Extremely pleased with Genos

[Dromeus]

Hi folks

After using Genos for some weeks now I'm very happy with Genos. Expectations vary, but my very personal view of the benefits is:

+ Better sound. There is a massive effect power (28 DSP), effect settings can be stored in a registration. There are new high quality voices while legacy voices are still there. A lot of S.Art2 voices may be controlled with an additional third button. The Revo Drums add to realism.

+ Styles profit from DSP power, new Megavoices, and have been reworked in some detail. Those that I worked with until now just sound better.

+ The touch screen makes live easier and faster. I don't miss a multi-touch screen, for changing more than one parameter at a time I prefer sthe sliders.

+ Assignable buttons allows me to taylor the interface to my needs.

+ Live controls (sliders, knbs) are a big plus. The sliders in the Tyros line sucked. I use the controls not only for live performance but for easy editing of parameters.

+ I like the arpeggios. While there is room for improvement it's a good start.

+ The playlist is now the center of navigation for accessing my repertoire. This contrasts to the music finder of the Tyros, which I never used.

+ I could live with 8 reg buttons, 10 are better.

For me there are additional benefits, as I upgraded from a Tyros 3:

+ There are 76 keys (hooray, finally)

+ Ensemble voices

+ Audio Multi-Pads

+ Expansion memory built-in, increased by factor 1.8, no need to load voices at boot time

and finally...  it's black, never liked the silver finish.

For sure there are some flaws and missing features and it's important to communicate these to Yamaha. I think we arranger users deserve the same kind of support that the synth departement offers. That means improvements and new features implemented in new firmware versions. So far it looks that we can expect this to happen.

Having said this I want to stress that none of these flaws are really a show stopper for me. There are additional pros and cons, the advantages above relate to my personal needs. Everyone is entitled to have a different view based on his needs. I'm absolutely pleased with Genos and nope, I don't want my T3 back.

"Music is the best." (Frank Zappa) !

[stephenm52]

Dromeus,  Very well said, I share your opinion. 

[EileenL]

Pleased you are very happy with Genos. I have had mine for a few weeks and love it. Even the touch screen which I was a little cautious about at first. Playlist feature is so much more useable than the Music Finder was ,and like you I never used it.

[metcam]

+ 1 here.

I like Genos extremely!!!!!!

 


Regards.

[Jeremy Bender]

I'm completely new to Yamaha arrangers so was not sure what to expect but the demos had won me over.

I think it's an amazing instrument. I love it and have played none of my other keyboards since I bought the Genos is early November. I initially thought it was quite simple and lacked depth in terms of editing and sound control but I've completely changed my view after spending time with it over Xmas.

I sit down and the hours fly past. I have never been so inspired to play and I'm constantly looking up chord sheets or transcriptions of songs in the fabulous playlists. I've also got piles of my music songbooks collected since I was 11 all around me! I'm still struggling to find styles that fit songs I want to play but this is just my lack of experience with arrangers.

The keybed is really beautiful to play but 88 keys would be even better! The depth and quality of the vast sound bank staggers me every day. I literally shout out with sheer joy sometimes when I find a new killer combo of style and voices! I know there is a lot of debate on the piano selection and realism. I'll post separately on that some time. I think they work really well with the styles in a mix setting. In solo mode they are crisp and bright but perhaps do lack some low end depth. Certainly compared to my Kronos. But I'm reluctant to conclude as I've only used the bespoke Yamaha small speaker system and not taken it upstairs to my studio and plugged it into my Rockit 8 powered monitors. I can't take it up yet as my family will never see me again!

There are some areas that need to be improved. The dsp allocation and editing is horrendously unclear. I know I can add multi dsp to voices but it's so hard and I'm not sure how to save them or see what I've done in overview. I hope this will be improved with new firmware. The slow to fast on the Leslie effects is also poor even after editing it. Need to be able to control this better and I'm amazed the genius Yamaha programmers left the organ presets in such a poor state with this. They do so much else so well.

I've also noticed some strange volume inconsistencies in some organ and Ep voices in the upper penultimate octave where the notes round a-c are much louder than others. They grate on the ears as much louder and harsh in tone. This is also odd given the amazing quality of most voices.

I'm hoping there will be some more tutorials in English or even some dealer sessions. I'm experienced with keyboards but I sense I really know nothing about getting the best out of this. I'm still struggling to set up registration banks etc. I feel I am probably only touching the surface but I still find it amazing fun.

For me despite it being inherently expensive it's grest value for money in terms of the quality of voices, styles and the sheer musical joy it is bringing me.

