Genos in Canada

[Marcus]

I got a surprise phone message earlier in the week while I was in Toronto. My local Yamaha dealer confirmed that half my order came in and I got my Genos early. Wonderful, I get to briefly try it out before Christmas while I must use my Tyros 5 for the coming season. I was quite busy this week, but there was a keyboard slot left empty on my home studio 2 tier stand while my backup Tyros 5 was tucked in my gigging bag, so I couldn't wait to hook it up.

Firstly, I was surprised on how light this new 76 note board was and lifted easily onto my top keyboard stand. Beautifully designed board with both the generously sized touch screen and music rest moved forward for easier viewing compared to the Tyros series. Yes, the keybed is slightly heavier, but super high quality and wonderful feel of the Tyros series. Familiar button layout and I easily navigated the touch screen menus and functions with no issues at all. Most likely because I studied the manuals and followed many of the excellent posts in our forum here.

I was struck immediately to the higher quality sound and realism of the voices on the Genos compared to the Tyros 5. It confirmed my more prudent decision to order two Geno boards at a time to replace my Tyros 5s and save a few more hundred. This was based on my assumption that even if I spent time to rework my Tyros 5 to sound like the Genos, I could perhaps make my Tyros 5 sound about 75% the same as a Genos, but that 25% difference was still worth the upgrade to me. My estimate was drastically incorrect. The Genos is easily 50% newer and better in every category. Even Genos styles of the same name and most of the same voices are not even close to the Tyros 5 versions. This keyboard exceeded my expectations...can't wait to delve deeper after the Christmas rush into the coming weeks.

Just the default style and voices at startup are clearly upgraded from any voice on the Tyros 5. The default SkyPop style, Left (70sSuitcaseClean), Right1 (CFX ConcertGrand), Right2 (KinoStrings), and Right3 (SteelAcousticFinger) voices easily outperformed any Tyros 5 voices. My favorite Tyros 5 acoustic guitar for realism and great SA effects is the ConcertGuitar. Even the first default Genos acoustic guitar that pops up sounds more authentic than my best Tyros 5 guitar. I am just blown away by this board.

The new Real Reverb+ DSP is outstanding, even higher quality than the Tyros 5 Real Reverb. I immediately used the Utility Parameter Lock to lock the new Real Reverb+ DSP into the default Reverb Block in the Genos Mixing Console. This made all my transferred Tyros 5 Voice Bank registrations sound even more sonically authentic, even before tweaking and upgrade to some of the new Genos voices. The new Revo kits are best I have heard and particularly like the Revo JazzStickKit and the JazzBrushExpanded kits.

I haven't checked out the Arps feature yet or the changes to the VH2, but my bracket for my external Roland VP-7 Vocal Harmony processor fits perfectly into the similar speaker mount holes. Ironically, my Roland VP-7 unit sits nicely above that blank Genos panel area on the top right side. I can shorten the bracket down quite a bit since no buttons are near to be covered up as on my Tyros 5. Time will tell, if the Genos VH2 can totally replace the VP-7 unit. Thank you Yamaha for the early delivery, kept the price even below a Tyros 5-76, and produced a super quality arranger that I can't wait to dig in.

Marcus

[midiw]

^

although i gave you a like it was a struggle to so do to a guy that has that dream machine and so if you take it out of your house on a gig be careful that i'm not in the crowd because....   ( just kidding my friend !!! ).

Enjoy your Geno and thanks for the great write up and giving us the inside facts.

[Marcus]

^

although i gave you a like it was a struggle to so do to a guy that has that dream machine and so if you take it out of your house on a gig be careful that i'm not in the crowd because....   ( just kidding my friend !!! ).

Enjoy your Geno and thanks for the great write up and giving us the inside facts.

Thanks psrguy for the like.

I bought the best state of the art security system for my Genos. It weights over 200 lbs and comes with a Genos bolt-on kit and drilling is required, but worth it. 

Marcus

[rbackes]

Great, ROTFL 

[Lee Batchelor]

That should really increase the trade-in/resale value! On the other hand, you can sit on the ball, Marcus. I'd advise a suitable cushion.

[Pianoman]

Well deserved congratulations Marcus.

For the patience of a Saint, as you watched your cousins down south already receiving theirs over a month before you.

