they both export MID files including drums,yes.you can load midi drum loops and use seq to lay you new songs-yes.


sam ash has(hollywood)-pa50,roland exrs,GW 7,guitar center has pa1x pro.george kaye (kaye's music -in Reseda,los angeles)has all and more arrangers than any other shop in So.cal I think.


PA50 soundwise (same triton samples)is 80-90 % pa1x.BUT
you don't get the sampling,MP3,song book,HD,USB and so on.

forget roland EXRs unless you want to spend less than 500$9exr 3).

for the price
at 1500$ - get psr 3k
at 1000$- get pa 50
under 1000$- don't get anything,save your money or go USED route.psr 2100 will be the choice.

this is my repost 3k vs pa 80(but pa 50 is 95 % of pa 80 with some exceptions-more powerful speakers,sampling,VH,Hd,keys,after touch,weight,made in China vs Italy, but the sounds,the styles,seq and style creater etc are identical).


3k pros,pa 80 cons
------------------
interaction between seq/smf play and arranger
(ie-in 3k-you can use internal drum styles on SMFs in realtime-meaning your rock smf can have a latin/pop/jazz rhythm instantly)

4 fills and which are very natural(PA has 2 and very erratic/unnatural sounding)
3 intro/3 ending

SM slot and USB to device(can use your 128/512mb sticks and never worry about disk swapping)can also load styles from it

real time 3 part Vocal harmony(with compressor,EQ and reverb)-which can be in saved per style basis

realtime pads-you can record licks,pharses,loops and synchronize with arranger-the function in workstations- like RPS like function of Roland(in Pa80 you can only have individual sounds-kick and snare,sfx etc)(pa1x-pro -new OS is changing-can do loops like yam(I heard)so PA 80 may change that later or not?)

128 poly(62 in PA) 64 MB of wave ROM(pa has 32)

great 3rd party style support

better display,more simu efx

lighter

more realistic sax,piano,acoustic guitar sounds(mega voices made up for it)
esp-ac guitar sounds like someone is strumming right near you
(useless and basic harmony input and rather expensive HD(150$ for HD kit without HD) and 8mb sampling(basic) option in PA 80)

2004 technology (3k) and 2001 technology(pa 80)

rootless chord recognition(scott yee will explain)

styles are more open and non recognizable easily(where in PA some 16 beats-repeats-licks can become obvious)


and now Pa 80's pros and 3k's cons
-----------------------------------

cheap looking and toy like hardware for a 1500$ KB in 3k( pa is more well build)

better and louder speakers in PA

better sound editing in PA

better seq functions in PA

better synth and drum sounds(triton board)and loads triton programs


solid state disk OS(means they can upgrade)
20mb(3k has 1.5 or so but USB and SM slot made up for it)

256 preset + 48 user styles(can reconfigure all-like volume,sounds etc)(how ever 3k's music finder is more flexible)

aftertouch and1 realtime slider(you can assign it to cutoff or efx parameter)

mid east/ethnic sounds and styles(and support)-if you play middle eastern music -3k can't offer much(no Ne' or Uds-PA has it and does sound good)-but if you play more western music - 3k's 3rd party support will make you smile

-------------------------------------
so if you are a studio'band musician,do ONLY occational arranger work-choose PA-80

but if you are a arranger gigger,who use alot of styles and who sings-3k

the thing is 3k does what it's suppose to do with flying colors(realtime arranger keyboard)

PA however is in between(not a good arranger,not a good workstation either)

remember you can always add a used workstation(trinity,triton le,roland xp series and fantom S series(which have samping-expect for roland XPs) for less than 900$-which will outperform PA(as a workstation)


if you like PA 80's sounds/styles-go for PA 50-999$ and made in China(a lot cheaper in Europe)-same as PA80(except for aftertouch,expensiveHD,sampling.VH and less speaker wattage)


3k is the new king for this time in arranger world(for price and functions)also best selling-

remember PA came out with 2k and 2k was still more popular(also better priced)

most of arranger giggers have moved from pa-80 to 3k for versatiliy for solo arranger work.they'll also explain why.

it's like-" My ears prefer Korg but my job demands Yamaha".

--------------------------------------
for your additional questions about EXRs Vs PA read my posts below.

http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HTML/009086.html
http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HTML/009293.html http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HTML/009265.html http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HT...TML/009086.html


---------------------------------------------

nothing beats an arranger in easy song creation and playing solo.



[This message has been edited by jamman (edited 07-22-2005).]