A friend is downsizing his setup. He has a PA80 and he is thinking of replacing it with the MicroArranger. Does the MicroArranger have the same sound quality as the PA80?

Thanks,
Chris

Hi.
As far as I understand it, it is a 'mini PA50'.
So differences will be the smaller keys and what else is diffent at PA80.
For some reason or another, the keys at KMA is not that bad to play on, in fact they work well.
I also use it to run the Roland BK7-m via midi. Works great.

Thanks for the info, which leads me to another question. Are there much difference in sound quality between the PA50 and PA80?

Yes, I'd agree that the KMA is quite playable but you can't really play fast rag-time pieces mainly because your fingers will hit the plastic part at the inside tips of the keys. The Microkey 61 by Korg has nothing that gets in the way of the fingers and thus more playable.

When I had the KMA and the PA80, I can't tell the difference in sound quality. The KMA is a great little arranger keyboard.

Thank you for your confirmation. My friend heard KMA sounds for 30 minutes. He, too, thought the KMA sounded very good. It seems that he is going with the KMA.

By the way, how do you compare the SD40 with your Korg PA1000 or E-A7?

Thanks,
Chris

Torch I have bought four KMA keyboards over the past years. I lose interest because there is a Pa800 across the room –then a Pa900 –to the Pa4x. I sold my KMA to Don Mason and then bought it back at a later time. I have now decided to keep one in my arsenal.

The truth is that it is harder to program, and there less features, like the pads do not sequence with a style – BUT you can do a good job with it.

My wife seldom listens to my keyboard when it is connected to my Bose Compact. Just recently she said, “Is that music coming out of that little thing”. Yes, it does sound good.

With the KMA under one arm; the Bose, a wireless head set, and my IPad on a small hand truck and I am off to the neighbors or a senior job. There is the value of a KMA.
John C.

Hi Chris,
Each has its own merit. I like the SD40 because of its portability and of course it's realistic drums/percussion sounds.
What I love with the PA1000 is its completeness,everything are there, vocal effects/harmonizer, powerful built-in speakers, songbook and deep in customization.Sounds are great too with minimal tweaking. What I love with E-A7 is its weight, live sounding, usable styles, easy to use,expandable,and lots of real time controls like sliders, knobs. It is cheap too.

Thank you, Jimmy. It is obvious that with your various tools you are well covered! I'd love to see a module version of the PA 1000! Probably it won't happen. I thought I would couple the SD40 with vArranger, but for now I decided to go all software - HQ soundfonts for vArranger backing and VST for solo instruments.