Hi Alex,


Actually the Genesys case is aluminum. But inside there are multiple circuit boards, hard drive, floppy drive, CD-R drive, a real transformer so a real power cord so no external A/C power adapter is necessary which is not only an inconvenience sometimes but can also be problematic over time. These things add up to some weight and the metal structure inside the case is designed to properly support these components. The external case most certainly adds to the durability of an instrument. In a plastic case instrument where the circuit boards are screwed to the plastic, every time the instrument is picked up and the plastic flexes even slightly, that is putting stress on the tracings of the printed circuit board.

Also, we can still supply most parts for our instruments that are 10 years and older.



I agree that this is an issue. But I must say that a Generalmusic dealer has the advantage of my services. There is no one else in the US that is as familiar with the Genesys system or any of our products as I am. And I am on-call pretty much 24 hours a day. I am also always available to end-users or potential GEM owners via this and other forums, and by cell phone. I know of no other product support person who answers e-mails and forum posts at 3am after getting in from a band gig just so the customer will have an answer as soon as they log on in t he morning. I have spent my own time using my own equipment to create videos that are not just “Look what I can do, buy me now” but are informative and help to point out what can be done with the instrument.

Sure, some dealers overprice gear. Those are not the dealers that we try to seek out to become GEM representatives. This is one reason why the US is not flooded with GEM dealers right now. We are very selective as to who can carry our products. It is extremely important to us that those who sell our products take the time to learn how to properly support their customers.



Every company does some re-packing every once in a while. Generalmusic is far less guilty of that however. There are significant improvements or additions to each new model that GEM produces.

The DRAKE microprocessor is a very powerful chip. To offer a simple explanation, the design of this chip is such that there are no internal connections as there are on most processors. As an example, the CPU in your computer, Intel, Athlon, or whatever has certain pre-assigned functions. A software engineer creates his programming around those functions. In the DRAKE, everything must be written from scratch. The advantage is we can make DRAKE do whatever we want it to do without limitation. Of course this requires much more programming that a normal CPU. The decision to initially utilize DRAKE to re-create the properties of an acoustic piano was a good decision. To think that DRAKE will not be utilized in the arranger/workstation instruments is not true. But it does take time to design hardware and software. Eventually DRAKE will be the CPU in all GEM products. But the question is what can DRAKE bring to an arranger type instrument. Well, a lot. But the advantages were far more appropriate for the digital pianos at the time that DRAKE was finished.



I don’t know about the other brands regarding this point. But it is not true of Generalmusic. We have been the first to introduce many of the features that are now found on most all of the arranger instruments. I.E. Video output, internal vocal harmonizer, sequencers will full editing capabilities, the ability to load user samples, full feature sound editing, on-board hard drive, internal CD burner, etc.

I understand what you are saying and why you are saying it. But I do ask that you consider my responses.

Best Regards,

Dave


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Wm. David McMahan
Nat'l Product and Support Manager
Generalmusic USA
GEM Community Forums