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When faced by the news that your long-time keyboard player is leaving the band for a residency in sunny Spain, I had to make a conscious decision to jump ship from guitar to keyboard. Having convinced my wife-to-be, that we should invest the £500 we had saved for our wedding on the purchase of a Yamaha B10BR, the agreed deal was that I would be out gigging it in six months. So, consigned to making strange noises in the spare room every evening, I dutifully spent the next few weeks alone, transposing everything from six strings to 2×44 white and black keys and 13 bass pedals. However, the progress is a story for another time but with passion and perseverance, like riding a bike, the eureka moment happened one evening when I called my wife to demonstrate a discernible performance to confirm that my hands and feet were finally working in sync!
Playing the 70’s scene was a time of ‘Progressive Rock’ and ‘Rhythm & Blues’ and unless you had a mechanical tonewheel Hammond and a Leslie windmill, you were not in the groove. However, it was all the things that were wrong with the Hammond that made it sound just great, that beautiful sustained overdrive from the whirling mechanical tone wheels and the valve amplification, even now is still spine-tingling!
So, to give the punters what they wanted, a further investment in a Hammond T200 and a Leslie 147 was in order. I gigged this rig all around the UK in and out of the back of a van four times a night – load up at home, unload for the gig, reload after the gig, unload back home. With this level of physical activity three times a week, gym membership was not necessary! I was finally able to abandon the piano trolley when Hammond introduced the X5 portable and the wheel mounted Leslie 760, however both still required the physicality and retained fitness.
Playing in a band is certainly rewarding but my ultimate goal was to develop a solo career. So, my next venture in 1984 was the game changer, a Technics Pro90 of which there were only 100 imported into the UK. I first heard the Pro90 at an Eric Delaney concert and was blown away with the brass sound. This was a real beast to transport so with my engineering skills I built a flight case from an old hospital trolley with a ramp into the back of the van.
However, 1990’s technology was advancing and the competition was between PCM and AWM sound generation. Having some vocal skills (school choir) and a determination to ultimately sound like a one-man orchestra, I witnessed a demo launch of the Yamaha EL90. Within minutes it was a must have and together with a Technics KN2000 via midi for the accompaniment, I was on my way. Again, I split the EL90 for gigging and I still have the design drawings on file for anyone interested.
Keyboard technology was fast developing and the last two decades has seen all the leading keyboard brands introducing arranger workstations. With such level of portability, the search for my dream machine was on and my progress from PSR8000 to Gem SK760/880 to Genesys, to Tyros and now Genos, I believe I have truly arrived!
My music, writing and arranging has been elevated with stunning sounds, studio vocal harmony, real accompaniments, a chord looper and an arpeggiator. The Genos is without doubt, the ultimate solo keyboard to thrill my theatrical audiences, who will be in awesome disbelief that such a big sound is being created from just one man and a keyboard.
I have to confess; Genos is really helping me live the dream!
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These items are sold on behalf of Yamaha, and are sent to us on a per-order basis, typically within 5-7 working days, unless an ETA is otherwise stated.
We'll contact you the moment your purchase arrives with us to organise delivery, based on your selected option.
Example products: Yamaha DGX670, Yamaha P-525, Yamaha YDP-S55, Yamaha Clavinova.
These items must be sent with a heavy-goods courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via Dachser.
Tracking will be provided by the haulier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
*If you have included the optional £180 "Yamaha Premium Service" home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will contact you regarding arrangements after purchase.
**The Yamaha CSP Series, Yamaha CVP905 & CVP909, Yamaha CLP875, 885 & 895GP, and Yamaha NU1Xa are all sold on behalf of Yamaha and arrive with us on a per-order basis. As soon as your piano has arrived, we will contact you to organise the appropriate dispatch method. ETA for stock is shown on the product page for those items.
***If you have included the optional £99 home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will send your details direct to the installation team, who will contact you within 48 hours to make arrangements.
Depending on which option is most appropriate, we will either contact you to discuss a bespoke ePianos delivery surcharge for goods we can’t package for a 3rd party courier, or otherwise dispatch goods via FedEx or APC.
If a courier is used, tracking will be provided by them directly, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
Example products: Yamaha PSR-SX920, Yamaha P-225, Yamaha NP-15.
These items will be sent via courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via UPS or Parcelforce.
Tracking will be provided by the courier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
Smaller items, such as books, discs, etc, will be dispatched via Royal Mail second class.
After purchase, you can download the file either from the order confirmation page or the "Downloads" tab in "My Account".
If you have selected the option to receive a pre-loaded USB stick, then this will be dispatched via Royal Mail.
We will contact you regarding any pre-ordered items, and let you know when they arrive so as to arrange delivery with you at a convenient time.
Used items can also be purchased using either of the following options (minimum loan amount of £250 after deposit):
Total amount payable: £893.32
Available finance options are displayed at checkout. Alternatively, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to discuss the options, or email a finance application to you. Find out more by clicking here
Our seasonal opening hours are as follows:
We are closed on all bank holidays, therefore the processing of sales and deliveries will be delayed.
For orders of any stock displaying a 7-10 day lead time, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
This is a special order "agency" item, and comes to us directly from Yamaha on a per-order basis.
It typically takes 7-10 days for this item to arrive with us, whereupon we'll contact you to discuss the arrangement of delivery.
For any pre-orders, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you, and update you with an ETA.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
*Cashback amount varies product to product, as indicated.
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