Synth, I have both the PSR 2k and the PA80, I know little about the VA7 but have spent a bit of time playing the previous Roland series boards, The EM 2000 and G1000. Those Roland boards had some very good sounds, ( I've always liked many of the Roland sounds..I must admit ), but like some others I found the OS and ease of use and navigation to be difficult, so maybe not that much has changed with the VA series in that respect. Still, I'd love to give a VA 7 a "test drive"...

In comparison the OS on the PA80 also had a steeper learning curve for me compared to the PSR2000. I would venture to say that for live playing, for me, the 2000 is more intuitive and easier to navigate, especially because some of the menu functions aren't quite as easy to navigate on the PA80, but a lot of that is because I have owned several Yamaha boards prior to the PSR2k and have a better grasp of Yamaha's way of doing things, while the PA80 is the first Korg arranger I have ever owned. After spending some quality time learning the OS of the PA80, and setting up the registration memories ( Performances in korgspeak ), I can now use it live almost as easily as I can the PSR2000.

Styles are excellent and sound very realistic to me on the PA80, but there are a few that are a bit rough in transition from variation to fill. Also a big minus for the PA80 is only 2 fills per styles, but many of the variations themselves are 8 bar loops, with ' mini ' fills within the variations themselves. Styles, along with the add on CVP styles, are improved on the 2000 from previous PSR models, but overall I still like the PA80 styles better.

For sounds, the PSR 2000 overall has some nice ones, but for my tastes, very few that stand out, with some minor editing capability. Pretty much what you hear out of the box is what you get. The PA80 has very good to excellent sounds in almost every category ( except unfortunately the Acoustic piano which I find to be a bit weak ), and pro workstation editing features, including access to the raw internal samples. In fact to me, the PA80 is almost as much a workstation as it is an arranger.

For live playing, practicing, or just hacking around I can use either, though as I said before, I might favor the 2000 slightly in a live setting for its ease of use, but for studio use or composing, I rarely even turn the 2000 on, that's how much better I like the PA80 sounds. The PA80 sounds also get at least equal billing if not more than my many sampled sounds for creating and recording.

The sequencers in both are rather good compared to previous arranger models. The 2000's has much better resolution ( 1920 ppq vs 384 for the PA80 ), but I actually find the PA80's to be easier to use and understand than the 2000s. Having said this, I still find it much easier to do any serious editing in an external sequencer program. Good external programs still offer a lot more flexibility and editing power than the internal sequencers of any board I've ever used. Not to mention that I find it a heck of a lot quicker and easier to access and edit particular notes on a piano roll screen with a mouse as opposed to using what amounts to an event screen on a synthesizer.

As always though Synthmeister, the best recommendation I can make to you is to gather in what you can from users, but most important, if at all possible, spend some quality time with each board that you are considering, because only you can determine what is going to ultimately sound and work right for you.

Cheers,
" Korg " AJ




[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 01-23-2002).]