Update v2

[Esa]

Disappointment for me waiting for something big ...
Why must this be so difficult ??
Show must go on....
sorry Esa 

[EileenL]

What is difficult.

[Lyndyloo]

             


      Wasn't  difficult at all, common sense really Ok I suppose if you're  computer  literate, plenty of
                   helpful  video's out there too.



                            Lynda

[metcam]

Installed V2 without any problems!

Regards!

[Georgeandmarj]

Just installed V2, ok slight hitch lost touch sensitivity, altered it manually. Very happy.

[Toril S]

Esa, You don't need YEM for the update, only if you want the free so called Superior pack with extra styles.
Please tell what went wrong. Maybe we can help?

[Al Ram]

Esa
Don't get discouraged.  I agree with you . . . this upgrade is not easy.  Reading on the forum posts, several people find it difficult . . . even though other people found it not too difficult.

We all have different degrees of understanding (and sensitivity !!!!). . . I managed to do the V2 upgrade and the Superior Package, but i cannot say it was that easy.   (I am an IT Manager with 40 years of experience and did not think it was easy . . . . and I work with computers every day. !!!)

There are several steps and Yamaha does not provide clear instructions.  For example, installing the Superior Package you have to install the YEM program first and then transfer the new package to your Genos instruments.   Yamaha provided instructions on how to download YEM and the package into YEM, but there are no clear instructions on how to transfer the package to Genos.  For example, you need to transfer the package either wireless or via USB, but YEM does not have any help file or instructions.    This should not be left to common sense or instinct, there should be clear written instructions on how to do it and those instructions should be available in the YEM program itself.

With the upgrade,  I lost several user settings and now working to re-program those settings. It's ok, eventually will get there.     That should not happen (loosing the user settings. . . regardless of what other people might say. )  They tell you to back up your user settings before the upgrade, but my  user settings backed-up file is not loading  into Genos after the upgrade.  Yes, it was a good idea to take pictures of the previous settings, but still . . . .

Yet, the upgrade is free and that is appreciated.  Your motivation is that in addition to the new functions, there are new voices and new styles with this upgrade. So, I encourage you to continue trying for the upgrade.

Anyway, there are a lot of good and kind people on this forum willing to help.   Please do not hesitate to ask questions.  If you want to send me an email if you have specific questions related to the upgrade.    I will be more than happy to assist.

thanks

[Toril S]

I agree with AL. Din't give up. I also agree that Yama could have made this much easyer by providing clear instructions. I struggled a lot, but thanks to all the helpful friends on this forum I now have the new update and the free pack! Hang in there, Esa!

[Stijn]

For those that don't want to install or experiment with the Yamaha Expansion Manager, or don't want to add other Packs than the GenosV2.0 SuperiorPack, Yamaha provided a simple solution;

in the GENOS V2.0 SUPERIOR PACK you will find 3 files, a text file and 2 pack installation files - 1 to be used without YEM and one to be installed via YEM:

- Genos_PackInstallData.cpi - (142 Mb)-  this one can be installed on the Genos without the use of the YEM, just copy this file to the ROOT of a USB drive and start the Genos, call up MENU- Expansion - touch Pack Installation to call up the File Selection display - select the Pack and follow the instructions on the display

- GenosV2.0 SuperiorPack.cpf (162 Mb) - this one is to be used by YEM (Yamaha Expansion Manager) - NOTE that the first time you must save it to a USB drive as Pack Installation File (*.cpi) (see Save As), later you can ADD packs by saving as Pack Quick Installation file (*.CQI) - this will not cause re-formatting of the Expansion Memory as was the case for earlier OS versions.

Stijn

[Lee Batchelor]

Esa
Don't get discouraged.  I agree with you . . . this upgrade is not easy.  Reading on the forum posts, several people find it difficult . . . even though other people found it not too difficult.

