I am trying to look ahead and decide about loading several hundred bread and butter registrations from the old board.

OOH this represents many many hours to build a playlist,OOTH it is duplication except for the occasional substitution of not found voices.

My first thought is to load the old at first with the idea of building a separate folder(s) of S970 styles and voices.

This is all assuming backward compatability.
What have you fellows done?

I would start from scratch Bernie using the S910 REG as a guide loading all the S910 Styles /Reg you can and then tweak each one as you go along with new updated voices you like for style parts & lead voices.....then start to replace all similar styles with the new ones on the S970 with the same titles but have different parts within....yes it takes time but once you do your home work the keyboard becomes yours alone to enjoy and perform with...I always try to keep it as simple as possible,.....IMO the less styles used the better for my needs....40-50styles tops can cover anything on stage,....good luck!!

Thank you Donny

Your welcome Bernie...I Know you'll do good...
if you need help just shout.

Hi Bernie:

Your post sounds like you have already acquired a 970? If so, congratulations... if not, the 910 is a pretty darn good "board" on it's own merits. You bet I'd go for the 970 if my budget would allow it... but tomorrow, there will be another model with even more bells and whistles... LOL!

I enjoy my 910 a great deal but don't "gig" like most of you here. I'm only a songwriter who sings demos of my own original songs in a futile attempt to plug into the money stream if someone rich and famous decides to record a "cover" of one of my songs. (It ain't happening so far... but hope springs eternal.) You can listen to a few of my songs at the following page which gets a new set of songs about once each week:

http://www.ShowCaseYourMusic.com/DaveRice/

Bernie Dony’s ideas as usual are great. I have found that when I have to reprogram songs the finished product is better than before. That may be because I have learned more about setting up.

It’s opportunity time.
John C.

John
I agree. I have done the same many times with various keyboards. I thought this time, rather than going willy nilly into the same routine, I would see what others do.

It will be an adventure either way.

I would advise, that if you have time, start from scratch. Yes, the old Registrations convert just fine, but I sometimes fall into the trap of trying to make the new keyboard sound just like the old one, in the interest of time.
I have done a mixture with this one, using my existing registrations as a starting point, then adjusting, changing styles, changing lead setups, etc., as I go along.
Keeps a boy busy and out of trouble.

Thank you Don, I always value your opinion. That is what I will do.

I am rather impetuous.and had a thought of slapping my mem stick into the S970 Tuesday and going with it, The trouble is I wouldn't have the same incentive to make the board my own, as it were, if I took the S970 out too soon.

I guess I want my cake and eat it.

Well I must admit, I slapped in the stick and took it out the first night, but since then have done a lot of work re-doing things.
I'm still preferring my Korg in many ways, but the S970 sure has some great sounds, including, at long last, the drums.

please elaborate a bit more Don....

PS better drums is a good thing...;-)

O.K. We're not getting into sound right now. These are operational features:

The Korg takes 5-button foot switch, plus a dedicated Damper input and a programmable foot switch.
It has a full row of programmable sliders, plus three programmable buttons just above the joy stick.
It has a joystick, just above the touch strip.
It has a touch strip.
The sliders have 3 modes. One for volume controls of Style, RH 1, 2, and 3, LH, drums, Bass and MP3. Next mode is organ drawbars. Next mode the sliders are fully programmable to do whatever you want. Modes can be automatically select via Songbook or Performance, or manually selected.
It has 3 right-hand voices.
Transpose and Octave change are conveniently located.
You can see the writing. No black on black labels.
It has lots of dedicated buttons. For example Split, Mic Delay on/off, alternate VH settings, Talk . . .
It has knobs to control mic volume, VH volume, amount of effects, double.
It has a light to show you when the VH is engaged.
It has a button to turn the mic off.
It has a slider to adjust style level versus Lead voice volume.
The inputs on the back have labels on the top of the keyboard, so you can see where to plug things in without seeing the back of the keyboard.
It takes a standard AC plug. No wall wart.
It has XLR mic connector.
It has aux outputs and inputs.
It has USB slot on front, plus extra one on the back, plus one for PC.
It has nice touch screen.
It has wonderful Songbook feature. Way better than Musicfinder or Registrations on PSR. It also has Performances, Korg-speak for Registrations. I use them only to have a bevy of lead sounds instantly available, and do everything else with the Songbook. There is a dedicated button to have the Performances change the style and voice, or just the voice.
It has dual sequence/MP3 player. O.K. so I don't use that.
It has a Chord Sequencer plus extensive regular sequencer, plus audio recorder.
You can fully edit, save, replace or delete factory styles.
It has phantom power.
It has Power On setup, where everything you want is saved. When you turn it on it's ready to go.
The Key-start mode is always on! You don't have to hit that button every time you start a song that is not save in Reg.
It has a wonderful Vocal Harmonizer, as good as or better than many stand-alone units.
It has very advanced e.q. and sound enhancement features. MAXX Audio.
It has full-sized keys.
It has Aftertouch.
Every function is fully addressable via midi. Yamaha style controls require System Exclusive messages. Not needed on Korg, but it keeps me from using third party foot switch with the PSR.
I'm sure I'm leaving out some stuff.
All these things are important to me and make playing easier and more fun.
None in itself is real critical, but as a package it is formidable.
Oh, and it is not real heavy. A little heavier than PSR, maybe four pounds. I need the exercise anyway. It is the same size or maybe smaller than PSR! They fit in the same bag anyway.
There are no bad choices these days; it's just that some suit certain players better.

