Anyone seen or played a S90xs yet?

[iFox90]

Sounds really nice I'd like to hear some Rhodes stuf and/or wurly's please.. If the damn thing wouldn't be so big it would be a nice alternative to my PC3x..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9MWfmkkwv4
Here is one rhodes video. I'll try to upload some more rhodes/wurlitzers soon, but I think it might a little longer, I have a busy weekend and week coming up.

As for the incredible deal: it's a long story. I used to have a Promega 2 from GEM, but it broke down because of a lightning strike. The store was not able to fix it because Gem went bankrupt. I was lucky to get some money back from my insurance, but that did not make a new stage-piano. In the end the store where I bought de Promega 2 offered me a new S90XS for that great price. And I don't regret having spend a little bit more than I would have had if I bought a Yamaha S90ES.
The S90ES is great too though

[Tomkeen]

Thank you for taking the effort to post these vids

 

I've read about your Promega on synthforum, tough luck dude. Just half an hour after I read it, I heard thunder and immediatly pulled out all the plugs

[Buapo]

I didn't think the screen would be a big deal for me, but after I played the S90-XS in person, I realized it was.

I don't want to squint to read the display. The tiny display does make it a chore to read.

Bottom line?

If they re-used the Motif XS display, I can say that I would already have a brand new S90-XS in my room right now. I've got the cash, but I just couldn't drop it on something that had such a strange shortcoming. Look at the M50 - the display isn't complicated, but hey, it's big enough.

Hell, I probably would have one even if they re-used the old dogged S90-ES display. It's three times as big, and plenty bright with adjustable contrast. That's all I really needed.

It sounded great, though.

[Jeff Irok]

I posted an s90XS review in THE OTHER forum, here a few weeeks ago.

[-groovatious-]

Tried one yesterday.

 

Action the same as my S90 - sounds marginally better but very close.

 

Still the STUPID design as the ES with pitch/mod wheels at the end so it's farkin HUGE.

 

But my biggest gripe - what is with the TINY display?

 

My ORIGINAL S90 display craps all over it. You've gone backwards Yamaha - in a BIG way.

[GigMan]

Tried one yesterday. Action the same as my S90 - sounds marginally better but very close. Still the STUPID design as the ES with pitch/mod wheels at the end so it's farkin HUGE. But my biggest gripe - what is with the TINY display? My ORIGINAL S90 display craps all over it. You've gone backwards Yamaha - in a BIG way.

Yeah, it's strange - how the newest, latest jobbie actually has the less impressive screen.

The S70XS has a lighter action, btw - very nice to play, still weighty enough w/out being overly heavy...

[Piangio]

I got S90 xs last week and it is a very good musical instrument.
It sounds great and IMO greatly improves the performance compared to S90 es (but es with PLG boards it's still a killer gear).
The little display it's a good idea: Voice parts can be edited "ONLY" by the External Editor. You can operate only "macro editing to the voice" on board. No one of us edits gigging live. Maybe on tour you need to edit performance, masters and multi.
Editor is very powerful and easy to operate.
New is that now when you switch on or off the arpeggio sound does not stop.
The 8 insert Efx gives you the possibility to create nice multis where you can go to one voice to another without sound stopping.
Audio recording mode is very, very useful and easy. Mic input also.
I upgraded from Motif Es 88 and now I'm very glad of this.

[Outkaster]

I got mine 3 weeks ago at least I think. Love it!

[Vintagekeys]

It was a disappointment to me, no major upgrade in sounds, the S90es (Natural S) - pianos sounds MUCH better IMO... The layout was bland (a couple of intuitive features but not many), the S90es layout and appearance is MUCH better. Other than the pianos many of the other sounds were similar to the S90es, not really sure what the hype is all about.

The only REAL improvement was making it in a a 76 key model.

[Outkaster]

Well I still like mine. I never had an ES.

[GigMan]

Well I still like mine. I never had an ES.

OK - did you get the full 88 or the 76 key jobbie?

I wonder if anyone's done a comparison of the Yammie S70XS vs. the Kurz. PC3 (the 76 key version)?

[eric]

OK - did you get the full 88 or the 76 key jobbie? I wonder if anyone's done a comparison of the Yammie S70XS vs. the Kurz. PC3 (the 76 key version)?

