in a previous post from namm you said the new korg is much like the PA80. I'm curious about the interface -- is that unchanged as well? one problem with that board was its (for me, anyway) not-quite-intuitive navigation....
thanks for any insights....

Tom Moon,
I received the new Korg Preview today along with my sales rep from korg and absolutely the interface has been changed both by the touchscreen and by the buttons and slidders for volume control. I haven't seen one myself in person, but from my talks with my rep and all the pictures I can see, this should be a much easier keyboard to use.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

George,
No disrespect meant but I think, tom is talking more about finding one's way inside the board (which I thought the PA not very intuitive either) rather than surface control. While the touchscreen may mean less button pushing, it doesn't necessarily follow that it's any easier to find one's way around to do things.
Terry

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

1st of all , I wasn't blown away by the new Korg .I liked the action ( black keys have a matted finish and key size is normal), but this keyboard is a stretched out PA80 with a touch screen and I30 sliders .

I think the screen is more intuitive and very fast ( like Triton ) and this is better than the PA80 .

I did not get a chance to play it much , the Korg guy was affraid I might lock it up .

Dano



[This message has been edited by DanO1 (edited 07-24-2003).]

Interesting Dan0 that you say the Key size is "normal". I was wondering the same thing after I saw the photo of the Pa1X on Korgs site. They look like they've gone back to a smaller Key size than the PA80 has. It looks to me that they're the same size as Yammies Keys, eg., PSR, Tyros, etc. I guess they they didn't want to stretch that Limo too much for fear of making it look to bulky or disproportionate or 'whatever' You never know what's in the minds of those production engineers. Obviously a lot of empty space besides whatever other foreign matter. Ha Ha, Foreign matter.. get it? What we need is a good ol' USA Maker of Arranger Keyboards. Someone that will be recognized as the Harley Davidson of Arranger Keyboard production. So we don't have to be at the whim and wishes of out of Country manufacturer's shananagans. With American ingenuity I am sure it could be done but over time the Japanese would probably 'copy' it. And if they do copy it they probably will end up making a better mousetrap like they're doing with their automobiles. You gotta hand it to them they're sure good at improving other people's inventions and technology. Now if they could just come up with some innovations of their own.

Best regards,
Mike

[This message has been edited by Idatrod (edited 07-24-2003).]

I think the keys are a little longer than the PA80 .

Dan0, are you talking length which a normal Key would be about 5 1/2" 'long'. or "width"? I was talking "width". The PA80's keys are 'wider' than Yamaha's Keys are, ie. approx. 2 millimeters wider. From looking a the Pa1X's pics it looks like they reverted back to a smaller Key 'width' size for the Pa1X/Pro.

Best regards,
Mike

I did take some close up pictures of the panel , can you tell me how to post it ?

My camera is usb'd to my computer right now .

Looks like some here will find out about the ease of sequencing and many other options with the touch screen eventually. If it is anywhere near the i30's touch screen many may discover what they've been missing.

If it played the BSQ's from my i30, I'd think about getting one myself.

Terry's right -- I was looking for info on the whole "getting around" the keyboard question. that's a huge problem w/ PA80 -- I know I'm slow, but still nothing is easy for me to find on the board. in a GC a few wks back I tried to layer a few sounds on the PA80 as I would on my 9kpro (R1, R2, etc.) and had trouble. hope the basic organization/layout of the pa1x has improved....but I'm not so naive to think it'll be perfect.
thanks for the insights, all, btw...

It's a stiff learning curve, but after you master the nomenclature and button asignments....it's actually quite easy to navigate on the fly. I prefer some of the Yamaha features, but so far the PA80 is the only one I can use at work. It has the fewest compromises for my type of show.
The new model (IF it arrives) will have to have volume sliders (NOT touch screen) and access to sounds and drum styles with buttons. (again, NPO touchee) The touch screen can be usefull in some areas, but not my quick change spots. We'll have to wait and see.

Hi everyone, The keys is the PA 60 are smaller (5 1/4 ) than in the PA 80 ( 5 1/2 )due to: no aftertouch in the 60 and the action feels different ( I like the PA 80 ) . I agree with Uncle David in the learning curve and getting around. About 3 weeks ago, I played an I30, and it was really easy and had great features too, so, with an update, better technology, etc. I will wait to play it, and most likely, will be my 2nd tier keyboard.

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mdorantes

For those of us that own a Korg i30, we know when we say this keyboard will be intuitive and very extremely user freindly.
You see, when we bought our I30, we thought Korg would build on it, instead, they went one foot foward and four backwards. Althought the sound engine and little things of the PA series was fine, it lacked the touch screen and many things the I30 was made a legend for.

Thats why I bypassed the PA series altogether.
Now, that korg has learned their mistakes, They are correcting themselves and are bringing out what really should have come out right after the Korg i30.

I own a Trinty and I30, both share the same touch screen, as a matter of fact, I find myself touching the screen of my Roland VS1680 , and other equipment only to realize theyre not touch screen. Seriously, once you try it, you dont wanna go back...Either on stage or in the studio..
The trinitys, touch screen is waaaay slower than that of the i30 and the i30 slower than that of the Tritons, so imagine the PAX?

Guys, believe me, its like, once you buy a car with Air conditioning, you will never buy one with out.. Thats just my humble opinion..

peace,

MusiKman

The screen is just like a current Triton workstation .

Musikman,

Not meaning to deflate your bubble of excitement, I think that in some ways PAx user interface is a step backwards from i30. On I30 there were two sets of buttons for sound/performance and style selection, with each set containg 8 buttons for group selection and 8 buttons for individual item selection. This way it was possible to navigate around the instrument without touching the screen at all during the performance. I have tried that and found it to be a very efficient way of making changes during a performance.

With PAxx you select the group using a button (must press once or twice depending if you want upper or lower selection), and then look at the screen to make the individual selection there. This is VERY inefficient for a live performer. No matter how fast the screen is, first of all, the performer must take his eyes off the audience, look at the buttons, refocus, look at the screen, refocus again, make a selection, and then wait for a visual confirmation that his change was indeed made. Even the PA80 is (marginally) better in this respect, as the buttons (in fixed positions) provide a tactile feedback to the player. The touch screen is NOT A SUBSTITUTE for the mechanical buttons for an instrument intended for live performance. It looks sexy in the music store (or at a NAMM show). It makes it easy for studio usage and setup activities, but during the actual performance it is a big hinderance.

Once again, my contention is that KORG (and many others) should have listened to the users, of which this is a very representative forum, instead of assembling a bunch of unnecessary features and missing out on the important things.

Regards,
Alex

[This message has been edited by Alex K (edited 07-28-2003).]

wow, Alex, I didnt know all that.

Yes, on the I30 everything is so easy to use and true, there are dedicated buttons for all the stuff also.
Wow, I guess, im going to have to just wait and see. I dont have the kind of cash to spend anyway, and my trinity and i30 make a perfect couple...Just sad that I had to invest so much money to get both, just to do a sequence to record on the VS1680.
Anyway, i love my Trinity too much and the I30 is still special to my heart.

best,

MusiKman