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The big question for Yamaha Genos owners is: Should I trade in my Yamaha Genos for a Korg Pa5X?
In this blog, I’ll give you my thoughts about it.
Yamaha Genos (left) & Korg Pa5X (right)
Firstly, remember that for you, a keyboard player, the fierce competition between Yamaha and Korg works in your favour.
We have two great keyboard companies constantly striving to outdo each other by making their flagship keyboards better and better.
Naturally, they also strive to keep the price competitive which is a real positive!
Keyboard enthusiasts might think of it as like deciding whether to shop at Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Asda, or Tesco.
The Korg Pa5X has taken inspiration from the Yamaha Genos
To fully reap the benefit of the competition you must discard any brand loyalty, adopt the mindset of a consumer, and think selfishly!
In other words: Choose what’s right for you and not the manufacturer.
Ok, enough of the theory. Here’s what I think.
The Yamaha Genos was launched in 2017. The Korg Pa5X was launched in 2022. So, fundamentally, the Korg Pa5X is a much newer keyboard. But is new always better? I hear you ask.
In this case, I’d say the answer is yes.
Knowing the Genos as well as I do (You know I’m a Genos Tipster, right?), I approached the Korg Pa5X with some hesitancy and a little skepticism.
However, as I mentioned previously, I had to put on my sensible hat, throw away my brand loyalty, and adopt the mindset of a keyboard consumer (Which I most certainly am much to Mrs. Hammond’s distress!).
After spending some time playing the Korg Pa5X it became clear that Korg have used the 5 years since the Yamaha Genos launched very wisely.
In those 5 years, they’ve obviously seen what features work well on Genos and have included them on the Pa5X.
For example, when you power up the Pa5X, you’re confronted with a homepage that looks just like the Genos homepage!
The information is displayed in a beautifully colourful, crisp, and clear way on the sizable touchscreen and the layout is, well, very Genos-like.
I felt quite at home using it!
The homepage on Korg Pa5X is very similar to the Yamaha Genos
The touchscreen itself is noticeably more sensitive than the Genos. No double taps were required!
Navigating the Voice and Style categories was also very easy and familiar with the categories aligned on the left side of the screen and the additional tabs along the bottom.
And guess what, my fellow Genos players, (insert drum roll…) the screen is tiltable!
That’s right, you can easily move it up and down to an angle that suits your seating position.
Those were just a couple of examples where Korg took select things that work well on Genos and improved upon them.
Overall, I would describe the experience of operating the Korg Pa5X compared with a Yamaha Genos to using a different cashpoint machine.
By no means an insurmountable challenge (note: neither model dispenses cash, by the way).
What about the sounds?
This is another category where Korg have had the advantage of 5 years to improve things.
The sounds on the Korg Pa5X are excellent and easily comparable to the quality of those found on the Yamaha Genos.
In some cases, I’d say that they exceed the Genos for realism.
The orchestral sounds on the Korg Pa5X are particularly impressive and offer more variety in terms of presets like soft strings, movie strings, etc.
If you like the Organs on Yamaha Genos you’ll love the Korg Pa5X
If you enjoy the drawbar Organs on Yamaha Genos then you’ll be pleased to hear that the Korg Pa5X has taken up the baton impressively.
On the screen, you’ll be able to manipulate the drawbars and tweak the organs to your heart’s content!
As a Genos player, you’ll find most sounds meet your (already very high!) standards comfortably and even exceed in places you might not expect.
It’s a similar situation with the rhythms & accompaniments.
All of your favourites are there. Big Band, Ballad, Ballroom, Latin, etc. You will be in friendly territory here.
Songbook on Korg Pa5X makes life easy
When it comes to playing a song, whether it be in front of an audience or at home in your man cave, putting together a pro-sounding performance on the Korg Pa5X is mercifully easy.
Easier, in fact, than on the Yamaha Genos.
In the section called Songbook (think Registrations + more), you can take a virtual snapshot of your keyboard setup and save it easily.
The homepage on Korg Pa5X will be very familiar to Yamaha Genos players
Where it gets better is that on the Korg Pa5X you can select a song, e.g. ‘Hey Jude’ by The Beatles, at the touch of a screen and have the keyboard perform the correct chord sequence for you, leaving you to play the melody with your right hand or sing.
The ability to display chord sequences clearly on the screen and have it all so easily accessible makes the Korg Pa5X a very attractive proposition for professional and casual players alike.
Summary
As much as I’ve enjoyed the Yamaha Genos (and the Yamaha PSR-SX series), I have to say that I’ve been very impressed by Korg’s efforts to learn from and adopt Yamaha’s successes and include them in the Pa5X.
In my opinion, (get ready for a tennis analogy – It is Wimbledon after all!) it’s ‘Advantage Korg’.
Remember with ePianos/Whitley Bay Organs we do our best to look after you as a valued customer.
