Yes Rikki I agree and the PA3X has 8 effect systems plus 256MB wave rom plus a lot more that his little brothers don't have.

Yep

If you load in a PA 500 style or sound into a PA3x it will sound exactly the same because it does not use any of the new sound and style features available in the PA3x.

This is why these types of comparisons have no relevance, unless you’re just checking for compatibility. (As I have pointed out in previous posts)

On well, perhaps somebody will take notice this time.

Bill

Bill and Rikki,

Thanks for weighing in and letting me know I'm not really off my flippin' rocker. I'm far from being the level of musician that some are here and my ears are aging but I know I hear a difference in the Pa3x when I play it.

Old theme.

Some people don't want to buy the T4, because the PSR S910 sound as good; but others don't want the S910, because the S900 sound as good; still some others few years back don't care about the S900 because the PSR2000 sounded equal or better.

In the Korg side in the same argument. Now some have the opinion that the PA3x sound equal as the PA2x, or the PA1x or even as the PA500, maybe the same in the PA50?

But people never compare DNC or SA voices in either TOFL arranger with the old keyboards, because of course they don't have any, but "sound the same" for some. An old patch in the PSR2000 is going to sound the same in the PSR2000 that in the T4.

In my opinion,trust me, the T4 or the PA3x sound A LOT better that the old generation keyboards. Add to better sound, the wonderful additional features of the new ones.
Maybe we can"t afford them, but the PA3x and T4 are for sure top of the line.

My opinion
Sounds: I can't hear any difference. I used factory sounds, not legacy, in each model

Styles: almost identical. I hear more "live" the Pa3x, basses and drums, perhaps sounds less compressed.

It's been said in the forum many times that TOTL arrangers have more Rom so I would expect less compressed or more layered sounds. I did not notice that on the few I tried.
I chose similar sounds otherwise it would be unfair to judge the sound quality of each arranger. We all know the arranger's technical specifications and sound list by searching in the internet.

I'm very happy with my Pa3x. It sounds quite powerful to my ears, may be I can reach higher volume easily. It has also a more sophisticated Maxx audio EQ which can improve much more the final sound.

Not only did I pay for some extra sounds, I also paid for a very solid metal case (hadn't seen one so good for a long time), extra sliders, buttons, ribbon controller, DNC, EC5 pedal option and excellent keys (keybed) with aftertouch. I think most of the extra money you pay goes to the hardware. I was really very dissapointed with the Pa500 keys, it seemed they could be broken easily and didn't like the blue color either.

I would say that the Pa500 is a very good arranger. If you don't need all the extra hardware features and voice processor you get a good sounding keyboard.

Vagro I agree with your assessments..... after listening to the TOTL units I said the same thing to myself which in turn guided my choice this time around to buy the PA500...
for MY needs I didn't have to spend alot extra to get the same result.

take care

Jonathan:
I am using a Sound Blaster Pci card in my PC. Do I need an audio interface?
Please explain to me how I can improve my recordings. I checked a tiny mixer with usb port:

http://www.alesis.com/multimix4usb

Is the DI box you mention something like this (the price is in pesos don't panic):

http://www.famusic.com.ar/JR/PHONIC-DB2-Activa-Caja-Directa-0803151616101806.html

Thank you.

Hi Stephen,
I can hear a difference between my PA800 & My Pa3X when played thru same speaker system. Whether or not styles are just better balanced or they've used better sounds in the styles, I don't know, but to me, listening to the pa800 version of a style, then listening to the pa3x version of the style, they just sound better.
I suppose I could go to the trouble of checking style for style whether they kept identical instruments for PA800 vs PA3X, I must admit I do some nutty things, but even that's a bridge to far for me , haahaa

I remember a few years back, when i bought my ketron sd2, I thought wow, I've all but, got the sounds from my SD1+ keyboard in this tiny box.
( Sd2 was actually same as sd5 soundsource, and I was aware of that)
Sounds are very good , but, until I did a really close analysis, even though a lot of the sounds were very similar to my sd1+ they just didn't have the same quality & depth to them.

Wouldn't have a clue what the spec are of the Korg, maybe the sounds that the PA500 does have are the same as on the PA3X, BUT, it certainly doesn't have all of them, or a lot of the other features. Having a sampler & a harmonizer etc etc must add cost to the unit.

Tip. Try one of the remix styles from http://www.ekomusicgroup.com and compare that with the original style and you will hear the difference. Ofcource will a style from the PA500 almost sound the same on the PA3x. That is called backwards compatible.

Thanks Rikki no need too !

.

Thanks for the suggestion.