Here we go : my 3 favorite parts of the Pa4x (hard choice there are so many)
- Sound engine, is more advanced then any other arranger and many synth workstations
- Styles sound incredible and the engine is more advanced then Yamaha's
- the songbook combined with the setlists make a perfect tool
My 3 least favorite things of the pa4x (had to think really hard to find any)
- no access to the huge player created databas of styles that Yamaha has
- no 88 key or desktopmodule version
- only 4 sounds and 1 insert and 2 master effect for keyboard parts

I've given my opinion and listed the points I like many times. I ain't fallin' for this trap!

trap or no trap...

You say trap?

How could this be a trap?
Fran is only interested in Roland
And th e Pa4x blows the only Roland arranger out of the water in all aspects except one its price.
Last time i played the ea7, it felt more like a Casio where it comes to build quallity
It still sounded like the venerable G70, none of the new sound technollogy in the high emd Rolands made it into the ea7...
in the end it felt more like a toy to me then like a serious instrument..
Now how could this be a trap to promote the Roland EA7?

The trap is I don't want to argue about it!

From my perspective (not that anyone cares) there are four guys on this forum that set the tone...pun intended...for what an arranger keyboard should be.

Gary...a Yamaha guy through and through. Doesn't get caught up in the hype and made his decisions based on a good business model. (PSR-S950)

Don M...brand loyalty not important. Whatever board makes him feel and sound his best.
(Korg PA4X)

Donny...not really a brand loyalist, but I believe deep down inside he likes the Yamaha styles best. If Yamaha comes out with a wizbang PSR based on genos technology...he might jump back. (PA4X)

Fran...I believe Fran will be buried with a Roland t-shirt on. He knows Roland boards extremely well and will defend them to the death. (G-70, EA-7)

Diki was a colorful commentator...we all know where that got him.

All of these guys are professionals who have provided copious amounts of beneficial advice and insight over the years.

I myself have stuck to Yamaha because I like their styles and guitars best. Yes, I've had a Korg PA1X and a PA600. Both boards left me a little bored in the style department. The 4X is King right now and if I had the cash...I might try it. But, with all the professional advice given on this forum, one would be hard pressed to make a bad decision with whatever board they choose. Bachus...is quickly picking up where Diki left off...minus the sarcasm.

Thanks to all these guys (and of course Nigel) for making this a entertaining place to hang
out!

Jinjleman I just read your post – with a smile. The guys you mentioned surely make this one interesting place.

John C.

Pardon my butting in here. I have the EA-7 and it is a good board with many things to recommend it. The main drawback is the styles. I am speaking strictly for the type of music I do (old country and pop 50s to 90s). I have been working on the styles Donny sent me using the makeup tools and Style Creator but it is a slow process. Yamaha has probably 50 styles ready to go out of the box. Also, Bachus makes a good point-where are the Roland supernatural sounds on the EA-7?

I am still learning and in no hurry, but I'll be watching the Yamaha announcement this fall-if it really happens.

Bill, try the Vietnam styles .. there are some that may meet your needs.

BTW: for Bachus and others... The E-A7 does have samples taken directly from the "high end" boards... namely Super natural sounds..

I have A/B'd these sounds.... as an example "pure EP"...
I realize you may not have access to these sound sources to compare.... this alone may be a reason not to comment as a matter of fact..

FWIW, the opening post is pure trolling.

Samples, maybe...

But the power of the Super natural sounds is not the sample, but what is added on top of those samples. What would a Yamaha super articulation sound be without articulations?

Roland moved on, but seemingly forgot about arrangers. And then released a low end arranger based on last centuries technology to make some quick money. Its more like a Casio with lots and lots of features in the box. Thats why it can feel quite competitive. But just can not be compared to anything TOTL, its just on the level of the PSr S770, Casio MZX500, Korg PA600(altough this one is getting old)but all of these have their strengths and lows.

Just sit behind a PA4x and listen to those styles... or play some DNC sounds and it will be clear to almost all keyboardists the moment you touch the keys that you cant compare a €1000 keyboard to a €3000 keyboard.

If you dont want to see that, you are extremely biased by the brand Roland. But then we all know you are, which makes you opinion much less worth then it should be based on all the experience you carry.

Now i am not a Roland trasher, allways and still do love the sound. The Integra 7 is the best sound module available, the RD2000 is the best Stagepiano available (the PHA50 making it my favorite choice), The System 8 is the best VA synth money can buy right now.. and the Jupiter 8 the best analogue and the V-synth the best digital synth ever. I also really really like the Jupiter 80. But where it comes to High end workstations and arrangers, Roland has left the building.

So see there, i dont have any preferences where it comes to brands. but there is a reason i currently have both a PA4x and a Kronos. Thats the Korg Mindset that a topmodel should have the best of everything it has to offer. And thats something the other brands seem to forget about.

