What is the anticipated release date for the Yamaha Genos 2?

The Yamaha Genos was released in October of 2017.

What would be the 3 most important enhancements or new features that would appeal to current Genos owners?

Tapas, Ver 2.0 came out in November 2019 for the Genos update; so I am guessing you are aluding to a Genos "2" being a replacement revamped keyboard - like a Genos X2 maybe to diferentiate it from the Tyros line of 2,3,4 and 5.

If so, I hope they do continue with the current arranger TOTL machine and see that it is a great option for those who GIG at home and record their great music for online consumption, as this world is still upside down. The arranger keyboards can still hold their own in many forms and in many formates, we just have to adapt.

Allan

The Genos is a hugely comprehensive instrument so are you sure you have you used all of its capabilities, or are you just hoping a new version will make you sound better, if so then you will be disappointed as it’s the player that makes the performance not the instrument. (Practice, Practice, Practice, it is a lot cheaper than buying a new instrument and will allow you to sound more fantastic then any new instrument will)

Bill

Assuming the Genos uses .sty files - there are literally thousands of song specific style files freely available on the internet.

One small improvement that might be welcome in the Yamaha’s OS is the ability to name each of the chord sequencer’s eight sections in the body of the graphic to select it rather than tiny text above the selection area.

Big print with ‘Verse’, ‘Chorus’, ‘Solo’ etc. would make it a LOT easier to remember which section does what when gigging.

Yamaha always show the area as having chords displayed, but there’s not enough room for that if the sequence is more than a couple of bars long. Which they usually are. Allow the user to select what gets displayed, the feature gets MUCH easier to operate.

I think, as general arranger sales decline, and Covid decimates the employment opportunities for musicians that can afford a high ticket keyboard like the Genos or PA4X etc., we are going to see a wholesale change to the pace of new development.

This might present an opportunity for arranger manufacturers to focus on OS updates as a selling point, and to work on secure content delivery, as in new style packs and sounds that can’t be traded around to bring in revenue while new hardware is developed.

The days of Yamaha churning out a new model little different from the last every three years is likely over. The Genos/SX900 models are a true generational change, and may represent a more five year+ path for R&D between models. That certainly seems to be the trend at Korg...

There are definitely OS improvements that the Genos could benefit from. But I am hard pressed to think of a hardware one it needs. 256 voices, 28 insert effects, it’s a generation ahead of Korg’s 128 voices and 4 inserts.

As long as Yamaha keep churning out new Style Packs and sound expansions and work on a few tweaks to the OS and make sure they can’t be pirated, I doubt anyone will stop buying the current hardware...

Thank you everyone for your valuable input.

Yes, I agree the Yamaha Genos is a trailblazer in the world of arrangers. Yamaha has stood behind their customers with the latest Genos OS 2.0 update.

This feature rich and incredibly capable instrument will continue to inspire their owners for years to come.

What would be your thoughts in adding new capabilities in a future release of the Genos line?


I will give you two examples.


Example 1:

How about including all the Arpeggios from the Yamaha MONTAGE?

You can create Arpeggios with up to 8 simultaneous parts. There are 10,239 factory presets.

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/music_production/synthesizers/montage/specs.html



Example 2:

How about adding the ability to control pitch via Horizontal Touch?

This is a feature found on Yamaha’s Electone STAGEA ELS-02C.

This is explained on Page-43 of the Owner’s Manual.

https://asia-latinamerica-mea.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/7/1087307/els02_en_om_e0.pdf

You can control the pitch by holding down a key and moving it laterally side to side.

Alex Payler demos this feature as he plays the James Bond Theme on the ELS-02C at the 1min 21sec mark.

https://youtu.be/CRHW1LtD804?t=79

Here are a couple of inspiring performances by aki-Electone on this fine instrument.


You Raise Me Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN74-uIwqQ8


Winter Games / David Foster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8AgbtE4cUg


Here is another jaw dropping rendition of Star Wars on the Yamaha ELS-02C by 826aska.

https://youtu.be/2ordemYEdMg?t=37


Why is the Horizontal Touch important?

Well, your right hand is playing the upper keyboard. Your left hand is playing the lower keyboard. Your right foot is controlling the expression pedal and your left foot is playing the bass pedals.

Having a pitch bend/modulation wheel would not be practical in an ELS-02C.

The Yamaha Genos has a Joystick. You can control the pitch with this.

However, what happens when you decide to combine the Genos with an 88-key piano action keyboard, say the Yamaha MONTAGE 8?

I personally like the Roland RD-700GX for its superb piano action that includes key escapement.

So, now you have dual manuals. You have the best of both worlds. You have fast synth action on the top manual while being able to enjoy a dedicated 88-note weighted piano action on the lower manual.

Here is where Horizontal Touch comes in handy when both your hands are occupied.

The Yamaha Electone ELS-02C is not sold in the US. It can be imported from Japan for about $10,000.

https://www.tarotrade.com/shop/electone-1/brand-new-stagea-els-02c-custom-detail

Of course it will...6 grand worth ????

I was talking to a major retailer and asked the same question. He said they have good contacts at Yamaha and due to the current market conditions, he was told 2-3 years before they would release a new model.
He said sales were still good on the current Genos model.

Don’t need a Genos 2 all of the requested updates can b achieved by updates generally. The bigger question is if Roland and Korg can come up with a better unit.

Roland are history.

There is a lot that can be improved on the Genos ,at first the finish and build quality is a shame for this price category
8 Gb Flash mem ( ore more)
Oled screen ( very high def)
metal case finish, black
on board voice editor or better pc software ( like the MX/montage series)
new foot pedal like the Mfc10 and all the controls
smaller design of case ( like Korg)
better I-pad integration, or android apps
Multi Pad Quantisator
HDMi output ( not a silly adapter)
YC61 sound engine
Full style editor
Automatic VH like that other top arranger (Pa4)
better Rotary effect with decent overdrive programmable
a decent replacement form YEM ( it’s terrible now)
And a better Yamaha website for software , Musicsoft is the worst site i ever workt with

I

I agree your list of suggested improvements!

Each one would be a worthy enhancement to the GENOS 2.

I would like to have a USB 3.0 port for faster file transfers. YEM is slow.

Not knowing when Yamaha would be releasing the GENOS 2, I decided to order the current model from Frank Ventresca, owner of AudioProCT.com

I have a feeling Yamaha already has the GENOS 2 ready for production. They are simply holding on to see what Korg comes up with the Pa5X. The moment Korg announces the Pa5X, Yamaha would reveal the GENOS 2 and blow out the competition.

I DON'T THINK THERE WILL BE GENOS2 OR KORG PAX5 OR ANY NEW FLAGSHIP , BECAUSE WE THE OLD PEOPLE WHO STILL USE ARRANGERS NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE TO GIVE THE COMPANEIS CHANCE TO EARN ENOUGH MONEY.

I agree these top of the line arrangers from Yamaha and Korg have more features and capabilities than what an Arranger Player would care to explore and exploit their full potential.

However, hardware costs are falling every year. Sometimes it is hard to get the same Motherboard after 5 years. This is the reason Manufacturers go for a Hardware redesign every 5 years or so. With falling prices and powerful chips they can afford to cram in more voices, effects, sound engines and features without increasing the price.

I have a feeling Yamaha will announce the GENOS 2 in October this year followed by a release in NAMM 2022. It will be a worthy successor to the announcement of the original GENOS in October 2017.

I also believe they will keep the same price point and incorporate many of the enhancements requested by the user community.

Some enhancements like adding the 10,239 Arpeggios from the MONTAGE should be easy.

I would like to see the GENOS 2 come equipped with MIDI 2.0 specs.

That alone will raise the bar to new heights. Think of all the possibilities when you set up the GENOS 2 as the hub of your studio with connected devices.

Roland has reincarnated the original A-88 MIDI Keyboard Controller as the new A-88 MKII with MIDI 2.0 and USB-C connectivity.

https://www.roland.com/global/products/a-88mk2/

Technology is marching forward. No one can afford to stay in the same spot for very long and survive.

If the GENOS 2 comes with MIDI 2.0, it would be a breeze to connect other MIDI 2.0 capable devices like external controllers, sound modules, digital mixers, control surfaces, etc.

The communication would be 2-way and the configuration would be automatic since MIDI 2.0 devices can see each others properties.

This article encapsulates the world of possibilities with the MIDI 2.0 specs finalized by the MIDI Association.

https://www.midi.org/midi-articles/details-about-midi-2-0-midi-ci-profiles-and-property-exchange

While there’s a few of us that embrace 21st century workflows, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. It’s probably not incorrect to assume that the vast majority of even TOTL arrangers are played by folk with little interest in MIDI 2.0, handshaking with control surfaces, digital mixers etc.!

You are expecting a huge investment from Yamaha to promote features that at best would appeal to 5% of their customer base. In these troubled economic times, I wouldn’t fault Yamaha for pausing on further hardware progress, especially as they already have a considerable lead already.

We often conflate progress with computers with progress for keyboards. Nothing could be further from the truth. Computers, tablets, smartphones, these are produced by the hundreds of millions and generate billions in profits. Arrangers, OTOH, sell in thousands at best and make obviously far less. So the R&D budget is tiny. That they are as advanced as they already are is astounding! But expecting parity with progress of an industry thousands of times more profitable is pie in the sky, I’m afraid...

Keyboards were still using SCSI long after the computer industry dropped it. Same with USB 1, then USB 2.0, now 3. And don’t get me started about data pipes to transfer samples into an arranger!

We are a tiny subset of a tiny niche of a tiny total market. We’re lucky they even make them!

I completely agree with your viewpoint that we represent a tiny niche in the market.

The Yamaha GENOS with its 256 voice polyphony, 491 Pro Styles, 75 Super Articulation 2 Voices, a vast arsenal of studio quality effects (358 Presets) and the ability to use 28 insert effects puts is ahead of the competition.

The Yamaha GENOS is a statement product. It has everything to keep an Arranger Player happy for many years to come.

On the other hand, the capabilities of MIDI 2.0 are tantalizing.

This Webinar discussing the MIDI 2.0 specs that was held on May 25th, 2019 explains the concepts behind Profile Configuration, Property Exchange, Protocol Negotiation and Universal MIDI Packets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NlLsUJn16M

With the current MIDI protocol, you can transmit up to 16 MIDI Channels. MIDI 2.0 introduces the concept of Groups. Each Group can have up to 16 MIDI Channels. So you get 256 MIDI Channels through a single MIDI cable.

