Duane ... congrats on your recent retirement ... more time to make music ...

Retirement from the 9 to 5 gig is one of the BEST things I've done ... following right after getting married, having kids, having grandkids ...

Then you misread the original post lahawk.

this is what the original post actually said

'Before I sell my Pa500 today I made some comparison tests using same styles (taken from pa500 and loaded on pa3x). I only adjusted higher the volume on the Pa500. Master EQ off on both arrangers'

so clearly he was only comparing some of the same styles on the PA500 that are also on the PA3x. The funny thing is even though i hear the backward compatible argument rolled out time after time that should mean that the styles are compatible which they are but clearly the same old sounds are also being used which was evident from the tests regardless as to what you might wish to believe about the benefits of the 'new ' sound engine.

Hi Guys,
it's not only the sounds, the style player has a lot to do with it ie the note transposition tables & settings.
I look at some of the earlier Yamaha style ie psr2000, psr 1500, the styles were really simple styles, ie I mean the notes used in creating the styles.
Pull apart a newer psrs910, or T4 & things have changed. I'm fairly certain Yammie must have added additional note transpostion tables/settings along the way to be able to play the newer more complex styles. (apart from anything to do with megavoices)
Some of the earlier guitar tracks the chord voicings were recorded like you'd record piano chords.

For Korg. In one of the updates to the PA800 , they added an additional setting called CHORD which creates a smoother transition when changing chords .
Guitar mode tracks (to me at least) sound more realistic for strums than midi tracks. I don't know how authentic they are, I'm not a guitarist.

So for me, I don't beleive it's just the newer better sounds, it's the capability of the keyboard to play & accurately transpose the notes to play the newer more complex styles.

RIikki

Rikki, you have an excellent understanding of the technology underlying Korg arrangers, by your explanations you've got a handle on Yamaha too. Thanks for posting!

Spalding, you are missing the point of my explanation...the test indeed were styles "taken from the PA500"...and when they were loaded to play on the PA3x they sounded the same...because they can...it used the same program changes and other data from the PA500 style...

Now if you played the same name style from the PA3x you will see a big difference compared to the PA500 style played....again because it can...The PA500 has zero chance of playing the PA3x style correctly...

Hi Stephen,
not the newer Yammies unfortunately, & I don't think my one Man Band software has the newer settings.
I do fiddle around with the Yammie styles for my conversions to korg in midifile format, so I can tell just how far they've developed in the last few years.
My psr1500 ( & earlier ) were relatively easy ( TIME CONSUMING, but simple) to convert, I did a couple of T3's, whole new ball game.
As a Yamaha owner, you must have noticed a big improvement in the styles themselves ( not just the voices). If you've got any of the early styles like for a psr1500, or psr2000, try muting the other tracks & just listen to a strumming guitar chord, then listen to a new T4 style .Not a rehash of a style that yammie has included in keyboard after keyboard, a brand newie, & see if there's a difference in the way it now plays a strumming guitar , I somehow doubt it still uses those early, chord voicings.

The style player in my many keyboards over the years has always facinated me. I've had Technics, Yamaha, Roland, Ketron & Korg.
Technics KN7 styles system ( transposition tables & settings )was truly amazing. Unfortunately didn't fully sink in till I worked out how some of the other keyboards worked.

Hey guys and gals I didn't chime in on this post to make trouble I swear but............

I been reading it and your all way smarter than this. It's like comparing a Chevy chevette to a Chevy Corvette. Sure they both use the same emblem on the logo, maybe the factory radio gets the same stations, these keyboards are nowhere close to the same.

the D/a converters are different, the effects, the keybed, the preamps, and a million other things, the list goes on and on forever ones looks like a toy beside the other.. don't compare them on a 3/4" computer laptop speaker. This is silly

You guys are professionals, it should be a no brainer!

Again this was not to put anyone down or Hurt feelings but I had to jump in.

Mikey its just that you don't like Blue?

Excellent analogy !

Hi Fran. I was not responding to your post above. I was responding to Lahawk. I understand and accept all your points . The only thing we may or may not agree on is whether the extra sounds,(some i may never use ) or reworked styles( some i will never use) and features (some i will never use) makes the difference betwen the PA500, 1X or 2X so great that makes it worth 3 or 4 times the cost of the former . As i said before , no one is saying that the PA500 and the PA3x are the same. I am saying they are too similar to justify the increased cost for me. Thats not a decison i am saying anyone else has to make.

Its a free country (within limits) spend your money how you wish and best of luck to you and anyone else that wants to spend their money this way.