Yamaha Genos 2 – My review of all the new features

Well, it’s finally out, the keyboard we’ve all been waiting for, and I have to say that it is full of improvements and new features, ready for you to enjoy and unearth its new features, styles, sounds and multi-pads.

It has a very similar fascia, with almost exactly the same layouts as earlier Yamaha’s- from left to right -intros, style variations, break, endings just as we’ve become used to, then registrations, then one-touch settings.

But the important requests from players have been taken on board and subtle fascia changes made to improve your playing experience.

New Angled Screens

I’m going to start with the main screen, it’s a new 9-inch HD, full colour, brighter, touch screen.

There has been much controversy, since the launch of the original Genos over why the screen angle hadn’t been made adjustable like earlier models, but after much research, Yamaha has re-angled the screen by an additional five degrees, and it now has an anti-reflective coating too.

I really do think it makes all the difference – we’ve been testing it in our studio, we’ve got spotlights everywhere and we have had no issues with it.

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The long thin submenu on the left has also been redesigned with more angle too, and you can even reverse the colours to black on white if you want, (a great option if you play with limited light).

So all the levels are clearer, and brightness adjustment is now available for all the panel’s coloured buttons, the main screen, and the sub-screen. This is a great improvement as you now have full control.

Light up slider control indicators

All the long sliders on the left now have clear orange LED indicator lights, so you’ll always be able to see what each one is set to and there’ll be no need to guess where the levels are when you go to a new setting.

These also have a new “catch” facility now. So when you went to change a volume on the original Genos, as soon as you touch a slider- it would jump to wherever the slider is set and you’d sometimes get that unwanted jump in volume, or the sound would disappear altogether.

Now, with the new “catch” facility this won’t happen until you move the slider to its current setting- then it will engage- so much smoother than before.

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Reversed Lights for drawbars

Yamaha has also made improvements to the drawbars, all the lights go into reverse directions, so instead of going upwards, they come down from the back, just like pulling out the drawbars.

So even on stage in the dark, you’ll be able to clearly see your drawbar settings.

Light up knobs

The twister knobs are different too, they don’t have a start or stop- so when you turn one clockwise for instance, it doesn’t stop at a maximum position, it just keeps turning.

Also, the LED lights all the way around make it much clearer for you to know where it is set, and they even feel different, notches all the way around- so much nicer to adjust.

9 Assignable light-up buttons

There are now 9 assignable buttons, 6 in the middle like we are used to, and 3 more on the left, where on the original Genos we had just one previously labelled (rotary speaker).

These assignable buttons now all light up so that you can see when you have selected them, and if you don’t use these, you should!

As Yamaha have changed models from the old Tyros days, some buttons have gone – but the assignable buttons allow you to bring back your favourites and make them accessible again, so there’s still a way to access your favourite pages at the touch of a button.

Voices

You now have over 1900 voices, so there are plenty to choose from- these include new pianos, special effects and extra drum kits.

The sound quality on Genos 2 is just amazing. Most of the sounds are using brand new samples, and everything is now going through what we call REVelation reverb, a groundbreaking sound processor developed by one of Yamaha’s subsidiaries, “Steinberg”.

This processor makes the sounds really come to life, and gives them texture.

New Pianos

Many of Genos 2’s piano voices have been newly sampled, and recorded double in length, so that means much longer before you get the loop and the sound is much richer.

They sample all 88 of the keys for each model, using a specially made machine which plays each note at different velocities, this ensures that when you play with different intensities, it still sounds authentic.

The Yamaha CFX Grand has been newly sampled, Yamaha’s popular upright pianos, the U1 and the U3 are included now, and a lovely new soft sounding “Felt” piano, offering a quite contemporary sound ideal for chillout music and film scores.

Yamaha has also included a well-known 1980s German grand piano, sounding a bit rough round the edges, with its unisons purposely a bit out of tune- adding to its charm and authenticity which they’ve called the Character Grand, ideal for something like Coldplay or for Trad Jazz.

There’s also a new studio grand, with a lovely bite to it, and a great new stage upright.

80’s sound generation brought back

So instead of just using new methods of making realistic sounds by sampling instruments, (effectively recording them – and when we play the keyboard, we are actually playing back a recording of a real instrument) Yamaha has brought back some of the original sound-generating methods.

They’ve done this by including the actual sound generators that produced the sounds in their keyboards, like their renowned Yamaha DX7 from the 1980s.

Voices that the DX7 produced have been used by many artists and become so well known, so the Genos 2 now includes them in their original form, rather than sampling them.

So we get included an FM sound generator (frequency modulation) which is totally synthesising voices from scratch and an AWM (advanced wave memory) sound generator which samples the waveform of a sound, and then gives you the opportunity to shape it.

That’s why it sounds so good – and to top it off, all sounds are then going through the REVelation reverb too. Happy days!

Styles

There are a whopping 800 styles in Genos 2, all with their 4 variations – and all with 4 OTS (One Touch Settings) sound suggestions – so that gives us 3,200 new style backings and 3,200 One Touch settings.

These include 215 brand new styles, and then they’ve added all the extra styles from the SX900 (“Baby Genos”) which came out after the original Genos was launched, and then Yamaha added a further extra 80 styles which are from the new CVP900 series digital pianos.

