Jump to content

Aidan

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    4,690

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Aidan

    Crumar Seven

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Scott, I certainly take your point on the maintenance thing (much as I would like a Rhodes/Wurli for the studio, my lack of practical skills is one thing which has put me off that idea) and the Hammond comparison, to some extent.

     

    But there are lots of other boards around many of them lighter and cheaper which offer a wide range of great electro mechanical sounds but also offer so much more. My CP4, for example, has models of 1971, 73, 75 and 78 Rhodes, plus a Dyno, all of which are pretty good and can be quite deeply edited to suit your taste. But it also has three really good piano samples and more.

     

    I'm sure there will be people for whom the Seven is a fit, but overall I see it as a pretty narrow market, sitting between two extremes the absolute purist (who will buy, maintain and gig the real thing, usually with crew) and the workaday road warrior who needs a board that will do most things pretty well.

    Crumar Seven

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Isn't it really going to be the case that if your gig is so 'EP-centric', most players will prefer to use the real thing anyway, both for feel and authenticity?

     

    Sure, lifting and moving a Rhodes or Wurli is a two person job but it's not the same level of challenge as bringing along a Steinway. And there's still a reasonable second hand supply of vintage instruments in decent condition to feed the fairly modest size of that market.

    Crumar Seven

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I'm glad that the Seven is an electric piano first. AP's on these boards is overrated. Play the AP here or the AP on a CP4 through a Roland KC600 or Traynor K4 and it still is miles away from a real piano.

     

    Anything played through the amplification you mention (especially the first) is going to sound miles away from a real piano.

     

    I'm failing to understand the love for this, I have to say. Pug ugly design and considering its compass, in a weight category reminiscent of a bygone age.

    Kurzweil SP1

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Has anyone looked at the Kurzweil line recently and thought it has just _too many_ products? Including the various keybed variants, I now count 21 keyboards in their pro line alone.

     

    While I know we get excited here about almost any new gear, from a business efficiency perspective, the above worries me. The SP6 is only just beginning to hit the stores, yet already Kurzweil is potentially diverting a chunk of its prospective buyers with the announcement of the cheaper SP1.

    Hammond SKX....new hammond board

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I couldn't find specifics on the keybed used, even when squinting my eyes. Is it Fatar or proprietary Hammond like most (but not all) of the XK series?

     

    Bound to be Fatar. Actually, I think the keybed is one of the best things about the SK series, at least for organ playing. Very nicely balanced.

    Hammond SKX....new hammond board

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Yup, VASE III disappointing but predictable. As I said, I can't imagine Hammond will want to cannibalise the XK5 engine yet for fear of undermining that product's sales.

     

    It'll be interesting to see what they've achieved with the extra voices. It's at least useful that they've removed the restriction on combining types of sound (essentially getting one up on the Electro, in one sense at least) but the samples need to have improved dramatically.

    Hammond SKX....new hammond board

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I think that the EVs will be much improved. The technology has made huge leaps since the SK2 was released. All of the competitors have EV's that are light years ahead of the SK2. The SKx will have very good EV's.

     

    Actually, the technology was already present and ready when Hammond released the original SKs but Nord had the leap on them in terms of the vast amount of work and investment they'd put in to their piano and sample libraries.

     

    In retrospect, the extra voices feature was a bit of a half-assed attempt to move in on Nord's territory, and in the intervening years, they've spent almost zero time and investment expanding or improving the library (reed organ, handbell, anybody?). During the same period, Nord has released several new grand pianos alone.

     

    It could be, of course, that the amount of memory in the SKs just wasn't sufficient for decent size samples I'm not sure how much memory there is on an SK but I'm guessing the fact that Hammond never mentions it means it's negligible compared with its Scandinavian counterpart.

     

    Of course, it could be that the reason Hammond hasn't bothered much with the current SK library is that it realised its limitations and decided to work on a new library for a more capacious successor (the SKX?). Let's hope so.

    Hammond SKX....new hammond board

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Hammond are more about evolution than revolution. It's probably too early in the XK5 product cycle to see that engine drip down to a cheaper model, even without the busbar simulation in the action.

     

    As for Hammond incorporating the Vent, forget about it. That ship sailed long ago, as I understand the relationship (or lack of one) between Neo and H-S. They were approached, and weren't interested, I believe.

     

    More on board memory and some proper, high quality non-organ voices might make things more interesting and give Nord a few sleepless nights. But I doubt that's going to happen, either, especially as there doesn't appear to be a single manual equivalent.

     

    My instinct is that it's just a quick fix to keep up with the competition. I love my SK1, but I just found the SK2 too fiddly to use with a single set of drawbars. This answers at least one important criticism.

    Yamaha Genos

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Here's absolutely the best Genos demo I have seen so far. It helps if you have a little French, but I managed to get the gist even with my schoolboy level. The cheese level is low and the audio quality is great.

     

    If you only want to watch a little, I'd suggest going from about 28 minutes in, when he starts playing with the arpeggiator and multi-pads it certainly got my creative juices flowing! The 'DJ' section which follows is also quite interesting and again, got me thinking about how you could use this keyboard in many different settings.

     

    [video:youtube]

    Yamaha Genos

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Tee, one thing I can tell you is that the Genos sliders are a big improvement on those on the Tyros, as is the whole control over the general mix.

