It's...fine. / pinkandthekeytarcat / apollygz / apollygz Yes, I know that most of these are from refitting the vocaloid keytar to be something else. What I'm saying is that they didn't do a great job
Fantastic video and you absolutely nailed how Yamaha work. No one talks to anyone. Imagine a lot of bubbles with little departments in...they have no idea at all what the others are doing...BUT, they do make some really great instruments. Thing with the SHS ranges is...as you noticed, the emphasis is almost entirely on your favourite..JAM MODE! ;) If you look at the history behind the Sonogenic it was primarily designed for people who couldn't play a keyboard to..well sort of play a keyboard. Unlike a lot of Yamaha instruments the SHS was initially only destined for the Japanese market. Check out the Japanese product videos for it and you kind of get the idea of where they were going. Personally I think it's a missed opportunity. Good price but daft concept.....oh and you definitely got a new subscriber! :)
Hey Yamaha!! can you maybe make an SHS-500pro where the jam mode is replaced with a multi FX section ?!?! Nothing crazy ; delay , chorus , reverb , distortion phaser/flanger . It'd be ok if you cheap out and can only apply 1 at a time plus reverb . Thanks , yours truly , your actual customers .
I know this is old but if you see this, should I get this SHS-500 or the Alesis wireless 2, I kinda plan to dual purpose it as a midi keyboard also with ableton.
I just bought this and I’m seeing so many bad things said about it.... damn I should have looked more into it.... i might just sell it when it gets here and try something else
@@circleJerkin68 Don't. I own one and I can tell you that it is perfectly functional. The only things to complain about are not important, and it can be used normally without jam mode.
This is just what I've been looking for, a small keytar that I can take to rehearse that doesn't require a computer or tablet, I guess jam mode could be useful in a live presentation if you don't know the song very well and wanna play it perfectly
That's the Tyco HotKeyz, which is pretty solidly not a great instrument. I reviewed it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wLiPN3a5lxI.html
Thanks for your awesome review. As a real musician not interested in stupid toys it's sad to see they wasted time on "JAM" mode. YOU clearly are an expert on keytars, I have no experience playing this type of keyboard. As I can't afford a grand for an item I would play not to often, I would consider this at 300 dollars. Like your style but you don't need foul language to sound cool so just drop that, then I could recommend your video to my students who average 12 years old.
I have had mine for one month. Here are my impressions: I also wonder what Yamaha was thinking, who they thought their customers were. But I am happy, nevertheless. I am a music teacher who will be accompanying beginning strings students with the Sonogenic. I succeeded in pairing the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) MIDI to my computer running a soft synth. This will allow me to accompany the kids without being stuck in a static location in the room. The range of the BLE is up to 330 feet. I tested it in a large space, and it will transmit just fine. The latency in my setup is minimal. So, wireless MIDI is a HUGE selling point for me. I am also a fan of the key-bed. I already own a Yamaha Reface, and when I heard the Sonogenic was using the Reface keyboard, that was another selling point. I have no problem with mini keys. The action is great and I'm good at controlling the velocity/dynamic. The slender shape of the Sonogenic has allowed me to use a left-hand technique of reaching over the tops of the keys to play the bass-parts. That technique isn't great for crazy fast playing, but it improves the overall ergonomics of both hands while playing and allows for some extended techniques that are harder to play in a more conventional posture. I pretty much ignore the neck of the Sonogenic. In my playing position, there's no chance of pressing the Jam Mode buttons. So, I've pretty much forgotten that Jam Mode even exists. Yamaha loses a few points for only mapping 'some' of the controllers to MIDI messages. In addition to all the keys, the mod wheel, pitch bend and voice-selection-wheel (when function is lighted and set to midi channel) send MIDI messages. I've been able to remap the controllers to my liking on my computer. Regarding the onboard voices, most of them are too exotic to be used for polyphonic playing and accompaniment. IMHO the electric piano sound is worth all the other sounds put together. I'm not sure why Yamaha could hit it out of the park with such a killer EP sound...then (IMHO) strike-out on the DX and conventional piano presets. Regarding the modest effects, the only effect I have much use for is filter. Using the mod wheel to control the filter like a wah pedal for some of the sounds is...WOW! But mostly I have both hands on the keyboard. Bottom line: I think the Sonogenic is a mix of some really awesome stuff...and some pretty pathetic ideas. The good news, at least for me, is that the bad stuff doesn't diminish what is awesome about the SHS-500 Sonogenic.
Oh yes, Bluetooth midi is great. When I go write in coffee shops, I take the Sonogenic and pair it up with GarageBand on my iPad for silent recording. Super thanks for the detailed review! It'll definitely help other people who are considering it, too!
For the life of me, I don't understand why there are no organ sounds on this thing... They are standard on every keyboard ever made... I was going to buy this silly thing to bring to some classic rock or blues open mics just to jam with friends without bringing my rig with me... and without any organ sounds it just won't work
The weirdest thing is that there's no organ sounds, but there is a rotary organ effect that you can assign to the mod wheel. There actually sort of are organ sounds, a bit, because if you connect to it via 5 pin MIDI out, there's 128 sounds with a couple of organs, instead of the 30 sounds you have access to you when you play on the keytar. So there's organ sounds, but you just can't really use them.
