[ KORG PA-600 ] Needed improvements in the new version. (OS)

Fransman · Post by **Fransman** » Mon Jan 28, 2013 8:29 pm

A "quick and dirty" way to edit (improve) sounds is sometimes this:
when you like the settings of a performance, simply copy the effects to a performance you don't (or less) like.
(see "sticky topics" or your manual for the way to this; it's quite simple).
Of course this will work best for similar kinds of sounds (copy piano effects to another piano performance for instance, or guitar to guitar performances).
I've had some very nice results with this sometimes.
If you don't like the result, just don't store the edited performance and nothing is lost.
So you can experiment a lot with this method.

Also: have a look at the menu - mixer - fx send tab, and play a bit with the sliders for the different parts.
This also can make a LOT of difference.

It's great fun to experiment with the effects!

rhinomark · Post by **rhinomark** » Mon Jan 28, 2013 10:34 pm

I just got my 600 Friday afternoon. I was grateful for Stuart at Sweetwater taking my order a couple of months ago and shipping me one as soon as they got one.

I have a Kronos, a Yamaha PSR 900, and a Roland XP50. I have a Hammond B with Leslie and a Suitcase 88 Fender Rhodes in the garage. That just to put in perspective my thoughts on the 600.

For the dollars, it is amazing. Now granted, I'm still going in circles with the operating system because this old dog takes a while to figure out new technology. It's no Tyros, but with $3,000 left in my pocket for choosing the 600, I'd say I came out way ahead.

I love my Yamaha 900, but like all keyboards, there are so many things to not like. Drums suck. Arrangements are too nice (artificial, plastic). Registration system is a nightmare.

What to love about the 600? 1) Bang for the buck. 2) Good keyboard sounds. 3)Really nice horn sounds--especially the trumpets and cornets. (Have to agree, a bit put off by the strings.) 4). Touch screen. I'm an iPod, iPad, iPhone type of guy. I keep trying to touchscreen my Yamaha (pathetic isn't it?). 5). Great speakers. 6) The balance knob! What a simple idea that Yamaha didn't think of. 7) Really riveting styles-- edgy, more contemporary, with raging guitars and intense drums. Even the ballads and waltzes have attitude.

. Decent keybed, but I am spoiled by the Kronos 61-- again like comparing a VW Bug to a Porsche. 9) The songbook that lets me simply save songs, styles, and mp3's just the way I want them and then do them without a huge hassle. 10). The improved GM soundset. In the old days, Korg implementation seemed really weak side by side with Yamaha or Roland. Now I actually liked some of my midis better on the 600 than the Yamaha. (I mainly buy midi files from Yamaha to print out keyboard, string, brass, and bass parts for the band-- they read better than they fake it....)

I've got sounds, like everybody, that I wish had been implemented better or more accurately sampled. There are quirks in the operating system that for me might be worked out. But after three days, I'm liking what I'm getting from this beast. I'm preparing for a show in two weeks and I've recorded some of my Sonar creations to mp3's and have stripped a few of my sequences of tracks for storage in the 600. The Kronos is an awesome live performance animal and I'm hoping the 600 is too.

So can ya tell? I like this critter. Korg's packed a lot of goodies into this little board and for not a lot of bucks. And maybe, when I learn how to edit sounds, I'll be even more jazzed (Ain't hope a friend in need?)

Thoraldus · Post by **Thoraldus** » Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:16 am

Thanks for the overview Rhinomark! and Congratulations on getting your PA600. I should be ordering mine in a month or so. Can't wait to dig into it!

pimen007 · Post by **pimen007** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:10 am

Rhinomark Thanks for telling us your first impressions, I'm happy for you and I hope to soon have my PA600, in my case I like to Thoraldus, I have to wait a month because in Europe the stock is over!

Regards

jac38 · Post by **jac38** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 3:32 pm

I have one complain and realy hope this can be fixed with new firmware but correct me if I'm wrong. It still is fooling us..

It's about the Mp3 songs. I the Midi format you can turn of some instuments and save it for further use. You can also use Midi files as a base, working in Sequencer mode. That is NOT possible with the Mp3. So what use is, for example the function of turning of the vocals in Mp3 songs, if you can't use the song in any other mode then just play the song? You can't even adjust vocals and instruments and save it, for later use, so every time you you play the song you have to adjust it while it plays or is in in a pause mode, over and over again.

I call that fooling us to believe that just because it can read Mp3, we can also use Mp3 songs when making music, but the funktion is more or less usless...

P.S Sorry for my bad spelling.

adimatis · Post by **adimatis** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 4:34 pm

jac38 wrote:I call that fooling us to believe that just because it can read Mp3, we can also use Mp3 songs when making music, but the funktion is more or less usless...

"Fooling us"? I don't think so - I've never had that impression, probably because I red carefully what the mp3 function does and did not have unrealistic expectations. The worst is when you are fooled by yourself!