If you decide that you’re not happy with your new keyboard we can always find an alternative for you or return you to your older model.
I hope reading this blog has given you food for thought.
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Chris Hammond
Manager at ePianos
Chris handles all of our ePianos marketing, and is responsible for the creation and production of the majority of our product videos.
Chris is also one of our top blog writers, having extensive knowledge of keyboard instruments, years of experience in musical instrument retail, and a background in live performance and composition.
Chris a very interesting conclusion I do have a question. What amplification and speakers were you using?
I have been experimenting with an old Bose system on my Genos versus the dedicated set and it’s clear that there’s more to be had in sound quality and realism. I am desperately trying to find someone who has compared the Yamaha Hs7 versus the standard setup something that you could perhaps try next time you have them in stock. If the sound is better I will purchase from you. (rahowse1191@gmail.com)
Hello
I am a tyros 2 and 4 and 5 player I would be interested in the new Korg but only if the
Step writing system that tyros have is as good and easy to use as the tyros.I use this system to enhance and produce files of many songs and when ever products shown in showrooms etc these are features are rarely shown .Last tyros 5 was from you and given many years enjoyment
I have a Korg PA1000 which I’ve been using for live solo performance for a few years now. I keep learning more about it and it’s an excellent keyboard overall. But, I long for a better touch on the keybed and better grand piano sounds. Hopefully, the PA5x will fill both of those desires, and I will keep my PA1000 as a backup.
Don’t think I will be trading my Genos anytime soon, My friend owns a Korg PA 5X and personally I think the Genos sounds far better. My friend is an organ player and thought he would have a change using the same amp he uses for his organ.
There is no comparison in sound, His organ sounds are far superior then the Korg PA5X.
That is not say people will still want the choice of owning a Korg and be quite happy with it. I suppose it is a matter of choice. By no means am I saying the Korg is not very good, It is a good keyboard and will suit a lot of musicians out there. I think Yamaha will make a new Genos 2 only if Genos 1 sales are dropping against Korg. The Korg has been for sale for well over a year now. epianos should be able to tell you if the Genos sales are down regardless of the economy at the moment
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Tyros Tipsters Bonus Content for Tyros 5
Here's what we offer when you select the option to include our Bonus Content...
We update the firmware so that your Yamaha Tyros 5 is running on the latest version
We load in 600 registrations into the Tyros 5 which give you sound set-ups in your
registration bank buttons for different genres of music
We add 1825 songs into the Tyros 5 Music Finder
Contact Us
We are pleased to be able to offer interest-free finance on selected products through Novuna Personal Finance, for a limited period only.
This offer is available on purchases of:
Brand New Yamaha Genos 2
Brand New & Used Yamaha SX920 (if purchased with bonus content & guide)
Used Yamaha SX900 (if purchased with bonus content & guide)
Used Yamaha Genos 1 (if purchased with bonus content & guide)
Get in touch to request a remote 0% finance application with or without a part-exchange using the form below:
Here's what we offer when you select the option to include our Bonus Content...
Latest Firmware
27 Expansion packs which include 557 voices and 381 backing styles
234 extra styles from Tyros 5
600 registrations
2673 song setups
Video showing where all the key features are
...and when you select the option to include our GenosTipsters Guide
We include our GenosTipsters guide (digital version) worth £99,
featuring over 3 hours of video and 200 pages of written accompaniment.
Disclaimer – a proportion of this content is made available freely by Yamaha,
for those fully competent and confident with using the required software to install it via computer.
Information about this item
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.
Information about this item
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.
Information about this item
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.
Get up to £250 cashback from Yamaha*
Yamaha is offering customers cashback on selected purchases until January 15th 2026 - here's how it works:
Purchase a qualifying Yamaha instrument before 15.01.26.
Complete the claim form
following this link
and have your proof of purchase and serial number ready.
Once your claim has been validated, you will be sent within 35 working days your cashback reward via bank transfer.
*Cashback amount varies product to product, as indicated.
Available Content for Genos 1
Here's what we include when you select the option to add our Bonus Content...
Latest Firmware
23 extra expansion packs which include 877 voices and 577 backing styles
234 extra styles from Tyros 5
600 registrations
4096 song setups
Video showing where all the key features are
...and when you select the option to include our GenosTipsters Guide
We include our GenosTipsters guide (digital version) worth £99,
featuring over 3 hours of video and 200 pages of written accompaniment.
Disclaimer – a proportion of this content is made available freely by Yamaha,
for those fully competent and confident with using the required software to install it via computer.
Part Exchange
Genos Tipsters Bonus Content for SX900
Here's what we offer when you select the option to include our Bonus Content...
Latest Firmware
14 Expansion Packs inc many extra voices and styles
234 T5 styles
600 registrations
T5 Music Finder
15 Playlists with 2287 song set-ups
Video showing where all the key features are
...and when you select the option to include our GenosTipsters Guide
We include our GenosTipsters guide (digital version) worth £99,
featuring over 3 hours of video and 200 pages of written accompaniment.
