As you know, I'm a Ty2 user, and have gone up through the ranks from the 8000, 9000, Tyros, T2.

However I just heard this sample from a friend which I was extremely impressed by. It was done on a Korg Pa1x. http://homepage.mac.com/chony/other/03_Track_3.wma

Please don't judge the musician's skill here - it's not good playing and that's not the point of this demo. Just listen to the overall sound.

My observation: The Pa1x overall sounds fuller, brighter, and clearer than the T2. On the other hand, the individual instruments (with the exception of the flute), do not compare to the T2.

My conclusion: The base sounds on the Korg ie: the drums and bass, are better and fuller than the T2. Since these are the 'base' of an arrangement, they make the whole thing sound better even though the individual instruments are worse.

I've always believed Yamaha had to work on their drums and bass, and while there has been an improvement, I think there's a long way for them to go.

Your comments?

I think it's a pretty good sounding recording. The PA1X sounds good, as I would expect, but different from Yamaha.

The main thing is it's a safe bet to play any instrument you're interested in yourself. I've found you can't rely on a lot of recordings and even company demos. There are 2 different keyboards that I thought I just had to have because the company demo sounded so great.

One I tried in person and it didn't sound anywhere as good as the online demo while playing live in arrange mode. The other I liked the online demo so much and had positive comments by other users, who apparently just had a different taste than mine or maybe never really compared it to the others that were out there, anyway, that one I bought. It was the biggest dog I've ever played.

Recoding techniques alone can make a keyboard sound one way or another.

As far as individual instruments, I thought they all sounded pretty good except the clarinet and brass was rather marginal to my ears.

As for the flute, if you heard it in person and compared it to any Yamaha, even a PSR2000, I think you would agree that Yamaha has a much better flute. The Korg flute in person sounds very perculiar. They mix some other sound with it that makes it sound unlike any flute player I ever heard. It just doesn't sound real.

Moral of the story, we gotta try 'em out in person preferably through our own speakers. Trying them through headphones does not work for me. I tried one using quality headphones and speakers and in the end, it's the sound that comes out of the speakers that you and everyone will hear and judge.

Other than that, I am interested in trying the new PA800 because it's supposed to sound better in many ways and being only around 29 pounds as compared to around 50 pounds on the PA1X. An important feature to me anyway

Interesting how tastes differ:

I felt the instruments sounded superb, including the flute.

I thought the drums sounded weak.

How about the pianos?

zuki

Scott, I agree the flute is not anywhere near realistic as the T2, but it does have a refreshing sound. Zuki, the instruments are all right but don't compare to the realism of the T2 imo.

I think the T2 is more realistic and the Korg fresher.

Chony

As you probably know , i own a Pa1x. After being a yamaha owner for about 6 years (psr8000) . I tried the tyros and did not feel it was sufficient an upgrade to change from my psr 8000 , then the T2 came along and it literally blew me away ! The individual voices sounded fantastic and i have said many times , there is nothing currently on the market as far as arrangers are concerned to compete with the Super articulation voices of tne T2. I was all set to buy the T2 when i heard the Pa1X. All i can say is that the Pa1x is weaker in the individual sound department compared to the T2 in almost every respect apart from the drum , bass and electric pianos. However when you hear the instrument as a whole it really is a quite remarkable instrument. Incredihbly flexible in terms of live and studio use and can be all things to all people. Which is why i bought it.

Yamaha man here. I really don't see how the Korg sound beats the T2 in any aspect. In fact I think my PSR-3000 sounds far superior to the Korg. Then again it was a limited demo so it's hard to judge so summarily.

Hi,

I agree with Spalding on his decision in going in for the PA1X as my decision to buy one was for the same reason. When I went to my Music Guy and we dicussed which keyboard to upgrade to, many things were to be addressed. The Korg is a more versatile instrument at home, in gigs and also for studio use. It packs in many features found on more expensive synths and lastly it has inbuilt speakers which is a blessing and yu realise it when yu need it the most. Especially for me where we have a lot of family get-togethers. Its been a month since I have this board and I'm very happy with it. I was also a former Yamaha fan (PSR-520, 740, 2100) and I still am. They make great keyboards.

Cheers,
SUNNY

You've had the PSR-520, 740, 2100 - I've owned the PSR-320, 630, 2000, and now the 3000. I think it's your turn to get the next model.... :-)