I finally had a chance to play the Genos. I visited Don Patterson at his new home in Lufkin, TX. He and Emmy even bought my lunch!
My impression of the Genos was mixed. I played with it for about 4 to 5 hours. I'll start by saying it is by far the best arranger Yamaha has ever made, as it should be.
There are a lot of great features and things to like. I like the 76 keys, the sliders and knobs and the beautiful big touch screen. I like that it finally has a joystick instead of wheels. I like that it has a nice "songbook" type feature, called Playlist. The drums are better than previous Yamahas, as well as the vocal harmonizer and mic processing. VH still has a slight interruption when turning it on while you are singing a note, but not as bad as previous models.
There are some nice new styles. Loved the key touch; maybe my favorite thing about the whole thing. Like the phantom power switch on the back instead of in a menu. Easy access to USB ports. OS seems better and easier to navigate than previous models.
Sudden thought: I already had all this stuff on the Korg PA4X, except I had the 61 model.
A few things I didn't much like:
Most of the OTS settings were not the right volume. There were some good new voices, but most sounded pretty much the same to me.
My S970 Registrations would not load into it. (The styles and songs would play and sounded great.)
It's smaller than T5, but still big. I suppose with the 76 keys it has to be though.
I would much prefer an adjustable screen, rather than fixed.
Drums still don't sound as "LIVE" as Ketron, Roland or Korg. These are my opinions though.
The style categories have been changed and styles rearranged, many in seemingly illogical places. How hard would it be to let us arrange the styles in whatever locations we would like? You could do this to an extent as long ago as PSR8000!!
Would I like to have one? Sure, but not for the price you have to pay, and I truly think I would rather have the PA4X, or the SD7/9, even if they were the same price.
Maybe I'll just keep playing the S970 and wait for PA5X, if I live that long!
Don was nice to let me change e.q. settings, mic reverb and a few other things to my taste. He has probably already changed it all back!
Thanks Don and Emmy!! As I said, there is a lot to like, but it didn't light my fire enough to order one.