You did get one right?

managed to transfer styles from tyros?

Wow, a thread just for me? I'm honored!

Yes, I did get a Pa2x, largely on an experimental basis. I know that Yamaha is coming out with a T3 in a few months, but everyone who I speak to seems to think that Yamaha will never change their sound, so I decided to try the Korg. If Yamaha does come out with a keyboard that packs some punch in its sound, I'll be glad to change back.

So what do I think of the Korg? It's a different animal to the Yamaha. I was extremely disappointed in the beginning because everything seemed so backward. In the end I had no choice but to read the manual cover to cover and I've found that the Korg has some amazing advantages over Yamaha just like Yamaha has some over Korg.

Here's a quick observation at the risk of offending everyone:

Build:
Yamaha wins hands down. The buttons are large and well lit. The keyboard is built well and comes with a full color large screen. Korg has none of that.

Ease of use:
Yamaha wins handily here. Yamaha puts the important buttons on the panel; on Korg they are in the system. It's not easy to copy and paste on the Korg, applying effects is a nightmare, and the list goes on. However Korg has many more intricate features that a professional would use which is especially noticeable in style creation. However they also have an abnormally unnecessary intricate file system which is very limiting.

Sound:
Overall Yamaha has a good sound if you're recording a CD. Korg is much better if you're using a sub and looking to move a dance floor. Although on the spec sheet Korg has less sounds than Yamaha, it really has much, much more. Yamaha says they have more than a thousand voices, but they hide them all in XG and GM folders because they're not good enough. Korg has just under a thousand voices, but they are mostly usable and easily accessible. It's a pleasure to see that Korg has over ten different, great sounding pianos, whereas Yamaha has only one. The only think I miss from the Yamaha is the brass and saxes. Drums, pianos, bass, synths, Trumpets, accordions, acoustic guitars, Korg wins. Sax, Brass, flutes, and distortion guitars Yamaha wins. However the drums alone is a very serious reason to think about dumping Yamaha. Although I hear they will change it on the T3, based on the depressing samples they've put out so far I'm not convinced they will be any better.

Style Creation:
Korg wins hands down. It is much easier to make styles on the Korg, you have many more options, and they have an AMAZING guitar mode for recording guitars that would make any Yamaha owner salivate. Yamaha SA is a joke compared to Korg Guitar mode. Some of the great options include importing styles from a MIDI file, and being able to make up to 6 different variations per variation based on the kind of chord you're playing. That gives you up to 24 variation in a single style if you're into that kind of thing.

Space:
I think its important to note that Korg has 20MB of user flash memory, and Yamaha has only 3MB. This 3MB is largely responsible for my lack of creativity lately on the Yamaha, because I have no room to store my new stuff anyway and saving to and accessing from the Harddrive takes long and is a pain in the neck. That said, on Korg you only have around 400 spaces for custom styles; on Yamaha there is no limit.

Voice Harmony:
Korg uses the TC Helicon which works, and works well. Yamaha uses I don't know what, and it doesn't work.

Styles:
I haven't really listened to the Korg styles, I've been too busy making my own. But overall they are much simpler, but much more powerful. However the Korg has a few mess ups. The fill ins are not smooth, and moving from variation to variation is a bit screwed up too as it doesn't go to the first measure of the new variation.

Registrations:
Korg has something called performances which kind of works like a registration setting, only that registration settings are much easier and more practical to use. On Yamaha, you only save to a registration what you want. On Korg you save the whole freaking keyboard and then have to navigate through a truckload of menus to lock the things you don't want - and those locks apply to all performances. On Yamaha you only program the things you want, and if you want to freeze even some of those things, you've got an easily programmable freeze button right on the panel.

Overall:
Both Korg and Yamaha have advantages and disadvantages. Although I'm trying the Korg for now, I'm just as disappointed with them as I am with Yamaha. Both companies hate the word "change". They keep making new keyboards with the same problems as the previous models. For example, Yamaha still hasn't created a normal drum kit, and Korg still hasn't worked out how to stop scratching its right ear with its right foot. And that screen on the Korg? That's plain embarrassing.

