9000 Pro (2001)
Maybe the most complete arranger keyboard ever made?
A quick look reveals that we are in front of a very high quality keyboard. The manufacturing quality and the materials are excellent.
Introduction and Design – I’m NOT a PSR!!
I must admit it. I confess that I love the 9000 Pro. IMHO, it’s a gem, a real beast and an incredible keyboard that it’s sadly too often overlooked, underrated, or plainly ignored. In contrast, I regard it as one of the very best Yamaha keyboards ever (including all kinds of them, not only arrangers), and I’ll try to argue that, in many aspects, it’s better than the original Tyros that replaced it (before you start screaming at me for that claim, let me clarify that I’m not assuring that the 9000 Pro sounds better not denying that the Tyros is superior in the quality of the voices, but just pointing out that the 9000 Pro beats the Tyros in some -and important- features and capabilities).
It’s quite funny (or quite sad, when you think about it) that this model is very often incorrectly referred to as the “PSR-9000 Pro”, even in specialized forums, and even by some owners (!) when listing it in second hand marketplaces. Hey people, this keyboard is not a PSR; it’s called “9000 Pro”, and the “PSR” label is totally absent. In fact, it seems that Yamaha did an effort to differentiate this arranger workstation from the “homey” PSR line, stressing that this is a different (and more serious) thing, not only by eliminating the “PSR” reference, but also explicitly including “Pro” and “Professional Workstation” in the serigraph of the keyboard and in the documentation. It’s really claiming “I’m not a PSR, I’m not a toy, this is a serious keyboard, professional stuff!”. It seems, though, that they didn’t quite succeed ;)
The design of the 9000 Pro also reflects a departure from the “usual” PSR line. It is the only keyboard of all of the list of this website that lacks speakers and built-in amplification. In fact, its external design is very similar to the contemporary flagship EX5 synthesizer, and it’s highly likely that both models even share some pieces, at least at the mechanical level (chassis). So, on stage or in the studio, the 9000 Pro looks much like a “grey EX5”, contributing to its “professional look”. It’s a well-built and heavy keyboard (not as heavy as the PSR-9000, but even without speakers, we’re talking of 20.5 kilograms or over 45 lbs.), and made almost completely in steel. Even the PSR-6700 had only the lower chassis in steel, and the front panel was made in plastic. The 9000 Pro certainly looks and feels great (and much better in person than in photos).
As the EX5, the 9000 pro boasts a 76-key keybed, which is something quite rare in Yamaha arrangers, being the PSR-6700, the 76-version of the Tyros 5 and the Genos the only other flagship arrangers with this feature. The keyboard feel and response is excellent, IMHO much superior to all the other models with 61 keys; it’s certainly a pleasure to play, and perfectly adequate for a pro-level model.
Another design aspect in which the “pro level” of the 9000 Pro is clearly shown is in the connections department. This model has one of the most complete and impressive rear panels ever seen in a portable keyboard, to the point that it even has 4-pin XLR connectors for lamps, together with a good amount of inputs and outputs of many kinds. The rubber-coated pitch bend and modulation wheels is another quality touch.
The XLR lamps are a cool feature
The rear panel of the 9000 Pro is certainly impressive
But Isn’t It Just a PSR-9000 Without Speakers?
Another quite widespread claim is that the PSR-9000 and the 9000 Pro are pretty much the same keyboard in different robes. Although it’s undeniable that both models have lots of similarities in technology, sound and features, this claims seem too bold, as there are also some important differences between the two. It’s true that they share a lot, and this is the main reason why this page is quite shorter than the rest (you can refer to PSR-9000’s page for all the common features), but to be fair, those differences should be also highlighted:
Significantly expanded amount of ROM waveform memory. The 9000 Pro has 48 Mb of ROM waveform samples, which is 50% more than the PSR-9000's 32 Mb. It's not only an important increase, but more relevantly, the 9000 Pro has just 11 new preset voices and a few new drum kits, which means that all those extra memory (1.5 more times than a whole PSR-8000, for example) has been invested in very high-quality sounds, basically in a new grand piano (the same also used later in the Tyros 1 and the Tyros 2), new strings, new muted trumpet, new brass and new jazz brushes and latin percussion sounds, all recorded in stereo. Plainly speaking, it sounds noticeably better (as long as you make use of the better voices).
Examples of new voices:
Some of the factory demos:
Examples of some accompaniment styles:
And a couple of MIDI sequences:
It’s the only arranger from Yamaha, AFAIK, that is compatible with the PLG expansion boards. Those boards from late 90s/early 00s are like independent synthesizers on their own, adding more polyphony and voices, effects processors, and even new synthesis engines, such as physical modelling, virtual analog synthesis of FM. The 9000 Pro has 2 available slots for PLG expansions (just like the Motif or the Motif ES), and it’s explicitly compatible with the DX (FM synthesis), AN (virtual analog), VL (physical modelling), PF (pianos) and XG boards. There is a caveat, though, because it’s probable that it’s not compatible with “newer” boards such as the PLG150-AP (acoustic piano), the PLG150-DR (drums) and the PLG150-PC (latin percussion). At least, I wasn’t able to make the PLG150-PC card work in my unit, and the card itself worked perfectly in other compatible gear.
