So its been a few weeks since I purchased my PA 800 and I have been having a lot of fun!

here are two recordings I have made to give examples of the styles and sound quality of the PA 800 with OS 2.0

please excuse some wrong chords or rough pattern changing.

All this music has been played in arranger moed in realtime. i use full fingered chord recognition.

the style used for Canon is the new 8 beat which came with OS 2.0

the trance style is from the PA1x and i have done a bit of editing to make it more customised to my liking...

any comments negative or positive are welcome. (not too negative? hehe )
http://rapidshare.com/files/173864082/Nick_G_-_Korg_PA800_OS2.0_-_Canon.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/173858521/Nick_G_-_Korg_PA800_OS2.0_-_Trance.mp3


Thanks for listening

Nick


[This message has been edited by Nick G (edited 12-16-2008).]

Please don't use that rapidshare crap, after trying to download the file it got only part of it and therafter "You reached the limit... please get a premium account..."

Hi Nick

Not too keen on the piano used, but overall I like them.

Downside, well compared to hearing the board live, the mp3 does rob the sound of its aliveness, but then that’s the downsides of mp3, and has nothing to do with your playing or the board.

Thanks for posting and hope to hear some more in the future.

Regards

Bill

I had no problem downloading & listening to these tunes.....I wasn't impressed at all with the sound of OS2 vs the previous OS....to me it's the typical Korg PA sound judging by this demo.
I enjoyed the songs & playing, but the empty overall sounding drums especialy the hallow snare left me wanting more unless they need some EQ'ing.
Hope to hear more soon.

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 12-16-2008).]

Only listened to the first song. I thought the piano sounded great - different ears I suppose. Thanks for sharing.

nick,
it sounds great!
did you do any editing to the stereo wave? eq or compression?

That particular OS2 style is about the most bare bones styles you can imagine. You should hear some of the others - wow!

How long do you have to gush over apiece of gear before you are willing to post anything yourself, Zuki?

You've had the thing AGES longer than this guy, but he beats you to the punch making demos, and you criticize him for not demoing the best styles?

Wouldn't posting a demo of the styles you DO consider better have been a MUCH more useful comment?

zuki post some demos please of the other new styles OS2 if you can.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 12-16-2008).]

Hi Nick. Thanks for the Demo. It was nicely played. The strings sounded very nice and lush.

The problem for me is that i have never heard a wersi sound great. I have heard great players play a wersi in a particular genre playing mostly theatre organ or 60's pop organ but thats about it. Noone should com plain about yamah drums as wersi have not updated their drums since the 70's if you judge them by your ears aolne and not marketing text.I admire your sticking power Abacus with your support for the Wersi product but it seems to me that they have done abolutely nothing to earn your loyalty.

posted on the wrong thread

thanks for the replies people!

Diki and Donny - i think you are being a bit too hard on Zuki.

I don't find what he wrote any harsher than what Donnie's comment was about 'typical Korg sound' and 'hollow snares'. (why don't you post something in arranger play Donny?

This was not a professional take with editing etc. it was very low effort, i did it very on the fly just to get something for people to here as i noticed there has been a huge lack of music being posted on this forum for a long time now.

Zuki was merely pointing out that i used a very simple style which is indeed what I was aiming for - i wanted to keep the music simple and not over done. to me its great, im happy with how it turned out. Diki I think you have taken what he said the wrong way (no offense)...

after listening to the trance clip again i realise now there are a lot of mistakes in the chord changes! (very embarrassing), i will have another take on this one tonight and re upload it. It does sound pretty bad!

as for the sound quality - this is something i need to work on. i am currently using a single stereo cable from the headphone jack on the PA 800 to the line in on my PC sound card. this is why the sound is a bit thin and maybe a little static or compressed?

I need to use the left and right stereo guitar leeds from the outputs on the back of the keyboard as the headphone socket in the PA 800 has a pre amp thus the sound comes out distorted.

but to me - that's a very live sound IMO. i am extremely happy with the keyboard and i totally love the sound of Korg! its polished like the yamaha but more live and crisp (at least out of the box)!

Nick

Nick..., how's the build quality of the PA compared to the Yamaha XS? I know the body is plastic, but how sturdy are the sliders..., do the buttons feel solid?

I'd love to test drive a PA, but I gotta leave the state to do that

Sorry, guys. Wasn't trying to take it the wrong way...

It's just that Zuki has been the MOST ardent fanboy of the PA800 since the day he got it, works 25/8 on it, and has yet to illustrate a single point he has made with any music. Now, don't get me wrong, but if you have a work schedule THAT deep, for one thing, shyness can't be a factor And professionalism is pretty much a given.