Don is that it? LOL.... aside from the fact it cost so much more...
so when you selling the SD970/PA3x for the PA4x?.... just sayin'?

Used PA3Xs are going really cheap.
I won't be even considering PA4X until they get the bugs out. Sometime next year, if at all.

But, with all those attributes, it still doesn't even come remotely close to the PSR-S970 when it comes to sound quality and styles - at least not from what I've heard. Of course, I'm deaf as a post, so it doesn't make any difference.

Who knows, I may be getting a good buy on a lightly used S970.

Gary

So that means January 1st 2016?....lol

WTG Gary good move you deserve it and so does your audiences!!

I can send it back if I decide I don't want it, but we'll talk if it comes to that Gary.
As far as sound, the Korg sounds great. Yamaha has great guitar sounds, but it's easy to load great guitar sounds into the Korg too. In fact the acoustic guitars on board are really good. The overdriven and distorted rock guitars are good. Where Yamaha wins so big is in the classic electrics from the 50's, 60's, and that is mostly because they have set up the DSPs so well.
I've never needed a style for Korg that I haven't found, or for any other arranger in the past 10 years for that matter. There are hundreds of thousands of styles out there for Yamaha, but the vast majority or renamed, slightly edited, or versions from previous models. It would take weeks to go through them all, edit and save the ones you might possibly want.
How many styles can you use?

Gary, have you done a side by side comparison of the S970 and the PA3x and PA4x?

Great points, Don. And most of all the korg sounds so darn live. It all but breathes under your fingers.

For the last three years I have been centered on Christian music; I am playing for the needy children and their parents. I have programed many Christian songs on my Pa900.

A few weeks ago I decided to finish my set up on the Pa900. I had been using a Ultimate stand; one layer for my keyboard and the upper layer for my laptop. If I sat up nice and straight I could see the people while I was playing. Well I sawed off the top part of the stand, change things around a bit and it looks great – and I now have a great view.
Bernie, this is the good part.

I have 150 songs that are programed to my taste; I decided to reprogram each one.
The right style, good STS settings, good pads, and I changed some of the instruments. --- Now this is not about the keyboard, it is about me. I am not the same person that programed the songs years ago. Many of the two beats songs now have a touch of rock. My 150 songs do not sound the same any longer. Bernie your post got me started, thanks.
Bottom line; there is a new excitement in my music and in me.

Midi files will be used for all the songs that need the many extras.

John C.

Well John, now we are both better off. I got confirmation from Donny and Don, and you got caught up in it. A win win situation.
Stay well my friend.

No, all I have heard are demos of the PA3x - which are OK, but not fantastic. Of course, as you well know, demos are often poorly recorded and do not reflect the instrument quality as they should. Now, I have played older models, and to me, the grand piano voices were marginal at best, the guitars were OK, but not on par with Yamaha, while the strings and brass were underwhelming at best when compared with Yamaha. The only Korg I've ever owned was the I3, and sold it just a few months after I purchased it and bought a Yamaha PSR-5700, which was a brute, sounded great, and was quite limited in the number of styles and voices. It weighed over 50 pounds, but I was a lot younger then, so it didn't matter.

I've only played a friend's S-950 for a couple hours, and it sounded incredible. Kinda like the S950 on steroids. I sincerely believe that all of today's MOTL arrangers sound really good, and there is only subtle differences between them when it comes to overall sound. As for features, we all have our personal preferences, and for the most part, the vast majority of the features are rarely, and in some instances, never used.

All the best,

Gary

Yes, I agree ... I would never rate a keyboard - or ANY instrument - based on internet demos, nor would I judge a new instrument based on the sound of older models (I wouldn't judge a new vehicle based on the performance of older models either ) ... I also believe that the beauty of sound is in the EAR of the beholder ... and very often we stick with what we are accustomed to ...

Yep, that's true. Why do you think Carol has kept me for more than a half century?

All the best,

Gary