Pa1x Destined to be a Classic

[Sharp]

Very few keyboards make the “Classic” category. I don't believe there has ever been an arranger branded as a Classic yet.

A true classic is something like the KORG M1. There have been a few mind blowing gems along the way that deserver to be classics, but people would find it hard to universally agree on them.

The only modern day keyboard that people would probably agree on becoming a classic is the OASYS. Probably because you won't ever see anything like it ever again. Its the Fairlight of our time.

Would be nice to see an Arranger earning the Classic respect though. I don't think a Pa-Series keyboard will ever do it though. The i30 stands a way better chance.

Regards
Sharp.

[Charley Brown]

Hello Giner:

Yes you are right, one minute of dead time on the stage can seem like a life time to the audience.

Since I've never owned the i30 I'll take your word and experience when it comes to ease of changing songs on the fly and I’m sure, over the years, you found yourself resorting to some of the following tricks of the trade.

I usually gig with 4 - 5 piece musicians on weekends and, like you, I'm always reading the crowd and frequently find it necessary to change coarse depending on their response. And so, during a song, I may decide to deviate from the set list and pick out an alternative song and have it ready in my mind before hand. The guys in the band are always ready for anything. I’ll usually signal the drummer to continue kicking and then announce the song over the mic so that the band knows what’s up, and to make a smooth seamless transition for the dance floor...

During the week I perform in a duo with a guitar player and with the Pa1x I do the same thing and, may on the fly, set an alternative song to “presto” while performing the previous song. Yes this does cramp my style a bit but there is usually a spot in the song where I can rest my right hand briefly to bring up an alternative song on the song list screen. When people are dancing it often happens that the current song may also have the same style as an appropriate alternative and so I may choose one that blends in, kinda like making a medley. Some times I have even cut the bass and accompaniment sliders out leaving the drums kicking for the dance floor while punching in a new song.

I’ve used the pa1x out on gigs for the past two years and find it very easy to make changes on the fly and conducive to live performances. But like you said, it’s hard to beat 13 years of experience on the i30 compared to just one night on the Pa1x. I know you are also using the Song Book which I find to be a tremendous advantage and time saver especially when simply punching in “NEXT” on the set list which you can create custom for your self.

[BasariStudios]

Yes James, i would probably add in there the G1000/800 in there together
with the I30...all 3 can come as closest as Classics...i dont think any PA is that.

[Reuben]

Hi James - thanks for your input.
Hey - I've just come across your performance of "The Voyage" on YouTube and I'm blown away - love both the song and your performance. For a live performance that was fantastic.
Do you have your own CD?
If so where can I buy it!
To digress - what do you think of the Lionstrac Mediastation. Is it something that "arranger" players should be considering?
Best regards,
John

[pauli]

Like someone mentioned above....I too think that many of us look for too much from one keyboard...thats why there are ...KORG,YAMAHA,NORD,CASIO,WERSI,KETRON,ROLAND ETC...ETC...ETC...

Have fun with what you got"
or go buy what you havent"

[jazzmammal]

...but then in a live situation where you have a full dance floor, it's not always possible to stick to a set list, not if you're reading your crowd who, in the time it takes to deviate from your list to get to a suitable number, may well have left the dance floor.

This is exactly why I like to just use the keyboard live, playing the styles. I've just finished a series of casino gigs with a trio with myself, a sax and a vocalist. This was not a jazz gig, it's a rock R & B gig. I created a song list of about 60 tunes and made notes of the style, tempo and variations I want to use. I also loaded in about 15 really good midi's and those sound great and certainly work but I prefer just playing the thing myself because I have full control. This of course depends on how good a player you are and how competent you are with your left hand or both hands using the full keyboard mode. The full keyboard mode is awesome playing full piano on a nice ballad like Georgia. So many dance tunes are pretty simple 2 or 3 chord things with a hot rhythm track. For me, I could care less if the tune is a perfect cover or not as long as it's a similar style and sounds good. I''ve already found several styles that are almost perfect copies of a famous tune like the Rock>Abby Road>V3 style for the Beatles "I Saw Her Standing There". It's almost perfect right down to the exact ending using Ending 2. It took me a bit of practice to time the ending so as not to mess up the vocalist but I got it and it sounds great.
If I find myself in the situation you describe I would just hit a style and play it immediately.

Bob

[Giner]

Hi Bob,

I use my 1X almost exactly as you do, all styles. I avoid midifiles at all costs, as I'm a decent two-handed player and like to have full control. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to love my keyboard but, as I've outlined, to me it's not as elegant to get around on as the i30. We run a pretty snappy show and the 1X doesn't quite cut it. Maybe I'm over-critical, but it's important to us.