So why post on thread after thread after thread about how great the PA800 is, without so much as ONE demo? I'm not looking to chop the guy down, I'd simply like some kind of reference to what he is saying... Talking about music is like dancing about mathematics - it doesn't convey anything substantive. It's ALL opinion without illustration. And I'm sorry, but everyones' opinion has EXACTLY the same weight (just about zero) without some kind of demonstration of it's position.

To me, something might be the best sounding thing in the world. To you, it might sound like a kazoo Unless I post something in audio form, how do you decide whether (in YOUR opinion) I'm right or wrong? By grammar? Or writing style?

Or how many emoticons I use?

thanks!

I have not done any EQ changes at all. only adjusted a few volume levels in the style parts.

Back from the road all day and have to read this crap....

Nick, thanks for your remarks on my behalf.

And...............for God's sake, I'll post some demos to get you guys off my a--

Chill please.............

You, my friend, are DEAD WRONG on your assessment of my reply. I enjoyed Nick's playing, including the simple style that he chose to use. You are probably the only one that saw it differently - too bad.

Nick give me a break if you didn't know that was out of the box PA800 style arranger mode play....I dont know what to tell you mate ..seems you dont take criticism well either....but that's what you get posting on here.


[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 12-16-2008).]

I can't believe I'm agreeing Totally with Diki.... but on this post....,spot on !!

-

[This message has been edited by zuki (edited 12-16-2008).]

Donny seriously what the F are you on about here?

"Nick give me a break if you didn't know that was out of the box PA800 style arranger mode play" is there a word missing here? i don't understand your point.


After recording and posting some quick demos all you could be bothered to say to me was "typical Korg sound left me wanting more".

I am honestly open to all constructive criticism so dont throw it back on me for being ignorant of your views on my music.

In a way I was not surprised that a comment like that came from DNJ, TYPICAL!

Nick



[This message has been edited by Nick G (edited 12-16-2008).]

Um.....yeah.


Well I like what I heard of the Canon - nice arrangement - contemporary, but not too "cheap" or distracting in regards to a classical piece being updated.

Couldn't load the other one as Rapidshare told me I'd reached my Free-user Limit (!)

(Is there anything else we can all use to upload files?)

I really wanted to hear that trance one too....

If someone is posting to specifically illustrate a style or OS upgrade or some feature related to a keyboard, then we should critique that feature or style and not the quick-and-dirty performances that may be thrown together to illustrate same. Otherwise, no one will post, even for educational or informational purposes.

In Donny's defense, his response "I wasn't impressed at all with the sound of OS2 vs the previous OS....to me it's the typical Korg PA sound judging by this demo.
I enjoyed the songs & playing, but the empty overall sounding drums especialy the hallow snare left me wanting more unless they need some EQ'ing" was entirely appropriate. The instrument was critiqued, the player was actually complimented.

My advice; if you're the least bit thin-skinned, DON'T POST.

chas

Chas,

fair call, i may be being harsh on Donny.

no one likes to hear negative feedback on a performance, i am happy for it to comemy way but please be civil about it.

To be honest i was pretty proud of what i made on the PA800 and i was hoping for more positive feedback from other peeple.(i dont want to sound cocky) but at the same time i thank the people who have responded, i much appreciate it.

having owned a lot of keyboards of different brands i really beleive the Korg sound is a live punchy sound. i prefer it over Yamaha personally and to my ears it sounds great! its definitely the sound i have been looking for in all the keyboards i have previously owned.

another long story i dont want to dig up again but after all the crap that went on over the past few weeks i have completely lost all credability for Donny's opinion and "knowledge" of keybaords and sound.

if anyone else said the drums sounded hollow or something then yeah great, ide get to work and try to improve as ide take their opnions into mind, but the fact that it came from Donny just really bothered me.

Of coarse some people are never going to like what they hear and i am sure there are more than just Donny. I have had about 77 downloads of the Canon piece so obviously people are holding their comments to themselves. this is natural i am not holding a gun to anyones head. im just saying, heres some work i have done, have a listen, if you like it great, if u dont, thats fine, u can tell me what your thinking but obviously keep it civil and within reason?

Maybe its just Donny's wording which made his comment sound more harsh, as I have always beleived, the internet is evil in this sense. it makes people sound more blunt and direct without showing facial punctuation and emotion.

Nick

Depends on what your motives are when you post. I occasionally send Diki something for what I know will be an honest assessment. It usually has something to do with a (synth) voice or harmonizer use or recording technique, but they're always something I respect his knowledge about; AND I know I'll get an honest answer. For instance, I can tell you that he is no fan of Korg saxes (or pianos) but does really like Yammy guitars. That's okay. I personally liked the Korg sax but when he pointed out the how Korg was unable to articulate the sax voice in an authentic way, I learned something valuable and even tried harder to adjust my playing technique to accommodate this deficiency. Perhaps this is the way you should treat what you view as 'negative' criticism. Since nothing is perfect, there is always something to criticize.




Big mistake. I'd change that to "hoping for more OBJECTIVE feedback". Having everyone agree with your assessment of your own work has zero value.




Don't mistake Donny's buying habits with a lack of knowledge about keyboards. He's probably had more real-life experience with a wider variety of keyboards, especially arranger keyboards, than anyone on this board. His habit of 'praising, then trading' may be annoying, but it would be a stretch to say that he has no credibility. He is, after all, one of the few full-time working pro's on this board with many years of experience.



....and that's something to keep in mind when analyzing their feedback. If you think that a response is from this type of person, chuck it and move on to the next one. If Monk had listened to all the criticism of his playing, we'd probably never have experienced the haunting beauty of 'round midnight.

Keep on posting.

chas

Goodmorning Nick...Thank You So much for posting Your OS-2 Demo!...I've been wanting to Hear something other than Demo's From the Korg Site,etc....Your Music Cannon was Beautiful. You Play with Great Expression of the Music and from the Heart. Otherwords You can feel the Music!...That is a Gift.

First I played the song just through my smaller monitors...I know the Korg is a "Live" Keyboard so I grabbed My Stereo Headphones plugged them in and did a retake. WOW.... what a difference...Brought it to life!!!!!...(As much as possible with your recording methods)...If I have time soon I'll get My large near field monitors in order with the computer use.(Got them for everything else!....

Thanks again Nick, Personally, I think the Korg Boards are really Inviting. There are quite a few really Great Keyboards out there at this time!...Good Luck with Your Music Endeavors. Would Love to Hear More!...Have a Great Day...Harold

Nick,
Nice work..I enjoyed them both..
By the way which PA1 style did you start with..on the trance? I have a PA2 , but also have all of the PA1 styles. I really like the style you came up with for the trance.

Thanks,
Lee

Lee and Harold - thanks for the feedback. much appreciated!

Lee - to be honest now i cant remember where i got that style from. all i know its called "Dream" and i was pretty sure it came from a PA80 or PA1x style set. But like I mentioned i did a bit of editing and had to swap drum kits to get that nice punchy sound.

Of all keyboards i have ever owned, this is definitely my most favorite dance/trance style yet! it just works with everything...

Squeak - the build quality of the PA 800 is pretty good. the fact that its plastic obviously makes it 'weaker' than a metal keyboard liek the motif, but it still seems very sturdy and well put together.

i remember the tyros 2 and the psr3000, u could literally twist the keyboard with your bare hands and u would hear it creak. this does not happen with the PA, its a much more firmer build...

the buttons feel just as good as the Motif did, the sliders are also very good. they are a little but smaller than the motif sliders but still nice n sturdy. i remember playing on an MM6 or a Juno D(i think it was Juno D or G) and those sliders felt like toys.

As i have said before i think the PA 800 is ugly as but it is still a well built keyboard... the onboard speakers are surprisingly alot better than i expected too.

I run my PA 800 through a Logitech Z3200 THX speaker setup and they really bring the keyboard alive!

I will be posting some more demos soon.

after owning a Motif synth for so long, going back to an arranger is a learning curve again. i basically need to re learn most of the chords for the songs i use to play as well as all the style changes, fills, track mutes, un mutes etc etc.

Nick

"Dream" - HA! What a co-incidence!

We did a corporate gig recently and I wanted to do some cool remixes, so we worked up "Bleeding Love" using that exact same patch!!!

You're right it DOES work nicely with most songs.

Well done Nick.

Thanks for covering the build difference. If the Juno you tested had sliders.., it was the Juno-G. The Juno-D doesn't have sliders I agree about the G's sliders though.., felt a bit cheap.

What's needed here is a little more Diplomacy.

Diplomacy is the fine art of telling someone to go to hell and making them look forward to the trip.

Jerry

We already do that man! It's called sugarcoating Rather than give honest constructive opinions of others work..., the result is often the sugarcoated "way to go kid" mentallity in an effort to spare hurt feelings.

You can post criticism as constructively as humanly possible, and some here will STILL get bent out of shape, because in their minds, how could ANYTHING played on 'Arranger X' (their personal choice) be anything less than perfect? Heaven forbid that the PLAYER have anything to do with it, either. Aren't these supposed to do EVERYTHING for us?

Diplomacy is the art of knowing when diplomacy doesn't work...

There's quite a bit of stuff posted I don't comment on, anymore. I sometimes get the feeling that whoever is posting isn't looking for constructive anything. Just a pat on the back for trying, no matter HOW bad the playing... It's amazing how popular American Idol is, given how thin skinned most here are about anything they do! I suppose it's only fun when someone ELSE is getting the Simon Cowell treatment

http://www.americanidol.com/