@@richwoods4604 in the box it should have come with a 5" long cable that has a small round plug on one end, and then two larger 5-pin ports branching off. At the tail end if the keytar, there's a little rubber flap that has a port for the small end. You then need to connect a MIDI cable to the port on the cable labeled "out", and plug the other end of that into another MIDI instrument with a 5-pin "in" port, and then that instrument will be able to play the organ sounds through the Sonogenic's speaker. I'm assuming the hassle of doing that is why no one but me seems to know about this. Unfortunately, there still seems to be no way to access those organ sounds from the Sonogenic's keyboard, only from another instrument connected to it.
First off - you crack me up! Watching your reviews was not only informative, but also enjoyable. It's nice to see "real" people, being real. I see this as a learning instrument. Entry level, exactly as intended. Jam mode for maybe your first few shows so that nervous flubs don't ruin your confidence. Again, an entry level instrument, for an entry level musician. Another, perhaps subliminal "benefit" to the Jam Mode and Chord Tracker is that after jamming and getting used to the instrument, rhythms, etc and hearing what the RIGHT notes sound like, it is very easy to hear what the WRONG notes are, I think of it like aural training wheels. I study theory and practice on a few instruments (like a good musician should) - but out of brain and into hands is a different animal all together! My brain knows where my fingers should be, but I haven't developed that quick kinesthetic awareness and muscle memory QUITE yet, so for me the Jam Mode and Chord Tracker are safety nets. I'm not going to bash mindlessly, I'm going to play properly - but if one of my fingers chooses to be a bitch, or I overshoot/undershoot my landing it's nice to know the keytar has my back. When people have FUN learning, they learn more. If people get discouraged, they stop playing. I think this was to help people from getting discouraged in this day and age. I am in COMPLETE agreement with you about the volume knob and the button placements and the Exit button though. The solution I have thought of for the volume problem is a volume pedal. But I would prefer the knob would just work. I watched your other review too. You aren't the only one pointing out these issues. Maybe if demand is high enough we'll get a SHS-501.
See here what ou can do with SHS 500: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RzB3yX1KOtU.html Alois Videos Yamaha Genos Yamaha PSR Sx 900 Korg PA 1000 Korg 4x and more
First thing that came to mind when I opened the vid was like OMG😲 that’s a lot of keytars 😂 but definitely appreciate the new generation of keytarist I’m gonna get this so that I can gig with it sweet video
I have not gotten mine yet but I personally feel this device is meant as novelty, practice, and as a midi controller. The jam mode is for aesthetic such as that with japanese idol girls. It was modeled after the vocaloid keytar so the expectation shouldn't be too high. I'm planning on using mine as a midi controller in conjunction with ableton live for performance.
I have one. Bought it as an early birthday present just the other day. TBH, I really like mine. I don't really use the "jam" mode, because I prefer to use it as a normal keytar, but it's nice to use and it's so much fun to play on!
I just got this for christmas, and as much as I will get acclimated to it, the "just play" advertisement ways are inaccurate. Sure, you can smash the keys to songs, but it doesn't help any beginners learn, much like myself. All you are doing is smashing keys with the Jam feature, it doesn't teach scales or which key is which. You'll have to know music theory on your own, which is difficult for people who have never been involved in music, and want to be. It's a learning curve I'm gonna get past, but they gotta stop advertising it to beginners the way that they are.
I bought one new for only 150USD, becuase my local music store needed to free up space in their storage rooms. I wouldn't pay any more than that for this thing! - I'm mad at yamaha, because they didn't treated this instrument seriously and it shows! I think it's no longer in production. My biggest complaints: - It's not USB powered (Alesis Vortex is, but on the other hand Alesis Vortex often has problems with pitch wheel (I experienced it with my 1st gen Vortex (I sold it 7 years ago), 2nd gen often has these issues too - I saw a YT video about one guy complaining about it - they use the cheapest potentiometers and many users report some "note hang" - I don't know whether it can be repaired with firmware update, or do you need to return your instrument). To sum it up: you need to either use batteries, or power supply, even if you only want to transmit MIDI through USB... - No aftertouch (Alesis Vortex has aftertouch, but since there are so many problems with it and I was able to get the Yamaha so cheap, I really didn't wanted to risk experiencing them)... - No velocity sensitivity settings (actually, it's a problem of many cheap MIDI controllers, but I thought that Yamaha would include such setting)... - Fragile construction - I managed to get a dent on the surface without even dropping or hitting it - I suppose I did this when I tried to put it on the shelf! I don't want to think on what will happen when I'll drop it... - The pitch wheel feels quite sloppy. - The biggest con: Limited MIDI support! It only transfers pitch wheel and modulation! No sustain button! That really makes it more of a toy than a serious instrument... I'm not going to return it, since I got it so cheap and it seems to work in general - it will be an useful tool to show-off while playing some synth solos. And just because I love Jan Hammer, I will always have this urge to own a keytar (he made it look so easy!), even though my weapon of choice is the bass guitar. I just really wanted to like it more. The cheap keytar market is very hard... To say something positive: I really like the minikeys! These are joy to play, consistent and smoother than my 1st gen Vortex keys were (on Vortex, some keys were rougher, and some were smoother in action). I hope that my comment had helped you.