MIDI 2.0 devices can query properties from connected devices. This means a Digital Audio Workstation will immediately know the names of the Patches of the MIDI 2.0 capable GENOS.

A MIDI 2.0 capable MONTAGE would instantly interface with the GENOS and act as a dual manual.

Imagine if some point in the future Yamaha releases the GENOS 2 with MIDI 2.0 specs and then surprise the NAMM audience by using a next generation MONTAGE to act as a controller with its faders automatically mapped and then use the next generation CUBASE to record and edit a performance with all the Patch Names being displayed without having to manually enter a patch list.

Think of how much time was wasted in the past trying to find a Sonar Instrument Definition File (.INS) or a Cubase Patch List or Logic Environment for your favorite keyboard or sound module.

MIDI 2.0 will greatly simplify the workflow.

The technology is already here.

I hope we don’t have to wait too long for the market to support this initiative.

In fact it is so tiny that the Genos firmware (style playing engine) is no meaningfully different than it was in Tyros 1. Probably even older than that, but unfortunately, although not a boy anymore, I am too young to go further back.....

It is a marketing miracle how they can resell the same product over and over again, mostly to the same customers (which in the meanwhile got silver haired). It is as if Microsoft would be still selling Windows 3.1, with some marginal repackaging. At jewelry prices.

Yeah... it’s amazing how car manufacturers keep selling boxes with wheels at each corner and an engine to get you around!

Where’s those damn flying cars we were promised back in the 50’s? 😂

If the progress that Yamaha made doubling the polyphony and upping the insert effects to 28 amongst other very significant changes isn’t enough for you, you might be setting your expectations a bit high! There’s an awful lot more to an arranger than the raw style engine.

What exactly were you hoping for?

Those flying cars have been around for many years, but the cost is still out of sight. A cheap flying car is about $250,000 but there are alternatives, such as flying motor cycles that go for about $20,000 and up.

Now, I seriously doubt that Yamaha will double it's polyphony any time in the near future - Why? Mainly because most folks couldn't hear the difference, including myself. I kind of look at it this way - If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Most of the pro players I know, and that's a lot of players, DO NOT edit anything. Instead, they fire up their keyboard, play the job and hope the check don't bounce. It's that simple. Of course, I'm old and a bit old fashioned.

Gary

aaaaaaaah! I feel much better after reading your post Gary. I was beginning to think my years were affecting my thinking.

1-Unpack the new keyboard
2-Study the options
3-Make a playlist
4-Then, enjoy playing song after song.
Small chages are made along the way.

This is my opinion, John C.

Hi Diki,

I agree with you that Yamaha took the Arranger World by surprise when they released the GENOS in 2017. No other Arranger Keyboard can match the 28 insert effects of the GENOS even today.

These effects help bring out the polished studio quality backing tracks and lead voices. The Yamaha GENOS sounds stellar.

What really makes owning a GENOS so attractive is the eco-system that Yamaha has built around it.

Yamaha went the extra mile supporting their user base by releasing all OS updates for free and offering 59 Voice & Style Expansion Packs for free:

https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/contents/keyboards/vse/index.html

Within this staggering collection of voices, styles and registrations there is something for everybody. They used to cost around $100 per pack.

Yamaha has their MusicSoft website where you can download the Premium Quality XF Midi Files optimized for your GENOS.

https://shop.usa.yamaha.com/downloadables

Then we have all these Forums and Websites set up by Yamaha Arranger Fans that offer a wealth of Styles, Midi Files, Lessons, Technical Help and Tips & Tricks that puts a new owner at ease.

Let me list a few:


1.
The SynthZone Forum run by Nigel

http://www.synthzone.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/forums/37/1/General_Arranger_Keyboard_Foru

This is the premiere forum for professional Keyboard Players. Every question gets answered by the experts from around the world.

We are already here!!


2.
The PSR Tutorial Forum

https://www.psrtutorial.com/forum/

This forum is dedicated to Yamaha Arrangers. It was set up by Joe Waters 20 years ago and now Roger Brenizer helps with the administration.

I was completely stunned when I realized the size of their resource library comprising of Midi Files, Song Styles and MP3 files of actual performances.

Although one can download everything piece meal, it is much more convenient to have Gary copy the products you want on a thumb drive and mail it to you for a small price.

https://www.psrtutorial.com/cdrom/productsum.html

I was delighted with my purchase. It showcases the talents of the Yamaha user base.

No other keyboard manufacturer has anything that parallels what Joe has done to popularize the Yamaha Arranger Keyboards.


3.
Create Song Styles

https://createsongstyles.com/

You can find Lead Sheets, PDFs, Yamaha Song Styles, MIDI Files, MP3 Files for almost every Song you can think of.

The membership is $20/year which is very reasonable.


4.
Yamaha Keyboard Players Forum

https://www.yamahakeyboardplayers.com/

This forum was set up by Eileen Lowry. She is an accomplished player and an expert on the Yamaha GENOS. She answers every single question. This is her life, her passion.


5.

Yamaha Musicians Forum

https://www.yamahamusicians.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=160

This is another great resource to have your technical questions answered on the GENOS.


6.
Strawberry Music Ltd

https://www.strawberrymusicltd.com/

This company is run by Neil Blake.

He has painstakingly developed several products for the Yamaha GENOS. They come with the printed Music Book and 10 GENOS Registrations for each of the 100 songs for a total of 1000 registrations.

Neil has his YouTube Channel where he demonstrates his products by playing a few of the songs using his registrations.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Fvpt5m4-EMuxkXQEKKH7w/videos

You could take his thumb drive and begin to play on your GENOS without having to think about what Style to use and what Voices to layer for a specific song.


7.
Easy Sounds

https://easysoundsshop.de/yamaha-electronic-keyboards/yamaha-genos/

One of the third party sources that design excellent sounds for the GENOS.


8.
eBay

You will find as astonishing collection of GENOS Styles and MIDI Files from various sellers.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-GENOS-Professional-Styles-and-MIDIS-DOWNLOAD/254684075024

This is a must have collection of 10,000 Styles, 5000 Midi Files and hundreds for Song Styles for your GENOS.


9.
YouTube

Want to see what the Yamaha GENOS is capable of?

Search for Peter Baartmans, Martin Harris or Michel Voncken.

There are too many jaw-dropping performances by these keyboard wizards to list.

Add to that all the inspiring performances uploaded by various GENOS fans.


10.
The Unofficial YAMAHA Keyboard Resource Site

http://www.jososoft.dk/yamaha/fora.htm

This website run by Jørgen Sørensen has a treasure trove of free MIDI Utilities to maximize the potential of your GENOS.

You can spend days and months deep diving into these fascinating programs.


11.
Frank Ventresca

https://www.AudioProCT.com

Frank is the owner of AudioProCT , in Milford, Connecticut.

All it takes is one email to Frank@AudioProCT.com and he would deliver your GENOS at your doorstep at a fair price well below all major music retailers.

Frank alone is responsible for over half of all Arranger sales in the US. He is a musician who loves arrangers.


Why am I listing all these sources?


It is to remind a prospective buyer that an exhaustive feature set with tons of bells and whistles does not automatically make an Arranger Keyboard become the market leader.


It also must come with a supporting eco-system.


Users must be able to communicate, share ideas, songs, styles and have a platform to showcase their work.

They must be able to buy their gear from reliable sources at a fair price from a person they trust.

By some sheer luck, the Yamaha GENOS community has grown to becoming a nurturing environment for new and seasoned owners.

If you buy a GENOS, you will be in good hands!

Yes, there are many improvements that can be introduced down the line. This does not take away from the fact that Yamaha has put a lot of thought and effort into designing their flagship GENOS Arranger Keyboard.

We can look back in time and see how much Yamaha has pushed the Arranger Technology.

I remember purchasing a Yamaha PC1000 keyboard that used PlayCards. This predates MIDI.

Looking back what we had then, you cannot dismiss the Yamaha GENOS or the Yamaha Clavinova CVP 809GP as a rehash of old technology.

Every generation has helped expand the envelope of possibilities.

Well, to start with, as I already pointed out to you in a previous thread (months ago):

1) The Genos can theoretically only use 12 inserts in style playing. And most factory styles use at most 5 or 6 (sometimes even less). As it was the case in previous Tyroses. I bet most Genos owners do not even know how to set an insert, let alone know how many of them you have available. And anyway it always holds the law of diminishing returns: a few inserts are useful, ten inserts are seldom detectable in practical use, 100 inserts are useless. What would be useful is to stack 2 inserts per channel, a thing the Genos firmware will not let you do.

2) The advertised 256 note polyphony is an half backed feature that is of limited use. All the factory voices can only use 128 notes polyphony (as any humble PSR), the remaining 128 notes can only be used by the expansion pack voices (Yamaha, understandably, does not advertise this!). So, NONE of the factory styles can exploit polyphony in excess of 128 notes. And even if you install expansion packs, the chances to use extended polyphony is pretty slim, and as Gary said nobody will ever notice in practical use.

Once we have cleared these points, I must say than an arranger is primarily bought for its realtime arranging capabilities (features and content). These are the features that put it in another class than many other competing products, which are often more capable and cheaper in the "sound synthesis" capabilities. Nobody would ever buy a Genos if it was not capable of playing styles, although its other general features are substandard in a 2020s product (example: lack of audio over USB, present even in toys, from Yamaha too!).

If I have to judge the Genos for its arranging capabilities (unique selling point), I have to say that they are practically unchanged since 20+ years ago.
This is a fact, you like it or not.

Does the Genos sound good? Yes, absolutely, as it does the previous model(s).

And I still believe that the average player buying a Genos is still the limiting factor. An accomplished player playing any previous model (way back to 20 years ago) will produce a MUCH better result any listener can readily see, despite the lack of the "doubled polyphony" or the "upped 28 insert dsps".

* * *

To answer your last question: we are not hoping anything from Yamaha. It is pretty clear that they are "milking" their arranger platform, and that, as you pointed out, R&D is tiny at best, but probably not existent.

We have developed our own arranging engine that feature wise is vastly superior to Yamaha's. And offers a really enjoyable experience for the player and power user that wants better control and customization, the easy way with a modern touch enabled UI.

