REVIEW: Genos 2 - But is it good for the Jews? (And content creators)

[chony]

Here's a review I posted on a Jewish Yamaha group.

Genos 2 - is it good for the Jews?

There are a couple of ways to approach a review on the G2. I'll start with an objective review of the features and upgrades, and then I'll move to a subjective review of how it affects creators, modern music, and ethnic groups - such as the Jewish wedding market.

Objectively, the G2 is a nice upgrade.

The Revelation Reverb might not seem like much, but for people like myself who often forgo reverb on my drums because it's so messy, this may be a welcome change.

The FM engine, is really cool in theory. It basically processes the sound in real time, instead of the AWM tone generator which just reproduces preset audio samples.

The drum dynamics and ambience features are also a nice leap forward, although I would have preferred an actual drum mixer, and a microphone bleed control in addition to the far and close mics.

The placement of the chord looping buttons, may actually inspire me to actually use them, so that's great. The LED's on the encoders are also helpful - it's not just about the lights - more importantly G2 encoders (unlike G1 knobs) don't have a beginning and end, which makes them much more practical to use.

Perhaps the biggest improvement is the MIDI to Style app, which will simplify, speed up and streamline the process of creating styles.

But the question I know you're all asking is "Is this good for the Jews?"

The short answer is, it depends, but probably not.

It depends on whether Yamaha has opened the programming of these new features to custom content creators.

We all know that Yamaha drums are almost useless for our music. They are just not mixed well and don't have the right sound and EQ for Jewish dance music. So people like myself have spent countless hours, resources and dollars creating our own kits. Will we now be able to create kits that give us the ability to mix between two mics? If yes - this keyboard is a game changer. Stay with me.

The FM engine seems great, but is it customizable? Do I have access to create my own sounds? Can I create modern EDM synths and with updated pumping envelopes and filters? If yes - this is keyboard is a game changer. Stay with me.

The most interesting moment of the presentation for me was the almost side note — the new MIDI to Style app. Is Yamaha actually giving us editing capabilities so that we can hear a style with full DSP effects as we make it, and if we don't like it, we can edit or adjust the MIDI? Does the new MIDI to Style app makes it easier to record style guitar parts in particular? If yes - this is keyboard is a game changer. Stay with me.

Why do I "stay with me"? Because I don't want anyone getting prematurely excited. Yamaha has a dismal track record with all of this. Ten years after SA2 sounds came out, we still cannot create them in YEM. We've had Revo technology (it's not actually Round Robin, but we can talk about that another time), but no Round Robin for custom drums. We've had Arps for years, but no ability to create our own EDM patterns. We've had the AudioPhraser 1.0 app for a long time, but it's buggy and was never updated. We've had Mega guitars since Tyros 3, but no efficient way to program them into styles ourselves.

So just based on track record, Yamaha does not prioritize creators and ethnic communities with special needs, and I don't expect that Genos 2 changes that.

Additionally, we didn't hear anything about the other FX and EQ on the keyboard. One of the massive issues on G1 is the lack of a good multi-band EQ that can be added to each channel. The built in one is just 2 band and poor quality, and although the DSP version is 3 band sweepable it is also poor quality, and using it means you can't add other FX to that channel. !!! Edit: EQ, Chorus and DSP effects are the same as G1.

I also didn't see a single nod towards EDM in the entire one hour presentation. In the Jewish wedding market EDM is central to any performance and the fact that it's not even an afterthought for the Yamaha presentation would lead me to believe that there are no improvements in this area. (Special shout out to PSM, who makes incredible high quality EDM packs that are one hundred times better than anything Yamaha has on board and that every Jewish Yamaha owner should buy. https://prostylemusic.net/product/dance-psm-pack-3/)

!!! Edit: Looking at the specs, I'm also shocked that even though six years have passed since G1 was released, the expansion voice memory remains at 3GB - this is enough for most people, but for creators it forces us to choose packs, and terribly limits our ability to create RAM heavy REX sliced audio styles.

!!! Edit: SHOCKING: The G1 had 58GB internal storage memory. Guess how much the G2 has? 15GB. This could be a deal breaker. The 15GB includes all your styles and settings, but most importantly your audio DJ library and background music. Will have to look into this.

