Yamaha Genos -a next gen digital workstation
The Yamaha Genos has finally been announced after a fair amount of gesticulation as to what this new flagship instrument will offer and anybody who loves technology and music instruments will no doubt be interested in this newly built keyboard workstation.
They say that the Yamaha Genos is their most advanced Digital Workstation keyboard to date and it has been rethought and rebuilt from the ground up, making a truly new instrument with a new way of working.
Aside from a top-notch sound set, the Geno features enhanced DSP effects, improved studio integration, playing experience and what they say is a vastly improved accompaniment features for live keyboard entertainers.
New Sounds
Genos features nearly twice the amount of AWM2 sample ROM as the Tyros5 that chronologically preceded it.
These include the new Yamaha CFX and C7 concert grand Voices. Brand new Revo! drum and special FX Voices use more dynamic sampling and round-robin triggering to create startlingly human rhythm parts.
Also new are Kino strings, developed with film and TV scoring in mind. Their sound quality is on par with the best software scoring libraries, and they use similar stereo techniques — such as panning different players in the string section to different channels — to achieve blockbuster-worthy authenticity. New brass Voices are also on hand, as are new guitars (acoustic and electric), basses, synth leads and pads, accordions, and more.
The Yamaha Genos engine
The 256 notes of true stereo polyphony, ensure that available notes are never be cut in half just when stereo Voices are in use, and even dense arrangements and performances won’t brush the “ceiling.”
The Articulation Element Modeling (AEM) technology automatically chooses the correct instrument articulation (a way an instrument can sound depending on how it is played) in real time according to the player’s keyboard technique: key velocity, tempo, legato versus staccato, and so on.
This allows for flawlessly realistic acoustic instrument emulations across brass, strings, woodwinds, guitars, and many other categories. The player can also select specific articulations (bowing techniques, guitar slides, brass fall-offs, and much more) using the three Articulation buttons or connected controllers such as pedals.
Audio Quality and Massive Effects Power
Digital-to-analog conversion is the last thing that happens to any digital instrument’s sound before going on to the listening system, and it’s a make-or-break link in the signal chain.
The Yamaha Genos uses a new 32-bit DACs on the main outputs for exceptionally smooth sound. Also included is a S/PDIF digital output for computer recording, providing better-than-CD-quality resolution at 24 bits.
Expanded DSP provides a massive 28 insert effects, which may be stacked and distributed in any way players need — even all 28 on a single Voice.
These use the same Virtual Circuit Modeling (VCM) technology as high-end Yamaha mixing consoles, emulating the sound and behaviour of classic compressors, choruses, rotary speakers, reverbs etc.
Among the new VCM effects in Genos are Real Reverb, numerous classic guitar and bass amp models, stompboxes, and improved rotary speaker for organ and damper resonance for piano.
The interface
Yamaha Genos offers comprehensive real-time control for songwriting and performance.
The Live Control section provides nine assignable sliders and six assignable knobs. Above these is a crisp OLED strip showing the setting each knob or fader controls at any instant, so the player doesn’t need to delve into the main display in order to make changes on the fly.
From the balance of parts in an accompaniment Style to individual parameters in a synth sound to drawbars in an Organ Flutes Voice, this unprecedented level of control makes Genos as appealing to today’s synth enthusiasts as it is to veteran users of auto-accompaniment keyboards.
The main display is a 9” colour touchscreen with updated graphics. To its right, six large Gateway Buttons quickly navigate to Genos’ major modes of operation such as Style and Voice selection, Song mode, and more. Below these are six assignable buttons that let the player cue custom actions or changes, again avoiding the menu-diving that would otherwise interrupt the creative flow.
Ten registration buttons (with multiple banks) save and recall virtually all Genos panel settings. Registrations can now be organized into Playlists for quick access at gigs that might cover diverse types of music. Multi Pads trigger one-shot musical phrases and hits to spice up performances while the keyboard is busy playing the main instrument Voices. Via the Audio Link function, the Multi Pads can trigger user-created audio files for even more customization.
Recording
Yamaha Genos offers 550 Styles across all musical genres from pop to jazz to classical to rock to hip-hop to EDM to regional and world flavours.
Aside from the incredibly diverse Styles, the Style Creator can be used, either by editing factory Styles or from scratch, to create one’s own original accompaniments thanks to the full-featured 16-track MIDI recorder that resides under the hood.
To develop an original idea, pick a Voice and Style, work out the arrangement, and then record it as a MIDI song. The MIDI Quick recording mode automatically assigns all the keyboard and accompaniment Style parts to the proper channels. A MIDI Multi recording mode is also present for more advanced users who wish to build songs a track at a time. Then, overdub more Voices, add a vocal track right onboard (using the highly realistic and flexible Vocal Harmony features if desired), and record the result as a stereo WAV file.
Yamaha Genos Features and Specifications
- FSX semi-weighted premium keyboard action with aftertouch, enhanced touch response for very expressive playing, and high-precision, durable construction.
- Dual Song Player lets the user crossfade smoothly between two audio Songs (or one audio and one MIDI Song).
- Play back Songs continuously using Song List function.
- Arpeggios add 216 motifs and riffs to performances using MegaVoices, going far beyond the abilities of traditional arpeggiators.
- Vocal Harmony and Synth Vocoder: Apply realistic multi-part harmonies to a vocal coming through the mic input, or use the Synth Vocoder for classic “robot voice” effects.
- Premium Packs to expand Genos’ capability by adding new Voices, Styles, and more, including even higher-quality content than the factory presets. Yamaha Expansion manager for Mac and PC.
- Personal Packs to manage Voice, Style, Song, and Registration content efficiently.
- Huge 1.8 GB of internal, non-volatile Flash memory.
- WAV, AIFF, SoundFont, and even REX support for creating original Voices and Drum Kits.
- XLR-1/4” combo mic input with phantom power.
- Four sub outputs allow routing of different aspects of the performance to different listening destinations, mixer channels, etc.
- Downloadable Cloud Audio Recorder app (iOS) to record via WiFi and share via SoundCloud.
- Downloadable SongBook+ app (iOS) for managing scores and lyrics from an iPad.
- Optional GNS-MS01 speaker system and L-7B keyboard stand.
- Dimensions: 1234 mm x 456 mm x 138 mm.
- Weight: 13 kg.
Manufacturers SRP: $6799.00 – a cool R 95,000
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