So does that mean that the reverse is true - without your customized styles/musical resources set that the KMA would also need to be tweaked like the other Korgs to maximize the benefits of each style?

I notice that on your website you also show a customized styles/musical resources set for the Pa800. If this set were loaded into the Pa600 would that eliminate tweaking each style or because it is a different board that it would be hit and miss as to what would need a tweak and what wouldn't?

While John's resources are extremely good, it doesn't mean they are right for everyone, and it doesn't mean the keyboard isn't useable without them.
Some people are happy with the Korg's factory settings, others are not. I used them as a starting point and did my own setup, and found I didn't need to do an awful lot to make it sound like I wanted.
I changed some drums kits and some style part sounds and levels, changed the STS settings to call up the sounds I wanted called up, then saved to Songbook. Very simple once you get into it.
You can edit as little or as much as you want, and it's not too hard, but there is a learning curve, as with most things.
DonM

Donny ... all the recommendations and comments about 'digging in' and 'editing' and 'making it your own' aside, I could be wrong but I am pretty sure you have always been a preacher of the 'don't buy until you try' school ...
I'm not saying my total judgement will be based on the 'out of the box' sound, but I DO think a test drive is in order ... and then, AFTER I buy, stay near you phone, because I'll be calling ...

Good for you, Deanne ... best of luck with your NEXT board ...

That's exactly the way I've done it for years, and what DonM says above puts it nicely in a nutshell. Like anything else, it's all in the ear of the beer holder.

Tony ....after you demo it in the store & get it home call me or Dave anytime we'll try to help you along best we can no problem, while your there try the S950 also to be sure before you make a choice for a new unit vs the kn7000.......
Are you singing thru a mixer or?

Donny, I certainly will ... thank you ...
I will try whatever is there, but the PA 600 is more in the price range I want to spend for a second board ...

I sing through a Digitech VH into a mixer into powered spkrs ...

As to your first question : definitely in my point of view.
Of course there is no accounting for tastes and like Don points out further on any of these keyboards can be played out of the box or with minor tweaking, but why do you reckon Deane is so pleased with his KMA ( owing a Tyros 4 and PSR950 on top !!!) that he dispenses with the PA600 ?
It can not be the quality of the PA600 cause I am sure that with extensive tweaking and progamming it will go a long way, but even taking into account what Donny says ( spent days of getting it right) you cannot compare such an effort to playing with the same keyboard intensively for four years , constantly programming and tweaking as well. And may I add that Deane is using basically my ( ultimate) 2006 set for his KMA while he is also in possession of four previous sets.

As to your second question, and bearing in mind what DonM says here later in this thread, I sent my extensive programming on the PA800 (still my main board) to several folks I know who had purchased the PA3X. ( which I owed myself for 10 days......) No, the PA3X and no doubt the PA600 as well cannot do justice to my PA800 resources, or vice versa if you like. Simply because the sounds etc. refer to different locations in the PA800, hence the result is often disappointing or even crap. ( this excludes of course all the styles that I include and can be played on any PA model. If you want more info on that simply mail me:
pasounds@zeelandnet.nl
Bottomline to me is that ALL keyboards need tweaking and progamming. Many here often do not have their boards long enough to get down to that. Second, if you perform on stage , see my thread on " arranger keyboards anno 2012 " folks will hardly hear the difference to brand A or B, let alone whether the entertainer's keyboard has not been tweaked, altered slightly or tweaked intensively.
Here in Holland , a traditional organ country, many former organ players have Yahama Tyros or PSR in their homes and hardly get beyond the songfinders registrations, believe it or not ..........


kind regards,
John

I sincerely believe that Deane, like many of us, enjoys a wide variety of styles such as those that are available with Yamaha. Many styles that relate perfectly to the type of music that many, many of us perform, often more than once a day.

Granted, there are some forum members that feel very comfortable with a dozen style files, but there is also an overwhelming number of players that want more diversity in their musical performances. Deane is in the latter group.

Just yesterday, I talked with a PSR-950 owner that wanted my Music Finder Directory (MFD) for his keyboard. I walked him through the process of loading a new MFD into the keyboard, then asked if he had set the EQs. He had not and didn't really know how to set a User EQ and save the information as default. I walked him through that process as well and he was happy as a clam. He was hearing sounds he had never heard from the keyboard since he purchased it a few months ago.

The entire process took less than 5 minutes. Now, I have no experience with the PA600, and the only Korg I've owned was a decade ago. I really never liked the style selection and the right hand voices were mediocre at best, even after tweaking and tuning. I'm confident that much of this has changed since my experience, but from some of the statements I've read in recent weeks, it doesn't seem to have changed significantly. I really don't want to spend endless hours tweaking and tuning each style, each voice, each drum kit, etc...

I guess I'm easier to satisfy than some other forum members when it comes to styles and sounds, but maybe it's the keyboard's I've selected over the years. During the past decade, Yamaha's PSR and Tyros series, right out of the box, have sounded damned good, at least to my aging ears. And, after five minutes of tuning the global EQ settings, they sounded great, IMO.

This is my opinion, and my observations, and is by no means a reflection upon anyone elses opinions or experiences. As CLint Eastwood once said "Opinions vary."

Cheers from the tropics,

Gary

Let me say this unless you settle for what you get out of the box which isn't much unless you settle for what you get out of the box which isn't much in my opinion I don't see why people are lazy to get it right and make it sounds fantastic its not that difficult......and especially with Yamahas compressed sound it needs a Live EQ kick start big time...........its worth all the time and efforts.