I am simply staggered by how good this keyboard is!

[stephenm52]

Jeremy Bender,  I like your nickname, ELP was my favorite group and that's what inspired me to stay with piano all those years ago.    A friend of mine uses the Rokit monitors and I think you're right if you plug the Genos into them you'll be reported MIA by your family.

[EileenL]

Hi Jeremy,
  It is so nice to get some positive feedback on what you think of your Genos and that you are enjoying using it.

[Marcus]

Hi folks

After using Genos for some weeks now I'm very happy with Genos. Expectations vary, but my very personal view of the benefits is:

+ Better sound. There is a massive effect power (28 DSP), effect settings can be stored in a registration. There are new high quality voices while legacy voices are still there. A lot of S.Art2 voices may be controlled with an additional third button. The Revo Drums add to realism.

+ Styles profit from DSP power, new Megavoices, and have been reworked in some detail. Those that I worked with until now just sound better.

+ The touch screen makes live easier and faster. I don't miss a multi-touch screen, for changing more than one parameter at a time I prefer sthe sliders.

+ Assignable buttons allows me to taylor the interface to my needs.

+ Live controls (sliders, knbs) are a big plus. The sliders in the Tyros line sucked. I use the controls not only for live performance but for easy editing of parameters.

+ I like the arpeggios. While there is room for improvement it's a good start.

+ The playlist is now the center of navigation for accessing my repertoire. This contrasts to the music finder of the Tyros, which I never used.

+ I could live with 8 reg buttons, 10 are better.

For me there are additional benefits, as I upgraded from a Tyros 3:

+ There are 76 keys (hooray, finally)

+ Ensemble voices

+ Audio Multi-Pads

+ Expansion memory built-in, increased by factor 1.8, no need to load voices at boot time

and finally...  it's black, never liked the silver finish.

For sure there are some flaws and missing features and it's important to communicate these to Yamaha. I think we arranger users deserve the same kind of support that the synth departement offers. That means improvements and new features implemented in new firmware versions. So far it looks that we can expect this to happen.

Having said this I want to stress that none of these flaws are really a show stopper for me. There are additional pros and cons, the advantages above relate to my personal needs. Everyone is entitled to have a different view based on his needs. I'm absolutely pleased with Genos and nope, I don't want my T3 back.

"Music is the best." (Frank Zappa) !

Well said, and I too am extremely pleased with Genos. My only difference of opinion is that I liked the look and finish on the Tyros, especially the Tyros 5.

The black Genos does look cool, but I was prepared for the extra dust issue and accumulated dust in the touch screen area. I ordered a portable computer keyboard vacuum. So I can gentlely vacuum the visual dust once in while. I guess it would be handy for my PC and family members laptops as well or take with me because it has a 5 hour battery life.

Regards, Marcus

[Jeremy Bender]

Jeremy Bender,  I like your nickname, ELP was my favorite group and that's what inspired me to stay with piano all those years ago.    A friend of mine uses the Rokit monitors and I think you're right if you plug the Genos into them you'll be reported MIA by your family.

Thanks! Not many folks make the ELP link from the name! Great to connect with an ELP fan. Do you play much ELP on your keyboards? Any styles or registrations you've built? I'm currently having a Genesis binge and playing lots of their stuff. The In the Air Tonight playlist bank is staggering. The drums are so good!

I thought Yamaha may have put an Emerson tribute sound or two in given he used a lot of their gear especially the GX-1...

[Lloyd E]

Add me to the list. it's nice to know some people are pleased and happy with the Genos.  i think Yamaha has done a great job with the Genos and although there are some
firmware updates needed it plays real nice.  Lloyd

[terryB]

Great posts people. Its good to see these positive views, which accord  with my own views on the Genos.

I had started to make up a favorites style list starting with the country and R & B styles, but gave up for now, as I could not leave any out, they are so good.
I hope they have converted well for Tyros users.

Cheers
Terry

[torben]

Dear friends,

I have been playing all the Tyros'es - from T1 to T5. And now I am the owner of a Genos (and a T5 still ).

Although there certainly were technical differences between the different models of the Tyros, the jump to Genos is huge. You have to think/act in quite a new way. The touch screen is new of course - and is pretty easy to use. But many things are also completely new and the use of menus and setting up things are completely different in the Genos.

Let me say it immediately. I am very happy for my Genos. It is an extraordinary instrument. I wouldn't trade it back. The sound is incredible. But ... still I find the technical side of the Genos (unnecessary?) complicated.

