Need Advice On Arrangers

[propellerhead91]

Up until recently,I've never had a need for arranger keyboards and honestly,in my mind...I could never justify the added expense,over a conventional workstation keyboard.

However,I am looking at things a bit differently now and Korg's PA900 in particular,has had a heavy influence on me!

The PAX3 is a beautiful keyboard..but for $4000...well..I don't know,as for that price,I would have a hard time deciding between that and the Kronos.

On the other hand though,arranger keyboards may very well be the ideal direction for me to go in,because I imagine,that Korg's PA series would have a unique sound set...as compared to something like the Krome,I guess?

One of the many features of the PA900 that I like,is having the ability to record vocals,while also saving myself $2,000 in the process.

I love that the PA series has the option to record songs in the conventional workstation method and I think the various styles of auto-accompaniments
would be a great way to generate song ideas(for those times when I have writer's block).

The Krome is more in my budget range these days,but I would be willing to stretch my budget further,for something like the PA900...because Korg's budget synth sound sets are very tiring and redundant.

It seems to me that the PA900 is similar to having one's own portable recording studio & that really appeals to me and it represents a great value & bargain to me.
In one of the many Korg PA900 videos I've watched,I noticed that the boot up time is around 1m & 20sec(which is a good sign,in terms of PCM data size).
Perhaps I've overlooked it,but Korg does not seem willing to reveal the actual amount of ROM content...but according to the videos,the 900 sounds superb.

Computer integration is not terribly important to me,being that the 900 seems to be very well self sufficient,but it would be a nice bonus,if the 900 worked well with PC's.

I love that the 900 has the convenience of built in speakers,but I am concerned about what lies beneath the speaker grills..exactly?
That is to say,I was wondering if there is a separate tweeter,or is that the bass port hole,I see?
My concern,is that I don't want some crappy car speakers to listen to(because if that's the case),I would much prefer there be no built in speakers at all,for a lower price.
I suppose that one could argue,that you get what you pay for...however though,I once had a Radio Shack version of a Casio keyboard and for $300,it was an amazing little workstation,with a built in sound system you would not believe!
I think the model number was the MD-1700...well anyhow,it had separate bass and tweeter speakers and a bass port and for the price,the audio fidelity was shockingly good.
That being said,I think it's only fair that the PA900 should sound at least,as good as the aforementioned keyboard.

Another feature that's important to me,is that the electric basses and guitars are an upgrade from other Korg keyboards in this price range and some unique sounding synth would be nice as well.

I suppose I shouldn't torture myself with comparing the PAX3 and the PA900(being that there is such a huge price difference),but I can't help but wonder,how different the quality of the ROM content is between the two?

Any input on the PA series would be appreciated and I apologize for writing out a lengthy essay on this subject...didn't intend to,but it's so hard to condense my thoughts,when my brain is inundated with queries.



Thanks

[propellerhead91]

Something that I had previously overlooked in the production description,that I noticed today,is that the Pa900 does have a 2-way speaker system(which confirms a separate tweeter)-which is great,but what about a bass port?

Without that,I'd imagine that the audio from the speakers would be very boxy sounding.

Looking at the rear of the Pa900 from the photo on Korg's product page though,it appears that perhaps,those two squared holes are bass ports?

An odd place for bass ports on a keyboard(if that's what they are) and I guess that's a far fetched idea on my part.

I'm aching to see a Pa900 for myself,when it hits the music stores....

[Rockitman]

Hello, I have had the PA800 since 2006 and love it. The sound system is very similar in specs to the PA900 10cm (4" low/mid) and small tweeter 22W in PA800, 20W in PA900. The sound is very, very good. It is all the monitor that I need when playing solo or with a band. I was not sure either but this is not a cheap casio sound system. Yes those are Bass ports on the back and they help the low end out a lot. I am not sure if I will "upgrade"? to the PA900, I'd lke to play one first. I like my PA800 so much it would be hard to part with it. I hope this helps you decide. Tony

[Rockitman]