I want also to make a spoiler here: this spring we are launching our software also for the Montage/MODX synths. This is a marriage between a state of the art modern realtime arranger engine and the best Yamaha has to offer in sound synthesis. At a fraction of the price of the Genos.

We think that bridging the gap between the arranger and synth worlds we will give an opportunity to many younger musicians that till now may have not considered what a realtime arranger can offer.

Hi GroovyBank.Live,


Thank you for you very informative post on the limitations on the GENOS and making me aware about your GroovyBand.Live Realtime Arranger Software.

https://www.groovyband.live/


I listened through all your 44 demos. They sound excellent.

I had a few questions.


1.
Were these demos recorded using the GENOS as a sound source?


2.
Can I use a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet that comes with a 12” 2160 x 1440 Touch Screen?


3.
It would be a few weeks before I could test your software on a GENOS.
In the meantime can I use a Yamaha CVP-609 Clavinova as a sound source?

The voice palette is identical to a Tyros 4.

The CVP-609 plays T4, XT4, T3, XT3, XT2, XT, XA, XG and GM midi files.


4.
Can I use any of these Sound Modules as a sound source?

Yamaha MOTIF-RACK XS
Roland INTEGRA- 7
Korg TRITON-Rack


5.
I am intrigued by the fact that your 906 bundled Styles use 8 Mains and 8 Fills. No other hardware arranger does that.

Your Styles can use up to 16 simultaneous effects if the sound generator supports it.

I see that you can easily add a second keyboard to act as a dual manual plus add a pedal board and on top of that add a MIDI Control Surface.

Can the Mackie Control Universal Pro be used with the Realtime Arranger Software?



I think you have designed a fascinating product.

This is the value of being a SynthZone member. You get to learn something new each day.

Best regards,

David Das

While we always appreciate input from vendors, care must be taken to not go overboard!

28 inserts? Think of it this way... each Keyboard voice uses an insert effect (or at least many do, I’m not that familiar with Yamaha architecture but ever last Roland tone does) but if you want to use a sound you are familiar playing in a style, it needs its insert effect to sound the same. I don’t much care whether the factory programmers have gotten around to using the feature much yet, it’s something I do to everything I use on my Roland. The right phaser on a Rhodes part, the perfect amount of compression on a bass, the use of an amp simulator on a clean guitar rather than those awful sampled distortion abominations makes all the difference. To not have enough to do all the style parts if needed makes for more work scrambling to find alternative sounds that don’t need inserts to sound ‘close’ but never perfect.

This is where Yamaha, Korg and Roland used to be (or still are, especially in Korg’s case). Yeah, 28 is a bit overkill, but I’d rather have too many than too few!

As to polyphony, yes, I know about the restriction for the extra polyphony being for the expansion packs. But with most, those expansions are going to have the main sounds the player is playing, especially polyphony hogs like grand and electric pianos and layer sounds. No offense, but if you can’t hear polyphony issues when you play with a 128 voice arranger with a busy style and a piano/string layer, you aren’t playing enough! Separating the polyphony seems like a decent compromise if the synth architecture can’t handle 256 across the board. Sure beats 128 for everything!

Yamaha are in no way unique in not expanding the style engine’s capabilities much over the years. Truth is, all the hardware arranger makers have pretty much settled down to a tried and tested formula. There’s a degree of compromise between capability and content. Sure, I’d love it if styles had an infinite number of variations, fills and breaks etc., but I’m not sure we’d be getting the degree of new content if making styles turned into a nightmare with at least four times the work needed for one style!

In the end, for the vast majority of arranger players, the provided content is the alpha and omega. The cost of providing it is factored into the arranger’s cost. Now triple or quadruple the cost of the content (the style creators DO get paid, right?!) and watch sales plummet. It’s all well and good to concentrate on only the software end and take potshots at those that create the hardware too, but the economics don’t add up unless you think that the ever dwindling arranger market is capable of absorbing these extra costs. Personally, I don’t...

Groovyband’s solution of a marriage between custom software and established hardware works well, but currently it’s a one manufacturer solution. Are you prepared to be as soundly criticized for not getting around to adapting it for Korg or Roland arrangers or even their workstations, as you criticize those manufacturers you rely on for not expanding their style engines? Cost/benefit problems cut both ways!

To be honest, the most exciting thing I read was the future marriage of Groovyband and a PROPER audio/loop/synth workstation and proper style engine. I have long given up on expecting the manufacturers to do it themselves, and honestly, I don’t think there’s a hope in hell of the hardware of arrangers ever being able to catch up with where workstations have gone!

But where is the Roland Jupiter version, or the Nautilus version? Or is it that commercial pressures impact you as much as Yamaha? 😂

No, we have used a PSR S770 (as stated in the pane above the media player). The audio is recorded directly in the S770 with the built-in wav recorder. Sometimes an additional compression is added in post (but you could also use a more aggressive built-in compressor setting).

This, with a PSR S950 (almost equivalent to a S770), is the lowest specced keyboard we advice. If you like what you hear with a PSR S770, then everything else better can only improve things.

The free demo is limited to 4 insert DSPs (as every PSR S) and ships with all the 906 styles we provide. So if you like what you listen with the demo, then things can only improve with more capable commercial versions (and hardware supporting more DSPs, such as Tyros, PSR SX, Genos).

The key thing is: unlike most marketers (which show you the full optional car with underneath the misleading price tag of the base model), we demo the worst result possible. So things can only improve!




Absolutely yes. If the PC can run Windows 10 64bit, then it can run our software too. The resolution is excellent and also the screen real estate (the most important spec) is perfectly usable.

Our software is highly optimized (entirely written in C++ from scratch) and uses tiny amounts of RAM and processing power. It can run everywhere and consume so little power that the battery will last for hours!



We downloaded the data list of CVP 609. Unfortunately, unlike other Yamaha products, it does NOT include the midi implementation chart and the list of supported sysexes.

We heavily use the Yamaha XG standard with many of its sysexes (as listed on the data list of Yamaha arrangers). If, as I suppose, the CVP uses the same engine (and hence responds to the same sysexes) then it should work as well seamlessly. The Tyros 4 sound palette is perfect.

If you try let us know.


For the same reason, for sure it will NOT work with the other products you mentioned: they are NOT Yamaha XG compliant.


The upcoming Montage/MODX version can work with those synths because we have updated the product to speak their language (different set of sysexes and hardware features). Additionally we have reprogrammed and complemented the whole sound set (1800+ sounds!!) to make it well suited for arranger use and perfectly balanced and homogeneous. It has been a titanic work.

When we declare that we support a sound generator, we mean that we guarantee the same plug & play experience you have with an HW arranger. Switch it on, press play, and you are ready to go.

Of course we will also provide a demo so that everybody will know exactly what they get before committing their money. Not all products provide this user experience and/or let you try before you buy.




If it can send midi CC (control change) messages and/or note on messages then you can use it.

Within our software you can associate every CC/noteOn to whatever parameter you wish to control. You can have up to 4 different maps you can also switch with a registration (the map # is part of the registration saved parameters).




Thanks.

We also listen and respond to all our (prospective) customers. And if they have good ideas we readily implement them in the software.

The software is continuously developed (you can check the changelog) and since we have many more ideas in the funnel (including strategic long term plans we are already working on), it will steadily further improve.

Capability and content are largely (but not completely, I agree) orthogonal and independent features.

You can greatly expand the capabilities without touching the content.

You could for example allow to stack 2 inserts per part (still shipping the old styles with only one insert on *some* parts). But the power user could edit them and add the missing inserts.

You *could*. But as a matter of fact Yamaha did not. They developed a silicon chip with the processing power for 28 DSPs, but "forgot" to update the firmware to use this processing power. So, as in the early 90s, you are stuck with one DSP per part. Well, for 12 parts, not 16 as it would be logical. For some reason (maybe a 30 years old half backed spaghetti code buried in their firmware, nobody dares to touch anymore) they decided that 4 midi parts (the multi pads) should not have an insert. Maybe because 30 years ago 1 insert was the most you could ask from the top of the line HW, and nobody would waste it for a multi pad part.

After all a PC with 640 kb of RAM (the limit of an Intel 8086 running MS DOS), should be more than enough for everyone. Right? [Bill Gates, in the 80s].

I could go on with dozens of examples. But you got the idea.




We do not criticize Yamaha for their policy. We just highlight what their policy is. Everybody can rightly decide to milk their old product till the very end to squeeze out as much money as you can without spending a dime.

Just do not expect everybody to praise you for your product innovation, or being "state of the art"!!
And after all it is thanks to those less feature-full arranger engines that we can hope to sell our one!




We agree. Especially if the general trend of established HW arranger manufacturers is to milk their product lines (targeting wealthy "old" men), without trying to board in young musicians that can fuel the business in the (distant) future.

Hi GroovyBand.Live,

Wow!!

Thanks a million for such a thorough response and addressing every issue.

Your demos sounded so crisp and clean I was fooled into believing you recorded them using the GENOS.

Your programmers certainly know how to make these instruments come alive.

I understand your requirement for the instrument to be XG compliant. This is the common denominator that allows your software to work with the Tyros 3, 4, 5 and the GENOS

This explains all the extra work you had to do to make your product work with the Yamaha MONTAGE/MODX.

Your upcoming product will be a game changer if you can make a professional synth like the MONTAGE behave like an arranger.

I can only imagine how much better the accompaniment will sound with the MONTAGE as the source.

Best of all the price of the MONTAGE 76-key version is about half the price of a GENOS. This translates to huge savings for the end user.

Please keep us informed on your progress.

You have a winning concept that can change the Arranger landscape.

As soon as we approach the realese date, we will post here (in a dedicated thread) some mp3 samples .....

Stay tuned.

Aside from the arranger capabilities, I am interested to know if a midi player, GM2 exists. Besides styles, I also use Notation Composer in my laptop, but not satisfied with the sound compared to top arrangers.

If the provided content doesn’t fully utilize a next gen capability, it’s not a recipe for success...

Take Roland’s last couple of arrangers - The EA7 has a decent sampler, and can play audio loops as multipads. The BK9 could also play audio loops in sync with styles and SMF’s. But Roland provided ZERO content for any of these features, and consequently what could have been extremely competitive arrangers ended up being the death knell of the brand.

Relying on your customers to provide the content isn’t a good bet!

The Yamaha GENOS comes with 550 superbly arranged and mixed Factory Styles sorted under 15 Categories.

