Korg Pa4x vs. Yamaha Genos

mate · Post by **mate** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 5:51 am

Are there lot of differences sound quality? Which sounds are better on Genos, Piano, drums??

DonM · Post by **DonM** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:43 am

This has been discussed quite a bit. You can search for the threads.
Here's what I posted when I had them both:
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... highlight=

mate · Post by **mate** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 7:47 am

Thank you for your answers.

chelsea4023 · Post by **chelsea4023** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 11:44 am

Hi,

This is a thread on a Yamaha Forum.

https://www.psrtutorial.com/forum/index ... 064.0.html

Give some of the posts a read. Whichever arranger keyboard you own, there are lovers and haters.

Find the one that suits your needs best. For me personally, I have tried the Genos and it's a fabulous keyboard and a joy to play. I would be happy with either a Genos or a PA4X, but I'm currently using the PA4X.

Chris

kbrkr · Post by **kbrkr** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:13 pm

I briefly had both in my possession recently for 4 weeks. I would have to give the edge in sounds to the Genos. However, there are some sounds on the Pa4 which are better; like the drums, synth, electric guitars, and some pianos.

The Pa4x has better EDM, contemporary styles, song styles, jazz and funk styles. The Genos has better highly produced Ballroom styles and better free-style styles.

The BIGGEST difference between the two is Workflow, ergonomics, and customizability. The Genos does NOT have a concept of a Songbook. They moved away from that and only have Registrations and Playlists. Creating either one on the GENOS takes many more button and Button presses. The Pa4x is logical and straightforward with only a couple of button presses.

The GENOS music player is rudimentary at best. You cannot load an empty player while one is running and you cannot load two midi files simultaneously and mix them. You also cannot EQ Audio files. You also have to designate a specific music player when a playlist entry is created so thus if you have Player A running and select the next playlist song which is also assigned to Player A, Player A will STOP and load the new song!!!!!! Not very good when your performing LIVE!!!

The GENOS Ensemble feature is amazing so is that gorgeous touch screen and contemporary highly graphic user interface.

The Pa4x allows you to change keyboard scanning LIVE with dedicated buttons for Upper and Lower. It also has the ability to play manual bass at the touch of a button.

I decided to sell the GENOS and stick with my 3 year old Pa4x as it is still a superior instrument - on the whole!!

Hope that helps.

mate · Post by **mate** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 7:34 pm

Which one is the better piano and Drums?

DonM · Post by **DonM** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:58 pm

mate wrote:Which one is the better piano and Drums?

Drums way better on Korg. Piano is good on both, but different. Sounds are very subjective and depends on what you like, and often on what you are used to hearing.
The drums on the Genos are way better than on any previous Yamaha, but I prefer the Korg drums. They are more live and natural sounding.

Randelph · Post by **Randelph** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 10:09 pm

I've got a Pa1000, which has a mostly identical sound set to the Pa4X.

Asking how are the drums is:
- the sounds themselves
- the programming of the Rhythms
- adjustability

I find the sound of the drums to be very dynamic, punchy, better by far than any keyboard I've had

The rhythms programmed for the drums are outstanding. In general it sounds like you have studio muscians playing the Styles and Rhythms.

There's lots of ways to edit fairly deeply ALL the sounds, which apparently is lacking with the Genos. I love how much I'm able to do editing / customization on any given Song, like 3 band eqs, fx, etc.

I'm guessing that Yamaha went with a board with less editing to make it simpler to learn/operate. I have found the OS of the Pa1000 to be convoluted, one of just a few major complaints from me on an outstanding board.

Post by **karmathanever** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 12:40 am

If you intend to record or play live then IMHO it's a no-brainer - definitely Korg.
At least consider the Korg PA4X's:

Control surface
Set-list feature
SONGBOOK feature
Style structure in particular style CVs (Chord Variations), hence style authenticity
Key-bed
KAOSS
Dynamic Nuance Control (DNC)

Cheers

Pete

DonM · Post by **DonM** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 2:27 am

If the vocal harmonizer is important to you, the undisputed winner is Korg. Yamaha's is almost awful. If you even engage or disengage the vh while singing a note, the entire signal drops out for a split second. I can't stand it. You have to learn to "sing around" it.

mate · Post by **mate** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:53 pm

Sounds Comparison:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YwAarhuH2I

Post by **karmathanever** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 1:22 am

Interesting video but impossible for anyone to compare as there are so many versions of the instruments on both keyboards with different FX and EQ settings.
It basically demonstrates that both have very decent sounds but could never sensibly be used to make a choice.
The video should have the title word "comparison" changed to "demo".

One really has to have hands-on with both these keyboards to make any decisions IMHO.

@mate
If you are undecided, I am happy to share the reasons I am with the PA4X and not the Genos - I've made my personal points several times before so won't do it again here - I can PM you if you wish.

Pete

KorgPa4x · Post by **KorgPa4x** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 11:38 am

I bought a Pa4X a not so long ago. I considered the Genos, and the PSR sx900 as a budget choice but took the choice in between. I wanted the keybed to play a bit heavier.. and I believe they're all good sounding instruments..

I wasn't aware of the sequencer capabilities of the Pa4X then, but I wish I dug a bit more into this.. The Genos (and PSR sx900) and PSR in general seem to be much more usable when recording some chords with the arranger..
For example: When being in step record mode, I can't find any feature to turn on the keyboard to hear the chords that's played.
Recording chords is easy but being in this mode you can't play recorded sequence. On the Yamaha's it's easy to play the recorded chords and they're even visable in a vertical row.. whereas the Pa4X only shows one chord for the actual event that's displayed. Scrolling through the events is easy but before you're able to hear anything you first have leave this mode by saving it and get back to sequencer mode. But when playing the sequence the chords aren't presented on the display then.

The quick record mode seems more suitable to layout some chords while playing the keys, but this mode seems to lack the feature to add or change some chords afterwards. So when composing and want to add a new songpart you need to re-record all the parts over again.. in one take!!
I just wish there was a punch-in for the quick record but this mode doesn't seem to offer a ability to start halfway or after the recorded chords.
Composing music has become so easy with nowadays sequencers.. I know the Yamaha PSR's aren't that comfortable when composing but what they've put together in the Pa4X?? I just can't believe it..

Another thing I had to find out yesterday.. I've been searching desperately for a function to add swing/groove to midi.. I tried about everything but again I'm afraid it's just not in the Pa4X OS.. while on my old PSR and probably the Genos it's so easy to add.

To me this is just basic sequencer functionality.. some people might be using it, and some never will.. At the moment I'm very disappointed with this very basic sequencer stuff that the Pa4X seems to lack.
I'm still hoping to discover a sort of work-around cause I really like the Pa4X for it's sounds and quality.

kbrkr · Post by **kbrkr** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:34 pm

Another thing I had to find out yesterday.. I've been searching desperately for a function to add swing/groove to midi.. I tried about everything but again I'm afraid it's just not in the Pa4X OS.. while on my old PSR and probably the Genos it's so easy to add.

Read page 361 in the User Manual

KorgPa4x · Post by **KorgPa4x** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 11:19 pm

Thank you kbrbr! This is also works on midi in the style edit, just what I was looking for.

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... p?t=121203