Generalmusic Pro 2

I have a PRO2 General Music keyboard in almost mint condition for sale for $1000. I say "almost" because the white plastic on the keys has turned off-white but that's expected. I bought it in '98. It has all the original manuals, midi cables, computer port hookups and adapters to interface to computer compositon software. I also have a typical keyboard stand with it. If you know someone interested contact me at mnementhsdragon@hotmail.com If you pay for shipping or can pick it up I'll negotiate the price.

I just got a used generalmusic pro 2 on ebay and am quite pleased.

The sound is absolutely amazing - especially the EPs and the organs - which are all I ever use.

In terms of ease of use, its pretty easy since its a pretty simple instrument that doesn't have a whole lot of buttons and a million sounds.

You do need the manual however (its available for free online at the generalmusic website) - because without the manual I never would have figured out that most of its best sounds are accessed via its "performances" - rather than through the one-touch buttons labeled "organ" "EP", etc. The manual has a list of all the pre-set performances - which consist of tweaked and layered versions of its standard sounds.

The keyboard action is very good. It is hammered, but very light. At first I thought I didn't like the action and that it was too light and that it felt kind of funny (I'm used to a Korg N-1, which has an excellent feel, but heavier hammers). But once I got used to the Pro 2's feel, I came to like it quite a lot.

All I can say is oh my god. This baby sounds incredible. I have never ever heard anything that sounds as good. And I have never played anthing with sounds that work as well with a live band as this thing.

The sounds are incredibly expressive. The sounds have the ability to blend in, or to cut through the noise of the rest of the band.

The best way to describe it is to say that this is a real instrument - rather than just a synth. An instrument in the way that a saxophone is an instrument. Very expressive, and very impressive.

It has so many good EPs that I actually find useful when playing rock/blues/funk, and its hammond organ sounds really scream. All the guys in my band were blown away.

I don't know yet since I haven't had it long enough.

Haven't tried to contact customer support.

If it were lost or stolen, I would hunt down the person who took it and get it back. I paid only $425 used on ebay, which is a pittance compared to what it should be worth.

I have been playing for several years and also own a Korg N1 88key hammer action keyboard. I love my korg too, but the generalmusic blows it (and anything else I've ever seen) away.

The only drawback with this keyboard is its weight. It is very heavy - even for a 88key hammer action rig. But man, it sounds soo good its worth it.

easy to use, plug & play, manual easy to understand, Software Version I

excellent polyphony, very good hammer-action, no spungy keys, hard enough when you push them and they come up very quick, supports fast playing, Inspite of some comments here I have no problems with the damper, works fine

Absolute realistic, defined piano / grand piano sounds, one of the best ever heard, shiny heights,lot of bottom ends, volumious excellent Rhodes and Wurlitzer tones, good effects, dont't need more. Reaktion is good, too.

Extremely heavy (with case), but built like a tank. I bought it new 3 years ago, and had no problems yet. If you go out for a gig be shure there are persons to help.

never dealt with them

Excellent stage piano, if it were stolen or lost I woud buy another one, best value for the price, needs good amplification if you would like to take advantage of the tone

All settings are easy to do. There are different groups of buttons: 16 buttons for sound selection, several buttons for effect section, recorder like buttons to control the sequencer, etc.
The user manual is pretty ok, but is not complete, e.g. how to start the self-test is not described.
Controling other sound modules or synths via MIDI works w/o any configuration. The to-host interface does not work at all, but is not needed if you use the MIDI connection.

88 keys with hammer action, 128 notes max, 48 sounds, 64 performances, midi in/out/thru (but only 2 channels out of 16 can actually be used), stereo in/out, speaker, 2 track onboard sequencer, equalizer, effect section (reverb, hall, etc.), a damper pedal included, too.
MIDI control information can be filtered (works for both directions).

The PRO2 use a combination of sophisticated sample analisys and physical modeling to accurately reproduce the complex tonal environment of a grand piano.

What's missing:
- there are no midi control elements such as knobs, sliders, ...
- midi events can not be received on all 16 channels in parallel
- aftertouch is not supported

Piano sound is excellent, the realistic sound of hammers striking the strings has been reproduced by independently processing the natural hammer sound and the resonance of the strings. You can actually verify and hear it.
Most of the other sounds are very good, too. I like the Rhodes! But also vibraphones, clavinets, harpsichords, organs, as well as choirs, strings, pads and basses are useable.
The onboard effects are ok, too.

