Okay, as difficult as it is to tear myself away from playing with it, I knew people are eager to here some first impressions from end-users. So here are some pics and some of my first impressions:

1) The keyboard surprisingly light and svelte. It came right out the box easily.
2) The screen is HUUUGE and a nice surprise. Almost like a small computer monitor.
3) The inset of the screen is weird as is the capacitive touch function which needs a decisive touch to work. Ugh.
4) Biggest bummer for me is that Tyros 5 expansion packs (*.ppi) give an error "Unsupported file Type" :-[ I depend on them for my work and the promise was Genos giveth and Genos not taketh away. What's up with that?
5) All the buttons and knobs are HUGE, a bit TOO huge. And spread out. Going to take getting used to finding (read: stretching) my way around blindly while playing.

Going to play a bit and if I don't fall asleep at the machine, I'll post an update.

Happy playing everyone!


Posted also @ http://www.psrtutorial.com/forum/index.php/topic,40470.0.html

More pics...

Showstopper! Changing from variations D to C while playing with OTS enabled (style 'UnpluggedBallad'; voice: Strings from OTS on variation D) the Strings volume spike up until you let go and play the next note (which is guitar as the OTS for variation C) --- THIS IS SO IMMATURE and harks to the old PSRs. Come on Yamaha!

More: Common use is to press next variation (with auto fill-in on) on the last note of a beat (verse) so the fill-in leads you into the next verse. On the Genos if you have OTS enabled it will truncate the note you are holding for the whole fourth beat and nothing sounds until you press a key for the next note on the downbeat of the next variation (which is then the next sound). OTS remains broken. Amature hour!

On a positive note (pun intended :P) the sound is very rich and full, a big step up and will be enjoyed by many. The strings are realistic sounding -- and I'm usually very critical of 'fake' strings.

More:

---Just played some more. The large screen sure makes getting around easy and editing volumes/effects, choosing sound/styles are all markedly improved.
---I do miss some of the neat features of my Korg PA4X such as dragging down or up to change a dial on screen instead of trying to turn the virtual knob exactly, and the kludgy Genos screen sensitivity does help either.
---At the end of the day I hear the Tyros inside, it's like a kid who went to college and came back with a beard and glasses.
---I dislike having to reach to enable/disable voice 1 2 or 3. It should have been placed right in front and center or close to it. Fail!
---Did I say the buttons are huge? Recalls the Roland arrangers from 15 years ago.
---I don't see the hardware knobs (not the sliders!) being of much use and Yammie should enable live tweaking and morphing of sound (and beats!) from the screen like Korg smartly did with their Kaoss addition to the PA4X. Such a large screen, use it!
---The screen is not very responsive to touch and feels like there's a lightly frosted layer over it. Pressing down doesn't give an immediate reaction, needs massaging or double tapping. For such an expensive machine they should have spent a bit more on a better screen interface.

At the end of the day as of now it's a disappointment. A lot of hype sure, but once you sit with it a bit it seems like an impostor in fancy clothing. It may do well in a slow paced studio environment but for a live performance, not so sure.
I will reserve final judgement for after playing it for a few more days. My gut tells me I'm going to be keeping and loving my PA4X (and I was a Yamaha guy for 30 years!) and will be selling the Genos (anyone interested?). Yamaha really needs to listen to the people on the street who actually use their gear every day and not just ask a few artists and people who will tell them what they want to hear.

Tomorrow is another day, and...hey...life's still good! ;-)

You talking about the roland va7 from 15 years ago right. That had big buttons. Would you say the korg pa4x sounds and styles are equally as good as genos?

Yes! It's like a reincarnation of the Roland VA7, with candy buttons and all ;-)

The pa4x sounds are --to my ears at least-- far superior. However Yamaha wins points for great string patches this time round.

Good to know. Oh i remember the buttons on that va7 were a bit stiff...but solid..and light up completely. It was kinda cool for 2001 i guess lol

Can you edit or mix drum elements within the style like on Pa4x?? Is there a mono legato on Genos??