Nearly all the other styles still included have been revoiced with the addition of REVelation reverb, so you’ve loads to get familiar with.

For me, the styles are the heart of the instrument as you tend to have the most fun using them and they can give you inspiration for songs, and certainly in the case of Genos 2, put a huge smile on your face!

Also, Martin Harris’s design team at Yamaha have painstakingly travelled miles to ensure their voices and styles are authentic – the four-channel ambient pop kit was recorded in the Wood Room at Peter Gabriels’ renowned Real World studios near Bath, because of it’s great reflections.

And the cinematic percussion was recorded in Babelsburg Concert Studio in Berlin, also used by Hans Zimmer, and known for being one of the biggest orchestral recording studios in the world and great for its ambient sound reflections.

Yamaha also commissioned their orchestra too, for samples of many of the orchestral instruments in Genos 2.

New Ambient Drums Controller

The drum section has had a major overhaul and the Revo drums in the original Genos have been replaced by Ambient drums.

These new drums now offer a remarkable improvement and can be manipulated by a new knob in the sub-menu screen.

Ambient Drums now replace REVO drums from the original Genos – all of the kits have been recorded into four channels and processed to a higher quality using many microphones, some of these mics were positioned close to the drums and just capture a dry direct sound.

Other mics are further away and capture the ambient room sound reflected from the walls.

For the first time on an arranger workstation using the ambient you have the freedom to choose a dry direct sound, a more “wetter” ambient room sound or anything in between.

Essentially, they haven’t just faked it with reverb. The actual room ambience has been recorded with the drums.

New Style Dynamics Controller

This gives you the opportunity to add and remove texture in each of the A, B C and D style variations whilst playing.

It not only changes the volume of the style parts but also the velocity and therefore the dynamics of the drums and percussion. This also works on the intros and endings.

This is the first arranger workstation to offer a unique live controller, giving you the freedom to adjust the energy and dynamics of any style including your user styles.

So, this will work on all of the onboard 800 styles and even your user styles and it means that you can get your band to chill out for a bit, play a verse, and then get them to give it more welly for a second chorus, and it really brings the drums to life – and just adds to the fun!

Revelation Reverb

The Revelation Reverb for styles and voices on the Genos 2 is brand new and has been developed by Steinberg.

It offers a better stereo image and gives a much higher resolution, essentially making your sound wet or dry, this adds to the reality and gives voices clarity, ambience and special effects.

And, if you use the one-touch settings, the style will decide what reverb you will get.

New Songlists

This keyboard is full of recognisable artists’ styles and setups, suitable for specific well-known songs.

We will load a batch of song lists into your new Genos, all sorted into folders from decades and in different genres. Intro 2’s and 3’s will all have great beginnings and the endings will be tailed to well-known popular songs.

Chord Looper

The chord looper feature has been improved too, and it’s now accessible from two new panel buttons allowing this to be chosen much more easily.

Yamaha has even loaded up some really good popular chord sequences for you to play along with in various keys.

New HDMI socket

There’s a new connection on the back, it’s HDMI, so connecting to a screen or your television should now be much easier.

New Yamaha Rec’n-Share app

For those of us who like to record and share our performances, this is a great new free Yamaha app for your phone or tablet to assist you in recording and posting your recitals on social media.

You can simply hook up the keyboard to your device by USB cable, and send digital audio to your Yamaha app whilst you record a video of yourself using your mobile phone or tablet’s onboard camera.

This means sharing videos of yourself playing with clear audio has just got much easier.

2 free specific expansion packs

When you when register your new Genos 2 with Yamaha for the warranty after your purchase you’ll get 2 new expansions packs.

• DX7 with loads of presets from 1980’s synth
• Genos expansion pack with Original Genos styles, voices and multipads that haven’t been included in Genos 2 but players might still want to access)
• New expansion manager isn’t released yet, but will be available soon

So, this keyboard has many of the fab features from the original Genos, but so many improvements and many extra sounds and styles

But remember, “if it isn’t broke- don’t fix it”- and many of the features from the original Genos were already brilliant, so Yamaha have kept them.

Here are some key facts for the Genos 2

• Literally hundreds of extra new styles, all with one touch settings and variations
• Brand new sounds with Revelation Reverb to enhance all voices and sounds within styles
• Uses same cables
• Uses same speaker mounts
• Only 76 note version available
• Same operating system
• Has the new screen with extra 5% tilt
• Uses same L7 stand
• Uses same music rest
• Same weight
• Same dimensions
• Uses same size gig bag
• Familiar layout

And we’ll include

• Help uploading your 2 free expansion packs when it’s registered
• Help Upgrading from 2 years to 5 years warranty on registration
• Over 1000 registrations from the Tipsters
• Free online copy of our GenosTipsters Information pack with three new chapters
• Free delivery to mainland UK
• Set up where required

Give us a ring or send us an email if you would like to ask more in depth questions about the new model and its many features.

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David Cooper

Owner at ePianos

David has been involved with music retail for over 30 years and has watched his business grow from strength to strength, once running a hugely successful general music store to now operating one of the UK's leading specialists for digital pianos, keyboards, and used organs.

sales@epianos.co.uk