Outkaster has the 88 version, the really large one.
I have the S70XS and previously owned the PC3. They are quite similar in what they can do with the Kurz being a deeper instrument and the Yamaha being a bit more accessible in terms of the breadth of what you get "out of the box" in terms of sound variety and the arps. The Yamaha schools the Kurz with its fully weighted action if you're looking for this. The Kurz action is ok, but I prefer the Yamaha's which is identical to the S90 I've played for the past 7 years.

None of these are perfect, but there are some great options available to keyboard players these days.

Regards,
Eric

[GigMan]

The Yamaha schools the Kurz with its fully weighted action if you're looking for this. The Kurz action is ok, but I prefer the Yamaha's which is identical to the S90 I've played for the past 7 years.

 

 

My local GC had a Yamaha S70XS and a S90ES set up right above/below eachother on a 2 tier keyboard stand - I found the S70XS action to be a bit lighter than the S90ES (but not in a bad way, I liked it)... Eric, does that mean that the original or "classic" S90 had a lighter action than the S90ES? - - if you're saying that the S70XS action is the same as what you've played for many years on your classic S90??

[eric]

My local GC had a Yamaha S70XS and a S90ES set up right above/below eachother on a 2 tier keyboard stand - I found the S70XS action to be a bit lighter than the S90ES (but not in a bad way, I liked it)... Eric, does that mean that the original or "classic" S90 had a lighter action than the S90ES? - - if you're saying that the S70XS action is the same as what you've played for many years on your classic S90??

 

 

All these actions are the same components. They are essentially the same action from the Motif 8 to ES8 to XS8 as well as S90 to S90ES to S90XS. Same balanced action. It may vary per instrument due to careworn features (e.g. "wear and tear") but there is nothing new here. I can honestly play my 7 year old S90 next to the 3 month old S70XS and have very little to no change in how the keyboard feels.

 

Regards,

Eric

[GigMan]

All these actions are the same components. They are essentially the same action from the Motif 8 to ES8 to XS8 as well as S90 to S90ES to S90XS. Same balanced action. It may vary per instrument due to careworn features (e.g. "wear and tear") but there is nothing new here. I can honestly play my 7 year old S90 next to the 3 month old S70XS and have very little to no change in how the keyboard feels. Regards, Eric

Then the S70XS in my local GC was either defective or beat to sh*t, 'cause it definitely felt like a lighter touch, as compared to the S90ES right below it.

[Goofball Jones]

So Eric, are you finally going to retire your beloved S90 for a S90xs or S70xs? Of will you continue on with the "if it ain't broke" school of thought?

[GigMan]

So Eric, are you finally going to retire your beloved S90 for a S90xs or S70xs? Of will you continue on with the "if it ain't broke" school of thought?

Way to bring a thread back to life, GJones!

[Goofball Jones]

Way to bring a thread back to life, GJones!

Hey, I'm world famous for that.

also, I've been away for a while and I didn't read anywhere if Eric has upgraded his rig. He had a PC3 for a while, but went back to his S90...just wondering if the S90xs or S70xs has swayed him.

[eric]

So Eric, are you finally going to retire your beloved S90 for a S90xs or S70xs? Of will you continue on with the "if it ain't broke" school of thought?

 

 

Hey guys, my live rig for the past few months has been the S70xs + Electro 3. I do still have my S90 + Electro 2. There are a few things I miss about the S90, but overall the S70xs is a step up in in overall sound quality. Plus, my S90 was getting a little old and beat up (but still working great after 7+ years). I may be mitigating some risk with a newer instrument on the gig.

[GigMan]

Hey guys, my live rig for the past few months has been the S70xs + Electro 3. I do still have my S90 + Electro 2. There are a few things I miss about the S90, but overall the S70xs is a step up in in overall sound quality. Plus, my S90 was getting a little old and beat up (but still working great after 7+ years). I may be mitigating some risk with a newer instrument on the gig.

Ha - if by "mitigating risk" you mean you're on the gig going, "Hmm... wtf?! Where are all the good sounds on this thing & how do I get that Rhodes sound up for the next tune?!" - - I know where you're coming from...

