Kabinopus, I don't know about any multiple touch buttons on the screen of either the 600 or the 900. Those who own one of those could give you an answer. I suspect that the capability is as it has always been on Korg touchscreens, that is, mute just the voices that are displayed. A little icon of a track's instrument is shown which, by touching it, mutes the track and an 'M' icon shows.

Yes, that's right Diki, but not forgetting that the i30 did indeed have a touch screen. Not as versatile as these newer boards, of course, but pretty comprehensive at the time. Those physical mute buttons (as is the case with physical sliders) were far more useful in live play. Korg really needs to reintroduce them on future models.

I love the touch screen on Pa3X, but I seldom use the mute buttons. It's easier to just pull the sliders down.
Nice to have both options though.
DonM

Yep, I've done both on the i30, and with the Pa1X I'm a slider pusher (no buttons on 'er). Physical mute buttons on the 3X then, Don? I thought the i30 was the last board to have them.

Oh, I've got you, Don. You were talking about the on-screen mute icons.

Another one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wnnFAJRYI4

I think Pa900 produces a much nicer sound - richer, warmer, clearer and wider.

I agree, the Korg guitar sound gave a better impression of a real guitar than the Yamaha; however I think if Yamaha ditched the smooth closed in (CD) quality sound then it could really be a force to be reckoned with.

Bill

Sound is subjective, but the S950 sounds a tad better to my ears. Both are very good, nonetheless.

Ian

Well, having no stake in either one of these keyboards, perhaps I can offer another opinion? LOL

They both sounded equally good. Amazingly similar, to be quite frank, coming from different manufacturers. Neither, to my ears, had any commanding lead, and both, if played well (like the demonstrator did) do a very similar job of convincing you you are listening to a real guitar.

I think the only minor differences I heard were more to do with subtle differences in velocity response and key touch. Obviously, there's a vast difference between the FEEL of those two arrangers' actions (something no demo is ever going to show you!) and this is likely to produce some differences (I felt that the Korg had a hair more range, but also feel that was more to velocity response than actual sound).

But overall, in these kinds of shootouts, it's better to have them be 'blind'. One always looks for vindication in one's purchasing decisions, and seeing each keyboard played, especially when two such almost identical sounds, always tends to influence the decision. Simply LISTEN (close your eyes) to this and start it randomly in the middle, I have my doubts many can tell them apart..!

One way or another, these are great acoustic sounds

from electronic keyboards.

They both sound incredible and yes, played very well

by the demonstrator.

Frank

I have to say, I am amazed that no one seems to notice (or appreciate) the huge difference between the one dimensional sound in S950 and the full, nicely spread in stereo sound of Pa900!

To me, that one detail says it all. Of course, the fundamental sound is perceived subjectively and to my ears too the samples are not earth to sky apart, I agree with you, but the way that sound is... sounding, it's very different.

Some will say it is just the patch effects. But I don't believe that, as also in the previous comparison I noticed the same - the sound in Yamaha is not delivering the same overall sensation of realism and depth. And I am not talking about SA vs DNC.

Anyway, doing Diki's blind test only revealed this more strongly to me. It's worth nothing, but I was able to tell them apart easily! I even transformed the downloaded YT into a mp3 and analysed it in the editor. Korg is just better.

But of course you should trust your ears. I trust mine - otherwise we'd go crazy with so many opinions!