First week with the Genesys – actually a week & ½


I am comparing the Genesys to the Yamaha 2000 and to a much lesser degree to the Kuzweil 2600 (which I just sold) and a Yamaha US-1 organ which was built in 1989.
All comparisons are from the stock setups with one exception I set the EQ in the 2000 more to my liking

I want to make it clear I’m a wannabe musician and it is a consuming hobby with me Keyboards that is. I like playing easy listening, light rock, C&W, and light jazz. I enjoy the personal satisfaction of playing and experimenting and although I don’t play well I enjoy it, enough Said.

Biggest bang for the buck is a no brainer, the Yamaha PSR 2000.
I‘ve been playing the Boards through my stereo to level the playing field, the Yamaha US1 is played through is own sound System, at 420 pounds portability is not an option.

The first thing that struck me about the Genesys is how big it sounds, the sounds are really full & rich sounding to my ears (57 years old and getting deafer) The keys feel like they could handle a gorilla pounding on them, they feel darn solid and there is no clunk when you release a key. These are the best feeling keys of the bunch. The Genesys seems to be built like a tank and nearly weighs as much.

The display on the Genesys is by far the easiest to read either sitting or standing and is really easy on the eyes. The PSR is a little hard to read while sitting I must lean over to really get a good look, the fonts are also smaller. Kurzweil and US-1 displays are functional but much smaller.

The Voices are really great on all these boards but the nod does go to the 2600 and Genesys because of the presence and fat sounds. Overall The Gen even edges the K but should one do a little tweaking then that might not hold true. My favorite voices on the Psr 2000 are Sweet Soprano Sax, Blues Harp, Pad & Choirs and a few others. The Variety of panel voices is greater on the 2000 (313 pre sets) then the Gen. (256 pre sets) (not counting xg voices and user voices respectively) I generally like the Genesys Voices better and have totally flipped on the Clarinet. The Guitars, Accordions, Brass, Woodwinds and Orchestral are top notch on the Genesys. The Genesys pianos sound wonderful to my ears. There aren’t many duds. Being able to layer 6 sounds is a big plus on the Genesys. The organs I’m afraid go to 14 year old Technology on the US-1 (great simulated rotor effect) and the B-3 organs go to the K2600. Yamaha 2000 & Genesys really need a better Leslie simulation especially the Genesys at this price point.

Ease Of use & playability 1 US1 2 PSR 2000
3 GENESYS 4 K26000 That may change as I learn my way around the Genesys. The Registration memories on the Genesys are a dream come true, Perfect!!!!!!
The Genesys sliders are a Godsend for tweaking, blending, and getting everything just right. I’ve barely scratched the surface on the Gen but so far am making decent progress. On of the things I miss is a General EQ setting like the Yamaha has, it may be there but I’ve not found it as yet.

For my taste the styles on the Genesys are crisper and much more life like In my opinion they are great. The US1 has decent styles but many are very dated. Most of the PSR 2000 Styles I use and like have been down loaded from Joe Waters site (I hope have the name right) NA for the K 2600. I like the OTS link on the Yamaha and am quite surprised the Genesys does not have that feature. (or I’ve not been able to find it) A really nice feature on the Gensys is you can add your own favorite sounds along with factory sounds in style setups. I’m still wresting with the general setups and how I want them.

I have been stymied trying to load Kurzweil samples into the Genesys so if anyone can help me Yell!!! I am going to try sampling some sounds directly from Yamaha in the next week when I have time (Time! What’s that?)

User Support is certainly there for the PSR 2000 in spades. The Genesys does not appear to have much in that department yet, although that could change. The factory rep from General Music has certainly been doing a good job bolstering support for his products and in time I'm sure that will pay off nicely.

I bought the Genesys used and knowing what I know now would I buy a new one if I couldn’t find a used one, the answer is YES, of course that could change next week LOL.

Enough for now

Jerry