buying Korg pa 50 or yamaha psr 1500

pokkel · Post by **pokkel** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:13 pm

Hi all
i'm going to buy a new keyboard. I have two in mind. these are the korg pa50 or the yamaha psr 1500.

I didn't had the chance to try the korg keyboard out , because he is never in stock.

Can you guys who owns a pa50 tel me please some things about this one.
How are the keys , the voices, structure of this product ( at some forums , they say it's a toy keyboard because it's built from bad plastic)
anny problems wit it..... . How long do you have this keyboard??......
is it his money worth???
thanks Pokkel from belgium

I'm goin to use one of these for playing at home and playing in my band.

BasariStudios · Post by **BasariStudios** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:29 pm

All i can say is that PA50 is WAAAYYY behind PSR1500, structurally
and also the sounds...OS too...they are not even the same cathegory.

pokkel · Post by **pokkel** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:50 pm

what do you mean with way behind? Is it a keyboard with lots of problems? I still can't choose between these two.

BasariStudios · Post by **BasariStudios** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:17 pm

Its not a keyboard with a lots of problems its just that PSR1500 is better
sounding, better built, easier, more modern, bigger Rom e tc...in 2 words
BETTER KEYBOARD!

pokkel · Post by **pokkel** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:37 pm

thanksfor the info mate

Ajith · Post by **Ajith** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:03 am

In my experience, soundwise, Pa50 is better than Psr1500. Of cource, Pse1500 is a more advanced one, when comparing the build and technology( advanced and easy user interface, computer connection, USB storage etc), but sounds are better in Pa50. For eg. take the Arabic Kit in both the key boards and play the Tabla, then you will only like Pa50.So if you want to play more ethnic type of music then choose Pa50, otherwise Psr1500. My advice is dont go for Pa50 but buy Pa500.

BasariStudios · Post by **BasariStudios** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:25 pm

The Arabic Kit is the only thing you can compare? I dont think you've heard
the drums or guitars and bases on PAR1500...even for Arabic Music, it still
has bigger and better ROM...but only for people that know what they're doing.

Ajith · Post by **Ajith** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:30 pm

Nedim, you are absolutley right. I am dealing with Indian Carnatic music, and it needs a good Tabla sound and some good ethnic sounds. ( is a part of Arabic Kit). I like the Santhoor sound in PSR1500, but other sounds may it be Bamboo Flute etc., I've no other choice, only Pa50. Yes our choice is according to what we do, isn't it?

pokkel · Post by **pokkel** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:16 pm

thanks guys , but i'm not really intrested in arabic styles or foregn songs.
I'm playing in a band at the moment, and we only play english popmusic like simple minds, the cure, depeche mode, the smiths ... .
so the foregn styles are not important for me.

BasariStudios · Post by **BasariStudios** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:28 pm

Just get the PSR.

Hellas · Post by **Hellas** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:16 pm

Hello my friend. I own a Korg pa 50 and i have to say that its a great keyboard. I still dont understand why people spend more money to get a Keyboard. Korg Pa 50 has the greatest price value. Only think which is bad on the pa50 is that this board has no Aftertouch and you are not able to play samples. But the psr has also no Aftertouch and no samples. Not only that pa 50 has better sounds and styles you also have more "sound-creating-posibilities" and to tell you the truth , Korg has in generall way better keyboards than Yamaha. I also had Yamahas but they are nothing in front of my Korg pa 50.

ktn · Post by **ktn** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 10:07 pm

I owned the Korg-PA50 for more than two years. I do love it.

Here are my two cents:

1) the Korg-PA50 does not support USB thumb drive (a huge drawback) I heard that there is a new model PA-500 that support USB thumb drives. But it cannot load styles directly from this thumb drive. You have to load it into USER styles area first !!!
2) a lot of the sounds on Korg-PA50 are better
3) Korg-PA50 does not have a large data base support like the PSR
4) struggle with tiny capacity of the floppy
5) harder to learn to use it efficiently
6) Fill-ins of some styles are 2 measure long, pretty hard to use in a live play. Some fill-ins even sound weird.
Only for the last 4 weeks I learn how to create / modify styles to address these "issues". Most new users find themself crazy when trying these fill-ins.
7) drums are kind of weak, again I only learn to crank them up in the last 4 weeks (after 2 years). Now the drum comes alive and from now on I feel much more comfortable with my Korg-PA50.

The PSR series have a much larger support with all kind of software, documentation, "how to", etc....
Most PSR users simply carry their thumb drive, stick them to a friend's PSR and then they can play like they are playing their own keyboards.

I guess we could carry our floppy with our own 48 user styles !!!

I am not turning down my PA-50 but the facts are the facts, we cannot deny them. I wish KORG does a better job to support their clients such as
a) produce more detailed instructions with concrete examples to demonstrate how to customize the keyboard).
b) produce more software helping with various tasks (styles creation, song edit, etc...)

mocando · Post by **mocando** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 2:43 am

I don't know the psr, but the PA50 is really an old tech keyboard. I think is nicely done, sturdy but nothing fancy.

Why are you narrowing to those two keyboards?

I ask because I was once in your position and got a PA50. Shortly I realized I didn't needed an arranger, because, like you, I was playing in a band and I already have some kind of accompaniment. Then I realized I needed a workstation. Sold my PA50 and got an M50. Couldn't be happier.

If you can't stretch your budget to an M50, why not consider an X50?

I strongly suggest you take a good look at the M50. It has two of the best features you could find in a keyboard. SD card storage and touchscreen. Other than build and sound quality, of course. But that comes with almost every keyboard in the market. Now, try to find a touchscreen in the 1000 bucks price range.

ktn · Post by **ktn** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:29 pm

Of course there are many types of keyboards out there.
This topic trail simply talks about PSR and PA-50.
I agree that PA-50 is a good product, it's just does not have some of the new technology such as USB thumb drive (which already exist a few years before PA-50 came out).
Personally, I do have two more keyboards (more expensive than PA-50).

pimpshady · Post by **pimpshady** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:20 am

I'm new to psr 1500 but all i can say is Korg pa50 is well equipped with pro sounds and powerful sounds customization facilities. Though I'm quite frustrated because of unavailability of USB thumb drive, but anyway this machine is enough for me.

What about psr 1500? Can this machine customized sounds?How much this machine cost? Does it cost more than korg pa50?