Let's Talk About the Yamaha S950............

Well I guess the cats out of the bag ...now let's talk about the Yamaha S950 shall we?..

Anyways as I said in a previous post converting Reg/Styles etc, to the S950 from the S910 or similar models etc, is a piece of cake with no problems at all,....just need to go over your registrations and possibly adjust some Instrument Vol,Eq's,etc. but for the most part flawless procedure.
I did however just learned that you CANNOT Save "AUDIO Files" to an external device USB drive etc,..only to internal RAM storage, gives you. I'll have more things to talk about in the next few days regarding the S950 for sure ...just too busy this weekend gigging to get into it. Let me also add that the speakers are quite improved also. In regards to storage MP3 USB drive LIMITS I have a MP3 file 2.38G (341 files) which opens and plays fine, BUT,.....another larger file with 6.20G (992 files) won't open and gives a TOO large error message:( ...so I have to find out what is the exact File LIMIT PER FOLDER...anyone know ?
So what are YOUR experiences with the S950 pro/con...
I for one would like to hear about them & discuss them here.

I tested the s950 for the very first time
Today at my local store. First thing out of
The box it has more oooomph than the 910. Its drum
Kits sound more powerful and different. Instruments
Sound fantastic. I think the drums now sound better
Than pa3x, those dance styles shine. However 2 of
The audio styles failed to load. I told the guy to send
It back to yamaha

I noticed that myself first time I performed with it,..definitely more overall Gain with the S950 vs previous models. As for the drums I'm glad you said "different" not "better"....as that explains it correctly. Both sound wonderful now that I had the chance to really hear it at full performance levels on stage as I did last night at a large dance venue 250pp.

Just a question. Why did you get a PSR after the Pa3x?

Curiosity.it's your choice of course .

jamman I'd rather not discuss it openly here,email me if you want and maybe i can answer your concerns ok.....let's just talk S950 that's why I started this thread to maybe help myself and others who are S950 owners now.

take care..

Ok... please be careful if your using a MINI Type USB drive on the S950 as pictured..and thinking of leaving it in all the time. When the USB drive is inserted into the back of the S950 it only goes in half way leaving about 1/2" sticking out PROTRUDING the rear panel just enought to damage it this wasn't the case on the S910 where the USB drive sat almost flush in a "recessed back panel design",....... this is a Disaster waiting to happen if you keep your Kb on it's back in the case...it could certainly damage the unit and USB port for sure!! I'm putting the KB in the case BACKWARDS keys toward the rear of my case until I can either velcro some stiff foam in the rear with a space for the USB drive to raise it up a bit so no damage is caused...or keep it laying flat in your vehicle, IMO Yamaha needs to put the USB on deck somewhere in future models.....
Be careful.

Ouch that is bad design. I think I would actually remove it before putting it in the case. I just wouldn't risk the damage that could be caused.

Nigel...I agree.....with my absentmindedness I will end up losing the USB drive or misplacing it,... But that's will have to be a strong option...maybe carry two,...keep one in my pocket, ...one in the KB case also..
What were they thinking when they designed the unit.?
Oh well another workaround...so many GREAT Things .....and a few annoying ones. Go figure!

Maybe put some tiny, sticky, rubber feet (Radio Shack) around the area of the drive - it will cushion any bumps and ward off gremlins.

Donny,

I have an S950 and I use the same mini USB you're showing above and It's been in my KB and in my case for months with never a problem. I haven't taken it out for months. Mine goes in all the way, not half way. No problem.

Can you take a pic of it? That's weird??

Looks like the shelving underneath the USB drive ought to protect what little sticks out?

If not cut a piece of plastic JUST deep enough to protect the Cruzer Fit and superglue it JUST below the drive. Should do the trick unless your case is a VERY tight fit...

BTW, I think it is a bit disingenuous to refuse to talk about why you returned to Yamaha, after you were SO vocal in telling us why you chose the Korg (and how much better it was, everything else was outdated, yada, yada, yada!).

Surely you aren't embarrassed to discuss your public backtracking? I thought you were bigger than that. Your reasons may provide very useful discussion, and perhaps help others make the decision for themselves. Hiding away in private discussion seems a bit locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. If you have any qualms about public discussion of your decisions, why did they not surface about the decision to go Korg, as well?

