Is the Yamaha S90ES still relevant 18 years later?? 

I often wonder if Yamaha made this keyboard too good? I own one that I’ve had for years, and every time I think I’m ready to sell it, I listen to Yamaha‘s new boards, which are awesome, but still can’t quite replace this S90 ES. The strings are absolutely incredible, and of course the pianos are stellar. I was listening to the new Yamaha and just could not convince myself to sell my S90ES to buy the new ones yet.

I have this keyboard, I don’t play as well as him, but I love the sound, and when I hear him, it inspires me to practice even harder God has bless you keep doing well peace, my brother

Soo glad to see that I'm not the ONLY one who has the utmost respect for the S90es. I have 2 of them (1 that strictly stays at home, another for gigs), & both are basically mint. I hit both L/R end caps w/ some black truck liner just to make em more durable, & I will NEVER sell either one of them lol. Just the natural grand ALONE is worth the cost of admission, but then you basically get all the sounds & effects from the Motif ES as well (AND you can load 3 expansion boards AND mLAN). Plus if you have the FC3 sustain pedal, "half damper" (for those who use it) is another plus. Compared to the ES, I'm pretty sure the only thing missing is the sampling, sequencing & ribbon controller. Aside from that, the S90es is prob one of the best "bread & butter" boards in existence, & prob one of the LAST boards made before the build quality started goin downhill across most manufacturers smh. Some ppl won't care (clearly because they keep buyin em), but man I HATE the "plasticy" feeling joints most of these companies puttin out now! I don't care if its got ALL the sounds in the world under the hood, imma need some METAL & WOOD. You spend several THOUSANDS on ONE board, then you get one bump & yo whole joint got a big ole CRACK in it (& u outta luck if the board is discontinued &/or if the Yamaha Parts Department doesn't carry that part anymore lol smh).

NIce! I still own my S90 MK1 since 2003. 20 years old this year! Have the DX7, GM and Analog cards in it. Works like a charm and still sounding amazing.

Always learning something different watching your videos.

There is a music store just down the road from me and they're holding one back for me at a good price, I hadn't really made up my mind until I saw this video. Thanks 👍🏽🙏🏽✌🏽

I just set mine up in the living room. I never really put it away in the first place, but now I walk past it more and play it throughout the day. Long live the S90ES!

Flawless playing, feeling inspired to practice more and more. This is my favorite keyboard ever.

Very nice playing. I have the Yamaha S90 XS and I can't wait to get home to practice. You are inspirational in your playing.

Bought one new in 2005. I agree the keybed is great. Keep up the great work!

Absolutely...great sounds never get old.

Amazing playing

Beautiful playing 🙌🏼

YES! Thank you for this! And beautiful playing. I purchased the s90es when it first came out and I still haven't found a main rig I prefer since. That natural piano sound is incredible, the keys are superb, and it's just the right balance of features/simplicity. The only complaint I've ever had with this board is the expansion slot door rattles on mine when I play- not a huge deal, I've just shoved a little folded up piece of paper in there to prevent the rattle. :)

Great playing! Have the S90ES, and always used the default sound with a bit of added treble. Probably need to check out the other sounds as well 🙂

Nicely done. I still play mine

Thank you Andrew for this review. To this day I still use the Yamaha S90ES at my church. Definitely one of the most slept on keyboards

They was selling one at guitar center. I sat down to play it and it felt really good. If I can find one I’m a buy one.

Great review as always! This board has always been a stellar playing board, even over my Motif ES. I don't think it had a sequence which is what I wanted at the time. I also think these sounds are now available in the MX88 sound package that Yamaha is selling for $1299.

Sounds great man!

In addition to demonstrating the sound of the S90, it also gives a music lesson!! This keyboard still sounds great! Thanks!

Still LOVE your playing Bro. Andrew! Beautiful touch, I have a feeling you would make a Casio sound like this. lol

I have recently bought one (second hand) and I’ve been using it ever since for home studio practice, used it as a MIDI controller using Logic Pro, Mainstage3, worship essentials, church practice, bible study time, outdoor and indoor services. There’s no doubt that I have owned one and even in 2023 it still sounds amazing!!! Love you S90ES 🎹🎹🎹!!

Brooo, thanks for the video! Just got mine a few weeks ago. Such a magical rare machine I've ever owned.

Beautiful Playing Sir!

Something in this machine sounds very magical. I love it.

I lusted over one of these babies back in the mid 2000s but I was after something more lightweight and compact for gigging at the time and this was simply too long to fit it in back of a smaller car. By the way, fantastic work with the video and great playing. Keep it up!

Your playing is exquisite.

My ALL TIME favorite. I have a cp300 at the house I'm thinking about selling to get one of these.

the s90es is my fav keyboard of all time, i bought new and i've worn it out i think ! , i have literally just managed to buy the s90ex to use while i take the keybed of my ES apart to service it then it will be on the road again. nice playing by the way

Bro, I really do enjoy your play and review. Can you please add "MIDI" as in the one that shows the chords you play so we learn from you. I would really appreciate this!

