Generalmusic
Encyclopedia
Generalmusic is an Italian
musical instrument
manufacturing company focusing on digital
and acoustic pianos
, synthesizers and arranger workstations. They produce three lines, musical instrument series called GEM ,various studio equipment series called LEM and amplificator products called ELKA.
, Arp2600, Prophet or Synthex
. Although designed as arranger workstations, WX series had some professional synthesizer capabilities like filter and cutoff (resonance) editing with an integrated powerful 16-track sequencer. The company also offered more sophisticated versions of the WX series as S series synthesizers. Generalmusic's S2 was used among many professional musicians including Brian Eno
. The S2 was similar to a Kurzweil K2000
for its functionalities such as optional sampling, and layout and patch manipulation.
Up until 2000, Generalmusic made a physically modeled, digital half-rack piano module called the RealPiano Expander. The device is still sought after for its realistic grand piano sounds and continuous damper pedal. Unfortunately, the RealPiano Expander has a delicate LCD readout that is prone to failure, due to the internal placement of the LCD ribbon wire in proximity to the top front edge of the plastic front bezel. A damaged screen does not affect sound quality or other functions at all. To prevent damage to the irreplaceable ribbon wire, users avoid placing heavy objects on top of the module. The device also has a few bugs related to key velocity that were never corrected in the upgradable firmware.
, audio sequencer tracks, and flash ROM. This new workstation does not have the same sounds as previous models, breaking with this tradition from all products in the GEM series before.
With Genesys, GEM gave up their former product segmentation philosophy. It had been a regular strategy for GEM to release one live player's arranger workstation line, one professional arranger workstation line and a top-notch synthesizer line in a production term. (i.e. WS, WX and S series accordingly). But with the Genesys era, GEM left this strategy and instead of offering a high-end synthesizer product, they focused completely on one workstation which tries to combine the elements from the aforementioned three model lines. In addition to Genesys the company offers the beginner alternative as GK series and a simplified WK version as WK-1000/2000.
Although this seems reasonable, there is one thing to note; GEM's former and present arranger workstations and live workstations have the capability to play oriental/Arabic rhythms and scales. In contrast, their old professional synthesizer models were designed for electronic music in mind. If we take professional music production into consideration, an instrument's capability to play rhythms and scales is usually not accepted as a quality standard; rather, the sound manipulation capabilities are important. Because Genesys was marketed as a rhythm-boxed arranger workstation with relatively few sound presets, it can be said that GEM gave up the professional market in virtue of the semi-professional consumers.
Another common reality for GEM products is their high new values drop to very low when they become second-hand.
Generalmusic also produces digital pianos, the Promega series, which are more popular than their synthesizer products.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
manufacturing company focusing on digital
Digital piano
A digital piano is a modern electronic musical instrument, different from the electronic keyboard, designed to serve primarily as an alternative to a traditional piano, both in the way it feels to play and in the sound produced. It is meant to provide an accurate simulation of a real piano. Some...
and acoustic pianos
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, synthesizers and arranger workstations. They produce three lines, musical instrument series called GEM ,various studio equipment series called LEM and amplificator products called ELKA.
First successes
Generalmusic's first successful arranger workstation models were their WX series, which offered a large blue LCD display, a user-friendly interface and some useful vintage synth sound presets like OberheimOberheim
Oberheim Electronics is an American company, founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim , which manufactured audio synthesizers and a variety of other electronic musical instruments.-Oberheim Electronics:...
, Arp2600, Prophet or Synthex
Elka Synthex
-Overview:Designed by Mario Maggi, it was produced between 1981 and 1985 by the Elka company of Italy. A company more noted for its organs, this would be its first and last foray into music synthesizers under that name. Unusually, it also contained a built in real-time and step-time 4-track...
