Korg starts shipping Pa5X once again... USA now getting a few too apparently.

[keynote]

The Pa5x has had some serious OS issues, even with the new OS 1.1.0 released this month. But it's still playable, as this recent video demonstrating the Pa5X Wersi Organ sound points out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMyRt7Vj0-Y

ICYMI, a Korg Pa5X showed up at Alamo Music Sound Lab in San Antonio, TX. Not sure though if they have any for sale yet. Sweetwater.com are usually the first ones to get new gear in stock, but still bone dry regarding the Pa5x and every other USA retailer I've looked at so far. Korg is supposed to be trickling out the Pa5X and shipping them to retail establishments in Europe and elsewhere, from what I've gathered. But at this rate, it could be well into next year before Korg gets back to a semblance of normalcy. I looked into Korg's recent financial statements, and it appears they could be on the cusp of going belly up. With the global supply chain crisis, the global chip shortage, along with the global pandemic and the sharp rise in inflation plus the Crypto meltdown and other economic slowdown indicators like the housing market (construction), companies large and small have in many cases felt the economic pain in a big way. Perhaps that is also why Yammie is so slow in releasing a Montage 2 and/or a Genos 2. FYI, high-end products like the Genos and the Montage are big money-makers for Yamaha since they get a larger profit on each unit sold. My guess is Yamaha is also experiencing a significant parts & chips shortage, which could be the main reason why they are slow-boating some of their hugely successful products. No parts, no chips, no keyboards. 

All the best,
Mike

[mikf]

The interesting thing is that Yamaha financials are a complete contrast and apparently going in a positive direction. But then acoustic instruments are their biggest revenue earner and traditional instruments have no chips or electronics.
Mike

[keynote]

Yep, Yamaha sells boatloads of acoustic guitars and other acoustic instruments, which is one reason why Yamaha's financials look a lot better than, Korg Inc. Korg perhaps decided to release the Pa5X quarter-baked knowing loyal customers would buy it sight unseen in most cases. That way, Korg could then use the financial boost to help keep the company afloat and pay the bills while their software engineers figure out how to compile a stable and competent OS and include additional features Korg promised but failed to deliver when they rolled out the Pa5X 6 months ago. I noticed many Korg fans are absolutely furious with Korg for selling them an Uber expensive arranger keyboard that is unusable in many cases because of missing features/functions on the Pa5X but were present on the Pa4X (which many sold to buy the Pa5X) and as a result they are currently unable to perform live 6 months on. Still, I have to admit the Pa5X sounds are excellent to superb in many cases. The Pa5X is still playable of course but the quirks, bugs, and other anomalies make it a hit or miss depending on your needs. Freezes I understand are pretty common with the Pa5X. I will add this YouTube video demonstrating one of the accordions on the Pa5X for anyone interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpgWTEW6L_o

All the best,
Mike

[Amwilburn]

We've had stock readily available in Canada since October.

Mark

[keynote]

We've had stock readily available in Canada since October.

Mark

TOM LEE MUSIC 👇

KORG PA5X76 76-Key Semi Weighted Rx Arranger

$6,299.99   
SKU 228274
Catalog #: PA5X76
This product is currently OUT OF STOCK for online orders. You can still special order this item and we will contact you with an expected delivery date.
Please CHECK IN-STORE for store pickup availability.

All three key versions of the Pa5X are currently OUT OF STOCK online at Tom Lee Music. There could be some available in stores, but I'm in the USA down here in So. California and the nearest Tom Lee Music store would be Vancouver, BC. No can do.

All the best,
Mike

[Amwilburn]

Yes, I know our website shows out of stock; but I've had a PA5x-76 here since Oct; The reason the website shows unavailable is because we didn't order on hand stock except for the displays, and if we have fewer than 4 of something it shows as out of stock/low stock; but the rep says they have a good amount of stock on hand.

Like I said, even after the Pa5x came out, Genos is handily outselling it. Not that the Pa5x isn't good; I *really* like the piano , guitars & bass, and drums, the seamless sound switching.

