Bought my usual copy of Keyboard Player (Issue 259), and they have a feature review of the Tyros which make for very interesting reading.... these are some of the quotes from a massive review... and bear in mind that they reviewed the KN-7000 last month with no such comments as below..!!

"Tyros sounds unlike any other self accompanying keyboard. The backing patterns are so, well, lifelike that it has the effect of making all previous accompaniments seem two-dimensional. To emphatically prove this point, part of the demonstration mode directly compares a PSR-9000 backing with the Tyros counterpart. A cheeky and brave move but it certainly pays off."

"When Tyros is in full flight the quality of the sound is such that it is hard to believe that one is not hearing specially prepared audio loops. For the first few minutes i was convinced that Yamaha had gone down the road of several other manufacturers and used sliced samples to create ultra-real sounds and superior backing patterns. In fact the patterns are all creating using MIDI. This makes it even more remarkable..."

"Tyros is a living and breathing instrument in every way".

"Feeling pleased with themselves, Yamaha decided to build in other factors like string buzz and body resonance. Top this off with a responsive digital effect processor and the sound is quite astonishing; expressiveness never heard before in a keyboard instrument."

"This is the other area where credibility of the ears is stretched. All the accompaniment styles for the Tyros have been completely rewritten and take full advantage of the Mega Voices. The authenticity of the backing patterns, the range of styles covered and sheer faithfulness to the original sounds is astonishing. Yamaha employed a team of over 30 first class specialist music programmers from all over the world to create what are certainly the most musical backing patterns i have heard".

"It is possible to fit an internal hard drive to the Tyros. It takes a standard 40gb IDE drive..."

and finally....

"Every company gets excited about a new product, even more so when it is the result of two years hard development work. In this case, Yamaha;s fervent anticipation is entirely justified. I've never imagined that a keyboard instrument could be born with talent but i am coming round to the idea. Other keyboards will not seem the same after this".

Well, now i'm off to find myself a Tyros and give it a go... I have never read a review with these kinds of snippets from this mag, therefore it must be something special....

Danny : Thanks for sharing the KeyboardPlayer review comments. I'm NOT at all surprised that they gave the Tyros such a TERRIFIC review, especially AFTER hearing (with my own ears) the IMPRESSIVE Tyros MP3 mega voice solo demos recorded totally 'exposed' (no auto accompaniment), and then comparing this to the same voices (non-mega voice version) recorded on the PSR9000/9000pro. http://www.roncat.net/tyros/

As I said before, I predict that the Tyros is going to be a BIG winner. I'm now MORE excited than ever to get my hands on a Tyros! - Scott

Is this UK Keyboard review on-line by chance? I'd like to read it too. I'm especially interested in seeing who wrote the review. Keyboard and other magazines like Electronic Musician have had a tendency to hire jaded musicians that mostly do studio work, and these guys haven't taken arrangers seriously enough in the past. If the Tyros manages to break down the barriers that studio musos have held against arrangers, then not only will the Tyros open new ground but there's hope that a true "studio edition" of the Tyros may someday become a reality (drool).

Hi Pro: Understandably, the Tyros review is NOT available for viewing online as (just like Keyboard Magazine & Electronic Musician) KeyboardPlayer:
http://www.keyboardplayer.com

obviously expects you to 'purchase' their magazine. In my opinion, Keyboard Player is geared to a very different audience (specificly home keyboard, organ & arranger enthusiasts) than Keyboard Magazine & Elec Musician, and subesequently they review auto-accompaniment keyboards regularly. This includes most all the arrangers we discuss here. For whatever reason, arrangers are much more accepted in the UK than here in the US. Will US interest in arrangers grow? Only time will tell.

- Scott

Pro, Scott is exactly right when hes says that they expect you to buy the mag to read the review, which is the main reason why i didnt type ALL of the review, but really wanted to get across a snippet of what people over here were saying about this new kb. Believe me, the actual review is about 10 times bigger than what ive put up with every inch detail about the kb...

Scott, when you said that this particular company reviews kbs for "home" purpose, surely they must review all kbs? I think 2 issues ago they reviewed the XD9 and didnt praise that anywhere near to the Tyros... Likewise with the KN-7000... So this kb must be something special.. again, not heard much word on the Genesys though.... from anybody infact....

Hi Danny , you're absolutely RIGHT. KeyboardPlayer has (for many years) reviewed the 'entire range' of keyboards (from digital pianos & organs, synths, and auto accomp arranger kbs as well), whereas Keyboard Magazine & Electronic Magazine have restricted (until recently) their kb reviews to only synthesizers & workstations. Since the word 'keyboard' is included in the title of 'Keyboard Magazine' its strange that they ignored arranger Keyboards for SUCH A LONG time. I now suspect (in the US), that it's been both the pro music dealers & music magazine publishers who have been promoting the 'anti-arranger' sentiment to pro musicians in this Country (USA). I'm curious to hear feedback from others on this.