The i30 for sequencing back ground rhythm to play a Trumpet, Sax Guitar or whatever is the best. Is is because if your going to do Jazz, Big Band Swing etc.(which most woodwind or brass players want to do anyway if they are past the three chord stuff) is best because of the accompaniment styles in the categories I mentioned here.

The styles are more complex and built on 8 and 16 bar loops, not the simple boring 4 bar loops of Solton, Yamaha, Roland or you name it.

I don't know about rave, techno, disco and the list goes on and on. If you want the best for Jazz the i30 stands along. The Technics is also very good. The others are not for Jazz,Swing or Big band. You'll get bored to death with the 4 bar loops quick playing any multible chorus Jazz tune.

If your going to use midi files I don't have any idea which is the best. If your going to depend on the on-board styles to blow a horn the i30 is the only way to go. Any other horn players out there trying to use an arranger for this purpose. I bet you agree.
Boo

Very right about that! But do you have the special JAZZ SET for the Korg i30?? It will blow your head of if you hear it! I can send it to you if you want, but you cant find it on www.korg.de ! A couple of free sets available there!

But like i said before, the i30 still rule in terms of styles with its 16 bar loops!

Ilija

Hi,

Does anyone know why KORG stopped making the "i series" keyboards. I too really enjoyed them. I used to gig with a i3.

Donny NJ

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 01-01-2001).]

guys may be you all should wait because I'm sure korg will make a keyboard that will have the I30's system like the touch screen and every thing that it have and will include even 76key.

I'm sure korg have something after getting the "I series" out.

After all they said that the PA series will replace the I series so we have to wait and see.

------------------
vic

Well Vic, that's why the PA-80 is NOT an "i" series replacement. They stopped making the i-series and they just introduced a new branch-side.
But the PA is definitely not i-series replacement. Consider the BMW X5 as a 5-series follow-up?

Ilija

I think the maximum loop length on the PSR8000 is 255 bars.

The max bar lenght on the Roland G1000 is 136 bars. Why would any one want to write so many bars, just play a SMF.. Eight is enough!!

"Eight is enough" - one of my favorite old TV shows! (Susan Richardson, Dick VanPatton,Betty Buckly - you remember!)

Why stop making i series??

Because Korg has not marketing strategy. They dont know what this means in terms of arrangers. Look at Triton? Every self-respecting studio has got a Triton. They dont needed the arranger market. Now they see that they are wrong and they still do not get it.

They need good DEMO players like Roland and Technics has. Than people will know the quality of Korg arrangers.

Ilija

Fran, Cliff are you guys joking or do you really don't understand what I'm saying here. The Styles rhythm whatever you want to call it is boring if you play an instrument for more than one chorus and you hear the same 4 bars over and over with out any added licks, kicks, rifts etc.

It's like having a beginner backing you when you could get a pro to work with. But I guess if you're just going to listen to yourself sing all night anything works.

I'm saying for instruments like woodwind or brass doing instrumentals using sequences the i30 has the best arrangements period.

And this is not my humble opinion it's a fact.

Hi Boo

Maybe what I was saying was not important, but I was not joking. I certainly consider your point about the loop length to be important. Style fatigue is a major problem for me using an arranger keyboard. So anything any manufacturer can do to less this fatigue is appreciated. Longer loops is certainly one approach to addressing this problem.

You are also undoubtedly correct in pointing out that the factory styles on the Korg i30 use longer loops than do other arranger keyboards.

I was only making a minor point that even though the factory styles of Yamaha (and from what Fran says, Roland) may have short loops, they are both capable of using styles with 16-bar loops and longer. In fact, the Korg i30 styles can be converted for use in those arrangers. I would not want someone to make a purchasing decision based on the false impression that Yamaha and Roland arrangers cannot use styles with long loops. If they choose to make the decision based on what the factory styles are like, then that is fine.

But returning to your main point about the tedium of a 4-bar loop repeating over and over, I am in complete agreement. And it probably bothers the PROs among you more than it does me. Recently I find myself drawn to my Roland XV-5080, which has no autoaccompaniment (other than rhythmic loops) because it sounds fresher. The next arranger I buy will have to address this style-fatigue issue better than my PSR8000.

To say that a keyboard is "best" for anything is a big statement, particularly when it is no longer in production.
I have many styles on my PSR9000 that are longer than 4 bars, and the same was true on the X1 and KN5000. And the KN5000 came from the factory with a style converter disk that made it easy to convert styles from other manufacturers. It also had the facility to turn sequences into styles ONBOARD the keyboard. Certainly not limited to 4 bars. If it had a hard drive that didn't cost a million dollars and any kind of decent mic processing, I would probably still have one. All songs are not suited to long styles, just as all songs are not suited to short styles. The manufacturers must always compromise by trying to be all things to all people and of course that isn't possible while keeping the prices reasonable. At least not yet.
Personally I haven't ever even heard styles from GEM, Casio (top end), new Korg, Farfisa or any Roland after the G800. So I can't even say which are best for me, much less best for somebody else.
I think the last time anybody went out and bought a keyboard on my recommendation was when New Jersey Donny bought my KN5000 to replace his Korg. Fortunately that worked out and we're still friends. Tom still pretends to like me after buying my X1 too, but buying that was mostly his idea! Would you believe he traded a PSR740 to me and gave money to boot!!! But I digress. . .
I find myself turning off sections of the arranger so I can play more authentic background parts. Sometimes less is more. Of course for Boo, this is not an option, because last time I looked it took two hands and a mouth to play the sax. (By the way, folks, he plays the chrome off that thing!)
I'm the proud owner of a Boo CD.
Just a few short years ago (here's the OLD pro talking), there was only one choice in arranger keyboards--Yamaha. Now they have plenty of competition and it gives us many good choices. It always boils down to what best suits the individual needs. Sounds like the I30 is the one for you fo far, Boo. But have you played all the others? Does the I30 have 4 variations of each style along with 3 intros, 3 endings and various fill, all of which can be used in real time? I don't know, just asking, but these features certainly relieve the style boredom to a great degree.
DonM


[This message has been edited by DonM (edited 01-03-2001).]

Don Mason please check your mail!