Don, I will give you my thoughts...I am sure you already know what I am going to say...


Listening to the Korg demos..they are more in your face...maybe more live in sound.....

Listening to the Yamaha demos...they sound more realistic, but so thin, and lack that live sound...

The korg drums are better..even in the sound department..


Personally for me..with an even playing field....weight and features being equal..I think I would lean towards the Korg..it being the punchier livelier sound, with a better drum sound (most important)..The Yamaha has better tones, but are too thin samples....and I don't believe eq is going to make a difference....to the extent of a live sound.....If you can eq the Yamaha to a point where it has that fullness and get the drums better with editing....than I would lean towards the Yamaha...


Thank heaven you still have the E50

A better comparison than PA3X/S950 will be PA600/S950 (or even better, PA900/S950 when it ships, as it will likely have a harmonizer and be closer to the S950's price).

You sound great in the PA3x.
No impress with the s950.

I was about ready to give up on it last night, to be honest, but I did some tweaking of e.q. and vocals, and it sounded MUCH better tonight. We'll see . ..
After I listen to the recordings from tonight, I may post a couple more to get other opinions.
DonM

The yamaha s950 sounds fantastic and not thin at all. The drums have been improved too.

Love the Black Color!
But Honestly in conclusion, after listening & aside from Don's great playing & singing, nothing I hear stands out over and above all my ex Psr 2k,21k,3k,T2,900,910, units...same compressed Yammy sound, not a bad thing just different.The VH2 is in no way to my ears in the same league as the TC Helicon unit that's inside of KORG's PA3x units,... Are new Audio styles enough for someone to upgrade from a S910,?,....you be the judge. Congrats to all new S950 owners enjoy & let's hear more S950 demos.

Rolandfan, I think some people have "thin" and "compressed" mixed up.

The Yamaha sound is mildly compressed, of course, because it's clearly obvious that is the way Yamaha prefers to make their arrangers sound, and also the way their customers happen to like it, else everyone would be buying the only other really competitive brand, Korg, which, judging by the excellent sales records of all PSR (and Tyros) instruments, is not the case.

Why do all arrangers have to sound alike? All "workstations", digital pianos, synthesizers, don't have the same sound, do they?

Acoustic pianos, guitars, horns, violins? Each manufacturer strives for a characteristic sound, and each company/brand has it's dedicated followers/supporters/fanboys...whatever you want to call them.

Keyboards have Yamaha enthusiasts and Korg fanciers...guitars have Fender and Gibson fans...even automobiles have their BMW vs.Mercedes protagonists.

Some like the "uncompressed" sound (or "live" as some call it) of Korg, and some like Yamaha's smooth, detailed polished output (or "compressed" as some describe it)..obviously there is room for both types judging by the arranger sales success of the "big two", Korg and Yamaha.

Those not wanting the sound of the "big two" above, can still buy equally great arrangers from Ketron, Wersi, Roland.

Even when one company absorbs another, as when Yamaha took over Bosendorfer, the latter still retained it's characteristic, and highly marketable sound and design.

Nothing wrong with choice...just don't expect one arranger to "do it all"...ain't gonna happen.

Ian

For me it is far more than sound that makes the big difference.

Take away all the "twiddly" bits, you know all those silly dinky little single note fills and such that make up a HUGE part of the Yamaha style base, then remove all the effects (apart from system rev), and break the styles down to a basic three instrument setup (bass drums guitar - or even just bass and drums) which is what I do most of the time...and THEN you hear a big difference in exactly what is better or not. I am not even going to mollify it by saying "different".

And then to cement it play the style over say 32 bars and THEN see if you think Yamaha styles stack up against the Korg styles..

For one finger plonkers, or those happy to have the full Mantovani orchestra or Glenn Miller big band thumping away destroying any musical credibility, but certainly keeping one amused - well fine...but not for me.

Yes the Yamahas sell a lot, but let's face it, I daresay the majority of sales go to home users, who probably also have not changed their vote for 60 years either...or brand of underwear

+1

I too believe that the quality of a style starts with and is defined by the rhythm section.

chas

To each their own Dennis...you obviously like Korg...nothing wrong with that...if it works for you, that's okay.

But, I will hardly take the bait for another "mine is better than yours" no-win campaign...we can only hope there aren't any others gullible enough to waste their time with it.

However, I do appreciate DonM's sharing of his talent and his enthusiasm over his new S950...the same as I treasure those sharing their PA-600 demos (as well as the Telmo, Joost, John Smies offerings)...I've come prefer those a lot better than the old fanboy empty talk, and silly go-nowhere debates.

That way, we can all listen and make our own decisions on what we want to buy or use..and also, enjoy some great music as well.


Ian

PS...and, "home players"? Just check out Telmo, Joost, Rico and a few others...I've heard "home players" on my clinics, that can play rings around a lot of the so-called "pros". Just because you get paid to play doesn't automatically make you an advanced arranger player...it just means you get paid.