Heres the story on the fills (we have gone over it before).

1) Yes a PA800/PA2XPRO (right out of the box) on some styles (Definetly only some styles...I think ones with guitar tracks in them) if the fill is pressed just anytime will sometimes immediately upon entry trigger a sound that does not seem to fit at that specific time. It can makes things sound a little OFF. This is because it triggers IMMEDIATELY and triggers at that point in the fill (that point in the pattern sequence), not the beginning of the fill. So, depending on the style..and what is at that spot in the fill...it is a problem. Once again only on some styles.

2) If prssed on the downbeat (red indicator on) it never has any issues because the fill starts at the beginning the way it was programmed and sounds fine. Seems to work fine for any variation also.

3) In Release 2.0 of PA800/Pa2XPRO (released this spring) Korg enhanced a programming parameter in style record mode(modify a style or make your own) called 'CUE MODE'. With that Parm, we can now EASILY change a style fill or a variation for that matter to begin on 'Next measure, first measure' = The style element enters at the beginning of the next measure, and begins from the first measure of the new pattern. This is for variations and fills.
So if you make this change...when you press a fill it does not start in the middle of its pattern (and play any sound that may not sound quite ok based on the timing of when you press the fill. I have changed a few styles that I use and it made a big improvement.

4) The trasitions from one variation to another is fine and you don't need a fill neccessarily. Sometimes I use one, sometimes not.

5) The CUE mode has 4 otions in it: Immediate first measure (only for fills), Immediate next measure (Only for fills) Next measure first measure (Fills & Vars), Mext measure current measure (Only on Vars)
So, per style, per style element you can setup whatever you want. This is a PRO workstation, hence, yes, there is LOTS of programming options. I like that.

Comment...Personally I think this area of the board could be a little better right out of the box (and more fills would be nice as well) ...but, with everything it offers I do not find it to be a big deal for me. For me (you may not see it this way) it is not a reason to not get one or change to anything else currently out there.

Lee S.