According to this press release
the Pa500 and Pa588 has the same piano sound as the Korg C720 upright piano which is Korgs most expensive digital piano.

Kind regards,
Tommy

Listening to the PA-500 Piano demo, it isn't terrific...it's pretty good, but if this is the Piano sound from the TOTL C720 it is rather disappointing.

But, then again, piano sounds are subjective...I'm sure there will be those who will love it.

Poly at 80 is rather low as well...especially for a piano based arranger.

Ian

It mentions RX sounds. If there's an RX piano, then it will sound terrific (at least to my ears).

April 1 - launch date with the 800 live - uh oh - now which button does what again

zuki

Poly at 80 is rather low as well...especially for a piano based arranger.

Ian


Hi Ian the way that Korg handle spolyphony is quite incredible and their 62 note polyphony keyboard (PA1X which i own) handles polyphiony as well as or better than most 120 note polyphonic instruments. 80 notes polyphony should be more than adequate.

Hi Spalding,

It seems that most are satisfied with the poly...but realistically it should be at least 120(as in the PA-800), but my biggest disappointment was the piano that was supposed to be from the "Korg C720 upright piano which is Korgs most expensive digital piano."

Pretty weak (the decay seems rather short, too)for a high end piano...but again, the sound is subjective, and I'm sure some will love it.

Ian

The form and function are what is important... if the piano sound disappoints, it is a simple job to add a dedicated piano module, or a Sonic Cell with Roland's amazing grands...

By the way, I haven't heard much from users lately on the T2, but I am curious how the SA sax fares at the hands of players that can't take their left hand off the chords, to play sax bends authentically...

As far as I am concerned, if you can't ride the bend lever on a sax sound, no matter HOW good it is, it comes out sounding unrealistic.

There are many sounds that just don't cut it as solo sounds, unless you can free up your left hand. Dashing back to play the chords leaves you little opportunity to milk some of the best bend tricks, so in the end, as said earlier, 'keyboard sounds for keyboard players'...

Sounds like you need a chord sequencer, Diki.

I get along just fine using the wheel with the accompaniment...I also use a volume pedal assigned to bending...works real cool on SA pedal steel guitar as well as the sax, trombone and other sounds that benefit from the bends.

Just takes practice...I picked up the technique on the old Yamaha Electones which provided that function.

I'm sure the G70 must allow for a swell/volume pedal to do a bend function.

I'm also quite sure that playing organ on a weighted hammer action wouldn't be much joy for most players...even with the velocity switched off, it would hardly feel natural.

Hammer action is for piano...if that's all you use, that is cool, but sadly it's not the case for most arranger players.

Still, kudos to Korg for the courage to try something different...if only Yamaha would wake up and do the same and stick a 76 note keyboard on a Tyros3 or the next generation S-series.

Ian

There's no mention about the USB being able to store to device, like a flash drive.

Ian

Can you bend up AND down from the pedal, Ian? I need both for horns.

Roland.... no bend from ANYTHING other than the stick

Plus, I guess after 35 years of using wheels, sticks and strips, it's going to take some work to do it with my feet!

Personally, well, you all know my preference for the G-series 76 action... Although it is nowhere near as heavy as a wooden 88, it IS heavier than any other 76 out there, but they didn't make the mistake of giving it the piano's sharp corners (unlike Kurzweil), despite piano-like dimensions, so it's just as good for piano as organ...

There are VERY few actions that can make that claim!

Pedal can only bend up or down.

The SA Guitars provide some sort of relief from the wheel in that they will bend according to velocity and/or note interval...very handy.

I like a very light arranger action and the S900 does pretty good...solo piano playing is a different story for me...I really only feel at home on an 88 note hammer action...semi-weighted is too light and just doesn't give the right feedback.

I must admit, the G70 does have a nice keybed....hopefully they will provide software upgrades to cure the flaws in the arranger section...OS version 3.01 didn't seem to fix it....must be frustrating.

Yamaha has a new lightweight digital piano, the P85...based loosely on the NP-30...88 graded hammer keys and only 25 lbs...I will get to try one on the 27th when I do my first road trip in many months.

Ian