We know that all keyboards have + & - points. If I did not have the PSR3000 I could happily live with the PA50, it's a lot of board for the money and makes a great second keyboard with an outlay of very little in keyboard price terms. Also the 3K is the best value in the Yamaha range.
The main problem we all have is regardless how many demonstrations we attend or try out keyboards in dealers. The truth remains that it's not until you have it at home for a few days do you find all the things you don't like....then it's too late because you have spent the money.

(Quote,)Hi, I'm in the market to buy a keyboard for the first time (I have always used a piano), and I believe that an arranger keyboard is best for what I want to do (write original songs). (end Quote.)

Hi sarah, coming from piano to keyboard you are going to notice a lot of difference,but soon will adjust and benefit from the pleasure you will have with the keyboard,both of these boards have had a lot of comparison with good results,normally when these are tried out in the dealers they are set to flat,so once you adjust the EQ,s the sound will improve a lot,another alternative is to buy a second hand psr2000 or 2100 which would be a lot cheaper and then trade it in for the psr 3100 when it comes out. Even though these boards are easier to operate (psr range)you will find over many months so many things they are capable of doing which i am sure will impress you. mike

One of the most interesting, concise, to the point observations I’ve read :
" My ears prefer Korg but my job demands Yamaha" – jamman.
Ciao,
Jerry

true for arranger giggers.


[This message has been edited by jamman (edited 06-20-2006).]

i would still prefer pa50 to 2k or 2100 though but not 3k.Rember we are not talking about the sounds only,it's overall versatility,ease or use,navigation,funcs..etc for an western music arranger gigger.

[This message has been edited by jamman (edited 06-20-2006).]

1) Please remember that the key feel on either boards are NOT weighted. Piano players often have issues with key feel. I come from an organ background, so keyfeel is not an issue. Make sure you play the keys before you buy. YOu might be interested in one of the Yamaha YPG keyboards.
2) There will be a replacement for the PSR3000 next year.
Starkeeper


[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 06-20-2006).]

why? the keys of the Yamaha YPG are weighted? I didn't know that !!



[This message has been edited by keybG (edited 06-20-2006).]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I own both of these boards and wanted to share my thoughts...

First to answer your question, yes you can mute any part of the style or change instruments in the Korg, just as you can on the Yamaha. You can even make your changes persistent, all of the factory styles can be modified (just reload from disk if you mess them up.) The floppy drive is very slow but gets the job done. Get the PA60 with HD if you can.

The Korg has a better key feel, more sophisticated effects editing, and a better sequencer (allows you to insert and delete whole measures, etc.). It's styles seem more musically complex, modern, and "live" sounding to my unsophisticated ears. Sometimes I have to mute tracks because it seems like there is just too much going on. But if you are playing in real time, you have to time your chord changes just right or it sounds like there is an interruption in the style.

I prefer organ sounds, and I'm dissatisfied with the Korg's panel voices. Not enough good choices for the lower (LH) voice. The Pa50 lacks drawbars or "organ flutes". The Yamaha does a better job approximating real instruments, especially the Pipe Organ. When playing chords with the accompaniment stopped, the Korg Pa50/60/80 do not sound the root bass, so chords do not have the same depth and impact as they do on the Pa1X and all Yamahas going back to the Electone organs of the 1970s.

With programming, there's very little the Korg can't do, but the operating system is much less user friendly compared to Yamaha. Part of the problem is the display, which although large gives limited information on each page. With all of the abbreviations, menus, control combinations, etc. there is a steep learning curve.

The Yamaha has better sounding voices, a wide variety of more forgiving styles (if not as musically complex), and a much more friendly operating system. There is more 3rd party online support, USB ports for computer connection and almost unlimited storage, and a color screen that can even advance the musical score as you play.

The sequencer is probably adequate for most needs. But due to a half-baked implementation of step editing, you can't insert measures or edit chord progressions in a recording made in real time. If you want to do heavy-duty editing, you would be better off using your PC and the XG Works software, which Yamaha unwisely discontinued last year. (Commercial sequencing software does not recognize the Yamaha specific XF meta-events such as chord changes.)

The PSR-3K lacks a panel control for "ensemble" (RH harmony). You can set it up in advance as a preset or assign to a pedal but that's not always convenient. Compared to the punchy bass of the Korg, the Yamaha sounds kind of flat out of the box. Adjusting the graphic equalizer improved the loudness a lot, made it almost as good.

The Pa50 is a great value for the money, and probably better than the similarly priced PSR-1500. But especially now that I have a copy of XG Works, if I had to live with only one board I would probably keep the Yamaha. This is based mostly on the quality of its panel voices, and highly approachable interface. If I had another $2000 to burn (and I could audition one first) I would also consider the Pa1X/Pro.

My $.02,
Ted Sowirka


[This message has been edited by TedS (edited 06-25-2006).]