We all have different degrees of understanding (and sensitivity !!!!). . . I managed to do the V2 upgrade and the Superior Package, but i cannot say it was that easy.   (I am an IT Manager with 40 years of experience and did not think it was easy . . . . and I work with computers every day. !!!)

There are several steps and Yamaha does not provide clear instructions.  For example, installing the Superior Package you have to install the YEM program first and then transfer the new package to your Genos instruments.   Yamaha provided instructions on how to download YEM and the package into YEM, but there are no clear instructions on how to transfer the package to Genos.  For example, you need to transfer the package either wireless or via USB, but YEM does not have any help file or instructions.    This should not be left to common sense or instinct, there should be clear written instructions on how to do it and those instructions should be available in the YEM program itself.

With the upgrade,  I lost several user settings and now working to re-program those settings. It's ok, eventually will get there.     That should not happen (loosing the user settings. . . regardless of what other people might say. )  They tell you to back up your user settings before the upgrade, but my  user settings backed-up file is not loading  into Genos after the upgrade.  Yes, it was a good idea to take pictures of the previous settings, but still . . . .

Yet, the upgrade is free and that is appreciated.  Your motivation is that in addition to the new functions, there are new voices and new styles with this upgrade. So, I encourage you to continue trying for the upgrade.

Anyway, there are a lot of good and kind people on this forum willing to help.   Please do not hesitate to ask questions.  If you want to send me an email if you have specific questions related to the upgrade.    I will be more than happy to assist.

thanks

This is the most intelligent post about upgrading to Version 2.0.

Yamaha manuals are sketchy at best and assume a degree of knowledge that many of us do not possess. I teach technical writing at the college level and can tell you that most Yamaha manuals are way below par. I seriously doubt that Yamaha employs a technical writer. If they do, he or she needs to be given the boot.

I also agree with Al Ram when he says that no basic settings should be altered after an upgrade. It was tough enough moving from the T5 to Genos. Those who claim they just loaded their T5 registrations and went on happily playing are either not telling the whole story or are missing a lot of great Genos features. I had to edit my registrations one at a time to make sure they were "gig ready." Most needed some tweaking. The benefits of these upgrades are outweighed by all the hassles of having to almost start from scratch. We just received this upgrade and look at how many problems people are having. If and when I decide to move to Version 2.0, it will be long after all the wrinkles have been found .

Meanwhile, thanks to those who are walking the less learned through this steep learning curve.

[Toril S]

Good post Lee! I agree wholeheartedly. My Genos is new, so I did not have many settings. But the few I had vanished into space! I needed help from my friends here to get it all up and running. When so many people struggle, people that have had computers and complex keyboards for decades, that sure is a sign that user friendlyness us not a priority at Yamaha!

[Lee Batchelor]

Thanks, Toril.

I'm not a software engineer but it's very sad that an update must be so destructive to all the basic settings that we worked for hours to create. I know there are procedures to save those settings and then reload them after the update but many people need to recreate some of those settings because the settings were just "lost."

The best solution is for Yamaha to create a complete list of items that must be done before we upgrade. The procedure must be written to ALL audiences, not just to the intermediate and expert audiences. It's wonderful that the fine folks on this forum are willing to help those who are having trouble but those people often possess advanced levels of computer expertise, making it difficult for a lot of people to follow through with the upgrade. Using phrases like, "the upgrade is simple," "it's common sense," or "it's straight forward" is of no value to those having difficulties with the upgrade, even though the author may mean well.

As a gigging musician, I'm especially busy during the upcoming Christmas season. I'm currently working on a Christmas show where I support seven vocalists. An upgrade at this point would be suicide!

[JohnS (Ugawoga)]

Hi
I agree with lee that more could of been done  in bold black writing what to save before updating.
Also the update has been integrated in the manual.
I would have preferred an added manual update explaining the HOW's instead of all integrated all over the place.
Hope you know what i mean.
I thought that the Yamaha loading instructions were clear and simple though.

All my registrations are ok with effects.
It was just the Eq that had to be reset and lost a couple of user effects.
Other than that all fine.