BTW, Eric - when I tried the S70XS in GC, my favorite Rhodes patch on my S90ES was still there - called '74 or something... but the tremolo was crazy back-and-forth left-to-right stereo, way too much. Did you notice that as well? I'm wondering why they'd keep such a nice patch but change it in a bad way...

One thing must be true, though: by playing the S70XS you lighten the weight/bulk of your gig load-in a lot! What case do you have that thing in?

[eric]

Ha - if by "mitigating risk" you mean you're on the gig going, "Hmm... wtf?! Where are all the good sounds on this thing & how do I get that Rhodes sound up for the next tune?!" - - I know where you're coming from... BTW, Eric - when I tried the S70XS in GC, my favorite Rhodes patch on my S90ES was still there - called '74 or something... but the tremolo was crazy back-and-forth left-to-right stereo, way too much. Did you notice that as well? I'm wondering why they'd keep such a nice patch but change it in a bad way... One thing must be true, though: by playing the S70XS you lighten the weight/bulk of your gig load-in a lot! What case do you have that thing in?

Incorrect on the last comment...while the weight is maybe 5-7 lbs less, the footprint is only about 1-2" smaller and thus I'm still using the huge Anvil flight case from my S90. No real gain here other than it feels a little lighter to hoist it onto the stand.

As for the EP sound, you can just edit those FX and get basically the same sounds. For me, the XS sounds are 2 steps better than my S90 Classic. I bypassed the ES series (owned one for a little bit). So I find most of my lift in sounds from the XS when doing synths, pads, strings. And I do notice a nice benefit in the increase from 64 to 128 voice polyphony.

But some things about my S90 Classic were just right for me and I can't recreate it all on the S70xs (yet).

What I meant by mitigating risk is that when I'm using a 7+ year old keyboard, chances are greater that a key might break on the fly or the OS could lock up...anything related to longer-term wear and tear. Having a brand new board hopefully boosts reliability of the rig. I've never had any issues on the gig with the S90 (knock on wood), but I would not be surprised if some started to arise as time progresses.

[GigMan]

Oh right - "mitigating" risk is of course reducing it... duh - I was only an English major... but that was many moons ago

So if the S70XS only reduces things a few inches on the footprint and just a few lbs. lighter - it's almost like "why bother"... just go for the full S90XS and have all 88's under your fingers!

[eric]

Oh right - "mitigating" risk is of course reducing it... duh - I was only an English major... but that was many moons ago So if the S70XS only reduces things a few inches on the footprint and just a few lbs. lighter - it's almost like "why bother"... just go for the full S90XS and have all 88's under your fingers!

 

But then you have to add an additional 5-6" more width over the S90 and S70XS chassis, necessitating a new $500 flight case and crowding out the gig mobile that holds the other case just perfectly.

[Goofball Jones]

Hey Eric, with your rig of the S70xs and Electro 3, do you ever use the arpeggiator on the S70xs when playing the Electro 3? And if you do, does the Electro 3 trigger chord changes to the S70xs's arpeggiator via MIDI?

 

Maybe that's not that needed in a band situation, but when home in a studio that might be. Just curious.

[belwert]

Not sure how most people view the S6 piano sounds on the S70XS and S90XS, they are both the exact same keyboards except one has less keys. Anyways if you listen to the notes on any S6 Piano sounds, especially the first S6 piano patch, the notes C#, D and D# 2 octives below middle C have an annoying harmonic sound to them

I thought this was only my keyboard, then found out many others noticed it too, come to find out it does it on every S70XS and S90XS, don't believe me?, play the piano through some head phones or even just an amp and play those 3 notes compared to the others, many people may not mind, but I do recording and its noticable and what ticks me off even more knowing there is no fix for it.

I was in touch with Yamaha, they basically admitted after many complaints that the problem is to due with the sample of the S6 piano and they have no intention on fixing it which would require them to resample the entire piano. Maybe if enough people complain about it, they will fix it!!!

They bragged so much on these piano sounds and urks me to find out I bought something that has this bug and nothing they will do about it, dont know about you, but it really pisses me off that I spent $2K on a keyboard and then find this out after the fact.