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).

I'm deciding between the Korg 50 or 60 and the Yamaha PSR 3000. I had the Yamaha 3000 explained well to me by the shop assistant but the other shop who sells the Korg had a salesman who really didn't seem to know what he was talking about and seeing as I'm a complete newbie I need more help.

Sooo......my question. If using a Style in the Korg, can I cut out any instruments I choose whenever I like? Does the korg have the same flexibility in arranging that the PSR 300 seems to have. Is it user friendly for a newbie like me?

Also, in your opinion which is the best keyboard to go for keeping in mind I will never use alot of styles. I only write contemporary ballads and some pop. I'm not into rock or jazz or big band or world etc.

Also, the keys are nicer to play on the korg and it's cheaper so i'm leaning toward that, but want to make an educated decision.

Thankyou for any help.

hey sarah, welcome!
i am sure you'll get enough answers to your question, and also if you search among the previous posts, you'll be able to take a good decision.
if you got the chance to try both of these instruments, that's already very good. your ears are the best judge when come about sounds and styles.
as a previous pa50 owner, i can tell you i was quite happy with my keyboard, the sounds are good and styles are modern. still, i didnt like the os, i thought was too many pages in the menus, etc.
features wise, probably is more customizable than psr.
pa50 is more like a workstation. more to learn. longer to get all the benefits.
psr seems to be quite easy to get around with, easier os, also good sounds too.

my opinion and advice to you: if your looking for easy more user-friendly os, go with yamaha. still keep in mind that pa50 does the work excellent and gives more modern feeling to the styles.

both are flexible enough to help you do whatever on'off instruments and so on...

Hello-
I had back luck with my PA50 keys after a month of playing it. They loosened up quite a bit and I was extremely disappointed. You can download a lot of Korg styles for the 3000, but I found it very difficult to download styles to the Korg. Writing compositions is much easier on the 3000 and taking out instruments is a breeze. I like both instruments, but I'd give the edge to the 3000. This is an opinion only.
zuki

Sarah,

Go with the Yamaha PSR-3000--lots more options, more voices, easier operating system, lots of online support.

Good luck on your decission,

Gary

------------------
Travlin' Easy

I have both the PSR3000 & KORG PA50. Taking into account the 3K is twice the price of PA50 it should be better.
PA50.You can mute any style part as per 3K.
There are 4 PADS which can be customised to do various things including muting style parts like press one pad to mute all parts just leaving Bass & Drums. You can set PA50 to have 80 OTS's to each style. The keybed is much nicer to play and it's speaker output is greater than the 3K.
PA50 does not have Mic input or Vocaliser.
I am fortunate to have and enjoy playing both.

[This message has been edited by Graham UK (edited 06-19-2006).]

Hi Sarah...
i use the PSR3000 to compose originals... I love the board.. I tried the PA50 and was not very impressed, sound or styles.. Get a 3000 and you can use all the PSR and tyros styles... Especially if you are doing ballads they have a lot to choose from..

Good luck!

Thanks everyone. I'm new to using a forum and always get a buzz when people actually reply!! I am going to get some Korg Styles and try them out on the 3k in the shop (if they let me) to see how they sound.

Excuse my ignornace Graham, but what are OTS's?

Thanks again.

Sarah.

Sarah,
What's your style of music? Are you into more modern styles, thus require a board that will fill that particular need both in terms of sounds, and styles, or are you into more traditional styles?

The Korg PA-50's styles (in my opinion) have a more modern and updated sound to them, but the board does work well for more classic traditional styles too. If you're into synth sounds, and want to edit them as well and dig into the acoustic sounds (tweeking them to your liking), then I think the PA-50 has a better synth engine.

Again, all we can do is suggest things. If you can..., try to get your hands on both models to test run them (local music store if they carry them).

I test drove the PSR-3000, and it wasn't to my liking (which doesn't make it a bad board either).. Different strokes for different folks

Squeak

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 06-19-2006).]

Sarah,

The only Korg styles that will play in the PSR-3000 are those that have been converted. Unzip those I just emailed to you, copy them to a USB Thumb Drive, and take the unzipped files with you to the store. Plug in the USB drive into the back of the keyboard, press the USER style button on the upper-left side of the keyboard, tab to USB and select the style files. You're going to like what you hear.

Good Luck,

Gary

------------------
Travlin' Easy

3k pros,pa 50 cons
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interaction between seq/smf play and arranger
(ie-in 3k-you can use internal drum styles on SMFs in realtime-meaning your rock smf can have a latin/pop/jazz rhythm instantly)

4 fills and which are very natural(PA has 2 and very erratic/unnatural sounding)
3 intro/3 ending

SM slot and USB to device(can use your 128/512mb sticks and never worry about disk swapping)can also load styles from it

real time 3 part Vocal harmony(with compressor,EQ and reverb)-which can be in saved per style basis

realtime pads-you can record licks,pharses,loops and synchronize with arranger-the function in workstations- like RPS like function of Roland(in Pa50 you can only have individual sounds-kick and snare,sfx etc)(you can assign other funcs like mutes

128 poly(62 in PA) 64 MB of wave ROM(pa has 32mb)

great 3rd party style support

better display,more simu efx

more realistic sax,piano,acoustic guitar sounds(mega voices made up for it)
esp-ac guitar sounds like someone is strumming right near you

2004 technology (3k) and 2001 technology(pa 50-taken from pa80)

rootless chord recognition(scott yee will explain)

styles are more open and non recognizable easily(where in PA some 16 beats-repeats-licks can become obvious)


and now Pa 50's pros and 3k's cons
-----------------------------------

cheap looking and toy like hardware for a 1500$ KB in 3k( pa is more well build)

better and louder speakers in PA

better sound editing in PA

better seq functions in PA

better synth and drum sounds(triton board)and loads triton programs


solid state disk OS(means they can upgrade)
20mb(3k has 1.5 or so but USB and SM slot made up for it)

256 preset + 48 user styles(can reconfigure all-like volume,sounds etc)(how ever 3k's music finder is more flexible)

realtime slider(you can assign it to cutoff or efx parameter)

dual seqs(for smf/song playack-you can do DJ like cross fades-)(nice idea done for pa80,but killed by FD compared to SM/usb technology since you can't put a harddisk in PA 50-unlike 80 or 60).style loading is also a problem since you got to do direct from FD (trying to test new styles,etc).

mid east/ethnic sounds and styles(and support)-if you play middle eastern music -3k can't offer much(no Ne' or Uds-PA has it and does sound good)-but if you play more western music - 3k's 3rd party support will make you smile

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so if you are a studio'band musician,do ONLY occational arranger work-choose PA-50

but if you are a arranger gigger,who use alot of styles and who sings-3k

the thing is 3k does what it's suppose to do with flying colors(realtime arranger keyboard)

PA however is in between(not a good arranger,not a good workstation either)(display can't compete with tritons-ie less informative and too many pages to change)

remember you can always add a used workstation(trinity,triton le,roland xp series and fantom S series(which have samping-expect for roland XPs) for less than 900$-which will outperform PA(as a workstation)

3k is the new king for this time in arranger world(for price and functions)also best selling-

remember PA(80) came out with 2k and 2k was still more popular(also better priced)for western music arranger giggers

most of arranger giggers have moved from pa-80/50 to 3k for versatiliy for solo arranger work.they'll also explain why.

it's like-" My ears prefer Korg but my job demands Yamaha".



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

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).]