Using My Genos For What It Is And Not For What It Isn't

[gerarde]

I feel at least 95% of all Genos users are happy with their Genos.
Here is my story:
I had a Tyros 5-76, loved it.
Then I had a PSR S970, loved it.
Now I have A Genos and love it the best of anything I have ever owned.

Before I got my Genos from Frank ant AudioworksCT (Thanks again Frank), I downloaded and studied the Owners Manual and Reference Manual.
I looked for changes I would have to make to use the Genos the same way I used the Tryos and the PSR.
The main thing I had to understand was using the playlist instead of Musicfinder.

Then I go my Genos.
The first day, I just used it as it was, listening to new voices, drumkits, and styles.
On that, it is the best sounding arranger I have ever had!
Then, I created a registration for startup, keysplit, vocal, etc.
It is harder to move registrations from my PSR than from a Tyros.
So what I did was a printout from Murray Best's program, (Thanks Murray), of my Musicfinder file, that showed me all I needed to create the registration on the Genos.
Many, many of the songs I do have song specific styles.
So as I created the registration on the Genos, I changed drumkits, bass, or whatever else and saved it to the registration, not to the style.
So the style is still intact in it's original form.
It took me about 4 days to create the 350 registrations I use when playing out live.
Once done, I made different playlists.
I now have everything I had on both the Tyros and the PSR and it sounds fantastic!

For editing, I changed one of the organ voices to reflect different slow-fast speeds.

Bottom line, I use the Genos for what it is and not for what it isin't.
Everything I did on my Tyros, I do on the Genos.
Everything I did on my PSR, I do on the Genos.
And everything I do on my Genos is better!

I think everyone should take advantage of all the new features that are on the Genos.
It is what it is!
And it is more than all Yamaha arrangers have ever been.
All I have been reading is the Genos should do this, the Genos should do that.
Every release of firmware imporves the Genos or fixes bugs.
Too many are saying it has to have this, it has to have that.
It is what it is and use it to the best of your ability!!
Tha's my 2 cents worth and I feel at least 95% of Genos users feel the same way.

[Mike2]

I agree 100%...You hit the nail right on the head. Life's to short.

Thanks..

[terryB]

Yeah Gerard, I like

Cheers
Terry

[gerarde]

Thanks Mike and Terry. You must be part of the 95%. LOL

[vanray]

I feel at least 95% of all Genos users are happy with their Genos.

Tha's my 2 cents worth and I feel at least 95% of Genos users feel the same way.

Where did you get these Facts from,
is this Documented somewhere ?
and what 95% of users are you referring too ?

Also, if i bought a Brand new car, but it was partly Faulty
would you think it right to see it  "For What It Is And Not For What It Isn't" ?

[gerarde]

The facts are from observing what seems to be about 95% of the users on here.
Most users do not use extensive editing.

My brand new Genos is not partly faulty, it works great!
Everything I needed as stated in the manual works just fine.
Any new features Yamaha adds to the Genos is a bonus, not what should have been there in the first place.
And I think 95% of users will agree with me.

[StuartR]

The facts are from observing what seems to be about 95% of the users on here.
Most users do not use extensive editing.

My brand new Genos is not partly faulty, it works great!
Everything I needed as stated in the manual works just fine.
Any new features Yamaha adds to the Genos is a bonus, not what should have been there in the first place.
And I think 95% of users will agree with me.

Exactly.

[Joe H]

My experience has been that (for the most part) Yamaha know what it is doing... although we may not understand why they do what they do.  There is always room for improvement.  Yes there are some shortcomings on the Genos. For instance... standard pots instead of encoders for the Live Control. If I didn't own a Motif Rack XS I wouldn't understand the importance of encoders.

Another shortcoming is the limited selection of options for the foot controller. There ought to be an option to assign ANY MIDI continuous controller to a foot pedal.

I think the issue here is Yamaha's history of creating 2 distinct high-end electronic keyboards..IE; the Performance keyboard (Motif /Montage) and the arranger keyboard PSR S series / Tyros / Genos (as well as many lower-priced models).

