I posted my review of the Pa3X on KORG Forums.... here's a copy.
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My mini review of the Pa3X 61 key.
Hi all.
So I've had the Pa3X for almost 2 weeks now and I thought I'd share my opinion on it at this stage.
Built Quality.
Bearing in mind that I'm mainly a workstation user and I currently own an OASYS which is one of the most expensive KORG's money can buy. Workstations are generally extremely well built and in the past my experience with arrangers has been to always feel a difference in the quality of the materials used. The Pa1X 61 for example used a very cheap keybed and was mainly made from plastic. This is so not the case with my Pa3X 61 key.
The keybed is fantastic. It's got a great response and it feels very expensive. The length of the key feels about half an inch longer than those of a Pa1X too, although I didn't measure this. I do however know my keybeds and I can feel the length from simply touching the keys. The entire keyboard is made from metal except for the screen and the joystick area. The screen is as expected moulded plastic, but what I didn't expect is it's finish. It feels expensive as if they have overlaid the surface with some sort of rubber material. The Joystick area also feels very good. Again, as a workstation users for me to see a Ribbon on the Pa3X is a joy.
The body as I mentioned is all metal, and the Pa3X must be the first KORG keyboard to ever have metal end pieces too. All KORG's Arrangers and Workstations normally have either Wooden or Plastic ends. The ends on the PA3X are CNC Machined Aluminium. I find that very impressive because as a CNC programmer myself, I know KORG were really focused on the design of the Pa3X. Built quality wise, the Pa3X is on par with my OASYS and that's saying a lot. Compared to other arrangers on the market, nothing comes even remotely close to build quality.
Sound Quality.
The sound engines is EDS Technology. EDS is believed to be derived of HD-1, which can be found in the OASYS. EDS can also be found in the M3. However, this is greatly extended over the workstations in that a single sound can have 24 OSC's. In short, a single sound is like a COMBI mode. The most impressive factory however is the RX and DNC technology. I can recall an accistic guitar sound for example and play the keys straight, only to hear the Pa3X drop in fret noises and slides where appropriate. The freedom and realism this give me to perform is unbelievable. It far exceeds anything I've experienced on workstations, which is kind of odd really as it makes me wonder why KORG don't use that technology on workstations.
There are also 3 buttons over the joystick that can be used to trigger off additional elements to give even more realism. Other manufactures have their own names for triggering layers, one called them Mega Sounds for example. RX and DNC far far exceed such technologies.
The sound engine in itself is for the most part the classic KORG interface so anyone used to programming and sound design will feel right at home and have no problem at all in navigating their way around to achieve their goals.
Arranger Mode
Ultimately Styles go hand in hand with the sound engine so there was a certain expectation for me when I accessed this mode and I wasn't disappointed one bit. One of the first things I wanted to check out were the Acoustic / Unplugged Styles. The level of realism of the guitars is simply breathtaking. I've spend countless hours in the past sequencing and trying to emulate guitars so I've got to admit, I really appreciate the level of work gone into the styles. The sound so freaking real. The style programmers were obviously influenced by the likes of Eric Clapton. There's even a style for playing “Tears in Heaven” and it's so good...!!!
Trying the other style categories and the standard is truly impressive. Seems to me that a lot of work has gone into the Country section in particular. For the market here in Ireland and the UK for example, the PA3X would by far have one of the most appropriate range of styles of any keyboard. Normally Ketron are popular here on the country and irish scene, but the Pa3X offers so much more now that all the rest.
There's a very diverse range of styles that will appeal to all markets, and the options to create your own are professional. The style editing mode offers pretty much anything you can think of including the ability to import from the Sequencer which is great for people like me who prefer to work that way and assemble a style in blocks of measures under a single song. I also used EMC Style Converter to flatten a midi file, and to test the import to Style functions into the Pa3X Style Mode. Worked effortlessly and the results were impressive as the sound driving them were so good.
From my time owning a Pa1X I found my way around the Pa3X no problem whatsoever. Lots of new functions, but everything was where you would expect it.
Vocals
TC Helicon make the best voice processors and needless to say that having one inside the Pa3X is such a pleasure. I'm not sure if any other keyboard manufacture does this, so I'm not even sure if there is anything to compete with the Pa3X in this area. Personally though, I'm not someone who likes harmony processing that's beyond a duet, so I choose to not go beyond that. The pitch correction function is a great and mighty powerful thing. Having that on-board is something I would make use of permanently. I'd never disable it even though I can sing. From my work in the Studio I know the sparkle it adds to any performance. Overall the voice processor is.... well... a TC Helicon. It's obviously going to sound as good as you can get.
Sequencer Mode
For me this was a bit of a let down. Although it offers every function you could possible expect to find on a keyboard, I found the fact that the sequencer is entirely different than KORG Workstations odd. The Workstation sequencer is far more streamlined and developed. Instead of having a dedicated page for every function, on a workstation you simply get a drop down menu. So for me, I found the sequencer to be very much spread out and more complex than needed, while not offering the streamline interface that has existed on all KORG workstations, and in the past arrangers. For example, the Sequencer on the i30 is pretty much a carbon copy of what you find on workstations, and in my opinion better. That said, I would have no problem working with the Pa3X sequencer at all and I know I could get my work done regardless of how complex my song was. I'm just a bit confused why KORG would spend time developing a completely separate sequencer to what's found on the workstations when for the most part everything else is common between the two.
MP3 file playback with cross fade is great. For me this is something I'd use quite a bit gigging as it's a means for me to bring the sound of my studio out with me on the road. The Vocal Remover function however is something I couldn’t ever see myself using professionally. In the home though it's so much fun. You do however have to be very specific in the type of songs you load into it as anything stereo does not get processed. These days finding a modern song that it will work well with is not so easy, where most oldies worked a treat. Handy too for learning off songs.
Summary
The Pa3X is one of the best built arrangers on the market. Quality wise no other arranger even comes remotely close. It's a light weight keyboard constructed from metal and the workmanship is top class. Expensive materials have been used and this is very obvious from just touching the keyboard. Sound quality is impressive and the RX / DNC technology makes playing realistic emulations of instruments effortless. Vocal processor was as expected since it was a Helicon. There's not much on the market that bests what helicon are doing at the moment. The Styles are very diverse and I was delighted to see so much content appropriate for the Country market. Clearly time was spend using actual songs as a reference point. There are even styles that sound like the Eagles playing. Sequencer was a bit of a let down from the point of view that time is being spent developing it when the one on the workstations is far more productive. In an attempt to simplify it, many additional screens are being created instead of a drop down menu. Vocal Remover is lots of fun in the home, but not something I'd imagine anyone would use at a gig.
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