YEM version to use?

[Rich Z]

I have read that people have had issues with version 2.80 of the Yamaha Expansion Manager and suggested using version 2.70 instead.  I see that there is now version 2.81 on Yamaha's site, but don't see any option to download an older version.  Has the 2.81 version fixed the problems?  If not, where can I find version 2.70?

Along this same thought line, is there a way to preview the styles before packaging them with YEM and loading them into the Genos? I am sure there are lots of styles I won't ever use, so I don't want to waste my time loading them onto the Genos and taking up space there.  I am guessing there is a way to do this, but haven't stumbled onto the post that tell me how to do that quite yet.

Oh yeah, loading an expansion pack doesn't wipe out the styles that came stock on the Genos, does it?  Sorry, trying to read the manuals as quickly as I can.........   

[ckobu]

Yamaha Expansion Manager V2.7.0 for Windows 10/8.1
https://europe.yamaha.com/en/support/updates/yem_v270_win.html

Yamaha Expansion Manager V2.7.0 for Mac macOS 10.15 - OS X 10.13
https://europe.yamaha.com/en/support/updates/yem_v270_mac.html


Styles from the Pack can be extraced out but you can't hear them completely without the sound contained in the Package. That is why it is best to listen to them together with the entered package.

[Rich Z]

Thank you!

So does this mean that version 2.8.1 is still problematical?

[ckobu]

Yes, it will remain so until the new 2.8.2 

https://youtu.be/RSPa6iKIDQs

[overover]

Hi Rich,

In addition to the current YEM version 2.8.1, you can also download the YEM version 2.7.0 from the Genos download page:
>>> https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/keyboards/arranger_workstations/genos/downloads.html#product-tabs

In principle, you can use either of these two versions with the Genos. It is important to know that V2.8.1 works slower than previous versions. In addition, OWN packs created under V2.8.x cannot be used with earlier YEM versions. Since V2.8.1 is only required for the PSR-A5000 so far, it is recommended that most Genos, PSR-SX and PSR-S users still use YEM V2.7.0.


Regarding Styles:
Styles do NOT have to be installed via the YEM, but Styles can be loaded and played directly from the USB stick. Or you can copy it to the User drive and play it from there. This is especially true for Styles that do NOT come from Expansion Packs, e.g. for styles that are available on PSR Tutorial.

Styles in installed Expansion Packs do not take up any space in the Expansion Memory, because only the Wave samples of the Expansion Voices are copied into the expansion memory during installation. All other contents of Expansion Packs (e.g. Styles, Registration Banks, Multi Pad Banks) are automatically copied to the corresponding subfolder of the "Expansion" folder in the User drive during installation. (And the user drive is 58 GB with the Genos.)


By the way: I recommend that you first familiarize yourself with all the important functions of the Genos (using the three manuals "Owner's Manual", "Reference Manual" and "Data List"). For example, the chapter "File Management" in the owner's manual is very important.

I think it's a little early to start with the topic of "Expansion Packs" on the first day. If I were you, I would first play/listen to all the Preset Styles including their OTS (One Touch Settings) and the Preset Multi Pads. Then you could listen to the most important Preset Voices. (In addition to the Panel Voice folders, there is also the Legacy Voice folder, which you can access by using the up arrow in the Voice Selection Display to go one folder level up and then to page 2.)

Next, you should familiarize yourself with the Registration Memory, because considerably more parameters can be stored in Registrations than in OTS. Information on "which parameters can be saved where" can be found in the section "Parameter Chart" in the Data List.

You could "install" the Bonus Playlist (and also the "Discover Genos" Playlist) available on the Genos download page on a USB stick (just copy the relevant folder into the root directory of a USB stick). You can also load the included Registrations directly (not only via the Playlist function), and in this way familiarize yourself with the Registration Memory.


Important: Preset content (e.g. Preset Styles, Preset Voices, Preset Multi Pads) cannot be deleted or overwritten. Changes can be saved as User Style files, User Voice files, User Multi Pad files and/or in Registrations (in the User drive or on a USB stick). So you can never accidentally delete preset content.