No problems until now. I used the keyboard more than 2 years.
Only host interface is not working, but who needs it?

Asked (some time ago) for SW drivers for the host interface via email support line, got never a response.

It's definetely worth the money.

...just one overall comment: this is a very good piano, nice features, great sounds, good keyboard action...

...but:

...i recommend to not buy this piano, nor any other gem product...because they don't care a f... about their customers...

...i had to bring it to my local dealer for repair...in juli 2003...now it's january 2004, and i still haven't got it back...the company has still not been able (or willing) to send the right spare parts to my dealer for the repair...it's just ridiculous...because i play gigs i had to by another stage piano (rd-170) as a substitution...i have no idea if i ever will get my pro2 back (repaired)...

Just a stage piano, no problems here.
The little display do its job

Display, effect parameters, good keyboard action, 128 max poliphony, master keyboard features.

Good acustic piano, very good rhodes and wurli. Quite good hammonds (for a stage piano!)

It s too heavy. About 30 kg.
It's big

A very good piano, but too heavy to gig. That's why i will buy a P90.
If you don't have to gig, if you need a piano for the studio, this could be a good chioce

I bought it used without the manual. Figuring out how it works was still possible.

To me, the action feels better thatn the Yamaha P80. (that a friend of mine owns)

I do not like the first Piano patch to much. I use the second one all the time.(Baby Grand) Also, the Rhodes sound is not very nice. The best Rhodes sound I ever heard was the Emagic EVP88. I use this piano at home through Alesis M1 active monitors.

I only use it at home. Sometimes when I start it up, certain notes are stuck on hold, I have re-insert the pedal jack and the problem goes away.

Never had to call them. Maybe I would like to get a manual someday

If it were stolen, I would get another one or the Pro Mega. I do home recording and jamming with friends. I think the new price for the Pro 2 is a bit heavy but if you can pick one up for a good 2nd hand deal, go for it :-)

This is an extremely simple and easy Professional Piano to use for the price. The presets are simple and the added sounds are great. The two track sequencer is great for recording.

The Polyphony is Great! 128 notes and does not cut out on me during high velocity performances with sustain. I had a music store salesman tell me, "you dont need 128 notes, you cant play that much at once" Oh yea, well add 16 levels of sustain and the korgs, rolands and others cut out halfway through the measure.(execpt Roland 128s and others)
The keys are the best IMO out there, I studied to be a Concert Pianist and have Played Steinways, Yamahas, Kawais, Bladwins, you name it! This has the best Full Size Grand Keys I have used. Compares to any accoustical grand.
I tell you the real scoop, A previous reviewer said the keys are sharp, They are not. They are perfect. They blow away Yamahas so called Graded Hammer action, which I have played and I call it spongy action Yamaha keys. The Roland comes close, but when I play their keys they seem alot smaller than full size grand keys like the Pro II, sort of half size and not as responsive but better than yamaha.
Keys bottom line: A good key is responsive, It goes up straight and comes down straight with no side to side lateral movement and no spongy Yamaha movement(This means when you hit the key being weighted, there is a firm movement downward and a firm upward movement also and the weight does not feel bouncy, therefore smooth going down and up with no delay in pressure like you have with Yamaha.
I always have to laugh when they use light graded, medium, or full graded action, I tell you Pro IIs have firm pressure responsive action that does not feel sloppy when your going extremely fast or slow and sensitive.
The velocity response on this piano is tremendous, I do not use a volume pedal, the finger touch adjusts the sound superbly!
It has midi, My only complaint is that it does not come with a floppy or hard disk recorder and I have argued with the factory rep in person about this, but he states it is a Stage Piano and he's right but I wish it would incorporate this feature so I wouldnt have to hook up my computer or sequencer out on tour.