I expect you will give your Genos a good thrashing and report the results here, or maybe even post a demo.

I hope that you have a patient and understanding wife.

Best Regards and Merry Christmas.
Pianoman.

[Marcus]

Well deserved congratulations Marcus.

For the patience of a Saint, as you watched your cousins down south already receiving theirs over a month before you.

I expect you will give your Genos a good thrashing and report the results here, or maybe even post a demo.

I hope that you have a patient and understanding wife.

Best Regards and Merry Christmas.
Pianoman.

Thanks for the kind comments. I wasn't in any hurry to upgrade from my Tyros 5 to a Genos, but I learned my lesson regarding getting my second backup Tyros 5 back in 2014. I originally got a great price on my Tyros 5 back in 2013 when it first came out and the Canadian dollar was doing well to the US dollar. I found that I loved the Tyros 5 Organ World and Ensemble too much to have my previous Tyros 4 as my backup, so a year later (2014) I priced another new Tyros 5. The price jumped $500 to compensate for the fluctuating exchange rate. I ended up getting a demo Tyros 5 in Toronto (practically brand new and with the factory 2 year warranty) for less than the cost of my first Tyros 5.

Again, this time around, the Genos is so much more than a Tyros 5. Impractical to keep a Genos and then a Tyros 5 for backup ... too much a compatibility issue with my custom work. Afraid the Genos price might jump in the coming year, I ordered 2 at a time now with significant savings. I'll have no problems selling off my Tyros 5s privately. Pianoman, if budget is an issue, go with the Tyros 5 arranger, but if cost isn't the priority, go with the Genos. The sound quality and upgraded style programming is huge on the Genos. Try one yourself, you are in for a treat...worth every penny.

I had a few custom styles on my Tyros 5 with matching custom multipads, that I can run out of polyphony on my Tyros 5 and certain layered Right Hand voices can cut out from time to time while playing. I tried that same styles on my Genos with no note drop off at all, and that was with no expansion voices. The Genos polyphony increase by the specs state (128 for Preset Voices + 128 for Expansion Voices) which I thought would make no difference on my Genos, but obviously the preset voice polyphony was doubled (guessing that the Tyros 5 was 64 + 64 because of stereo samples). So just on the polyphonic increase alone, I would never go back to a Tyros 5.

I also sync/start MIDIs with styles, so I can simultaneously run up to 25 channels at the same time (8 style/ 8 MIDI/ 4 hand parts/ 4 multipads + 1 midi bass pedals), which sounded great on the Tyros 5 with it's high quality D/A output converters, but the new 32bit DAC output circuit and increased polyphony on the new Genos, the Genos takes it over the top performance wise. Note that even the Tyros 5 quality D/A output converters exceed the Korg PA4X, important if you want to really push your arranger to the limit.

I will certainly report in the future and include some of my usual samples/demos. I want to get in depth with the Genos VH2 and check those improvements and dabble with REX2 files and the YEM, and make more serious recordings. I made several pro backup vocal studio recordings for local musicians back in the day, but I should record more of my own work before my aging voice gets too bad. The pro sound quality of the Genos should help me do so.

Regards, Marcus 

[pjd]

I got a surprise phone message earlier in the week while I was in Toronto. My local Yamaha dealer confirmed that half my order came in and I got my Genos early.

Firstly, I was surprised on how light this new 76 note board was and lifted easily onto my top keyboard stand.

Hi Marcus --

Congratulations, mate, I took delivery yesterday, too. (Photo attached.) Thank goodness it arrived yesterday, not today -- snow and freezing rain. Another drive-by delivery. Genos is now safe and warm. 

I'll second your comment about handling. The girth around the middle is pretty big, but the Genos "winglets" to either side facilitate handling. It might be a wide stretch of the arms for some to handle the Genos in this manner. Works for me.

Short story from my end, the sound is really worth the wait. It's a keeper.

Enjoy yourself!

Wishing everyone a happy holiday no matter what you celebrate -- pj


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[alans]

Hi Marcus and pj

Santa really smiled on you this year 😄😄😄 ho ho ho

I wish you both a merry Genos Christmas  and happy playing New Year

Best wishes

Alan

[Lee Batchelor]

Pjd, where are you located? It seems Genos is leaking in all over the place in Canada, except at my favorite music store. Me thinks it's time for a change.

