Yamaha Genos Review

We rated the Yamaha Genos a 10/10. The Genos is an impressive 88-key digital piano with over 1700 different voices. This digital piano is one of the best out there. The advanced AWM technology allows you to change the sounds of each and every voice, right down to the articulations you want. In addition to this, the WAVE cycling features give you a more realistic sound than many other workstations, which have sonically flat sound samples.

If you are in the market for a workstation, it’s hard to go wrong with the Genos.

Yamaha Genos 88 Key Overview

The Yamaha Genos is a stunning 76-key digital workstation keyboard. This model is the current Flagship arranger-workstation from Yamaha. 

Yamaha Genos 76-Key Digital Workstation

The best sound quality ever on a Digital Workstation. Whether you create or perform music, you need to be inspired by your instrument. Genos features a diverse range of content, including 1,710 instrument Voices, 550 accompaniment Styles, 216 arpeggios, and more.

Powered by specially developed Yamaha technology, the sonic quality of every Voice in Genos is beyond any other Digital Workstation you’ve ever played. Everything you hear, whether it be the beautiful CFX piano, the lush Kino Strings or the punchy Revo! Drums will blow you away!

AEM (Articulation Element Modeling) technology simulates the subtle nuances and performance characteristics of musical instruments. When you play, Genos automatically chooses appropriate samples in real-time, according to what and how you play. Samples are smoothly joined and articulated, just as they would naturally occur on an acoustic instrument. (Amazon.com/Yamaha-Genos)

According to Sweetwater.com, it is the ultimate performance keyboard as well: 

Meet Genos, Yamaha’s flagship arranger workstation. Boasting unparalleled sample quality, cutting-edge styles, and pro-level connectivity, Genos defines the state of the art in songwriting and performance keyboards.

With its large, crisp 9″ LCD color touchscreen, assignable knobs and faders with their own OLED parameter status displays for real-time feedback, and a silky 76-note, aftertouch-enabled FSX keybed, Genos puts you in complete command, letting you instantly find and tweak the perfect sound or whip up a great-sounding arrangement in any musical genre. And the sounds are amazing, indeed. (Sweetwater.com/store)

Features

Color Touch Screen 

The high-quality touch screen on the Yamaha Genos allows for easy navigation, both in well-lit and in dark perfomance areas.

FSX Keybed with Aftertouch 

FSX keybeds are something we haven’t covered on the site yet. An FSX keybed is that can play very expressively. That being said, it is quite different from GHS / weighted hammer action keybeds. FSX offers premium synth action, without it being weighted.

So, every minute change in pressure will be picked up by the Yamaha Genos. The downfall to this (obviously) is that it makes the workstation unideal for classical playing. That being said, very few classical musicians would likely opt for a digital workstation piano anyway.

Aftertouch is a term that references how MIDI data is sent in to the keyboard after a key is struck. The Yamaha Geno’s aftertouch is very sensitive, which also adds to the realism, the instrument not having a GHS keybed. 

Improved DSP

Musicians all around the world are raving about the improved DSP on the Yamaha Genos. Some of the effects you will find in the DSP include: 

• Bass amps
• Guitar amps
• Stompboxes
• Vintage racks

Assignable Knobs and Sliders 

While the idea of assignable buttons and sliders isn’t new, it sure is convenient. With assignability, you can allocate different tasks to each button, making it much easier to find your favorite sounds and effects later down the road. 

1710 Voices 

Nope, not 17, not 700…1710 sounds. The Yamaha Genos has an astoundingly large sound bank to offer us. This workstation includes voices from the following categories:

• Piano
• E. Piano
• Organ
• Guitar
• E. Guitar
• Choir
• Woodwinds
• Accordians
• Strings 
• Brass
• Percussion
• And more 

You can see the comprehensive list of voices here.

Ensemble Voices

Speaking of voices, there is a really special feature in this keyboard. Yamaha’s ensemble sounds have been greatly improved with new sound pairing technology.

For example, if you are playing a chord with a string ensemble, the smart technology will automatically send the highest notes to the violins, and the lowest notes to the basses. 

