I finally got the Genos... Impressions

[dai phan]

Hello all,

Has been a while since I post but last week I bought the Genos and at the same time I keep the T5 and PA4X. I have not tested all the sounds and styles but my impression of the over all presentation, image is average. The KB looks very plasticky and when compared to T5 it took a step backward. It has the appearance of an average Casio KB rather than Yamaha flap ship arranger. Not to start any war but the appearance of the Pa4x is way ahead of the Genos. I love Yamaha and that is why I have owned the T4/5. Am I seeing things? I was expecting wow factor when opened the box but it is not to be.  So good to be back her again. Dai

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[Toril S]

Hello Dai. Good desicion to keep the T5. I also have one, and love it! But T5 is also plastic😀 I think you will like the Genos more when you have played it for a while. It has more features than the Tyros. Good luck. Nice studio setup!

[hans1966]

Hello Toril, I think that the design of the tyros 5 is a silver body (titanium finish), which seems chiseled in metal, according to the characteristics in this link

https://es.yamaha.com/es/products/musical_instruments/keyboards/arranger_workstations/tyros5/features.html

[dai phan]

The Tyros is plastic but with the silver look, you cannot tell unless you touch it. The G is obviously plastic looking at it. Dai

[dai phan]

I am sure it is the cost saving measure. The PA4x is looking very sharp despite its age. Dai

[Fred Smith]

I am sure it is the cost saving measure. The PA4x is looking very sharp despite its age. Dai

It's more likely to save weight. One of the design requirements was that the Genos have 76 keys but be much lighter than the Tyros, so it's easier to lug around.

Cheers,
Fred

[panos]

Nice review dai phan!
So after having the Geno's for a week your impression is that it looks plastic.
Does it also  produce any sounds or you haven't noticed anything yet?
I believe too that the colour is important in a music forum.
Have fun with your old and new equipment

[beykock]

Hi Dai :

Congratulations with your " man cave ".
Very nice !👍Or ... is it maybe the showroom of your music shop ?😀

What a nice collection of keyboards !!! 
WOW. 💥

You must be a rich musician ... one of the few.😺

I hope you will be happy with your Genos in the near future.
If you do not like it and want to get rid of it : I know a poor musician who would love to have this nice present : ME. 😋

BTW ... but ... what made you decide to buy the Genos after reading your " first impressions "  ...

Are you joking ?🐻

Babette

[EileenL]

Most people in the past said they did not like silver keyboards and black was the professional colour.
  You must be one of the first that has complained about the Genos look.

[DerekA]

I'm not really sure what you're doing dai.

Genos makes a decent replacement for T5. But I see no reason to have both Genos and T5 for home use. Apart from the small niggles posted on this forum, T5 does not give you anything that the Genos doesn't.

[Toril S]

Except for the look and the tilt screen. Tyros is striking! Genos is just OK!

[hoangbr2014]

Hello Dai. Good desicion to keep the T5. I also have one, and love it! But T5 is also plastic😀 I think you will like the Genos more when you have played it for a while. It has more features than the Tyros. Good luck. Nice studio setup!

Don't care about the look, I need the sound, Tyros is not a good one now, but Genos is not enough for me, I will buy Korg 5x

[hoangbr2014]

Hello all,

Has been a while since I post but last week I bought the Genos and at the same time I keep the T5 and PA4X. I have not tested all the sounds and styles but my impression of the over all presentation, image is average. The KB looks very plasticky and when compared to T5 it took a step backward. It has the appearance of an average Casio KB rather than Yamaha flap ship arranger. Not to start any war but the appearance of the Pa4x is way ahead of the Genos. I love Yamaha and that is why I have owned the T4/5. Am I seeing things? I was expecting wow factor when opened the box but it is not to be.  So good to be back her again. Dai

Don't care about the look, I need the sound, Tyros is not a good one now, but Genos is not enough for me, I will buy Korg 5x
Modify message

[beykock]

Not easy to buy a PA5X if the arranger is not available yet.

Nobody knows if and when the new arranger will be in the market and how the new spec's will look like.

Or ... do you know more about the new highend
Korg  ?🎺

Babette

[dai phan]

Hi Dai :

Congratulations with your " man cave ".
Very nice !👍Or ... is it maybe the showroom of your music shop ?😀

What a nice collection of keyboards !!! 
WOW. 💥

You must be a rich musician ... one of the few.😺

I hope you will be happy with your Genos in the near future.
If you do not like it and want to get rid of it : I know a poor musician who would love to have this nice present : ME. 😋

BTW ... but ... what made you decide to buy the Genos after reading your " first impressions "  ...