All the best
john

[Lee Batchelor]

That's all well and good John, but wait until you're on stage with Version 2.0 and call up a setting, only to find it has been altered or just not there. There's way too much mystery in this update. I'm sure it's a fantastic move for Genos users, but if Yamaha has one severe weakness, it's their documentation.

I'm a technical writer and technical writing instructor at the college level. I have written technical manuals for companies whose data is on par or way more advanced than the Genos. I can tell you that Yamaha is NOT using a qualified technical writer for their manuals. If they are, the technical writer needs to be shown the door. Most of the companies for which I have written manuals used to have their engineers and secretaries write their manuals. Their support costs were off the charts because their manuals made no sense.

Yamaha is an amazing company that produces only the best products. Too bad they have no idea how to impart their product knowledge to ALL audiences. Our forum consists of a huge age span. Yamaha manuals only write to about 60% of that audience. Is there ONE piece of documentation that completely describes this new update and how to perform a trouble-free installation for all audiences? No. Despite this update being free, Yamaha still has the obligation to make it useable. So far, it's sketchy for too many people.

[jugge]

It would be great if we could get more tutorials and examples for how to get the most from our arrangers.
Sites like https://www.yamahasynth.com/resources and http://www.motifator.com/ were extremely useful when I had a motif and a MX before
and the Yamaha expert Phil "Bad Mister" Clendeninn was really helpful and took the time to answer lots of questions in the discussion forums.

/Jugge

[JohnS (Ugawoga)]

That's all well and good John, but wait until you're on stage with Version 2.0 and call up a setting, only to find it has been altered or just not there. There's way too much mystery in this update. I'm sure it's a fantastic move for Genos users, but if Yamaha has one severe weakness, it's their documentation.

I'm a technical writer and technical writing instructor at the college level. I have written technical manuals for companies whose data is on par or way more advanced than the Genos. I can tell you that Yamaha is NOT using a qualified technical writer for their manuals. If they are, the technical writer needs to be shown the door. Most of the companies for which I have written manuals used to have their engineers and secretaries write their manuals. Their support costs were off the charts because their manuals made no sense.

Yamaha is an amazing company that produces only the best products. Too bad they have no idea how to impart their product knowledge to ALL audiences. Our forum consists of a huge age span. Yamaha manuals only write to about 60% of that audience. Is there ONE piece of documentation that completely describes this new update and how to perform a trouble-free installation for all audiences? No. Despite this update being free, Yamaha still has the obligation to make it useable. So far, it's sketchy for too many people.

Hi Lee
I cannot argue with that.

All the best
John

[Esa]

Now my Genos is up and running again.

regards Esa

[Lyndyloo]

     

    That's great Esa,   
    Yamaha needs to take note of the problems  people are having understanding their software  updates, would
     make life much easier  for all,  instructions need to be spelled  out very clearly.

       Lynda

[Toril S]

Amen to that!!

[iainmcguire]

After you have the extra pack on a stick can you install it on an other Genos as my friend is not very good with computers ?

[tyrosman]

no Ian Andy has to do this himself

[Bob88]

   Lee:    Thank you so much for your great post.  I am one of those whose tech skills are limited. I have owned yamaha's awesome products exclusively for the past 60 years. I am a player not a tech guru.  My performing experience has taken me throughout Canada, U.S. and Great Britain  from solo performer to sideman in big bands, symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles  ect.   Your post is an encouragement to those of us who struggle with Yamaha's  manuals and updates of their products,
particularly  Genos V2.   Thank you again.  Bob

[Lee Batchelor]

Thanks for the kind words, Bob88. You have a very impressive resume!

You also make a lot of sense. It seems we waste so much time figuring out the technical side of our tools that there is less time to do what we should be doing - making music. With proper documentation, we could get so much more out of our keyboards. In a perfect world, these forums would only contain tips from users that the Yamaha engineers never dreamed possible.