When I played the Pa800 last week at Uncle Dave's Studio I knew I had to have one ........
Im having a ball with the Pa800 so far..... when I read the specs months ago I said to myself this KB has everything Im interested in, but could all these great features be included in One unit? Well now that I have one I can honestly say WOW it certainly fills my needs and so much more in a small package. It shipped with OS ver 1.50 & it was no problem to install the newer OS ver 1.51 which fixed a few things.
One of my big wish list things with my Yamaha's was the ability to save Transpose using the Music Finder on all my Yamaha kbs..........being it couldn't do that I NEVER ever used it....forcing a player to use registrations only which is OK but for live navigation its a bit lacking ......now with the Korg Pa800 Powerful "Songbook Feature" which Does save Transpose which is very useful for matching songs to other singers etc, etc, ....plus it retains ALL Parameters which is the way it should be! ....I realized that just maybe the Pa800 could be my dream arranger KB.....
Styles and Sounds are really amazing sonically, dual SMF player certainly a big plus as is the Dual 2.0 USB & optional Mp3 recorder/player & HD, which I will get soon also. All the on-board navigational features are in the right place and Well thought out for live play on stage which is so important to me.....eg: 4 STS, 4 Real Time Pads, the FILLS I can honestly say have been addressed since the pa80 days & are definitly NO problem on the Pa800, Touch screen response is fast and intuitive or you can use buttons/slider also many that are assignable another plus. The Speakers are the best sounding I have heard on any arranger great bass, robust, loud and clear......when I sang thru the Tc Helicon Vocal harmonizer I knew right away I'm in heaven......these are some of my thoughts in the last 24 hrs since it arrived.....I have much to do in between gigs but I will have more experiences with this wonderful instrument asap. I want to thank ALL the people on the Korg Forums especially Tommy F for their help in getting me started with some initial setup questions.....As an old KORG player who used to gig in the early 80s with an early model Korg "PERSONAL" Arranger model thru the i3, i30, Pa80/60 Im glad to be back. More to come.......

Play Music Every Day!

PS: as a side note .....I want to thank SZ member Frankeve at AUDIOWORKS

http://www.audioworksct.com/

for being one of the best Honest Dealers I have ever done business with GREAT PRICES, SUPER SERVICE, SUPER FAST SHIPPING, SUPER NICE GUY, I highly recommend that if you need any gear give Frank a call ASAP he'll take good care of you for sure!!!

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 09-13-2007).]

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[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 09-16-2007).]

Donny, all the best to you with the PA800!! Sounds like a great board. What's your take going from 76 keys back to 61?

BTW, looks like we'll be in South Jersey 2nd week of October. I'm hoping we can get by to see you at your Thursday dance club. Please keep the PA800 until then, I'd really like to hear it in action

[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 09-13-2007).]

Steve Its not like I never played 61 keys but you just have to adapt & do your best its not a deal breaker for me.

Just let me know via email & your front row table will be ready for you & your lady....hopefully I'll be an expert on the Pa800 by that time...I'll mix it up & give you a great musical experience ok?

Stay well

ian thanx Buddy, so far very good!

Good for you, Donny. I'm happy you've found something to rave about. Does this mean you'll be stepping off the G70 bandwagon of cheerleaders? Hope to hear something from you and the 800 soon.

Donny,
I'm glad to hear the board is fulfilling your needs so far and wish you nothing but enjoyment and success with it. I know it will take a while to get used to it, but please do post a demo as soon as possible?
Also would like to hear more reveiw of the board as you learn more. Thanks,
Jim
added... I had a ds8 years ago and was very happy with it's keyfeel, sounds etc. It was supposed to be korgs answer to yamaha dx7. Never had the dx7 so could not give a comparison.

[This message has been edited by OldNewb (edited 09-13-2007).]

Congratulations on the new keyboard! Thanks for the review.

Graham

No way Cassp the G70 is an awesome arranger, Ya just got to put time into it to make it YOURS....it does things no other kb can do once you dig deep into it...

Thanx Graham........Im editing & filling up the custom SongBook as we speak for live performance. More to come.