Are you joking ?🐻

Babette

I am a huge fan of Yamaha for life so I always want to have the latest flagship. I think the overall look of the G is a step back from the T series. Dai

[dai phan]

Nice review dai phan!
So after having the Geno's for a week your impression is that it looks plastic.
Does it also  produce any sounds or you haven't noticed anything yet?
I believe too that the colour is important in a music forum.
Have fun with your old and new equipment

I started to investigate into its ability last night. I just wish Yamaha would make the appearance more professional as it is. A person who compares the T and the G agrees with me. I am talking about the outside beauty and it is very subjective. Dai

[dai phan]

Hi Dai :

Congratulations with your " man cave ".
Very nice !👍Or ... is it maybe the showroom of your music shop ?😀

What a nice collection of keyboards !!! 
WOW. 💥

You must be a rich musician ... one of the few.😺

I hope you will be happy with your Genos in the near future.
If you do not like it and want to get rid of it : I know a poor musician who would love to have this nice present : ME. 😋

BTW ... but ... what made you decide to buy the Genos after reading your " first impressions "  ...

Are you joking ?🐻

Babette

I am not rich at all. I am a public servant and live pay check to pay check. But I am huge fan of Yamaha so I save and save to get the latest. Dai

[Amxf5]

I have the limited edition"Spotlight White" Motif XF, and it looks great in all white. Yamaha should offer that color on the Genos. Make it a limited edition also, probably sell like crazy!

[panos]

Hi there Dai,
ok I don't like grey colour compare to black and this is a matter of taste as you said and I agree.
You probably are suggesting that as long as they have decided to make it black it should be another kind of black e.g like "metal black" to look more "fancy" and "pro".

Tyros 5 had a shape and a colour that it is out there from 2002.
Do you think that a Tyros 6 would be more impressive than Genos?
ok it is your opinion and I can respect that.

You said that the appearance of one of these two looks like an average Casio KB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YwAarhuH2I
Once again it is your opinion and I can respect that too.

Next step:
Looking forward for your review about the screen.
If it has nice colours,it is smooth,a handy menu etc. 

[stephenm52]

Most people in the past said they did not like silver keyboards and black was the professional colour.
  You must be one of the first that has complained about the Genos look.

Personally I like the black and prefer it to the silver color.  I'll never understand the dis-satisfaction I read about Genos from some.   I'm more interested improving my playing versus playing to adjust sounds on a keyboard.  Don't get me wrong I've spent plenty of time doing that but I've got an upcoming 2 month weekly piano solo gig so a lot of my time is brushing up on some tunes I haven't played in quite a few years.  That aside I still spend plenty of time with the Genos and Pa4x.

Dai Phan looks like you have a keyboard store there and not a studio in your home.  Not even the local Guitar Center where I live have that many TOTL arrangers.

[dai phan]

Personally I like the black and prefer it to the silver color.  I'll never understand the dis-satisfaction I read about Genos from some.   I'm more interested improving my playing versus playing to adjust sounds on a keyboard.  Don't get me wrong I've spent plenty of time doing that but I've got an upcoming 2 month weekly piano solo gig so a lot of my time is brushing up on some tunes I haven't played in quite a few years.  That aside I still spend plenty of time with the Genos and Pa4x.

Dai Phan looks like you have a keyboard store there and not a studio in your home.  Not even the local Guitar Center where I live have that many TOTL arrangers.

That is in my room where I spend time each night to write music. Dai

[beykock]

Hi Dai :


One thing is absolutely sure : you have a very nice home studio and a great collection of keyboards.
I am really jealous. I have only one arranger keyboard and a lot of dust and cables in my room. 

Enjoy making music !

And ... are you happy with your Genos now ?


Babette

[Pianoman]

Hello Dai Phan.

Congratulations on your new instrument and I hope that it will bring you many years of
pleasure.

Best Regards.
Abby.

[Pianoman]

I'm more interested improving my playing versus playing to adjust sounds on a keyboard.  Don't get me wrong I've spent plenty of time doing that but I've got an upcoming 2 month weekly piano solo gig so a lot of my time is brushing up on some tunes I haven't played in quite a few years.

Stephen.
You are very right of course about practising your playing, and it is something that a lot
of us should concentrate on.

An Arranger is the great equaliser, for those who always wanted to play music but
never had the opportunity to learn or maybe never took the time to learn.

Anybody with a basic knowledge of a 3 fingered or 4 fingered (maybe even single fingered) chord
will be able to press that chord with their left hand, push the Intro button, and presto,  sound like
an accomplished musician, but only up to a point.