When they say real Piano, they are right. This has the most realism I have heard. I like Piano II myself. I works great for rock and other types of music. If I hit the keys forcefully the volume and expression are tremendous!
The onboard effects are limited but adequate for most performances and has very cool presets like Shepard Moods designed for Enya's Performances. I wished the Organ would have the tremolo feature like the Who's song "We wont be fooled again".
One note of caution, you must have your amp adjusted and have a good amp to utilized the tone on this piano and you will sound better than any accoustic grand out there, In fact I prefer it to my favorite Kawai grand and I thought I would never say this.
The Velocity is Super, and they volume modualtion during a song changes perfect, just like the volume in a real accoustic piano, even with leaving the volume constant. No worries over moving a foot pedal to control volume while your playing like an organ although there is an option for this.
IMPORTANT ON SOUND: I have heard people make comments about the left or right sound of this piano not as loud or the keys etc. But you must get a good amp or amps for this. Note USE INSTURMENT CABLE from the back of the piano to your amps and use TWO amps, one for left and one for right. Do not use speaker cable, unless you are going into speakers from a rack amplifier. Also note: use at home left facing you on your left side and note on stage facing the crowd the left is facing the crowd and would be on your right side as you look at the crowd and the right amp will be on your left side.
I use two Roland KC 100Watt amps on each side I set the high at 12 O'Clock and the Low at a quarter to 12 O'Clock and the Volume on the amp at about 7. This way the sound is balanced and gives the Right keyboard sound the melody while giving a deep Left hand bass without overpowering the right hand tones. Then set your equalizer to neutral first or middle postions while adjusting and amp first and after you set your amp adjust the eq to your taste. Remember the more
eq the more tone can be robbed and the more noise can be had. Alot of guitar sales persons set up amps so they do not give you true keyboard sounds in the store, remember try amps too for tone, I like the Roland amps the best but there are now alot of others for keyboards out there. I dont need an amp with an eq because the piano has one on it. On this piano save your bucks and get an amp with basic settings. Simple high and low settings and volume are all you need to produce tremendous tone!

This thing is built like a Rock. The only complaint I have had is that sometimes when swithing to modes from Harpsichord to Preset sounds every once in a great while it locks in the previous sound and I have to switch on and off the piano to clear it. Also I would have put the switch on the front of the piano instead of the rear.

I have had no problems in the past, but being in Italy is a litte bit of a call. Repair is no problem for service centers and my piano tech says that they are the Maytag of Pianos for repair problems. He hardly gets any.

If it were lost or stolen, I would get the new Mega Pro 3 32Bit system or another one for touring. If you could take this piano and put the Roland KR intelligent Grand 128 Polophony models guts into this Piano then you would have the ultimate piano! I mean the voice and floppy and software components\Roland. If I had to pick a home Piano, I would pick the Roland 128 polophony mini grand intelligent piano for features (software etc. electonic features)
I met General musics designer and engineer and talked to him, He is smart as a whip but not bright when it comes to the needs of pianists. He is stubborn and does not listen to people too well, I told him till I was Blue in the face" put a Recorder Sequencer floppy or hard disk in this thing and a string bender like the SK WOrkstations. His stupid answer, get a workstation if you want it. It needs tremolo, vibrato for organ sounds. The mechanical aspects of this piano and its sound sort of outweigh its lack of other features.
Although its a Pro piano, its great for a stater piano also and you pay alot less for comparable Rolands and Outrageously priced Yamaha.

I have sampled the Pro2 at several music stores. I've also sampled other digital pianos, and some of their presets sounded thicker. The pianos on the Pro2, however, had the most realistic character. Instead of just taking samples of a piano, Gem has combined sampling with virtual modeling to imitate the way a piano would act in certain situations.

The Pro2 has midi capabilities, however it doesn't have any pitch or mod controlers. I wish they'd put some on, but what do you want for a stage piano? It has 128 notes of polyphony, which is incredible because even when you layer, you don't run out of polyphony! The keys respond to velocity, but don't have aftertouch. I don't care for the Fatar action very much, but it's not as bad as playing an upright piano. The action of the Yamaha P80 is some of the best I've ever played, but the sounds on here make it worth skimping on the action. The pianos are great, with the exception of the one where it sounds like they were trying to get a hammer effect or something, and the dull upright-sounding one. Only one of the strings presets are useable, and the Rhodes presets are fare to poor. The wurli presets are not nearly as good as the Alesis ones, and the pipe organs are the worst I've ever heard! The pads are, well, ok, but they could've left them out, as well as the choir oohs and such things as that. The mallot instruments are tragic, and the basses are...um...well...Useable if there's not a live bass player. We'll leave it at that. It's calling in life, however, is that it's a piano. If you're looking foran all-purpose instrument, I don't recommend it. Go for the Roland RD700 or the Yamaha S90. If you want a piano though, get one of these! They aren't being made anymore, but if you can find one, snatch it!