Inquiring minds want to know... LOL

This week I will be trying a few different 32G Nano disc drive from other manufactures besides my Sandisc for comparisons to see if they will sit in the rear of the KB USB port more FLUSH to alleviate this problem.

ok, experiment is over,.. it's official after trying 7 different USB drives 4 Mini, 3 standard lengths they are ALL THE SAME & ALL Protrude the S950 KB rear panel by about 1/2"

part 2:.....Mp3 folder storage limits.

so far having approx 350 files (2.65G) in each folder works fine...I am still increasing folders 10 songs at a time to finally determine what exactly is the DATA Mb/Gb limit for each folder before error warnings pop up.
To be continued.

It's been a while since I checked out the Yamaha MusicSoft Style support pages...WOW!! what an array of support for Yamaha kewyboard owners...I'm impressed.

http://www.yamahamusicsoft.com/en/category/Style%20Files/catalog

The VH2 is a little bit better then VH1 was ....honestly still no comparison to the vocal "tracking" and sound quality of the PA3x VH...you have to really sing dead on center with the Vh2 there is no gimmies,....but overall I'm enjoying playing the S950 it's like a S910 pretty much with some nice extras in sound quality, style parts, and features. Speakers are excellent and fill the "in your face" scenario quite well..It's Still a great bang for the buck no two ways about it best MOTl Kb by far on the market.!!. It's Lightweight, Sexy looking, and in the right hands can deliver the goods without a doubt. Guitars sound amazing as is many of the other sounds, like growl sax, trumpets & strings, organs etc....yes it has that Tight CD quality output but it works so well when played all together. Sure there are some things that you will have to workaround, or hope in future models they change design & features, but for now I'm happy, makin' a living playing music every day, and audiences are happy that's all that matters.

I could NEVER apply that to a keyboard ...

Some of us have had our S950s for nearly 5 months and have been gigging with them on a daily basis. Most of what Donny has posted is general knowledge. For those here who own the S950 I have tweaked nearly 500 styles including the Tyros 4 styles which will play very well on the S950. I have also done some registrations. All this can be found on the PSRtutorial website.

Yes, just about all of the styles from older keyboards play well without much if any adjustments. But, hasn't that been the case with all of Yamaha's keyboards.

At home I use a passive USB hub and keep two 16 gig thumb drives in it. I use one as a backup and keep it updated anytime I make any changes to anything. I always take both with me to gigs.

As Donny mentioned, the USB slot is not very well positioned and could be bumped and cause a problem if you are not careful. What strikes me as strange is why Yamaha did not continue using the same memory card setup as found on the PSR3000. Using an SD card which could be left in the keyboard would have solved the USB problem.

I disagree with Donny about the sax sounds - I think they suck as compared to all the other Yamaha keyboards I have owned. They are not full enough and often sound very weak. It is not a volume problem but seems to be a sampling issue.

All in all I think the S950 is a very nice keyboard - light weight - small foot print - and is about as close to the T4 as your going to get. I have not yet had any buyer's remorse.

Deane

Deane, I will help you out...I get buyers remorse everytime you buy a new keyboard

Hi Fran,
I am guilty of buying various keyboards. I think we cheat ourselves not to at least try something new if it shows promise. I have been very lucky and have seldom lost much, if any, money when I sell a keyboard.

Deane

Dean....I was only talking about the growl sax.

Donny,
If you find a way to "fix" the saxes please let me know. I find myself replacing them right now with other lead voices.

Deane

I think our next poll demos should be different kbs Saxes?

Deane,

I'll go to work in the sax voices when I get home and purchase an S-950 for myself. It's a fairly easy job to add lots of depth to any of the instrument voices, but the master of this is Eileen in the UK.

Gary

Deane I use saxes sparingly .....
mostly for leads growl sax in R&R, Pop songs etc,....otherwise I always create a blend of two different saxes to get a nice Block Ensemble octave pad OTS for many of my RH accompiament to my styles eg: cha cha, merengue, slow fox, peobody etc..

Donny,
I'll give that a try because I think the only weakness with the S950 sounds are the saxes and one of the Clarinets.

Deane

Saxes tend to be FAR more to do with how they are PLAYED than what the raw sound is...

I've had sax players come up and be nice about my sax work ever since the DX7 (and the breath controller!). Listened to one note at a time, that was NOT a good sax sound..! But string them together right, pay attention to phrasing, never play two notes at a time (unless you are going for a section sound) and BREATHE now and again (!), and you can get really close!

Another must do to make the sax realistic is use that bender... Sax players are always scooping, sliding, falling off, in fact it's more the exception than the rule if they play a bunch of notes straight!

Tough to do on an arranger, while that LH is tied up chording constantly... one reason I love the Chord Sequencer.

while no expert on the PSR950 having only th PSR750 at my disposal, and of course my trusted PA800 I agree on the merits on the sax sounds. But not only that. In view of the Sound and Style Packs by Yamaha I wrote them a letter suggesting that in future they also market Packs that contain only one (or two) high quality samples of one instrument, possibly with 4 to 8 extra styles. As you all know the styles or sounds do not take up any space in the RAM memory, it is the sample itself. I for one would love a great acoustic piano sample even though the one on board is pretty good itself. So a Pack called "piano bar " might be a good idea. Or, on the subject here, what about a Pack called " Sax heaven " with one or two superior sax samples ? I know you can only load one pack at the time, but even then to me it would be worth the investment. I also got a reply from Yamaha that said they thought the idea very intersting and would subject it to others in the company.
........Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.................

regards,
John

I think Ketron's blowsax is the best I've heard so far. Ive been using my pa500 through an sd2 and the difference in saxes as well as most everything else is striking. And with this setup the sd2 in on a shelf in my rack where all cabling is unseen. I run a stereo, power, and midi cable harness to the rack. No odd looking piece of equipment and associated wires on top of the keyboard. I have the styles I need for what I do, the option to use Korg, Ketron, or both sounds. The sd2 price is modest to add such flexibility. I understand the Yamaha Tyros line post T-1 (and others?) have a built in patch to use an sd2 without problems.

Some of these so called Audio styles on the S950 are just unusable & sound terrible IMO,...eg: US Marching band, R&B Slow Ballad, Industrial Chill, and quite a few more,...no wonder they only denmoed the few good ones mostly Latin & Jazz/Swing..
They have a long way to go to be successful using Audio styles for sure,....I'm being very honest.At this point in time on this Kb the Midi styles blow them away.

Imo the Audio drums/styles aren't as good sounding as claimed,......some are not bad like the jazz/latin some are horrible and useless sounding, ....editing the audio drums cannot be done or can you save the audio styles to external USB or can you change drum sets to a midi set etc......
The S950 overall sound is very hot and needs to be tamed down regarding RH sounds & style parts, but that can be done with EQ settings etc,.......the speakers are a nbice improvement, the VH2 is a little bit better then VH1, BUT In NO WAY up to par with the likes of a TC Helicon VH unit in quality or tracking vocals,..no change in keyfeel it's light and fast like all previous models,.....wish they would charge a bit more and add the Tyros keybed to the MOTL models also etc,..
I love the Black color looks more Pro to me, the weight is wonderful also to transport, Yamaha also needs to put the USB port somewhere on the front deck too for easier access,. ...
I would expect the next T5 to be the same as their black Anniversary model in looks with more added Audio styles etc,... Some of the navigational buttons are in different places then my S910 but you get used to it after a while,...OTS,Octave, etc,.. as in every KB and believe me I have had so many thru the years there is Good & Bad it's all how much of it works for YOUR needs!....right now with some work I will make the S950 do what is asked of it for now,....
good luck with yours.

Yamaha need to put a hold on their audio drums feature until they have worked out how to make it as strong as the Ketron system.

For starters, if the audio styles are THAT strong, they need to be ALL the ROM styles, not just a few. No-one wants an arranger that blows your audience away... but only for a tiny few songs, then you are back to the naff MIDI kits for the rest.

Then they need to work PRONTO on one of two things (or, preferably, both!)... Either make it easy for users to import .wav loops into the audio style divisions, or get cracking (and I mean cracking!) on vastly increasing the available selection of audio drum styles.

Lastly, they need to link this all to an internal SSHD hybrid, and make it so the user can load them in on the fly, faster than lightning.

Until ALL this is done, it's a gimmick. No more, no less.