. Although designed as arranger workstations, WX series had some professional synthesizer capabilities like filter and cutoff (resonance) editing with an integrated powerful 16-track sequencer. The company also offered more sophisticated versions of the WX series as S series synthesizers. Generalmusic's S2 was used among many professional musicians including Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
. The S2 was similar to a Kurzweil K2000
Kurzweil K2000
The Kurzweil K2000 is a 16 bit sampler with a complex synthesis architecture by Kurzweil Music Systems, similar to the EMU Emulator III.The K2000 features a technology dubbed V.A.S.T., which stands for "Variable Architecture Synthesis Technology", a marketing term for the K2000's digital signal...
for its functionalities such as optional sampling, and layout and patch manipulation.
Up until 2000, Generalmusic made a physically modeled, digital half-rack piano module called the RealPiano Expander. The device is still sought after for its realistic grand piano sounds and continuous damper pedal. Unfortunately, the RealPiano Expander has a delicate LCD readout that is prone to failure, due to the internal placement of the LCD ribbon wire in proximity to the top front edge of the plastic front bezel. A damaged screen does not affect sound quality or other functions at all. To prevent damage to the irreplaceable ribbon wire, users avoid placing heavy objects on top of the module. The device also has a few bugs related to key velocity that were never corrected in the upgradable firmware.
Further developments
Next-generation Generalmusic arranger keyboards were the WK series. Again, they offered a more sophisticated SK series as a synth-arranger alternative and Equinox as a standalone Kurzweil K2500 clone. Although WK series had a long-lived success in the semi-professional market the Equinox synthesizer was severely criticised by professional customers for its buggy operating system and lack of customer support. For instance, while it was easy for other synth manufacturer product owners to upgrade and support their instruments over the web, even listening to the demonstrations of the Equinox from Generalmusic's web site was impossible during its heyday.Recent Situation
The last generation of Generalmusic synthesizer is the Genesys series, offering onboard sampling from an integrated CD-ROMCD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
, audio sequencer tracks, and flash ROM. This new workstation does not have the same sounds as previous models, breaking with this tradition from all products in the GEM series before.
With Genesys, GEM gave up their former product segmentation philosophy. It had been a regular strategy for GEM to release one live player's arranger workstation line, one professional arranger workstation line and a top-notch synthesizer line in a production term. (i.e. WS, WX and S series accordingly). But with the Genesys era, GEM left this strategy and instead of offering a high-end synthesizer product, they focused completely on one workstation which tries to combine the elements from the aforementioned three model lines. In addition to Genesys the company offers the beginner alternative as GK series and a simplified WK version as WK-1000/2000.
Although this seems reasonable, there is one thing to note; GEM's former and present arranger workstations and live workstations have the capability to play oriental/Arabic rhythms and scales. In contrast, their old professional synthesizer models were designed for electronic music in mind. If we take professional music production into consideration, an instrument's capability to play rhythms and scales is usually not accepted as a quality standard; rather, the sound manipulation capabilities are important. Because Genesys was marketed as a rhythm-boxed arranger workstation with relatively few sound presets, it can be said that GEM gave up the professional market in virtue of the semi-professional consumers.
Another common reality for GEM products is their high new values drop to very low when they become second-hand.
Generalmusic also produces digital pianos, the Promega series, which are more popular than their synthesizer products.
Notable users of GEM products
- Keith EmersonKeith EmersonKeith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
of Emerson, Lake & PalmerEmerson, Lake & PalmerEmerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer... - Gregory F. Parker of PMBPMBPMB can stand for:* Paleomammalian brain, part of Paul D. MacLean's Triune Brain hypothesis* Pembroke College, Oxford* Phenylmagnesium bromide, a Grignard reagent used in chemical reactions* Physics in Medicine and Biology PMB can stand for:* Paleomammalian brain, part of Paul D. MacLean's Triune...
endorses GEM Equinox keyboards - Rick WakemanRick WakemanRichard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
formerly of YesYes (band)Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets... - Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
- Greg Giuffria
- Lemon Nashville