Here are my first thoughts on the KORG PA900 maiden voyage today
at a 1hr day care center job with 50 people in attendance.

Pros:
1- The Lightweight is a pleasure to travel with, and the thin design makes for easy handling in & out of the case & into my vehicle!…Love it!!
2- The large display is wonderful, Easy to read and the touch screen is very responsive. It also shows all info needed on screen for performances in real time, Styles, STS, Multipads, Dual MP3’s, Mic settings, VH, all readily accessible at a mere touch.
3- Mic Processor and TC Helicon Vocal Harmony is top notch, two knobs & buttons allow the singer direct On Deck Access which is a beautiful thing!!
Producing Crystal clear vocals, amazing tracking, so many great settings, easy to adjust, Korg is on top of its game with this feature over any competition it Made me go back to using VH in my songs again ! Nuff Said!.
4- Controller pedal assignments are fantastic, there are So Many to choose from on the menu pages that can make the pedals do anything you need.
And there are three assignment knobs with a nice tactile rubber feel also they can also be assigned to do amazing things for the player in so many ways wow!
5- Editing and getting around the OS is very logical, Menu tabs provide you with direction and families of editing features and its deep.The PA900 lets you change Every part of the styles factory or user, including editing EACH
Drum set part which is critical, Roland G70 does this also which I like
big time,. ….although the ancient OS Folder system needs to be revised so that styles can be auditioned right off the USB thumb drive instead of having to load sets all the time. But Im used to it now..
6- I’m glad there’s a Joystick vs a Mod Wheel, it just works better for me.
7- My Pa3x setups & Songbook list, loaded ok but some Style parts & STS levels had to be adjusted which was expected.
8- Did I mention I LOVE the CUSTOM SONGBOOK feature?
9- I was able to make all level adjustments and SAVE them in
real time without a glitch,…..something I couldn’t do on the S950.
10- On board speakers are nice, loud enough for monitoring, & convenient for practice etc..
11- NO AC WALL WART....YAY!!!

I’ll have more thoughts Pro & Con as I go along…….

Thanx

Hi Donny,

How would you say the PA900 compares with the PSR-S950 soundwise? Both the realism of the individual voices, and also the styles?

Thanks.

Hi Donny,

How would you say the PA900 compares with the PSR-S950 soundwise? Both the realism of the individual voices, and also the styles?

Thanks.

Cons:
1- I find the weakest sounds are the saxes and you really have to get in there and tweak them adding EQ/FX to get the sound you require eg: Growl sax.
2- The key feel between the Pa900/S950 is pretty much comparable.
3- Although Korg offers more then enough style varieties I don’t use that many styles besides my custom edited “Easy 30+” which I can cover just about any genre of music unlike many players who don't gig or have ever been in front of hundreds of people on stage we use the arranger KB to back up our singing first. To me Korg is geared Toward the Pro Player.
4- On some Drum sets tweaking has to be done to get the right timber, resonance to the snares, bass drum, cymbals, etc,..
but easily done in Drum edit mode.
5- Many organs have a velocity pressure triggered Rotary effect which I can live with but don’t particularly like vs. some that have the joy stick to manually activate the Leslie. Otherwise great Organ sounds love the Gospel Organ.

I know as I go along I'll have more Pros/Cons to share, today I'll play it again at a 2hr luncheon/dance job, more to come.. I have owned so many KORG Models including the KORG SaS-20, i3, i30, Pa60, Pa80, Pa500, Pa800, Pa3x,... But I will say this,.........
There are So Many Great features packed into this KORG PA900 Arranger keyboard that certainly Outweigh the negative in so many ways.

I don't think Bachus goes out of his house, either. T5 looks a tad hefty for gigging.