Should I buy a new PA4X or wait a while

[karmathanever]

I have an offer on a used (bought December 2016) pa4x . It's a private purchase and is selling for £2300. The guy that owns it is 87 and the learning curve is too steep for him . I do t know him personally . What do you all think ? He lives about 40 miles from me .

Hi Worth
That sounds promising and could be like getting a new one for a very good price.
76 is great and a little heavier than what you are used to.

Be aware that there is a learning curve with the PA4X as its OS is new and its design is somewhat different to the PA1X.
Personally I love the new structure and find it more conducive to performing and recording.
New sound engine is awesome.

Cheers

Pete
(P.S. Sent PM)

[worth]

I know that I am 80% sure that I will bite the bullet and get the PA4 X in the next couple of weeks. I just wondered has anyone had any difficulty in transferring song sequences from the pa1x next to the pa4x and if so how did they get around ensuring that the sequnces came out in some semblance of completeness. For example did the bass tracks still come out on track 2 ? Did you just have to substitute a suitable bass sound ,? And do the drum tracks come out on track 10 ? Did you have substitute a more suitable drum instrument. What is the microediting like on the PA4 x for sequences in comparrison to the 1X ? For some reason I'm getting really quite anxious now. I've put so much work into my existing board in producing work that I'm very proud of and I wanted to be able to transfer to the new board, obviously with some tweaking .

Oh well we shall see .

[worth]

Okay so I spent an hour at PMT music in Birmingham playing the Korg PA4 X 76 key keyboard.

I went through all the drum kits and all the bass sounds and all the guitars and all the electric and acoustic pianos. And as I played I couldn't help but notice the very close similarity in sound to what I'm used to hearing through my own 10-year-old Pa1x board.

For example apart from the ambient drum kits ,most of the other drum kits were exactly the same as the ones I have in my old keyboard. For example all the jazz kits all the standard kits sound the same even the velocity switching on the snare drums and hi hats . In other words in relation to the drum programming, it was 10-year-old drum samples . Pretty much all the electric pianos that I heard were very similar to the ones I have on my golden entertainer expansion board. I can only tell you what my ears were actually hearing through my one headphones in the music store.

There was a significant improvement in the sounds of the acoustic guitar is and strings however most of the electric guitars sounded just like the ones that my keyboard came with on the golden entertainer expansion board but different affects, not necessarily better affects, just different .

I really wanted to get excited about purchasing this keyboard as I was when I originally purchased the PA1X . I was really looking forward to owning one of these by Friday this week.

But something just doesn't feel right. I can't put my finger on it exactly I mean I had got myself a killer deal on a very nearly new PA4 X . But as I played and listened and played, I just felt this was not a good idea. I didn't feel like the "upgrade" was worth £2300 of my hard earned money . I mean 80% of what I was hearing was what I could produce on my old keyboard.

So now I am in a bit of a quandary! I know my old instrument, can't last forever and at some point will fail . But if I buy the 4x I'm going to be looking at learning a new operating system and becoming very comfortable and familiar with it for what gain ?

I understand that Keton and Yamaha will bring out new instruments towards the end of this year. I've decided not to pull the trigger on the new Korg at this point, I think if I still feel like upgrading six months from now I'll have to listen to the competition and keep my old board . I can probably still get a relatively good deal on a new or nearly new korg if I go that route also .

Thanks for everyone that p.m. to me and those that contributed to this thread. I very much appreciate your advice and your patience with me.

[karmathanever]

Hi Worth

Based on what you have just said, I think you have made the right decision.
You need to feel £2,300-worth of excitement and look forward to new features etc..etc...!!!!

PA1X is great - I found my PA2X to not be as exciting as I expected but did like it - definitely not a super upgrade.
PA3X is the best most reliable arranger I have owned so far - see if you can get to review one of these.

Don't get me wrong here - I love my PA4X and have no regrets in upgrading (which I did, sight unseen - against my principles but was faced with a great deal!!!)
One small regret is selling my PA3X - wished I had kept it - it is different enough for me to justify that - even looked at a PA3X-61 recently.... hmmm ...more keyboards!!!!!!
Korg have for the first time become very silent regarding the PA4X (I think due to the recent company changes regarding Korg Italy) - this in itself is making owners wary of the future.

