Hi AFG,

I was not really going to get into this, but as I note you asked again in a later post I will.

Firstly to To The Genesys, your comment about it says more about the user is total twaddle.

I have been using VST's on a PC for years as well as programming (in a limited way) sounds. I really know my way around most of the keyboard operating systems. ALL of them.

The issues with the Media Station were NOT of a programming nature, or of a "how to use" nature. I had that pretty much sorted out (with some help from Magica) within about 2 weeks. LOL, some owners had it for more than 2 years and STILL did not figure out as much as I did in that first few weeks.

Many of the questions asked of Dom were of a rhetorical nature, meaning I had basically figured out how something should go, I was more asking him for clarification JUST in case anything I did was going to stuff up the OS.

Now to AFG,

The issues with the MS were several. First and foremost were two glaring deficiencies that were told to me to work BEFORE I bought it.

These were the ability to use an external screen for programming (the screen on the MS is pathetically small for any REAL programming) and the Performance function.

This is the one that saves a "snapshot" of all the settings including the resource (style, mp3, smf) to a slot for later instant recall. Except every time you used it it crashed the whole keyboard.

And I KNOW Dom says its to be fixed with the CDG function, but who the hell wants CDG function (except his DJ market in Europe). Like the KAOSS pad, cute idea and a nice toy, and it looks good on the resume, but not an everyday tool really.

All I wanted was a vital live play tool fixed.

Apparently both the external display and the Performance tools both worked on an earlier OS (2.8 I think). So, I thought to myself , simple, I will just revert back to that OS.

BUT that OS ONLY works with the previous motherboard.

The motherboard was changed to allow for faster processors. Good idea in theory!!But at the cost of losing those two vital functions, in my view, was not worth it.

But as with other changes, they seem to be done without any thought for users, without any real testing BEFORE making the change and certainly without any real documentation about the change other than its going to happen.

The point is is was SUPPOSED to work when I got the keyboard, not that it was coming "one day". The Performance function is a vital live play tool.

There is a distinct lack of ANY serious documentation, and as this is a serious keyboard from a set-up and NOT OOTB point of view, this lack of proper manual was glaring.

I think the Oasys manual is huge by comparison. And using it one could pretty much get around learning the Oasys from it.
I use the Oasys example, as it is also a fully software based keyboard. But I also suspect the Open Labs manuals are pretty thorough as well.

Oh and the MP3 player, ONLY plays bog standard MP3's. If you have MP3's with tags, it refuses to play them. Just jams up the player, although this glitch thankfully does not jam the keyboard.

So the only way is to load a 3rd party program to play these tagged MP3's, BUT this cannot be recalled using a Performance (if that ever gets fixed).

I actually sent a couple of MP3 examples to Dom so he could sort it, but I never got any response.

On the subject of the external screen, (again another thing I was told worked BEFORE I bought it), I now see it is going to cost owners to buy an update to now have an external screen operation, for something that was SUPPOSED to be already on it!!

This one I can understand as Dom did spend a LOT of money to have an external Linux programmer fix. But out of principle I was not prepared to pay it.

There are several buttons marked on the panel that do not work at all. Mainly to do with arranger functions that I consider basic.

These are manual bass, and break. Oh and there is NO way to have slash chords (or "On Bass" or whatever terminology you want to use) on the MS in any way. APART from programming your own bass lines in a style, and even then its not very musical.

Regardless of Doms' fix, the JACK still refuses to load properly on occasion which of course means a re-boot. Again this is not Doms fault but a fault with the Linux OS and the JACK setup. BUT it still is an issue.

There are still issues with the correct saving and re-display of MIDI patch changes in creating/editing MIDI files.

The LS works, just okay in my view. You cannot save any editing changes to any of the Yamaha styles, so EVERY TIME you want to recall a Yamaha style you have to go through the edit process again. And this is ONLY volume data I am talking about, not micro editing of the style itself.

So in reality unless you are happy with the OLD yamaha styles (with all their preset levels), and the even OLDER XG patches (these are really even worse than standard GM) then the LS with Yamaha XG is pretty useless.

Even Dom admits the native MS styles are absolutely awful. And they are...REALLY!! I don't know who the "gun" style programmers were, but they were a waste of money. Most fo the styles sound like hashed up conversions by EMC!!!

Interesting to note elsewhere that another MS user who was not too long ago spruiking the ease and great sound of the MS/Yamaha styles, the Live Styler operation and the XG sounds, has now bought an E80 to go with the G70.

Actions are louder than words, truly!!

The screen has NO contrast controls and is really quite difficult to see, even in low-light conditions, unless you are almost directly above it. You CAN read it but it is with some degree of difficulty.

As all the volume sliders operate on the MS within the digital world, you get artefacts when sliding the sliders up or down. Even with the output levels set low. (These are sort of like digital limiters on all of the digital audio outs).

There is no quick and easy way to balance sound between the keyboard and a playing resource. If you go to the screen to adjust the keyboard volume, you lose the immediate control of the volume/EQ contols for the playing resource.

The expression pedal assignments do not always operate correctly.

Its almost impossible to program a midi pedal(FCB 1010, the Yamaha ones for example) using MIDI as the controls all have to be re-mapped via the TCP's that are in wide use on the MS.

SO.....with all of this you must be thinking "well what is it good for??"

It is BRILLIANT at running VST's. With the COMBI tool, the Media Station blitzes everything else on this.

BUT I needed more than just a VST player.

That's probably more than enough space, and enough info I think AFG...If you have anything more specific, just ask.

Oh and I did sell it, and I now have a PA2xPro again.

Dennis