Mp3 does what is does (play mp3, traspose, vocal cancel, etc) and if you have a use for that - fine! If not, forget it. I don't think Korg ever told you that using mp3 in creating music within the keyboard was an option.

jac38 · Post by **jac38** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 5:43 pm

adimatis wrote:
jac38 wrote:I call that fooling us to believe that just because it can read Mp3, we can also use Mp3 songs when making music, but the funktion is more or less usless...
"Fooling us"? I don't think so - I've never had that impression, probably because I red carefully what the mp3 function does and did not have unrealistic expectations. The worst is when you are fooled by yourself!

I guess you can be right. I didn't think it was unrealistic to use the Mp3 like the Midi files but I don't realy understand theses thing fully..
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There are some more things I would like seeing fixed. If I'm playing a Sax and goes from "Factory" to "Legacy" it doesnt stay in the Sax instument group. That's realy frustrating.

If I load a new Sound from my USB to User 1 and listen through lets say up to page 6, and then load a new Sound to the same place it stays on page 6 instead of starting on page 1.

Shawn · Post by **Shawn** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:48 pm

Hi there,
Just want to share a few things and get your thoughts on them.
1- I finally managed to freeze the PA600 last night. The only new change I introduced was that, I changed the screen background color to #5 and turned off the on board speakers. While I was going page by page through the sounds, I noticed that I can only navigate through the sound pages and nothing else worked, till I reset the keyboard.

2- Have you seen and heard the demos on Youtube by Bo Tieng. They sound great but I do not have these performances. Are these performances made by him or localized by Korg? I really like to have his performance sets. see below example. There are several but here is the Piano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SY0B_uoyaY

3- Some buttons are harder than others to press, like my exit button, Var 1-4 buttons, but the sts 1-4 are soft.

Anyways, I am interested in your experiences as well.

Thank you

jpm47 · Post by **jpm47** » Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:39 pm

I acquired a PA600 in mid-December. I think this is great little Korg arranger. Beautiful sounds in both instruments and accompaniments. Very flexible and quite easy to use. I love it.

Few small problems normal for a first version.

- Unable to set the keyboard in French.

- I see no difference between the recognition chords of the "expert" and
   others. Even "expert" mode, in mode split just pressing a single note to
change the tone of the accompaniment. This mode should require at
least three keys simultaneously.

- It is sometimes impossible to get out of the "selection" "sound" (2 times)
   the keyboard is "frozen" in this "selection".

Suggestions for the OS revision:

- The pads should open and close on their own button. If I open
   pad 2 and 3 and I want to close the 2, "stop" stops both of them!

- The "Master Volume" and "Balance" could have assigables functions
   Example: change the "cutoff" and "resonnance" in live playing.

- To be able to assign "sequences" in the right hand, eg arpeggios.

jac38 · Post by **jac38** » Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:06 pm

I can agree with the problem of not getting out of setting that suddenly are frozen. I have experinced when a sound is not possible to leave and change to anything els. Soetimes it gets fixed when I change from style to song but sometimes I have to turn it off and on again. This problems happens not a lot but not very selldom either.

The pads problem you mention is very true as you have to stop all 4 with the stop button.

Jo Martins · Post by **Jo Martins** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:05 am

Hi. I don´t know if this is a bug but I would like somebody to check this:
I discovered that some songbook entries (specially the ones modified or new ones) down the style levels almost at a half volume. If you press midi reset (shift+start/stop) it returns to normal but as you press the variations the levels down the volume, not as much, but it decreases. It´s annoying.

Thanks
Jo Martins

cheshire1uk · Post by **cheshire1uk** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:20 pm

- I see no difference between the recognition chords of the "expert" and
others. Even "expert" mode, in mode split just pressing a single note to
change the tone of the accompaniment. This mode should require at
least three keys simultaneously.

I agree about the "Expert" mode, this is one of the first things I noticed when I first got my PA600. I also have a Roland BK-7m which I use in "Pianist" mode which requires three fingers to change a chord.

Because of the way it works on the PA600 I find I have to be very accurate when changing chords to make sure the changes are smooth, this should really be modified in a future update.

I'm very happy with my PA600 but this niggle does spoil it a bit for me.

Keith

Fransman · Post by **Fransman** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 1:28 pm

cheshire1uk wrote: Even "expert" mode, in mode split just pressing a single note to
change the tone of the accompaniment. This mode should require at
least three keys simultaneously.

Try "Fingered 3" (that's what it's called in PA800). From the manual page 106::
"Fingered 3
You must always play three or more notes for a
chord to be recognized. This option is automatically
selected when selecting the FULL Chord
Scanning mode."

jac38 · Post by **jac38** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 7:33 pm

I wonder, what are the chances that Korg read this thread and actually fixes any/some/all of this issues....?

cheshire1uk · Post by **cheshire1uk** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:11 pm

[/quote]
Try "Fingered 3" (that's what it's called in PA800). From the manual page 106::
"Fingered 3
You must always play three or more notes for a
chord to be recognized. This option is automatically
selected when selecting the FULL Chord
Scanning mode."[/quote]

I only wish "Full Chord Scanning" and "Fingered 3" was available on the PA600.
Perhaps Korg will read this and do something about it.

Korg Forums

[ KORG PA-600 ] Needed improvements in the new version. (OS)

PA 600 3 day user

A few items

Songbook and levels