Source PSR Tutorial Forum:..

"My Genos froze last night, 5 minutes before starting a gig.
The buttons didn't respond, neither did the menus or anything else for that matter.
I tried switching it off but that didn't work either, so I had to unplug the power cable
in order to switch it off.
I then did a reset, just to be sure, and then it got working again.
I have owned a Tyros3 for 10 years, and not once did it ever freeze.
It was robust and reliable until the motherboard started giving me problems a
couple of months ago.
I have owned the Genos for almost 3 months now and it's already showing weaknesses.
I am not a big fan of the Genos but had to buy it out of necessity 2 days before starting
my gig season, when my T3 gave me trouble and there was nothing else available at short
notice.
I am trying so hard to like this instrument, but the sound is terrible and I struggle every day
to get a decent sound out of it, Especially from the preset styles.
It's incredible that the 3rd party styles posted on this very forum sound better than many
of the Genos preset styles.
I suspect that whoever designed or programmed these styles, especially the drums,
has never gigged in the real world of noisy stages, bars, restaurants, hotels etc.and have
probably spent most of their time in the safety of a sanitized studio.
Car manufacturers clock 10s of thousands of miles testing their cars, from the coldest
arctic climates to the hottest deserts of the world, not to mention racetracks like the
Nurburgring,, before presenting them to the public as a finished product.
I am now gigging 6 times a week, so I won't really be able to try any more adjustments
until early November, when the gigs slow down a bit.
The compressor settings aren't much to write home about, as all they seem to do is
mainly just raise the general volume or strangle the right hand voices when
increased.
After trying various EQ settings, without any improvement in sound, I only succeeded
in damaging the woofer on one of my main JBL speakers.
This is a flawed instrument in so many ways, and I refuse to insistently repeat the mantra
of "Genos good, Genos good" as some may want to do here.
Doing so would be like making excuses for a partner who constantly lets you down.
It is time for us to come clean and admit that what we have here is an instrument
with questionable durability and reliability, not to mention other flaws.
I put an instrument to the test 6 nights a week every week, for the most diverse public
that one can find anywhere, maintaining the gig intensity for 180 nights every year,
before things slow down to 2 or 3 gigs a week.
So I like to think that this has enabled me to have a bit of knowledge about sound quality
and dynamics.
And just to dispel the notion that this is Yamaha bashing, I have exclusively used Yamaha
instruments since 1971, apart from my current JBLs and Kawai MP11, and a Fender Rhodes
I owned from 1980 to 1984.
I've owned Yamaha Organs, Synthesizers, Leslies, Amplifiers, PA sound systems,Saxophones, Flutes, Pianos, a Trumpet, and 2 Yamaha motorbikes."

Abby (Pianoman)

Thoughts?

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJo1iW9nz1GWzeg1QBl-1wVx14CDWlBqx&app=desktop[/video]

This is the first post of a very, very extensive thread on the PSR Tutorial site. For those of you that remember Abby Pianoman, he is an incredibly talented entertainer that resides in Ibiza, which is a small island in the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain. It is a very popular tourist destination for northern Europeans and the musical entertainment competition is quite keen. Abby is rated very high by his peers and the local entertainment industry.

He has been using Yamaha products for 47 years, and prior to his Genos locking up, he had been performing with a Tyros3, which served him well for many years. Unfortunately, with his heavy schedule it had just worn out. Though he tried to find another T3 to replace it, in his part of the world, the only thing readily available was a new Genos. He had no choice but to purchase the keyboard.

While Abby had hoped the Genos would sound as good or even better than his T3, he was unable to get the sounds he enjoyed over those many years with the T3. His comments above reflect his experiences and frustration in trying to achieve perfection, and he is, by all means, a perfectionist when it comes to being a musician and entertainer.

