KORG Pa1000 Second Time Around review,..(Isn't That A song)

I opened the box and fired up the Pa1000. To me it's a Mini Pa4x in many ways and not so many also. Weight is perfect for gigging and a nice lean size.The speakers sound awesome much improved with some EQ/Limiter etc, even better,.. I'd prefer a more "textured feel" to the keys & buttons vs the smooth surfaces & "sharpish edge" black keys, but I can live with it, I Love the TILT up 3 position Display, it's brightly lit, Lyrics are very readable,different font sizes,colors, etc, & has on-deck front USB port, I'll have to get used to the new Burgundy/Black Color the RED "Limited version" I liked on the Pa700 but wasn't available,TC Helicon Vocal Harmony works & tracks flawlessly and sounds amazing as expected, Korg should have put the AC cord port & all inputs/outputs etc, on the extreme right or left instead of the center which could effect a player using a Apex center pole KB stand. I'll report more as I go along and do my homework setting it up again. So far my previous Pa4x & third party styles are loading & sounding pretty good with a few tweaks here and there, My previous Songbook song setups loaded OK and listed in order saves lots of time, but a few titles are synced with different styles which is to be expected and will have to readjust them one by one which was easy.. Another thing I like about KORG arrangers is that you can unlock all factory styles and totally edit them in any way you want or even remove them for style banks if you wish unlike other units. Let me say this about Korg arrangers.....they are not start up and play...if you want that buy a Yamaha arranger..Korg arrangers OOTB need to be made the way YOU want them to soundby digging into the deep operating system and using all the great editing tools inside to tweak all perimeters make it sound the way YOU want (If you know how)..yes it takes time, yes it is tedious, yes it's frustrating at times, but you soon realize that this ain't no out of the box plug & play keyboard ,since we have all this down time at home due to the Virus crisis a lengthy time diving into the OS is a welcoming period to learn the unit. I have to be honest many styles sound terriffic right away & some good but are weak in quality sound overall and need to be worked on with different drum editing, mostly drum kit, snare drum resonance, mid-range eq, reverb, tuning, decay time, etc,... bass guitar sounds can be a problem with bleeding and need attention too. I don't like the keybed feel, yes it is a very light touch but the keys don't go downward enough for my liking and limit expressiveness also not enough resistance for me.
Good news all the capabilities KORG gives you but you have to dig in, use them, and make it your own. If your NOT into editing, don't buy a KORG arranger KB.The Songbook is one of the main reasons I went back to KORG...there are many more I will mention later. The Yamaha Psr/S registration system, and the so called playlist function on my Genos was ridiculous and annoying to use. The KORG Songbook is what a player needs to navigate within and search through their repertoire of songs, styles, Smf, Mp3, etc, with ease, & scroll through song list, select, play, simply Brilliant!!

Will I keep it?...
To be continued........

i've had a love/hate relationship with korg for over 20 years. so i kinda solve that with buying a psr e463. when i get tired of tweaking i go to the yammie. problem solved. this little keyboard does a lot in the right hands. i think thats the key to all keyboard and of this is put the keyboard in the right hands and watch the magic. now i have my both units set up for stage(like thats gonna happen)to use together or alone. at this stage in my life, im very happy with my setup . but im a musician, always ready for change.

for got to say enjoy that keyboard. and keep asking how can i make my music better. good luck

Thank you sir....

I have both a Sz900, and a Pa4x, they are both fantastic keyboards --- depending on your needs/desires. Pa4x, a fantastic machine. If you are playing for people it gives all you need, top shelf. It is like have a large streamline truck to move your stuff.

The Yamaha sx900, is sweeter, clearer, natural, a personality of its own. It is like taking a trip with a beautiful sedan.

It is difficult to appreciate a Pa4x in my small studio room where there is nobody but me.
I may sell my Pa4x, working two different OS systems is a bit challenging at my age.
Yes it’s true, I do walk into the wrong room when looking for something.
John C.

Sorry to hear that John I would think you'd reverse that
and keep the Korg....good luck whatever direction you go.

Dnj. They were my same thoughts when I purchased the Pa1000.
Look forward to reading more of your Pa second time around report.

Glad you're digging in and enjoying the Korg. Sometimes it take a few visits to dig deeper and learn all these boards offer. Hope you're doing well.....we are shut down another month in Michigan.

Zuki/Graham...thanx for the encouragement
every day I try to learn more and dig in to the OS for a few hours
all the tools are in there for sure.
Once I get a style set up I save to user and then setup all the songs, lyrics, key, settings etc,
and enter it into the Songbook for performance..
Then move on to the next styles and songs
TIP from Don M ...always put a 1 in the "genre box" on pg2 in songbook
so that when you search by genre all YOUR Songs will be
shown first on the list....

The best thing I took from this is the solution to your Songbook problem. You sure went through a lot of frustration with the Yamaha OS. This may be it for you,at least in the near term.

Good luck