I've shown Pa5x and Genos to every keyboard customer since Oct, customers have been able to walk in here and walk out with one. But not enough interest, even from our PA1000 /Pa4x customers (possibly lack of marketing, possibly they don't want to market heavily until their OS is fixed)

Mark

[keynote]

So the Genos has two new competitors, obviously. The Ketron Event and the Korg Pa5X. It would be nice if Roland got back in the game, but that's another story for another day. I don't know about you, but I like to listen to the competition and observe any advancements in sounds, features, and technology. What I noticed about the Korg Pa5X is that in most of the video demonstrations on YouTube in particular, the Pa5X doesn't impress me an awful lot, but that's not due to the keyboard itself in my opinion but rather the actual players in most cases and the sound recording devices used to make the videos which aren't that great apparently which obviously makes it harder for the Pa5X to shine through and sound like the professional arranger it's purported to be.

Here is probably one of the best Pa5X video sound demonstrations on YouTube thus far from Alois Müller of Germany. It's 22 minutes of non-stop playing with a variety of instrument sounds, songs, and styles. It depends on what your needs are in an arranger keyboard. The Genos is top-notch, of course, but with a brand-new sound engine and many new stellar sounds and advances in technology, the Pa5X may fit the bill for someone looking to enter the high-end arranger market who doesn't already have a high-end arranger keyboard. 💡 Here's the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BT6q1KQJGg&t=575s

All the best,
Mike

[Amwilburn]

the Pa5X doesn't impress me an awful lot, but that's not due to the keyboard itself in my opinion but rather the actual players in most cases and the sound recording devices used to make the videos which aren't that great apparently which obviously makes it harder for the Pa5X to shine through and sound like the professional arranger it's purported to be.

That's pretty accurate. But additionally, it's harder to demo it because it's *not* quite the same operation as before (they had to come up with an all new chipset and design, hence new OS). So you're right; it *is* rather hard to demo to make it shine, but give it 6 months or so, and we'll probably start seeing people really put the PA5x through its paces. Even the style file format is all new - it can make use of the old styles though, but the newer styles on board cannot be played on any of the older models... somebody needs to do a style format converter for Korg!

Mark

[keynote]

Here's a very recent Korg Pa5X demo by Alois Müller. "Country made by KORG - Clean Stratocaster - Green, Green Grass of Home"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr1gNMCCd6k

If you like playing country music tunes, the Pa5X is right up your alley. The electric guitars in the demo are excellent in my opinion. PS: Korg users are complaining about the lack of basic functions that were on the Pa4X but not implemented in the Pa5X and various 'bugs' in the operating system, but hopefully the bugs will be fixed and missing functions at some point will be implemented via OS updates. But if you just want to sit down and play, the Pa5X seems to be a great option and if Korg gets its act together the Pa5X could be the overwhelming choice if and when everything gets sorted out down the road. That is, until the Genos II shows up, if it shows up, and blows everything else out of the water. 

All the best, Mike   

[tyrosman]

who gives a stuff about Korg on a yamaha forum

[Divemaster]

I think it's always good to check out the "competition" on other expensive arrangers. It helps us to make decisions on what to buy and conversely not to touch with a bargepole. I'm afraid that Korg is very low on my own shopping lists due to most recent reports, and problems.

Depending on what Yamaha bring out next will be interesting, but if it heads up the road of semi synth, then I'll stick with my SX700. The adaptability of Yamaha styles, voices, registrations and midi songs is more important to my style of playing than having modern day garage, grunge, rap and other childish sci fi types of keyboard sounds. Most of the modern stuff these days isn't music. It's just horrible discordant noise, I don't ever have any intention of playing.
I know that there are those who like keyboards covered in knobs, buttons, coloured lights and sliders, but to me those are synthesizers, and not arrangers. Again I currently feel that the SX series have got it absolutely spot on for producing the sort of music that probably most of us are happy to play. The SX 700 and 900 are without any doubt superb arrangers.

I'd buy a Genos today, but I won't buy the current one, because it is now several years old, as are all the Tyros models, and that gives me concerns as to electronic component reliability. The very reason I sold my own Tyros.

It's a waiting game for me at the moment.

[Oldden]

I agree that electrical things go wrong, it does seem that it happens in the first year then settles down for a long life. I've still got my psr3000 which I play sometimes instead of my Genos, and it just works. Fingers crossed it will carry on doing so.

