I like Tyros 4 in this comparison.....

Comparing Tyros4 Sweet! voices with Tyros5 SA2 sounds isn't much of a fair comparison.

One of my favorite sounds, which is found on both, is the SA2 Jazz Trumpet...simply lovely!

Ian

Ian, you are right..that was a dumb comparison..designed only to sell a new model....
They could easily compared identical sounds and styles (audio drums compared to midi set)...but we would not hear any improvement if they did..

As it was , I actually thought organs were better on the Tyros4.

And really, Yamaha's hottest feature "emsemble"..and compare to a sax section.

The new "effects section" on the Tyros5, is impressive, but frankly, the old one in the Tyros4 was no slouch either...then again, any feature isn't worth a hoot unless the user digs in and exploits it.

The drawbar organs on the Tyros4 can be vastly improved by proper effects usage (like distortion or overdrive) and the correct Leslie settings. Though most presets sound pretty good, there is a difference when you put the right "spin" on them (pun intended).

I'm happy with the Tyros4...it has all the essential SA/SA2 voices for my needs, and, I was never a fan of the audio drums on the Tyros5 or the S950...too limited editing-wise for my purposes.

Ian

To my understanding everything in the T4 is also in the T5....
I personally think it sounds much better in the T5 because of the upgraded DSP effects, this feuture alone puts the T5 above the T4

Add to that the new Audio styles
Almost 3 times the number of SA2 voices
almost double the number of SA1 voices
The organ world, with some of the best hardware organ sounds
The ensemble section with all its innovation
And the fact that it has a 76 key option (which is a must for me and many others)

There has never been a bigger upgrade in the whole Tyros history...


The only downfall is the edditing, and the YeM... They really need to open up the edditing...

Bachus nice post, if I already didn't own a T5-76 you would have sold me on why I should. As Donny and others have said in the past "enjoy what you play" They are right and I do enjoy what I play.

A bit off topic and not trying to steal Donny's thread but I find myself even getting back to the Clavinova CVP307, hadn't played it much in the last few years after getting involved with portable arrangers. I finally woke up recently now that I have lots of time on my hands to discover the piano technique I once had
went away with my youth so have been working the fingers with the Hanon series of finger excercises. Man arrangers sure have a way of making the left hand lazy.

That is why they have piano mode...

I suppose it's a big upgrade for you Bachus, as I don't think you owned a Tyros4 before you purchased a Tyros5...you had a Korg, did you not?

I've been playing Yamaha arrangers since their very first, I've been an arranger clinician for the company for too many years, and, I've spent a lot of time on the Tyros from it's inception.

I've done several clinics on the Tyros5-76 and got to know it pretty darn good.

The upgrades on the Tyros5 effects weren't significant enough for me to change from my Tyros4...the audio based styles are crippled too much in regards to programming, so they were nice, but essentially useless to me as I do a lot of style programming. My Tyros4 sounds as good as it does because I took the time to dig into its effects and sounds...yes, the T5 has more SA/Sa2 voices but, again, most of the new ones were simply different versions of the old...a few wiggles with effects, filter ADSR and I'm pretty close.

I am very glad that the Tyros5 appeals to you....but, also, remember there are many Tyros3 and Tyros4 users out there getting less than 50% out of their arranger, and all the Ensemble sections on earth won't make their Tyros4's sound better unless they learn how to use such features properly.

I've done a side by side comparison of my Tyros4 (with all my tweaks) to my friend's Tyros5-76 and, except for the new features I don't have, like Ensemble, we both agreed that my Tyros4 sounds better...in fact, I'm in the process of working on his T5 to give it similar enhancements.

In my experience, very few Tyros users knew very much about the effects (DSP) section, and never tweaked anything...they just used what was set for each sound, and that was it. An effects section is designed for tweaking. I think the one in the Tyros5 is graphically laid out better (and even easier to tweak), and slightly more powerful (than my T4's) but I can only imagine how few will even benefit from the T5's upgrades.

I'm sure someone like yourself will know enough to benefit, but in my experience, you are the exception to the rule.

I think you made a great choice getting the Tyros5...it's one of the very best arrangers being made today, but, don't underestimate or undervalue the power of previous Tyros instruments.

Being dedicated to music all my life, I buy what is best for my needs, and if Tyros5 would've been a huge or worthy upgrade for me, I'd have got one, especially since retirement has put me in a better financial situation....but, after spending a lot of time on one, I realized it wasn't...maybe the Tyros6 will do the trick?

Also, many Tyros4 users upgraded to Tyros5 purely because of the 76-note keyboard.

I agree...editing is rather limiting, but, Tyros is still superb as a "player's" instrument.

And, if I haven't already, congratulations on your new Tyros5. You are in for a lot of fun.

Ian

Ian, i never had a T4,because and only had the Pa3x for about 8 months..

