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korg's most styles are "session" type format. ( meaning sounds great for some songs but not generic enough for most songs due to over complex bass and drum programming and fills.(Eg- Bille jean bass line drums in disco group/ Santana 'a smooth in Latin rock group/ Macarena in Latin dance group, long train runnin' , etc). Korg need more simpler styles IMHO.If you need only 10-15 styles for your set, no problem. But if you want fast song creation without going thru sequencing , Korg styles' limitation appear.
You see yourself hunting for more styles but luck may not be great for Anglo music playing (us/uk )OMBers.( yes , Mideast , euro and Balkans - no problem).
session styles sound great if you play that song or on their own (without singing )but start to sing on top of it, annoyance comes even if you mute the tracks due to over complicated bass riffs or drum fills .

This is how yamaha' style ( eg- tyros) divides. It still has session types ( 10%)but most of them are pro types (90%)when one style fits many songs due to simple bass and drum programming.again pro type means that's how they call it. Nothing to do with "professional" by definition.


Pro( 350 styles)
These styles provide professional and exciting arrangements combined with perfect playability. The resulting accompaniment exactly follows the chords of the player. As a result, your chord changes and colorful harmonies are instantly transformed into lifelike musical accompaniment.

Session(40 styles )
These styles provide even greater realism and authentic backing by mixing in original chord types and changes, as well as special riffs with chord changes, with the Main sections. These have been programmed to add "spice" and a professional touch to your performances of certain songs and in certain genres. Keep in mind, however, that the styles may not necessarily be appropriate -- or even harmonically correct -- for all songs and for all chord playing. In some cases for example, playing a simple major triad for a country song may result in a "jazzy" seventh chord, or playing an on-bass chord may result in inappropriate or unexpected accompaniment.




Your thoughts? ( I know some will say " how many styles do u need? I need only 20 and I reuse them, mute the tracks,.etc")Some might say yamaha has more songs styles( yes more in 3rd party styles).

Interesting, I am the opposite, in that I find Yamaha styles to be too song specific (Including the factory ones) with few that can be used for general use. In addition I find Yamaha styles to be the least realistic in giving the impression of having a live backing band, but instead sound like a canned CD. (They are very easy play though, so you can sound great with minimal training)

Korg on the other hand sound live, (As if you are listening to a live band) but it does mean you need to know more about the music to really put things together. (Practice and learn and you will find the Korg will reward in spades)

Personally I hate the all singing all dancing type styles as they just get in the way of playing. (You have to adapt to the style, rather than the style just enhancing your performance)

Just goes to show how personal music is.

Bill

The problem is over complex bass programming and riffs coming in and out that has nothing to do with the song. If you mute it, you'll lose the bass track.as a user of both I know it very well.

It is the other way around. You can sound great with Korg with minimum training because complex styles take care if the rest as long as you know when to comp your chords since busy tracks play by themselves. New Korgs ( 3x and afterwords )are getting better by making it simpler but just not there yet.

Song specific styles that you mention are the session category. You should look in to pro category and compare and contrast.

This is not about live sounding . Yes Korg is more live and punchier yet style limitations start to appear if you are use styles only for your gig and sing ( no mp3 or SMFers).

I agree Bill spot on assessment.