Gem Pro 1

Let's face it: you don't need to be an expert to use the PRO1, it's really WYSIWYG. Plain, simple and effective.

From a workstation point of view, it doesn't have too many features, but that's not why you would want to buy the PRO1, is it? I picked mine up for little over 400 euro...show me a good 88-keys weighted keyboard with a very good acc. piano sound, and I'll be happy to trade. Meanwhile, I'm keeping my PRO1.

Main grand piano sound is still great, very usable in live and studio situations. Rhodes sounds are OK, some OK strings and pads, but don't take them too seriously. It's called the pro1 "realpiano" for a reason.

The thing is built like a tank....it's HEAVY! Power adaptor & plug could be a problem though, that's a piece of junk to be honest. I'll have mine customized soon, end of problem.

Never had to deal with them.

Considering the amount for which they go second hand...it's a fantastic piece of equipment. If you're looking for good keyboard action, very good grand piano sound, nice rhodes, this is your thing if you can't afford the latest Yamaha. Grand piano still sounds better than many brand new digital piano's out today. Even sound techs noticed the difference when I started using the pro1 on stage. If it were stoled I'd probably try to pick up a used PRO2.

I own a gem pro 1 with the original (not the updated one) eprom.I've bought it 2nd hand with the user's guide a the three pedals stomp box for 460 euro last year in a shop.The pro1 is extremely easy to use:turn it on,and choose the sounds you want pressing the sixteen self-explanatory buttons on the main panel.Pressing the button VAR you can choose from other sixteen sounds.Pressing SOUNDS you enter the performance mode(i.e. a sort of combination for Korg's users):the sixteen buttons i've talked before are divided in two rows.In performance mode you choose the kind of sound(piano,cp70,rhodes,wurlitzer,dx7 like,ecc) using the lower row and with the upper one you pick up its 8 variations.
There are buttons to chose the velocity of the keyb(SOFT,MEDIUM,HARD) and the effects-reverb to use(chorus,phaser,tremolo;hall,stage,room).The are other two buttons to get less/more bright sound.
But for who want to seat down and only play without making smoke their brain, no problem:sit, chose and play.That's all

As a digital piano,its controller's capabilities are limited to the ones you generally need.The polyphony is a good 64.The keyboard action is hammered but far from a piano one:i've find it a bit hard.Yamaha's one is hardest but better.The effects are mediocre:hard to tell if they are working or not sometimes in mix;on the rear connection panel:damper sensible to 16 position(wow),pedal 1,2,an interesting L/R input to free a stereo channel in your mixer; the dark side of this piece of gear IS the wall-wart adapter;if the keyboard seems heavy and solid, the adapter seems only heavy and i think i could use the cable to clean my tooth because it's too slim.Like others say:it seems a mobile phone one,and i'm frightened by the idea to use it on the stage and start searchin another even if i'm italian and so there are not so big problems about it.
Another obscure factor is the output:too low,i often keep the volume slider of the pro1 at max and the mixer's one high too to get presence in the whole mixed sound.

It's my first digital piano,i'm not a very good piano player and took this unit just to have an 88 keyb with a good piano sound.I was equipped with Korg M1 with the card piano(quite good but not rich) and a kORG N1R(its acoustic piano is really a shame).I've tried a roland p55 module before buying the pro1 but it had some noise problem probably due(who knows?) to the not original adapter.I've bought this one on e-bay for 100 euro,without knowing and being told about the adapter.The sounds on p55 are really good(not rich as in pro1 but good, the cp70 is fantastic in p55, i liked a lot) but that noize make me really sad and luckly i've got back my money.

Back to the pro1:TO me ALL the SOUNDS are generally very good BUT they ALL die too quickly or have a LOW output,that's what make me irritate.
piano 1 is very good(not excellent) and piano 2 is good.Piano 1(the grand piano) wasn't studied very well in the middle octaves as it results poorer than the other ones.And the sound died too quickly:ok that GEM give us damper phisycal modeling but i would like to use when i want not only to keep the sound living a further millisecond.Piano 2 (a vertical piano perhaps) is so silent and original but exaggerated to me in the high octaves(u hear only the hammer hitting the strings).
the acoustic piano need to be accurately equalized and balanced if you play in a band:sometimes the piano 1 become too crystal, too high and it doesn't do justice to its consistence.

The e-piano:the same:good the cp70 tones even if i'd like them clearer like the ones you listen in Clapton's One Night only.
Rhodes 1 is great,you can reproduce many colours of this kind of sounds even if playing Led Zeppelin's "no quarter" i've found out better sounds on the korg n1r(really good for rhodes and wurli) ;rhodes 2 is too "bell" type:i would like one like in More than a woman but this is too far.Not very good IMHO.
Wurltzer are very good too.
The dx type pianos get a -1:poor and horrible(korg n1r does this job great).Only in performance mode with heavy adjustments u can get something good.Clav is rich and good,but i'm not using it because if you want to play well clav you have to be very good on piano.The other stuff can help you in some situation:string,pads are decent;choir is so and so;hammond, bha, the hammond 1 (with percussion) is acceptable on a piano keyb like this,the hammond 2....i'm thinking of a WC.The pipes organ are poor:my d50 is THE Queen on this side;neither Korg M1 or N1r can compete.Bass sound:i think there was a free button, Gem doesn't know how to use and a bass player passed nearly suggesting putting a bass sound there.