For instance - a lot of things, that you could do on the T5 with a few presses of buttons now have to be done by several - literally several - press/turning of buttons/screen etc. And I personally do not find everything logical.

But it is probably just me getting old...

Then again - the Genos offers a lot of possibilities that most "normal" players probably never will use...

So unless you do not care having technical problems/challenges, and you are very satisfied with your T5, I would think twice before I would trade in an "old" T5...

Kindest greetings

Torben

[Marcus]

My Tyros 5 sits below my Genos. I won't even turn the Tyros 5 on to play unless I have to specifically edit something for just the Tyros 5 because I am still gigging with it until a fully rework and upgrade all my stuff on the Genos.

Despite a few different navigation issues with the new Genos touch screen, I actually find the touch screen easier. I am also in the habit or trying to use as much touch screen menus and exit presses as possible as to use as few navigation buttons as possible, as not to wear out any buttons. I do a lot of editing.

Even though the buttons on my Tyros 5s are in pretty good shape, I am glad to sell them off before I wear something out and can still get a reasonable price. That goes for both my Tyros 5s, that equally share the wear and tear.

Marcus

[stephenm52]

Thanks! Not many folks make the ELP link from the name! Great to connect with an ELP fan. Do you play much ELP on your keyboards? Any styles or registrations you've built? I'm currently having a Genesis binge and playing lots of their stuff. The In the Air Tonight playlist bank is staggering. The drums are so good!

I thought Yamaha may have put an Emerson tribute sound or two in given he used a lot of their gear especially the GX-1...

Yes I agree great to connect with another ELP fan.  Seems to me that ELP had a limited fan base, but those of us who were fans are diehards, I was also a fan of "The Nice."   Before I discovered arrangers I was strictly a pianist and had a pretty good handle with my technique on tunes like "Take A Pebble, " "The Barbarian"  and "Pictures at an Exhibition" and "rondo"  Sorry to say once I got involved with arrangers I spent less and less time at the piano, it's every bit of 8 years and last time I played any of those works I found I lost what I had under my fingers.  I haven't attempted to do a single ELP tune at any arranger.

[StuartR]

Jeremy Bender,  I like your nickname, ELP was my favorite group and that's what inspired me to stay with piano all those years ago.    A friend of mine uses the Rokit monitors and I think you're right if you plug the Genos into them you'll be reported MIA by your family.

I concur. Plug the Genos into a pair of powerful studio monitors and you'll feel and hear the sonic power and bandwidth of sound the Genos has to offer.

[mcbrown]

It is good to see some positive statements made about the Genos. Some of us are happy with what we have and can also see that it is early days and yes , there is room for improvement. At the moment it is what it is and I'm just loving it. I am by no means a power user and so I am only skimming the surface of the abilities of this keyboard and also the same was for my previous T5 76.

I appreciate that some people are disappointed with the Genos and that's to be expected. They have options of not to purchase and if they already have, then sell and buy another that does everything you want if there be such a thing which I doubt exists. If the Genos did everything for everybody it would be so expensive and most of us could not afford it.

I usually don't buy new concep/design things when they first come on the market. If it is a major variation of an existing model such as the Genos I often hesitate in making a purchase until the product is proven in the field. After hearing and playing the Genos in the store on November 4 I had to have it. I rationalsed that Yamaha is a reputable company and that software updates would come along over time to sort most issues after initial release. I raced home, packed up the T5 and went back to the store to get my Genos which was the only one they had at the time. I have no regrets regarding my purchase and I live in the hope that the improvement in my playing skill and knowledge of the Genos will allow me to appreciate it even more than I do now.

Murray

[pjd]

Hi --

Quite happy with Genos. I've spent most of my playing time with the orchestral instrument voices. I'm preparing splits and layers for the combinations ("performances" in Motif/Montage-speak) that I use most often in church. Yeah, and playing the jazz, soul, funk stuff has been fun, too. 

Coming from S950 and MOX, the instruments are a huge sonic upgrade. Love the articulations in many of the voices. The basic split/layer programming has been enough so far although I occasionally wish for "key follow" to fade and blend combinations across the key range. I'll eventually dig into YEM for that (if YEM allows).

My usage has been largely trouble free. The divots that affect me most are organ-related: not able to set the slow-fast/fast-slow time of the rotor and the jumpiness when adjusting a drawbar settings without warming up the bars. The other shortcoming is missing the brown, black, white coding of Hammond drawbar knobs.

I appreciate and thank those folks who are identifying and reporting issues. Even though I haven't come across these issues yet, I just might as my usage horizon expands. Reporting these issues will help Yamaha to make a better product for us all.

