I have owned a Pa800, pa900, and now a Pa4x – which, for a pro, does it all.

I have my Yamaha S970 about two weeks. Which is better? I have given it a lot of thought and this is what I came up with.

Years ago when my band could do no wrong I made new business cards; I had to give my band a new name. I came up with, Johnny Alden Quartet – “A Touch of Class”. We did have plenty of excitement and our sound was good. And we wear jump suits and fancy colored shirts. So the name Touch of Class.

All that to say:
The Yamaha S970 has a Touch of Class. The sounds are good. The styles are good and many; but they are gentle. The styles seem to fit the songs better. I like it. Now I understand why so many here have a Pa4x and a S970.

The Pa4x is a Pro’s dream – it’s all there to do one great job. I guess that’s what Steve meant when he said that he takes his Pa4x on most of the jobs and uses the S970 on special jobs like Christmas parties.

I’m glad I bought the S970, John C,

I think "gentle" is most appropriate. I like my s970 for many reasons, including many styles, ease of use, and nice sounds. I use mine for small, gentle gigs.

I could not go pass that horrible keyboard feel on 970 . Unforgivable.

Mikimiki I respect your opinion. I was never more than just a keyboard player; my major instrument was guitar. So I enjoy the feel on the S970. If I were talking about guitar I would have more to say.

John C.

KORG pa4x all the way

Hi everyone...been gone for a while!
OK, so now I see the Genos (T6) is out.

I am thinking of a nice used T-5, PSR-970 or maybe even a Genos.

I want this to be for my kind of playing, in home only, No modern music, lots of orchestral stuff, lots of musical theater, plenty of old standards....yes I'm a old guy that used to play organ years ago, so I play for fun.

I may add a lower keyboard as well.

Quality of orchestral type sounds is the most important.

I have had a T2, PA2XPRO and V-arranger. Have nothing now.

Looking for suggestions.

I am leaning towards a used T-5, it will need to be one not used for gigging, excellent condition and I live in Central FL, pickup would be nice.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Lee

Lee,

Welcome back, haven't seen you posting for a while! The Genos looks very tempting but I have to believe you'll see plenty of slightly used T5s. Check your PM, I know someone who lives very nearby by that has a T5 used only at home not sure she is selling? I'll send you her contact information on a PM>

Steve,
OK...thanks,
Lee

The 970 misses all the high end features of the Genos...
People are currently in doubt which one is better Genos or pa4x

That should answer the orriginal question

The real question is not which KB is better, but how good is one as a player ?

Compared to both my Tyros and PA4X, my S970 has more of a toy keyboard touch. Still sounds good though.

Donny,
Yes...true to an extent...BUT...when you play the type of music I do sound quality is critical...I don't sing, don't gig, don't do dance music , country etc... Here at 15:40 of this demo will give you an idea where I'm comming from....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J2UuR2o0PM

At 16:40

Lee

Video unavailable.

Donny...Whoops meant 15:40

It's not showing up on YouTube. Maybe you need to change settings.

not available?

Darn,
Its gone now...well I'll hope it comes back guys.
Lee

The 970 misses all the high end features of the Genos...
People are currently in doubt which one is better Genos or pa4x
That should answer the orriginal question

Bachus was that original question on another thread?

The real question is not which KB is better, but how good is one as a player ?
Sorry Donny I tried my best not to compare but to bring out what I thought the S970 offers.
I do not believe that one keyboard is good for everyone. Each keyboard is created with a certain idea – so I believe that talking about the good features without comparing is more valuable.

I‘m not sure where-- “but how good is one as a player”-- fits in.

John C.

I think the real question when buying a keyboard is not who is the better player..

But does the new keyboard make you sound better? regardless of playing skills. Thats the real question. The answer to that can be different for different musicians.

Another important question one should ask himself, can i be comfortable with the interface of a new keyboard, am i willing to change my playstyle to addapt, or not?

The arranger keyboard will not make a poor player sound any better than a TOTL vocal processor will make a bad singer sound better - It ain't gonna happen!

An excellent player can play a low end arranger keyboard and sound fantastic, though. We have witnessed this many, many times. Of course, this mainly applies to live performances. The studio composers can do some pretty wild things with just a PC and DAW.