May be i've been too critic;The acoustic piano sounds is good for the price you pay;there are warmer and richer sounds and newer and more expensive digital pianos.Probably an integrated equalizer would be a nice thing in pro1 but it's the pro1,not the pro2.

i bought the pro 1 last year;just taken home and hooked up to Korg m1 and other devices there were not midi communication;furthemore three key when released touched the metallic chassis making noise.I took to Gem technical service and they make everything going right.The shop where i bought the pro1 paied all.No other problems

Never have contact with customer support.I searched information about upgradig the ep-rom but after reading on purgatory creek that some doesn't make any difference i deceded to leave as it is.

Lost or stolen i would search for a gem pro2 or a yamaha p80 or p90.I've tried the p250 and i was very impressed.Gem pro 1 is after all a very good piano for what i've paid it.I also like to by pass thru a tube pre amp this unit to get a warmer and reinforced sound.Now i'm spending money(my little money)on the organ clone side so in the next future maybe i get one of these pre-amp

Excellent. This was the first big keyboard that I bought and was in using it straight away without the manual. It's ridiculously easy to select the general sounds and getting the performance versions (more specialized range of sounds) simply is a case of knowing where they are. Simple. Manual is functional.

64 note polyphony. The action is the best i've experienced so far, the keys are weighted to my liking,and compares very well to a normal stand up piano. Built in chorus and phaser effects, and standard midi in/out shenanigans,which I haven't touched.

One thing that bugs me is that there's no metronome...

The piano's are gorgeous on it, especially the grands, and there's enough of a range on the other main sounds so that at least one of the versions will be to your liking. The highpoints for me are the rhodes and the grand piano, the clavichord is good and the hammonds are usable (although one of them is really decent) if a little harsh on attack. I bought this to be a standard gigging electric piano with the best piano sounds i could afford, and it does the job perfectly. The extra sounds that are usable are a pleasant bonus. I use it for a variety of styles and all come out well, from country piano,to jazz, to classical. I found after getting used to the action i was able to fly up and down the keyboard smoothly with no jarringly loud notes ringing out. When hammering the keys quickly, the notes don't get lost.

I've had mine for a year now, and i've lugged it all over the place. It's my primary gig piano, but the only problem is that it is so damn heavy! It's solid enough, although when i had mine delivered, the plastic side attachment fell off (obviously took a huge bump in transit). If it fell, it could probably crash down through floorboards to the room below ;o)

Having said that, it's taken plenty of abuse being thrown into vans and hauled around the place, and it's playing perfectly. It can also take quite a hammering while you're playing, depending on how hard your band is playing at the time!

haven't dealt with them, but Gem are hard to track down from what i've heard, at least this side of the atlantic

Great. I'd probably buy the pro2 if my pro1 was stolen. It really plays well (i've been playing "acoustic" pianos for 18 years and it compares favourably in my book). My main gripe is the weight of the thing, and the display is from the dark ages. Functional and easy to use, but dated. If buying one, shop around, because there's a huge range of prices for it.

I'll say right away that the main reason I am writing this review is to get the ratings of this keyboard a little higher than they are because it diserves it. The only contact I've had with this keyboard ever was to test it out because I was looking for a stage piano for a long time. I approached this nice bloke who play piano for a jazz group and asked if I could try the keyboard out. He said yes, I sat an turned it o, and played away. That's how easy to use it is. Honest. I play-tested all the sounds and variations easily. It's plug and play alright.I give it a 10 because it is RELATIVELY baby-easy. I used about 80% of the features without even looking at the manual (couldn't have looked anyway...) and without much head-scratching...

64 voice polyphony. Not astonishing but pretty much standard in all good keyboards. I mean, it works on the Kawai MP9500 which is supposed to be top of the tops... Effects (haven't tried this out); no expansion except via midi (In/Out/Thru trio all there); keyboard action is adjustable and I have to say very good and piano-like as is. It's really just a matter of taste. I'd say it all there as for the basics, with some extras. No fancy details but hey, this is not supposed to be the best (they got Pro2 and, more recently, Promega 2 and 3 for that).

Pianos and keyboards all just breathtakingly realistic. Grands, Rhodes, Clavinets, Hammonds all selectively perfect. I say selectively because you can't much edit them, but the way they are and as to the extend of editing, you might say they sound like the real deal. But expressivenss is the star on this It's got the best feel 've ever experienced (but that's personal taste). I've played Fatar and Doepfer dedicated MIDI controllers through expanders and they didn't feel as playable as this thing (and these are often referred to as THE controllers..), it just screamed "Play me!". Small remark: key edges are indeed a tad sharp for me (it plays a rle in how you lay and hence on your expressiveness...). If I'd get one, I'd sand them round, but anyway I'm a typical DYI dude...

