Genos 2: New & improved voices, styles etc... what have you found so far?

[Amwilburn]

VOICES:
First off, this isn't my original idea for a thread, started by Tommar when he discovered the very different Orchestral Violin 1 (it turns out Orchestral Violin 2, and Cello, also have this slide articulation, *even* when set to polyphonic!

https://www.psrtutorial.com/forum/index.php/topic,68010.msg515459.html#msg515459

And then I recently discovered:

New Basses:
4 new S.Art 2 basses:
E.BassRock1
E.BassRock2
E.BassBallad
E.BassJazz

10 new S.Art basses, 10 new 'normal' versions of those same basses (but sampled with velocity dynamics)
3 DX7 basses, including that famous one at the start of Kenny Loggin's "Danger Zone"
Including Hoffner (violinbass), very expressive upright basses.
ElecJazzSlap is one of the new S.Art basses that really slaps! There are several others, as well as megavoice versions
The megavoice version of is this bass is ElJazzSlapFull,
demoed well in the Madonna style "80sPopQueen"
where variations A & B are for Like A Surgeon
B & C are Papa Don't Preach, which has the incredibly deep punch slap bass (although they layer it with a dx7 bass for even more thickness)
And no, the ActiveBassSlap is not the same.

New Percussion:
I just dicovered Orchestral Timpani (104-000-048), which is very different from Timpani (000-112-048)
Not only does the Orchestral Timpani sound more natural (and includes the bends from hitting harder), but if you play it at higher octaves, it has *sampled* rolls. So no fake harmony repetitions!
The only downside is its apparent volume is lower.

New Pianos:
The new CFX is the same as the CLP785/CVP909's piano (straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak)
The new character grand (Steinway) is a *huge* improvement on any of the previous pianos.


STYLES:
Action Anthem we know is for the main Top Gun Anthem (and an Amazing new Beat)
Desert Adventure is for Dune, but not sure which specific track (maybe Water Tower?)
80sPopQueen: A&B is for "Liike a Surgeon", C&D is for "Papa Don't Preach" (just like 80'sRockAnthem from T5, A&B are for "We Will Rock You", C&D are "Kashmire"

OTHERS:
-And of course, the new Revolution reverb
-HDMI out
-The new screen doesn't wash out, under normal and neon lighting at any angle. HOWEVER if I shine a spotlight right on it, it still does, and will still likely need those screen covers in spotlight situations. Remarkably, it stll doesn't wash out completely like the G1 screen; I can still make out on screen text, but it's pretty faint in that situation.
- +/- 3 Octaves instead of just +/- 2 for the Right hand parts; hopefully an OS update can give us +/- 3 octaves as well in the voice settings (currently still limited to only +/- 2)
Will continue to edit and update this post as we discover new things about G2


I'm also adding a downgrades section:
DOWNGRADES:
-LCD (too bright) sub menu screen vs Oled on the original G1
-15GB (flash?) instead of 58GB SSD
-Voices: not actual downgrades per se, But I've noticed the BigBandBrass SW sounds like it's in mono (because of the added EQ dsp; once you remove the EQ, the voice is full stereo). *OR* you can go into the details of the eq, and change input mode from mono to stereo. But what a *weird* design choice!!!
- the new orchestral kits, the mapping is *not* 1 to 1 with the old Symphony kit. Which is a pain; it means I can't just select the new sound on an old style and automatically get the correct sound on a new kit. It's a *lot* of extra work. But it also means more possibilities when coding a new symphony style.


Mark

[SingerSongwriter]

I have been wondering about the new screen and also button lighting. I have taken my Genos 1 out to outdoor gigs and learned the hard way that all the screens and buttons are invisible in daylight. I created a little cardboard box shade that worked, but are the new angle and screen are now visible in sunlight? Or are you saying you still need a shade for them?

Also, what kind of shade or screen covers are people using? My cardboard box looks a little janky.

[Amwilburn]

There's actually a sheet plastic one that looks pretty good (I forgot where)

I haven't taken it outside yet (it's been arctic temperatures since it arrived, no sunny days since G2's arrival, except while i'm playing  ) but I will at some point. But yes, hopefully someone else will try before summer!

