Just like guitpic1 said, I’ve rediscovered my S970. Sold the T5, thinking I’d get the Genos. Now, I’m getting cold feet. That S970 really does sound good for what I do. I prefer onboard speakers for monitoring and a 61-note board to tote around. I’d like to add a second arranger. Think I’ll take a hard look at the Korg Pa 1000 once it’s available. Never owned a Korg. I’ve been impressed with the scant videos that out at this point.

I know I keep saying this and may sound like a broken record, and the S970 is an amazing keyboard, it ticks so many boxes, you get so much for the price... mine is loaded with samples / drum kits etc... BUT its biggest letdown is its KEYBED!! For the love of God Yamaha give us a PSR with at least a keybed from the MOXF line as a BARE MINIMUM... Is that really asking too much?

My AUD$500 Arturia Keylab Midi Controller has a keybed that puts the PSR to shame. seriously...

Nick, not everyone wants a semi-weighted keybed. Granted, if you were brought up on a piano, then you are accustomed to those heavy keys. Even though I started with a piano, then transitioned to a guitar before going to an arranger keyboard, I thoroughly enjoy those extremely light keys, especially when I was doing 4 hour jobs in an Italian restaurant in Baltimore's Little Italy. Lots of songs involved piano sounds from the keyboard, and that meant lots of right hand playing, which after four hours, my hands were not cramped.

Several years ago, while my wife and I were vacationing in the Florida Keys, I was asked to fill in for a friend who performed nightly in an upscale restaurant. He played a Clavinova and had a female vocalist who was incredible, both vocally and visually - she was drop dead gorgeous. After two nights playing his Clavinova, which he insisted I use, my hands felt as if they would explode. At the end of each night I had to soak them in hot, salted water for a couple hours to get some relief from the pain. By the end of the week, when he returned, he thanked me and said he had lots of good reports from audience members and the restaurant owner about the performances. Then he asked if I could fill in for him the following month, to which I replied "Only if I can use MY keyboard." He acquiesced and everything went just fine. After that week of performing, my hands felt great, and I went back to fishing and drinking expensive booze and eating food that is bad for your health.

All the best,

Gary

Gary - Im not talking about semi weighted - im talking about something that has more depth and better spring... which is basically a keybed from any of the low to mid range korgs or rolands..

The Tyros / Motif / GENOS / MONTAGE keyboards ALL use the FSX keybed (excluding the 88 note hammer action models)- it is barely "semi weighted" or whatever you want to label it - but its quality... and then you have the keybed from the MO XF range (mid range synth) - which is similar to the FSX but slightly not as good (no after touch and slightly not as good quality in the feel) - but still way better than the PSR keys. Anyone who has played on these boards can vouch for me...

any of the above keybeds are NOT heavy or hard on anyone's fingers any more than the PSR S970 keybed - it just feels way better, is more expressive and more playable. AND you can actually press the black keys with more ease and press the white keys down from the back towards the plastic casing of the keyboard.

The PSR keys are spongy shallow and lack expression. cheap $500.00 casios have a better feel all you need to do is walk into a music shop and you will see for yourself.

I would love to see what would happen if Yamaha offered the PSR S970 or whatever PSR you wanted and for the same price you had the option to choose one that comes with the FSX Keybed instead of the standard keybed currently included with the PSR - I would be highly surprised you would take the non FSX option.

If not then you would be an EXTREME rare case...

I played an MO8 in Marathon Key, Florida about 5 years ago. Pretty impressive keyboard, but to be perfectly honest, it wasn't the keys that impressed me as much as the grand piano voice and some of the EP voices. It was pretty nice, but lacked the entertainment capabilities that I had with my PSR-3000. Maybe it was because I could more easily maneuver through the songs with the 3000 than the MO8. The 3000 was much easier to do things on the fly as an entertainer, while the MO8 was a bit cumbersome in that regard. I guess it's a different scenario when you are on stage and trying to pretty much eliminate dead time between songs and keep the audiences entertained for the entire 4 hours. Maybe for a home studio player, those firmer keypads would be more desirable.

All the best,

Gary

+1 there!
I love the S970 but literally hate the keyboard feel and operation, I guess you get what you pay for. But, for me if I did buy one, I would never use the keys on it I would midi it to another keyboard with a FSX or waterfall keyboard.

A midi controller or older synth, just for the keyboard. When I play, I want good sounds and a good feel on the keyboard. Yes, I was taught classical piano originally. I ditch it for something more practical and portable, but I don't want a graduated hammer action even in a keyboard.

I play the Roland Rd700GX at church and is very nice indeed as a stage piano but NOT for what I do. You can't play B3 on a hammer style keyboard easily, and with the same effector sax and some other instruments.

The Yamaha s970 is a fun machine and is underused one at that, which is a shame , in my opinion.

Even is my loaner/teaching Casio wkxxxx I put a strip of foam under the keybed at the front with double sided tape. Just to change/ improve the feel and get rid of the clunk when you hit the keys.

It worked well and it was a cheap fix. The students loved the feel too of the keyboard than some of their own keyboards - it did the job.


Allan

The Pa4z is the best working man’s keyboard out there – agreed.
So why have so many kept the S 970 as a second keyboard? Why are there very few used ones available on EBay?

My opinion: Because the S 970 has captured a different area in the keyboard world. I find that I am spending more time with the S 970 than my Pa4x. Please keep in mind that I have become a home player. Gentle, classier, interesting, number of styles and the sounds are very good.
So I understand Guitpic1 having a good time with his S 970.

Does it have punch? No it’s gentle. I have owned every model of the Technics keyboard, two Tyros, two PSR, Korg 800, 900, and now the Pa4x. When I look through the recordings that I have made; most of them has been with Yamaha keyboards. Why? Yamaha has filled the space between the play out keyboard for the pro, and the home player.

John C.

AND--there are many times, in quieter settings, I will take my S970 for the styles, onboard speakers, weight, and just to have a different sound. For example I will be playing Sat. and Sun. for the annual Christmas bazaar. You just can't beat all of the Xmas styles for Yamaha. I will use my SSv3 and the Bose sub to give me a sound that sparkles, yet full.

the PSR S970 can load a massive amount of samples.. so really u can make it sound a lot "different" to what it does out of the box...

I have different drum kits, basses, voices all loaded into the sample flash memory. it makes a huge difference...

its popular becuase for its price it really offers a lot of features. Thew new screen is awesome too

Plus 1 for the merits of the s970, it's a great board for the price. I echo the comments of those of you who have already posted the positives of the s970.