Yamaha Tyros 4 Arranger Workstation Review

Yamaha digital electric pianos are known to be the best in the world. I had a Yamaha DGX-630 for years, but made the leap to the incredible Tyros 4. I state at the outset that it's light years ahead in terms of sophistication.

You can see what this piano is capable of in the video link at the end, but suffice to say that it makes good players sound great and mediocre players sound good...this is why I like it. The Tyros 4 is not inexpensive, coming in at about $5,500, but you will get an immediate boost in the sound of your playing. And if you write your own songs, the accompaniment options are incredible. It really is a workstation.
The vocal harmonies and downloadable soundtracks provide exceptional accompaniement. There are several very appealing benefits and features:

1. it comes with hundreds of voices and styles, but you can rework these by adding or deleting elements, i.e. you can really create your own sounds, not be imprisoned by set parameters; this is huge to people who write songs.
2. the multi-pad feature is really sweet, enabling guitar and piano rifts that change with your playing. Also classical instrumentation that adds a very unexpected level of elegance.  
3. there is a vocal harmonies feature that enables you to layer one or two additional voices over your own so you sound like a duo or trio. And, you can plug a microphone directly into the Tyros 4, meaning that it works as a complete recording studio without having to purchase additional equipment that can be complex and frustrating to synchronize...I've been there :(
4. you can also purchase additional voices and styles by plugging directly into the WWW, and the prices are reasonable.
5. the sound on the Tyros 4 is incredible, given its attached speakers that provide a lot more depth than speakers built into the body of digital keyboards.

There are dozens more features to the Tyros 4. If you love playing, and if you want more flexibility to create music (and if you have a few extra thousand dollars), this arranger workstation will not disappoint; the Internet is chalk full of rave reviews from owners. The Tyros 5 may be on the horizon given that the 4 is now two years old, but you could easily skip the 5 and then trade up when the 6 arrives; I don't plan on waiting. Watch this video to see what this machine can do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgfPGrDKcYE