LX88 Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 I ran into a General Music Pro 2 in L.A. yesterday. I like a lot of things about it. I seem to be attracted to older digitals. This one seemed free from midrange plunkiness that plagues so many recent offerings. From research I gather that this may be from around 2000. Does anyone have more info? The price may be attractive, though it is in an L.A. shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 It was very advanced for it's time, late 1990's IIRC. Pretty sure Keith Emerson used one. Big and heavy like a battleship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LX88 Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 I wonder how similar it is to the RP-X, which I believe was the last word from GEM. It sounds pleasant though. I am going to have to spend more time with it. The shop keeper may think it's worth more than it is though. It is interesting to see how they approached this. For the most part, there don't seem to be any " bum notes" for lack of a better term. I hesitate to mention how much of this I find on newer boards, which is why I look to older stuff like this. Still seeking to replace my stolen and damaged Roland RD300GX I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 they are similar in that they both utilized a combination of sampling and physical modelling. I bought a RP-X a decade ago because I thought it would be an improvement over my Yamaha S-90. To my ears it wasn't and I returned it. As always, YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Ping DaveMcM on this forum. He is all things GEM and knows that k/b inside out as he used to work for GEM. 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LX88 Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 The Pro 2 sounds slightly different than the RP-X I heard a few years back. Once again, less emphasis on upper harmonics - the achilles heel of many digital pianos IMO. I am a little afraid of it because of no support if it went down. A neat feature is the 7 band EQ, which I think benefits it. At the least, a bit of midi history from the little guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throbert Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 The Pro 2 has something like 120 or more polifany while the RPX only has around 72. I had a pro 2, it's definitely heavy. I sold it and bought a Kawai ES3, it's lighter and has better action. The Pro 2 did sound very good to me for a DP though. It also has a variable sustain input while the RPX accepts it only through midi. Triton Extreme 76, Kawai ES3, GEM-RPX, HX3/Drawbar control, MSI Z97 MPower/4790K, Lynx Aurora 8/MADI/AES16e, OP-X PRO, Ptec, Komplete. Ashley MX-206. future MOTU M64 RME Digiface Dante for Mon./net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Huge GEM fanboy here. I have a Pro 2 in my music room, and still enjoy it. I agree the piano was advanced for it's time, but the other sounds are "meh" at best. It was the best digital piano GEM developed, IMHO. It's all over Keith Emerson's Christmas album. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 I have the Equinox which has the Pro 1 piano (I believe). Still love how the piano sounds. 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dje31 Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Just for clarification, are we talking about the Pro series or the Promega? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 I believe he is talking the real piano series. There was a Real Piano Pro 1 and later the Pro2. Later came the Promega, then the company filed for bankruptcy. 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
area51recording Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Still have a Pro1 leaning against the wall in my rec room. Haven't played it in years. I always felt that at the time it had a decent sound, but I always hated the action..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bachus Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Its definately a shame general music (gem) had to leave the buiseness, they allways invested heavilly in new technollogy... I wouldn't be surprised if many of the current italian keyboard companies are building heavilly on the offspring of this general music research... Korg Kronos 88, Yamaha Tyros5 (76), Integra 7, macbook pro/mainstage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LX88 Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 Thanks for all feedback on this. This is the Pro 2 Real Piano we are discussing here. So I am in L.A., and forgot to bring my headphones. I have to use some cheapo ones. But from what I am hearing, this thing sounds pretty good. So.... it has more polyphony than the RP-X. I am assuming the sampling or modeling technology is similar. When I demoed it the other day I really liked what was going on in the midrange. The low end sounded pretty good, but the extreme upper register probably lacked some of the attack and accurate hammer noise that Yamaha or Roland would have. The action was a bit strange, but once again not bad. I will probably go back for another demo. To me , this is interesting. It's a little off the beaten track. But GEM did a few things right here... it's obvious. There are some newer offering from other companies I like quite a bit less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeJackson Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Some small but good things about my RP2: It registers MIDI-off velocity. Makes an audible difference in Pianoteq and when playing the internal pianos. It can also be tuned note-by note in small increments, and you can save several of these tunings and call them up easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LX88 Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 Got to play this a little more today. The positive - this thing is in tune. There are no weird intervals that cause beats as in " certain" Yamaha instuments. Every interval I tried resonates well. Negative - I think I am sensing latency in the upper midrange. I actually like the keybed after playing it awhile. It has a light action, but it triggers a bit deep. Once again, I am studying a bit of history here. I am somewhat drawn to the unusual.... because of frustration with much of what is out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LX88 Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 By the way... this instrument is in a shop very near Santa Monica California. Which is the place Keith Emerson died. I just got a spooky feeling about this. I have no real idea, but I wonder if he had anything to do with this particular instrument. You can't keep everything you know. And you can't take it with you. Meanwhile, still looking for James Jamerson's bass..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 When I had the incredible opportunity to meet/speak with Keith a few years ago (during the Emerson-Lake duo tour), he said he still had a Pro 2 in his music room, although he said the action needed some work...something about the way it was bottoming out, IIRC. You could tell he really digged this axe. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB Dave Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 Never owned any of their keyboards but I still have an RP-X and a Realpiano. I've always considered it one of the great mysteries of the universe why Generalmusic never got any more traction than they did. Their APs were way ahead of what anybody else was doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 Never owned any of their keyboards but I still have an RP-X and a Realpiano. I've always considered it one of the great mysteries of the universe why Generalmusic never got any more traction than they did. Their APs were way ahead of what anybody else was doing. The same reason why we're patiently waiting for the KeyB organ..... By the time it comes out it will be antiquated. 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 Never owned any of their keyboards but I still have an RP-X and a Realpiano. I've always considered it one of the great mysteries of the universe why Generalmusic never got any more traction than they did. Their APs were way ahead of what anybody else was doing. +1 I used an RP-X for a few years with my Nord Stage (classic) during the period when the Nord pianos were horrible, and prior to that, I had a Realpiano Expander (which essentially was a Pro 1 in a box). Neither the Pro 1 or Realpiano Expander quite had the magic of the Pro 2, however, which featured more polyphony and an extra "attack" sample/layer, which could be heard when it was played more percussively. IIRC, the Promega 3 had a Pro 1 or Pro 2 preset on board. I think one of the reasons Generalmusic didn't gain much traction was because it was hard to find a place that sold them. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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