All the best -- pj

[voodoo]

Michael,

thank you for your positive review. I confirm with you 100%. Genos is much fun and there are no show stoppers. And we expect that some flaws will be corrected in one of the next firmware versions.

Uli

[StuartR]

Michael,

thank you for your positive review. I confirm with you 100%. Genos is much fun and there are no show stoppers. And we expect that some flaws will be corrected in one of the next firmware versions.

Uli

I agree. When I sit down and play songs using some of the registrations I had purchased for the Tyros 5, I completely lose track of the time. They sound even better on the Genos without any tweaking at all. A truly remarkable, 6th generation musical instrument.

[manuel]

I am very, very happy with my Genos....my audiences have notice the new overall sounds, styles, more presence, etc....

Manuel

[gdc]

I got my Genos just before Christmas and struggled a bit at first as my T5 registrations were corrupted on the usb stick and I had to rebuild many many songs. That being done now, I'm thoroughly enjoying the fantastic sound of the Genos and soon heading out to my first gig with it. I just play for fun every day and enjoy what I'm hearing, without the strain of reconstructing songs from before. I'm hearing all sorts of super clear sounds that just weren't there on my Tyros keyboards. The drum backings are extremely well done and I can hear such detail, it's amazing.
I haven't found much in the way of bugs, so that's good. I have gotten to like the touch screen, especially when typing in the names of songs. The way the Playlists are linked to registrations is very useful.
I would definitely recommend the Genos to those wavering on the fence.
Graeme

[vanray]

Im, NOT EXTREMELY pleased, with the Genos, now iv had time to evaluate it.
how could i be, with all the faults , and the possibly permanent O.S.Navigation system
thats never gonna change ?

For Me the Tyros 5 Is a hard act to follow,
its extremely Fast, in a dual side by side race with the Genos.
you get things done a lot faster on the T5, which is crucial in a live setup.

and if one day,i had to make a Hard Choice ,between the Genos or the tyros 5
in a Professional environment, the T5 Would be way more efficient .

To me ,the claims from others that the Genos sounds Better ,
is not something that i hear myself, with my eyes shut.

its Extremely hard to tell the difference, especially if i posted
a song , and claimed it was created on the Genos, when in fact
it was  created on the Tyros 5.

Who would really know the difference ?

having said all that, i think for Yamaha to break the mould of the original tyros series.
and leave it behind,is a gigantic step forward, and i do commend them for that.

[Gunnar Jonny]

..........
.... To me ,the claims from others that the Genos sounds Better ,
is not something that i hear myself, with my eyes shut.

its Extremely hard to tell the difference, especially if i posted
a song , and claimed it was created on the Genos, when in fact
it was  created on the Tyros 5.

Who would really know the difference ? ........

having said all that, i think for Yamaha to break the mould of the original tyros series.
and leave it behind,is a gigantic step forward, and i do commend them for that.

Thanks for a honest and personal review.

Yeah, who would know the difference?
If you post a couple of "blind tests" for us to try pick T from G we would know if we manage to sort out one from another.

At the demoes I've heard and seen so far, it's the Revo drums that make the big difference, and to find out by myself, I simply had to order one.
But, I'm still waiting for the ♪♫♪♪ slow boat from China  ♪♫♪♪ to show up, and my expectations for Genos is now super-superhigh, even higher than the pricelevel.
Guess it will end up someplace between the negative and positive comments already written.

[Snicker740]

Im, NOT EXTREMELY pleased, with the Genos, now iv had time to evaluate it.
how could i be, with all the faults , and the possibly permanent O.S.Navigation system
thats never gonna change ?

For Me the Tyros 5 Is a hard act to follow,
its extremely Fast, in a dual side by side race with the Genos.
you get things done a lot faster on the T5, which is crucial in a live setup.

and if one day,i had to make a Hard Choice ,between the Genos or the tyros 5
in a Professional environment, the T5 Would be way more efficient .

To me ,the claims from others that the Genos sounds Better ,
is not something that i hear myself, with my eyes shut.

its Extremely hard to tell the difference, especially if i posted
a song , and claimed it was created on the Genos, when in fact
it was  created on the Tyros 5.

Who would really know the difference ?

having said all that, i think for Yamaha to break the mould of the original tyros series.
and leave it behind,is a gigantic step forward, and i do commend them for that.