For anybody wanting to analyze or audition how any specific GENOS Style compares with their favorite arranger, Michael Lumley has undertaken the monumental task of showcasing each and every one of these 550 Styles that you can audition on YouTube:

He has posted 15 videos each spanning an hour to two hours and 30 minutes in length.

Click on SHOW MORE to view the full description under each video.

Michael has gone the extra mile to index every video to jump to any specific Style within a Category.


1.
Pop Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS3fJ6m08Eg

2 hours

2.
Rock Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBkNZoYzagQ

1 hour

3.
Retro Pop Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMe93grtg0Q

2 hours

4.
Oldies Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCJO2BYnUPw

1 hour 40 mins

5.
Dance Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KlHMMGMbII

2 hours 11 mins

6.
R&B Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4xBZK6mi88

2 hours

7.
Entertainer Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jcuK1J5UE4

2 hours 30 mins

8.
Country Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQykOugw9fw

1 hour 50 mins

9.
Jazz Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQmxbJ1KBt4

1 hour 30 mins

10.
Easy Listening Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9EdfA21IvM

1 hour 48 mins

11.
Latin Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwSkvVgdols

1 hour 30 mins

12.
Ballroom Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak0hldBYjUU

1 hour 42 mins

13.
Movie & Show Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWHU1See_q4

2 hours

14.
Classic & Events Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGRH_0vpfKY&t=59s

1 hour 12 mins

15.
Traditional & Folk Styles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuyQHjY4qSs

2 hours


That is 27 hours of back to back Yamaha GENOS Styles – all professionally voiced and rendered by various Yamaha programmers from around the world!

Once you realize the sheer volume of work that went into crafting these styles you begin to understand why the Yamaha GENOS Arranger is priced so much higher than the Yamaha MONTAGE.

You must have a way to recoup the cost of creating these styles taking full advantage of the capabilities and effects of the sound engine of every new arranger model.

Above all, it is the quality of the Styles that can make or break an Arranger Keyboard.

The Yamaha GENOS has about 200 Arpeggio Patterns. This makes the MEGA Voices playable.

The Yamaha MONTAGE on the other hand comes with a massive library of 10,239 Arpeggio Presets. This makes the MONTAGE the reigning king of Arps.

The R&D has already gone into the MONTAGE to create this set.

I would like to see all these Arps transferred to the next generation GENOS.

I would also like to see the Voice Expansion capacity doubled from 3GB to 6GB.

With so many free expansion packs from Yamaha, there is hardly any space left to load a multi-gigabyte Piano Sample.

Hats off to Michael Lumley for his efforts to showcase each of these 550 Yamaha GENOS Styles.

I was shocked when I looked at his YouTube Channel - KeyboardKrazy49

https://www.youtube.com/user/KeyboardKrazy49/videos


He has over 500 videos documenting every Yamaha Arranger his has owned over the past 10 years with helpful tips and tricks and comprehensive tutorials.

Here are a couple of his Tutorials on the GENOS:

Yamaha Genos Keyboard Tutorial - Some Of The Basic & Intermediate Functions / Features:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAdNuIC49KI

Yamaha Genos Keyboard Tutorial 2 - Some Of The Advanced Functions / Features:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNd5lmfOD0o


This is a work of passion.

It is the enthusiasm and support from fans like Michael that has helped to make the Yamaha GENOS the top Arranger Keyboard in the world.

I think the economy of scale accounts for the price difference between workstations and arrangers a lot more than the content. Workstations probably sell 100:1 compared to arrangers, and exist in a far more populated and competitive environment.

If you sell 100X more of a product, you can sell them cheaper. And if you have more competition, you NEED to sell them cheaper!

Certainly, content is a factor. But not THAT much...

Hi Diki,

Excellent observation. We are in complete agreement here.

I agree the economy of scale plays a big part on why manufacturers can afford to sell Workstations at a lower price point.

Arranger Players are few and far in between.

There are also alternative solutions to Arrangers which can be more cost effective under certain use cases.

Let me expand on this topic comparing:


The Yamaha GENOS and PG Music's Band-in-a-Box


The Yamaha GENOS is the top Arranger Keyboard in the world.

In the hands of a classically trained pianist, it can replace an entire band with convincing results.

It is mesmerizing to watch Peter Baartmans play the GENOS:

https://youtu.be/XGHp5bAlPqc?t=392

https://youtu.be/ArNJ8NtPcas?t=118

https://youtu.be/Cc7fht_2Sxs?t=222

Peter even sings along in this demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArNJ8NtPcas&t=502s

Nothing can replace an Arranger for its immediacy, the ability to trigger chords on the fly, change styles, add fills, initiate vocal clips with the use of multi-pads, all the while interacting with your audience.

On the other hand, what if you are not a trained keyboard player but rather a talented singer who just wants to go on stage to charm the audience?

You can hire a 5 piece band to play the Guitar, Bass, Organ, Horns and Drums to accompany your Vocals. That will cost money.

You can ask a friend who has a GENOS to provide the accompaniment.

Or, you can have Band-in-a-Box to create complete backing arrangements for you just by entering the Chord Names in a grid with a suitable style. It is the cheapest solution available to a Singer.

Band-in-a-Box customers have created a library of demo songs.

The quality of the production may surprise you:

https://www.pgmusic.com/bbradio.htm?pl=countryfolk1

The company has been in existence for 40 years with stellar Customer Support.

They sent me the Band-in-a-Box 2021 UltraPAK edition in a USB 3.0 external HD in less than 24 hours after placing the order online.

https://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.htm

It comes with 3 programs:

• Band-in-a-Box (32-bit)
• Band-in-a-Box (64-bit)
• RealBand (64-bit)

The installation takes 130GB of HD space. It is best to install this on an Internal SSD like a Samsung SSD 850 PRO (256GB), or you may simply run this off your external USB 3.0 HD.

Band-in-a-Box can be run strictly in MIDI mode where your sound source is an external sound module or keyboard.

However, the results will not be optimal. The reason being Band-in-a-Box can only handle GM voices. It just sounds ok through a Roland SD-90 Sound Canvas.

You can use a GENOS or a Clavinova as your Sound Source. You will need to remap the GM voices to make the Band-in-a-Box styles sound better. However, that is a silly exercise. The built-in styles on the Yamaha arrangers outshine these MIDI styles

To get the best use of Band-in-a-Box you need to run RealBand 64.

This is a 64-bit application. All the tracks use live studio recordings of session players – Horns, Pedal Steel Guitars, Organs, Pianos, Drums, etc. There is no MIDI involved here. This allows every nuance of a live band to shine through.

The UltraPAK comes with a massive collection of 3,300 Real Tracks Styles.

It has an exhaustive collection of Ballads, Country, Folk, Blues and Jazz Styles – all recorded by professional musicians.

None of these Styles can be played in real time with Chord changes from a keyboard. You must enter the Chords beforehand to allow the program to render the tracks. This takes a few seconds.

All these Real Tracks are compressed to WMA files in the UltraPAK edition to save space. The compression ratio is 1:11.

Compression artifacts show up when you transpose these recordings to a different key or simply play them back through good quality speakers or headphones.

A better approach is to buy the Audiophile Edition which ships with the original CD Quality 16-bit 44.1kHz WAV files.

Sweetwater has the Audiophile Edition for $559.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/...r-windows-boxed

The size of the program is 1.5TB. It comes in a USB 3.0 external Hard Drive ready to play.

The best time to buy Band-in-a-Box is Dec 31st when they go on sale online.

If you are a Singer, the Band-in-a-Box Audiophile Edition is your best companion. You could take your PC or Mac Laptop along with this External HD on stage and mimic the backing of a live band recorded by professional session players.

They do sound more authentic and organic than the built-in styles on an arranger. It is more cost-effective as well.

Woody Piano Shack has posted two videos on YouTube comparing Band-in-a-Box styles with the Yamaha PSR SX900 styles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK8p1p2KLmQ

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


Band-in-a-Box has narrowly focused their market on these Country/Folk/Jazz singers.

If you are into electronic dance music, you are better served using a GENOS or an AKAI Force, or MPC One.

If you are a keyboard player, the GENOS is the best choice to express your creativity with its professionally programmed Styles covering all genres of music along with its stellar set of Super Articulation 1 and 2 voices.

Band-in-a-Box by PG Music has evolved a lot over the past 40 years. I purchased my first Band-in-a-Box Version 7 UltraPAK edition along with Power Tracks Pro Audio at Winter NAMM 1998 (LA Convention Center) at a show special price of $100.

The size of the installation was only 14.5MB. It came in one CDROM with no serial number.

The size of the Audiophile Edition 2021 today has expanded to 1.5TB!

RealBand is the program to look out for. This has a lot of potential and far reaching ramifications on how singers and songwriters create music in their home studios.

Although the Genos and PSR SX900 had some awesome break through features - they still lack in some areas where other boards are far ahead...

I have posted this list a couple of times in various forums about potential OS improvements for the PSR SX900 and Genos- which im sure could easily be done with an OS update:

1) FAVOURITES: When you allocate a new "favourite" voice or style - as soon as it works you automatically get reset to page 1 of that category... very annoying why cant it just keep you on the current page you were on? - so for example if the voice you select as a favourite is on page 6 - u then get reset to page 1 so u need to remember what page it was on and navigate back to the page to re select the voice or continue on searching through the voices...

2) STEP EDITOR (Style and Midi Song): in the step editor We should be able to do a "select all" instead of having to do "Multi Select" and keep pressing (or hold) the arrow buttons to scroll down and select more than one event.

3) STEP EDITOR (style and Midi Song): We should be able to do a granular "select all" where we can select all of a certain note only for example: I want to select every note that is above the C0 range or only all C0 notes to make edits to them such as volume or velocity... currently you need to manually press each one individually as you scroll down the list of events

4) Drum Edit: any of the drum track channels in a Midi song should be fully editable down to each individual sample being played in the drum track (individual note volume, velocity, reverb, re voicing etc) (without manually scrolling and doing it through the step editor)... Roland has had this in their style and song "make up tools" for about 20+ years?

5) Another missing feature: Octave shift of the bass note being played when Accomp is ON but the style is OFF (and editability of the bass note - re voicing? it is currently fixed on a slap bass note???) - also being able to leave it on auto hold as well as the pad voice being played that is following your chord progression while the style is off...

The PSR SX 900 and Genos have "work station" functionality but when compared to level of workstation functionality with other branded boards they dont go as deep... the above tweaks would definitely take them right up there..

