Disclaimer:
A SZ member asked me what I thought about Tyros4 vs. Korg Pa3x after he read what I wrote, he suggested maybe the group may be interested in what I had to say.


If someone told me today, you can only have one keyboard not 2, I think I would sell the Tyros 4 and keep the Korg, but that could change in a week. ha ha Good thing no one is telling me to sell!! I would have a tough time deciding, yea I like them both that much.

Here's what I wrote:

What I like about Tyros 4:
Outstanding style variety and SA2 voices.
SA2 voices are the best I love the trumpet, clarinet and sax SA2 voices. There's nothing like playing a trumpet voice or clarinet and playing a split octave and hearing the slide as you play from C3 up to C4. Everytime I hear it I think what a machine this T4 is
What I do like is the free styles because they allow me to play just about any affair from wedding ceremony to an all Christmas song background type music gigs I do play in December. I also sing some broadway show tunes for example things like Bring Him Home, Soon It's Gonna Rain also some Italian ethnic Santa Lucia and Come Prima. The free styles allow me lots of opportunity to sing expressively like I have a symphony minus drums behind me and that's a good thing.
I like the Jazz styles on the T4, Latin styles are Ok, There's some very decent new Country styles too.
I like the beautiful display on the Tyros 4, very good on the eyes.
The mp3 player is a bonus but not as flexible as the dual one on the pa3x. The Tyros 4 records in .wav format easy to play back on the Tyros 4, but otherwise if you record I think it's best to convert to Mp3 for playback.
The MFD file system is good too since unlike the older Yamaha arrangers you couldn't pull many 3rd party styles and place them in the database. You were limited by the amount of built in memory in the board and it wasn't very much. Now you can store those styles on the hard drive or USB stick.
The harmonizer I don't use much but on the T4 it will pass.

Korg Pa3x:

As someone who did most of his early lessons and playing on piano, the keys of teh Pa3x have it all over the Tryos4.
It's so live sounding the drums are very real sounding, there are sometimes when I play ( this held true for the Pa800/2xPro) that sometimes when the ending played and the cymbal crashed I thought a live drummer was in the room with me.
I like the touch screen! Always did, it's not as nice looking as the t4 screen. When I play the T4 now I find myself tapping the screen thinking I'm going to change a setting .
The layout for live play is perfect, everything is a very short distance from the keys, so it's very easy to hold down a note or chord and be able to reach out to change a variation. It's not impossible on T4 just easier on pa3x
The Songbook database hands down is the best for orgainizing your song and gig lists. It remembers everything you set it to including changes in key.
Korg has reworked some styles and added new ones from the old Pa series. I love some of the new jazz styles and what makes them really easy to change around is the sliders on the top left of the board. For instance I can easily lower the accompanient with the slider so that I have drums, bass and piano to sound like a piano trio. Very easy to do.
On the subject of volume Korg needs plenty of tweaking because some of the STS (one touch ) settings are mis-matched for instance you play a jazz guitar, then hit trumpet and the trumpet is turned up so loud that it over-powers the rest of the sounds. It's a balance issue, but with some work it can be adjusted
If you use a mic the pa3x has phantom power for mics that need phantom power. T4 can't do that.
Harmonizer is so much better than on the T4. I haven't used it that much because of the style music I sing, harmonizer doesn't always make for a good fit. There is some skill needed to get it right setting up the harmonizer.
A simple thing but it works well, all the connections are labeled at the top of the board, so if you're hooking up wires you can easily read where to plug your stuff into ( the Pa800 and 2xpro had this feature as well).
There are some very very good what they call DNC voices, that's Korgs version of Yamaha SA and SA2 voices
The organs are killer organs on the Korg and on some of the organ voices the harder you hold down the key you get the leslie rotary effect!! Very very cool.
The joystick is much better than the 2 controls on the t4. You can even get the rotrary effect moving the joystick forward and then back to turn it off

Hope this helps, Paul. Those are the most dramatic things.

One other thing. I played a gig a week ago Sunday with the Tyros 4 because I wasn't ready to take out the Pa2x yet. When I returned home I left the T4 in the case. This past weekend when I took out and set the T4 back up then did an A/B comparison I was surpised to think to myself wow, The Tyros 4 doesn't sound as good as it did before I got the pa3x. They are both outstanding boards.

Stephen:

The most important aspect of my Tyros 3 is the quality of the SA voices you mentioned: Trumpet, Classical Guitar, Clarinet and especially the Breathy Tenor Sax.

How do the similar Korg voices compare, especially the Tenor Sax? To me the Tyros Sax is the best I have ever heard as well as the Jazz Trumpet and also the Harmonica.

Joe

Nice thoughts Steve. How is the 3X acoustic piano vs the 2X and Tyros 4?

Joe I think the Tyros4 has the edge in the saxes, and guitar....I think the PA3X has the edge with the Harmonica...and the Trumpets are about equal...

The Non SA2 and DNC sounds....I think the edge goes to the PA3X..with the exception of the superior vocal sounds on the Tyros4..

Jim,

I prefer the Korg piano, I especially like the one called octave piano the concert grand exp is also very good. Nothing wrong with the Tyros4 piano either it's almost becomes which do you like Steinway, Yamaha or Bosendofer ? It's been 2 years since I sold my Pa2xpro I can't really give an honest opinion. For whatever it's worth and a bit of a gimmick I do like the way the damper pedal mimcs an acoustic piano i.e. you actually hear what is simulated sound of the dampers being lifted off strings.

Joe, You're right on with Tyros sax being the best, I prefer it.

I think Fran pretty much summed it up. But I do prefer the trumpets on the Yamaha, Korg a close second to my ears, the vocal sounds on the T4 are much better too.

Steve,

When you get tired of that T4, just send it down to me and I'll take it on the boat with me in October to the sunny, Florida Keys. Don't want to see a good keyboard go to waste!

Gary

Gary sorry to say that with a tentative plan me getting out of the full time workforce in June 2013, I'll be holding onto that T4 for quite sometime to come. This was sort of last blast in a major keyboard purchase.

Steve love the new profile pic !!

Donny, That's the look of a happy arranger player!!

now all you need is a KORG T-Shirt...

Sorry I'm late replying, Steve, I've been busy with some personal issues.

Great, unbiased review, and congratulations on your new acquisition...you have the best of both worlds.

I too, have made my last blast major keyboard purchase with the Tyros4 as my full retirement is getting closer, and I wanted to take advantage of a great price on the instrument.

As always, if you need anything regarding Yamaha, you know where to find me.

Ian

Ian,

Thanks! I appreciate the offer on Yamaha stuff!

I hope everything is back to normal on the personal issues too, stay well!

Donny I don't do free advertising for a fee I will wear, Korg, Yamaha or any other brands T-shirt. All kidding put aside I bet I know where I can get one LOL

Things are doing okay...one day at a time...one good thing is that I am playing (and practising) more...a healthy escape.

And, don't you go selling Gary D. a Tyros4...I don't want him sounding better than me.

Ian

I predict...as soon as the new models come to market all this will change as always......

Donny, I can make custom Tee shirts on my PC--any brand you need is just a few keystrokes away.

Gary

ok great I'll let you know !!