I received my first PA600 today at my music store in Southern California.
When I unpacked the carton I was very happy to see the power chord for this model is a direct plug in from keyboard to wall with no external power supply. I looked to see if this was a USA model only and was again happy to see that it adjusts itself to all power voltages and both 50 and 60hz automatically.
The keyboard is light and very attractive. There are many fewer buttons than on previous models but this is in no way a difficult keyboard to operate. In fact, Korg has improved in many ways the functions and layout. I really like that there is now a dedicated single button to allow the user to save an initial start up mode to whatever one likes. All you do is make some adjustments and push and hold this button and than the screen asks if you would like to save this. Now, anytime you power up the board it's the way you want it. Ketron calls this a "power on save" function.
The sounds and styles are just what I thought they would be. A PA800 but just a about a third the price! The chord sequencer is right out of the PA3X and now there is an auto fill button which the older models never had.
The song play mode now only has one player instead of 2. I tried an MP3 with a vocal singer and I assigned the 2nd programmable switch button to be a vocal canceler and it worked great. With one push I muted the vocal down to almost nothing so one can sing over it. I can also change the tempo without affecting the pitch and I can control the transpose without affecting the tempo.
The next big test was to see how it loaded my Korg PA1x, 2x, PA80 and PA800 sets. Perfectly! All the new samples, sounds and styles played just as in the original models. And, after loading a set, I can turn off the keyboard and the set remains when the keyboard is turned on again and without any additional time in the loading process.
There is a DVD packages with the quick guide that comes from the factory. On this DVD is a 1 hour video training movie that was outstanding to learn all the basic steps in using this board. There is also 3 bonus sets which include a middle eastern set and a real drum set. These two sets can be individually loaded or there is a third set with both at the same time.
This keyboard is a major advancement over the now discontinued PA500 and it's at exactly the same price! With this new addition to the Korg family, Korg didn't come out with a brand new design but rather gave us a keyboard and a very modest price point that does a great job!
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George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene (Closed after 51 years)
West Hills, California
(Retired 2021)
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