Well, that covers the basics...

Chony

[This message has been edited by chony (edited 08-04-2008).]

Hi Chony
Good to see an honest personal review. (Others will probably disagree as their personal preferences are different, but those with similar preferences will have similar feelings)
I must admit though I am surprised you place the build of the Yamaha above the Korg, as I myself have always found the Korgs to be a much more robust feeling keyboard. (I suspect however it may be ergonomics that you are talking about rather then build)
Hope you continue to enjoy your Korg, and can get round any of the idiosyncrasies you find. (Don’t forget that if you get the chance, also try Roland, Ketron, Wersi, Lionstracs, Bohm etc, as you may find one of these gives you the best of both Yamaha and Korg)
Isn’t it great to have so much choice?
Regards

Bill

I've never met a guy with a Korg who didn't have a broken button or key. Even in the local GC the Korg has a broken key.

I would try LIONTRACS, but they're not a serious company. They were happy to answer some of my questions, but as soon as I started asking where I could try one, they stopped returning my emails... I don't even think they have one to demo in the US.

Wow Chony thank you for the HONEST & Very informative review. Reading your comments only emphasizes that each company has the pros & cons, strengths & weaknesses & you have to pick & choose what is better for YOUR Needs in an arranger for sure. I do agree with many of your assessments having owned & performed with both Korg & Yamaha myself eg: the Korg file system was very annoying for me also, too many steps........personal tolerance & comfort requirements change with each player. We're getting better with each offering, lets hope the next few years brings us closer to perfect as possible.....meanwhile keep us posted on your progress we all learn from each other. Personally I pretty much know what Tyros 3 is bringing next to the table.....its the next TOTL Roland arranger that has me curious & hoping that some of my needs are addressed.

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 08-05-2008).]

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 08-05-2008).]

Chony, thanks for that candid review. I agree I love and hate at the same time any arranger I've owned. That includes Yamaha, Korg and Roland. It's the nature of the beast. As a suggestion if you haven't already experimented with "Songbook" on the PA2xPro you may want to. I find it a very easy to use tool and prefer it to Yamaha registrations. I'm anxious to see what Yamaha is offering in Tryos 3 too.

Best of luck with the PA2x.

Hi Chony,

Korg's Screen is color, you might want to check your contrast setting.

Great review Chony

As an extremely happy PA800 owner, I must agree with Steve that there is nothing close to the SONGBOOK feature of the Korg - I'd be lost without it. Live play is so easy.

The Korg fills are not perfect, but they are so over-the-top vs anything else, I happily work around, or just bypass the few trouble areas. And the toggle feature of having an ending/intro repeatedly flash, is such a useful feature.

If Yamaha addresses their drums, it would be a good move. But I don't think that's so easy a task, considering the unbelievable instruments and imaginative nuances that make up a style in the 800. It's not just about the lively drums.

However, I still get nervous about the whole save/load concept in the Korg, but hear it might be addressed with the new OS forthcoming.

You have now

I also owned a PA1x for ages, not even the hint of a problem. And this is probably probably the case for most owners.

I don't mind your honest review, even though some of the comments were spurious, as I accept it is your opinion only.

However making a sweeping generalisation that you have never met a Korg owner without a broken button is a bit too much for me to accept without comment.

I have owned a PA1x before the PA2x and gigged very heavily with it, and not even the hint of a problem. And I daresay this is true of most users on the korg forums as well.

It DOES semm to be an issue with some players though, who maybe think they can bash the crap out of a button and expect it to last forever??

Looking at some of the YouTube videos going around these players certainly do put new meaning into the term "punch in-punch out"!

Just as an added comment I have also owned the tyros and the psr3000, SD1+ and Roland V76. As for build quality, nothing, and I mean NOTHING touches the Rolands and Korgs, they are both built like tanks.

Dennis

OOPS, The "built like tanks" comment is regarding the PA2xPRo, not the PA800 which is very similar to the Tyros in build. Thought I'd better clarify that.


[This message has been edited by miden (edited 08-05-2008).]