The keyboard arrived Monday evening, and I didn't take it out of the box until yesterday afternoon when I got home from work.

I purchased the keyboard from a friend who knew took care of it and it would be in pristine condition - which was absolutely the case. The display cover sheet had never been removed, there was not a single scratch or spec of dust and it was packed in the original box and sealed when it arrived via UPS. As for UPS, they'll never see another package from me. The box looked as if it had been dragged behind the delivery truck, had a couple holes punched in it, was mashed in on one side and dirty. When it was shipped to me from Alabama the box was like new. No wonder Fedex is top of the independent delivery list for most corporations.

OK, now that I've had a few hours to experiment with the S950, I can honestly say it has some really neat features, the guitars, for the most part, are pretty fantastic, the piano sucks - but I expected that, the drums are hot, the growl sax sucks, but some of the others more than make up for this. Some of the strings are just awesome, especially when layered with other string voices.

I haven't had time to plug a mic into the keyboard yet, but that will come later this afternoon when I get back home from today's job.

From the exploration I've done thus far I've discovered some great styles have been added, but right out of the box, the S-950 didn't sound nearly as good as the PSR-3000. When it comes to out of the box, the 3000 is still above and beyond anything Yamaha has produced, IMO, including the T4. And, that includes both styles and voices.

I was able to transfer my 3000's Music Finder Directly directly to the S-950 without a glitch. Of course, some of the new styles don't match up with the songs, so there were be a week or more of editing the 700 plus songs I have in my current MFD. Not a big deal though.

I'm still working with the EQs, and tonight, I'll connect the keyboard to the Bose L1 Compact and work with them some more. For me, the EQs are critical, both for the keyboard and the vocals - I need to sound better than Don Mason, DNJ and Diki when I'm singing and playing - and that's not an easy task.

The display is easy to read, but the tabs at the top of multiple page screens can be difficult to see if you're not sitting on a stool or standing. Sitting in a low chair I have to bend over the display to see what the tab says. The main screen is bright, crisp and has a very high resolution - far better than any other arranger keyboard display I've seen lately.

The key-feel is about the same, or maybe a bit firmer than the 3000, but this has never been an issue for me. I love those soft keys, especially when performing jobs that take more than a couple hours.

The button layout is a bit different than the 3000, but I anticipated that and it only took a few minutes to find most everything I needed. As for the button color, all of the ones that are used the most are white and easy to read. The others are light gray and all of the information needed is written in white above the buttons, so again, there's not a problem.

I have not taken the keyboard outdoors to look at the display in high light conditions, but I suspect it will be the same as most displays - unreadable unless in deep shade. And the button lights are still those darned, dim, LED lights that cannot be seen outdoors at all. Of course, if they were super bright LEDs indoor entertainers would be bitching that they were too bright, so I guess that's a no win situation unless the manufacturers were to put a dimmer control on the lights.

The onboard sound system is awesome - maybe too bassey if anything, but when I'm performing the onboard sound system is disabled because I want to hear what the audience hears so it's not a problem. However, I'm confident that the onboard amp is powerful enough to play living room parties and small NH jobs without any need to haul in another amp - it's that good.

One of the things I noticed right away was the right hand voices are an octave higher than on the 3000 and other Yamaha PSR models. Don't know what they did that, but it's easily overcome with the touch of a button. Also, the balance between the right hand voices and the accompaniment is definitely not anywhere near 50/50 in terms of volume. Again, this is easily overcome using the electronic slider and lowering the style volume a bit.

Overall, the keyboard sounds pretty darned good. But, I'm not sure it sounds better than the PSR-3000, at least not at this stage of the game. I'll know more in the next few weeks. If by that time I don't like it as much as the 3000, then it will go up for sale and still be in pristine condition, but with a lot of neat stuff loaded onboard.

More to come,

Gary

Gary ... may you make many hours of beautiful music with it ...

I'm still very happy with mine.

Joe

Gary great choice with the S950 I love mine!! ...if you need help give me a call.....but I know your gonna sound AWESOME with it on stage for sure!!!!

Congrats and Good Luck!!

Good luck Gary I hope the s950 works out for you!

The 3000 keyboard has been and probably will be your choice! It is just like an old pair of house shoes and they are great because they feel just right! I am sure this new 950 will be o k in the touch of the master, which you are! best of luck as you really get into this board, you make good music with anything you use!

When you say the growl sax and pianos sucked, do you mean compared to your older Yamaha, or just in general?

Thanks for the honest appraisal, Gary. I have a 910 and compared to the PSR-2000, it is an improvement. I agree with your assessment of the guitars. Much better. Many of the styles on the 910 are only revamped versions of original styles from way back when but they do have a few new ones. In general, I'm very satisfied and especially appreciate the many rubberized buttons that must be pressed during a recording session. That certainly helps eliminate some of the unplanned sounds I would create with my clumsy fingers on the 2000.

Best of luck with the 950 and I hope you bring Mason to his knees with your superb singing style. He is a tough act to follow, isn't he?

All the best,

Dave Rice

Congratualtions, Gary...give yourself some time to get very familiar with it...and, I agree, the PSR-3000 is a tough act to follow.

Personally, I preferred the PSR-S910 as the S-950 only still has SA voices (like the former), the SA2 being exclusive to the Tyros line, but that's a personal and subjective choice.

I'm not sure if the S-950 has the SA Rock Sax, but I found it more useful than the Sweet!Growl Sax (although I do also like the ones on the Tyros4/S910) as you can add grit using the Mod wheel. Also, when I did use Sweet!Growl Sax, I had it set to monophonic mode.

I usually take at least a few days (or weeks, if possible) to get the arranger balanced and EQ'd for my style of playing, and since I started using an expression pedal (RH volume) for all my playing, it has made life much easier.

I'll be interested in how the instrument feels/sounds once you have had some time to set it up.

On another note (pun intended) I find the "Live!Grand Piano" superior to all the SA Grands, but again, it's a personal and subjective choice. I'm able to get just the right tone and punch using the Filter and Brightness controls in the Mixer.

Have fun!

Ian

Thanks guys. I figure it will be a month or so before this thing hits the road with the old man, but I will post some songs using this keyboard and it's vocal processor.

Diki, the growl sax, IMO, is not nearly as good as the one on the 3000, and I loaded my own, custom piano voice in the keyboard and mine actually sounds better than it does on the 3000. Hard to explain, but I'll post some demos when I get back from my next sailing trip and let you decide which sounds best.

Gary