The buttons appear to be the same, except the LED fader and slider lights are bright under any circumstance. Even if I shine a flashlight right on them.

[BogdanH]

I haven't tried myself, but if playing outside at sunny day, has anyone tried playing Genos/SX keyboard with polarizing sunglasses attached? Polarizing glasses definitely remove (more precise: don't pass trough) all kind of light reflections.. is just a thought 

Bogdan

[pjd]

I know that Mark is super-excited about the new SArt2 Electric Jazz Basses, but wait, there's more! Violin (Hofner) bass, Rockabilly Bass, and Acoustic Jazz Open Bass.

The Electric Jazz bass is probably a Classic Fender Jazz bass. Beatles fans will know the Hofner. Haven't heard the Rockabilly bass isolated, but possibly an upright, which would be typical for vintage?

Throw in the Classic Nylon guitar and that's quite a boost in the bass/guitar department. I think the Genos2 styles sound better due to the new basses and drum kits -- as far as popular music is concerned. The rhythm section playing is très tight.

All the best -- pj

[jimlaing]

I don't have G2 yet ... but I believe I saw somewhere that there is a new and improved Chimes (might be called Tubular Bells)?  Can someone with G2 confirm?

[Amwilburn]

I know that Mark is super-excited about the new SArt2 Electric Jazz Basses, but wait, there's more! Violin (Hofner) bass, Rockabilly Bass, and Acoustic Jazz Open Bass.

The Electric Jazz bass is probably a Classic Fender Jazz bass. Beatles fans will know the Hofner. Haven't heard the Rockabilly bass isolated, but possibly an upright, which would be typical for vintage?

Throw in the Classic Nylon guitar and that's quite a boost in the bass/guitar department. I think the Genos2 styles sound better due to the new basses and drum kits -- as far as popular music is concerned. The rhythm section playing is très tight.

All the best -- pj

Yes, the new upright basses are *incredible*

I have no idea *where* to use them though, except maybe the song "Fever"

I don't have G2 yet ... but I believe I saw somewhere that there is a new and improved Chimes (might be called Tubular Bells)?  Can someone with G2 confirm?

I hadn't looked for new chimes beyond the DX7's iconic tubular bell (for the Top Gun specific sound) but there's definitely new chromatic percussion (I mentioned the timpani above).

Mark

[ton37]

I don't have G2 yet ... but I believe I saw somewhere that there is a new and improved Chimes (might be called Tubular Bells)?  Can someone with G2 confirm?

Yes, there are. They come with to the new FM soundchip with its specific 'vintage'  character. Apparently yamaha had a bunch of leftover chips 

[musicman100]

New Basses:
4 new S.Art 2 basses:
E.BassRock1
E.BassRock2
E.BassBallad
E.BassJazz

10 new S.Art basses, 10 new 'normal' versions of those same basses (but sampled with velocity dynamics)

What are the new normal ones?

I like the vintage round bass is the one I use a lot.

Would you see when you replaced voices in a midi file not to use the super articulate voices? but use the noraml ones?

thanks

[DrakeM]

Yes, the new upright basses are *incredible*

I have no idea *where* to use them though, except maybe the song "Fever"

Mark, I built a custom song style to do the song "Fever" and the best sounding Bass to do the song I found was the Old, Old GM Acoustic Bass.
With the style, I can sing it live and add the drum kit hits using the Multi-Pad and turn on and off the back up singers. It's one busy tune to sing. I haven't created a video of me using the style yet.

https://app.box.com/file/1836638569?s=6be8c136f557c76307c1

I'd like to hear the G2 bass version of the song and hear the difference.

Drake

[Amwilburn]

What are the new normal ones?

I like the vintage round bass is the one I use a lot.

