Yamaha PSR 3000 - A One-man Orchestra..

I was first introduced to keyboard playing in the form of a piano when I was around 6 years old. My two elder sisters were both learning to play with a local music teacher and whilst they practiced I was fascinated by the sounds coming out of our old iron-framed piano and couldn't help but "play along" with them on the lower or upper part of the keyboard, much to their annoyance. My parents decided that it was obviously "in my blood" and thought it best that I go to lessons also. Within a couple of months I was playing a few simple tunes and even came second in a local kids talent contest!

My first instrument was a small Lowry Holiday followed by a small Hammond (great keyboard sound, but rotten base). In my twenties, I turned professional and purchased a small Yamaha with Leslie speaker - (a sort of spinning speaker inside a cabinet that produced a rich sound). Because of it's light weight for portability and reasonable prices compared to most other organs, I have stayed loyal to Yamaha ever since. I now own a HE 8 (old technology now, which I will soon be updated no doubt) and a PSR3000 - a 61-key electronic keyboard, which is the focus of this review.

You can listen to some of the instruments capabilities by simply pressing a button marked Demos and allowing it to play - it is like listening to a group of musicians.

To top all this, the instrument can connect to the internet via USB to a broadband modem and download songs and styles (explained below) from the Yamaha website - full instructions are included with the keyboard and are also on the Yamaha website (http://music.yamaha.com). When I registered on the site, Yamaha was sending free a USB to LAN adapter necessary for connection.

There are also full *MIDI connections, to connect to another MIDI instrument so they are networked, like two PCs and share their sounds, files etc. and enable to players to work together or one player to access both instruments - the creative possibilities are endless with this.

Styles:
Styles of which there are 240 on the PSR 3000 are like the "backing tracks" (or automatic orchestrations) that play along with the melody line and include rhythm (a drum beat or tempo) and backing instruments such as strings, brass, guitar, pianos etc., that also play along. The key of the backing is determined by the chords and notes the musician plays with his left (accompaniment) hand. If he/she wants, the styles can be switched off of course and the instrument will only play the sounds that are played with the fingers - like a conventional piano or organ, or whatever other sound is selected.

Also you can record any of your creations and play it back afterwards. The controls for this works just like a tape recorder. Your recordings can be saved to disk or card, loaded onto your computer, and edited. The instrument comes with a 200+ page manual, which touches on practically every capability is has and because there is so much, after just a month, mine is well-thumbed!

For those who feel that spending £1000 on an instrument is too much, Yamaha have PSR keyboards that produce fairly decent sounds from under £100 and there are many on-line dealers selling second-hand instruments, but you will need to ensure that you get a good guarantee, know something about the age of an instrument, and if spares are available, and what happens if something should go wrong. But I've got to say that I have found Yamaha instruments to be very reliable.