Yamaha Tyros 2 Keyboard

My Yamaha Tyros 2 sits behind me as I write this (I can feel it beckoning me to come and play it). I first started playing a keyboard about 20 years ago and treated myself to a Yamaha Electone 8 when they first came out. Although it still plays beautifully and I have looked after it, its sounds are limited and rather synthesized compared to a modern instrument like the Tyros 2.

Costing over £2,000, the Tyros 2 was not a purchase to be made without deliberation as well as the need to convince the wife that it was money well-spent. Finally my powers of persuasion won through and I took the leap of faith and ordered one online. The Tyros 2 Workstation arrived (complete with speakers and amplifier). The packaging was strong and protected the contents.

I spent a happy hour or so assembling the stand and keyboard having first checked to see all the parts were present. NB if you buy one, be careful what you do with the manuals in the other languages as, in with them, you will find the bolts which hold the hard-drive in place.

Eventually I was able to start playing. The vast array of coloured lights and the multi-function monitor on the workstation seem confusing to begin with but very soon it all starts to make sense and you are playing. The whole thing is surprisingly easy to get to grips with and the manual is generally easy to follow. One of the things I particularly liked about the manual was that someone has thought about the human element - I've bought my new keyboard, I want to play it, not waste time reading pages from a manual. All you need to do to begin with is read the quick guide - come back and read the full version when you're on your way.

The Tyros 2 is an easy-to-play instrument. For beginners, it has a single-finger chord option, a 'follow the music' feature and a metronome which is useful for highlighting the beat. For more advanced musicians, there is a powerful mixing and editing deck, a built-in synthesizer, drum kits and a vast array of play-along backing rhythms. In fact, that is what I wanted and what I like about the Tyros 2 - it is a real 'play-along' fun instrument.

Saving tracks is easy and they can be exported as WAV files to your PC for conversion to MP3 and burning onto CD using a USB Flash key.

The only snag I had with the workstation was that the optional hard drive (definitely required) was missing and I had to call the supplier to get one sent to me.

Well, that's me - I'm off now to play my Yamaha Tyros 2.

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