Having owned a long list of Korg synths over the years, I can say that in my opinion the PA series has many recognizable sounds from the Triton series and M3 series. However, I also noticed that some attention was paid to making sure that sounds like bass and solo instruments had the right effects to sound right in a track. plus you do not have to work too hard to combine these sounds together. In a workstation you have to do a lot of copying of effects to make the sounds right when you build a combination. Not as much in the arranger, it seems as the right amount of effects follow the sounds easier when combining them in the Upper 1,2,3 and Lower slots. This may make no sense until you have had time on the board. Suffice it to say that combining sounds is easy. I like the bass and guitar sounds. While there are not as many guitar sounds as I would like in the stock PA800, they are very good. Plus when you get the hang of the DNC control of these sounds they sounds more realistic than any other Korg synth I have owned. Gee I can write a long post too...LOL

[Rockitman]

Lastly, I should tell you that I have run MIDI sequences on many different synths over the years. They sound better on the PA800 right away than on any other synth I have ever used. Since I am not a guitar player (I have an acoustic and am learning) I play a Roland AX-1 (some call it a "keytar") for my guitars solos. It's a blast to play "guitar" solos on the Roland to a great sounding MIDI track. My audience really likes it

[propellerhead91]

Rockitman,

Thanks...I really appreciate the generous replies. I've owned many Korgs over the years myself & out of all of them,the M3 was my favorite...but unfortunately(& I don't know if this was a common problem)..my OS crashed..as it seems that Korg overloaded the M3's capacity by cramming it with an expansion pack that the M3 was not originally designed for.

The Kronos being too pricey & the Krome not offering anything groundbreaking,in terms of a distinctive library of sounds...it all lead me to considering the Pa900.
However...I've had a lot of time to think it over since my initial post and well...I know that since the PAX3 has the ambient drums and the Pa900 does not,this is one of the reasons I will not be all that happy with a Pa900.
I'm also growing tired of Korg's mysterious covert game of hiding the details of their PCM ROM content.
The same thing was the case with the Krome..as the details of the ROM and how it was allocated among the categories of presets was hidden from American consumers,but this info was available in Europe.

I read through everything I could find on the Pa900 & there is not even a total amount of GB's listed anywhere...much less how this ROM is spread out over the sound categories.

Also,Korg's mid-line & budget keyboards keyboard-action has always disappointed me(as well as all brands of the same class)....as well as PC integration..etc.,.

I am sure the Pa900 would serve me reasonably well in a live situation,but I am a home studio guy & once you get spoiled by the incredibly versatile and very reasonably priced PC software instrument world,there's no hardware keyboard under $4,000 that can even come close to a computer workstation.

The Pa900 seems to be the best hardware option I have seen to date,but it's not enough for me and I have a bad feeling,that in 6 months or so,the Pa900 is will just be yet another hardware keyboard I've had to sell off,while taking a massive hit to my wallet.

For about the cost of a Korg Kronos 88 key,I've got 2 PC workstations,two 61 key midi controllers,3 DAWs,every type of softsynth sound you can imagine and an arsenal of bread & butter sounds that I would have never been able to afford,in a hardware workstation and of course,2 pairs of finely crafted studio monitors.

While I understand that with hardware,the production costs are significantly higher than PC's & software in general..but even so,these hardware companies cut too many corners,in terms of key-bed quality,ROM size,HD storage(if any at all) and well..typically,synth sounds in most workstations are mainly sample-based only...unless you spend a fortune on a hardware workstation.

I mean...yeah,the Kronos is fantastic,but...for example,the Kronos's MS-20 synth..well,you can buy it in software form for $50...& to put a finer point on it,there's a virtual ocean of freeware synths that can do the same job.
Also...after you've spent 4 grand on a Kronos...let's say you want to buy expansion libraries and yeah,they sound fantastic,they offer a unique sound...but they're so expensive and then,once you've maxed out the HD space on your Kronos,well you've just sunk another 4 grand into the Kronos.

I really do miss my old hardware sometimes...but not that much.


Thanks again for your replies.

[Rockitman]

I have to agree with you. I have too many keyboards especially Korg ones with similar sounds. So much so, I am not tempted to get a PA900 or PA3X. My PA800 is just fine for now. I have some softsynths and they ar great. However I have a day job and I'm in a 6 piece band (I use a 61 key triton extreme and a 61 Yamaha Motif XS for that). I use my PA800 for my solo act. So I have little free time for the studio.