Yamaha and Ketron will of course give you more of a headache in terms of converting your work - but all possible.
I am keen to see what Yamaha come up with later this year - something professional I hope - they have the knowledge and the technology is available - they need to push this into 2017 and towards the performers' market if they want to compete with Korg (IMHO).

All the best

Pete

[D575]

Wise move Worth ....I'm getting ready to take a hit on the PA4X should the competition bring somthing to the table that can compete or surpass Korg's strong market presence I'm committed to the PA4X for now but should of stayed with the PA3X but hindsight is a wonderful thing your intuition is serving you well I will listen to mine more next time all the best.

[BR]

I am keen to see what Yamaha come up with later this year - something professional I hope - they have the knowledge and the technology is available - they need to push this into 2017 and towards the performers' market if they want to compete with Korg (IMHO).

All the best

Pete

Agree with you 100%.
I have an eye on Yamaha future arranger too if they design it at 100% for live performers with all good Korg live performance and editing features.
By my personal experience I trust more on Yamaha regarding technology and reliability.
For me 2017 is a decisive year about switching to another company if Korg stays inactive and indifferent about the Pa4x issues.

[chelsea4023]

Hi Worth,

I think you are making the right decision holding back. It's a lot of money to spend if you're not sure.

What I do find a little sad is that any potential purchaser of the PA4X who decides to look through this Forum will surely change their minds on reading most of the threads.

For me, (basically a 60+ novice standard, home player) I find this keyboard a breath of fresh air over my old Tyros 5 (76). The sounds are stunning (in my opinion). The strings alone were worth changing keyboards. I find all the e.pianos a great improvement over the T5, the only one I regularly used on my T5 was called 'Magnetics' which was in the legacy folder. Even the organ drawbars and the leslie sim on the PA4X are much better than the T5 (It's a shame I can only get drawbars on either upper or lower at any one time) and the concept of the leslie sim included in organ sounds and activated by keyboard pressure......utterly dreadful. What the hell were Korg thinking when they designed that.
The main piano sound on the PA4X is stunning (in my opinion). On the Yamaha Forums, the main piano sample on the Tyros 5 is widely accepted as being very poor by owners. It did'nt do much for me.

I certainly won't defend Korg for the O/S issues for the more advanced features on the PA4X, but in the nine months I have owned the keyboard I have not encountered a single problem with it myself. I'm sure there are others like me who are very happy with their keyboards.

Two other points I would like to make, firstly this issue regarding the lack of styles on Korg keyboards compared to Yamaha. If anybody takes the time out to go to Dopamines site (link bottom of post) and download Set 2.6. they will get an additional 1200 styles, 1400 sounds, 760 pads and 320 performances, all loaded into the user sections in addition to the factory set. There is no Yamaha site anywhere where you can download this many styles and sounds in one file for free. I invite all Forum members to prove me wrong on that one.

Finally, price point. My Tyros 5 cost me £1,000 more than my PA4X (61).
When I decided to change, I was able to sell my Tyros 5 privately and with the money I received for it purchase a brand new PA4X with a three year guarantee. At the time, the PA4X was closer in price to the Yamaha PSR-S970 than it was to the Tyros 5.

I do understand a lot of owners are very unhappy with the O/S issues and Korg need to address that (or at least make owners aware they are trying to address the issues), but there are a lot of good things about the PA4X
(at least for some owners anyway) !!!

Chris
https://dopamine4korg.wordpress.com/

[D575]

Hi Worth,

I think you are making the right decision holding back. It's a lot of money to spend if you're not sure.

What I do find a little sad is that any potential purchaser of the PA4X who decides to look through this Forum will surely change their minds on reading most of the threads.

For me, (basically a 60+ novice standard, home player) I find this keyboard a breath of fresh air over my old Tyros 5 (76). The sounds are stunning (in my opinion). The strings alone were worth changing keyboards. I find all the e.pianos a great improvement over the T5, the only one I regularly used on my T5 was called 'Magnetics' which was in the legacy folder. Even the organ drawbars and the leslie sim on the PA4X are much better than the T5 (It's a shame I can only get drawbars on either upper or lower at any one time) and the concept of the leslie sim included in organ sounds and activated by keyboard pressure......utterly dreadful. What the hell were Korg thinking when they designed that.
The main piano sound on the PA4X is stunning (in my opinion). On the Yamaha Forums, the main piano sample on the Tyros 5 is widely accepted as being very poor by owners. It did'nt do much for me.