Once the intro has run it's course, as well as the first few bars of the style, then comes the
moment of truth that separates those who have practised playing from those who have not.

I've been playing since I was a young kid but feel that there's always room for improvement.
It's important to practice, as much as possible, the actual playing of any instrument.

A good keyboard in the hands of an unpracticed player will disguise the poor playing
skills a little bit, but in the end the poor playing will show.

This is probably one of the reasons why we are seeing an ever expanding proliferation of
Midi Files.

In other words, mastering your playing skills is essential in any circumstance, but more so
when performing in public.

In the months when gigs are scarce I try to put in at least 4 hours of playing practice every day.
That means just piano practice, on my Kawai MP11.

No arranger, no tweaking of styles and voices, and no particular song either.
Just imagining a scale or chord sequence and playing away.

I'm a very competitive musician and have an insatiable need to play better than
whoever came before me in the venues where I perform.
That can only be achieved by constant practice.

My audiences find it amusing when I sometimes am simultaneously able to chat  with
a person while holding my glass of water in my left hand and furiously playing away on
the piano with the right hand without missing a beat.

Like so many things, it takes a lot of practice.

I'm performing 6 nights a week now so I unfortunately have little time to practice at
home, even though the gigs themselves are a form of daily practice.

On the one day that I'm free of gigging commitments however, I don't want to come within 10
feet of any instrument. I generally just chill out until my exhausted and aching body
recovers enough to go out and do battle again the next day.

There are different types of gigging though.
There are the gigs where you go twice a month and play a few tunes, then there are
the gigs where you have to go out 180 days in a row, often playing 3 to 4 hours nonstop.

In the case of the latter, there are days you just don't feel like going but you know that
you have to, because of contractual obligations and the need to pay your bills.

I understand that this is off topic but I wanted to respond to Stephen's comments, and also
because somebody, Babette I think, wanted to know what it's like to gig professionally.

Best Regards.
Abby.

[beykock]

Thank you, Abby, for your very interesting feedback.

IMHO a professional gigger's life is a very hard life ... always working when others are free and/or have fun.

Almost no family life : only one day each week. 😒

No work or being ill = no income and high expenses : instruments, pa, car, insurance etc. etc. and ...
no personnel ...

I have a lot of respect for who you are and what you are doing to earn your daily income and to support your family financially. WOW ! 👋 🎩

Best wishes, Babette

[mikf]

IMHO a professional gigger's life is a very hard life ...

I don't buy this at all...  living on the sunshine Island of Ibiza, going out at very civilized hours to play piano and entertain, being applauded for what you do every day, doing something that you are really good at and could do in your sleep, surrounded by beautiful women.....  ....
Every job can get a bit humdrum, .......but I will tell you what is a hard life. Getting up every day at 4 am, going 2000 ft underground, crawling in 4 ft high ceiling for miles to your place of work, digging coal out by the ton without being able to stand up, having the danger of injury or death in your sights every day, going home aching in every muscle and joint, then getting up next day at 4 am and doing it all over again to keep your family.
I know, I watched my father and many other men doing it every day for 40 years. Playing gigs, are you kidding ....  get real.
Mike

[Pianoman]

I don't buy this at all...  living on the sunshine Island of Ibiza, going out at very civilized hours to play piano and entertain, being applauded for what you do every day, doing something that you are really good at and could do in your sleep, surrounded by beautiful women.....  ....
Every job can get a bit humdrum, .......but I will tell you what is a hard life. Getting up every day at 4 am, going 2000 ft underground, crawling in 4 ft high ceiling for miles to your place of work, digging coal out by the ton without being able to stand up, having the danger of injury or death in your sights every day, going home aching in every muscle and joint, then getting up next day at 4 am and doing it all over again to keep your family.
I know, I watched my father and many other men doing it every day for 40 years. Playing gigs, are you kidding ....  get real.
Mike

What you say is very true Mike.

Even though your reply is directed at what Babette wrote in response to my post just before hers,
the emphasis of my comments was on reinforcing Stephen's views on the importance of
practising to improve the playing of an instrument, versus just playing to adjust sounds.

I totally agree that it is nice to be surrounded by beautiful women.
The Missus keeps me on a tight leash though.

Best Regards,
Abby.

[stephenm52]

Stephen.
You are very right of course about practising your playing, and it is something that a lot
of us should concentrate on.

