What's New with Yamaha PSR Keyboards

 Yamaha PSRE343 Keyboard

With a stunning variety of voices and styles, the PSR-E343 opens the door to a world of musical enjoyment. Hone your technique with the onboard lessons, then when you're ready, connect to a portable music player and use the unique Melody Suppressor function to jump in and play right along.

 

Aux line input and Melody Suppressor

Yamaha's unique Melody Suppressor function suppresses the melody line in your favorite songs so that you can play along. Just connect any device with a line output, such as a mobile device, a computer, a mixer, or even another keyboard, to the AUX-in port and hear yourself play along with your favorite artists. You can even use the AUX-in port to simply enjoy playback from your audio device.

"Y.E.S" and "Keys to Success" Lesson Functions

Practice at your individual level with the Yamaha Education Suite lesson functions. Now, the playback of the selected song is continuously adjusted to the tempo of the player's performance. "Keys to Success" allows you to practice preset songs, using more advanced lesson functions. Step by step, you can practice single parts of the selected song. You can even practice playing the correct notes, and the timing of these notes separately.

Connection with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Extend and enhance your keyboard by connecting to your iPhone/iPad/iPod. Add virtual pitch bend, mod wheels and an arpeggiator with Yamaha's Sound Controller app. Record your children's music progress as video and MIDI with My Music Recorder. Requires optional accessory, i-UX1.

Master EQ

You can optmize the overall sound with different EQ settings on the instrument. Tailor the overall output for optimal sound in different listening situations.

Yamaha PSRE243 Keyboard

With a versatile range of sounds and functions, the PSR-E243 is the ideal instrument for aspiring musicians who are just starting out. Featuring unique Ultra Wide Stereo technology for a wide stereo image and great sound, this keyboard also offers onboard lessons that make learning music easy, and more importantly, fun!

"Y.E.S" Lesson Functions

Practice at your individual level with the Yamaha Education Suite lesson functions. Now, the playback of the selected song is continuously adjusted to the tempo of the player's performance.

Connection with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Extend and enhance your keyboard by connecting to your iPhone/iPad/iPod. Add virtual pitch bend, mod wheels and an arpeggiator with Yamaha's Sound Controller app. Record your children's music progress as video and MIDI with My Music Recorder. Requires optional accessory, i-UX1.

Master EQ

You can optmize the overall sound with different EQ settings on the instrument. Tailor the overall output for optimal sound in different listening situations.

Ultra Wide Stereo

Creates a stereo image wider than the speakers using Yamaha's digital signal processing technology.

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Yamaha Announces New Digital Pianos

Yamaha has announced to new outstanding keyboards: DGX650 (to replace DGX640) and the P35.

Yamaha Portable Grand DGX 650 Digital Piano

 Main Features

• 88-note keyboard, weighted action (GHS), touch-sensitive
• 128-note polyphony
• AUX in support for iPod connection
• Pure CF sound engine
• USB to Host connectivity (works with i-UX1 for iPad/iPhone/iPod)
• Smart Chord technology for professional style performance with single finger
• Audio recording to USB flash drive
• Style recommender suggests styles based on just a few notes played
• Monitor speaker support allows for on-board speakers to remain active while using headphone output

Yamaha P-35 88 Note Digital Keyboard

Main Features

• 88-note keyboard, weighted action (GHS), touchsensitive
• 32-note polyphony
• AWM stereo sampling
• 10 instrument voices
• MIDI in/out
• Half-pedal sustain (with optional FC3)
• Optional L-85 stand

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SPOTLIGHT: Yamaha P-105 Digital Piano

Since we recently received in stock the P-105B digital pianos, we thought it would be apt to do a product overview on this outstanding digital piano.

Compact and stylish digital piano

The P-105 is a compact digital piano with Yamaha's oustanding touch and tone. It is portable, easy-to-use and versatile for everyone from a beginner to the more advanced player. An optional matching stand (L-85/L-85WH) and pedal unit (LP5A/LP5AWH) are also available.

Pianist Style

Pianist Styles turn your simple chords into exciting accompaniment. Play a chord and the Pianist Style gives you a full piano accompaniment. 10 built-in Styles offer the variety of backings to fit your performance and help you sound great!

Rhythm function

Basic drum patterns put the "fun" back into practicing and are a practical alternative to a metronome. You can also turn your solo act into a two-piece band where the dummer is always on time.