Look Tapas, we’re trying to get away from this confrontational ‘xyz is the best arranger on the planet’ BS here at SZ...

For YOU, yes it might be better. And someone with a PA4X might feel that the Korg is the best. Some of us still find Roland’s work best for us, or Ketron’s. Some of us might feel a software solution like Groovyband might be best.

But these are OPINIONS, not fact.

For every strong point, there’s a weakness. No exceptions. So how about dialing down the rhetoric..?

Ditto!

DITTO, JOHN C.

DITTO MEL

The Band-in-a-Box 2021 OmniPAK Audiophile Edition has exceeded all my expectations.

The highly compressed (1:11 ratio) wma files in the UltraPAK edition was revealing compression artifacts during Key Transposition. This made me decide to make the switch to the Audiophile Editon to access the uncompressed WAV files.

While gathering more information on this Audiophile Edition I found out that PG Music sells an OmniPAK Version of the Audiophile Edition:

https://www.pgmusic.com/omnipak.htm

Half way through this 18-min demo I was sold:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLbtplh2uRE

I could not believe just how many music production tools, lessons, tutorials, master classes, demos, games and utilities the company has managed to compile into this all-in-one package.

There is something for everybody from a beginner to a hobbyist to a professional musician. This is a must have collection for a pianist, guitarist, saxophone player or a vocalist.

Just a quick call to Chantelle at PG Music was all it took to upgrade my UltraPAK edition to the OmniPAK Audiophile Edition. She had it delivered via UPS Express service in less than 24 hours.

Everything came pre-installed on a Seagate 2 TB USB 3.0 external hard drive. I was stunned at the sheer number of programs that were included. The content filled up 1.51 TB of space.

The WAV tracks sounds pristine. They have been recorded well with zero noise and sparkling clarity. This is the real deal.

The size of the RealTracks folder is 1.33 TB

I can see right away how this OmniPAK Audiophile Edition can benefit a Yamaha GENOS user.

The killer feature is the included RealBand 64-bit application that can seamlessly stitch together phrases of all backing tracks recorded as Audio WAV files by accomplished Studio Musicians once you lay down the Chords to a Song. It manages to transpose these phrases to any specified Chord within a reasonable range of Tempo without adding any audible glitches.

This is trivial with MIDI but not an easy feat when you are dealing with Audio Tracks.

Because these are audio recordings played on real instruments (not synthesized), they convey a higher degree of realism and nuance while sounding more organic and live.

I found this especially evident while playing back RealTrack Country Styles featuring the Pedal Steel Guitar.

The GENOS does a fine job of emulating a Pedal Steel Guitar, but the slides do not quite sound as authentic as the real instrument.

Who knows maybe someday the Arranger Keyboards will begin to include Audio Tracks for their backing accompaniment. KETRON was the first company to introduce Audio Drum tracks in an Arranger Keyboard. Yamaha followed soon after.

If you want to have all your backing tracks use Audio, Band-in-a-Box is the only game in town.

Dr. Peter Gannon founded this company in 1988. PG Music is named after his initials. It has evolved by leaps and bounds since its introduction as a MIDI sequencer on the Atari.

Their Customer Support is absolutely top-notch. Since PG Music is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, you save in taxes by ordering direct.

What makes their software so easy to use are the hundreds of short tutorials they have posted on their website. They cover everything from initial Setup to using various features that may interest a wide spectrum of users from an absolute beginner to a pro.

https://www.pgmusic.com/videos.bbwin.htm

They have more videos on their YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHpF7zvR8o_6qLsvcoG9Dkg/videos

A lot of demos created by the Band-in-a-Box Users are featured on the PG Music Forum:

https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=50

They have a lengthy product line with various upgrade options:

https://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.htm

In my opinion it is best to skip all these packages and make a one-time purchase of the OmniPAK Audiophile Edition. This is a steal of a deal that will keep you happy for many years.

The next best option is to buy the OmniPAK Regular Edition. You will miss out on the uncompressed WAV files on the RealTracks and Drums.

There is no single tool that could satisfy everyone. Competition is great. It propels innovation bringing newer technology at affordable price points.

Would Yamaha have developed REVO Drums without KETRON pioneering the way?

The superb clarity of GENOS voices


Here is one of the best demonstrations of all the Categories of the Voices on a Yamaha GENOS.

It is played by a trained Pianist on a Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809 which has the same voices as the GENOS with a slightly better piano sample.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYe49M4xIBo

The above video is indexed to help you jump to any voice category.


The CFX Concert Grand Piano sample on the GENOS is not bad at all as shown at the beginning of this demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NanYi7WD6E

The weighted wooden keys on the Clavinova makes the piano sample more playable. You could use a Roland RD-700GX as a lower manual to trigger the piano samples on the GENOS.



Here is another good demo of the Guitar voices on the GENOS.

https://youtu.be/SDDrYEDEyPA?t=144

No arranger keyboard has been able to faithfully emulate the sound of a Pedal Steel Guitar with long slides spanning an octave of notes. They do a reasonably good job with short slides.


I would be very curious to find out what improvements in voices the successor to the GENOS brings.

Yeah, got to admit, when it comes to pedal steel, the Genos has pulled off a major improvement, especially in terms of bending just one note WITHIN the chord. I’m guessing that it revolves around the chord recognition helping determine which note to bend (I think the only thing I’ve heard was the third/second moving within the chord) so you aren’t tied to a particular inversion. Very clever stuff, although I’m not sure if the trick can be pulled off if you don’t input the chord information.

However, I’m still unconvinced by guitar sounds that use velocity to trigger hammer-ons, as a real guitar can perform hammer-ons and -offs at any strength. Personally (see? Opinion, not fact!) I think Roland achieved this in their SN guitars in the BK-9 much better by having the hammer-on or off (yes, it can do both) be triggered by a legato phrase on notes up to a third apart, but at ANY velocity. So, quiet or loud, you get the effect when YOU want it, not when the velocity trigger point is exceeded, which can be tough to hit consistently. One thing I notice in a lot of guitar emulation using those types of sounds is quite a lot of accidental hammer-ons, in places that no guitarist would do them..! Plus, of course, it’s only ever a hammer-on, never a hammer-off or pull-off.

I think Roland did an amazing job in making the articulations on their SuperNatural guitar sounds feel utterly natural and under the player’s total control. Want an articulation, you PLAY the articulation, not have a sample play it for you. I find that a lot easier to stay focused on the playing, rather than trying to remember what strength I have to play at to get the effect.

It’s a shame that, having close to perfected guitar articulation control, Roland bow out of the segment. Although the jazz guitar SN sound can deliver some impressive rock guitar leads (by running it through amp sims and effects) I would have LOVED to have clean Strat and Les Paul articulated sounds to do the same to...

You haven’t lived until you hear the difference between a sampled distorted guitar sound and a clean one run into a cranked up amp sim! After all, that’s how guitarists do it... 🎹🎸

I was stunned listening to this demo of the Yamaha GENOS by Krzysztof Pajak:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGuI6dEvBQE


I lost count of how many popular songs he played back to back during this 60 min presentation.

At the 26 min mark Krzysztof plays the Pedal Steel Guitar to Taylor Swift’s Romeo & Juliette.

At the 29 min mark he showcases the REVO! drums that were introduced in the GENOS.

His playing skills are extraordinary. I could not stop watching.


Here is another demo from Krzysztof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_69YQ_wTTyQ

I found out from his LinkedIn profile that he is a freelance artist for Yamaha Europe based in Poland where he runs his own Keyboard Store.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/krzysztof-pajak-69910ab1/

Yamaha has managed to attract and harness the talent the best keyboardists from all across the world.

I noticed when he went to demoing the pedal steel, he started a track and played LH chords. I am still a little confused as to how the pedal steel bend effects work...

Can you elaborate? Is it always the third that bends, or top note/bottom note depending on inversion? Does the inversion of the LH chord have any influence on the note? Being from the States, obviously, pedal steel is a big part of much popular music, and I have tried my best for 40 years to master pedal steel stylings, but have always been frustrated by the inability to bend a note INSIDE the chord.

The only time I found something that allowed this (my K2500 and E! Gray Matter DX7 mod allows you to bend only notes played, not notes held by the sustain pedal, so you play the full chord, sustain it and then lift all fingers but the note you want to bend) it is actually pretty non-intuitive and quite difficult to pull off accurately at anything other than really slow tempi.

So this Yamaha system is apparently very effective, but I’d like to know how it works, and what the limitations are. Can you explain in detail?

Hi Diki,

I am baffled as well.

On the real Pedal Steel Guitar you can change the tension on one or more strings by pressing on pedals. As you change the tension on a string, it changes the tuning.

So while you lay the steel bar perpendicular across several strings you have the capability to change the tuning on one or more strings on the fly by engaging the pedals which in turn changes the pitch of the affected strings.

It is really an amazing machine operated by levers.

How does the GENOS manage to pull off a convincing slide of a Pedal Steel Guitar over a short range? I am curious to find out as well.

Ah, I thought from your enthusiastic posts you already had one. Oh well!

Anyone else?

There was a video on YouTube I saw that explained it.
They set the pitch bend to only bend one note. Not all keys pressed.
Eric

Found this https://youtu.be/kFABywwB8LE but it’s in German. From what I can see, I only see the bottom note bending, I’m not sure there’s any other mode. Can anyone understand the video..?

I guess I could get used to it, but it’s a shame there don’t seem to be top note bend modes as well. But at least for live band use or with audio tracks, I guess it’s a good thing it doesn’t need to be driven by a LH chord.

Did you find an English demo of the feature, Eric?

Found this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RdPN9XFRJk
Not Genos, but how to make it on Korg

That's the one I mentioned Diki.
Great find.
He mentions to hold the pitch bend down first, then hit the notes then release.
Interesting thing is that only the lower not is bend.
Apparently this is already build into the voice.
I tried it, it works.
He then explains how important it is to to play the correct notes (Chord) to make it sound authentic.
He uses the pentatonic scale.
He also explains that a pedal steel guitar has several pedals to bend different notes.
He compares different guitars to demonstrate the effect of the pedal steel bend. Doesn't sound the same with other guitars as well as bending up.
Only certain notes can be bend up or down.
You can easily follow that by looking at his finger position on the keys.
He plays correct bends and incorrect bends.
He also says to only bend 2 or 3 notes not 4.
His buddy says that not everybody can play in a pentatonic scale and that Harmony/echo can be used for that.
He turns on Country duet which works really nice.
The notes displayed in the display give an idea about the lead note as well as the note to be bend.
Same with country trio.
He first plays the harmony note, then all the notes himself to show what harmony does.
He then states that the resonator guitar does the same pitch bend.
That's about it.
These guys do a great job showing different features as well as playing techniques in their videos.
Eric

This guy does a great job demonstrating different keyboards.
He often makes his own styles and registrations which he shares for free.
Good stuff
Eric

I am seeking your expert opinion on the best MIDI Foot Controller for the Yamaha GENOS Arranger Keyboard.

I will be using a Roland RD-700GX 88 Key controller sitting on a Quik-Lok M91 Keyboard Stand.

https://www.quiklok.com/product/m-91-monolith-keyboard-stand/


The Yamaha GENOS will sit on the adjustable Quik-Lok M2 2nd Tier.

https://www.quiklok.com/product/m-2-monolith-add-on-tier/


This is a stylish and sturdy stand leaving a 32” wide clearance for a Pedal Board or Foot Controller.

I would like to trigger the Style Variations, Fill-ins and Breaks from the Foot Controller so that my hands are free to play on the Roland RD-700GX.

I see there are several MIDI Foot Controllers that may work:

• BEHRINGER MIDI FOOT CONTROLLER FCB1010
• Roland FC-300 MIDI Foot Controller
• Yamaha MFC10 MIDI Foot Controller
• Nektar PACER MIDI Footswitch Controller
• Studiologic MP-113 MIDI Pedal Controller
• Crumar MojoPedals 13-note MIDI Pedalboard
• Blackstar Live Logic 6 Button MIDI Foot Controller
• MeloAudio USB MIDI Foot Controller

1.
BEHRINGER MIDI FOOT CONTROLLER FCB1010

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FCB1010--behringer-midi-foot-controller-fcb1010

$160

This device seems to have a loyal following. This website has everything you would ever want to know about the FCB1010


http://host.mtnsys.com:81/faq-fcb/IdiotsGuide.htm

http://host.mtnsys.com:81/faq-fcb/showfaqs.asp


There is a full tutorial on how to program this device. I was amazed with the quality of this production.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYNND5nMWhc

I can see how the programming can get tedious.

Luckily, an Editor has been designed by Mark van den Berg.

You can download the FCB1010 Manager from:

https://mountainutilities.eu/fcb1010

The lady who created the 47-min tutorial on programming the FCB1010 posted another excellent tutorial showing how to program the device using the FCB1010 Manager.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMJQ-AHRSMs

She uses the Korg Pa4X as an example showing how this foot controller can trigger the Styles, Variations, Fill-ins, etc.

To use the FCB1010 Manager you need to install the latest EPROM version 2.50.1E

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Behringer-FCB1010-V-2-5-1E-EPROM-latest-firmware-/153483058469


There are many 3rd party EPROMs that extend the functionality of the Behringer FCB1010 unit.

Here is one from Eureka:

https://www.eurekasound.com/eurekaprom

There is a Behringer FCB1010 FaceBook User Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1024147077666105/

This device is well supported by the User Community and 3rd party vendors.

It features everything one may ever want in a versatile MIDI Foot Controller.


2.
Roland FC-300 MIDI Foot Controller

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FC300--roland-fc-300-midi-foot-controller

$515

At first I was shocked to see that this was priced over 3 times more than the FCB1010.

Then I realized why the price is justified. This is built like a tank. It weighs in at a hefty 11 lbs. This has the legendary Roland build quality. It will last for decades. It has got 5 star reviews from the proud owners. This is the high-end of MIDI Foot Controllers.

The only drawback is the lack of an Editor. This means you would need to dig into the manual and study the MIDI Implementation Chart.


3.
Yamaha MFC10 MIDI Foot Controller

This device has been discontinued by Yamaha. It is easy to see why. The MFC10 got squeezed out by Behringer in the low end while it could not compete with the Roland unit in the high-end.

I see users pointing out that the switches are harder to press compared to the FCB1010 unit.

A few sellers still have a few new units for sale:

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-MFC10-MIDI-Foot-Controller/dp/B0002H0F2E

$370

This will definitely work with the Yamaha GENOS.


4.
Nektar PACER MIDI Footswitch Controller

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Pacer--nektar-pacer-midi-foot-controller

$230

This device has USB connectivity. This means it can be easily programmed from your PC/Mac. It is geared more towards controlling your DAW.


5.
Studiologic MP-113 MIDI Pedal Controller

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MP113--studiologic-mp-113-midi-pedal-controller

$500

This unit doubles as a pedal board.



6.
Crumar MojoPedals 13-note MIDI Pedalboard

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MojoPedals2--crumar-mojopedals-13-note-midi-pedalboard

$500

This is another good choice if you are looking for a pedal board.


7.
Blackstar Live Logic 6 Button MIDI Foot Controller

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LiveLogic--blackstar-live-logic-6-button-midi-footcontroller

$180

This is a sleek compact unit that can be used to trigger the variations and fills.


8.
MeloAudio USB MIDI Foot Controller

https://www.amazon.com/MeloAudio-Commander-Multi-Effects-Portable-Controller/dp/B07DQPTZ1F

$150

This unit is budget priced to match the Behringer FCB1010.
However, the FCB1010 wins with its larger feature set and free Editor.



Judging from the features of the above 8 units, it looks like the Behringer FCB1010 is the best choice if you are a hobbyist.

The Roland FC-300 is the best choice if price is of no concern. It will appeal to professionals who have to travel a lot and need a reliable unit that will last.

Is it worthwhile to add the FCB1010 or the FC-300 to control your GENOS when paired with an 88-key controller?

Or, is it better to just add a Yamaha FC7 Volume/Expression pedal

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FC7--yamaha-fc7-volume-expression-pedal

along with the Yamaha FC4A Sustain Pedal

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FC4A--yamaha-fc4a-sustain-pedal-foot-switch

and a simple Yamaha FC5 Foot Switch?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FC5--yamaha-fc5-foot-switch


It is possible to save all your song settings into the 10 Registrations. Moreover, it is possible to sequence the Registration Changes on the GENOS.

So, all you need is a Foot Switch to step through your Registration Sequence.

There is no need at all to press the Variation and Fill-in buttons.

This YouTube video demonstrates this function:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrhO6veyjMU

With all these possibilities, what have you found to be the most practical?

The GENOS is on backorder with most large music retailers. The wait time is over 30 days with B&H and Full Compass.

This could be a good sign. Yamaha may be getting ready to launch their successor to the GENOS later this year. So they are making limited quantities just to satisfy the units ordered. Once the new model is announced, it would be hard to sell the remaining inventory. They would have to go well below MSRP.

In the interest of completeness there are a few other options I'll add to this thread (for your reference, and others' in the future.)
First, there's the Roland PK-6 and PK-9. They are both primarily pedalboards. But the PK-6 has an array of footswitches along the top which *I think* can be programmed to send MIDI commands. The PK-9 is a larger pedalboard with an expression pedal on top. A third option is the MIDI Solutions F8 multi-footswitch controller. This is just a "black box" that you can program to send whatever MIDI messages are necessary. It has eight 1/4" input jacks for the pedals. I believe that you can use the F8 in conjunction with a pedalboard (different function for each note), or build your own array up to eight individual momentary foot switches.
That brings me to one final observation. For a long time I was frustrated chasing my Yamaha FC5 control pedal around the hardwood floor under my keyboard. I upgraded to a Boss (Roland) FS-6 dual switch which is heavier, has a more 'positive' action, and importantly you step DOWN to activate it (instead of down and forward.) That, plus a plastic box behind it, stops it from skating away from me when I need it most. The tendency to stay put is a good reason to consider a pedalboard-type controller. They're pricey, buy they also give you the option of learning to "kick pedals" if you were ever curious to try a more organ-like approach. My $.02.

Hi Ted,

Aha!

I learned something new today from your post. This is why this forum is so valuable.

The Roland Pedal Boards are indeed great choices:

https://www.roland.com/us/products/pk-6/

https://www.roland.com/us/products/pk-9/

From the looks of it, they all share the legendary Roland build quality.

I agree, the Yamaha FC5 is flimsy. The Roland FS-6 Dual Foot Switch will be ideal to go up and down the Registration buttons.

https://www.roland.com/global/products/fs-6/

Whatever you get, make sure it can send sysex strings (and be prepared for some considerable head scratching if there are any variables in the string!).

For some mad reason, rather than simple PC# and CC00/32 codes for changing Divisions (as Korg and Roland and I think Ketron do), much of Yamaha’s control codes are sysex.

Better start studying!

Hi Diki,

That is an excellent observation.

I checked the Behringer FCB1010 User Manual. It can send a Program Change message or a Control Change message or a Note message or a combination thereof.


I do not see a way to store and send SysEx messages!


This makes the Yamaha MFC10 a better choice, since it is already programmed to control the Variations and Fills on a Yamaha Tyros 4 keyboard. This works out of the box.

I checked the Reference Manual of the GENOS.

https://usa.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/7/1131007/genos_en_rm_g0.pdf

On Page-148 it explains how to hook up an External MIDI Controller using the MFC10 as an example.

On Page 149 it lists all the Functions that respond to Continuous Value input like Volume, Pan, Expression, Reverb, Chorus, etc.

On Pages 150-151, it lists all the Functions that respond to On/Off input. These functions include:

Sync Start
Sync Stop
Intro 1-3
Main ABCD
Fill Down
Fill Up
Fill Self
Fill Break
Ending 1-3
Registration 1-10
Multi Pad 1-4
etc.


All of these functions can be activated by a Control Change message and a Note ON/OFF message.

So it appears an external MIDI Foot Controller will work with the GENOS to engage these functions so long it can transmit a Control Change message along with a midi Note on/off message.

I just found a YouTube video posted by a person showing how to make any External MIDI Foot Controller or Keyboard trigger the Variations, Fills, etc., on a GENOS

https://youtu.be/d3dqr9rhVW4?t=15

This example shows how a combination of a Control Change Message along with a Note on/off message can trigger the Style Start/Stop, Fill Down and Fill Self functions.

I found the author of the YouTube video in my previous post.

He is Frank from Germany.