Yamaha has always had Performance keyboards that went back many years even before the Motif.  CS series, S series, SY, FM, and the analog ANx1, etc. Then there is the digital piano line.  I get how Yamaha designers perceive that there are different kinds of players with different needs, so they design instruments for these differing needs.

But... a handful of people (including myself) would like to have a hybrid instrument that combines the digital piano, a synthesizer, and an arranger capabilities all in one instrument. Plus lots of memory for expansion Voice packs or software synths like FM and Analog.  I suppose IF the market grows significantly for such a hybrid instrument, then Yamaha will respond to the market and produce an all-in-one instrument.

I think that is happening in incremental stages now.  And IF the Genos has newly written firmware code (time will tell) then we will see new features and capabilities added to the instrument over time.

First come the legitimate bug fixes (which all new instruments have).  If you have ever written code; all it takes is one bad line of code or even a single byte syntax error to make things go wrong.

Gerald has the right attitude.  Genos meets his needs but it may fall short for others.

For those of us who want the "hybrid" instrument... we are just a little ahead of our time. In my case I bought a Motif Rack XS to compliment my S970. I am learning how to integrate the two instruments to work as one instrument.  I'm getting there. I have the best of both worlds.  I have a synth and an arranger in my MIDI studio. Getting them to work together is a challenge that gives me a sense of accomplishment. It keeps me from going brain-dead at 70 years old.

As several people have said here already...  we should enjoy what we have.  I pushed the S910 to it's limits.  I am very happy with the S970, which also has some shortcomings, but I find workarounds to accomplish the things I want to do.  And one day I will have pushed the S970 to it's limits. The free software and commercial software also has shortcomings... so I find workarounds for that too.

For those who don't want to find workarounds.. I say... you are just lazy or lack creative thinking skills. Either way... I hope you learn to be happy with what you have.  As I have said before... "It ain't what you got, but how you use it"

Be happy!



Joe H

[Lloyd E]

Gerard,
That was a wonderful article and indeed i am one happy owner of my Genos. it does what i want it to without all the extra stuff that some demand.  We all have our standards
and i understand those who are not getting what they want out of Genos. it's nice to hear that the majority of us Genos owners are truly satisfied with our keyboards. Lloyd

[Al Ram]

Gerard
I am very satisfied with Genos, i think it is a great keyboard. 

I agree with 95% of your statements.    The other 5% is related to things that I expected to be in Genos and are not, for example the bar counter, display Transpose value on the main screen, etc.   I created my own workarounds for those issues and i already solved my problems.        But still, there was no reason or need to eliminate those values from the main display because they were previously in T5 and T4.

Genos sounds great.   The Genos new styles are good but in my opinion not great.   I am using a lot of third-party styles that sound great on Genos.   Good thing is that i copied all the external and T5 styles, multipads, etc to Genos.   So far, i did not have any major problems transferring all my registrations from T5 to Genos.   

Aside from some initial minor issues related to getting familiar with Genos.   I  am doing everything I did with T5 and more but sound even better.   I am happy with the Genos keyboard and with myself.

I feel that some of the people that are terribly disappointed with Genos, perhaps did not research properly before buying and now they are experiencing an unexpected sense of 'lacking' something.

However, any buyer is free to decide whether to buy or not.  No one is forcing anyone to buy.  If anyone feels that it is not a good product then should not purchase it. 

Why would anyone purchase something she/he does not like . . . ?  lack of research . . . ?  what ?

Count me in the 95%. 

Have a great day.

[stephenm52]

The facts are from observing what seems to be about 95% of the users on here.
Most users do not use extensive editing.

My brand new Genos is not partly faulty, it works great!
Everything I needed as stated in the manual works just fine.
Any new features Yamaha adds to the Genos is a bonus, not what should have been there in the first place.
And I think 95% of users will agree with me.

Gerard, Great commentary!   Count me as a very happy Genos owner!!

[StuartR]

I am using a lot of third-party styles that sound great on Genos.   

Really? I for one would like to know who creates styles for these arrangers that sound better than Yamahas own styles. Could you share more information about those please?

[Roger Brenizer]

Hi Gerard,

I don't own a Genos; however, I know if I did that my assessment of this Yamaha keyboard would be much aligned to your excellent commentary. 

