SX900: very good - GENOS: stellar

[vadesriux]

This may come to some of you as a shock. But read on and you'll understand.

First of all I want to share my two weeks experience with the SX900. It trully is a great keyboard for its price. The sounds are very good, the styles are very well made, the interface is top notch in its simplicity and ease of use (same as GENOS), and the Vocal Harmony / Vocoder has great sound quality. Also the keybed is absolutelly wonderful in playing, sensitivity and touch. Overall a very good keyboard from Yamaha. A 9 out of 10 stars.

I have also have had a GENOS in 2018/2019 which unfortunately I had to sell for financial reasons. At the time I remember I composed the highest number of songs since owning my first Roland D-20 back in 1992. And I never forgot the pristine quality of its sound. The quality was incredible and even more when you reached for another keyboard and listened to it compared to GENOS.

So what is the reason for this post? Well, I can share with you guys (to me) the biggest difference between the 900 and the GENOS, besides the price, of course. It is the sound definition. What do I mean ? Trully great as the SX900 sounds, the GENOS can sound even better: 1) when playing a style the bass and all other sounds that compose the style are totally separated and distinct from each other. The 900 doesnt manage to achieve this "separation" between justaposing sounds as GENOS does; 2) the voices (presets) sound quality are even higher than on the 900. A disavantage: you have to buy the speakers separately, which will cost even more.

So I bought the instrument which was more "close" as possible to the GENOS. My goal is to work with it, and compose music until the day I have the chance again to buy a Genos.

You can say: but if you only had to spend half the price of a Genos, and you have almost everything the Genos offer, why even bother ? Well... the answer is: take a listen and play on a Genos and you'll know why right away.

So all and all, at this moment in time I am really thankful I could buy a SX900 (which is also not cheap: many folks only can afford a SX600 and many not even that) and look forward to compose and play with it for quite a while. Thanks for reading.

Eduardo (from Portugal)

 

[Toril S]

I feel the same as you. Nothing can beat the Genos!!

[Jeff Hollande]

Hi :

Wished I had ordered a new Genos instead of a new SX900 early this year.

The SX900 is nice but ... the Genos is superb.
The Genos is the best arranger keyboard on the market, ever.

Nowadays the Genos' delivery delay = approx. 8 - 10 weeks and the price has been increased by 10%, I guess.

The Genos is ( almost ) 4 years old now.

Wished I knew Yamaha's future plans.
A Genos' successor will not come in 2022, IMHO ... IF ... it ever comes.
That is the question. Wait and see.

It is what it is and in the meantime I am enjoying my SX900.

Best regards, JH

[vadesriux]

Hi Jeff.

Didn't know you were on the same boat as I am 

In fact, as I wrote and many here can confirm, the SX900 is a great machine and - literally - half, or less than half (now) the price of a Genos.

What you gain with Genos: a 6 octave (even better) aftertouch and semi-weighted keybed (very handy with more keys available on your left hand, without having to change the split point), a top of the line Hifi sound quality and a bigger 9" LCD screen.

What you loose: no built-in speakers, specific function buttons for styles and voices, and more "reacheable" 1st, 2nd and 3rd voice buttons (in Genos they were thrown to the far right side), and weight (although only for 1,5kg).

Are these features worth (more than) twice the price ?... The price at Thomann is now 3780 € when in Portugal you could buy it for 3100 € two weeks ago. But I could not possibly spend 3000 € at this time of my life.

[Jeff Hollande]

As I said : I made the wrong choice. No financial problems at all. 


Best regards, JH

[EileenL]

I always go for the flag ship as you know it is going to be the best Yamaha can make it. I also have an SX900 and although it is very good it is not Genos.

[Jeff Hollande]

I agree, Eileen.

There is no better arranger keyboard than the Genos.

Now it is too late to change.
I have to go on with my SX900.

Cheers,

JH

[PierreSW]

Speaking of prices, here is the
Swedish Yamaha's website prices 2021-11 / 11
You get less and less for your money

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Jeff Hollande]

How much is a Swedish kr in Euro or in US Dollar ?

[PierreSW]

Here are the exchange rates

[attachment deleted by admin]

[vadesriux]

Today morning I heard the 12 songs I composed back in 2018 when I had a Genos. Wow... The quality of the recordings (.wav) is simply amazing. Even the styles are miles ahead in quality and sound fidelity compared to the SX900.

In the end I come to the conclusion that the Big price difference is not only in the extra features (keybed, extra voices, etc.), but mainly in sound quality. It is impressive when a manufacturer produces such a masterpiece. Equal to a Porsche 911 or Mclaren F1 road car in the automotive industry. No wonder the steep price for we are talking about the best of the best a brand can produce.