[Duffy]

who gives a stuff about Korg on a yamaha forum

Some do.  We are not all alike.
Some, like me play, more than one keyboard, so I find it interesting.
Why read it if it annoys you so much.

[AndrewKeyz]

They should ship these keyboards straight to the garbage bin. 

My expectations were muted, I didn't expect Genos quality and even so I just don't understand the point of so many of the functions on this thing and the lack of simple features such as registrations or wav recording which even £700 keyboards from Yamaha have.
What is the point of cross fading styles? Why prominently display this in the middle of the keyboard? Is this really a genuinely used thing? I can't imagine this being useful, only in the most extreme cases.
£4000 spent and you can't even leave a genuine complaint on the official FB owner's group.

No BPM display on the style listing is a huge problem. Why display the date a style was added to the keyboard? What can you possibly do with that info?

You don't realise the importance of such subtle things such as a style's initial BPM when you don't have it.

It is a poorly designed instrument. Korg is not learning from competition or its faults it seems to me.

IF BPM were displayed in the style listing, WAV recording was featured (both surely can be solved with software updates) and that stupid gimmicky double player strip was mostly replaced by say 8 physical registration buttons this keyboard's value is much closer to the asking price.
Right now I'd say it's not even worth half of it.
I'd recommend people to get a SX900 instead, save a lot of cash and do something else with that.

Regarding Korg on the official forum I've noticed people already getting frustrated there are no new styles available and third party support seems limited.
It is just not looking like a good investment from so many angles. I am so surprised people even consider this keyboard compared to a Genos.
I honestly think the people demoing this instrument pull the wool over people's eyes because they can sound good on anything.
When at home this keyboard, compared to a Genos, is just a major disappointment in so many departments.

[BogdanH]

hi Andrew,
Your complaints are totally valid and I can understand your disappointment. But at the same time, this also tells that we all have different needs, wishes and priorities.
For example, I don't care about wav (mp3 at 320kbps is perfect enough for me), I don't care if current BPM is shown all the time or not, and I practically don't use registrations (is my personal choice).
Being at that, I agree that styles crossfade is a pure gimmick. From what I saw on youtube, it's a simple volume mixer fading from one style into another... and Korg makes so much fuss about that 
On the other hand, Pa5x does have very good voices (is not only my opinion) and for many very important: everything can be done on keyboard itself (no external hardware/software is needed). Speaking for me, the only downside I see right now, is "unfinished" OS.. but I'm sure that will be sorted soon.
What am I saying is, we should never believe when someone says "this is the best keyboard". Finally, it's normal to expect that each keyboard brand has it's own features (the way things work) and that certain adaptation is needed. But if there are too many sacrifices, then we better skip that product -no matter how good it is.

Again, sorry to hear about your disappointment with Pa5X.

Just sharing my thoughts,
Bogdan

[AndrewKeyz]

hi Andrew,
Your complaints are totally valid and I can understand your disappointment. But at the same time, this also tells that we all have different needs, wishes and priorities.
For example, I don't care about wav (mp3 at 320kbps is perfect enough for me), I don't care if current BPM is shown all the time or not, and I practically don't use registrations (is my personal choice).
Being at that, I agree that styles crossfade is a pure gimmick. From what I saw on youtube, it's a simple volume mixer fading from one style into another... and Korg makes so much fuss about that 
On the other hand, Pa5x does have very good voices (is not only my opinion) and for many very important: everything can be done on keyboard itself (no external hardware/software is needed). Speaking for me, the only downside I see right now, is "unfinished" OS.. but I'm sure that will be sorted soon.
What am I saying is, we should never believe when someone says "this is the best keyboard". Finally, it's normal to expect that each keyboard brand has it's own features (the way things work) and that certain adaptation is needed. But if there are too many sacrifices, then we better skip that product -no matter how good it is.

Again, sorry to hear about your disappointment with Pa5X.

Just sharing my thoughts,
Bogdan

Wav vs mp3 isn't even an opinion. The fact it isn't a default option to export uncompressed on a £3700-£4300 machine with tonnes of extra storage options in 2022/2023 is a disgrace.
If you don't believe me, read some expert advice on the matter from mastering engineers for example and listen to the differences.
https://productionadvice.co.uk/why-mp3-sounds-bad/

You can buy the most advanced sound system known to man kind to listen back to your work, and then still be stuck with mp3 only. UNLESS of course you record on an external machine. Which to me seems unnecessary if a £700 Yamaha can do all that.

