Tommy,
I too just heard the new demos posted by Notlos and I would have to say if you need the best Brass, Jazz Drum Kits, Horns, (not sure about the Oboe on the Pa1X PRO) I think the Pa1X PRO may be the best Arranger for the job IMO. But you may have to deal with the seeming array of problems cropping up on Korgs. The sounds are there but not the 'whole enchilada' if you know what I mean. Hopefully though, all of the quirks will be ironed out eventually through OS updates. But there have also been reports of buttons, etc., not functioning properly. Plus you'll pay more (up to $1,000 more) for the Pa1X PRO. It's a chance and an offer you seriously may want to consider though.
My next suggestion would be to get a Tyros. The Brass and Horns, although not quite as good overall as the Pa1X PRO's possibly, they are still quite good. BUT, the ONLY useable Trumpets you will find on the Tyros are the Sweet! Trumpet and Sweet! Mute Trumpet IMO. The Sweet! Flugel Horn is not bad either. All the other Trumpets take a nose dive IMO. Yamaha's Sample Recording Engineer must have kept dozing off when he was recording them. Either that or he was talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone.
The Trombone's are real good on the Tyros IMO, especially the Sweet! Trombone. Not sure how they rate on the Pa1X PRO.
There ARE quite a few good Brass ensembles on the Tyros like the Live! HyperBrass.
Saxes are a toss up IYAM. They both have great Saxes IMO.
The Tyros' Jazz Drum Kits are extra good IMO. But then again, so are the Pa1X PRO's. You may find the Korg's even more to your liking.
But the Tyros has a truly wonderful Sweet! Oboe. The other Panel Oboe on the Tyros is wonderful too. Even the XG Oboe is decent especially if used in a Track among other Tracks of instruments in a Sequence or Midi.
And of course the Tyros has 128 note Polyphony vs. the Pa1X PRO's miserly 62 note Polyphony. If you got frustrated with the XD-3 you may even get more frustrated with the Korg. The reports coming back on the Pa1X PRO indicate note drop off is and can be a common occurrence especially when using the damper pedal excessively. There are ways to alleviate that of course. Don't use the damper pedal excessively or don't use complex Styles and play the Keys at the same time OR you could possibly Sample some of the sounds to free up Polyphony for other instrument sounds during the course of a Mix.
Final Analysis:
We Report, You Decide. News fair and balanced....
Best regards,
Mike
[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 02-23-2004).]