Interesting concept from Korg

Nice A REPURPOSED KORG MICRO ARRANGER

yeah, better said pa50. or pa60. or pa80. but definitely a nice toy for amusement.

That thing is ugly. Next the Rolling Stones micro arranger.

Why would a company that is serious about arrangers and musicians design a toy like that?

It's all about earn money, as always. Also the fact that MicroArranger is a neat little thing as it is could cause they hit a new group of customers to the Korg users with this "karaokemachine" who also can be used as a arrangerkeyboard.
Stones next? Why not?

Nope, .........next, what else ya got? You're losing me.................

is this a April fools Joke ?????

You have to think a bit outside of your own world, for everything that you may think is stupid, or a waste of time, someone out there might think this is the most amazing thing ever.

Beatles collectors, or just big fans of their music, or maybe the arranger performer who only does their tune? I'm a huge Beatle fan, and I think I might grab one, just to have fun with.

There is always someone out there willing to buy the thing you don't want

This is also something which could become a very rare collectable in future years. Something to think about. You all know what some of our older gear is worth now-a-days.
something to think about

I went to korg.com and listen to the Beatle styles. Nicely done, nice gimmick for selling a re packaged keyboard . Would I buy one? Maybe a regular micro arranger. I really don't need it.
Just curious as to the price.

Maybe it is a time for arrangers to move a little bit forward from all those ballroom and bossa and foxtrot styles.Why not play some Beetles or even go to 60,70,80 pop, rock, blues and jazz styles..
Why buying all new arrangers when we make them sound like those old organ arrangers from 70' and 80'.

It would be nice if the 64 Beatle's styles included with this Micro-arranger model were made available to the existing community of Korg arranger owners. Since I already own a PA50 and a PA500, I don't really need another PA50 clone.

Duane

I think the manufacturers have been adding newer styles, which is necessary for perpetuity, but some of old guys are still around that enjoys nostalgic music, along with the people who also hear them play it.

As far as the sound of '70 and '80 arranger is concerned, I know that today's arrangers sound much better with any genre.

But, to each his own.

On my Pa900 I have four Beatles styles and two Creedence styles that are pretty good and I will be using them all for an outdoor picnic next week ... don't know if they were Pa3x or Musikant styles ...

It seems logical that Korg would supply backup copies of the Beatles songs and styles on the Liverpool arranger, and that those would also work on the standard MicroArranger. I looked on Korg's website and all I see for the Liverpool at the moment is the owner's manual.

Anyone know who we contact at Korg to see if they intend to post Liverpool's songs/styles for use by their MA owners?

The big question is if they will put it up as addon for MA users, at least at this early stage. It could probably lower any Liverpool sales?
But in time it will probably "leak" out to download, as everything else does?

the retail price is $860.00 and the MAP price is $599.00. Available the end of September.

Trouble is - it's not a toy...if you can get past the fact that it's a microarranger (smaller keys) and hook it up to better quality speakers e.g. your normal keyboard, then the style files for the nearly 100 Beatles songs are fabulous.

I had a Korg MicroArranger and really had a great time with it. Used it many times as a stand-a-long gig keyboard. It loaded just about all the Korg Legacy styles and they provided a lot of options for songs. I also used John Smies Resources for it and that made a huge difference in sound quality. With my Bose L1 Compact it was surprising how good it sounded. I have small hands so the smaller keys were not a problem. I would still be using it today had the mother board not failed. I suspect there will be ample sales of this new one to make it worth Korg's time to produce it.

Deane

I guess those style files are also available as user styles for pa4x?

I guess the question should rather be why would a serious company like Korg leave thousands of folks with a bug ridden top of the line arranger keyboard for many, many months, but getting back to your question:
This keyboard which is essentially the Micro Arranger as remarked by many ( the Beatles styles have a very different format and in that way cannot be copied into other Korg arrangers not even, to the best of my knowledge, in the KMA)
IS NOT A TOY, far from it. The contents ( sample, sound and style wise ) of the KMA are IDENTICAL to PA50, PA80 and basically the PA1X. So what you get, particularly if there is a secondhand one on offer or a Sale going on, is a very substantial arranger keyboard that is ideal as an add-on for those not playing a Korg arranger keyboard. The small keys are actually not that much of a problem ( ask Colin) but that is basically irellevant if you have another keyboard or masterkeyboard, enabling you to play the KMA ( and the Liverpool) via the keys of your main keyboard. So Bachus, defintely NOT a toy.

Regards
John

P.S.
As most of you know I have played the PA50,80,500,800 extensively and I would even venture to say that the drum samples on the original PA1X/PA80/KMA are slightly better than on the PA2X/PA800series. The latter could be enhanced by loading "Real Drums " ( probably from the first line up) into the RAM memory........

As far as I know, the keys are only shorter, but not narrower compared to ordinary keys. So, in that regard I wouldn't call it a toy either. It would be appealing to me if Korg released a new micro arranger based on PA-4X, but without built-in speakers and with a more pro design.

In regards to John Smiles post. This is what I posted in the Pa4x forum on the Korg Forum.


After reading all of the complaints and bug issues, on the Pa4x, I have to put my two cents worth in. Look at my post on the Pa3x site "LCD SCREEN WENT BLANK". I am waiting for a part for 7 Mos from Korg. Cannot use it.
Buying a Pa4x is like going to a car dealer he says I will sell you this car at full price. It has a v8 engine but only four cylinders are working, The transmission is a five speed but only three gears are working. You pay me full price and we will fix it later on. In the mean time you drive it the way it is. I'm sorry but after the trouble I have had with the 3x, Reading the complaints on the 4x I CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT. If I offended anyone I'm Sorry but at this point I am so frustrated with Korg I had to get my opinion in.

RC,
You really are right on target with your post. My MicroArranger sits broken and can not be used for the same reason - NO PARTS!!!! It was in the repair shop for 4 months and they could not even get a proper reply from Korg! I finally found a place to get a mother board. The darn thing was over $600.00 for the mother board. Guys, the KMA's full retail price is less than $500.00.

I too, have given thought to the PA4X but is is hard to make that plunge right now. By the way, I have also owned the PA1X, PA2X Pro and had not problems with them.

Deane

Here is how I used my KMA on gigs.
Deane

What a smart set up Deane, real nice.

John C.

Bruno,
I use this setup frequently when I play at various floors or rooms at the same location. Very easy to move from one place to the other. I no longer can use the KMA - it broke.

Deane

I am using the KMA as a stand-alone arranger and as a midi controller for the music programs on my iPad with no problems. I have not used it for gigging - more as a recreation/vacation keyboard - but I enjoy it and think it's a great instrument for the price. I guess I do use it as a toy in that respect. Sorry to hear there are repair issues ongoing... the keybed strikes me as a little flimsy but so far it hasn't given me any trouble.

“I am using the KMA as a stand-alone arranger and as a midi controller for the music programs on my iPad”

Hi Jim, Nice set up and I agree it’s a nice keyboard for the dollars; not to be taken seriously.
How are you using a midi controller with the IPad? Interesting.

John C.

I am using an Alesis IODock II with my third-gen iPad. The KMA's MIDI in/out goes to the MIDI ports of the IODock while the audio outputs of the IODock go into the KMA. I can use either the internal speakers of the KMA or the headphone jack to monitor the combined audio of the KMA and IPad music apps. Luckily the IODock II fits on the KMA's music stand nicely.

Thanks Jim, John C.

Well said Frank. Lloyd