Now back to reality    and to using the 900 which is very good in itself. The advantage is when comes the time I can afford a Genos again, all my compositions will translate almost seamlessly to the Genos. And the interface is the same!

[Jeff Hollande]

Your words confirm the Genos is the best arranger keyboard ever made.  I wonder what its successor will bring ... IF... it ever comes.

Best regards,
JH

[vadesriux]

Even if no sucessor to Genos comes in the near future, from Yamaha, this is a flagship instrument that will last many many years as a reference in sound.

We have Korg PA4x with superb sound also but the big difference comes with Genos interface which is a masterpiece in simplicity and ease of use. Korg is far too complicated compared, and because of that, worse if you simply want to compose songs. Fair to say its sound quality is also a reference in itself.

And finally we have Roland Fantom (new one) with super sound also, but not an arranger. I myself always loved Yamaha instruments. They are made by really professional guys in Japan with a sense of making the best musical instruments in the world. But yes Korg and Roland are also very good.

[bobn1944]

If you can buy a Genos for twice the price of an SX900 you are lucky.
Out here in Thailand the Genos is very nearly four times the price of an SX900.
SX900 50,900 Thai baht.
Genos 195,000 Thai baht.

[vadesriux]

There's a huge discrepancy in prices all over the world related to keyboards. It shoudn't be that way but it may be related to import fees each country applies to these items. In the end it is the consumer, us, that ultimately pays these (huge) price differences. I am certain that Yamaha didn't want their flagship to sell at outrageous prices (it will sell less that way, of course) but country policies certainly lead to this. And we can't rule out speculation in prices also... and not only because of Covid.

[bobn1944]

vadesriux
Yes you are correct regarding the discrepancies of prices in different countries. With regard to Yamaha keyboard prices I don't think
the import duty here in Thailand is too much compared to other imports, for instance German cars & wine there is a huge import tax of 300/400%.
At the current exchange rate an SX900 would be about 1200 GBP & the Genos about 4500 GBP. I do know for instance prices of keyboards are much cheaper in Bali, Indonesia.

[Jeff Hollande]

It looks like Indonesia could become the Yamaha Promised Price High End Arranger Keyboard Land for us, Europeans.😂 😛

I wonder what the European additional import and transport costs are if we should decide to buy there from a local dealer ?
Perhaps our Dutch friend Dick can give us the answer.
He lives there for many years now.👮

Wishful thinking and probably very risky, I guess.🤭

Best regards,  JH

[bobn1944]

Hi Jeff
I think 1200GBP is a fair price in Thailand, comparable with UK prices I believe. Indonesia would be a cheaper price but Thai import duty would be too high.
As you said, wishful thinking.

Cheers
Bob

[Jeff Hollande]

Our consumer prices are comparable to the UK prices.

The UK is no longer a member of our lovely EU.😥

Best wishes, JH

[EileenL]

Nothing Lovely about the EU Jeff that is why we wanted to leave in the first place.
The SX 900 when it first came out here Was just under £2000 but you could shop around and get it a little less.

[Joe H]

... when playing a style the bass and all other sounds that compose the style are totally separated and distinct from each other. The 900 doesnt manage to achieve this "separation" between justaposing sounds as GENOS does..,

Maybe the Genos has better samples, so that is the case.

Sound separation can be achieved on lesser keyboards than the sx900 also.  It is all in the "Mix" of Voices. What I mean is that if we select Voices that compliment one another or are different in sound/tenor from each other, they will stand out or have the ''separation" as you describe.

I have achieved this many times with my S910 and S970 arrangers.

Joe H

[Jeff Hollande]

Hi Eileen  :

I only wanted to say I feel very sorry our best friend, the UK,
left the EU.
It hurts.
We, Dutchmen, are missing you, Guys !😰

Best wishes, JH

[vadesriux]

You're right Joe. You can achieve justaposing sounds separation on a keyboard if you tweak with sound EQ, pans and volumes but if you have a good ear and you hear a Genos recording and a  SX900 recording (same song with same voices) you will see what I meant with my post. But again not everyone will be able to perceive this. I am.

[ton37]

I'm glad that in this forum the music is the connecting factor and not the politics. Let's keep it that way! 

[Jeff Hollande]

Hi Ton,

Would like to send you a private message.
I prefer to send you an e-mail, if possible, but I do not have your private e-mail address, sorry.

