Yes Sir Gary....the S-950 is on hell of a REAL gigging musicians dream Keyboard.....

You had to wait over ten YEARS for a 76... I think 'baby steps' is right on the money.

Of course, while you all were waiting, you also were telling us in no uncertain terms that an arranger doesn't NEED a 76. So where are the Yamaha faithful now, on the issue? Unless it was the usual partisan BS that seems to be a Yamaha 'thing', surely an arranger DOESN'T need a 76, and Yamaha have made an incredible blunder (the same one that you said the other manufacturers were making!)?

Or has the dance changed, now the band is playing a different tune? LOL

I look forward to everybody deciding that, once Yamaha provide one, that maybe a touch screen IS a good idea, or perhaps the Chord Sequencer isn't the useless feature you decided it to be, while Yamaha failed to provide one..!

Diki,

You're reading something into the post that doesn't exist. I didn't say that I needed 76 keys - EVER! And, I never needed, and still do NOT need a touch screen. You, and Fran, on the other hand, MUST have them in order to play effectively. So nothing has changed about MY preferences - nothing!

Gary

They can call the steps whatever they want Gary, but those steps, most importantly, have always been directed forward, and Yamaha still makes one of the very best TOTL arrangers available today.

Roland's baby steps only managed to produce the MOTL BK-9 (a nice arranger keyboard, nevertheless) after which they fell flat on their bippy.

I look at it this way regarding all the attempts at the arm chair critics trying to kick Yamaha's butt...if someone is trying to kick your butt...you must be in front of them.

Ian

Or blocking your way

Unfortunately Fran, Roland has no one to blame but itself.

From what I understand, it was a combination of poor marketing and bad product placement, not the quality or the technological level of the instruments.

As I've said to you many times, I think Roland makes an excellent product, and I've used their instruments in the past...in fact, I did demos and clinics for them.

You have to sell quite a few BK-9's to equal the profit made on one TOTL instrument, which in turn, helps pay for research and development for future products.

I also think having a TOTL in the line-up promotes confidence in the company. Roland always managed to introduce features that the other companies didn't think of, and eventually, had to copy to stay competitive.

There used to be the three TOTL's from the "big three" of Roland Yamaha and Korg and the loss of Roland's top effort leaves a big gap that will eventually get filled.

I just think it's kinda sad...that's all.

Ian

Well... My wife and I have an 8 month, 3 week old son named Jack. 3 weeks ago, he was only rockin'... Now he's crawling, pulling himself up and getting quicker everyday. Baby steps in this house go very quickly!!

At 40 years old, what blows me away with a keyboard are weight, touch, useable sounds, and the functions I need to do what I do.

I lead worship at a church as one of my gigs... 52 rehearsals and 52 services a year. That's carrying a 42+ pound Motif ES7 in and out of the van 104 times a year... Plus a 23 pound son in the other hand!

A Roland BK-9 has "blown me away" being 20 pounds. Plus, having the performance mode to put my WAV and MP3 in performance order is what I need for the type of gigs my wife and I do.

If the Tyros 5 - 76 is 30ish pounds... With "must have" new sounds... And only $1000 more, I may wait... but it's going to be expensive!! The BK-9 looks like my new performance board... On 11/11/13, my choice will be clearer!

No one has a clue what they will cost at this point - everything is purely speculation.

Gary

The T4's MAP price was $5299... even though the street price was $3999. So, the price of a T5 should be right in the same range. Yamaha has already established the Tyros as their flagship of their keyboard line.