He has written a User Guide on how to configure the Yamaha MC10 Foot Controller with the GENOS.

https://www.keyboard-akademie.de/wp-content/uploads/GENOS-und_MFC10_V2.pdf

Frank included a Table on Page-18 that shows the Control Changes and Notes to trigger the Style Elements on a GENOS.

The best part is that you are not limited to the Yamaha MFC10.

This MIDI Implementation on the GENOS allows any External MIDI device to work so long it can transmit a Control Change message and a Note message.

This is brilliant!

I found the thread on PSR Tutorial discussing this very issue in details:

https://www.psrtutorial.com/forum/index.php?topic=40058.0

Isn’t the Internet a wonderful thing? We can find answers and solutions within minutes.

Now that I have figured out how easy it would be trigger the Style Elements on the Yamaha GENOS using any MIDI Foot Controller, I have boiled down my choices to these two units:

• Behringer FCB1010
• Roland FC-300

Scouring the Internet, I found these two threads discussing the Pros and Cons between these two units.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index....roller.1259660/


https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=6102.0


Everyone is in universal agreement that the Roland FC-300 MIDI Foot Controller has way better build quality. It is built to last with trouble free operation for many years.

Not a single user has been disappointed owning this unit, although the price is high.

On the other hand, the Behringer FCB1010 offers a slew of functions at a bargain basement price. Even if you break 3 units, you will still be ahead of the game.

For me the biggest advantage of the Behringer FCB1010 will be the free FCB1010 Manager Editor software that is available. This editor makes it a breeze to program 5 Program Changes plus 2 Control Changes per Preset.

You can have 100 presets grouped under 10 Banks that you can Name and add some descriptive notes. This is ideal for organizing everything.

The Roland FC-300 has no such editor, although the User Interface is easy enough to enter your data.

No one has the Behringer FCB1010 in stock. It is in back order.

The Roland FC-300 is available right now. It is the gold standard of all MIDI Foot Controllers.

Owners of both units have pointed out that the 2 pedals on the FC-300 feel a lot better than the ones on the FCB1010. Besides, the two pedals on the Roland unit comes with a toe switch which is absent in the Behringer unit.

Decision time!

The User Manual for the Roland FC-300 MIDI Foot Controller is exceptionally well written.

http://lib.roland.co.jp/support/en/manuals/res/1810998/FC-300_e2.pdf

This is one of the rare Foot Controllers that support a SysEx Mode. So, all bases are covered. This gets Diki's stamp of approval!

Since this device can communicate via System Exclusive messages, it is possible to write an Editor for it.

I found someone has already created an Editor for the Roland FC-300.

fc.Factory 1.1.01

http://www.xfactory-librarians.co.uk/products.html

This is created by Derek Cook.

Derek charges a modest $26 to license this. You would need to install Java Run Time Environment (JRE) Version 11 on your computer.

The Roland FC-300 supports 4 modes of operation:

• Standard
• Control
• Sys Ex
• Patch

At the moment, this editor only supports the Patch Mode on the FC-300, which is the most useful and important mode.

Derek’s User Guide explains how to operate the Editor.

http://www.xfactory-librarians.co.uk/Downloads/Manuals/fcFactory.pdf

Using the Behringer FCB1010 MIDI Foot Controller with a Korg Pa2X Arranger

I received the Behringer FCB1010 MIDI Foot Controller from Sweetwater and decided to try this on a Korg Pa2X Pro 76 Key Arranger.

As usual Sweetwater carefully double boxed the unit and shipped it via FedEx and it arrived in pristine condition.

There are two free editors available for the FCB1010 device.

1.
FCB1010 Manager

https://mountainutilities.eu/fcb1010


2.
PC Editor for FCB1010

http://www.mtnsys.com/?path=faq-fcb/PCEditorBeta.htm


I tried both.

The FCB1010 Manager is far easier to use and has a sleek interface.

Each of the 10 Pedals on the FCB1010 can be programmed to send out 5 Program Change messages, 2 Continuous Controller messages, a single MIDI Note, as well as control the Expression Pedals A and B along with 2 Foot Switches.

Each of these messages can be sent on their own MIDI Channels 1-16 which is set globally.

The FCB1010 Manager makes it a child’s play to program the 10 Pedals by presenting a spreadsheet view of all the Controls as columns and all the Presets as rows.

The FCB1010 devices can store 10 banks, each bank containing 10 presets for a total of 100 presets.

The device communicates with the FCB1010 Manager via SysEx Send and Receive.

You can add a short description for each of the 100 Presets and name each of the 10 Banks.
They are stored as a companion .FCB file along with the matching .SYX file.

The FCB1010 Manager comes with a good MIDI Monitor. However, it is far more elegant and useful to install MIDI-OX to visualize your MIDI traffic and make internal MIDI port connections.

Please download and install MIDI-OX 7.0.2

http://www.midiox.com/

This is an invaluable tool to help you program any MIDI Controller and verify that you are sending and receiving the right Program Change and Control Change messages.


You should also install loopMIDI

http://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/loopmidi.html

This allows you to create internal MIDI pipes on the fly. This is the ideal tool to create virtual loopback MIDI cables. They get removed when you log off.

Normally you would need to open the back plate of the FCB1010 device to check which version of Firmware you have. The PC Editor for FCB1010 makes this unnecessary. It can query your device and return the Firmware version.

My unit came with Behringer 2.5.1E. This is the latest version. This EPROM is guaranteed to work with the FCB Manager software.

I chose a Pa2X Pro to run my initial tests because Korg Arrangers are the easiest to set up with external MIDI Foot Controllers.

You can download the Korg Pa2X Pro Owner’s Manual from:

https://www.korg.com/us/support/download/manual/1/186/2212/

The essential Style Elements can be controlled by sending a Program Change message on the MIDI Control Channel.

They are listed on Page 280.

PC Style Element
80 Intro1
81 Intro 2
82 Intro3/Count In
83 Variation 1
84 Variation 2
85 Variation 3
86 Variation 4
87 Fill 1
88 Fill 2
89 Fill 3/Break
90 Ending 1
91 Ending 2
92 Ending 3
93 Fade In/Out
94 Memory
95 Bass Inversion
96 Manual Bass
97 Tempo Lock
98 Single Touch
99 Style Change
100 Start/Stop Style
101 Start/Stop Player 1
102 Start/Stop Player 2
64 STS 1
65 STS 2
66 STS 3
67 STS 4


I decided to pick the 10 most useful functions to populate the 10 Pedals in Bank 0 like so:

Pedal Function
1 INTRO 1
2 INTRO 2
3 FILL 1
4 FILL 2
5 FILL 3/BREAK
6 VAR 1
7 VAR 2
8 VAR 3
9 VAR 4
10 ENDING

I decided to use MIDI Channel 16 as my Control Channel to send these Program Change messages.

You can download the SysEx file from:

http://davidapps.net/fcb1010/fcb1010_pa2x.zip

Note: When you load the FCB1010+Pa2X.syx file into the FCB1010 Manager you will notice that Program Change numbers have been incremented by 1 from the table on Page 280. This is because the FCB1010 device is based on a 1-128 numbering scheme, whereas Korg Arrangers are based on a 0-127 numbering scheme.

Is it necessary to have direct control over of the Variation Buttons?

Not really.

You can program the Fills to increment or decrement the Variations. So I replaced the Variation Controls with Single Touch Setting Controls in Bank 1.

Pedal Function
1 INTRO 1
2 INTRO 2
3 FILL 1
4 FILL 2
5 FILL 3/BREAK
6 STS 1
7 STS 2
8 STS 3
9 STS 4
10 ENDING

This bank of 10 Presets turned out to be the most useful in practice.

To make the Korg Pa2X work with the Behringer FCB1010 MIDI Foot Controller and the Roland RD-700GX 88-Key Stage Piano you need to make some critical settings, the most important being setting MIDI Channel 16 as your CONTROL channel and MIDI Channel 1 as your GLOBAL channel.

I have explained all the setup configurations with annotated screenshots in this PDF document.

http://davidapps.net/fcb1010/fcb1010_pa2x_setup.pdf


David

Very in depth. Thanks.

One thing to watch out for is any reliance on the screens of these foot controllers. Most of them are primarily designed for guitarists, who stand behind the pedal and can see it clearly. Naturally, as a keyboard player, it’ll be buried under the keyboard, where you can’t see a damn thing!

So plan ahead, try to come up with ONE setup with standardized positions for what you tend to want to do the most, so you can start to develop a muscle memory for being able to hit the switches without looking, rather like playing organ pedals.

Try also to place show-stopping functions like Start/Stop, Break/Fills etc. at the opposite end of the pedalboard from where the buttons you’ll be hitting the most are, as insurance against accidentally hitting them. It takes a while before that muscle memory develops, and a missed button can play havoc with a song if you don’t think carefully about what is adjacent to what! 😱🤔

Depending on arranger, you might also, if you do find yourself needing different setups for different circumstances (Roland only ever had the one global layout for the FC-7, but I always felt one setup for style mode and one for SMF/MP3 use would have been a big improvement) you might be able to get the keyboard to send a patch change to the pedal when you change registrations. But I caution against having too many different ones. Two or three tops, I think…

Keep us informed about your journey… 🎹😎

Excellent points Diki.

I agree with all the issues you mentioned.

I am testing out a Nectar Pacer MIDI Foot Controller. This has a large LED screen with big bold red characters. Moreover, each of the 10 Pedals can be illuminated with different colored LEDs.

This is already working out better than the FCB1010 unit. I will post my initial evaluation shortly.

Using the Nectar Pacer MIDI Foot Controller with a Korg Pa2X Arranger

I decided to try out the Nectar Pacer MIDI Foot Controller.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Pacer--nektar-pacer-midi-foot-controller

Once again, Sweetwater delivered the unit double boxed via FedEx 2-day Home Delivery in pristine condition.

The MIDI Capabilities of this device goes way beyond the Behringer FCB1010.

The FCB1010 has 10 banks. Each bank controls 10 pedals for a total of 100 presets.

On the other hand, the Pacer has 24 banks which they call Presets.

Each of these 24 presets can independently control 10 Switches (pedals) along with 4 External Foot Switches and 2 external Expression Pedals.