I ended up buying a Pro2 because I found one really cheap in Austria and mail-ordered it over here. But I have to say that the bloke who complained that it was childishly breakable and who somehow made up that Peavey made it (he couldn't even spell the brand right, but hey, who cares... BTW, post a little note on where you found that it was made by Peavey, 'cause I looked everywhere and I couldn't get as much as someone using one through a Peavey amp, let alone that the keyboard itself was made by them...) must be like six years old and expecting a Casio PortaSound with lotsa drumbeats for Christmas or something... Interesting to note he didn't comment on the Expressiveness/Sounds field...perhaps he played the keyboard unplugged, and found it strange that no matter how hard he hammered on the power switch, no decente sound came out (I'm judging that by the time he realised he had to actually connect it to an amp or so he had already beat the switch to the point of semi-breakage... Same line of thought applies to the piano sounds not working... No further comment on that issue...) But hey, let's keep focused; It's a very good keyboard, and for the price it's at right now, I think I'd buy a pair of them if I hadn't spent the money on the Pro2 plus the extra midi controller to have two different sounds with each it's own keyboard (Cool for Rhodes/Hammond combinations without splitting, overlapping and without having to push little buttons to change patches)I'd definetly buy one if I were on a budget an looking for something more Pro than the average 1000 buck 'board. My advice: If you want something really pro, go for the Promegas instead. They're expensive but worth every cent. I just regret I bought my Pro2 before they came out. Not that it is that much inferior, but it's my "not the most recent" prejudice... Last line: GEM is the best. But don't say that out loud, or they could end up big like Roland and Korg and start getting lazy on the innovation and realistic simulation fields.

Quite easy to use. 32 simple sounds, 32 performances .

64 voices, Keyboard action is actually pretty good, as the first
reviewer i'm into synths and stuff for quite a while now and i like
this piano. I don't know what his problem is, but this is a good
instument. Two independent effect-units. the first does chorus, tremoloe
or phaser, the second reverb (which is, like most built-in reverb units
decent). You can additionaly apply an auto-wha effect, which is nice,
but a bit strange for most applications(ok wwith the clavinet.)

Decent to good piano, great wurlitzer, great rhodes, good clavinet,
all other sounds are ok, but not great. very good velocity. The pedal reacts to
your speed of pressing it down.

It's italian. Not built like a tank(though heavy as one), but sturdy.

This is a special one. It does a good imitation of the classic e-pianos
(I owned a rhodes and a d6 for quite a while, so I know what i'm talking about)
, but it is a good instrument in it's own right. Fun to play and very
expresive. Get one, they're cheap by now.

Who knows if Peavy ever made the software (see more on this later)
Presets although few are really pretty amazing..The organ kicks ass and the strings are quite realistic..I own a recording studio and I often midi this up to another source while playing piano just to get the string undertones from it..The piano patches have never worked on this unit so I can't judge what it's "supposed" to be so great at..
I don't think you can edit the patches and the manual is a JOKE..as was said in the above review I think it is also translated badly from Italian but is still way too basic in any language

ploy seems to work fine..Keyboard is weird..keys are very sharp on the sides..no long organ slides with this or you won't have any fingers left..plays like a cheap piano..with cheap plastic keys..
I does have a handy velocity sensitivity setting on top with 3 settings..that's about it for handiness

Reliability..what a joke..First of all people don't be fooled by the "Gem" tag..This instrument is made by (ugh) PEAVY..yup..that's right..and it looks worse in reliability than a cheap casio..The power plug is a ridiculous..Looks like a cell phone plug..Everytime I turn it on, it feels like the power button is going to break off..The piano sounds have never worked on this unit..I'm not even going to bother to try and have it fixed..(see customer support) I do need a new boat anchor however, and this is a big bulky keyboard and it will work great for that application..

Well as I said before people this is a PEAVY instrument..I never would have bought this instrument if I had any idea it was a Peavy..I used to own a Peavy DPM 3 synthesizer..You remember them..The synthesizer that "would never become obsolete" cuz Peavy was going to update it 30 times a year or some nonsense..Interestingly enough, any calls to Peavy 6 months after it was released produced nothing but laughter on the other end of the line and a statement of "we don't make synthesizers anymore"..Nope..Now Gem makes their crap for them..But it's still a Peavy..It didn't work right out of the box..and it's going to be used for a boat anchor..I can't imagin ANY other good use for this keyboard even if the piano sounds DID work..It's that bad..

I wish someone would steal it..That would save me from hauling the damn thing out of the house..
I've been playing synthesizers since the days of ARP's and synclavier's..that's a long time baby...
anyone wanna take this off my hands?