As i am a long way from the nearest music store that sells the Genesys XP module, just wanted to ask some opinions on this unit as opposed to the PA1X? I am considering going to a Promega 2 piano coupled with the XP module, and losing the PA1XPro..i have heard the demos for the the genesys keyboard, but the guy at the shop says the XP is brand new with hugely updated sounds and functions..any help appreciated

peace, out

Hi,

You might want to take a look through THIS post regarding a fellow in Zevenbergen, Holland who compared the Genesys XP to the PA1X among others. I am sure if you PM JohanKB he would be happy to offer his opinions now that he has had the XP for a while.

If you have specific questions please feel free to ask me via this forum or PM. Or you can e-mail me directly or visit the GEM Community Forums via the link in my signature. I promise there will be no marketing hype in anything I tell you about the XP or any of our gear and will only offer relative information based on what you ask.

Best Regards and thank you for considering a GEM product.

Dave


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Wm. David McMahan
Nat'l Product and Support Manager
Generalmusic USA
GEM Community Forums

thanks dave for your really quick reply...your pro mega pianos are without any doubt whatsoever the best non-acoustic pianos i have ever heard, i thought the roland x8 was good but it is a$250 casio compared to this...even down to the action of the damper felts..the sympathetic resonance etc etc you know what i mean is superb, plus being able to half pedal ..any hoo i digress...the piano is a given i just need to know if the XP is as user friendly(or friendlier???)as the PA, and is the sound palette as good..oh and 1 other q re the pro mega...is it the same piano sounds in the 2 as the 3? and is the pcm ram (64mb as opposed to 128) ONLY to do with the other sounds eg strings and pads, or does it also impact on the quality of the piano sounds themselves?
thanks heaps

Hi there,

The acoustic pianos and electro-mechanical instruments are exactly the same in both the Promega 3 and Promega 2. The only difference is in the purely sample based sounds of the other sound sections. But the physical models running in both instruments are the same. The Promega 3 has five DRAKE processors where the Promega 2 has three but that really has to do with the additional polyphony on the Promega 3 which is 320 notes versus 160 notes polyphony on the Promega 2. Then again, 160 note polyphony is nothing to sneeze at.

If you get a chance, please take a look at my latest video ‘DRAKE Modeling Technology Explained’ at our website. A link to this video can be found on the Promega 2 and 3 pages as well as the RP700 and RP800 pages. Stay tuned for the Genesys series video to be completed soon! Go to www.generalmusic.us and click on the pro keyboards or digital pianos and then choose the model you want to view.

As for the Genesys XP, it is quite user friendly. The user interface is nicely laid out and very quick to get around on. One thing I like is the size of the buttons and the distance between them. It is easy to press the right button the first time without accidentally hitting another one by mistake during a performance. The display is very easy to read and the soft buttons to the left and right of the display are much easier and dependable to use than a touch screen in my opinion. Touch screens can be finicky sometimes.

The Genesys series has over 1300 sounds on board with room for more. The synth section of the Genesys is very good. If you are into programming your own sounds and textures, the Genesys is a pleasure to work with.

I hope that answers your questions. Keep’em comin’

Dave


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Wm. David McMahan
Nat'l Product and Support Manager
Generalmusic USA
GEM Community Forums

[This message has been edited by WDMcM (edited 04-08-2005).]

hi dave,
thanks for that, it was your video that won me over in the first place ....saying this keyboard, well piano really, has a WOW factor is like the biggest understatement..i should be completing the deal on monday, coz ive pretty much decided to go with the mega 2 + the XP and i reckon that'll just about do me forever...and ive been thru som boards i can tell you, from a prophet 5, jx3p and stage 73,the yammi pf series (well most of em anyhoo)most of the ole crappy roland pianos, the 7 etc etc thru to the x8 and the PA1XPRO... if i can say this to any keyboard player out there you should really , and i mean REALLY check out these instruments...anyhow dave thanks for your help and the offer of answering more questions if i have them...i sure to take you up on that...i willpost a full review when i get it and will try to do a
-v- with the X8.

peace,out