The semi-weighted keybed is much superior to the PSR-9000 and other 61-key models. Not only it has more keys (76), but the touch and the response are really good, among the best of all Yamaha semi-weighted keyboards (including the Genos), and clearly better than the one of the original Tyros. It’s a great master keyboard too.
It has even more sockets and connections than the PSR-9000, to the extent that you’ll hardly find another keyboard with such a wide connectivity. Internally, there is an IDE socket for a 2.5” hard drive (max. 8 Gb), 2 x 72-pin SIMM slots for sampling memory (max. 64 Mb), and 2 PLG expansion card slots. Externally, it has 2 pairs of MIDI in/out sockets, a serial “to host” connection, 3 pedal sockets, a L/R main line out, 4 sub outs, a stereo (L/R) loop send, a stereo (L/R) aux in/loop return, a XLR/jack combo microphone/line input, a SCSI interface, a PS/2 socket for a PC keyboard, and a headphones socket. Even the power cord socket is a 3-pin IEC one, instead of the simpler 2-pin used in almost every other model with a power socket. The only connection that could be missed is the (then still quite new) USB socket, although there were third-party companies that created USB interfaces for both the PSR-9000 and the 9000 Pro.
Better than the Tyros? Yes, Probably
Since its launch in 2002, the “Tyros” name has become a reference and a synonym for top-quality arranger keyboards, with great sounds and styles, and probably the main standard to which all the other models, regardless of the brand, must compare. I think that no one could challenge the claim that the original Tyros sounds better (better voices and styles) than the 9000 Pro. It’s a fact that the Tyros has at least two clear advantages compared to the 9000 Pro: first, a much higher Waveform ROM capacity (96 Mb, twice the amount of the previous model); and second, the introduction of the “Mega Voices”, which made accompaniment styles to sound much more lively and realistic.
Despite this, it’s also true that, at least originally, the Tyros was more oriented towards an (albeit excellent) entertainer’s keyboard rather than towards a professional tool for song creation, and in that sense, it’s more a performance keyboard than a music workstation. Some important features and capabilities of the previous models (especially the PSR-9000 and the 9000 Pro) were dropped in the Tyros 1, and IMHO it’s not absurd to state that the 9000 Pro could be considered a better keyboard than the Tyros 1 in many aspects. Let me develop this:
Synthesizer capabilities are severely limited in the Tyros, as opposed to the comprehensive synthesizer functions of the 9000 Pro. In more recent Yamaha arrangers, including the Genos, there are only a few tweakable parameters, and you cannot, for instance, select a different waveform oscillator. The 9000 Pro can be truly considered as a full-fledged synthesizer besides being an arranger, with synthesis capabilities comparable to high-end dedicated professional synths. It’s quite a shame that Yamaha didn’t keep on this line, probably to set a sharper distinction between “music production” keyboards and entertainer/arranger keyboards.
Also, the sampler is gone in the Tyros, and this implies also that it’s not possible to use your own custom sampled sounds as the basis for new voices.
There aren’t expansion board slots on the Tyros. As stated before, those boards allow not only for new voices, but also for more polyphony, more multitimbral parts, more effects and even new synthesis engines.
Although the Tyros has twice the waveform ROM of the 9000 Pro from factory (96 Mb), as the sampling memory can be expanded up to 65 Mb, and the samples can be also used in custom voices, the max. total amount of waveform memory is 113 Mb in the 9000 Pro, and this figure can even be increased when installing certain PLG cards.
Related to this, despite polyphony is slightly better on the Tyros (128 voices vs. 126 on the 9000 Pro), this can be increased in the 9000 Pro by installing PLG expansion cards (up to 64 extra voices per card). In the same line, the amount of effects processors can also be expanded.
It’s been already pointed out, but once again I must insist in the great quality of the keybed. Put it simple, it has more and better keys than the Tyros.
The overall build quality of the 9000 Pro is excellent. Its design might be ‘classical’, somewhat boring, and not be as vanguardist and edgy as Tyros’, but it’s more also more solid (the Tyros is all made of plastic) and built to last.
Considering all this, if you’re planning to get a Tyros 1 and you are lucky enough to find a 9000 Pro in good condition and a reasonable price, you should consider this option seriously.
Verdict
One of the most "pro" keyboards ever made by Yamaha, in all the senses of the word (features, sound, build quality, etc.), arguably better than the original Tyros in many ways but in sound quality. Sadly it’s relatively unknown and underrated.
Pros
Lots of features (arranger, sampler, synthesizer, etc.)
Outstanding connectivity
Great key action (honest!)
Excellent build quality
Cons
Too similar to the PSR-9000, this might have contributed for not being taken too seriously
Expensive (even in the second hand market), hard to find
No usb port
Tyros made it fall into oblivion