[JohnH]

HEY GERARD--------I'm one of your 95% owners----I also got mine from Frank V-----I had a 910---then 970---now Genos---each one keeps getting better !!   I like your postings--good analysis ----I use this great site to get & find answers to my questions--I ALWAYS get the right answers-----make MUSIC--have a great musical journey-----I'm 82 & still haul the stuff around & play for folks my age & older--MUSIC is a great therapy for everyone----I'm really enjoying the Genos-----There are some really great musicians on this site  I always enjoy Gary's words of wisdom-(the sail boat guy)-----------JohnH from Michigan

[gerarde]

Thank you all for your kind comments.
Since I have had my Genos, I am still finding out new things about it that I can use.
My old styles sound so much better when I change the drumkits to REVO drums.

Gerard

[hammer]

Yea Gerard!  You told it like it is!  To many gripers created posts about things that were not really broken but a result of user error or new users not reading the manuals.  My experience is much like yours.

Deane

[mikf]

Can I just point out that Gerard never actually claimed the 95% was a fact, - he used the phrase 'feel that' which we all understand. 
I think we all know that these cannot be verifiable facts but, nonetheless, I think Gerrard is largely correct ie the people who just wanted a better sounding arranger, with a few new slick features like the touch screen,  and who take the time to acquaint themselves with the differences are pretty satisfied. The people who are less satisfied may be  those who expected something with more 'new' features. Now that may have been Yamaha's fault for raising their expectations, or it might have been that they talked themselves into assuming this new arranger was going to be more 'synth like'.

Re the the car comparison, I have never had a new car that did not have faults or shortcomings, and I pretty top end cars. How much it matters depends on the nature of the fault - if the paint flakes off I am going to be pretty annoyed, but if I think they relocated the button that opens the hood to a silly place then not so much. And in any case a better analogy is a software product or smartphone where we all know up front they will not be perfect and that 'a new and improved version' will soon appear but buy them anyway.
Mike

[gerarde]

Mike,
I guess I am basing my 95% I stated is that I came from both a TYROS 5-76 and a PSR S970.
In both cases, I have been on this forum.
When I had the TYROS, I read what everyone said on this forum, and the same when I had my S970.
In BOTH cases, most postings were related to what was in the keyboard, how to use it, how to do this or that, and NOT about what wasn't in the keyboard.
As you say some people were expecting more, but I did my homework, as I stated in my post by reading the owners and reference manuals to see what I would be getting and not hoping something else was there.

Gerard

[EileenL]

I am with you Gerard,
loving my Genos and have just heard that here in the UK it has sold More in this amount of time than any of the Tyros range did.

[StuartR]

Really? I for one would like to know who creates styles for these arrangers that sound better than Yamahas own styles. Could you share more information about those please?

Still hoping for an answer !

[soryt]

Some good song style site's :

http://styles-24.de/epages/ff46e5fa-0caf-4a2e-ae78-efc83c5c1922.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/ff46e5fa-0caf-4a2e-ae78-efc83c5c1922/Categories/Styles_Genos2

https://www.d-o-o.de/index.php?&lang=en

Soryt

[Al Ram]

Really? I for one would like to know who creates styles for these arrangers that sound better than Yamahas own styles. Could you share more information about those please?

Stuart
Most of the third-party styles that i am using i got them from this forum.     

Some members of this forum have made great conversions of non-Yamaha styles to play on Yamaha keyboards.   

Hope this helps.

Thanks

[StuartR]

Stuart
Most of the third-party styles that i am using i got them from this forum.     

Some members of this forum have made great conversions of non-Yamaha styles to play on Yamaha keyboards.   

Hope this helps.

Thanks

I've auditioned a bunch of those and most of them are title-specific styles, not genre-specific like Yamaha includes in its arrangers. That's an Apples to Oranges comparison.

[StuartR]

Some good song style site's :

http://styles-24.de/epages/ff46e5fa-0caf-4a2e-ae78-efc83c5c1922.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/ff46e5fa-0caf-4a2e-ae78-efc83c5c1922/Categories/Styles_Genos2

https://www.d-o-o.de/index.php?&lang=en

Soryt

Title-specific. Not the same thing as genre-specific styles that Yamaha crafts into their arrangers.