Best regards from Steenbergn ( NB ), JH

[dave4761]

Just bought my SX900 and love it. Genis is not very popular in the states. Availability is extremely  limited. Recent price was $6000. SX900 a little over a third. Tried to order from outside the country, however, yamaha prohibits selling the unit from outside the US to the US. Despite the obvious advantages,  it was tough to justify for an extra 4k.

[overover]

Just bought my SX900 and love it. ...

Hi Dave,

Congratulations on purchasing the SX900! I wish you a lot of fun and joy with your new "toy".


Best regards,
Chris

[Christopher Fernandes]

I totally agree! I purchased my SX900 back in November of 2019 and as much as I'm happy with my purchase, to this day I still go back to watching Genos demos by Martin Harris and can't help but simply envy how different the same styles sound on the Genos. The guitars, the MegaVoices, the Revo! kits and of course the S.Art2! voices. I'm still very young to afford a Genos but someday hopefully soon I'll be able to buy myself one of the Genos' successors.

[Divemaster]

As with all keyboards. the ultimate choice lies with the buyer, and once you've made your choice. ENJOY IT.

We all buy what we think will suit us at the time. We do this after reading reviews, checking out recommendations, and by listening to the instrument on Youtube channels, and possibly even by looking at it or even playing it, or having it played to us in a music store where that is possible.

Then you need to factor in the most obvious question.
How much use will I make of a new keyboard? How much can I afford to spend on it? How will it perform better than my existing keyboard? Do I actually NEED rather than WANT it?

So many times I read that a certain sound or style 'isn't as good as I had hoped' or 'I can't get a realistic sounding piano sound'.
All that says to me is....You didn't do your homework before you opened your wallet. There is NO keyboard made that sounds EXACTLY like a grand piano for example. Kid yourself all you like, but If you really are that picky and want that much emphasis on it, then buy a piano! But you'll probably still find fault with it....some people are just extremely difficult to please......and lose reality.

I recently decided to pension off my ageing Yamaha Tyros. And I started looking at alternatives. Newer technology, up to date software,less risk of component failure, better portability and added features.  I had already decided that I was going to stick with 61 keys. I've had longer 76 and 88 key instruments and keyboards, but they take up too much space for me.

But being as this is the SX Forum, and not the Genos forum. I was surprised to see all these comparisons with the Genos. WHY
Sure....We'd probably all love one. But they are a VERY VERY expensive keyboard no matter what they can do. To me they are a stage instrument and that's all fine if you play for a living and make money from playing. I don't.


Which brings me to how I made my decision to buy the yamaha PSR SX700.

I can afford to go out and buy a Genos. Right here, right now. No problem.
I can also afford to buy an SX900 right here, right now.

I'm not rich, but I can make a sound economical and financial decision. So Why on earth would I even need a Genos? And the 'extras' on the SX900 just didn't add up to another £800 +/- for me. Chord Looper as an example. Bluetooth ? not even interesting. But again it's a personal choice.

So, I decided on the SX700 because I am a home player, and I firmly believe that unless you have so much money that it doesn't matter to you (and I suspect there are very few of us in that bracket) if you are not using your keyboard to perform with which then alleviates and justifies the cost, as you'll be making money from your gigs) then why on earth would you need such a powerful keyboard as a Genos? You just wouldn't.

Just my take on it.

Just buy an SX600 or SX700 or SX900. Perfect for pretty well all home users. And very portable too. So if you DID ever want to go and wow Grandma with it, you can just stick it in the boot or trunk of your car, or under your arm, plug it into a socket when you get there and play it.  No extra speakers, no miles of cables........Simplistic and very modern.

The only thing I HATE, absolutely hate, about the SX series, is that the manuals have been written very poorly indeed. You'll learn far more on these forums and stay a lot calmer than from trying to read those manuals.

[pc131]

Just buy an SX600 or SX700 or SX900. Perfect for pretty well all home users. And very portable too. So if you DID ever want to go and wow grandma with it, you can just stick it in the boot or trunk of your car, or under your arm, plug it into a socket and play. No extra speakers, no miles of cables........

I purchased SX600 and I'm very satisfied. Before I decided to go for SX600, I had a chance to play E343, not that bad as for teh price I could get it, but the fact that it was missing TRANSPOSE buttons on the panel was "no go". I had transpose buttons in my 1989 PSR-27. So I started researching and found SX600. I didn't care about small non-touch screen. What I love, it has audio interface built in, which SX700/900/Genos don't have.

I am bedroom player, but besides keys, I am a guitar player and I use SX to play some songs, that I played on PSR-27 and it's more than enough.