Hello there,I´m new in this group but I´m about to trade my current
keyboard.I own the PSR-2000 but the music store in my town offered
me a good trade of my PSR to the PA-80. They´d keep the PSR as a
down payment and I would get the PA-80. I´m considering their offer.
I used to have the i-30.But the PA-80 I know just a bit. On the other hand I love the sweet voices on the PSR but I
can´t afford both keyboards. Is the PA-80 versatil in the sequencer
mode? Is the key-feel more confortable than the PSR-2000 (too
light)? Any comments, suggestions and piece of advice is appreciated.
Thanks to all.


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Hello,
I can say that the keys of the PA80 are much better than the 2000. The other differences are vast and you will have to have a long check list of what's important.
Good luck,
zuki

I've had both but since parted with my PSR2000. I like the PA80 better as a home / studio board than the 2000 because much more can be edited / altered to suit the player, including the ability to overwrite the internal factory styles. I'd say the PA80 stacks up well vs 2000 in the sound dept in most areas. Especially if you like customizing sounds, but as is often said here sounds are very subjective to the individual. The PA80 is excellent if you prefer being able to deeply edit voices, especially synth sounds, because it allows for voice editing comparable to a decent workstation, and even has a feature or two that I wish my Motif workstation had. I like the drum, organ, bass, and guitar sounds better on the PA80, and the harmonica is among the best I've heard. Of course the PA80 is the choice for me for synths too. I prefer the acoustic piano, sax / horns, and flute sounds from the 2000. The rest are pretty close.

Styles are also a matter of preference, but to me the PA80's sound more like a live band. The drawback though is only two fills per style vs 4 for the 2000. Maybe another drawback is that for live play the PA80 styles can be so busy that if I don't turn a couple of parts off I'm sometimes left with little room to play in.

The OS might be a bit difficult to learn vs the 2000, but it might be a little easier to understand coming from the I30.

The key feel is better for me on the PA80.

My suggestion is to really give the PA80 a good workout if you haven't done so already, and then make the decision. I do miss the 2000 a little when I play live, but I've done fine with the PA80 in that capacity as well. Still, I'm considering adding another 2000 or possibly the 2100 when it comes out, as a second arranger. The 2000 is a very nice board for the price in it's own right.

AJ

[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 03-15-2003).]

The 12 and 16 bar loops argument of some of the korg styles verses the 4 bar loops of other brands has automatic fills at the 4th 8th 12th and 16th bar on those styles and the manual fills are really not necessary on many styles with the Korg. I don't see that as much of a draw back in making a decision.

On the PA80, I know what you mean about the 2 fill limitation, but you can get around it by also using the endings and intros as fills and breaks. Depends on the style, but I seem to be able to make many quite lifelike, where if I only used the fills it wouldn't do the job. I like the way you can hit a end or intro in a song and then just hit the variation button and it will go right back to the style without completing the end or intro.

Good points guys, and yes, sometimes Intro 2 makes for an excellent "break" fill in some of the styles. Works particularly well in some of the Blues and Jazz styles. I like the PA80 better for my style of play and I like that it does double duty as both a live play and a studio board. The 2000 was a very nice board for live play, but it did not meet my requirements as a studio board. You'll have to figure out which features / functions are better suited to your use(s) and make the decision from there, but for myself and what I want in a board, it was an easy choice to stick it out with the PA80 even for live play and trade in my 2000 for the Motif workstation. What also made my decision easier was that my 2k had a few "extra" bugs than other players have reported, and the lack of a fix in a reasonable time span from Yamaha for these problems. Otherwise, I'd still possibly have the 2k, weak key feel and all.

AJ

how can you compare the pa80 to the psr2000????????? the pa80 is so much more of a pro keyboard than the 2000, imho. I think one of the only problems on this board, at least for my style, is that too many people rely on some of the unnecessary things of a keyboard and lose site of whats important, the sound and um the player. The pa80 will kill the 2000 in sounds, and depending on whos playing it, will make the keyboard sound like an 8 piece band, and that is playing live, not with midi files.

Tel,

why don't you check my recent recordings with the PA80, see the new thread " A WINNER ? "...............
I had the 2000 for a brief period of time, they do not compare in my eyes....and ears.
I know lots of folks here are quite content with the 2000, but to me it remains music out of a box, whereas with the PA80 you could be mistaken for listening to a real band. I would definitely go for the KOrg !!!

john

Hello

Here's my two cents worth. I tried a PA60 at home for a week. I just used the styles and voices(registrations). I understand that used in this way the PA80 and PA60 are identical. I own a PSR2000. The PA60 sounded cheap and fake to be kind compared to the PSR2000. Everyone that heard them side by side agreed. In fact, my old Techics KN1000 sounded better than the Korg. I guess everyone has a different ear but, unless there was something wrong with this PA60 I can't figure out why anyone would consider anything by Korg. (Actually, last summer I thought I was going to get a PA80 until I heard the PSR2000) Course, I just may be spoiled after having the PSR2000 and after playing the Tyros.

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

Scott

I sold the PA80 and bought PSR2000 because of the ease of operation. The PA80 did sound great to me, maybe better than the 2000, but it was too difficult to operate in live situations. I didn't like the lack of fills, intros and endings, and the vocal harmonizer is "primitive". Bear in mind I don't use many midis. I play almost everything live, using the styles.
They are both great keyboards and the PA80 is certainly of hardier construction.
DonM