Fran: Thanks, I'll look at the styles you suggested and keep working on the ones Donny sent me.

Some other problems with the EA-7. What direction is Roland heading with the arranger line? The "top of the line" BK-9, a good board, has been discontinued. That leaves the BK-3, an entry level board and the BK-5 a small step up. The EA-7 is now the effective "top of the line." And it is geared toward the world market with what 40-50 world styles when there are maybe 8 country styles.

Another nit is support. The Roland arranger forum has Diki, a very knowledgeable guy, and Fran who also is very helpful. Other than that, it is mostly guys from other parts of the world asking questions. Also, the forum is not that active. Another issue is videos or the lack of English language ones. Also, no content for the sampler.

As I said, the EA-7 is a good board but there are issues from my perspective. I'll wait and see what Yamaha is doing, but I'll probably end up buying something from them and doing a side by side comparison.

The BK series where Roland Italy designed.. which is closed down..

The ea7 was build in Japan with the south asian market in mind, that market is huge for cheaper arrangers.. and they dont mind if a keyboards build quallity is by Casio's standards.. thats also the market where the ea-7 is a huge hit..

Seems to me as for now Roland has said goodbye to the high end european arranger market, the BK9 was allready not a high end product


Seems however that there is a new worlstation high end from Roland comming out next year Namm, its supposed to have all possible backing features on board.. but only time will tell if this is just a rumor, or one that beholds some truth..

The E-A7 was designed in Japan..... but made in China..

Does that really matter? Apple products are also build in China..

The cheap buildquality is a designchoice made in Japan.

Lets just conclude this discussion with somethibg we both agree on, its a pitty Roland left the high end arranger buiseness..

Bachus it does matter.. Years ago I was told Roland was going back to Japan to make their products, and stop the China operation..

Japan makes better quality musical instruments than China,,
Keyboards, guitars, band instruments.. without exception..

Correcting your error may alert people , that it is a China made product. It doesn't make it a bad product, but you can bet the components are made cheaper than Japan electronics..

I was leary about buying a China product, knowing they were going back to Japan again..

BTW: I just seen on youtube the Italy designed PA4x is 100 percent made in China too..

What does it matter?
A lot of repairs are not possible, they swap out whole circuit boards at cost to the consumer..

The reasons circuit boards are swapped out instead of being repaired is economics. It cost far less for a new board than to trouble shoot the old board and replace the defective parts. In fact, quality control is to the point with electronics these days that failures are less than 1/1000th of one percent, therefore, the devices are no longer inspected and tested before leaving the factory. They just come off the assembly line, they're packaged and shipped to the distributor. The distributor usually takes care of all warranty problems, advertising, etc... Technology is absolutely amazing, even for old codgers such as myself.

Gary

I have no problem with my pa4x being made in China, it still is like an apple product of the highest quallity, with nice keybed and metal housing.

And circuits oards not being able to be repaired often has to do with the latest technollogy pcb's being multilayer boards, because technollogy and compact format do require this.. there is no way you can solder a multilayer PCB yourself..

Its the way electronics moved forward in time, its modern technollogy amd compact formats.

Where things go wrong is the prices for spare circuit boards.. they are in general dead cheep to produce (few dollars) but sometimes these companies charge hunfreds of $'s for them.

Reading this made me hungry for some Lo Mein,...and Lobster Cantonese,....and by the way I love my KORG Pa4x..
just sayin..

Of course you do... just sayin'

Just did some editing of styles on the Pa4x and the workflow is amazingly easy and very deep to get exactly what you need in so many ways,.....I know I made the right choice going back to Korg.

...again.



chas

Here's a thought. If you go back to Yamaha now, you can then go back to Korg yet again .

chas

Chas.."I like to think I appreciate things. In fact one of the things I'm comfortably settled on in this life is the value of appreciation in all we do, appreciation for all we have, for the world around us, and for that matter, for things I"m yet unaware of."

Have a great evening

Humor, do you appreciate that? ...or is that one of those things you're "yet unaware of"?

I'M JUST MESSIN' WITH YOU DONNY. Lighten up.

chas

Chas a few shots of jack and a soulful blues progression to trade 4's sometime will certainly ease the tension......

Sidenote: A technique in which musicians consistently alternate brief solos of pre-set length (for trading fours, four bars; musicians may also trade twos, eights, and so forth). Trading fours usually occurs after each musician has had a chance to play a solo, and often involves alternating four-bar segments with the drummer. Just sayin..

Donny, just enjoy the moment and your current keyboard, there is so much to appreciate..

bachus truer words were never spoken my friend....I know I'm fickle at times but in the end I always get what I want & need.
And yes I am certainly enjoying my KORG Pa4x v2.01 in so many ways..

You're happy with it and that's all that matters.