Aside from the practicalities, there is also that vague area that's so important in a live situation where fluency and comfort with your keyboard engenders a more confident performance, and an audience senses that. I think it's one of those intangibles that's often overlooked.

In the end though, it's all about personal taste and all of the above factors I believe shape that.

[worth]

you have not had your PAX long giner. Give it time. You will love it.

[jazzmammal]

Giner, I just noticed you're in Alberta, I lived in Calgary for 12 years and gigged all over the place from all over town to Banff to Fairmont Hot Springs. Nothing like schlepping a chopped B3 arond at 40 below in February! I'm very familiar with different arranger keyboards, I used to sell them. The I30 was certainly very cool but the PA1X does so much more once you get into it. The thing is deep and parts of the manual are not very clear. I'm far from an expert yet with this board, that's why this forum is so helpful. If you didn't know this already, there's a link somewhere around here with all the I30 styles that can be loaded into the PA.

Bob

[Giner]

Hey Bob, I just noticed that you moved S. California. Just proves you're smarter than I am, eh?

On the 1X, yeah, I'm working on it. As I said before, I really want to like this thing, I just need to find the level of intuitiveness I find in the i30 and, as worth mentioned, I haven't had it nearly as long. So maybe it will come. I hope so.

[MadrasGiaguari]

Dear friends,

I had i30. I loved that machine: lovely keyboard, elegant construction (that magic black!), many direct controls (hard sliders and buttons, not virtual like for PA), lovely Style/Arrangment structure.
But...... I had to change many, many, many buttons (at Korh service) and spent quite a bit....

PA1X: I have it, I love it, I can't change it: I would buy PA2X, but does not provide the FANTASTIC BUILT IN SPEAKERS, that makes PA1X, when needed, a complete set.
PA1X is for sure more "slow" in answering. But can you calculate the unbelievable increase of features that PA1X has in comparison with the "essential" i30?
PA1X sounds and styles quality and variety, and storage capacity is really fantastic.
I only hate that silver thing, that give to PA1X a low quality/toy appearance.
And miss, as others, a software for editing banks of style with the PC (or Mac).

Finally: they are both super keyboards, different because time passed....

Ciao

Angelo

[karmathanever]

Hey Angelo

How are you my friend?
Yes, how I miss my i30 too - should have kept it.
But I love my PA2Xpro - what a professional and authentic keyboard!!!
I recently performed a direct comparison with its rival (Tyros 3). I actually re-recorded my trio's songs using the T3 (styles and MIDIs) and then produced a CD comparing both keyboards. T3 has some nice sounds and the superarticulation2 is quite spectacular BUT it is so uncomfortable to use live. The end results quite obviously placed the PA2X way above the T3. The T3's harmoniser is not good - adequate for some "fun" harmonising - but never for performing or serious recording.

I guess there is nothing else to compare it with - the Audya is still being developed, Roland is way behind, which leaves Casio

Take care

Pete

[jazzmammal]

Hey Bob, I just noticed that you moved S. California. Just proves you're smarter than I am, eh?

On the 1X, yeah, I'm working on it. As I said before, I really want to like this thing, I just need to find the level of intuitiveness I find in the i30 and, as worth mentioned, I haven't had it nearly as long. So maybe it will come. I hope so.

That casino gig I mentioned is turning into a regular thing so I've been working on setting up Performances in the PA for some songs. What I've done is start with a style I like and edit the STS's to use whatever instruments I want. The STS has to be saved separately from the Performance so for example depending on who I'm working with I may do any one of a dozen or so shuffle blues so I started with the shuffle blues style, changed the upper 3 insruments to 2 organs and 1 EP and made the lower a bass in case I want to play manual bass. I also had to change the octave transpose and the volume balance between the tracks. That's one STS. STS2 is 1 preset organ, 1 digital drawbars, dist guitar for soloing with the same left hand bass. For blues, I only need those 2 STS. All this is one Performance so you first save the STS then save again as a Perfomance. This is basically for generic shuffle blues suitable for different keys and tempos. I did the same for a straignt rock blues. Note that you have 4 STS to work with and each one gives you 3 upper and 1 lower so you can have a total of 12 different instruments set up for the upper and 3 for the lower for one Performance. That saves you from searching the main sound bank for a particular patch in the middle of a song. For more song specific things like some ballads the sax player likes to do I did the same thing but named the Performance the song name. Right niow I'm not using a huge number of Performances, if that becomes an issue, I can do the same thing but put them into the Songbook. There may be a better way to do this but this is what I've discovered so far and it worked well on the last gig. It's still a work in progress though so if I find something better, I'll post about it.

Bob