Thank you

Just a few comments on my new PA3x (previously a Pa2xpro owner for 2 yrs).

I have the 61 key version.
Excellent ... Keybed the same feel as the PA2x.

All styles and sounds have been improved. Most notable the Electric pianos. The Grand piano sounds "different" for sure. Better?? Matter of oppinion.

The TC helicon and voice processor section is terrific!! A huge leap forward IMO. If singing is your thing you will appreciate this part of the KB. The harmonizer is awesome!!

The new panel layout is very very good. For me everything is right were it should be. There is an adjustment from the Pa2x for sure but for the better. The 4 fills (works the way the Tyros does) is something that was on my wish list and I am very satisfied with it. The chord seq works great, altough, activating it with the foot pedal is the only way I can do it.

So many new features! Having a 61 key KB again with the high quality keybed is terrific!

One negative note. My first Pa3x died after 4 hour use. I returned it and luckly my dealer had one more and he instantly exchanged it. The new one has been fine.

I use 2 Bose compacts. Great sound!

Overall it was well worth the upgrade for me. I waited a couple of days before I wrote this to make sure my oppinion would be genuine ... and it is!

If anyone has a question I will do my best to answer.


This KB is exactly what the previous Korg PA's should have been. The balance of the sounds and styles is so much better! The MAXX EQ is a wonderful feature but even without it the KB sounds overall much improved over the PA2x.

There are styles that are missing from the PA2x and 1x but there are new ones that are well done and sound great.

If you are a fan of Korg arrangers then you will love this KB. If you are not then you will probably not like this one.

There are more DNC sounds than before. A great Soprano voice. Improved Scat voice. Improved drum sets. There is an Acustic Swing style that is terrific.

Great review, JC Keeys. You seem very pleased with your purchase so far.

Just one question,

Is the looping fault on the DNC voice, Real Violin still there?

Leigh Wilbraham told me about this problem with the Korg PA3X he reviewed...a "mend" was sent to him, but he said it made no difference.

Ian

Enjoyed your review. At last we can have reviews from
Owners of this keyboard.

Hi, I am a home keyboardist, and I could compare Tyros and Pa3X last week here in Madrid. I Put here some impressions.
Korg keybed seemed much better, and touch screen was very comfortable and intuitive. Beside it, the tyros screen seemed outdated, but bigger and very clear.
Voices are good, but Tyros has better acoustical sounds (SA voices). Piano sound is imho better in Pa3x (and its better keybed helps in that opinion), but flutes, sax, etc. are better in tyros.
About styles, I really liked Korg styles, longer and richer than Tyros. Fills (now 4 fills) are more varied than tyros too. Multi Pads are very good. Unplugged styles are very beutiful ones.
A disapointmet for the Korg was about loading external styles. Tyros read styles directly from the flash drive, and so you may have thousands of styles ready to be used directly. But not is the same in Pa3x: external styles are usually grouped into sets (in Tyros styles are independent, not sets) and they must be loaded first on the keyboard. I seems to me a worse system, especially if you want to listen to many styles. It seems to me Roland does something similar (but not sets): styles must be first loaded into the keyboard and then they may be liestened or used (it was one of bad points of bk7m). Why Korg has not improved that???

About price, Tyros is 3500 €, Pa3x 61-keys is 3200 € (but has no internal hard drive nor video interface, Tyros has both). Pa3x 76-keys costs 3400 € : it has hard disk but no video interface, but it has 76 keys!! All these prices are without speakers.

The OS style loading with sets was one of the gripes I had with my Korg units also and I see now they havn't changed it since the PA 80 days at ...so with this new Korg pa3x it's a matter of weighing the good and the bad features for each person before you think of buying...shame. ...only three Newer TOTL arrangers out there now each with Pros & Cons.....

Ian not sure what you mean by "looping fault"? The real violin DNC function is a little confusing to me. You have two choices hold note octave up or hold note octave down? I would think a "Slide" and a "pluck" might be more useful??? But what do I know!

There is a break in the sound if sustained for several seconds. Apparently it is the only sound it happens on.

Ian

I don't have a problem with that. You can load 1200 styles in the PA3X directly and also important you can remove the one's you don't use or like and replace them with your own styles. Also you can create style sets on your own computer. I don't see the problem here.

Ian ... There is no break in the sound on my KB. Sound is OK. Much better than the Pa2x.

Yes there is. You have to press the key for about 4 seconds and you will hear a error in the sample loop. Only the Real Violin DNC voice has this.

Thanks JC...a friend on the Korg Forums told me about it.