My arranger experience went from Roland E70 (eminent organ before that) to Gem WX2 to PSR 9000 pro... Allways having one or more synths on top of that..

The PSR 9000 pro made me realise the difference of a 76 keys version, changed my playstyle a lot towards piano style.. Then one day i got a great deal on a Tyros 1, and traded the psr9000 for that.. A huge mistake, i dearly missed my 15 extra keys...

For years i went the workstation route, but at a certain point, i started to miss my auto accomp, tried going software based, but that didnt work to well with the live styler. Got myself an audya 4 module... Which was more in the repaircenter then at home...and finally i got myself the Pa3x last winter.. Which is still a great instrument...

2 months ago i moved to T5, because i got a deal i could not refuse ( never buy new instruments, allways used ones) and i am still loving the sound and the playabillity of the SA2 voices.. I am currently in the market for a used FA08 Roland, to add to it...



anyway, you are right when you say, that i am not a Yamaha expert nor a T4 expert, which you undoubtetly are. And maybe you are right, that not having owned a t4 clouds my opinion, your tweaked T4 might indeed better fit your prefferences then an untweaked T5...


But the thing that really nailed me with T5 was its sheer soundquallity, but mostly the playabillity of the single sounds, its so easy to get good results, its such a forgiving instrument compared to the pa3x and the vsts, if you play sloppy, it still sounds great..
And thats because of how Yamaha programs things.. And somehow, i like that..

The thing that attracted me most in T5 was its ensemble feature, its awesome, but withouth a 76 key version, i would have never bought it... And there is oneother thing next to the generous SA2 voices i use a lot, and thats the churchorgan, just cant resist it, the Mercator just sounds incredible to my weeny ears... But then i have a thing with Bach..

But when playing piano, i allmost allways use pianoteq VSt... But thats just because i am spoiled... Next to that, i only use the VSTs for synth sounds, because thats currently where Tyros is lacking ( or to put it mildly, where its not at its best ). Leadsynths and pad sounds....

Thats also where the Fa08 comes in, great easy programmable naturall synth sounds and a lovely 88 keys..





Anyway, back on topic.... I believe you when you say that for you the T4 suits all your needs and sounds better then a T5..... But since you are now tweaking your friends t5 i am looking forward to hear from you how good the T5 finally turned out after your tweaking..

Bachus,

I should make things a bit more clear and say that my Tyros4 sounds "different" (as opposed to "better") than a standard Tyros4, as well as the stock Tyros5 (that is comparing identical sounds and styles shared by both) and the difference is more subtle than marked, and that difference is my perception of what a Yamaha arranger should sound like, again for my needs.

My friend Johnny's Tyros5-76 sounded excellent out of the box, as did my own Tyros4, but the latter lacked a certain personalization that I try to inject in all my arrangers, including my PSR's, and right back to my PSR-8000.

It's a combination of Master EQ and compressor settings, as well as [i]individual[/i] Part EQ for each edited style, so basically I don't use any factory styles, and haven't for many years. I'm tickled that several of my clients like my styles so much they basically only use my tweaked and reprogrammed versions for their instruments. If they happen to like a particular Factory style, they frequently ask me to try and further tweak it, or even re-voice/reprogram it, and the results are often preferred over the original.

Although these tweaks are usually done only for long term clients and friends, I have shared folder on PSR Tutorial...even now, most of those styles have been further tweaked as I play with them and discover little improvements (in my estimation) they could use.

I also tweak the occasional panel voice (and OTS) settings, but it's mainly the styles, which are what make our arrangers so unique, that get most of the attention.

That's the beauty of our arranger...it can be left as is, or it can be constantly evolving and growing to suit our own expanding needs. I like to make the most of the instruments I buy, a trait left over from when owning one meant a lot of financial sacrifice, and it was only my job as a clinician that allowed me to delve into the other models, including some I would have never been able to afford at the time.

And, yes, these Yamaha instruments (especially Tyros) are incredibly "playable", a nice perk, mainly due to Yamaha's quest to make things relatively easily accessible to even a rank beginner, as a good portion of their clientele are home/hobbyist players. I used to prefer the PSR keybed, as I also have an organist background (and yes, the T5's pipes are incredible), and I liked the Portatone's shallower, quicker throw, but now I'm really hooked on the Tyros's FSX keybed and simply love how it responds.

My friend Johnny, is now living in another city, Halifax, which is several hours away, so I won't get a chance to tweak his Tyros5-76 for at least a few weeks and he comes to visit.

Agin, to be very clear, the people who seem to like my tweaks share quite a bit of the same taste in music, so I'd fully understand if they don't work for a lot of people, but, again, that's the subjective and personal aspect of how we want our arranger to sound.

Bachus, once again, I am glad you are connecting nicely with your Tyros5-76...and happy playing!

Ian