As everyone that has ever used complex electronic devices knows, lockups are not at all uncommon and they often come at the worst times. PCs, Cellular phones, Pads, etc..., all experience lockups when the operating system encounters a conflicting file, or corrupt file. I have never had my keyboard lockup during a performance, but have had an occasional lockup when I loaded a corrupt midi and style file. That's why we test these things before we go on stage - just to be on the safe side.

As Abby has stated at times, there are those that absolutely love their Genos and those that hate their Genos. At this point, he is quite frustrated and just hoping someone can provide him with a solution. He's close to getting the sound he wishes, but still struggling with the drums.

If you can be of assistance, you can go to the Genos section of the PSR Tutorial forum and post your information on the thread.

Gary

Maybe he just got a 'lemon' ... it happens with any product ...
Has he reached out to Yamaha?

I am fairly sure he contacted the dealer, but not sure if he contacted Yamaha customer service. Don't think it's a lemon, but there is always that possibility, Tony.

Gary

The heart of a Genos is still a computer/processor..
If you feed it corrupt data or corrupted power, unexpected things are bound to happen..

Nothing wrong with Genos, its the most stable instrument i ever owned..

Bachus, I believe that the problem may have been the result of corrupt power surges, which are quite common on many of the Mediterranean islands and also in the Caribbean islands, where I performed when I was a kid in the US Navy many years ago. When UPS systems became available at a reasonable price, I purchased one, though I rarely used it because of it's weight. Now, they are much lighter and electronically controlled to switch over so there is no lag time. When we encountered those kind of problems, the problem was never a high voltage surge, but instead, the voltage would frequently fall below minimum required for our gear, which resulted in either shut down, or lock up.

Gary

Aside from the power FREEZE problem he had ......
why doesn't a Seasoned pro like Abby like the sound
of GENOS vs the others he plays every night on a gig as mentioned in the OP?

"I am trying so hard to like this instrument, but the sound is terrible and I struggle every day
to get a decent sound out of it, Especially from the preset styles.
It's incredible that the 3rd party styles posted on this very forum sound better than many
of the Genos preset styles.
I suspect that whoever designed or programmed these styles, especially the drums,
has never gigged in the real world of noisy stages, bars, restaurants, hotels etc.and have
probably spent most of their time in the safety of a sanitized studio."

Sounds like he not a fan of the Genos sound, so it's a good thing there are plenty of other choices out there.

As far as the keyboard just freezing on the gig, it makes me think what would I do in that situation? Do you carry a backup KB? Could you get through a gig on just your phone/tablet or laptop and DJ/sing? Could you make the best with an unfamiliar keyboard that has is at the venue?
Do you have anything in your contracts regarding equipment failure? Things to think about....

Paul a long time ago I recorded in style play Every song I play on an
arranger keyboard as a backing track (567) of them maybe 10 or so a day, just for this reason.Then you can play them and sing on your phone, laptop, tablet, etc, or whatever and whenever the situation arises. It took a few months to do but once done it's a great thing to have just in case. Hint:..Just play the song as you would but Don't plug in your MIC just sing into on the stand it as if it were so you get the perfect Vocal timing and your backing tracks will sound live as ever as in reality you are singing to your own music.
There's many ways to skin a cat if your KB goes down on a gig..

When you perform 5 to 7 days/nights a week, you need backups available on the job. I'm fairly confident that if my keyboard were to ever drop dead on the job, I could finish the evening just doing karaoke with MP3 files on my laptop.

If my amp were to drop dead, I carried a spare amp with me all the time, and I could be up and running within a couple minutes. Also carried spare mics, spare cables, spare power supplies, and everything was protected with a very high quality surge protector with a ground fault indicator.

I know that Donny carried spares with him as well, and he could easily continue through the night on his vocals and MP3s, or just DJ the remainder of the night.

I guess the worst thing that could happen to me is I were to drop dead in the middle of a performance. This happened to at least three of my friends during the past 10 years, one of which, Jimsax, was a forum member.

All the best,

Gary