I will get back to you about it, as apparently there are some who feel the problem still exists for that one sound, DNC Real Violin. If the sound is held for more than approximately 4 seconds, there is a slight break in the tone/sample that shouldn't be there. Maybe it is on only certain instruments, perhaps early production models?

I'm glad you are enjoying your PA3X...it is a fine instrument, and one the very best arrangers being made.

Congratulations and thanks for your reply.

Ian

Thanks for your review. The Roland E50, G70, E80 and BK-7m all will play styles directly from external media. They do not have to be loaded.
With the E series there is a dedicated folder in which the styles are placed on the external drive. After that you can access them directly and search for them in several different ways. They all remain in the same folder however.
The BK-7m can just play them directly from the thumb drive and you can make as many folders as you need.
I would like to audition a PA3X sometime to see if it would fit my needs. It certainly has a lot of features I like, but the main criteria are ease of operation, sound quality and availability of styles.
I won't be in the market this year, so by the time I get around to seeing one any small bugs that may exist will probably have been corrected.
The key touch or feel is very subjective. I actually prefer the extremely light touch usually present in the cheaper arrangers such as E50 and PSR series, etc. I'm sure players that previously played piano want just the opposite. I think the Tyros 4 strikes a happy medium.
I didn't like the operating system much on my previous Korgs. I really like the Audya OS and Roland OS. However I am fluent in Yamaha as well and it is fine with many shortcuts via direct access.
I miss having multi-pads, and I may change controllers so I can regain this function on the BK-7m. The new Roland controller has assignable pads. It will be a limited version, but better than having none. This feature is missing on all the Roland keyboards. I have always used them almost exclusively for finger drum hits and rolls, and sometimes some guitar riffs or strums.
As to the touch screen, my old fat fingers are not ideally suited for one, but if it is large enough I can deal with it.
I think I prefer buttons in most cases.
It's nice to have several great choices.
DonM

I totally agree Multipads should be standard part of any arranger keyboard features.

Don,
Most of the "go to" selections on Korg touchscreens are also dedicated to a hard button. I found that out the hard way one night after my PA800 took a nasty drop in freezing weather and the screen went dark. (a wire popped off inside - ez fix) A friend of mine, who is not known for his grace uses his fingernail to access the touchscreen ... gives him a better result. Just more stuff to think about .... glad to see you back. I missed you!

I got to play the pa3x for about an hour just now.
First off I must say it sounds MUCH better than the
Pa500 I played last time. I tested the DNC violin and
it had the looping fault. The keys are longer than yamaha
And feel heavy. The speakers quality is excellent. I
Played lambada style and used strings to play it and
It was so awesome. The flutes ,saxes, guitars sounded
Better on my ex psr s900. The pianos were good.
The harmonicas sound very nice... The ethnic indian
Sounds were also very good. The styles are powerful
And sound like a live band...the ballads were ok...did
Not move me emotionally. The dance styles are awesome.
Raggae not so good. Country was good. The choir voices were
A mix bag..a few were nice. I thought I would be very
Disappointed but this keyboard did suprise me. However
as I played ...I realised this keyboard although fantastic
Is not for me... There is something about the yamaha psr s900
Styles and sounds that inspire me and move me emotionally that
I would never get from a korg. But at the same time I realise
that there are people out there who want to sound like a live
Band playing and for them the korg pa3x is a fantastic keyboard.
It has more in depth editing and better vocal harmony than
Yamaha will ever have....but I don't sing or do much editing.
I walk away awaiting the next psr s series...BUT now I have
A lot of respect for the korg pa3x. Those of u that bought it..
I KNOW u will love it as much as I will love the next s series.
Lastly..the pa3x screen is awesome and the metal casing and
Tons of buttons does make it look FANTASTIC. On the internet,
Everybody said it sucked. Well it doesn't. I played it

Ian ... Yes there is a "Glitch" after about 4 seconds. Did not hold the note long enough?? Sorry about the mis-information. Even with its fault it sounds much better than the sample in the Pa2x.
Hopefully it will be fixed. I am sure there are a few other "Issues' that will crop up over time.

Thanks JC...I thought it might have only affected early production models, like one Leigh tested/reviewed.

I imagine they may be able to correct with an upgrade of sorts, although some say it does appear to be the fault of the sample itself.

We had an issue or two with early Tyros4, but both were corrected, in about a month, with a OS upgrade, and now all is fine.

I was wondering if the PA3X sounded a lot better than the PA2X...you answered that question.

Thanks,

Ian

Ditto because
Yamaha has just released a 'new' Tyros 4 OS Update Version 1.03

Here's what's included:

-Fixed a problem in which the "Next" button would disappear from the Normal View when changing the Style Selection display to List View and exiting,
then entering the Style Selection display again and finally returning to Normal View.