[Pianoman]

Congratulations PJ.

First Marcus Antonius, and now you too Brutus. (Sorry, couldn't resist throwing in some Julius Caesar.)
You'll be having a very Merry Christmas indeed. Give it a good thrashing for me.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Best Regards,
Pianoman.

[stephenm52]

Paul,

Fantastic news, I'm happy to hear you've taken delivery of the Genos.  Talk about "Santa Claus Coming to Town."   Have fun and please try to get some sleep    I know when I got mine for the first 2 weeks, I saw 1:30 AM, had to force myself to get to bed!


Marcus CONGRATS to you too as well!!  Thanks for your review.  Merry Christmas.

[pjd]

Pjd, where are you located? It seems Genos is leaking in all over the place in Canada, except at my favorite music store. Me thinks it's time for a change.

Hi Lee -- I'm passing as Canadian.    I've lived so far north most of my life, I'm almost there.  The box did have both a French and English owner's manual, so maybe Japan has finally discovered Canada.

Thanks Alan, Pianoman and Steve. I'm thrashing like mad. I've set-up about 80% of my church registrations and if freezing rain wasn't predicted for Sunday, I'd be sorely tempted to gig with it. (No case or bag yet.) Darn the brass, strings and woodwinds are good.

Take care, folks! Lee, I'm rootin' for ya -- pj

[travlin-easy]

Ya gotta love it when UPS leans a $4,200 keyboard against your front door and drives away. My mailbox is nearly 300 feet from my front door and I cannot see it. The US Mail guy couldn't fit a laptop box in my mail box, so he just sat it on the ground near the driveway, right next to the trash cans that were there for refuse collection that day. Thank goodness I saw it before the trash truck arrived or it would have ended up in the landfill, or in the home of one of the trash collectors and no one would be the wiser. I raised bloody Hell with the local post office, but I doubt that it did any good. The postman for our neighbor is a young kid in his early 20s and probably don't give a damned about anything other than getting his route done as quickly as possible.

Enjoy that Genos,

Gary

[midiw]

^

Gary:

Firstly, congratulations on getting your XMas present extra early and your are also lucky Santa did not drop in down the chimney.

I am sure you have heard/watched in the news about post office deliveries being snatched/stolen from the front doors by person's following a postman making their deliveries.  Our local police are suspicious that those post delivery persons are in cahoots with the person steeling the delivery.  The police are saying that those post delivery persons are casual/part-time workers hired for the XMas rush.

Meanwhile, how do those French Horns  or those country western Hawaiian guitars sound ?.  Any Zither's in the sound bank to play that third man theme ?

Ohh, and by the way Enjoy your Genos and a very merry XMas wishing good health to you and yours.

[Ed B]

Congratulations Marcus and PJ on getting your Genos.
Merry Christmas to all and Lee I do hope you get yours soon. Oshawa is not off the beaten path.
Best
Ed B

[Pianoman]

Hello Gary.

I've re-read your post twice already but I am still confused.
It seems like you have also received your Genos. If that is the case, then please allow me to offer my hearty congratulations.

Best Regards and Merry Christmas,
Pianoman.

[travlin-easy]

Sorry guys, I have not purchased the Genos, yet. I was commenting on that photo of the keyboard resting against the door posted earlier. I could easily buy one, but considering the state of my health and what little time I have remaining in this life, I opted not to buy the Genos and stick with my trusty PSR-S950.

Sorry about the confusion,

Gary 

[Marcus]

Sorry guys, I have not purchased the Genos, yet. I was commenting on that photo of the keyboard resting against the door posted earlier. I could easily buy one, but considering the state of my health and what little time I have remaining in this life, I opted not to buy the Genos and stick with my trusty PSR-S950.

Sorry about the confusion,

Gary 

The Yamaha PSR-S series are great arrangers as well. It will be interesting what the new PSR-S model will have in store and what Genos features will trickle down (sound quality being the number one).

Your potential theft story reminded me of a recent Video I enjoyed with his so-called "boom box". Fun video to watch.

Tacoma man creates "Boom Box" to deter package thieves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xBcOFX02EI

Merry Christmas and I hope your health holds up into the coming years,
Marcus

[travlin-easy]

Marcus, loved the link and I just spent the last two hours watching many more posted by the same group. Really funny stuff.

All the best,

Gary