Korg Forums

fulock · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 16

Hi All,

Im trying to decide on whether to buy a new PA50, or if I should try looking for a second hand PA80.

Firstly, I'd like to know what memory the PA50 has, specs say that it has a SSD (Solid State Disk) - how big (how much memory) is this SSD??
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Spec's say that the PA80 has:

Audio input - with separate gain controls (Mic, Guitar, Line) - does the PA50 also have this??

The MIDI has a PC to Host (PC and MAC Compatible) - is this also the case with the PA50??

How big of a Hard drive (2.5" ATA) can the PA80 Read??

What can the Flash Rom cards be used For??
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From what I can see, the PA80 is a little older, but has a few more features over the PA50, am I correct in saying this??

If anyone can help answer these questions for me it will be greatly apprectiated!!

Cheers!! Smile

gooni · Joined: 14 Mar 2007 Posts: 9 Location: Iran

First of all , Pa50 doesn`t have Audio input - with separate gain controls (Mic, Guitar, Line).
But its MIDI has a PC to Host.

The Hard drive (2.5" ATA) that PA80 can Read is Upto 2 TBytes (ain`t it enough?)

The Flash Rom card is used to sample the real and natural sounds (like vocals , instruments ,effects , etc.) and play them on your keyboard.

Pa-80 Sound Quality must not be compared with Pa-50 "noise! quality" at all ...!!!

fulock · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 16

surely the PA50 can't be that bad.....

the specs are pretty identical aren't they??? Its just that the PA80 has the more options of expandability ( hard drive, PCM cards, mic input )

Theyre both using the Korg HI Synthesis, 62 voices, 62 oscillators, same effects, same amount of drum kits etc...

I've heard the accordion sounds on the PA50, and sax's and violins... i think they sound quite nice for the price of the keyboard.....

adimatis · Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 6:15 pm Post subject:

the quality of the audio output is the same in these two keyboards. also the sound engine is identical, no diferences here.

there are two audio inputs in pa50. no separate gain or volume for them.

there is no USB at all, neither a reliable and verified way to add it in, or a flash card or any other external memory. about the MIDI connection, i wouldn't know, not use it much.

pa50 is still the best sounding arranger for the price you pay for it, i suppose this is the reason for keeping it alive after so many years of existence (almost 10 since pa80).
_________________
"Many people take the bad management for destiny!" - Kin Hubbard

fulock · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 16

Cheers for that adimatis,

Im very interested in this audio imput - what is it designed to be used for??

I have one of the AKG HeadSet microphones which has its own Batter pack - Would I be able to plug this into one of the inputs for Vocals??

can you add any effects on this Audio input?? Eg, Chorus, reverb etc.....??

As it does not have any external memory or upgradable memory, how much can be loaded on the PA50 - example arrangements/rythms I can obtain from other friends who own Pa50's and I30 Korg's??

Cheers! )

adimatis · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:11 am Post subject:

about the internal memory capacity i can not tell you much, as i am mainly using the floppies for storage and that's only seldom.
the internal ssd disk is used for OS files and for user settings files, also for performances and user's sounds and styles. not for songs - for that you have floppy disks. also, keep in mind that for custom sounds and styles there is a particular number of empty slots, so that meens you won't run out of internal memory but available slots.

that is: three user banks for styles (3x16), two user banks for sounds and one for drums kit.

the audio input are line-level gain. sometimes i use them for monitoring the entirely mix from my sound card. you can plug in a guitar or another keyboard's output. the mics, without a good preamplifier, won't do it. but with a mixer or a separate preamplifier, you can use of course.
there's no effects available. the inputs are just that: a way to use onboard speakers with an external audio source. no settings at all.

goodluck.
_________________
"Many people take the bad management for destiny!" - Kin Hubbard

fulock · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 16

adimatis - You have been extremely helpfull!!

Thankyou so much for all your help!! Smile

.........Just in case anyone else wanted to know, I just found on the Korg website that the SSD is 20Mb in size..... Wink

adimatis · Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 4:02 pm Post subject:

you're welcome.
yes, i remember reading once that the sdd was about that, up to 20 mb.
i still believe pa50 is a good keyboard for the price. i'll keep mine until it will either get broken or i'll get a very good price for it.
Wink

_________________
"Many people take the bad management for destiny!" - Kin Hubbard

ktn · Junior Member Joined: 14 Aug 2007 Posts: 87

PA-80 and PA-50 are quite similar, PA-80 have a few extra features which are very nice, especially the support for hard drive.
I got a PA-50 because there was no PA-80 in the store at all (could not find it anywhere 2 years ago). Saving stuff on the floppies is slow and I have to keep a lot of floppy.
I would recommend PA-80 just for the hard drive alone.