Each of these 10 Switches (pedals) can be programmed to send various types of messages:

Control Change Toggle
Control Change Trigger
Control Change Step
MIDI Note
MIDI Note Toggle
Program Change & Bank
Program Step
NRPN Coarse
NRPN Fine
MIDI Machine Control
Relay Outputs
Preset Select
Preset Increment/Decrement
Step Select
Step Increment/Decrement
OFF

You can select the MIDI Channel (1-16, or 0 for Global) and set the Color of the LEDs when the Switch is on or off.

If that is not enough, you can also program a sequence of 6 Steps into each of these 10 pedals sending any of the above messages.

This is a MIDI Programmer's Dream Machine!

What makes this device a joy to use is the free online editor designed by Francois Georgy, a fan of the Pacer.

https://studiocode.dev/pacer-editor/#/

Hooking up the Pacer to your Computer is a breeze. It uses a class complaint USB 2.0 port. It is recognized immediately. There are no device drivers to install.

This USB cable also supplies the power to the unit.

The device was initially marketed by Nectar to act as a dedicated DAW controller. It controls the PLAY, START/STOP, REW, FWD, RECORD, LOOP functions of your DAW right of the box.

It became so popular that its MIDI capabilities were extended to control effect units, hardware synths and keyboards.

It is the ideal device to control your Arranger Keyboard.

What makes this device stand out is the large red LCD display that can be read under any lighting condition.

Moreover, you can assign 12 different colors to the LEDs on each of the 10 pedals.
Each color can be dim or bright to indicate if the pedal is on or off.

I made 3 Presets for controlling the Style Elements of the Korg Pa2X that you can download from:

http://davidapps.net/pacer/pacer_pa2x.zip

I have explained how to program these Presets and make them work with the Korg Pa2X in this User Guide:

http://davidapps.net/pacer/pacer_pa2x_setup.pdf


David

Behringer FCB1010 vs Nectar Pacer MIDI Foot Controller

It is logical to assume that anyone who purchases both these devices to control their Arranger Keyboard would make a list of pros and cons.

Here are my thoughts:

The Behringer FCB1010 MIDI Foot Controller has been around for a long time. It is an affordable device offering a slew of MIDI functionality that does the job. I can understand its wide popularity. Manual programming is difficult because all it has is a 2 character display.

This is no longer an issue since you have the FCB1010 Monitor software to edit the 100 Presets in the form of a spreadsheet.

https://mountainutilities.eu/fcb1010

You can quickly make edits to a group of Presets by cutting and pasting values.

SysEx transfer is almost instantaneous.

The device is self-contained. It comes with 2 Expression Pedals.

It does not have USB capability. However, it has MIDI IN and MIDI OUT/THRU ports.

You can use the MIDI MERGE function to connect a Stage Piano to the MIDI IN port of the FCB1010 device and then transmit the merged output to the MIDI IN port of your Arranger Keyboard.

The device comes with a built in power supply.

The Behringer FCB1010 offers an unbeatable value at $159.99

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FCB1010--behringer-midi-foot-controller-fcb1010

You can switch EPROMS to get additional functionality.

https://www.eurekasound.com/eurekaprom

https://www.fcb1010.eu/

This brings a lot of versatility.


The Nectar Pacer is a much more modern design with USB capability.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Pacer--nektar-pacer-midi-foot-controller

For $70 more you get a ton of extra MIDI Control over your connected devices.

The device has a premium build quality and feels sturdy.

Each of the 10 pedals plus the Preset pedal has a positive feel when you step on them. They are silent. You can assign 12 different colors to each pedal and change how they behave when on or off. The big bright red LED display tells you what MIDI message got sent.

You will never be left wondering if your pedal was correctly engaged.

This visual clue is crucial under the stress of a live performance.

On the other hand, the pedals on the FCB1010 feel mushy. You can hear them crunch as you push down. It feels like you have accidentally stepped on a big fat roach with your boots. It does not give you a satisfactory feeling.

Sometimes you need to push down really hard to make a positive contact.

The pedals on the Pacer are easier and satisfying to operate. The Pacer wins by a mile in this aspect.

The width of the Pacer is just right at 20 inches. You can attach two of your favorite Expression Pedals and 4 additional Foot Switches.

The FCB1010 is a lot larger measuring 26 inches wide as it includes the two expression pedals.

I would rather have the smaller width of the Pacer with the option to add my own expression pedals.

What makes the Pacer stand out is its comprehensive control over every MIDI function including Transport and Track controls for almost all popular DAWs. It understands the Mackie Control protocols.

The Pacer is the ideal device for Guitarists and Keyboard Players to remotely control their effect boxes and Arranger Keyboards.

The Pacer can send out 6 note Chords from each of its 10 pedals. Remember, each pedal can be programmed for up to 6 sequence steps that can be triggered one step at a time or in a single burst.

This allows a Guitarist to control chord changes on an Arranger with their feet.

If you were to buy a MIDI Foot Controller today, I would highly recommend in spending $70 more and getting the Nectar Pacer device.

The FCB1010 was the king of all MIDI Foot Controllers 10 years back. It rightfully acquired thousands of fans worldwide.

The Nectar Pacer is the new kid in the block. Its functionality, built quality and visual appeal far surpasses the FCB1010.

At $229.99 the Pacer is still cheaper than the Yamaha MFC10 or the Roland FC-300.

I have not tried the Roland FC-300. I use a Roland FC-7 foot controller with my Roland E-80 Arranger. Judging from the build quality of the FC-7 I can make a confident guess that the pedals on the FC-300 will outclass the pedals on the Pacer.

When it comes to build quality it is hard to beat a Roland product.

David

For now, I would take an update for the Genos (and SX-900)

Not much upside for a major OS update to Yamaha’s current lineup, at least from Yammie’s viewpoint.

All in all if a problem CAN be solved with external gear, might as well use it, as you could wait forever for additional functionality to get added via OS update…

I would like to extend my warm regards to Frank Ventresca, owner of AudioProCT.com for delivering the Yamaha GENOS in pristine condition.

Frank took great care in double boxing the package with a ULINE box measuring 48” x 24” x 8”.
He wrapped the whole thing with a black film for added protection.

UPS Ground had no problems delivering this light 30 lb box at my door on time.

Everything was sealed and factory fresh.

I immediately began to run a series of tests on this brand new unit.

The 9” diagonal LCD screen is bright and flawless. It looks quite a bit larger than the 8” screen on the CVP-609.

The Analog Outputs on the GENOS are clean as a whistle. Even when the Master Volume is turned all the way to its Max position, there is absolutely no hiss. This is a common characteristic of Yamaha hardware.

Roland synths and sound modules on the other hand do exhibit some hiss as you turn up the main volume.

The headphone output on the GENOS pairs well with the Sony MDR-7506 headphones. These low impedance 63 ohm headphones play loud enough with the GENOS Master Volume pushed to the 2 o’clock position.

The Sony MDR-7506 headphones sound clear but lack the bass. I could hear a richer and warmer sound with a fuller bass using the Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro Open Dynamic headphones.

However, the DT-990 Pro has a higher impedance of 250 ohms. I had to turn the GENOS Master Volume to its Max Level to get sufficient output.

If you have a high impedance headphone, it may be better to connect your GENOS to a mixer like a Mackie 1604VLZ4 and use the headphone out on the mixer.

Next, I connected the Main (Left/Right) Analog Output of the GENOS to several powered Studio Monitors.



Behringer B3031A Truth Monitors
JBL LSR 4328P Monitors
ADAM A7X Studio Monitors



I will be posting the results of my evaluation in my quest to find the optimal external sound system for the GENOS.

Behringer B3031A TRUTH monitors

The first pair of studio monitors I tried was the Behringer B3031A

This is a 2-way 285W bi-amped studio monitor sporting an 8.75” Kevlar woofer and a 2” ribbon tweeter.

I used a Mackie 1604VLZ4 mixer as a preamp.

I connected the Analog Main Out (Left/Right) channels to channels 1 and 2 on the mixer.

Channel 1:

Gain = Unity
Pan = Left
Fader Level = Unity


Channel 2:

Gain = Unity
Pan = Right
Fader Level = Unity


Master Fader: -5dB

I played back the 9 Factory Demo songs through these monitors.

The B3031A monitors sound good. They feature ribbon tweeters which is an improvement over the B2031A model I owned in the past.

Behringer is famous for copying designs and selling them at affordable prices. The Behringer B2031A was a copy of the Genelec 1031A. While visually they looked almost identical, they could not quite approach the performance of the Genelec.

The B3031A model has been discontinued.

The B3031A does an adequate job. It serves well as an entry level studio monitor.

JBL LSR4328P Studio Monitors

Next, I hooked up a pair of JBL LSR4328P Studio Monitors featuring 8” bi-amped woofers (150w) and 1” tweeters (70w).

These are networked speakers. You can connect 5 of them and a sub to get a 5.1 surround sound setup.

It comes with a calibration kit including a microphone that helps you compensate for room responses.

Immediately, I noticed the improvement in clarity, tightness of bass and coherence. The calibration software helps in cleaning up the muddiness.

The LSR4328P is a step up from the Behringer B3031A

ADAM A7X powered monitors

Next, I tried a pair of ADAM A7X studio monitors.

They come with a 7” carbon fiber mid-woofer powered by a 100W PWM amp along with an X-ART Tweeter driven by a 50W Class A/B amp.

The moment I made the switch from the JBL LSR4328P, I noticed the drop in bass response on the ADAM A7X. You need a subwoofer to go with the A7X.

The recommended sub is the ADAM Sub10 model.

I connected an M-Audio BX10s powered sub. This features a 10” woofer powered by a 240W amp. It did the job.

The clarity on the ADAM A7X surpasses the JBL LSR4328P. I could hear a lot more details as I played back the 9 demo songs on the GENOS. Everything sounded more 3 dimensional. I could focus on every instrument with pinpoint accuracy.

The BX10s subwoofer extended the bass response by a lot over the LSR4328P.

I can only imagine how much better this system will sound with the recommended sub.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/A7XSub10--adam-audio-a7x-sub10-matched-2.1-monitor-system

This matched 2.1 Active Monitor system costs $2500. They will serve as ideal near-field monitors for the Yamaha GENOS.

A sub is an absolute necessity to capture the full spectrum of the GENOS sound.

The ADAM A7X monitors exceled in mid-range smoothness. The treble was clean and grain free.

Once you have experienced the performance of the GENOS on a pair of ADAM A7X monitors with a Sub, it is hard to go back to the other two.

Frank is amazing!! Wishing you many happy hours with this incredible keyboard!