I wish you again a lot of fun and joy with your Genos!


P.S.
You don't have to (and can't) learn/know everything at once. I've been dealing with Yamaha keyboards since around 2010. Via PSR-9000 I came across the Tyros4 in 2012 and finally the Tyros5, which I still play today. In 2014 there were some meetings here in Germany with the Japanese Genos development team, to which I was kindly invited by Yamaha. (At that time it was not yet known that the T5 successor would be called Genos. ⁣) Since 2017 I have now "of course" also the Genos, to whose development, as mentioned, I was allowed to contribute a little. Since 2012 I have been dealing with the technology of Yamaha Arranger Keyboards almost every day (including in the German Yamaha Forum at the time, which unfortunately closed some time ago, and of course here in the PSR Tutorial Forum). But I'm still learning something new every day ...


Best regards,
Chris

[Rich Z]

Yes, I could tell I might be completely overwhelmed by all the options to play with in this keyboard. But one thing I have learned over the years is that just because a resource is here today doesn't mean it has to be here tomorrow. That sort of thing has bitten me in the butt in the past.  So my goal is to scavenge whatever resources and utilities I can and squirrel them away till I feel confident and capable of using them. The internet just doesn't seem as stable and dependable to me as it used to, I am afraid.

Thanks for the advice.  I'll have to look up exactly how to preview styles via the USB method. I am going through the manuals, but my attention wanders so darn much lately when I read technical material.  I used to just eat that sort of stuff up in my younger days. And honestly, I have several hobbies, and will rotate through them all in turn, with sometimes years before I get back to thinking about them again.  But I realize that I am of the age that I don't have very many cycles left for that sort of thing.

When I bought my Roland BK-7m to use with my Korg Kronos, I bought a bunch of styles for it and found that most of them were pretty much unusable. The memory stick was about 40 percent renamed duplicates too. I even bought a utility to modify such styles, which unfortunately was tied to the computer I installed it on, and not only did that computer die a sudden BIOS death on me, I believe the developer of that utility has gone away as well. So yeah, sometimes even what seems like a really good plan just falls all apart.

[Phil100956]

I installed version 2.81 had nothing but trouble in the end I uninstalled it and went back to 2.7 version and no problem everything perfect.

[overover]

I installed version 2.81 had nothing but trouble in the end I uninstalled it and went back to 2.7 version and no problem everything perfect.

Hi Phil,

Could you please describe in more detail what kind of "trouble" you had with YEM V2.8.1?

My observations so far are that this version works slower than previous versions and that it also crashes occasionally, e.g. when trying to call up the YEM Voice Editor or it crashes  while importing .cpf or .ppf pack files. Therefore, at the moment it is really recommended to stay with V2.7.0 (as I said, unless you have a PSR-A5000 that absolutely needs V2.8.1 or higher).

[EileenL]

If you are using the Geno 2 Superior Pack. The expansion voices in that pack will not load on version 2.8

[overover]

If you are using the Geno 2 Superior Pack. The expansion voices in that pack will not load on version 2.8

Yes, Eileen, but this was only with V2.8.0. In the current version 2.8.1 they have fixed this bug. However, as stated before, V2.7.0 is the better choice at the moment for several reasons.


Best regards,
Chris

[Amwilburn]

I know it's been a while, but seeing if anyone has come across the same issue in YEM 2.81: drum kits that previously worked no longer install; they now say "cannot be installed on this instrument" which is clearly wrong, as they're already installed on that instrument from an older YEM. (I checked my s970, yup, it has both kits that "cannot be installed")

Specifically, Tabla1 and 2 from any of the Indian packs are now greyed out.

Yes, I've deleted and re-installed the offending packs, but to me, it appears to be a bug in 2.81? We had come across something similar before, and deleting /reinstalling corrupted packs fixed it. But These were all recently installed (our IT guy formatted my work PC for some reason )

For once, I'm stumped

Mark