A Korg Pa5X cannot thus be considered a professional machine. Would a studio use it when you inform the sound engineers that you can only give them an MP3? I doubt they would be impressed. It is a home keyboard in its current state; nothing more, nothing less. Like a Casio at best.

Note Korg are the ones branding it a "Professional Arranger" and on its update page it states : "...ensure that Pa5X remains the world's finest Arranger keyboard!"

[Misu]

<< I am so surprised people even consider this keyboard compared to a Genos.>>
When Genos appeared and I was surprised that many people tried to compare Genos with PA4x in terms of functions when with PA4x you only needed the keyboard and for Genos almost anything you wanted to do you needed external software.
We seem to like our differences, some see only the problems like me, others only the extraordinary things.
Personally, I will probably change PA 1000 to PA 5x at the end of this year after one or two updates.
My opinion is that at this moment the PA5x resembles the Genos: a comparable new sound and a lot of things that cannot be done in the keyboard even have dedicate ways to do that.
Best regards!

[AndrewKeyz]

<< I am so surprised people even consider this keyboard compared to a Genos.>>
When Genos appeared and I was surprised that many people tried to compare Genos with PA4x in terms of functions when with PA4x you only needed the keyboard and for Genos almost anything you wanted to do you needed external software.
We seem to like our differences, some see only the problems like me, others only the extraordinary things.
Personally, I will probably change PA 1000 to PA 5x at the end of this year after one or two updates.
My opinion is that at this moment the PA5x resembles the Genos: a comparable new sound and a lot of things that cannot be done in the keyboard even have dedicate ways to do that.
Best regards!

There is no denying many people seem happy with their PA5Xes (well at least about a 100 that I can see in the FB owner's club).
Some have even said they love the Fatar 88 keybed, which I think is astonishing as even when it worked fine I didn't think it was very good at all, and would prefer my old S80 weighted keyboard (less noisy and could play faster).
All I'm trying to say is "watch out". Certain things are not necessarily that obvious that this machine appears to lack.
If people are happy with those shortcomings then sure they should go for it.

If you pay me £3000 you can have my 88 key in its current state, even once I get it fixed I would be tempted to sell it at that price. I'd be lucky if I clear £2500 I suspect via eBay or whatever.
For me that is a major disappointment that drop in value.

Having said that, the guy I bought my Genos from had the same value drop after 4-5 months so perhaps I shouldn't be so miserable about the money thing. That Genos at least was never used. He didn't even do a factory reset.

[BogdanH]

...
If you don't believe me, read some expert advice on the matter from mastering engineers for example and listen to the differences.
https://productionadvice.co.uk/why-mp3-sounds-bad/
...

I respect your decision to avoid mp3 (whatever reason there is), but I'm not impressed by article of this guy. The way article is written, is on amateurish level, where nothing is actually proved. The only thing he does, is trying to convince others that "he knows better". Yes, mp3 is lossy format, but some knowledge is needed to understand what exactly is lost and how/when that impacts the sound. Expert, mastering engineer, whatever.. -person who made that article has no clue.
As always, just my opinion 

Bogdan

[AndrewKeyz]

I respect your decision to avoid mp3 (whatever reason there is), but I'm not impressed by article of this guy. The way article is written, is on amateurish level, where nothing is actually proved. The only thing he does, is trying to convince others that "he knows better". Yes, mp3 is lossy format, but some knowledge is needed to understand what exactly is lost and how/when that impacts the sound. Expert, mastering engineer, whatever.. -person who made that article has no clue.
As always, just my opinion 

Bogdan

There is no necessity to avoid anything using a Genos since it automatically exports to Wav out of the box.

The weird thing is on the Pa5X the sampler does not even allow MP3s to imported, only Wavs and AIFFs. So it cannot import the music you can create with the keyboard itself to be used in the matrix pad.
And the song player CAN also play Wav files.