I certainly won't defend Korg for the O/S issues for the more advanced features on the PA4X, but in the nine months I have owned the keyboard I have not encountered a single problem with it myself. I'm sure there are others like me who are very happy with their keyboards.

Two other points I would like to make, firstly this issue regarding the lack of styles on Korg keyboards compared to Yamaha. If anybody takes the time out to go to Dopamines site (link bottom of post) and download Set 2.6. they will get an additional 1200 styles, 1400 sounds, 760 pads and 320 performances, all loaded into the user sections in addition to the factory set. There is no Yamaha site anywhere where you can download this many styles and sounds in one file for free. I invite all Forum members to prove me wrong on that one.

Finally, price point. My Tyros 5 cost me £1,000 more than my PA4X (61).
When I decided to change, I was able to sell my Tyros 5 privately and with the money I received for it purchase a brand new PA4X with a three year guarantee. At the time, the PA4X was closer in price to the Yamaha PSR-S970 than it was to the Tyros 5.

I do understand a lot of owners are very unhappy with the O/S issues and Korg need to address that (or at least make owners aware they are trying to address the issues), but there are a lot of good things about the PA4X
(at least for some owners anyway) !!!

Chris
https://dopamine4korg.wordpress.com/

+1

[karmathanever]

YES Chris
+1 from me too

[worth]

I think the decision to buy a new PA4x is easier if you haven't owned any of its predecessors. I think moving from one keyboard manufacture to another is a much easier choice to make as you know that you will be acquiring almost 100% new features new sounds new styles. Where as anyone that is moving up to a more modern version will know that a substantial amount of what the purchase includes is stuff that you already have. If I did not already own a korg arranger then I most certainly would have purchased the latest version. Even the PA3X would be attractive to me .

My decision not to buy this time around is because I want to get maximum value for my money . I hold onto my keyboards for a long time and milk all the features . My first board was a Casio that I held for five years. I can't remember the model. My second board was the technics kn1000. It was a fabulous instrument and I held that for eight years. My next board was a Yamaha PSR 8000 which I held for 10 years. My first pro board was the pa1x which I have held for coming up to 13 years and counting . You may recall that I became so intimate with the board that I was one of the authors of the Korg arranger secrets DVD series that was produced some ages ago and sent all over the world . The keyboard is so deep that we could've produced at least another three DVDs but we have not even scratched the surface .

So you can understand that my next purchase is likely to be my last purchase given the way technology has progressed and how I tend to rinse the benefit from each board before I trade up .

So my decision not to buy this time around is actually a reflection on the great value korg has provided in their keyboards to new customers .

[tkarlmann]

If anybody takes the time out to go to Dopamines site (link bottom of post) and download Set 2.6. they will get an additional 1200 styles, 1400 sounds, 760 pads and 320 performances, all loaded into the user sections in addition to the factory set.

Chris
https://dopamine4korg.wordpress.com/

Beginner here: Does this mean I overwrite the Korg Factory Tab Sounds and Styles? You said "additional", but the site says I must overwrite the Factory items. Please clarify.

[Asena]

In 12 Years Korg just recycled the same Sound banks, Almost Nothing new.
And YES Ihad better guitar Sounds that i made 2008 on my PA2X than whats onboard in KORG Pa4X Now.
Stability of the OS , WHAT STABILITY?
I cannot trust to the KORG Pa4X and Gig only whit that KB, so i have an extra Pa900 some times.
If you are a Professional KB Player Entertainer, Than you just can't make a mistake when the bride is entering the stage!
You just can't Explain to the audience that KORG is A KB Company, And There OS is Bugged, And so And so NO WAY!

Ism waiting for YAMAHA, After i saw the screen OS and Sounds on Montage, I really hope that they can pull me to their KB in 2018.
If not, I Already talked to my dealer to give this Crap back and get my money returned.

[Stilli]

........

Beginner here: Does this mean I overwrite the Korg Factory Tab Sounds and Styles? You said "additional", but the site says I must overwrite the Factory items. Please clarify.

When I installed it my whole system was overwritten including the Factory presets.

The best way to go would be to load parts into the User banks via Direct Acces rather than load the whole lot at once. I'm a beginner too so check elsewhere to see if I'm right.