I would use it on a gig without a backup. That's what I bought the thing for. The only problem I perceive is the stupid AC wallwart, which others have complained about. It does have a rubber gasket around where the plug goes in though, which seems like it'd give the connection a little more stability.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd buy another one. The dealer in town has one left, and people around here aren't into stage pianos very much.

This product is quite easy to use. I found no problems EQ:ing the sounds, splitting and combining the onboard sounds as my own presets. The manual is pretty basic and it introduces the functions in two parts: for beginners and more advanced users. Don't be scare of the thickness of the book (at least in Europe). The manual is written in many different languages, so it consists of only about 40 pages per language.

The polyphony is 128, so it's pretty impossible to run out of notes, even when you layer two sounds together! The keyboard action feels very good, which was a pleasent surprise since I wasn't able to try one out before buying (they don't sell them in Finland). In fact, it beats most of the hammer actions I tried out at a local store including the Korg SP-200, Roland RD-600, Roland RD-150 and most Technics and Kurzweil keyboards. It is a little bit lighter than the Yamaha P-80, but it doesn't have the Graded Hammer Effect, so it doesn't match the feel of the Yamaha when it comes to realism. However it feels like the black keys needs a pinch more power to play loudly than the white keys, I'm not sure of the reasons. Another annoying fact is that the corners of the white keys are a little bit sharp, and once in a while you can feel them scratching your fingers. I hope GEM would consider not using Fatar to produce their keyboards in the future. It seems like the quality control at Fatar is being handled by a man without any fingers...

There is no aftertouch, nor are there any modulater wheels or pitch benders. If you're looking for a master keyboard only, don't bother with this one. It has a hosts-plug at the backside, so you can hook it up to your PC, somehow.

There are no expansion capabilities, except for the GEM's own pedal system. which is supposed to give you a more realistic feel for the damper. Didn't try this one out, so...

There are a lot of different sounds on the board, about 48, if I remember correctly. There are some Ok ones, but then again there are some horrible ones as well. Let's just say, that the vibes are quite bad, as is the acoustic bass and harpsicord. I really liked the electric pianos, wurlitzer, Rhodes etc. But the main reason I wanted the Pro 2 was the piano sound. I visited some web pages that demo the Realpiano Expander (the Pro2 uses the same samples and synthetic/physical modelling capabilities) and was astonished. I was really blown out of the sky! When I started to play mine, that feeling diminished quite quickly though... Don't get me wrong, I'm a perfectionist and I'm sure that the majority would think of this as nitpicking, but I just can't help myself. Here's why I was so dissappointed: The samples used around the middle C sound very synthetic when played with small velocities (from piano to mezzoforte). I mean come on GEM, why did you have to spoil a perfectly good sounding piano with a couple of bad samples placed right in the middle of the freaking piano?!! It boggles my mind. This was one of the biggest reasons why I decided to sell the piano and get myself a Yamaha P120. True, the Yamaha doesn't have as much character in it's samples, but at least the samples sound like samples and therefore they feel more safe.

Dunno, had mine for 5 days. The casing is sturdy-looking, but the controlkeys look a bit flimsy.

GEM doesn't seem to bother answer (still hasn't, and it's been over 2 weeks now!) my questions regarding the synthetic sounds and if this problem could be cured. So if you had a REAL problem, I woudn't hold my breath. Just pray there won't be any problems in the future.

I certainly wouldn't buy one again, since it is quite heavy to carry around(27 kg, and that's without the case). And I was very annoyed by the bad sounding samples (about 6-7 keys) around middle C. I hope GEM would correct these samples in the future, but since they've been the same for the last 4 years, I won't believe in miracles. I don't know if they corrected these problems in the Promega-series, but they sure as hell should if they're selling them for such outrageous prices.

Now they're selling the Pro 2-keyboard at pretty reasonable prices, so in the price range, it does kick the but of Korg and Roland, but Yamaha...? I'd say no.

My last advice is: try one before buying one. I dind't, and I was dissappointed. Strangely, some other owners of this board haven't noticed the synthetic middle sounds, although the majority has. You might be irritated by them, but maybe you won't be, hence, try one out first!