[BogdanH]

...
The weird thing is on the Pa5X the sampler does not even allow MP3s to imported, only Wavs and AIFFs. So it cannot import the music you can create with the keyboard itself to be used in the matrix pad.
And the song player CAN also play Wav files.

That is indeed weird! .. without any concrete evidence, I'm sure these things will be sorted in next OS update (in April, I've heard).

In general all I agree with you about Pa5X.. for that money, one would expect it to be more flexible without even checking specs (including wav/mp3 stuff). That is, my positive opinion about Pa5X is based on what I could see so far and on hope, that existing issues will be solved with next OS.

Regards,
Bogdan

[tyrosman]

Wav vs mp3 isn't even an opinion. The fact it isn't a default option to export uncompressed on a £3700-£4300 machine with tonnes of extra storage options in 2022/2023 is a disgrace.
If you don't believe me, read some expert advice on the matter from mastering engineers for example and listen to the differences.
https://productionadvice.co.uk/why-mp3-sounds-bad/

You can buy the most advanced sound system known to man kind to listen back to your work, and then still be stuck with mp3 only. UNLESS of course you record on an external machine. Which to me seems unnecessary if a £700 Yamaha can do all that.

A Korg Pa5X cannot thus be considered a professional machine. Would a studio use it when you inform the sound engineers that you can only give them an MP3? I doubt they would be impressed. It is a home keyboard in its current state; nothing more, nothing less. Like a Casio at best.

Note Korg are the ones branding it a "Professional Arranger" and on its update page it states : "...ensure that Pa5X remains the world's finest Arranger keyboard!"

Korg is a waste of Space

[keynote]

Believe it or not, the Korg Pa5X will have been on the market a whole year come June. And of course, Korg released it as a half-baked product to the public and Korg has been slower than molasses in January in getting things sorted out with only one OS update since the Pa5X was released. Something tells me Korg is in financial distress and that's one reason why they've left Korg Pa5X owners in the lurch in my opinion. The Kronos/2 has been discontinued, but the Nautilus is not a comparable replacement since, for one thing, it doesn't have aftertouch or other high-end features that were found on the Kronos 2. Now, this might be remedied at NAMM 2023, but only time will tell. Back to the Pa5X. I have some more bad news concerning the Pa5X. It appears the Pa5X is prone to note drop out, which seems to be a common occurrence from what I've read. The Pa5X has 160 note polyphony, which is not that much when you consider the complexities of new arrangers in the 21st century. It's now 2023, and we need all the polyphony the keyboard manufacturers can muster in order to avoid note drop out, especially when using an arranger for live performances. As we know the Genos has 256 polyphony, but it's divided i.e. 128 note for the Factory sound section and 128 note for the Expansion sound section, so basically in a real-world setting it would be rather cumbersome and inconvenient to effectively utilize more than 128 note polyphony when playing the Genos. Plus, the styles in the Expansion section use expansion voices predominately and vice versa. Hopefully, Yamaha will up the ante on the Genos2. Btw, the new Medeli AKX-10 arranger has 256 note polyphony and as far as I know it is distributed across the entire range of the keyboard. And the kicker, it costs around $700, and it actually sounds pretty decent, although not near as good as the Genos or Pa5X. FYI, apparently Medeli is now working on a new arranger product and supposedly when it's released it will smoke the competition and that could include the Genos2 according to what a person who works for Medeli said. But of course no word on when it might be released, plus it could be mostly hype, but we'll see. Enjoy whatever you play! 

All the best, Mike USA 

[AndrewKeyz]