     

    Can a T5 sound as good? I think it can get close, although the Genos definitely has at least one new bass sound (a MusicMan Stingray sample, I think) and the new 'Revo' drums (which use wave cycling to produce a more human-sounding player) are a big step up from the T5.

     

    Strings - yes, I'm not enamoured with the much-vaunted Kino Strings they've added in Genos (although I suspect part of that may be down to the demonstrators having scant knowledge of realistic string voicings, to be honest). Of course, from T4 to T5, Yamaha also added the Seattle Strings, which are slightly softer and warmer, and are still present in Genos.

    Yamaha Genos

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I got a chance to play the Genos yesterday when I picked up my PA4X. Some quick first impressions:

     

    * The sound is clearly a step up from Tyros, not in the actual voicings themselves but in the clarity. I presume the Genos has a superior DAC inside.

     

    * It's also a better looking machine than Tyros not quite as big, though it still feels a little bigger than it absolutely needs to be. The matt black finish looks a bit more 'pro'.

     

    * Construction itself is still quite cheap the case reminds me of the MOXF. The touch screen is nice and big but isn't all that responsive.

     

    * I hadn't twigged until I saw and used them how the shape of the sliders resembles a drawbar!

     

    * Drums are improved but they needed to be.

     

    * Moving the multipad buttons over from left to right strikes me as a poor choice these are usually the sort of things you want to add in as a little fill, and your left hand is far more convenient.

     

    Beyond all that, it's a case of evolution rather than revolution. It still sounds like a Tyros.

     

    I had quite an interesting conversation with the dealer about the pre-launch publicity that Yamaha put out (focusing heavily on EDM etc). The UK dealers apparently believed Yamaha had lost its mind. Fortunately, post-launch, the retail market for these keyboards appears to have settled down into its customary model again. The dealer told me: "We were told: 'We're going for the younger market 50 to 70'!!"

     

    It's a market which still appears to be doing all right for them. While I was in the shop, two customers came in to collect their new Genos. The retail strategy was quite revealing the value these shops add is in their long-term relationships. My sales guy knew all about Albert's heart condition and whether Bob had had his knee operation yet etc.

     

    Another was on the phone talking some new Genos jockey off the ceiling at some feature or other moving to an unfamiliar location. Old fashioned 'mom and pop' retailing at its best.

    Yamaha Genos

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    @CalUKGR, thank you, appreciate the opinions of an owner. I can live with that, shame about the sequencer though.

     

    I actually don't mind the sequencer on my Tyros 4 but I've been used to working with Clavinova CVPs so not much of a learning curve. It is a bit rough and ready, admittedly.

     

    Woody, good to see you here, btw enjoyed quite a few of your YouTube videos.

    Yamaha Genos

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    One of the many people on the PSR forum who ordered the Genos sight unseen is selling it after only around 24 hours with it, having concluded that the Korg PA4X he already owns is a much better bet for gigging.

     

    I've recently consumed almost every shred of YT footage I could find of both the PA4X and the Genos, and without admittedly laying my hands on either yet, I haven't seen anything from the Yamaha camp which put their new keyboard dramatically ahead in the game. Indeed, many of the Korg's 'bread and butter' sounds still appear to be way ahead.

     

    Add to this a high level of possible sound customisation (against a very limited amount on either Tyros or Genos), the Korg's far more compact dimensions (making it also viable as a top board above an 88) and the fact that it costs a grand less...

     

    I have a ticket for a Genos demo in a few weeks' time (presumably with Martin Harris at the helm). Maybe I'll be blown away. But at the moment, I have my doubts about that.

    Yamaha Genos

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Out of curiosity, I've actually booked a (free) ticket for a Genos demo day over here in the UK next month. However, I'm pretty decided that I will move the Tyros 4 on and grab a Korg PA4X (lightly used would be perfect).

     

    Why? Reviewing demo after demo on YouTube, and comparing specs, it seems to me that the Korg is just more geared towards the pro player. We're beginning to roll out our Joni Mitchell tribute in earnest next year and I need a top board that will do acoustic sounds with maximum realism (sax being primary need, but also doubling guitar parts where necessary). The Tyros is just too large to use in that role. I also get the distinct impression that the Korg styles are less prone to the old fromage as many in the Tyros.

     

    The advantage of the Korg is that as well as OMB purposes, it looks perfectly capable of getting you through a function show on its own, with setlist etc. Even the organ isn't too bad. And, to reiterate, it's a grand less than the Genos.

     

    Affording one will mean something of a cull in the pack, but I can offload the ageing Kurzweil and (with a rather heavier heart), I'm going to also sell my SK2 and pedals. Nice to have, but I never gig with it, and it's a real extravagance. The SK1 will stay for top-tier duties, however, as will the Moog (absolute extravagance but an anniversary present, you may recall!). I'll probably also keep the Casio PX-5S as it's handy as a back-up.

     

     

     

     

    Yamaha Genos

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I have to say that if I was buying top-of-the-line-new, at this moment in time I'd still go with the Korg PA4X over the Genos. Why? It seems better built, is more compact (you could comfortably use it as a top tier in a two-board setup for function work), is sonically at least the equal of the Genos and it is just far more tweakable. If you thought you had arrangers tied down, have a listen to this...

     

    [video:youtube]

×
×
  • Create New...