When the UPS guy delivered this small box...I thought to myself..this it?.".Is that all there is"..from the Peggy Lee tune (1969)..

I opened the box and removed the contents...and I looked in the box again..did I forget something....this thing is small..

I placed it on a stand, and booted it up.....smoke began to pour out of it...just kidding, I wanted to see if you are paying attention..

Immediately, I could tell the sounds were reasonably good....some are very good...Piano, organ guitar were good...
choirs and ahhs sucked just like they do on the PA2x and PA800..

Styles are very good..for the most part ..Korg remains my favorite styles for swing, and jazz...unplugged are also good...

Although the sounds are decent and sound great thru a pa system (speakers are nothing to right home about...but nice to have, as monitors
in a quiet room..)...You can tell the detail sound you hear in the larger size samples are missing....32MB rom is a bit light in today's world..

After the first half hour of playing the small keys...my first thought was ..these keys are just too small...but knowing the keys were attached to some neat
features and sounds, made me a bit more open minded about the keys..

Some key facts..The Micro Arranger 61 keys measures 28 1/2"....My Roland G70 measures 33 1/2"..Yamaha will come in at 32 1/2"

As a matter of curiosity I measured my accordion...41 keys measured 19 5/8"...the same 41 key span on the Micro measured 19".
This surprised me, they seem smaller than the accordion..because of the length..

Korg included just about any edit features you need on this board..it is not a stripped down model...
I believe it is the same sound engine and features found not only on the PA50sd, but the popular PA1x too..

The Micro is ideal to keep handy in your car or near your door when you leave (never know when you may want to play)..

I wanted one to see if I could set it up and use it at rehearsals with my new partner...I am please to announce..
I have successfully..accomplished this...Not just styles I want to use , but SMF's too...I was able to edit and save parts/changes, and volumes...

The Operating system is just plain terrible, but usable (no where as efficient as the G70..but after you have the data edited and saved to the SD card,
you will get use to the procedures to gig..From what I can tell they didn't improve the PA3x that much when it comes to the OS.

I was going to use the A-33 controller with the Micro, but it did not seem practical..I would be much better to use the G70...(no comparison on any detail or sounds)..I already use the Korg styles I like , converted to G70..

The ideal use of the Micro, other than a ready to play anywhere keyboard...are nursing homes and other 1 hour gigs..The Micro Arranger and the Roland BA330 make a great combination for this type of job..

It took some time to get use to the key size (if you call conceding , getting use too)..I forced myself to play the Micro and a full size keyboard together..changing hands from large keys to small keys...You can adapt, but I do think if you only played the small keys, you will lose technique that you developed over the years...A well trained player will not be happy playing this board for long periods of time..

So overall, my first impression,,,is favorable....

It could be the perfect keyboard for the new fad..DJ/keyboardist/singer combination...

Makes me happy to hear your impressions Fran ... going to get on it as soon as I shake this little pneumonia thing ... Keep us posted, and for all you techies, keep sharing your tips and tricks. I hopefully will use the MicroA with my Midjay+ ...
Ciao,
Jerry

Good report, Fran, and it sounds pretty much what I've been hearing from other satisfied users/owners.

If I was to ever use such an instrument, I'm afraid I'd want it hooked up to a controller with standard sized keys...my thoughts would be a Yamaha P-95 (or even the new NP-31) digital piano.

My only other issue would be that I'd still need a double tier stand, with it's disadvantages (for me) of no place to put my music, except at a height that would be uncomfortable (not to mention more setup time)...that's where a module would work better for my way of doing things.

However, I think you (and Scott Yee) have summed it up quite well, in that the instrument is made for those ultra small gigs, or to play at a friend's house...and, in Donny's case, a great instrument for his needs as a combo DJ/keyboardist/singer.

My trip to the mainland got cancelled, so I'll have to wait another day to try the microArranger for myself...until then, I'll be interested in your further assessment.

Ian

This isn't true at all.... you can do any gigs BIG or Small with this unit it sounds & acts just as good as the big boyz & through a full size PA system there would be no problem covering ANY room for sure just as your $4000.00 arranger could.
The player makes all the difference.
Don't let the size and weight & price fool you.

Well, I suppose you could do any gig with it, Donny...I'm afraid, if I wanted that Korg sound and style, I'd probably fork out the extra dough for a full size PA-50SD rather than deal with the baby keys.

I know from experience with Yamaha's older PSS series, that playing a three hour gig on small keys is certainly not going to cut it for me.

I can see how it would work for you since your gigs are made up of multiple methods of using the instrument, as in SMF, MP3 and style play.

But, in no uncertain terms, would I enjoy playing an entire gig (even a one hour job) on a mini keyboard...if it works for you, all the best of luck, but it is not for me.

Ian

That's my point WE ALL DO IT DIFFERENT & should respect that..
I don't use any pedals .....shocking? so what it works for me..next guy reads charts, I don't need to so what? I sing,
you don't...it's ALL GOOD! It's ALL MUSIC!!...we all make great music and that's what it's all about...no matter how, or what instruments we play.....
let's create music and be happy!

Ian, when it comes to keys...not even full size is enough for me....they have to feel great too..that is why PSR, Juno key beds don't work for me...and yes it would be less than optimal for me to play mini keys too long....In fact, I can't play the accordion too long either..I guess I got spoiled with my G series , and MS..

The way I see it Fran, I spent a certain amount of money to get a keybed that I love to play, the FSX in the Tyros4, and there's no way I'm going to play a mini keyboard.

If that's all there was, sure...but, not if there is a choice.

The way I see it, the Korg isn't that much smaller than a PSR or GW-8...certainly not enough to have to be forced to play on keys that aren't standard sized...if I want portable with speakers, I'd get a Prelude or PSR-S910...if you have to haul around a PA system, what's the difference in a keyboard 10-15 lbs heavier, when we are still talking under 25 lbs, which is a lightweight in my opinion.

I could just as easily carry around a PSR or Prelude on it's own for a small party...these instruments aren't very big or heavy, and they give me a key size that I can dig into and enjoy playing.

I think miniaturization for it's own sake is cool, but not on the instrument I make my living with, as well as it being my "escape machine" when I want to just play for my own pleasure.

I don't think that using a mini keyboard makes a person any less of a musician, but, I do know what I like to play and what works best for these fingers.

Ian

Here is a follow up of my Impression ...I tested the Micro Arranger with a midi guitar tonight..


Go into Global and select the recognition control channel..select the pedal assign to chord recognition latch...I used a momentary pedal, and I elected to reverse the pedal to play recognition with the pedal not depressed...by reversing the polarity...all these settings are in global..


The midi guitar worked great..play a chord , depress the pedal when you want to play licks or leads over the chord/arranger...

The micro could be the perfect mate for you guitar players...

Great news Fran.....I'll relay the info to a few guitar solo act friends I know...like I said this lil' thing is a Swiss Army knife!

Fran,
Can you help me out here with your terminology for using with a midi guitar.
You say:
"go into global and select the recognition control channel"
Please be more specific and what page on the Korg are you on and do you mean the midi in receive channel and are you selecting "global" or what?
I understand the "select the pedal assign to chord recognition Latch". I have a "you rock digital guitar" which has a midi out and can transmit on any channel but I am not sure what Global "select the recognition control channel means".
Thanks,

Yes George, I did mean the midi in receive channel..this is the channel that has to match the controller guitar, so it will have chord recognition...Default is "off"..