Hello everyone,
Could somebody tell me between the Roland G-70 and the Korg Pa1X Pro, which one has better sound quality and more worth it for its value. I've never seen a Roland G-70 in CA. How much does it cost? Where can we try that out? Thanks!

tidus

Hi Ttidus
It’s all down to which you personally like the sound and feel of, which is a decision only you can make.
However do a search on the Synthzone board for G70 and PA1x and you will find quite a few discussions that might help.
Also have a read of my personal review of the Caister 2005 Organ and Keyboard Festival, which includes these instruments along with others.
Hope this helps.

Bill

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[This message has been edited by serenade02 (edited 10-27-2005).]

Hey Bill,
I found your review. It was great. So, based on the replies to your review from other members, USA does not have a keyboard festival? Where can you go for a keyboard festival like the one you went?
Going back to my question, how much does a G-70 cost? Is it $3995? On the first post, I meant to ask, which keyboard sound MORE REALISTIC and has more expandability? I know, from reading online that the Korg Pa1X Pro has more styles, which is a plus compared to the G-70 but I never saw the G-70, so I don't know how REAL it sounds. From your review, you said the Korg Pa1X is of the "old generation" type. So, it seems the G-70 is better in terms of how realistic it sounds. I know you've heard alot of keyboards at the festival; so I was hoping to get alot out from you before I buy my keyboard. Thanks Bill.
Tidus

Only thing I can recommend is to not spend your money until you have played at least 2 hours on each of your candidates.

If you don't have a Roland CK dealer close to you, post on the main Arranger forum to find out if anyone has one near you that you could listen to or maybe play.

Never buy a keyboard unheard - these forums are full of idiots who bought something sight unseen and are never happy.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Diki:


Never buy a keyboard unheard - these forums are full of idiots who bought something sight unseen and are never happy.

...Amen - I've been an idiot more than once

zuki

Quote
__Never buy a keyboard unheard - these forums are full of idiots who bought something sight unseen and are never happy.
__________________________________

Not all of us are fortunate enough to be able to easily audition Keyboards. I'm a hobbiest and since my living doesn't depend on which board I get does make a big difference. I've bought all of mine with out hearing a single one of them.

Many online music retailers do offer
a 30 day money back return policy which is a good way to go.

I love to try differnt boards and modules that is part of the fun for me. I have had the following Keyboards & modules and bought them right enough to about break even.

The list includes

Kurzweil K2000rs
Kurzweil K2600s
Technics KN7000
Yamaha PSR2000
Yamaha MU 100 Tone Module
General Music Genesys
General Music Genesys XP Module
General Music WK2 hard disk > (these are real sleepers for the money)

Now when it comes to home organs that is a losing proposition but there's nothing I can do about that I have had more of those then I care to admit.

Oh back to the topic 2 hrs is better then nothing but for me I really don't know how much I really will enjoy the product untill after a week of so.

Those of you who are close enough to a music center to audition a keyboard (arrangers) are very lucky.

Do your research, know what your porpose is, and let your ears be the judge.

Jerry

for what ever it's worth; Korg keyboards are notorious for buttons going bad and being a p.i.t.a. to fix because they are so hard to get at. Roland on the other hand is designed for repairing. Just something to keep in mind.

Hi

I own both a G-70 and a PA1X. I have owned the Roland for a while, and it is my regular gigging instrument. The Korg more is a more recent purchase to try out.

To my mind, there is no contest in terms of sound quality. The Korg sounds MUCH better than the Roland. I have spent countless hours working on the G70 fine tuning settings, and it still sounds nothing like as good as the Korg does straight out of the box. It also doesn't sound as good as the VA-76 I used to gig. The PA1X also has far superior styles in just about every genre and much better control over fill-ins and breaks.

That said, the Roland has one of the best thought out operating systems I have come across on any arranger of any brand. It's not absolutely perfect, but it is generally very easy to find your way around and is mostly very logical. You don't need to refer to the manual much, as most operations are obvious. The touch screen on the G70 is a lot better than the one on the PA1X and the visual design of the various screens is much more obvious to use.

I also like the inbuilt solid state memory and the excellent midifile handling of the Roland. It scores very highly for convenience all round.

The keybed feel of each instrument is quite different. The G70s keys have many fans as it has a somewhat more piano-like feel than many arrangers. It isn't weighted, but it has more than average resistance under the keys. The tops of the black notes also feel narrower than on many other instruments. The Korg has a more typical - but good quality - synth feel keyboard. I personally prefer the feel of the Korg, whereas many players like the G70 better. Aftertouch implementation on the G70 is particularly poor. It will only trigger one "effect" per section and is very on-off in feel. This is probably the biggest problem with it. Worst of any touch sensitive keyboard I have ever played. Older Rolands were much better.

To summarise:
* General ease of use and convenience - G70
* Ease of use when in midifile mode - G70
* Ease of use when in style play mode - PA1X
* Sound quality - PA1X (by a big margin)
* Style quality - PA1X (by a knockout)
* Ultimate versatility - PA1X (but learning curve is steep)
* Suitability for entertaining at tea-dances in the old folks home - G70
* Suitability for everything else - PA1X
* Inspiration factor - PA1X (by a mile)

.......but I'm sure others will tell you different :-)

Regards - Mike

[This message has been edited by MikeTV (edited 02-27-2006).]

(Ignore this - Posted in error)

[This message has been edited by MikeTV (edited 02-27-2006).]

yeah Mike. I think you nailed it !

very interesting comparison between the Korg Pa1x and the Roland G70. I wonder how the Pa2x now compares to the G70?