It's Sad, But It's Time For It To Go

I've had electric organs or pianos since the seventies.

Five in all.

My first was a second-hand one I bought from a friend, I think I paid around fifty quid. I can't even remember the make. It wasn't one with which I was familiar.



The second was a new Farfisa double-manual, like this. It had a roll-top and at the time was very expensive. A real piece of furniture. But it was only an organ, it couldn't produce a “piano sound.”



Then the age of the synthesized technology came in and such instruments were out of favour, so I traded it in for a suitable Yamaha in the late 80s.




Then came an upgrade for another Yamaha in the 90s,



Finally, that was traded in for my Yamaha PSR 1000, in 2000.



A 61 key piano which records to floppy discs. Talk about old technology. It's still in great condition, but as I'm getting old, my interest in it has waned, so sadly, it has to go. I'm putting it on e-Bay.



It'll be soon forgotten as I've other hobbies in which I'm interested,



But..



As one door closes...



Another opens...



I've just bought







One of these.





A 76 key Yamaha Tyros 5.






I'm not sure if the kids would approve of me starting to spend their inheritance.


Actually, that's not true, they're encouraging us to spend it, after all, they've said they're going to spend their kids'!

 

I and a golfing pal often play "cue for a song," as we're walking around the course if we're together in a three or four-ball, to the possible irritation of other partners. A part phrase or few words from any of the party are enough to elicit a response, with the words "Cue for a song!" followed by the title and the name of the artist.

But as this exchange is off topic, not to get too moody about it...

 

As an experienced eBay seller and purchaser, it surprises me when some professional retailers who also use e-Bay, as many do, "get it wrong."

I've mentioned before how much traders value their e-Bay ratings and will do their best to preserve it and will usually be accommodating. The music store chain in this case has asked in their sale confirmation e-mail that I give them a "5 star rating" and positive comments, if I'm happy with it.

After placing the winning bid on this second-hand keyboard, I phoned the store that listed the item, to ensure that the stand displayed in the photo would be included in the sale.
The young lady at the end of the phone said it wasn't, as it hadn't been mentioned in the description. (this didn't surprise me..but read on). She referred me to their head office.
Where I got the same story.
I then (politely) told them that the young lady to whom I previously spoke, told me they used a generic photo of one they had somewhere in one of their stores. I said, in fact, I also knew they'd used it before for earlier sales. (You can go back on eBay to check "completed listings," to see what did or did not sell and at what price). You can then assess the true value of pretty much anything.

I explained that as a former professional retailer, I was aware that the rules of e-Bay are quite clear. Illustrations must be of the exact item that was being offered, or a note to say that what could be seen was just an example. Otherwise they would be guilty of "passing off." I agreed that the stand wasn't listed as being included, but neither was it stated that it wasn't. But it was in the photo.

The consequence, is that I'm getting a stand included in the sale. This means I can list the one I've already got when I attempt to sell my old piano.

As a two year guarantee is included in the sale, I consider I've a good deal. I'm pretty sure they'll make sure they send me the best example they have amongst their many stores.

"They don't want to mess with me."

These tried and tested keyboards are becoming available as Yamaha has finished making this series of work stations as they call them and are now pushing the new Genos range, consequently users with more money than sense are trading in their Tyros 5s to have the "latest" untested examples.

They could turn out to be like the difference between Windows eight and ten.

Yeah!

 

Well it's finally arrived, as I'd hoped there's not a mark on it, I guess they're clearing all their demo models now.
I'm glad that my foot controllers that I had with the other one work on this one.

The stand they provided is better than the one illustrated, being more like my old one, it'll be easier for my wife to vacuum round it and less chance of me tripping over the front legs. I'm going to have to get some of that plastic curly cable cover to tidy things up if I'm not going to annoy my wife. You can actually only see half of them at the moment
The bass on that sub-woofer is impressive, not that my wife is impressed!




Just waiting for our replacement fridge/freezer from Miele later today.

 

Looks a good machine, ive listened to this chaps stuff on a few occasions hes very good.
Ronald Jenkees

 

I've tidied up all the cables.
The sub-woofer is necessary as it houses the amplifier for the speakers, so it needs a mains connection too. There must be no room in the piano for either speakers or their amplifier.
It has 76 keys instead of 61 like the old one, which seems a bit unfamiliar.
So it can occasionally be a case of "playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order."