Believe it or not, the Korg Pa5X will have been on the market a whole year come June. And of course, Korg released it as a half-baked product to the public and Korg has been slower than molasses in January in getting things sorted out with only one OS update since the Pa5X was released. Something tells me Korg is in financial distress and that's one reason why they've left Korg Pa5X owners in the lurch in my opinion. The Kronos/2 has been discontinued, but the Nautilus is not a comparable replacement since, for one thing, it doesn't have aftertouch or other high-end features that were found on the Kronos 2. Now, this might be remedied at NAMM 2023, but only time will tell. Back to the Pa5X. I have some more bad news concerning the Pa5X. It appears the Pa5X is prone to note drop out, which seems to be a common occurrence from what I've read. The Pa5X has 160 note polyphony, which is not that much when you consider the complexities of new arrangers in the 21st century. It's now 2023, and we need all the polyphony the keyboard manufacturers can muster in order to avoid note drop out, especially when using an arranger for live performances. As we know the Genos has 256 polyphony, but it's divided i.e. 128 note for the Factory sound section and 128 note for the Expansion sound section, so basically in a real-world setting it would be rather cumbersome and inconvenient to effectively utilize more than 128 note polyphony when playing the Genos. Plus, the styles in the Expansion section use expansion voices predominately and vice versa. Hopefully, Yamaha will up the ante on the Genos2. Btw, the new Medeli AKX-10 arranger has 256 note polyphony and as far as I know it is distributed across the entire range of the keyboard. And the kicker, it costs around $700, and it actually sounds pretty decent, although not near as good as the Genos or Pa5X. FYI, apparently Medeli is now working on a new arranger product and supposedly when it's released it will smoke the competition and that could include the Genos2 according to what a person who works for Medeli said. But of course no word on when it might be released, plus it could be mostly hype, but we'll see. Enjoy whatever you play! 

All the best, Mike USA

PianoManChuck stated Korg isn't even going to be demoing any products at NAMM 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHP3iccxiC4&ab_channel=PianoManChuck
see 1.50 in.

Quite astonishing if that is the case straight after the Pa5X release last year. Surely the new arranger should be there in all 3 key sizes to try out and some guys telling everyone why the hell it is worth so much money and demoing the **** out of it.

Note on the NAMM map they are listed to having a booth so no idea what info Chuck has. Given the space sizes though, that does seem awfully small for Korg. So indeed, maybe only sales and just a rep you can talk to and perhaps play 1 keyboard. But I doubt there would be any product reveals.
https://namm23.mapyourshow.com/8_0/floorplan/?hallID=A&selectedBooth=7502

Personally I should have bought the Medeli AX10 instead of risking so much money on the Korg. It looks pretty cute and quite useful, indeed like a Yamaha.
A Medeli AX20 or whatever could be great.

I'm hoping Kawai has some new wooden keybed slabs on display at NAMM. Perhaps both a VPC2 and MP12.

[keynote]

In Yamaha's press release on Mar 1 it included: "This year, Yamaha will introduce breakthrough products at the show across multiple musical categories, including piano, synthesizer, winds, acoustic guitar, drums and percussion, and professional audio."

Notice, no Arranger specifically. Synthesizer is mentioned, which is what Yamaha calls the Montage, even though the Montage has scads of bread and butter acoustic sounds comparable to the Genos in quality. Perhaps we'll see a new Montage+ or something to that effect. Yamaha has delved into introducing a brand-new synth/synth, such as a modernized version of the CS-80 or something along that line. A new Stage Piano might be released at NAMM since piano is mentioned in the press release. But it could also mean a new acoustic piano, so we'll have to wait and see.

The Genos2 might show up at the UK Keyboard Club event in November, since both Martin Harris and Peter Baartmans will be in attendance, but now I'm not so sure because Yamaha doesn't mention 'arranger' keyboard in their press release for 2023. That could mean the official announcement for the Genos2 (or whatever it's called) won't be given until NAMM 2024 on January 25-28, 2024. There have been whispers through the grapevine that Yamaha has put the Genos out to pasture, and if it's true that means no more high-end arrangers from Yamaha, period. But I don't buy it. Yamaha high-end arrangers sell really well, and they are a big moneymaker for the company since very expensive keyboards like the Genos bring higher profits for each unit sold, and Yamaha has sold tons of Genos over the past 5 years. Time will tell if the grapevine crowd is correct or not. It would be a huge letdown for scores of Yamaha arranger keyboard players if Yamaha goes the way of Roland, although there has been talk about Roland getting back in the high-end arranger game, which would be fantastic if indeed true. Don't hold your breath, folks.

UPDATE: Yamaha just released a new Stage Piano called the CK-61/CK-88. Here's the YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w7NVqPBVXQ

All the best, Mike USA

[rikkisbears]

Personally I should have bought the Medeli AX10 instead of risking so much money on the Korg. It looks pretty cute and quite useful, indeed like a Yamaha.
A Medeli AX20 or whatever could be great.