Piano sound

The P-105 uses Yamaha's “Pure CF sound engine,” a first for the P-series. This piano sound was recorded from Yamaha's renowned CFIIIS concert grand piano, which can be heard on stages all over the world.

Built-in speakers

P-105 has built-in, true-circle speakers. The true-circle speakers vibrate naturally with good balance to convey full, rich, low-frequencies. Newly added tweeters offer a clear and brilliant sound due to their strategic positioning. Together, they provide and excellent balance of power and clarity.

Red: P-105 Blue: P-95

88 weighted keyboard

Just as on a traditional acoustic piano, the keys of the lower notes have a heavier touch, while the higher ones are more responsive to lighter playing. The keyboard's sensitivity can even be adjusted to match your playing style. This Graded Hammer technology allows this lightweight instrument to provide an authentic touch.

Great Connectivity

The P-105 is equipped with USB TO HOST to connect directly to your computer for use with various education, notation and music production applications. There's also an AUX LINE OUT to connect to a computer sound card, mixing console or powered speakers - great for recording or performing live. Since it's a true line-output, the built-in speakers remain on for monitoring as opposed to switching OFF when using the more common headphone output.

Specs

Size/Weight

Dimensions

Unboxed Width	52 3/16"

Unboxed Height	6 7/16"
Unboxed Depth	11 5/8"

	Unboxed Weight	25 13/16 lbs.

Control Interface

	Number of Keys	88
	Type	Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) Keyboard
	Touch Sensitivity	Hard/Medium/Soft/Fixed
	Language	English

Voices

	Tone Generating Technology	Pure CF Sound Engine
	Number of Polyphony (Max.)	128
	Number of Voices	14

Effects

	Reverb	Yes (4 types)
	Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC)	Yes
	Damper Resonance	Yes
	Dual/Layers	Yes
	Split	Yes
	Duo	Yes

Songs

	Number of Preset Songs	14 demo + 50preset piano songs
	Number of Songs	1
	Number of Tracks	2
	Data Capacity	100KB
	Recording Function	Yes
	Playback	SMF
	Recording	SMF

Functions

	Metronome	Yes
	Transpose	Yes
	Tuning	Yes
		10
		10 (Pianist Style)

Storage and Connectivity

	DC IN	DC IN 12V
	Headphones	Standard x 2
	Sustain Pedal	Yes (Half pedal available with optional FC3)
	Pedal Unit	Yes (Optional)
	AUX OUT	Yes
	USB TO HOST	Yes

Amplifiers and Speakers

Amplifiers		7W　x 2
Speakers		12cm x 2 + 5cm x 2

Power Supply

Power Supply		PA-150/PA-150A
Power Consumption		11W
Auto Power Off		Yes

Accessories

	Music Rest	Yes
	Pedal/Footswitch	Yes

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June 2013: Top Picks From the Latest Releases

For the past couple of months, the music industry has been inundated with an outstanding array of gear.   We have chosen 10 of these products as our 'top picks.'  If you want to know why we picked them and what makes these releases truly unique and innovative, then keep on reading.

(In no particular order)
 

1. Roland V-Combo VR 09 Keyboard

 Why it rocks:

• Professional keyboard with instant-access operation for performing musicians
• Light and mobile; battery or AC power
• Pro-quality acoustic and electric pianos, including grand piano with 88-note stereo multi-sampling
• SuperNATURAL-powered Virtual Tone Wheel organ with nine harmonic bars, plus newly developed transistor-type ‘60s organ tone
• Wide range of synth tones, from vintage classics to modern essentials

2. Fender Japan FSR Strat and Bass

Why the Strat Rocks:

• Alder Body
• One Piece Maple C Neck
• Japan ST Single "Vintage" Pickups
• Only 252 available in North America

Why the Bass Rocks: 

• Alder Body
• Vintage Size Frets
• Japan "JG" Vintage Pickups
• Original Wiring
• Only 90 Available For All of North America  

3.  TC-Helicon Harmony Singer

 Why It Rocks:

• All-in-one, compact pedal featuring Vocal Harmony, Tone and Reverb
• Up to two harmony voices guided automatically by the guitar via the In/Thru connection
• Adaptive Tone “sweetens” overall vocal quality
• 3 high-quality Reverb styles with adjustable level

4.  Yamaha DGX650 Keyboard

Why It Rocks: 