Beautiful

Hahaha I'm still after this board... Your touch is very nice brother. It would have sounded heavenly if it was stereo. I still like the CP80&EP sound of both the Motif & S90ES

Like you. Still using it every day from mid 2000's when I purchased it. Tried many new boards like Nord stage 4 etc. Nice but not as great as my beloved S90ES.

Knew the song at @19:31! I love you Lord! I play the yc88 at my church and this sound just as nice as the yc88 and more organic! Really wonder why yahama can make nice boards like this, but then make a flawed ck88, great playing!!! Know it’s an old video, and at home i have a Kawai mp7se, i switch between the Kawai and yc88, but im looking for a lighter weight keyboard to carry around that has yc88 motif sounds. I have looked at tons of videos and have not yet found what I’m in search for that is affordable, with a great drawbar organ, and great piano with a great build and key action.

This is the keyboard that I have here! Still working out how to best record the sound, but have loved the keyboard.

This kind of piano playing will always be relevant 👍🎹 ❤

beautiful playing...I liied the Dark S best. it sounded mite 'authentic acoustic' vs a "recorded acoustuc'. i had an S80 and really miss ut.

After recording a 41 min jazz funk tone poem with an S80 at a big studio, I was so impressed with the action, that lucky me, my keyboardist in my band happened to have an S90 not in use, given a lighter Nord nowadays. So now I've got this S90 in front of me! Love it. Just wondering now what the differences are from S90 to S90ES

Hi Andrew. Mark here from Philippines. Blessed watching your videos. I have a Motif 6. I wanna ask which sounds better using the to cables left and right or only 1 for phones input stereo? Thanks. God bless

ince video. what do you use on gigs these days? Do you thing the new Yamaha keyboards have piano that sound this good. like the MOdX?

Nice love this are you using the foot pedals while playing or are you playing without it in this video?

Hi Andrew, I just bought a Yamaha S90 (first release), but I have difficulty using the interface. Does the S90 ES have any significant differences in terms of features? If not, please provide instructions on how to use layers on each instrument on the S90.

I just got one used couple months ago 😎

Can you please teach me piano? I have this board and love it! But I've never been able to make it sound like that. Gorgeous.

This is very beautifully played 😍😍 I have the same keybord the yamaha S90ES. I would like to use some plugins for new sounds, but when I connect my keybord to the MAC through USB to host cable, the keyboard does not appear on the garage band app. I don't understand why. Is there something I need to downlaod on the MAC for it to work?

I have the very same one ...looking into getting myself a MK samsation to improve my sounds

When you play amplified, what amplifier or studio monitors do you use? I have Yamaha HS5 studio monitors and the piano sound sucks with them. I'm thinking maybe because those aren't big enough. The HS5's are so thin and all treble. Most all the other synth sounds and electric piano patches sound fine through them, but for the piano sounds, those monitors sound thin with no body. I always play with the headphones at home. Always!!! What do you use for speakers???

Hey man, so at a church im visiting, they have this piano, what buttons did you press to get the "Atmosphere Pad" i was having some trouble seeing what you did to get it and i would like to use it.

Our church has the S90ES it sounds great - but the wear and tear is affecting some of the keys - sticky, volume fluctuation. Is there a place where we can refurbish to great state? We are looking at Montage. But I think keyboard player has some attachment to this.. if we can renovate we would like to .

@AndrewMckain , are these same pianos in the Montage?

What are you running this through? Eq? Res and cutoff?

Considering a Yamaha Montage , are these same pianos in the Montage?

Thanks for your review! Do you think it's worth $500? I see one used for about that price by me.

wonderful sound for worship companion

This keyboard its the source of wii's musics and sounds, u can recognize the piano right away

How do you normally edit the analog sound, sometimes it sounds to muddy?

I have the S90ES. I always use the 'Elegant S". The Natural S is too bright. But I think for playing in a band situation the Natural S would probably work better because we always need the brightness to cut through the mix of LIVE bands.

how much would you pay for this keyboard today? I see a used one for $800 and I really need an 88 board that can layer w faders.

Excelente demonstração, congratulation -Fernando René- Brasil - Sorocaba-sp, please price atualmente in US$.

Are these the on board sounds from the keyboard itself? Or midi

yep, mate, dark s rulez!🙂

I have the first edition with the name Yamaha S90... what is the difference with the ES series? i didn't find natural piano in my S90.. i only found s700 and power grand.. do i need to sell my s90 and replace it with s90 es???

I'm having trouble connecting the Yamaha S90 to my MacBook via USB cable... I've installed the Yamaha driver, but there seems to be no response.

*Ironically, the S90XS doesn't sound this good.*