Do you have to play it with the ap/program? Or can it play on it’s own with no added tech? And also you plugged it into an amp? Couldn’t see, it’s out of camera view.
did yamaha improved shs500 through firmware change over time? thanks for all the info, i'm in dire need of a keytar as I can't play bass anymore yet hate playing synth sitting down 😅
Ruining the whole instrument with a button made just for people who don't know how to play it is just such a stupid decision. I guess it's kind of like the old 'demo' button on the earlier SHS models.
You outta be a Technical Advisor to the Yamaha team, Pink. In fact, I bet they see this video and consider your words. All that would really be necessary to correct some of your problems would be a firmware update, but they’ll probably just incorporate the improvements into the SHS 510 - assuming sales make it worthwhile. Until then, someone may figure out how to hack it.
My English was bad,wish you can understand my grammar Excuse me~ I have a question. I 'm live in poor sound insulation's place,but I want to play keytar when I after work. SHS-500's main speaker can it be muted after connecting the headset or not? I want play but I don't want disturb or distress to others Thanks! very much
I got one used just because I didn’t want to spend a lot or mess with midi. Just learning the keyboard and I thought if I could hold it like a guitar it would be easier
I bought this Keytar and This review is spot on! CONS: The music select knob sometimes gets hit accidentally while playing, should be switched with the volume knob. The jam mode button needs to be moved with the top button controls ( actually needs to be RE-moved, its garbage) rarely but times i meant to hit sustain and pressed jam mode. Jam mode and controls buttons is wasted space for something more useful to be there. No Global save for settings (like touch sensitivity) have to re adjust every time switch instruments. - 3 points PROS: Love micro keys, small simple form factor, built-in speaker, the price Ya there is cons to this keytar, but for ME the pro's outweigh the cons . 7/10
I'm glad you like it! I'm pretty fond of it, too. Weirdly enough, your cons are all stuff I addressed in my other Sonogenic video (titled u redesigned the Sonogenic so it makes sense) and we agree on( I think) all of it.
;) Best way seems to dive in right away, get stuck and *then* read the manual. That's totally me. I think every keyboardist reads the manual as a last resort. Great review. Answered a lot of questions I had. I learned a ton.
One of your best vids - loved it, and you're so funny :-) A really informative and insightful video, much better than a lot of the boring "official" ones I've looked at for this keytar. Good work.
13:30 Polly: Oh thanks, I hate it... Keytar: Oh yeah?!?! I MOCK YOU WITH THIS BREAKDOWN!!! 🎵🎼 Polly: Why doesn't the volume work? Keytar: ...LOL!!! (MOCKING INTENSIFIES!!!)
Thank you for your extensive and entertaining review! You totally talked me right out of this. In fact I purchased this and it arrived to my house. I didn’t even open it, lol your review was awesome and informative. Thanks again!
Just found this, thank you so much. I'm a guitar and piano player, been wondering about Keytars for so long and... well your video is just awesome, thank you so much for posting!!!! (BTW I'm sold!)
Well...I arrived a bit late But....Ive been thinking about getting a keytar for awhile now, and im trying to determin if I should go with the Yamaha SHS 500, The Alesis Vortex Wireless 2, or the Roland AX-09.
BTW it's possible to program an action on the Bixby button that makes Bixby straight away just open Google Assistant. Sing out if you get another Samsung - I'll dig out the method. You only need to fix it the once & it stays fixed.
I'm really glad I found this channel - Yamaha are advertising the shit out of the SHS-500 right now on Instagram so it's easy to see the ads & think this is a good instrument. It sounds from what you're saying about control layout & user experience that it belongs on a UX fails website.
hmmmmmmmmmm funny thing today i had to make a choice between this Yamaha shs500 or the Alesis Vortex wireless 2 but now i see this i think i made a good choice to go for the wireless midi controller lol (the alesis) i already own an original yamaha shs10 from 1974 lol so i only need the sound upgrade and especially some pitchbend function, i see this new yamaha does not have it at all?
Hi, Pink. Just got my own Sonogenic. Even when turned to maximum volume I can hardly hear it through its internal speaker (ie, not connected to an external speaker’. Like the first sound, 001 Saw Lead. I’d give it a volume level of 2 from 1-10. Is yours awfully low also? Trying to determine if mine is defective. Definitely not like any other battery operated keyboard I’ve had.
Yeah, on the highest volume, mine also achieves the sound level of, "will get lost as background noise if you're playing in your own house but your wife has three friends over in another room." I already made one video about how underwhelming this little device is (today mine stopped doing a proper line-out signal unless I mess with the volume knob), but I keep having to fight the temptation to do yet another Sonogenic is a Bummer video.
You can adjust the volume in Filter and Dynamics (for volume and key touch sensitivity). Be sure to turn the effect knob all the way down and back up to max in addition to the volume knob on the side. I find you have to set it each time you select a different sound.