• CF Sampling for pure concert grand piano tone
• Big box speakers for powerful and dynamic sound
• Smart Chord function automatically detects the appropriate chord
• Easy-to-read score and lyric display
• USB and Aux-In Ports

 5.  Fender Classic Series With High Gloss Nitro Lacquer

Why It Rocks:

• Features: '60s Strat; '50s Strat; '60s Jazz Bass; '50s Tele; '50s Precision Bass
• Coated with Nitrocellulose Lacquer
• Vintage Style Pickups
• Era Specific Neck Profiles, Fingerboard Radii and Fret Sizes
• Authentically styled tuners, controls and other specific features of '50s and '60s

6.  Yamaha DTX-502 Electronic Drums

Why It Rocks:

• Similar kit configurations to their proven DTX500 series 
• Improved sound quality, expressive playability and user-friendly functionality
• Textured cellular silicone snare head 
• All-new TP70 tom pads

7.  Gibson Les Paul Custom Lite Electric Guitar Ebony

Why It Rocks:

• Thinline, weight-relieved version of the classic Les Paul Custom
• Thinner, lighter body is incredibly comfortable to play over long gigs
• 490R and 498T humbucking pickups serve up classic LP tone
• Coil-split switch lets you access single-coil tones too
• Quartersawn mahogany neck is more rigid than plain-sawn necks, for more sustain and durability
• Bound rosewood fretboard feels and plays smooth
• Chunkier '50s-style neck profile satisfies Les Paul purists 

 8.  Roland FR-8X V-Accordions

Why It Rocks:

• Flagship V-Accordion, filled with many enhancements requested by pro accordionists
• Newly developed Dynamic Bellows Behavior technology emulates the true bellows response of an acoustic accordion in every register
• Simple and convenient onboard battery charging with an AC adapter
• A large selection of accordion sounds from around the world, plus 180 orchestra and percussion sounds and world-class Virtual Tone Wheel organs
• Four powerful multi-effects engines (MFX), with dedicated MFX for Accordion, Orchestra 1, Orchestra 2, and Orchestra Chord sections
• Available in Black and Red Finishes; also in Piano and Button Type

9.  TC Electronic Ditto Looper

Why It Rocks:

• The guitar player's looper - made for guitarists by guitarists 
• Dirt simple looping - and nothing but looping 
• True bypass and Analog-Dry-Through  5 minutes of looping 
• Undo / Redo function 
• Unlimited overdubs  
• 24 bit uncompressed high qualityaudio
• Ultra-small footprint

 10.  Electro-Voice ZLX Passive Loudspeaker

Why It Rocks:

• 15" woofer for extended low-frequency response and 1.5" high-frequency titanium compression driver
• 44 Hz – 20 kHz frequency range
• 250 W continuous and 1000 W peak power handling
• 96 dB SPL sensitivity; 126 dB max SPL

 Bonus Feature: Deal of the Day!

L.A. Music has recently introduced a new 'Deal of the Day' program.  Check back often for your chance to get a discount on amazing products.

 

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COMING SOON: Roland V-Combo VR 09 Keyboard

Travel-ready, affordable, and outfitted with top-level Roland sounds, the V-Combo VR-09 is the ideal all-in-one solution for performing keyboard players. Dedicated piano, organ, and synth sound engines—organized in three intuitive blocks on the front panel—provide all the essential tones you need, right under your fingertips. The powerful real-time controls give you maximum expression on stage, with nine sliders for tone shaping and a large array of knobs and buttons for tweaking the seven simultaneous effects and various parameters. Other great features include an onboard looper, a drum section stocked with a library of rhythms for practice and jamming, and more. With its versatile sound selection, inspiring operation, and smart user interface, the V-Combo VR-09 is a dream come true for gigging musicians.

Main Features

• Professional keyboard with instant-access operation for performing musicians
• Light and mobile; battery or AC power
• Pro-quality acoustic and electric pianos, including grand piano with 88-note stereo multi-sampling
• SuperNATURAL-powered Virtual Tone Wheel organ with nine harmonic bars, plus newly developed transistor-type ‘60s organ tone
• Wide range of synth tones, from vintage classics to modern essentials
• Seven simultaneous effects with dedicated real-time controls
• Looper and built-in rhythm patterns; WAV/MP3/SMF song playback via optional USB memory
• Free VR-09 Editor app available for iPad 

Intuitive Operation for Expressive Stage Performance

The V-Combo VR-09 was designed from the ground up with the needs of live players in mind. An intuitive front-panel layout and clear LCD screen offers quick access to Roland’s top piano, organ, and synth sound engines, along with plenty of real-time controls for expressive tone manipulation. Seven simultaneous effects include rotary, delay, reverb, tone, overdrive, compressor, and customizable MFX, with dedicated knobs that tweak multiple parameters with a single twist for powerful sound shaping with minimal effort. The smart interface makes it simple to set up splits and layers on the fly, and to save all your keyboard settings in user memory locations for instant recall on stage.

