Keybed of the 88 Key

[pa4xfan]

[quote="AndrewKeyz"]There ISN'T a delay with the 88 key version.


The keybed feels somewhat soft to me which I'm glad about.
No idea which one it is.

I traded in my Roland RD2000.
I hated that keybed and glad to see the back of it. The worst "weighted" keybed I have owned. Far too hard and nothing like a real piano which I have also. Just couldn't get to grips with the Roland at all. Disappointing.

Hello, I also use rd2000 pha 50 action. I really like the action on Rd2000, Maybe feels medium weighted action on pha 50 to me. Do you feel new pa5x 88 keys feel light action comparing to pha 50? I wish they went with Rh3 from korg. Maybe for after touch reasons and to accommodate faster playing, they had to go with fatar action. When you say pa5x 88 keybed feel soft, Does that mean it's lighter on the touch? Thank you for your help.

[pax-eterna.1]

Perfect English

Thank you Dimitris

As answered by me several posts above

[AndrewKeyz]

There ISN'T a delay with the 88 key version.


The keybed feels somewhat soft to me which I'm glad about.
No idea which one it is.

I traded in my Roland RD2000.
I hated that keybed and glad to see the back of it. The worst "weighted" keybed I have owned. Far too hard and nothing like a real piano which I have also. Just couldn't get to grips with the Roland at all. Disappointing.

Hello, I also use rd2000 pha 50 action. I really like the action on Rd2000, Maybe feels medium weighted action on pha 50 to me. Do you feel new pa5x 88 keys feel light action comparing to pha 50? I wish they went with Rh3 from korg. Maybe for after touch reasons and to accommodate faster playing, they had to go with fatar action. When you say pa5x 88 keybed feel soft, Does that mean it's lighter on the touch? Thank you for your help.

It's lighter to touch indeed. Not super light, but lighter than the PHA50 for sure. Like a Nord perhaps. After touch works well on this keybed.
For me RD2000 definitely felt heavier than what I would class "medium".
I just didn't like the Roland much, how it operates and the sounds just didn't seem "wow" for some reason. I probably just bought the wrong machine and should really have kept the Genos at the time.
Even so I was just surprised how exhausting playing piano on the RD2000 was. Every other weighted keybed I have owned wasn't like that (Yamaha S80 / Roland Juno DS 88 / Nord Piano 3 / the Kawai digital piano)

This particular keybed just feels like those other machines, not much different, except for the excellent Kawai which is an unfair comparison as that one has full wooden keys and the machine weighed 3 times as much.

Regardless, I enjoyed my first day playing the Pa5X 88 very much.
One of the best keyboards I've ever owned.
Was improvising for half an hour on the nylon guitar + pad patch.

[pa4xfan]

Thanks Andrew for getting back. Have fun with new pa5x.

[D575]

I probably should have started a new thread with this question.

Has anyone played the 61 or 76 key versions yet? If so, is the keybed the same as the Pa4X?

Picked up my PA5X-76 yesterday...first thing to note is the keybed feels much better compared to PA4X (which I liked) I would say it has more dampening structure and feels very nice indeed...

Also the Velocity and After-Touch have been improved compared to PA4X which i am pleased to report ("Aftertouch" needed it)....

NOTE:
Off topic here but worth a mention... Overall ((((HI-FIDELITY)))) has also been greatly improved of which I am very pleased...

Sitting here in my studio running it through various outboards you can here a BIG improvement in comparison to PA4X

[rubenwalters]

I have seen some videos from 88 key models. can anyone open it and see what keybed is used?

[jonstatt]

I have the 88 key pa5x and I really like it except the aftertouch requires more effort than I would like.

It was a bit scary when I unboxed it as a bunch of keys weren't sitting at the right height but it sorted itself out.

To correct this thread. There are delays with the availability of this version and I was told it was because of the keybed. Just because a handful surfaced in July doesn't mean there arent delays from the original manufacturing estimate. Mine came in Korgs August delivery and the serial number suggests less than 200 made so far.

[davekalbach]

I have the 88 key pa5x and I really like it except the aftertouch requires more effort than I would like.

It was a bit scary when I unboxed it as a bunch of keys weren't sitting at the right height but it sorted itself out.

