When I first watched the G70 video in Roland's
web page I decided to buy me one, but then came the great Tyros 2 vidz by Voncken and Baartmanns and ended up getting the Yammie instead.
I'm currently considering Korg's Pa2x Pro and was wondering if there's a similar official video demo of this board.

I just got a PA2XPRO. The demos on the Korg site are OK, but don't cover a lot of the sounds. Also, you might enjoy the PA800 video tutorial on the www.korgpa.com site. It s a nice overview of features, but not a full players demo. It's pretty detaled and includes the voice processor.
Lee

Thanks for the info guys.
I watched the pa800 video and it seems you can only have one split point. Is this the same with the Pa2x? If so then this is a deal breaker for me. Tyros 2 gives me 2 split points and even that is limiting but the placement of the registration buttons compensates for that.
Seems like I'm keeping my Yammie. :-)

My good old Gem gave me all possible splitpoints...It allowed to set every sound for a certain keyrange,,...very much fun possibilities.

Jpapas or anyone just wondering what you do with more then 2 split points when your playing....how many total would be sufficient...I have only ever used 1 before I read this. Am I missing something why would that be a deal breaker?

[This message has been edited by John DiLeo (edited 04-21-2008).]

Yes, the PA800 has only 1 split point, but 3 layered RH and great sounds/styles. You really should try it out

zuki

Are you saying that you have a Gem (General Music) keyboard and you can get more than one split point?

I have used the Genesys and only able to get one split point in regular playing mode.

This is one of the most overlooked features in an arranger. You can have 2 sounds in the righthand. So if you need to use a different sound in a split second in the right hand, you can do so with out having to press a button. You can have a melody sound and a brass sound in the right so you play the melody and immediately play the brass line. Also good for call and response. It is even better if you have 76 keys to do so.

Two split points... one of the best reasons for a 76 while you STILL play primarily in arranger mode. Three zones on a 61 can get a bit cramped.

But despair not, all you 61-ers! there IS a workaround, if your machine can do it... Want two different sounds for the RH without having to press a button? Layer both sounds together, and then either use velocity to cross-switch them (piano on lighter velocities, brass on the hard hits, e.g.) or use an expression pedal to cross-fade them (piano with the pedal UP, brass with the pedal DOWN, e.g.).

Try it... you might like it!

And to get back to the original post...

DON'T pick an arranger by looking at the factory videos... You'll be picking the best demonstrator, not necessarily the best arranger!

Learn from many of our members' missteps...

TRY THEM, BEFORE YOU BUY THEM...

Ketron can assign up to 4 splits ... just my 2 cents worth.

I guess this becomes a split decision lol

Yes i could do that on my SX76 (stage version of WX2)but then that was build like 15 years ago... the first actually arranger workstations.

While one split point is for the most all I need. I would like 2. I have put in a request to Korg Italy for the feature. Don't know if it will happen. But what I do know is they got my message and WILL consider it in the future. More than I have gotten other places.

By the way, yes... DO NOT BUY (keep) a board based only on the demos. Get it, try it and try it for 3 weeks or so before making a final decision. The reason I say that is when I first got the PA2 I was having trouble deciding if I liked it well enough to make the switch.. Now the more I use it the more I like it. It's really pretty easy to use/learn.

Some retailers have free shipping AND 30 day return policy. You would be out shipping one way if you return it.

Lee

Hi,

since Pa1X the three upper tracks can be layered, velocity switched and splitted each one in a different way.
Translated for the given question you can have a lower (1 sound) then three different sounds in the uppers (using the split/keyboard range) for a total of 4 sounds in the real time tracks.

So, fortunately, nothing to ask to Korg Italy this time ... ;-)

Best regards.

On the PA800 and PA1x with OS-3 you can have more than 1 split point! How?

Well, you can create one sound from up to 16 oscilators, which can be assigned different key ranges.

How many splits you can have is going to depend on the complexity of the sound!

My answer is basically similar to BooBy's with a different approach!

So how fast does this make me run out of polyphony?

Why don't you buy a pa800/2x and try it out!

120 voices is more than enough for anybody!

Or maybe he should TRY one first, THEN buy it...?

Hi,



no it's much simpler. Go to:
style play -> menu -> keyboard ensemble -> key velocity tab
and then split the three upper sounds using the top/bottom key parameters.

Cannot be simpler IMHO, and it's there since long time, starting from Pa1X to the last Pa2X including all models in between.

In Pa2X/Pa800 there are also the very last two performances (Octave Pno-Flute and Organ-Steel Gtr) showing how this work without any programming. Just select and play.

Hope this help.

Regards.


[This message has been edited by Booby (edited 04-24-2008).]

I don't agree with the notion of not buying the demo. Because I believe if this guy cam get that out of the keyboard and its satisfactory t me. I know I can get that and more.
All the TOTL arrangers have excellent demo sits and sounds. A decision can be made based on them if one feels they are competent enough to play what they want to.

I found the Roland Namm Demo pretty lame. Especially the Guitar demo. But i would not discount the keyboard becasue of that. For me its all about the sounds first as I use a DAW for recording and am only using the arranger for ideas and like a real arranger would be hired to flesh out a song.

David Foster, Maurice White,Michael Omartian.....All Arrangers a songwriter/performer uses to complete their songs. I may only use the bass line of an arrangement. I can arrange strings so I would probbaly do my own string arrangements, But would use horn arrangements from those who can do that better in styles.

Yamahas do too much for my tastes including the final mastering. Their output is indeed compressed cD quality already. Which is great for someone who does not have or care to deal with Mastering.

Sorry, but that doesn't quite make sense. You are merely ASSUMING that the demonstrator IS getting the best that can be got from the instrument, yet later point out a demo that was extremely lame. Does that mean the feature is lame, or the demonstrator?

Hard to tell without playing one yourself. Trust me, there are some AWFUL demonstrations out there (MS wouldn't sell a single unit if those original demos were actually all it could do!), and I have heard PLENTY of different instruments demonstrated that behave FAR better when played by yourself than the factory slacker...

And, OTOH, if you feel you can outplay Peter Baartman (sp?) and make his demo sound lame, well, perhaps Yamaha ought to be calling YOU...

A REALLY good factory demo basically shows off what you MIGHT be able to achieve IF you are the best arranger player out there. Mind you, from what I've heard, Roland rarely EVER demo straight ahead arranger play on their website. They are, at least to my ears, arranger play, recorded into the sequencer, edited heavily, overdubbed, and basically turned into a VERY tweaked SMF.

On the one hand, it DOES show what you can do as a final result, but it sure doesn't show what the instrument sounds like out of the box...!

And finally, if you are only using the arranger as a songwriting tool, and replacing virtually everything in the DAW, what does it matter if Yamaha have a CD-ish sound? You are not going to actually USE it on the final cut, are you? One advantage the Yamaha's have is a HUGE library of styles, both factory and user created. When writing, it might be better to have a large choice of styles, than a smaller choice of styles but a better overall sound if you are not going to USE the sounds...

Just a thought...