Pro Acoustic and Electric Pianos

Piano is a cornerstone sound for live playing, and the V-Combo VR-09 is filled with a wide selection for covering all musical styles. The gorgeous acoustic grand piano features 88-note stereo multi-sampling, delivering pro-level tone that rivals Roland’s dedicated stage pianos. Many popular vintage E. Piano sounds are onboard as well, along with complimentary effects such as vintage phaser and tremolo. The compressor—accessible via a dedicated, easy-to-reach knob—transparently boosts the level of the piano sounds, ensuring that your playing always cuts through when performing in loud bands.

World-Class Organs

Roland’s renowned SuperNATURAL technology powers the V-Combo VR-09’s classic tonewheel organs, while nine harmonic bars provide authentic real-time performance control. A newly developed transistor-type organ is also included, offering the unique sound of combo instruments from the 1960s. The 61-note keyboard has an extremely fast response, perfect for essential organ techniques such as trill, sputter, glissando, and percussive hits. Rotary speaker and amp simulators reproduce the characteristics of vintage organ speaker cabinets and overdriven tube circuits with astounding realism, while a new “Twin Rotary” option delivers a deep, aggressive effect never before heard.

Vintage and Modern Synth Tones

The V-Combo VR-09 is packed with a ton of ready-to-play synthesizer sounds, from vintage analog classics like JUNO strings and ‘80s synth brass to textured, modern-era digital tones and beyond. Front-panel controllers allow you to tweak the synth tones intuitively in real time, including convenient ADR and cutoff/resonance adjustment with the harmonic bars in the ORGAN block. Onboard effects like “Bit Crash” provide the ability to create modern synth voices for current dance music, including dubstep.

VR-09 Editor for iPad

The free VR-09 Editor app for iPad gives you powerful, intuitive control of the organ and synth sound engines via your tablet’s full-color touchscreen interface. Quickly edit organ sounds and customize vintage tonewheel characteristics such as leakage, click noise, and rotary speed, and easily access synth sounds to build custom tones and layers. After tweaking sounds at home, you can take your iPad to the gig and use the app for extra real-time control on stage. Convenient, cable-free communication between the V-Combo VR-09 and iPad is simple to set up with Roland Wireless Connect. Alternately, you can link up with a USB cable via Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit.

 

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New Nord 2013 Releases!

Nord Piano 2

Main features

88-note Hammer Action keybed or 73-key Hammer Action Portable keyboard All sounds can be replaced Nord Piano Library compatible Nord Sample Library compatible  Layer and split-functionality  Dynamic Pedal Noise (with Nord Triple Pedal) Nord Lead 4   Main features 4-part multi-timbral with 4 separate outs. 2-Oscillator Virtual Analog Subtractive synthesis with Frequency Modulation, Hard and Soft Sync and True Voice Unison. Morph and Variation performance controls. Wavetable synthesis, including unique Formant Wavetables. 12/24 dB Low-pass, High-pass, Band-pass filters section plus transistor and diode ladder filter simulations. The Nord Lead 4 is also available as a Tabletop/Rack version, the Nord Lead 4R.  Nord Drum 2

 

Main Features

• 6-channel drum synthesizer

• Resonance modeling, Subtractive- and FM-synthesis
• 6 generic trigger inputs
• Dedicated Nord Pad input with support for separate Kick trigger/pad.
• MIDI in/out with CC control
• Stereo output, with pan control
• Headphones output 

Nord NE473

Main Features

• Improved Key Click and Percussion NEW
• 122 Rotary Speaker simulation NEW
• Vox and Farfisa organ simulations
• Nord Piano Library compatible
• String Resonance (Gen 1)
• Long Release
• Nord Sample Library compatible
• Powerful Effect section
• 4 Live Locations/Program Banks
• Extended Control Pedal Support
• USB MIDI NEW
• 2X Memory for Nord Sound Libraries
  (Electro 4 SW73/HP Only

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