Hi! Just wanted to ask your expert opinion regarding the PA80... I have been eyeing up this keyboard for a long time now, as a 2nd keyboard that is...

I used to own a KorgI30, but sold it because of one reason or another, generally it was the poor quality in sounds, the lack of speakers & the uninspiring way it played midi files... the touch screen was annoying as well.. But nevertheless, i thought the styles were excellent and were very usefull to me. I kinda miss them....

As you know, at around the same time as to when i had the i30, you did me a demo tape of the X1, and after hearing it i tracked down a dealer (which was nigh on impossible in the UK seeing that Solton (or Ketron rather) is poory supported here in the UK), and bought one! never looked back really in terms of what the keyboard offers, it does almost everything.. i say almost because there is something that i felt has always been missing from Ketron keyboards, and thats the ability to sound "modern" or to "move with the times" as one cheeky youngster told me!!!.. its not a problem for me because i love classic stuff, and the X1 does music from around the 60's to the early 90's absolutely perfectly! i mean in terms of style arrangements rather than sounds as the sounds on the X1 (apart from the piano) are faultless.

Whats missing from the X1 i felt was found in the i30. Its hard to explain really, but when playing the X1 to the more younger generations of people, they seem unimpressed with its attempts at the latest pop offerings! I know that if i still had the i30, there were things in there that would accomodate for these rather "uneducated" youngsters! Because i have 4 children who in turn like to bring round their friends, not to mention the countless amount of young relatives i have, they do not appreciate the fantastic rock/slow/ballad/disc/latin/swing/jazz music i play. and when i trying to playing something like Kylie (yuck) Minogues latest offerings using a Techno style from the X1, i can see they are unimpressed which is sad because the X1 is not really a kids toy! lol

So as i have some spare redundancy money hanging around so to speak, i was wondering if the PA60/80 would give me the "missing" part of the music that i cant seem to produce on the X1 so to speak.... Ive had the GEM WK8 before which has some nice modern rhythms but the pop stuff sounded to messy/busy from what i can remember, almost like demo's of songs rather than styles you can play something to.. But anyway my father still has the WK8 so thats out of the question!

Not wanting to spend too much money on a 2nd keyboard either, because its not a replacement for the X1 which i dearly love and cherish, but rather wanting a keyboard that moves away from the traditional sounding music! Just to please the kids of course !! Does the PA60/80 fit the bill?

DannyUK,

There are lots of other pop and modern styles (the list is on www.ketron.it) available for the X1. There are also styles from Korg, Yamaha etc that have been converted for the X1 which you could use too (some members of this forum have those).
These are just some of the other options you have at your disposal self getting another board.
Thanks,
AJ

Danny,
I know what you mean about the "kid's" stuff. I have 25, 16, 14 & 9 in my family, and they are uninspired by my stuff all the time. At work, the styles on the PA80 are great. I wish they had 4 fills and I wish the fills were triggered by the SAME button as the matching variation, but HEY! Life's a beach.
I have the PA60 in my studio for recording and as a backup, but the 80 has more options for real time play: Drawbar organs, PC interface, multiple outs, aftertouch .... do these things attract you?
The PA60 might just be a great choice for you if you just need the styles - they are identical to the 80 and you will love the contrast between the X1 and the Korg. Lot's of people have said that the PA80 is the closest thing to the "realism" of the Ketron drums. I am inclined to agree.
There are so many options out there today, but you would probably be just fine with the X1 and a PA60. That'd be a killer setup in many ways. The PA80 might be a waste of money for you at this time if you don't need the extra stuff.

Thanks for the responses guys!

Firstly Ketron, i already have many extra styles for the x1 from other keyboards, but they dont play that well sometimes, especially the yamaha styles... i still feel the answer lies within getting a 2nd board.... as much as i hate to admit it, the x1 is not really the appropriate keyboard for that purpose... just the way that the techno type styles are programmed in the X1 says it all, they are just standard (but in a nice way) affair because they sound very similar but tweaked around a bit..there are some lovely house styles in the x1, but they sound early 90's, things for artists like Robert Miles or that guy that did a remix version of Baker Street... and thats the problem you get with every keyboard i think, certain styles go out of date and its usually the dance type styles.. but hey i never bought the x1 for that purpose so its not a problem... to be honest, i want to keep the x1 the way it is rather than turning it into something that its not as it just does not give the x1 justice and stops it for doing what it does better than most other boards!!!!

UD, getting to try/buy a PA80 or 60 isnt a problem as my local dealer does Korg stuff... From your description, it definately sounds like the job, and also downloading the mp3's certainly gives me the impression that this keyboard has been designed for use for a younger audience as well! the PA60 i will go for because i do not need those features as such. Its going to be more of an extension... it would also make a nice change because i have not used another board in 3 years!! just goes to show you how good the X1 really is!!!