Disclaimer – a proportion of this content is made available freely by Yamaha,
for those fully competent and confident with using the required software to install it via computer.
Available Bonus Content for SX920
Here's what we offer when you select the option to include our Bonus Content...
Latest Firmware
25 Expansion packs which include 780 voices and 540 backing styles
234 extra styles from Tyros 5
600 registrations
4256 song setups including 136 ‘Decades’ registrations
Video showing where all the key features are
...and when you select the option to include our GenosTipsters Guide
We include our GenosTipsters guide (digital version) worth £99,
featuring over 3 hours of video and 200 pages of written accompaniment.
Disclaimer – a proportion of this content is made available freely by Yamaha,
for those fully competent and confident with using the required software to install it via computer.
Bonus Content for Korg Pa5X
Here's what we include when you select the option to add our Bonus Content...
Korg Bonus Styles (Taken from the Bonusware downloads on Korg UK website) – 450 styles
Korg Pa2x Internal Styles converted to 5x – 419 styles, all complete with 4 x Keyboard Sets
Korg Pa3x Internal Styles converted to 5x – 486 styles, all complete with 4 x Keyboard Sets
Korg Pa4x Internal Styles converted to 5x – 584 styles, all complete with 4 x Keyboard Sets
Korg Pa800 Internal Styles converted to 5x – 409 styles, all complete with 4 x Keyboard Sets
Korg Musikant 4x Internal Styles converted to 5x – 577 styles, all complete with 4 x Keyboard Sets
ePianos Songbook for Pa5x – A collection of over 200 well-known songs with 4 Keyboard Sets per song, giving in
excess of 800 registrations
Latest Osimo Songbook from Korg
3 x User Sound Packs from Korg
6 x Korg Pa5x User Know How videos covering: "Power Up & Panel", "Selecting Styles", "Selecting Sounds", "My
Setting & Favourites", "Mixer Basics", "Songbook", and "Recording"
How to Locate and Load the Various Software Bundle Components (Video)
Available Bonus Content for Genos 2
Here's what we offer when you select the option to include our Bonus Content:
Latest Firmware
52 expansion packs which include 1,721 voices and 1,148 backing styles
234 extra styles from Tyros 5
816 registrations
4256 song setups including 160 ‘Decades’ registrations
Video showing where all the key features are
Some of the best parts of our Bonus Content option are the 1,721 new extra voices and 1,148 new extra styles
included
across 52 expansion packs. These packs are quite complex to upload and, whilst free to obtain, we pride ourselves on
getting them into your keyboard for you — something many dealers shy away from purely because of the time it takes
to get them uploaded.
...and when you select the option to include our GenosTipsters Guide:
We include our GenosTipsters guide (digital version) worth £99,
featuring over 3 hours of video and 200 pages of written accompaniment.
Disclaimer – a proportion of this content is made available freely by Yamaha,
for those fully competent and confident with using the required software to install it via computer.
Comments:
Chris a very interesting conclusion I do have a question. What amplification and speakers were you using?
I have been experimenting with an old Bose system on my Genos versus the dedicated set and it’s clear that there’s more to be had in sound quality and realism. I am desperately trying to find someone who has compared the Yamaha Hs7 versus the standard setup something that you could perhaps try next time you have them in stock. If the sound is better I will purchase from you. (rahowse1191@gmail.com)
Hello
I am a tyros 2 and 4 and 5 player I would be interested in the new Korg but only if the
Step writing system that tyros have is as good and easy to use as the tyros.I use this system to enhance and produce files of many songs and when ever products shown in showrooms etc these are features are rarely shown .Last tyros 5 was from you and given many years enjoyment
Mike Davis
I have a Korg PA1000 which I’ve been using for live solo performance for a few years now. I keep learning more about it and it’s an excellent keyboard overall. But, I long for a better touch on the keybed and better grand piano sounds. Hopefully, the PA5x will fill both of those desires, and I will keep my PA1000 as a backup.
Don’t think I will be trading my Genos anytime soon, My friend owns a Korg PA 5X and personally I think the Genos sounds far better. My friend is an organ player and thought he would have a change using the same amp he uses for his organ.
There is no comparison in sound, His organ sounds are far superior then the Korg PA5X.
That is not say people will still want the choice of owning a Korg and be quite happy with it. I suppose it is a matter of choice. By no means am I saying the Korg is not very good, It is a good keyboard and will suit a lot of musicians out there. I think Yamaha will make a new Genos 2 only if Genos 1 sales are dropping against Korg. The Korg has been for sale for well over a year now. epianos should be able to tell you if the Genos sales are down regardless of the economy at the moment
Could you review the Korg again against the Genos 2 when it appears?