I follow most of your comments on Genos. I see you have a pretty insight into Genos, you study and explore quite well.
However, I do not agree with your opinion when compared to Tyros 5 in terms of efficiency.
The technical issues, the shortcomings of Genos' current operating system, are unquestionable, and Yamaha is best to listen and improve it.
But ultimately, the purpose of Genos and Tyros is to perform, and I believe Genos delivers better quality and sound performance than Tyros 5.
The problem of installing, tweaking, customizing, modifying, and personalizing the data is that most people will do it before the show, one way or another will be done. before starting showtime.
As soon as the show started, there was no one to care about it lacking any features or it was not perfect ... so it did not affect the efficiency. when you stand on stage.

I am a musician and also a music producer and I also produce expansion pack, music style in my country.
I am also very unhappy about the current operating system of Genos. Specifically:
- Drums Edit does not work with extension packages
- Stepedit in Style Creator missing buttons: Jump to the top, change the value of the data, I see the use of spinning wheel more time.
- Or Style Creator does not show bar count ...
However, those shortcomings of Genos do not mean I can not finish my job. It only made me feel uncomfortable when compared to Tyros 5.

I think you should not have a radical look at Genos, it's out after the Tyros 5 for 4 years, it's better, it's better on Sound, on style .... but it's the first TOTL tree to use. Touch screen with a new operating system completely compared to before, which of course it can not perfect perfect right, yamaha need time for it. And it is us (those using Genos) that will help Yamaha improve it - if they're really listening.

Sorry for my bad english, I have to use google translator to read and write this comment.
Best regards. Thang (from Viet Nam)

[vanray]

And it is us (those using Genos) that will help Yamaha improve it - if they're really listening.

I Agree
The next firmware upgrade will show us ,weather Yamaha have been paying attention,
to a forum that has the majority of their customers.

If its possible, they might even provide an update for the O.S.Operating system too.

"But it aint over till the fat lady sings"

[svpworld]

I would also like to add my comments and thoughts having now owned the Genos since November last year.  It too has exceeded my expectations!  Having owned many, many Yamaha arrangers AND synths over the years (some of you will probably recall my website when I had my PSR740) the Genos has finally broken the sound quality barrier between the top end Yamaha synthesisers and their arrangers. For me pristine sound quality has always been the top priority and the Genos is truly breathtaking. Using the SPDIF output into my Focusrite audio interface and listening through Yamaha HS7 monitors, it is incredible how good the acoustic guitars, strings and many other acoustic instruments sound.  I've always been a huge fan of Yamaha's emulation of acoustic (real) instruments on their keyboards, you can really lose yourself playing the orchestral sounds of the Genos.  Sometimes I forget I'm playing an arranger, even compared to my previous Motif XF and the Montage the Genos is remarkable.  I would also recommend exploring some of the expansion packs for Genos, the Fantasy pack from Phantawalker and the Analog pack/FM experience packs from Easy Sounds give you the best of all worlds with some really amazing emulations of classic synth sounds and orchestral voices. 
If the voice quality wasn't enough, the styles are also a step forward.  The flexibility offered means that you can quickly find a pattern to inspire you or accompany ideas or songs.  I feel the styles are a lot more 'real', stripped back and pro sounding.  Of course the new drums are breathtaking, but not overpowering as in some previous boards.  I also find the Genos very intuitive, the huge touchscreen is just great and the tactile sliders and knobs make it a breeze to get the right sound or balance. 
If I had to suggest a few improvements though, it would most likely be in the sequencer.  I'm finding myself using the Genos sequencer a lot more now than with other keyboards I've owned.  It's great to get the basis of a track down before finally dropping it into Logic Pro.  Also it overcomes the challenges of setting up the voice settings and effects for every track in Logic. I really would love if Yamaha came out with a plugin for DAWs to make this process easier as they do with their synths.  I do find the Genos sequencer a bit awkward in places, such as revoicing or adjusting levels on tracks I've recorded. Perhaps the biggest suggestion though is being able to control the recording sequencer from the panel buttons when I'm in another voice select screen for example, instead of having to go back to the sequencer page and use the onscreen buttons.  I found this a bit odd.  Additionally the sequencer now seems separate to the playback of songs, so if you have a song loaded up for playback and then go into recording you have to reload the song... Well maybe its just my familiarity from previous Yamaha keyboards.
There's so much more of course, the feel of the keys on the Genos for me are just spot on.  I find it really strange now going back to a Fatar keyboard, the Yamaha keys suit my soft touch!  So Yamaha if you are listening please help us out on the DAW integration, and not just Cubase.  The voices when selected on the keyboard sound amazing with their effect settings etc, it would be great to somehow be able to replicate this in the DAW without having to first record on the Genos so as to embed the sys ex and midi data into the tracks. 

Simon