I've been playing since I was a young kid but feel that there's always room for improvement.
It's important to practice, as much as possible, the actual playing of any instrument.
In other words, mastering your playing skills is essential in any circumstance, but more so
when performing in public.

In the months when gigs are scarce I try to put in at least 4 hours of playing practice every day.
That means just piano practice, on my Kawai MP11.




My audiences find it amusing when I sometimes am simultaneously able to chat  with
a person while holding my glass of water in my left hand and furiously playing away on
the piano with the right hand without missing a beat.

Like so many things, it takes a lot of practice.

There are different types of gigging though.
There are the gigs where you go twice a month and play a few tunes, then there are
the gigs where you have to go out 180 days in a row, often playing 3 to 4 hours nonstop.

In the case of the latter, there are days you just don't feel like going but you know that
you have to, because of contractual obligations and the need to pay your bills.

I understand that this is off topic but I wanted to respond to Stephen's comments, and also
because somebody, Babette I think, wanted to know what it's like to gig professionally.

Best Regards.
Abby.

Abby,

Thanks for your comments. As much as I enjoy arrangers and the doors they have opened to allow me to play more gigs, I have found them to hurt my piano playing.  I've spent so much time thru the years tweaking and setting up my arrangers that I've thought what would have the outcome been had I spent that time practicing piano.   It's water over the dam, I don't depend on playing gigs to earn a living, I made it other ways and am now retired from my full time work.  Now my gigs just give me a little play money.

I agree there's always room for improvement.  Congratulations to you for spending 4 hours per day on the Kawai piano in your slow season.

Love your comment about being able to chat with a customer while holding the glass in your left hand and playing without missing a beat in the right hand. 

[mikf]

A world renowned professor of music once famously said "Amateurs practice until they can get it right; pros practice until they can't get it wrong"
Mike

[travlin-easy]

MIke, although I have retired for being a full-time, gigging, musician/entertainer/singer, can assure you that there is a lot more to it than just standing on stage and entertaining the masses.

I worked 7 days a week, every holiday, every one of my birthdays, my children's and wife's birthdays, etc... - well, you get the idea. Most years I performed just one job a day, but as I got closer to retirement, there lots of doubles and a few triples every week. Not only did I work days at the senior circuit, but also nights at the restaurants and nite clubs. Add to this the private parties, putting up with drunks and crazies, and driving more than 40,000 miles a year, and now you have a hectic job. Then, of course, there were places where I performed that were downright dangerous - locations where some folks knew you were paid in cash, thus I had to pack a gun and get a CCP, which was revoked a few weeks after my retirement. So, yes, being an on stage entertainer can be a somewhat dangerous job as well, especially when there are lots of inebriated, young ladies in the crowd. Sure, I loved the attention they paid to me, but then there was always the drunken boyfriend who thought, in his drunken stupor that you were trying to steal his girlfriend or wife and wanted to fight.

Then, after having all that fun on stage, you still need to do all the ancillary jobs, bookkeeper, tax accountant, purchasing agent, PR/advertising agent, costume manager, disbursing agent, and much, much more. Yep, we wear a lot of hats to be on stage entertaining the ladies, sometimes even a marriage councilor.

Now, while the audiences are in front of you, dancing, eating lavishly, sipping the finest booze available, and often at no charge, if you are lucky, you get to eat what the waitstaff eats, which more often than not is akin to a McDonalds Happy Meal. A few entertainers, such as Don Mason, gets to dine on what the customers at Earnest's Restaurant consume. Don says this stuff will really put the pounds on you, though. Also, you cannot or should not consume any alcoholic beverages while on the job - that will have to wait till you get home, that is if you still have the energy to relax and take a few sips before falling asleep from sheer exhaustion. 

Now, I have worked some fairly dangerous jobs when I was relatively young, one as a Maryland State Trooper, which can get you killed by dozens of different ways. At the Maryland State Police Headquarters in Pikesville, MD, there are several hundred bronze plaques on the wall saying in memory of: listing the troopers that were killed in the line of duty. Believe me, it was a lot less hectic than being on stage in front of a couple hundred to more than 1,000 people.

Yes, it was fun, and I tell everyone that "It was the best job I ever had in my life" no doubt about. I guess I'm a big ham, and loved being on stage and ogled by the ladies. I made enough money to support my family and buy a sailing yacht, but until I retired, I had no time for either the family or the yacht. Now that health issues have forced my retirement, I no longer have the physical ability to sail in marginal weather conditions. Kinda a Catch 22 situation.

So, you may not agree, Mike, but there's a lot more to being a full-time, gigging musician/entertainer than meets the eye.

All the best,

Gary