First of all I would like to point out the following:
It seems that Korg decided to let the US market bear the brunt of the danger or if you like let them be the guineapigs as far as the PA900 is concerned. Reading the SZ forum I gathered that several Korg dealers such as Frank and George have already sold dozens, whereas to the best of my knowledge the whole of Europe is still waiting for the PA900 to hit the shores.

From all the postings on the subject so far and the experiences expressed by Uncle Dave and Hammer I have my growing doubts whether it would be a good idea to part-trade my two year old PA800 for the PA900. Apart from financial implications it seems that by doing so one would gain a few things (definitely a number of better basic samples and henceforward better sounds) but also loose certain things, noticably slightly inferior amplification/speakers, and the prolbems with the vocaliser as expressed by UD.
As I cannot speak from personal experience as regards the PA900 I have had to rely on the postings of those mentioned here as welll as the official demos. Even taking into consideration Hammer's latest live demo does not make me want to rush out to the shops and swap my PA800. Nearly three years ago I declined a similar move with the PA3X. I thought it was far too expensive (compared to the PA800) to justify the spendings but, what's more, due to its structure I realised I would not be able to use my years of programming on the PA800 and previous models because Korg have made a point of it to screw up the whole placings of the basic multisamples. Subsequently folks who ordered my Resources for the PA800/PA2x had to conclude that they were pretty useless on the new PA range. (600/900/PA3X).

I am supposed to get one on trialhad my doubts. I did notice better electric pianos and acoustic guitars though, but even those can hardly outdo the ones on my Yamaha PSR750 I have the impression. Perhaps UD or Deane can dwell on this as they own or have owned both. ( be it the PSR950).

regards,
John

Hi John

As a general rule of thumb it is best to change every 2 generations rather than 1 generation as otherwise the improvements are usually too small (And the financial loss will be greater) to warrant any change. (The exceptions are if a complete new generation comes out)

Bill

John,

I have a PA2X-Pro and for a while was tempted to buy the PA-900, mainly because had found a demo model at a very tempting price (1350 euros), but -even considering the 128 voices of polyphony, the new styles with four fills and some new DNC sounds- the overall sound quality wouldn't be on the same level and so it would actually be a downgrade.
At this point I prefer to wait, also because there are rumours of a PA3X successor maybe at winter NAMM; otherwise I could upgrade to a PA3X-76 (here too there are demo models, for sale at 2400 euros).

Four fills (and the break fill) vs. two fills would clinch the deal for me if NOTHING else changed. The jaggedness of transitions on the PA2 and PA800 always jarred me badly, and Yamaha's and Roland's have at least six... It just makes the transitions between song segments more realistic.

Hi John,
I own the S 750, and on the last point of yours, from whatever i have heard of the korg 900 on youtube, the piano and strings of S750 are definitely superior to the 900. However, i daresay that the BK 9 looks a very good competitor to the S750 as well as S950... But that's the topic of another post that i am going to type down shortly..

In my opinion, don't do it. I have a PA800 and I'm not upgrading. If you really want something newer and/or better save your money for the PA3X. See my posts on the Korg forum. Too many "professional" features were dropped to keep PA900 at a lower price point*. Plus there are the usual bugs and glitches associated with a green model.

As the public becomes better informed the market will be the ultimate judge. Unless Korg restores the missing chord recognition modes, addresses issues with the vocaliser, etc. in a massive OS update, five yrs from now the outgoing PA800 will command more than this PA900 on secondary market.

*I would like to add, the PA800 was better than perhaps it should have been. When introduced it offered new features that eclipsed the "top of the line" Pa1X. Within a year it was more mature and similar in capability to the PA2X (and that board was initially plagued by LED issues.) I'm sure it didn't take the marketing folks at Korg very long to realize they were cannibalizing sales of their high-profit TOTL models. They weren't about to make the same mistake this time around. Born in a weak economy, the PA900 was built to a lower price point. IMO it will never be as good. Some features might be restored in an OS update, but it will never have an EC5 connector, 4 outputs, improved bass response, etc. My $.02.

I really don't understand the motives for changing keyboard that are being presented here . If you have the money and the desire to swap keyboards just for the sake of it then go for it . No one can advise you as there is no logical reason for your desire to change boards other than your desire for the newest latest thing . Good luck to you. If you don't like the new board after you have purchased it you can swap again of you have the money. God bless folks like you . Keeps the economy ticking over :-)

No last generation keyboard is better than next generation keyboard!

So, the progress will dictate you to change - if you choose not to, it's all fine of course!
What Korg did was very smart I believe - cut indeed features that were present in their previous middle range keyboard and were derived from the top line, but not essential for most of the users. In the same time, they reduce the cost significantly. Best thing for most of the users - not for all, but that made the difference between the TOTL nd MOTL much more obvious.

Fortunately, they did not cut the core features - sounds and styles. Quite opposite, Pa900 gives you actually something little extra.

Anyway, it's only you who can see the benefits for either changing or not. It is your playing, your keyboard, your money!

John you have spent so much time programming your resources for the pa 800 and pa2x , are you really prepared to spend more money on a machine that is going to sound inferior to the work you have already done ? knowing that your resources are not transferable without heavy time consuming editing ?

Like I said initially I don't understand your reasons for considering this purchase .

Hi spalding,
I guess my request requires some clarification in light of your remarks here which are correct. As you know I also programmed extensively for previous models , noticably for the PA50/80/Micro and the PA500/PA500m.
No I am not willing to trade my PA800 for something inferior and pay money on top of it. But until a couple of weeks a go the shortcomings of the PA900 were not all that apparent, after all it has only been ten days or so that folks in the USA have gotten theirs and none (to my knowlege) here on the Continent. And what is more I was approached by a regional Korgd dealer here with a request whether I could do programming for the PA900. If so this would inevitably lead to some kind of understanding if you follow my drift. Another bonus would be that the Performances made on the PA900 are meanwhile interchangable with the PA3X owners which would again be benificial to my programming. So far on the bright side. But if it appears that appart form some better sounds here and here the PA900 is actually inferior to the PA800 I will certainly not make that move. All the more so as I would easily have to spend 75- 100 hours in programming a decent set of Performances appealing to all and sundry. Of course I might always considering the programming in itself apart from the question whether to change keyboards or not.
Hope this clarifies my postion.

regards,
John

Thanks for that John. I know that you enjoy programming. Maybe it's time you do this on a properly commercial basis. There are dealerships for korg for Yamaha for Roland all over the country. Could you bundle your resources as part of a package that dealers could then sell with the instrument . Perhaps part of the deal could involve them loaning you a keyboard for short while. It would be a great way for you to spend considerable time on the instruments and decide which one you liked best .

Believe me Spalding I have been down that road a couple of times ( even during my Roland days in the 1990s) but the big boys can hardly be bothered. Besides I always set out to do my programming to please myself, ultimately adding some stuff that is not really my cup of tea and then offer it to those interested. Only this week someone in Holland who had moved from a PA500 to a PA800 asked for my Resources. His comments on those are almost embarrassing, that positive I mean. I hasten to add though that anyone under 30 ordering my Resources would probably be slightly disappointed, whereas anyone over say 45 would be chuffed to say the least. So all in all there is no point in trying to commercialise this. Besides all of you who did contribute a donation have made it possible for me to move along from one keyboard to the next, so I ain't complaining.
Returning to the issue at hand, yes it may well be that a dealer will lend me a PA900 for a couple of weeks, so that I might start programming but that will have to wait until after October when we are having our (belated) summer holidays.

regards,
John