-Fixed a problem in certain Styles when re-selecting the Voice for RHY1 and/or RHY2 and saving the Style in Style Creator,
the volume balance etc would change during playback.

Hello

No break in this sound on my 3X but effectively , it is not good because the point of the loop (bad choice)
It is very amateurish on this sound .

Hi Ian & the Others,



This break is the bow direction change. As soon as the end of the bow is reached, directions is changed, and there is a short dip in volume. This is how bowing happens in a real violin (hence the name of the sound).

In case you don't have a violin player to show you this phenomenon, please look at this interesting video I found on the web:

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-do-smooth-legato-bow-change-for-violin-153683/

There are other Violin sounds in the same bank, with a shorter sample and a more uniform, looped sustaining phase. Maybe in some cases you might need something like this 'old-school' kind of sound.

Paolo
(Korg Italy)

That's a GREAT feature. I wish some of the saxophones were like that, so I wouldn't forget to let my "sax man" take a breath.
Who says Korg doesn't listen to us. Thanks Paolo.
DonM

Paolo,
Che era molto bella e istruttiva. Questo è il genere di cosa che aiuta tutti. Piuttosto che discutere tutte le SZ dovrebbero imparare gli uni dagli altri con cose come questa. Grazie per aver condiviso.

Thank you for your excellent explanation, Paolo, and it is good to hear that the break is meant to be there, but to be fair, very few knew the reason.

I'm not sure if I'd want that in a sample (neither did Leigh), but I suppose there are other DNC violin sounds that do not have that break?

The reason for not wanting it, would be that on a real violin, the speed of the stroke, or how fast the bow was being drawn over the string, would therefore affect the direction change.

Is the timing (length) of the stroke change the same all the time, i.e. "fixed", or, can you assign it to (or vary it by) velocity or some other controller, like the joystick/footswitch etc.?

Also, can you use aftertouch to change bow direction?


Grazie,

Ian

I think that would be a great idea, Don, I often have the poor sax player doing circular breathing.

I think, however we might have the same deal as with DNC Real Violin, that is, if the bow direction time is fixed?

Depending on how slowly you draw the bow across the strings, the need to change direction will vary (my 2nd adopted Mum was a jazz violinist-I still have her fiddle)...I am fairly familiar with how to play it, although not as well as I'd like.

The Sax would present a similar problem, in that the harder you blow and the time between breaths (and the depth of the draw), will also affect the note length, so a fixed time wouldn't be all that helpful, in my opinion anyway.

I think the solution, at least for the wind instruments, would be a Breath Controller, such as that found on some Yamaha DX and VL synthesizers.

Fran mentioned one (MIDI Solutions?) that could control via MIDI, but, I not sure what parameters you would need to set in the sound to affect a realistic change.

I get around some issues by using a volume pedal for RH sounds only, but I still would like to have more control (there's never enough).

Do you still have your Audya?

Ian

Hello Friends

No,
Tne problem of this sound was only the loop.
The loop is too long , it was the same time than the entire sample itself.
At the beginning of the sound , the pitch level increase a little and keep the sustain during 4 s about. At the end of the loop it rturn at the beginning of tht sample.
The end level of the sound is less strong and higher that the begin. We can hear a break but it is not a break.
It is the entire sample that is looped.
No problem with direction of the bow ;Do you think Korg make this sample work ? The bow in the two directions 4+ 4 s for an only wave ????
Korg can also make that with accordions hamonica etc

I liked the fill ins on the pa3x. I did not
Like the intros on most styles unfortunately.
I can't get over that lambada style though. Playing
The lambada on the pa3x made my hair stand!!! From
There on the other styles were not suited to what I want
From an arranger. To me yamaha is making so much progress in
The quality of their sounds and styles that no company is even
Able to compete with them. I also don't like touchscreens.
I'm glad yamaha continue to stay away from them

However nobody can touch korg on their vocal harmony on
The pa3x and the indepth editing available. But these
Features are not important to me.

I don't like them either, and I'm very glad to see they've resisted putting one on the Tyros line.

Some people love them...I don't.

Ian

So there you have it, one has what the other doesn't have ....
it's your pick?....unless you want to go and deal with an Audya & it's upside & downside also...or go module BK7m & controller, or even the Varranger & controller, or any of the past models that may work out better than any of the above mentioned? Or even use a Synth like the Kronos or MOxf great sounds and create your own backing styles using arpeggiators etc and play on top...lots of choices for the savy musician....good luck what will you choose?