Revo! Drums 

Revo! Drums are some of the highest quality MIDI drum (keyboard) sounds on the market today. Yamaha is really excelling in all categories with the Genos. 

There is even a brush kit in the Revo! Drums. And while nothing beats a real, live drummer, nothing comes closer than the Revo drum set with brushes does. 

Stellar Piano Samples 

The ever-popular CFX Yamaha Piano sample is included in this model. There is a new sample called the C7 Piano, which is equally as high-quality as the CFX>

AEM Technology 

AEM, or Articulation Element modeling, choose the articulation of voices automatically (depending on how the musician plays the keyboard). So, legato, staccato, slurs, and more will all be automatic. I especially love this feature when I’m playing the strings sounds on the Genos. 

Apply Vocal FX as You Go

The vocal harmony synth and vocoder allows you to add effects as you go.

Satellite Speakers

The Yamaha Genos has two 20-watt satellite-style speakers, and a 40-watt subwoofer. In case you don’t know, a subwoofer is a speaker designed to produce low frequencies. 

Internal Recorder

The internal recorder on the Yamaha Genos allows you to record in either MIDI or WAV. The sequencer can track up to 16 different lines at a time, which is nothing short of impressive. 

Choose from the Keyboard Alone or the Keyboard Bundle

Choose from either the keyboard alone, or the keyboard bundle, if you buy through Amazon. Many musicians save a lot of money on accessories by getting the bundle instead, so be sure to check it out! 

Yamaha Genos Specs

• Keyboard type: Digital workstation
• Weight: 29 pounds
• Dimensions: 48.5 x 18 x 5.5 inches
• Color: Black 
• Internal ROM: 741 MB

Who Is It Suitable For?

The Yamaha Genos is suitable for both producers and performers alike. The only category it isn’t suitable for is beginners, because of the high price and advanced features and effects. 

Yamaha Genos Digital Workstation Keyboard in Action 

This video features world-famous jazz musician Jacob Collier playing on Yamaha Genos keyboards. You can hear him playing on a Genos with various organ sounds here.

According to Jacob Collier, he said that the Yamaha Genos is a really easy and logical interface. He described the sounds as well designed, beautiful, and expansive. 

Aby Samuel’s unboxing (see here ) is also a great reference. At about 2 minutes in, you can hear samples of string and piano sounds inside the store. I like watching this unboxing, because you can see how the speakers attach (and lock) from the angle that Aby has filmed the video.

Aby describes the Yamaha Genos as the ‘ultimate keyboard on the market’. He believes it is worth the (very high) price, and I have to agree with him. 

At 7:42 you can hear him play on a classical cello voice. The voice is very forward and realistic. Then, he adds a rhythm. WOW. Honestly, what Aby made in under 5 minutes ends up sounding like the intro to a major motion picture. Talk about going out with a bang! Now, let’s check out just one more video before we get to the pros and cons list. 

This demo is from Sweetwater.com

The performer goes for a more electronic take in this demo, and it is of an equally high caliber when compared to the last one. The basses are resonant and dark, and the high chimney synths blend beautifully. In the video, Martin tours the piano, starting with the sounds. He shows the CFX and C7, the two most popular sounds from this piano.

I learned that there are 550 styles as well, that each instrument can have as a backing. At 2 minutes in, he starts showing the styles. The backing tracks are like no others I have ever heard. With most backing tracks, especially in the Yamaha “P” line, I see

The styles can also be mixed and matched, so you can put something in 3 over something in two, which is nearly unheard of in the world of piano accompaniment technology. Color me impressed. He also mentions the Revo! drum kits available on the instrument.

