Hey guys,

As you might of read, i was informed that the local GC got one in.

First off...
I want so bad to fall in love with this keyboard

I just sold my triton on craig's list to have more $$$ for a backup arranger, I determined from last years experience a back up is a must. I know it sounds silly i would even consider anything but another yammie. But It could possibly give me some variety in arrangments, almost like a remixed version of my songs when the t2 is being cleaned/serviced. I must also admit I have a music technology gadget addiction...lol

I reviewed this board back in september while vacationing in orlando. My poor review probably was a little unfair due to my lack of knowledge about the product and the fact it was using an earlier version of the operating sys software.

I heard guitar center just got one in last week, so i thought i'd go and give it another try.

1. Am i dumb or blind or did Korg forget to add a headphone output ? I hope I'm just blind

I did notice the sounds with the newer software update were much fatter.

The organs impressed me, especially the percussive types, liked the response time

Liked the clavi
The Brass was nice and fat, would love some SA effects on them

overall the sounds/voices were much better than my first experience.

"Styles"
If i was a lounge player or did the restaurant circuit the styles would work fine. They are not bad at all, just different than the hyper-produced intros and fills from the Tyros 2 or the s900.

I've created a high energy kids show that requires me to focus on the singing aspect, entertainment factor and the ability to take the kids on a wild rollercoaster ride. The over the top yammie styles,intros etc. allow me to pay more attention to the other aspects. The overall musical result could be achieved on the korg but would require the player to add all the fluff manually.

So the T2 gets my vote as far as styles go

Songbook
I know others have like that alot, it has some great features but I love the music finders look and navigation much better although the pa800 might do a little bit more!

after spending an hour on the phone with gary diamond I couldnt live now without the registration feature on the yamaha.

I do wish the yamaha had the mp3 and fader option that was very cool. Maybe on the t3.

Operating system:
sorry korg!!!

Korg tech support is by far the best ive ever seen. anytime I've ever called them for help on any product instantly there was a voice on the other end with an answer.

everytime I call yamaha it's a coin flip if they even call me back, never mind get the right answer.

I just found the pa800 to be too clunky and missing something.

Sorry! I wanted to fall in love but just couldnt..

If this post is crazy blame it ob the cold medicine!!!


I hope that all just made sense!

The harmonizer still blows me away!!!

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God Bless,
Mikey

www.mikeymaestro.com
www.balloonanimal.com
www.1000colorcards.com

Hey, that's an honest opinion. BTW the headphone jack is on the far left under the keyboard lip.
Bernie

Mikey..we all have personal taste..and ears..You are not right or wrong..

I personally have reservations about the PA800 and your Tyros2[and include the S900]..

It doesn't make them better or worst..just what is right for our needs..

Glad to see you didn't fold to peer pressure..

I don't think Donny will visit you with a baseball bat..

Actually ..my pals Uncle Dave and Donny..both love the PA800...I do not..I can't figure where their heads are..

I have a hard time getting used to Korg's operating systems myself, whether the Pa80, Triton, OASYS, TR series, etc. The GUI's seems clunky and non-intuitive for my liking. Even their new M3 is overly challenging and you have to dig deep into the sub-menus in many instances, to get what you need and because of it, it can be especially detrimental when performing live.

OTOH, I really like Yamaha's approach, at least on the Tyros anyway. It is very live performance friendly and the GUI is easy to navigate and also pleasing to look at. Korg?? Puhleezzze!! Are you kidding? . At least that's how I feel about their current crop of keyboards anyway. Although I haven't been able to demo a Pa800 so I can't speak one way or the other about its OS/GUI; at least from a firsthand perspective anyway.

When you said it was missing something, could that be the "sounds" perhap? I've heard many demos of the Pa800 and I thought a lot of the sounds were very good with some bordering on excellent. But the Korg Pa site has basically just a handful of individual instrument sounds to showcase and of course Korg is trying to put its best foot forward with the demos that are on the site and it really doesn't give a broad overview of what's really on the Pa800. So many of the instrument sounds and other synth type sounds, etc., could indeed be just so so or 'okay' to perhaps just 'pretty good' sounding. So maybe that's what you were missing Mikey? The 900 or so other sounds on the Pa800 that just didn't thrill you to pieces possibly??

Another thing I wanted to mention was the VH on the Pa800. I heard from a Pa800 owner that the Vocal Harmony was only on par with the Tyros/2 as far as quality in his estimation. He said that even though it has a TC Helicon processor it is basically a scaled down version of, for instance, the TC Helicon Voice Works standalone unit and therefore does not have a full (retail) version of the TC Helicon processor onboard. The processor is just a scaled down version of the retail TC Helicon units they sell at the stores from what I understand.

Now before anybody flames me to death - I am just repeating what he said so don't shoot the messenger okay??

You said that the VH on the Pa800 blew you away Mikey so that is very interesting when you compare it to the Pa800 owner that thought it was on par with the Tyros/2.

I will nevertheless reserve judgement until I can actually hear it in person or perhaps some of our devoted Pa800 owners on the Zone could provide a demontration? Any takers?? >> It may be quite a while before I can hear one in person.

Best,
Mike


[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 01-14-2008).]

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[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 01-19-2008).]

And if I knew of something better than what I have,,I'd buy three of them...

Having owned/used/selling the Tyros 1 and 2, and the PA800. I would say yes, the Tyros does have the over the top intros and endings that work perfectly for Mike.

Everything else is personal taste, except for the comment about comparing the vocalizers between the 2.

I've recorded using both vocalizers and by far the TC Helicon based Korg is leaps far superior than the Yamaha, especially in headroom, and signal before clipping.

Yamaha didn't put too much effort into it, i'm sure if they really tried it would be much better than it is.

Frank

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www.Audioworksct.com
(888) 374-6076
Korg, Ketron, RCF, Samson, Mackie, Freehand MPP, DB Technologies, Behringer, Audio-Technica

Hmmmm, I think maybe the PA800 is a "Singers" machine. It is the best vocal processor, harmonizer, monitor on the market. If vocals are number 1 in your show .... give this beast a try ! Every brand has great sounds and styles now...this one handles the vocals best, though.

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[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 01-19-2008).]

Mikey, thanks for the honest review. As Frankieve has mentioned much is personal taste. When you come right down to it you're probably better off staying with a Yamaha product as a back up, since tweaking styles, Songbook features etc, etc are time consuming. One thing I enjoyed about the CVP 307/Tyros2/PSR3000 many settings excluding registrations could easily used from one board to the next. That's a functionality I've lost ( don't really miss because I don't gig) with the Clavinova.



[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 01-18-2008).]