1) FAVOURITES: When you allocate a new "favourite" voice or style - 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) STYLE SETTING / STOP ACCOMP: when this is set to "FIXED" This feature allows us to have a bass note that is played when pressing chords on the left hand while the style player is off. However, we have no control over changing / re voicing the bass note nor can we make any adjustments such as the volume or octave tuning of this bass note.

When STOP ACCOMP is set to "STYLE" it allows us to use the bass note in the style that is selected - so we CAN re voice and adjust the volume BUT obviously it then effects / changes the bass note of the style once you hit the start/stop button... and again no octave shifting without going into the Style Composer...

6) MIXER is missing the Octave up/down for each of the 8 style parts (im talking about doing this on the fly in the mixer without having to go into the Style composer)

Overall there is way too much compression on all the samples including the drum kits on this keyboard. Those at Yamaha know exactly what I mean - anyone who has played or owns a Yamaha Synth such as a Motif / MODX / Montage will also know.

Hi Nick G,

the mentioned disadvantages of Genos exist. I hope Yamaha will fix them on the new model.
Do you want to make a list of defects/irregularities on the PA5x or should I copy them from a relevant forum?

Hi Leon,

The PA5X one would probably be a book I have been keep track of the PA5x issues.

The above items I have listed forthe Genos / PSR SX are not really defects except for the 1st one regarding the favourites. The rest are all just simple features that really should be there for quality of life and customisation.

I can’t repeat this enough… especially as Roland have basically abandoned the arranger market and don’t seem to have made a fuss about the chord sequencer having been copied wholesale (and improved!), every arranger manufacturer needs to copy Roland’s Makeup Tools lock stock and barrel.

It is BY FAR the easiest, simplest, yet most powerful style and SMF header editing system ever devised. It actually makes editing styles almost a pleasure!

Diki - you could probably read between the lines of what I was saying SHOULD be in the next line of arrangers from Yamaha as an absolute minimum :-) Korg comes close but still not on par with the Roland Make up tools...

Hi Nick
I agree, a lot could be improved on Yamaha's arrangers. But the topic title leads us to a comparison with the PA5x. I think such a comparison will only be possible when Korg fixes everything it messed up in the new model.

When comparing or reviewing newly released instruments, one thing that is rarely mentioned is, 'will it make me a better player?'. I think that should be just behind 'will it make my performance SOUND better' (a different question). Assuming that most musicians want to become better players, then the question really is, 'how much will the new features improve my PLAYING ability (compared to what I'm playing now OR new-to-me features on a different manufacturer's instrument. ALSO....how much (if ever) will I actually USE th0se whiz-bang features that I'd be paying so dearly for? Just thinking aloud.

chas (programming, style creation/modification, sound designing, etc., 1%; playing, 89%; daydreaming/daytime napping, 10%)

I haven’t done any work on a Yamaha but have read manuals. But I have worked on editing a PA3X & PA4X. The biggest problem I found with the Korg’s is, if you want to do some simple editing on a drum sound, bring up it’s velocity for instance, you actually have to go in and do it separately for not only each Division (Variation, fill etc) but also for each chord type (maj, min, 7ths) of each of those Divisions. So, 4 variations, four fills, three intros, three endings, times three chord types!

A command that Roland does in one go needs to be repeated 42 times! Now yes, you can do a clunky workaround where you edit the ROM drum kit and save as a user drum kit, but now you are faced with a bewildering number of edited kits, as each edited style needs its own, using up your limited slots and making data management a nightmare.

And heaven help you because that’s the way it works on non drum sounds too..!

There’s a REASON why so few of us spend much time customizing our styles and sequences. It’s just too much bother… Except for Roland users.

Chas, I think that, if the whiz bang features inspire you to spend more time sitting at the instrument, becoming a better player comes automatically with that. And if the features make what you ALREADY play sound better, that becomes the reason to sit and play for maybe an hour a day when it used to be ten minutes a day, or whatever.

Seat time, as any racer will tell you, always ends up being better lap times..!

Also, enough seat time behind a new arranger usually ends up with a curiosity about whether any unused features can help you sound and play even better. It’s a feedback loop. Stagnation is the enemy. Some people have enough drive to just sit and put an hour or two into excersizes (and by that I don’t really mean just scales and arpeggios, but anything that improves your performance like mastering bending lead solos, or working on chord voicing for guitars, strings, horns, whatever) with the gear they already have. But others do better when the inspiration of a new whiz bang arranger graces their music room.

Whatever it takes!

The only way a new arranger won’t make you a better player is if you don’t play it!