like classical violin , Cello etc. Only strange variations of them. Yamaha's classical sounds seem to be very nice especially the Super Articulation ones. I got confused again , lol

Welcome to the real world, yogurt...!

The truth is, there IS no one perfect arranger! Every one of them has at least one great feature or sound the others don't have, and every one has a shortcoming, a weak point that the others don't suffer!

Finding those, and figuring out how much they affect your playing is the big question...

Best of luck....

It sure looks like the S900 is the one to lean towards, but hearing for yourself beats listening to us, any day!

Yogurt,

Please bear in mind that samples are the best of the best that any manufacturer can put forth. It's like an advertisement for an automobile. If you were to buy a car based upon their advertisements alone you would think that every one of them is the most fuel effecient, fastest and most luxurious vehicle on the planet. As Diki said, preview the keyboard first hand before buying.

Good luck on your decission,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy