After a week with the PSR S970

the PSR S970 is my latest addition to my rig.
I currently have a PA 3x and a Motif XS.

The PSR S970 in my opinion is a massive leap over the S950 and in fact it has more detailed editing features than the T4 - truth!

Here's my reasoning:

- SCREEN - The screen is amazing. Its the best screen on any yamaha arranger keyboard. Crystal clear, wide, great new colour scheme.

- EFFECT SECTION - All the effects are re categorized made easier to find. the look of the effects section is much more user friendly as they are all graphical (you can still edit them in fine detail).

- HD REVERBS - All the reverbs (Real HD Reverbs) - they give much more clarity than before. it just makes everything sound alot clearer and less "muffled"... and of coarse it has all the new VCM modulation Amp effects for the guitars and EPanios from the T5.

- DRUM MAPPING!!! - this is a feature than was not advertised or ever mentioned but It exists in the style create section. When you have a drum kit selected you can now do detailed editing of each individual drum part and assign different samples to the drum kit in (decay, pitch, filtering, volume, effects etc)... this is where you can really make the difference. I have taken alot of factory styles into the style create section and modified the drums to make them sound so much more live and unique. This feature is hands down the best feature on the board for me.

- MASTER EQ / COMP - Again another way to completely customize the over sound which is great to tailor it for different speakers. There are alot of detail you can go into with the master EQ. it is no longer a basic 5 band EQ. there are about 20 different settings you can modify to customize the overall EQ. then you have the separate master compressor from the Tyros line which I don't think has ever been in a PSR keyboard, and it works great!

I must say one thing - the onboard speakers are great, BUT to be honest they don't respond well after you have made EQ adjustments. to get the most out of this board you really need to play it through external speakers. I currently run it through a logitec Z2300 system and 2 x Yamaha HS 50 monitors. the sound is punchy and crystal clear. the basses are very deep. but when I unplug the speakers and go through the internal PSR speakers - it sounds terrible... so you really need to customize the keyboard for your external speakers. BUT it gives you far better results !!

REALTIME CONTROL KNOBS - AWESOME / Fantastic / extremely usable!!

definitely another awesome feature of this board. there is alot of different functions you can assign to the knobs which makes them very very usable!

SAMPLING - A massive FLAW / DOWNFALL
And I have confirmed this flaw with Yamaha corporate support.

The PSR S970 has 512MB of sampling flash memory.
The Flaw is that each time you wish to import a sample or a bunch of samples you need to re load ALL the sample flash memory... loading 512 MB of samples takes between 20-15 minutes.

For Example: if you have loaded 450mb of samples and you wish to load in say.. just one other sound or a modification to an existing sample via USB...it wipes and over writes ALL the sample memory so you MUST re load the entire sample data EVERY TIME... very very annoying. unfortunately there is no way around this...

KEYBED - Im sorry for any folks that believe the keyboard is improved over the S950.. it simply isn't.. its EXACTLY the same.. shallow, spongy and makes a loud hitting noise on the base of the keybed when you strike the keys hard. You either need to accept and live with it or buy another board. I personally hate it, but the board overs soo much at such a great price point which makes it "tolerable". if the PSR S970 had the Tyros/Motif Keybed it would be hands down a far better keyboard in my opinion.

BOOT UP TIME - wow a PSR that actually takes time to load up... no more instant ON... it takes about 15 seconds now from when you press the ON button to be able to play and hear a note. (Still far better than my PS 3x which takes about 2 mins).

DJ STYLES - Even though this is my favorite music genre, I find this section useless because they have pre set chord progressions that you can not change. so unless you have a song that works with the pre set chord changes they are just gimmicky...

CHOIR VOICES - Finally we have the new choir voices from the Tyros 4/5. They are perfect!

AUDIO STYLES - alot of new ones that were not in the S950. many of them are now even more usable and not so song specific.

ARPEGGIATOR - Great feature, works perfectly and has heaps of variety in the arpeggio settings with many different phrasing options. I have the PSR S970 in the same rack as the Motif XS and really gives the MOTIF a run for its money in terms of synth capability.

Thanks for reading, I have been having alot of late nights experimenting and tweaking this board. It actually gives alot of motivation and inspiration to play more than before, I honestly don't see a need to keep my PA3x anymore.

If anyone has any specific questions let me know

Cheers
Nick

Good report, Nick. Pretty much echoes those that I've heard from others. And, after playing a friend's new 970, I agree, the keybed is the same as the S-950, and if it is firmer, it's so slight that no one would know.

Also hearing incredible reports about the new guitars - just awesome.

Overall, it sounds like this MOTL board has set a new standard for others to emulate.

Thanks,

Gary

Thank you, Nick! Overall, there seems to be a noticeable improvement over the S950.

For me personally, I like that you said it sounds clearer and cleaner than the S950, thanks to its new HD Reverb. I remember trying the S950 in a local store, and comparing it side-by-side to the Tyros 5, and it sounded a little muffled compared to the Tyros. I'm glad it's been improved.

Also, I really like the fact that it finally has choir voices that are good!

A very encouraging review!

Thank you for this review, i added some of my comments in red..

I highly recommend the S970

Bachus, I agree with all of your comments.

The keybed is a joke, I can purchase a $300.00 Casio from a local electronics shop and it has better key action than a PSR S970. But like I said the keyboard has so many great first class features it makes it "tolerable"....

Actually my arthritic old fingers appreciate that soft, fast action. But I understand that for piano players you want to get as close as possible to piano action and feel.
It's a shame the PSR keys aren't full size as far as width though. Unless they have changed that.

Don nothing has changed with the keybed on the S970, & like you am perfectly happy with the lightning fast keyfeel,...personally for MY needs the upgrade is still too minimal from the S950.

Now with much more research I like what I'm reading & like what I'm hearing from others about the NEW S970 as it should be as a step up from S950,...
we'll see very soon..

From my viewpoint, having played a S970 for about an hour, it an S-950 on steroids.

All the best,

Gary

Nick, maybe you're not a singer, but you don't mention the VH. Any thoughts on that feature? Good to see that the drum mapping has been addressed - that was always a drawback for me.

I don't know for sure but, people have told me VH2 on the s950/s970 is the same ..I wonder if the new HD reverbs improve the Voc Mic processor also?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkcZgmRdMfU

The harmonizer actually works well. There is still a perceptible, though small, glitch if you engage, or disengage, the VH while singing a note. I doubt a live audience would hear it, but it's there. Turn it on and of when you take a breath and it's o.k. I don't have to worry about that with Korg or Ketron.
It does not seem to distort as easily as previous models. Everything seems the same, but it sounds better. Maybe the new reverb, as DNJ suggested....
I may start using the Harmony M again, but not because the S970 vocals aren't good. Because I want to have a footswitch to turn harmony on/off, one for sustain, and one for break/fill. The PSR only has two switches. Using the Harmony M would free up one of those for the other uses.

Another thought...maybe my primary gripe with the VH on the S970 is that there is no pilot light to tell me if it is on.
I might end a song with it on then announce the next song. The VH does not sound when the style isn't running, so I forget it's on. I start the next song and it is on. Have to turn it off. Just another little thing that makes a difference.

DON I AGREE IT'S THE SIMPLE THINGS THAT SET A KB APART,....
MAYBE THE S990 WILL HAVE THAT LITTLE LIGHT IMPLEMENTED on deck!...WE'LL SEE...?
ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS "LISTEN" TO PLAYERS NEEDS..

I agree with much that’s been said about the S970. I moved up from the previous model and glad I did. It sounds better, plays better, and the vocal harmony works better. I’ll jump for the latest model, even if the increments are minimal. Newer is better and improved in most cases. Got to keep a competitive edge around here.

I've been using one of the active knobs to control Harmony on and off. Works well for me.

Is there a list of functions the knobs can control on the S970

Yes there is. I'm using it for balance between right hand and styles, and to mute style parts.

good to know Don, every knob counts,...Can't wait..

Is the USB drive USB-2? USB-3?

USB 2 I believe. However, I'm using a 64 gig USB 3 drive. Seems to work o.k.

I was hoping for USB-3
About one time in 4 if I am playing a style from USB and record to USB at the same time it fails
I am using a USB 2

No USB3 luckilly most USB3 drives support USB2 to..

Not even the montage with its 32 audio channels over USB requires USB3