He said that it has WAV cycling, which means that every sound is altered every so slightly, making it sound even more real, as if a person was playing it, rather than a machine. Towards the end of the demo, Martin also creates a movie-score in real time. It’s clear to see that this instrument is stunning, no matter the genre. 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• This keyboard is great for creating or performing
• The keyboard is extremely expressive and sensitive
• Lightweight
• Has state-of-the-art MIDI drums
• It has adjustable knobs and sliders, so you can make the keyboard feel comfortable, according to your own personal tastes
• The vocoder allows you to record your voice with effects as you go
• The keyboard has 76 keys, which makes it larger than your average one-or-two octave MIDI (producing) keyboard
• You can record internally, in both WAV and MIDI
• The external speaker slots are extremely sturdy, and the extra accessories that you can purchase with the Yamaha Genos are of a stellar quality
• The add-on speakers, if you choose to get them, actually include subwoofers
• It has XLR input and phantom power 
• You can plug in up to two instrument into this model
• There are not one, but two midi ins and outs
• It also has video out, USB out, and two flash drive slots
• The 550 available style slots provide extremely high-quality backing tracks, that can actually have mixed time signatures 

Cons

• Because it has a FSX keybed, this instrument is not fully-weighted
• The Yamaha Genos price is hefty
• The on-board controls and editing can prove quite difficult to navigate due to the complexity of the instrument (in a nutshell, this keyboard is definetly not for beginners) 

Yamaha Genos Amazon Ratings

The Yamaha Genos is rated 4.6 / 5 stars on Amazon.com. Let’s see what customers had to say about this digital workstation keyboard after purchasing it! 

What they liked:

• The keyboard is very sensivite to pressure changes
• With a tiny bit of tweaking, the instruments are very realistic
• It was the best keyboard they had ever tried when it comes to both writing and performing 

What they didn’t: 

• The keyboard is more difficult to make musical transitions on than their previous keyboard workstation (one of the Yamaha Tyros’s)
• It was hard for one user to edit inside the sequencer (I have read several reviews that make similar remarks about it being difficult to edit the music on the keyboard) 

Quick View 

Comparable Workstations

The following workstations are often compared to the Yamaha Genos:

• Korg PA4x ($4,499.99) 
• Roland Fantom 8 ($3,999.99)
• Korg Kronos ($4,199.99) 
• Yamaha Tyros 5
• Yamaha Montage 8 ($3,999.99) 

By now I’m sure you’ve already noticed that the Yamaha Genos is far more expensive than these other popular, high-end synths. That being said, there are still some pros to the more economical models above.

For example, the Korg PA4X is rumored to have even more drum capabilities than the Yamaha Genos, And the Yamaha Tyros is said to make faster, easier transitions and edits than the Yamaha Genos. So, as always, take a peek at the comparable workstations, make a list of your own wants and needs, and go from there! We will be back next week with a new review, in case you still need help deciding on a keyboard. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Yamaha Genos is a big buy, that is worth every penny. We hope you’ve enjoyed this Yamaha Genos review!

10Expert Score

We rated the Yamaha Genos a 10/10. The Genos is an impressive 88-key digital piano with over 1700 different voices. This digital piano is one of the best out there. The advanced AWM technology allows you to change the sounds of each and every voice, right down to the articulations you want. In addition to this, the WAVE cycling features give you a more realistic sound than many other workstations, which have sonically flat sound samples. If you are in the market for a workstation, it’s hard to go wrong with the Genos.

PROS

• This keyboard is great for creating or performing
• The keyboard is extremely expressive and sensitive
• It is lightweight
• It has state-of-the-art MIDI drums
• It has adjustable knobs and sliders, so you can make the keyboard feel comfortable, according to your own personal tastes
• The vocoder allows you to record your voice with effects as you go
• The keyboard has 76 keys, which makes it larger than your average one-or-two octave MIDI (producing) keyboard
• You can record internally, in both WAV and MIDI
• The external speaker slots are extremely sturdy, and the extra accessories that you can purchase with the Yamaha Genos are of a stellar quality
• The add-on speakers, if you choose to get them, actually include subwoofers
• It has XLR input and phantom power
• You can plug in up to two instrument into this model
• There are not one, but two midi ins and outs
• It also has video out, USB out, and two flash drive slots
• The 550 available style slots provide extremely high-quality backing tracks, that can actually have mixed time signatures

CONS

• Because it has a FSX keybed, this instrument is not fully-weighted
• The Yamaha Genos price is hefty
• The on-board controls and editing can prove quite difficult to navigate due to the complexity of the instrument (in a nutshell, this keyboard is definetly not for beginners)