Hi, I downloaded a AX10 manual , might appear to be similar to a Yamaha, not so sure   it is, Doesn't appear to have guitar mode. Didn't mention xg sounds only gm 2. Style structure looks similar, but, Doesn't mention anywhere it can load psr styles. Styles look like they are fully editable, but there's only about 280 , I think.  Does the mix n match of style tracks. 
Might not really be a replacement for a Yamaha, if it can't load Yamaha styles.  I'd want more than what it offers.

[rikkisbears]

It would be a huge letdown for scores of Yamaha arranger keyboard players if Yamaha goes the way of Roland, although there has been talk about Roland getting back in the high-end arranger game, which would be fantastic if indeed true. Don't hold your breath, folks.
All the best, Mike USA

Hi , not sure Roland are getting back into high end arrangers, don't think they've even being doing that much with the mid arrangers. Be great if they did, they were very innovative in their day, love to be wrong.

Yamaha do seem to be taking a long  time replacing the Genos. Be better if they announced that there will be no replacement this year ( if there isn't going to be one), rather than have people wondering what to do. ie buy a current one, or hope that something will be announced any day. 

[mikf]

Of course they will stay quiet until they have something to offer. Yes many would like to know, but telling them there is nothing imminent is just not good business sense for Yamaha.
Mike

[rikkisbears]

Of course they will stay quiet until they have something to offer. Yes many would like to know, but telling them there is nothing imminent is just not good business sense for Yamaha.
Mike

Hi Mike, you're probably right.
In my case though, I'd happily been playing my sx900 for the last 3 years , but I wanted to upgrade. Had I known there was a new Yamaha on the horizon, I possibly would have waited instead of buying PA5x when I did. Didn't see much point in replacing my sx900 for a Genos, when a new model could be announced any day.

If one already owns a Genos, then it's just a case of waiting. For people wanting to upgrade or first time owners, it's a hard choice to make.

[AndrewKeyz]

In Yamaha's press release on Mar 1 it included: "This year, Yamaha will introduce breakthrough products at the show across multiple musical categories, including piano, synthesizer, winds, acoustic guitar, drums and percussion, and professional audio."

Notice, no Arranger specifically. Synthesizer is mentioned, which is what Yamaha calls the Montage, even though the Montage has scads of bread and butter acoustic sounds comparable to the Genos in quality. Perhaps we'll see a new Montage+ or something to that effect. Yamaha has delved into introducing a brand-new synth/synth, such as a modernized version of the CS-80 or something along that line. A new Stage Piano might be released at NAMM since piano is mentioned in the press release. But it could also mean a new acoustic piano, so we'll have to wait and see.

The Genos2 might show up at the UK Keyboard Club event in November, since both Martin Harris and Peter Baartmans will be in attendance, but now I'm not so sure because Yamaha doesn't mention 'arranger' keyboard in their press release for 2023. That could mean the official announcement for the Genos2 (or whatever it's called) won't be given until NAMM 2024 on January 25-28, 2024. There have been whispers through the grapevine that Yamaha has put the Genos out to pasture, and if it's true that means no more high-end arrangers from Yamaha, period. But I don't buy it. Yamaha high-end arrangers sell really well, and they are a big moneymaker for the company since very expensive keyboards like the Genos bring higher profits for each unit sold, and Yamaha has sold tons of Genos over the past 5 years. Time will tell if the grapevine crowd is correct or not. It would be a huge letdown for scores of Yamaha arranger keyboard players if Yamaha goes the way of Roland, although there has been talk about Roland getting back in the high-end arranger game, which would be fantastic if indeed true. Don't hold your breath, folks.

UPDATE: Yamaha just released a new Stage Piano called the CK-61/CK-88. Here's the YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w7NVqPBVXQ

All the best, Mike USA

I wouldn't read too much into that first quote.
Synthesizer and professional audio could encompass the likes of Genos 2 easily.

I'm not so sure everyone knows what arranger even means.
Some people possibly expect some type of out board rack module when you mention it.
No doubt the CK will be shown at NAMM.
Yamaha brands it as a "stage keyboard" which wasn't in that quote either.

All these names given to digital keyboards / synths are just willy nilly at times if you ask me.