Donny, as I said, maybe the new OS helped, but they had their shot at me and it didn't work for me.
DonM

OK - I'll be fair.

The first night I used the PA800 I was underwhelmed with the overall tone and presence. The EQ and Bose tone settings were all tweaked for the PSR3k, so it's not fair to slam Korg yet.

The second night, after making a few changes and being in a different room ... I was WAY impressed. It was 100% change. I tweaked the mic input, the master EQ, the Bose preset etc. and I was soooooo happy.

We all get into comfort ranges after a time, and it's hard for anything new to replace those worn-in, faded jeans we love to wear around the house.

As for me - you all know my priorities;
1) VOCALS
2) Bass and drums
3) Everything else

So....how does the PA800 stack up for me?

1) BEST vocals I've had so far in any keyboard. Best use of harmony triggers.....slider for volume, left/right assignment on the fly - just awesome tone and flexibility. I LOVE the way my voice sounds in this system.

2) Bass and Drums are right on par with the Ketron, which I always thought were the best. The fill-ins are vague and random, but the tones and "live feel" are amazing. Boo always liked the way Korg has many patterns that are 8 measures long .... I agree - it randomizes the feel and makes it less important to fill as often.

3) Everything else - it's all there. Great tones. WONDERFUL clarinet, Cornet, Sax ... I love the grand piano sound. So much more playable (in my style) than the psr series. It's deep and rich with great attack in the high range. Wonderful dynamic allocation of voices - I can't make the 120 note polyphony drop out. It's a breeze to play once you know Korgs road maps.

Summary:

This is the most perfect board FOR ME at this time. Nothing else has my top 3 priorities handled as well. The speakers are terrific, the weight and look are awesome and the key feel is strong and solid, the way I remember quality synths from back in the day.

I retired my 3k to the studio, but after playing the Korg, I just HATE the way the Yamaha feels .... I'll probably trade it for another PA800 when I get a few bucks together.

I am 98% satisfied with this keyboard. If I can get the fillin's to cooperate better - that will make up the 2% difference !

Hi Uncle Dave,

your informative review really perked my interest in possibly buying a PA800 all the way up to the last line. For me, the ability to trigger fills at will when performing is important, as this provides important live spontaneity to an arranger performance, so please elaborate about how good the PA800 fills sound, and how well they work (sync) to the style.

Perhaps you might provide aditional comment on the TC Helicon Vocal harmonizer as well. As a standalone Voiceworks owner, curious how the one in the PA800 compares (sound quality/features).

Thanks. - Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 08-30-2007).]

Scott (and others).

The issue I've had with the entire Korg PA series has always been the fills. When pressed (of-time/not on the one), 2 things happen.

1. The fill volume rises. When I asked the Engineer at NAMM, I was told this was intentional as within a live band, when a fill is introduced, it's usually louder than the rest of the variation - to which I'd say let me use DYNAMIC control and introduce this when/if I want.

2. They are not perfectly in sync with whatever variation you are coming FROM (they are well in sync with whatever variation you are going to). As an example, try a 8 beat style ... then at measure 5 or 7 (on the up-beat), press any fill or break and ... hear what happens. Try to press the FILL at the wrong time i.e NOT on the down-beat.

Other's views on this are welcomed too.

AJ

Im happy for you dave with your new ax........what an opinion stretch Don M is embarrassed playing the Pa800 in his post above.....& you Love it!!

After playing one twice Im 50/50 only because I didn't tweak anything on it and played it as is...could I get it to sound better .....I dont know?......would I switch for my SD1+ No way.

Personal Preferences Rule Supreme always

This issue with the fills confuses me. There must be something absolutely amazing about the Korg's sound for such an obvious (and long talked about) issue to still not be a deal-breaker.

Smooth flowing, natural sounding fills are one of the hallmarks of a good live band, and any volume increase (if there even IS one!) is subtle, at most. But jerky timing... never!

Diki go try one so you can make a personal opinion on the fills and what ever else the Pa800 holds.....or have you already played one? Im sure you can make an informed opinion in a few minutes.

I played a PA60, and was completely underwhelmed. The fills felt, unless you hit the 'one' perfectly, like they were 'punched in' rather than flowed naturally.

From how others describe the problem, it seems like not much has changed...

PA800 fills?
OK, here's my take on all this:
First:
they are writable, so if you really had to change them, you can. Korg lets you erase ANY part or ALL parts of the styles and customize this board to your liking. Easier said than done .... writing like a drummer is tough. PLAYING like a drummer is tough.
Second:
They are not a deal breaker for me because the other strengths push it over the edge. The ability to trigger the harmonizer from either hand on the fly is HUGE for me.

Here's a scenario that many of you may identify with.

You're playing an arranger pattern with LH chord triggers. You WANT to scroll through a laptop list or MP3 list, or even on board sequencer list........ you can swith to RH chord recognition, and use your left hand to search. This is big for me because of laptop placement. Also the drum style buttons are on the left, so .... same deal

Is the harmonizer as good as teh standalone units? So far - yes. I'm sure there are editable parameters that you can "finnesse" on the stand alones, but for an all-in-one unit .... this is the best I ever heard. The response is right on the mnoney, harmonies are beautiful, effects are believable and they track beautifully.

I'll record something very soon to sjow you all how I use the harmonizer in a slightly unconventional way. It's kinda my "signature" sound...something that I lOST when I went with Yamaha. I didn;t care for the Roland harmonizer either, but I only heard the Disc-5, not the G70. If it's the same unit - I won't like it.

I had a long, fun day at the shore - my last for the summer at this one restaurant. Now I have a double on Sunday and them school starts Tuesday! Back to the books... no more weekday music jobs....just a steady Friday night.

I'll try and keep reviewing the PA so prospective buyers can be better armed when they shop.
Here's a quick list for you:

Vocalizer:
PA800
SD-1
all the rest

Key feel:
PA800/SD-1
Roland
Yamaha

Sounds:
too many sub catagories here - they are ALL good, but for bass and drum sounds:
SD-1/PA800
G70
Yamaha

Simple styles:
Yamaha
Roland
Ketron
Korg

Complicated/intricate styles:
Ketron
Korg
Roland
Yamaha

Speaker tone:
PA800
X-1, and successors
PSR series
E-series

Weight/size:
PA800
PSR/Tyros series
Ketron
Roland

Bang for the buck ( with SPEAKERS ):
PA800
PSRs900

(withOUT speakers)
SD-1
Tyros
G-70 ( SOooo big and heavy )

It's late - I'm tired ........ add your own plus' and minus'! Happy shopping !
UD

fill-ins in korg's arrangers were always like that: little bit out of sync, erratic and only two of them.

even tho the korg sounds are so good, i found the styles in roland (especially new e series) to be perfectly balanced between very "correct" (yamaha) and "funky/live" (korg) and so, i prefer roland.

when i had my korg, i didn t like it had only two fillins, and i hear now is the same, even if theoreticly now there are three of them.

but nevertheless, pa800 should be a gooood keyboard to play with. congrats!