Would you see when you replaced voices in a midi file not to use the super articulate voices? but use the noraml ones?

thanks

Well it depends on the song, but I'd always try the s.art 1 first, and see if there are too many slide effects, etc, then either revoice with mega enhancer (switches to mega voices), or if that still introduces too many 'playing effects', *then* switch to the normal version

Mark

[Amwilburn]

Mark, I built a custom song style to do the song "Fever" and the best sounding Bass to do the song I found was the Old, Old GM Acoustic Bass.
With the style, I can sing it live and add the drum kit hits using the Multi-Pad and turn on and off the back up singers. It's one busy tune to sing. I haven't created a video of me using the style yet.

https://app.box.com/file/1836638569?s=6be8c136f557c76307c1

I'd like to hear the G2 bass version of the song and hear the difference.

Drake

That sounds really good! The GM acoustic bass is the loudest one on the arranger(s), so not surprising you chose that; Volume matters a lot for a midi song as well (I might have to reduce the volume of all other parts). Do you have the style for me to just drop the bass in and render an mp3 for you to listen to? If not, don't sweat it, I'll dig out a midi and pop it on there; just *really* busy on the weekends in retail!

Mark

[Amwilburn]

Ok, I've rendered 2 versions of Fever from the same midi file; one with no megavoice (just me manually selecting Genos 2 voices in lieu of general midi) and the 2nd one is a megavoice by running through mega enhancer 2.1; re-coding the midi for megavoice everything; drums, bass, jazz guitar, strings (I couldn't find a good mega version of a muted guitar (or even an S.Art!), so I just used a regular guitar voice for that)

Let me know if I need to render the audio for the basic midi file for comparison? Both of them I used the upright slap, which may be *too* slappy (especially the non megavoice version). I can always render with one of the other 3 upright versions (except Legato, that really didn't fit)

Non Mega
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b6MBokgV3jx4h3QTtgG0cOODTgFtWE9y/view?usp=sharing

Mega Enhanced
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vVOEEVQ9uBlrlIqw1qh4WZRkWQGdoleS/view?usp=sharing

Mark

[DrakeM]

Hi Mark

That second version bass walk sounded really good.

What does Mega Enhanced mean? In the past we have not been able to use Mega voices to recorded our own licks and bass runs into our own custom styles. 

[Amwilburn]

Hi Mark

That second version bass walk sounded really good.

What does Mega Enhanced mean? In the past we have not been able to use Mega voices to recorded our own licks and bass runs into our own custom styles.

It means I took the midi file and ran it through Yamaha's Mega Enhancer program (currently V2.1 for G2); more "volume compatibility" and ensure's you're using the newest "tech" for your midi files.

Long story short, you can still get the bass to sound almost that good by manually playing (version 1) or by using the mega enhanced midi file to generate the style using midi to style. But that particular set of voices is Genos 2 only; the whole point of this thread, which was to find out what's new. For me, the Drums and bass sound *real* now. And there's a bunch of new voices for both categories on G2.

Oh, and in the past (since T1!) we've always been able to use megavoices in our own styles. The problem was, the programming was quite complicated, and since we don't have access to their tool, for sff1 you actually had to program the 'noise effects' on one channel, and the music portion on another (quite annoying). No longer the case with guitar casm for sff2, but for the bass I'd still need to use 2 channels

Mark

[Amwilburn]

Under "Downgrades", (although I understand why this is necessary) I've tried programming on the new orchestral kits... the mapping is *not* 1 to 1 with the old Symphony kit. Which is a pain; it means I can't just select the new sound on an old style and automatically get the correct sound on a new kit. It's a *lot* of extra work.

Yes, true, when they added Revo drums, the sounds didn't map 1 to 1 going *backwards* ie styles using the new drum kits didn't automatically work on the older kits, and that was an inconvenience, too, but necessary for adding new nuances in the hi hats. But at least you could use the revo kits on your old styles and they *would* work just fine. In the case of the orchestral drums, that doesn't work either (not well, anyway). So yes, they sound much better, but it will take new rhythm programming to make them sound good.

Of course, you can dissect the new styles and see how the programming works now, but I'd have much preferred the way they did it with Genos Revo Drums where you can just insert the new kit into the old style and it works correctly; they are all 128 note drumkits (which is one reason why the G2 now has +3/-3 Right hand Octaves instead of the traditional +/- 2) so even if you reserved the old drum mapping, you'd still have had tons of notes to play with to put new sounds into the kits.

Mark