HI !
I was thinking of upgrading from the 740 to a PA80 and in the kind of crowds I play in, dance music is very useful. I wanted to know about the dance styles on the PA80. How are they comparable to say, the Tyros and would it be worth going for the Korg or should I stick to Yamaha?

The Korg PA0 or PA80, which both have the same styles are very strong in the dance catagory. Because of the Triton engine, the sounds are great for this type of music and there are alot of styles in the dance catagory.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Sunster, if you haven't heard the Korg PA 80 has a problem with the Fill/Break executing in a "smooth" manner, ie., (does not always change and execute properly). When you go from a Variation to a different Variation, ie., A to B, etc. and execute a Break or Break to Fill, it can sound unnatural and clanky. Also there is only "two" Fills per Style unlike Yamaha which has "four" per Style plus the Yamaha has an "Auto-Fill" which I don't think the PA80 has when switching from Variation to Variation.

Also if you haven't heard, Korg just released the new Pa1XPro Arranger Keyboard. It will be available by November 2003 (supposedly). They fixed the problem with the Break/Fill executing properly on the Pa1X/Pro so that is good news.

You can read all about it here: http://www.korgpa.com/products/pa1xpro2.asp

Here's the Specs:

Confirmed details:

1. 320 * 240 colour touch screen.
2. Aluminium casing.
3. 76 semi-weighted keys with aftertouch.
4. Eight assignable sliders, four assignable switches, a joystick and two fixed function faders.
5. Hard drive as standard.
6. 62 note polyphony (Mmm).
7. 760 Sounds, plus 512 user programmable.
8. 48 Preset drums kits and 128 programmable kits.
9. Four master effects (90 effect types), plus a set of Vocal Effects from TC Helicon.
10. Sampler features, able to read WAV, AIFF, Korg and Akai samples/multis.
11. Sample slicing, filtering, modified and processed by internal effects.
12. Sample memory is 16MB, expandable to 32MB.
13. 350 fully editable musical styles.
14. Style contains 8 acc' parts. Four variations, three intros, two endings, three fills, a break and count-in.
15. Four sounds can be split and stacked across the keyboard, either by themselves or with a Style.
16. Four Single Touch Settings commands per performance.
17. Song Book function, featuring vast database.
18. 320 Performances.
19. Dual sequencers.
20. Backing sequencer.
21. Comprehensive sequencer editing.
22. Options: Adding an MP3 encoder/ player will allow you to record your entire performance – vocals and all – and play it back or save it for later. You can load MP3 files to play during a break, or even play along. Install the optional CD-R drive, and you’ll be able to play audio CDs as well as load in new sounds styles and .WAV/AIFF/KORG/AKAI samples. Embedded SMF lyrics appear in the TouchView display, or can be sent to a video monitor using the Video Interface kit. The TC-Helicon Voice Processor can be upgraded from voice doubling and 4-part harmonies to include state-of-the-Art Pitch Correction and Voice Modeling!

No word on USB or smart media cards.

I would think the new Pa1X/Pro will have all kinds of Dance Styles and sounds on it similar to the Triton. Korg is noted for leaning heavily toward Dance, and Synth type sounds as you know if you've played the Triton or PA80.

Also let me say the Yamaha Tyros has many Dance Styles and a good section of Synth sounds too. Plus the Tyros has 128 note Polyphony as opposed to the Pa1X's 62.

But I've recently heard that Korg's Pa1X/Pro, even though it only has 62 note Polyphony, actually uses less Polyphony per voices VS. lets say, Yamaha's does. By that I mean if a Voice uses 2 parts whether it be a Main voice with Layering or 2 parts within 'one' voice, ie., by way of "oscillators", etc., the Korg uses only 1 part Poly. Where the opposite is true with Yamaha from what I understand.

Best regards,
Mike




[This message has been edited by Idatrod (edited 07-22-2003).]