All the best,

Gary

There is a reason I might consider getting whatever replaces S970, maybe sometime next year. It's because my aging wrists and fingers have less stress playing those little soft-feeling keys. Even the PA4X is starting to give me soreness after four hours a night, every night. I don't play hard, but you have to use enough pressure to make the touch and effects kick in.
What is a game-killer for many players, would be an asset to me.

Gary, while your statement is basically true IMHO....there is one thing you forget......if you are playing a nice slow love song or a song from musical theatre...if the arranger sounds are totally awesome and beautiful, you WILL sound a lot better, be more inspired and enjoy playing a lot more...remember I do NOT sing do not do dance music, play standards at N. homes etc...the sound is critical to me. I play at home just like I did all those years I played Thomas, and Yamaha organs...AND I bought new models regularly because of ONLY the better sounds.

On that we agree, Lee. In my case, when I was performing the nite club and restaurant circuits, my vocals were my only saving grace - I'm not by any means a musician - just an old, retired hack entertainer. To make up for some of my shortcomings of not being as pretty as Don Mason on stage, I dressed in the fanciest clothes, which the ladies absolutely loved. Keep in mind, however, that those of us that were on stage played exclusively for the ladies - not the males in the crowd. The guys, nite clubs and restaurants, honkeytonk bars, etc... were all there to get plastered and hook up. The ladies, on the other hand, wanted to party, have fun, dance, talk endlessly with the other ladies about kids, grandkids, other women, and hear the music - hooking up with last on their list of priorities. So, I figured, early on, if I looked good and sounded good to the ladies, I couldn't lose - I was right. The only problem with the nite club, restaurant, bar circuit was you could not make a decent living. I had a family to support, and too damned many boats (at least that's what my wife said) that needed constant attention.

On the senior circuit, there were lots of folks that emulated the ladies in the bars and restaurants - they loved to dance, enjoyed my singing, loved to party, happy hours took place daily at some locations, and as long as I looked good and sounded good, I had a well paying job as often as I wished to work.

For a creative, home-studio player, I believe the Genos will really outshine the competition, but until someone actually posts some of their Genos creations, we will really never know what this machine can do. I sincerely believe, however, that most arranger keyboards can do far more than 99.9 percent of the forum members ever dreamed possible.

All the best,

Gary

Don: You know you just caused Donny many sleepless nights😢

Nope doesn't bother me at all genos who?

A little short story....Once upon a time I had a Kurzweil K2600...I bought it over ALL others (Pro KBD, not arrangers) for ONE BIG reason...the sounds...they were awesome, very high quality, very real sounding etc...the very best orchestral voices in the industry. I loved playing it and the sounds were inspiring...But I'm not a piano player...I am a organ player.

OK, why is it gone...I don't play with a band!...it is only a 88 key piano like instrument...not an arranger. So I was not a one man band I was a part of a band without the others!

So, I sell it and get a T2...Liked it a lot...but sounds were just OK, some excellant....so I get a PA1XPRO...worse in the sound dept...but I loved the interface and player features....so I sell it and get a PA2XPRO...a little better but quite a few of the sounds I use were sub-standard once again.

So, I write up a 3 page detailed document to Korg about all the sound issues...send it through Sweetwater, found out Korg did get it. No response.

So I sell it and do a MIDI setup with some sound modules...sounds were good, but the content (styles, registrations etc) is missing..so I sell it.

If Kurzweil had an arranger...wow, but they don't.

For a lot of the music I hear folks play on arranger...the details of instrument sound quality is not that critical, lots of drums...dance music, and most important good or great singing voices...real entertainers for live audiences.

I'm still looking for an arranger with absolutely excellent sound, PRO all the way. And styles for music I play at home, like the home organ days.

Maybe Genos is it...we'll see. T-5 could probably work too...but I have been waiting to see the T-6 (Genos now).

I am anxious to hear the right demos(surely not Martin Harris playing music that would sound good on any arranger, and DJ stuff) that highlights a lot of sounds/styles I want to hear.

It will come in time, or one will land near me I can go hear.

Thanks for listening...I know this is a different thing than most of you guys are into.