Yamaha Genos (opened)

Yamaha Genos is like the Rolls-Royce of digital arrangers. Developed with the practical needs of players in mind, it offers 1,700 sounds from every instrument in the world, sophisticated percussion and 550 accompaniment styles that you can edit in real time. There's no shortage of excellent keyboards with Aftertouch, a large touchscreen display, buttons and faders for quick control of all parameters during live performance, a collection of DSP effects familiar from Yamaha's top digital mixing consoles, or extensive connectivity options. Plus, the rear panel is highly stylish, so your audience won't be distracted by its unsightliness during your performance.

Genos will amaze you with the quality of its sounds, leaving the competition far behind. Whether it's the sound of the Yamaha CFX concert grand piano, Kino Strings or Revo Drums. Articulate Element Modeling technology simulates the sounds of each instrument with a level of detail that is indistinguishable from the original. Plus, AEM technology modulates samples in real time to match your technique and playing style.

You can also enrich all your sounds with a collection of DSP effects with VCM technology that until now could only be found in Yamaha's professional digital mixers. For example, you can enjoy reverbs, delays, choruses, rotary speakers or compressors. And there's also a vocoder or vocal harmonizer for vocal editing.

The Genos features an FSX keyboard with premium mechanics and aftertouch, so you can interpret even the most demanding parts with ease. The overall controls have been designed with the player's comfort in mind, so you can assign individual effect or sound parameters to nine faders, six rotary knobs and seven buttons. Of course, you'll also find a joystick on the side for quick control of pitch and modulation.

The internal memory can hold up to 60GB of sounds, and there's 2GB of flash memory with fast data loading for instant expansion. So you can continuously expand your sound palette, for example using the three USB ports.

The Playlist function gets rid of silent spots when switching tracks. Now you can have two players (MIDI and audio) running at the same time and switch between them seamlessly. The meticulously handled and clear file organization goes without mentioning.

Of course, you can transfer your favourite sounds and arrangements from previous models using WIFI and the Songbook+ app.

Whether you're composing, producing or performing live, the Yamaha Genos will offer you everything you need for your work - and as a truly comprehensive instrument, you're unlikely to be looking for a new one in two years' time.