PSR-6000 (1994)
Déjà Vu... But with a big screen
Release Date: 1994
Similarities with the PSR-5700 are evident, and they go indeed far beyond the looks.
Introduction and Design: Where I've seen this before?
After the quite unique PSR-SQ16, Yamaha released in 1994 what was undoubtedly the next flagship arranger model: the PSR-6000. Just a first look makes it evident the similarities with the previous PSR-5700, released a couple of years before. Both models have the same rounded design and layout, and it's quite evident that they probably share even some (or many) physical spare parts.
The main physical differences between the two models are in the front panel, which in the PSR-6000 has a different and cleaner layout, with less buttons and one very important difference: now there's a big backlight dot matrix screen instead of a two-line 40 character LCD screen and a segment LED one. This is a relevant change that affects the user interface and the way the user interacts with the machine: instead of having dedicated buttons or sliders for some specific functions, the contents showed on the screen are dynamic and depend on the context. There are 8 buttons (4 on each side of the screen) to select the relevant functions (depending on what is shown on the screen), and eight rotary encoders below for adjusting the values of the different parameters. This makes it possible not only to reduce the number of buttons (as the same ones can perform different functions), but also to have an easier and more direct access to some functions such as the octave change.
But on the other hand, more relevant that their external looks, are the internals. The PSR-6000 sound generation synthesis is based as well on the GEW-9 chip, a PCM rompler with low-pass filter, providing 16 multitimbral parts and 38 notes of polyphony, and 6 Megabytes of ROM sample memory. That's exactly the same specs as the PSR-5700, and, in fact, I'm pretty sure that the waveform ROM data is also the same, or at least mostly the same, as in the previous model, as they are very similar in sound (more on this later). The effects section is also the same, again with the well-known YM3413 (LDSP) and the YM3415B (LEF), with two effects units providing different flavours of reverb, chorus, delay, tremolo, flanger and the like (without many parameter editing other than level).
In sum, the PSR-6000 can be actually seen more as an updated PSR-5700 rather than a true new model; it's like a "PSR-5700 v2.0". Hence, most of what is said in the PSR-5700's page is also applicable to the PSR-6000, so I won't go into many details and you can refer if needed to the PSR-5700's page.
The Sound
As expected, there are not many surprises here. Now there are 128 preset voices and 128 user voices, as opposed to the 100 + 100 of the PSR-5700. Nevertheless, some of them are actually layers or combinations of other voices, and the last two ones are drumkits. Most of the presets sound just the same as in the previous model, and I guess that the waveform ROM is just the same. The presets which are "new" or sound slightly different most probably are the result of a different programming, rather than of different "raw" waveform data.
As stated in the PSR-5700's page, I considered the acoustic piano sound to be excellent, speaking of a keyboard of 1992. In the PSR-6000, the piano is just the same; it's certainly a good piano sound, but to be honest, in 1994 it couldn't be considered as good as two years earlier, and the same could be said of many of the other presets. Don't take me wrong, the PSR-6000 has still a good sound palette (much superior to that of the PSR-SQ16), but it's just that, speaking of a flagship model of 1994, the sound quality and 6 Mb of samples are no longer something remarkable nor exceptional. Some presets such as the brass ensemble or the strings sound poor and dated even for a keyboard from 1994. Sound output, though, seems to be of slightly better quality, probably due of an improved circuitry.
Regarding the synthesizer functions, they are limited just like in the PSR-5700, and that means that it's not possible to access to the "core" of sound editing and design, which are the oscillators (the waveforms). All the edition must start from a previous preset, and from there you can adjust some parameters to adapt it to your tastes or preferences. The most powerful ones are the cutoff and resonance of the filter, but other than that, edition is somewhat limited. You can edit the envelope of the amplifier, but not the envelope of the filter, for instance (or the pitch). Edition of the drum kits is more interesting, though, as it's possible to edit the pitch, pan and filter for each individual sound.
Examples of some PSR-60000's voices (some of them are edited):
And some of the built-in ROM demos, to have an overview of the sound quality:
The Styles - Is 'OTS' Familiar to You?
The PSR-SQ16 focused in quantity and offered over 200 different accompaniment styles (although it was a kind of a trick and the real amount was quite less). Instead, the PSR-6000 goes back to the same concept of the previous PSR-5700 and PSR-6700 and offers a rather limited number of styles, but focused on quality.
While the PSR-5700 had just 36 preset styles, the PSR-6000 increases this to 50 (or 51, actually), which is still quite a modest number. On the other hand, user styles increase up to 24, as opposed to just 8. As in the previous models, more sytles can be loaded from floppy disk. The styles follow the same structure of 4 variations (2 "verse" and 2 "chorus"), 3 intros, one ending, 2 fill-ins, and an interesting but dubiously useful "solo" section, and they also feature the awkward "IA" (Intelligent Arranger" function (for more details, refer to PSR-6700 and PSR-5700 pages).
I would like to highlight that, as in the PSR-5700, there are dedicated buttons to select the "proper" settings (voices, effects, harmonies, and so on) for each section of the accompaniment style. But while in the PSR-5700 this was called "Super Style Play", in the PSR-6000, for the first time, Yamaha used the "One Touch Setting" (OTS) denomination, which has been consistently used until nowadays.
Regarding the styles themselves, a high number of them are just the same as in the PSR-5700, including the "solo" sections. Usually, there are slight changes in timbres and/or voice selection, and the OTS settings are also different. It's quite funny, though, that in most cases I actually prefer the styles and settings of the older PSR-5700, but that's just a matter of personal taste.
A few examples of styles with the "IA" function enabled:
And a few examples of accompaniment styles:
Other Aspects and Functions
Regarding the rest of functions and features, the PSR-6000 is almost identical to the PSR-5700, so please refer to the 5700's page for more details.
The sequencer is the same one, with 8 tracks, up to 6 songs, 14,000 notes and pretty powerful and comprehensive editing capabilities. The fact that it's only 8-track instead of having 16 tracks as the previous PSR-SQ16 seems a step backwards, and clearly shows that the PSR-6000 is based on the PSR-5700. At least, having a good screen makes it much more comfortable to use when compared to the PSR-SQ16's nightmare.
The number of multipads is also the same (8), although the total amount of panel registrations has been doubled (now there's a total of 32, in 4 banks of 8). Connections and terminals are again the same as in the PSR-5700: Midi in/out/thru, stereo line inputs and outputs, headphones and 3 pedal connectors. The only difference is that now the expression pedal connector is no longer a RCA one, but a jack connector, which is the current standard even today.
The speakers and the amplification system remains the same (it was already good in the PSR-5700), with 2-way speakers and 2 x 12 watt power. To my ears, I'd say that the sound output is a bit cleaner and less noisy in the PSR-6000, though.
MIDI capabilities include full compatibility with the General Midi standard, as in the PSR-5700, which was the first one to include the GM logo (remember that actually the PSR-SQ16, despite being more modern, is not fully compatible with General Midi). There are no significant differences also in this department.
Examples of Midi sequencing on the PSR-6000:
Verdict
Despite a good keyboard in general terms, and clearly superior in most aspects to the previous PSR-SQ16, it's basically a slightly improved version of the PSR-5700, with a few more sounds and accompaniments, a better screen and some other minor changes. For an owner of a PSR-5700, there weren't any real reasons to get a PSR-6000. The key point, though, is that actually the PSR-5700 was a better arranger keyboard in 1992 than what the PSR-6000 was in 1994.
Pros:
A big dot matrix screen that has an important (and positive) impact in the ease of use
In general terms, all the other good points that the PSR-5700 already had
Cons:
Basically, as a re-edition of the PSR-5700, there are no significant improvements after two years other than the screen, so technology is not as new and it has the same limitations and drawbacks of the old model