To correct this thread. There are delays with the availability of this version and I was told it was because of the keybed. Just because a handful surfaced in July doesn't mean there arent delays from the original manufacturing estimate. Mine came in Korgs August delivery and the serial number suggests less than 200 made so far.

I know this is a very subjective question, but how does the keybed feel??

I debated holding off for an 88 key, only because I like the KRONOS 2 keybed - but eventually ended up deciding I should learn to play a more Synth like Keybed as well as the Piano feel of a good semi-weighted

[karmathanever]

I have the 88 key pa5x and I really like it except the aftertouch requires more effort than I would like.

Korg should add "aftertouch" to the list of switch pedal assignments - using aftertouch with a pedal gives you far more control....

[davekalbach]

Korg should add "aftertouch" to the list of switch pedal assignments - using aftertouch with a pedal gives you far more control....

Just to make sure I'm understanding Aftertouch correctly. Aftertouch is DNC?

We use Velocity to control instruments (ie. value over 90 plays Brass in addition to piano)

Aftertouch is then Pressing harder on an already pressed key to make a Horn Trill?

[karmathanever]

Just to make sure I'm understanding Aftertouch correctly. Aftertouch is DNC?

Aftertouch can be many things like pitch, volume, pan, modulation etc....
It can be whatever the OS allows it to be (list of assignment options similar to a switch or pedal configured in an oscillator as a trigger source) - this will vary from keyboard to keyboard.

Aftertouch is then Pressing harder on an already pressed key

Correct and on most keyboards you can adjust the sensitivity (in the OS, not physically)

Aftertouch has been a weak point with Korg arrangers - PA1x was almost useless (too hard to activate), PA2x was better but not much, PA3x was bearable, PA4x is excellent like Kronos - someone reported here that the PA5x aftertouch was too sensitive (physically) but I haven't tried it.

It seems that 88-note keybeds with aftertouch are often not the best.

Using a switch-pedal for aftertouch is a great way to go - I find that it enables more control - unfortunately not a option on Korg arrangers.

Cheers
Pete

[davekalbach]

Thanks as always for the continued education Pete!!!

-- Dave

[jonstatt]

I have the 88 key pa5x and I really like it except the aftertouch requires more effort than I would like.

It was a bit scary when I unboxed it as a bunch of keys weren't sitting at the right height but it sorted itself out.

To correct this thread. There are delays with the availability of this version and I was told it was because of the keybed. Just because a handful surfaced in July doesn't mean there arent delays from the original manufacturing estimate. Mine came in Korgs August delivery and the serial number suggests less than 200 made so far.

I know this is a very subjective question, but how does the keybed feel??

I debated holding off for an 88 key, only because I like the KRONOS 2 keybed - but eventually ended up deciding I should learn to play a more Synth like Keybed as well as the Piano feel of a good semi-weighted

The only immediate comparison I can do is with my Yamaha clavinova with GH3 keybed. The pa5x feels heavier with a bit more travel. It has more control over the velocity as a result but takes a bit more effort.. It's a good action but definitely takes adjusting to after playing the clavinova.

Also some may not like the position of the joystick etc above the keybed instead of to the left...although I adjusted quickly to that one.

[Scott]

Just to make sure I'm understanding Aftertouch correctly. Aftertouch is DNC?

We use Velocity to control instruments (ie. value over 90 plays Brass in addition to piano)

Aftertouch is then Pressing harder on an already pressed key to make a Horn Trill?

Aftertouch basically works like the vertical axis of the joystick. It is not a switch function, it is a continuous function. Pressing the key harder increases the assigned effect, the same way moving the joystick further (typically) increases the effect. In this way, it's also similar to an expression pedal or (on boards that have them) a modulation wheel, except that those two must be returned to zero manually instead of automatically springing back to zero on release.

The big advantage of aftertouch over joystick is that it doesn't take a second hand to operate, so your left hand can still be playing (or operating) something else. Subjectively, to me, it also feels more expressive to use. Plus, you may already have the joystick assigned to something you want to use it for, and then aftertouch becomes a kind of second available joystick function.

Operationally, the joystick can be held in place while you play multiple notes, while aftertouch will always release when you release the key, so there are situations where their effects are not entirely interchangeable.