So, will I be buying the Genos 2?

Probably, because this is my full time profession and I'm already heavily invested in the Yamaha system. I have created hundreds of high quality styles and sounds in Jewish, EDM and Middle Eastern genres. But transitioning to another brand is something I must seriously consider now that I know where Yamaha stands on the Genos 2.

Should YOU buy the Genos 2? If you're not in the same boat as me, No. Korg and Ketron have keyboards that are highly customizable and created with creators in mind. Crucially, unlike Yamaha, Korg especially reached out to the Jewish community to understand their needs and many of the new features in the Pa5x reflect that.

What do you think?

[gabrielschuck]

Great analysis, Chony.
When I finally achieved the dream of acquiring a Tyros5 (detail, a top-of-the-line model), I thought that my creative possibilities would expand completely, that I wouldn't have significant limitations in anything I wanted to do. As I got to know the keyboard and became familiar with it, I realized something that becomes even more obvious with each release: these keyboards are made for the general public, that is, for those who want to sit in front of the instrument and start playing.
If you want to tweak something, it will be very little, depending on the person's level of knowledge, practically nothing, because they won't be concerned with that. That is the sad reality. Few are those who want to squeeze water from a stone, that is, who have the patience to delve deeply into the instrument.
The Audio Phraser is dead, and the Yamaha Expansion Manager is on life support. It is only updated to include support for a new release and supposed improvements that the user doesn't even notice.

They keep adding more realistic sounds to the new releases, but the limitations are always the same. You can't create something of your own using all the technology the instrument offers, like Wave Cycling, etc.
You have to settle for a weak sample creator that offers almost nothing in terms of possibilities.
Another thing I can't accept is the limitations of the Style Creator; the possibilities are much broader using the computer for this, and it also irritates me that it's not possible to create styles with significant modifications made to a customized voice from the keyboard itself, at the very least limited to the equalizer.
Lastly, and most concerning of all: Yamaha doesn't seem to listen to the yearnings of these users. For them, it will always be small compared to other brands that give you much more freedom in this regard. It's a shame, a great shame.
I'm still a fan of this brand, but now I'm going to think very carefully when I buy my next keyboard.
Regards,
Gabriel

[pjd]

Hi Chony --

Thanks for sharing your review. It's actually quite a generic review that applies to performing musicians of all persuasions. Please, folks, don't be misdirected by the thread subject. Chony's comments are for everybody!

Take care -- pj

[chony]

The original article had been written for a Jewish audience of creators and the title was supposed to be humorous. But yes, it is a generic review that applies to all creators. The Jewish keyboard community is primarily interested in the tweakability of a keyboard since we have a specific sound, and purpose and a different approach to how we perform. If only we could get Yamaha to see how passionate our YOUNG community members are about keyboards, how we uniquely use these keyboards, and how keyboards are a priority purchase amongst the YOUTH, I think it would be an eye opener for them.

[Toril S]

I compose music n the genre Gammeldans, very Scandinavian dance music. It is almost impossible to find styles and sounds for this style of music on the keyboards.Yes, this applies to a lot of us, so thanks for starting this thread!

[GrannyRocks]

Probably, because this is my full time profession and I'm already heavily invested in the Yamaha system. I have created hundreds of high quality styles and sounds in Jewish, EDM and Middle Eastern genres. But transitioning to another brand is something I must seriously consider now that I know where Yamaha stands on the Genos 2.

Should YOU buy the Genos 2? If you're not in the same boat as me, No. Korg and Ketron have keyboards that are highly customizable and created with creators in mind. Crucially, unlike Yamaha, Korg especially reached out to the Jewish community to understand their needs and many of the new features in the Pa5x reflect that.

What do you think?

Can you tell me about your Jewish and Middle Eastern styles and sounds? Are they different from the current Yamaha expansion packs? I am Jewish also and I love the sounds.

[ganaregadhav]

How about Indian instruments and percussions like Tabla Sitar? Yamaha always disappoints me with those. I find Roland and Korg ecosystem harder to use even though those voices and styles are way better on those than Yamaha. Does Genos2 do better justice to South Asian arranger lovers?