http://www.korg.com/pa900

Col

THanks!

Nothing new, I heard. Recycled styles from PA 500.
I hope they price this competitively ( same or $100 less than 950).

I think you got the facts right...The PA800 was so overpriced,(Not unlike the Tyros4).. they lowered the PA series (600) to ease the cost pain a bit...problem is,,all of these keyboards are incorporating compromise..From the BK to the PA and PSR.

I will reserve my decisions until I play all the sub $2500 keyboards..But visually it is evident..cheap is the common feature...and I am not talking price...but quality built..

Am I the only one that feels this way?
Don't you guys like the feel of a real instrument under your fingers?

To me , they are all making entry level keyboards, with some nice features..but are screaming "Home" use...they should put "fragile" do not move on the name plates..

Most of it has been stated here already in particular in the other thread where initially Deane offered his PSR950 up for sale.
But although I know there is no accounting for tastes it slightly bothers me the way Fran is knocking the PA800. AS you know I recently added an "old/new " Roland G70 to my home set up and so far I am in two minds about keeping it or not. I have had assistance of folks well versed in working with the G70 and all I can say is that it is absolutely less user friendly than the Korg PA800,much less programmable and soundwise there are some sounds which are better , some less and many it is an open contest. Both keyboards to my mind go back to approx. 2004 when first introduced.
The PA800 is the equivalent of the PA2X but with built in speakers and 61 keys instead of 76. I passed up on the PA3X two years ago on account of it being too much of a chore to reprogram, too many parameters , not enough innovations and way too expensive. In my view the PA2X and subsequently the PA800 are still terrific keyboards. The PA800 is still in stock in several shops overhere and currently selling (-out) brand new at approx. 1500 euros, just under 2000 bucks that is.
I am sure the PA900 will have some good stuff as well but the improvements are clearly measured out by the manufacturers so as not to spill all of their beans at once.

regards,
John

P.S. having now got all three brands at my disposal one can safely say that the Korg is the only one of them that can be dubbed a "synthesizer-workstation-arranger " . The degree in which you can tweak and influence single sounds/samples, and the way you can incorporate these into an existing or new style is nowhere as extensive as on the Korgs. Not even close....

Fran, I've been playing arrangers since they were invented. Never had one fail.
The joystick spring on Roland G800 broke about a week after I got it. I took it out and cut off the broken part and it worked fine.
The G800 seemed to be built like a tank, and weighed about as much as one but it had bad paint and the keys were clumsy feeling.
HankB's PSR 2000, had several drinks poured into it. Mostly Vodka. It had burn marks all over it. It was dropped and was never cleaned. As far as I know it is STILL in service for the third owner. When we sold it, we guaranteed it would last at least 24 hours!
Now, feature-wise, I suppose they have to leave some stuff off the MOTL keyboards in order to sell the TOTL models.
To me "Home" means it's too big and too heavy to carry around!

DonM

I have the PA600 and the build quality is great and I bet the build quality of the PA900 is also great. As soon as I have the money I will buy the PA900.

Now Fran, the Roland BK 9 is overpriced with his ridiculous screens, no aftertouch, no sampler etc.

I am talking about the direction all manufacturers are going..I am not talking about sounds or features or ease of operation,,all of this can be learned and than it will be the easiest for you to operate..

The market is flooded with sub par quality (to me) , not just arrangers, but workstations big time..starting with the Juno G series and right on down the line to the Krome..

And they are definitely sub par..quality built..they are not..in fact I recently played in a show room 3 Korg Kromes..all 3 had problems with the keybed...coincidence?

They are called entry levels for a reason..you will most likely lose interest or move up to a decent product..

John I use the PA800 as an example for value to the selling dollar...compare it to Korg's own PA3x...price was not a big difference initially...and used I see 3X's going for less than some PA800 asking prices..

Fran, maybe it has something to do with where they are built these days. I'm not up to date on Synths or Workstations, but I'll bet most are made in China.
DonM

Well you have to look better Fran. I can buy a new PA800 for 1500 Euro. That's 500 Euro cheaper then a BK 9 and for that money I get aftertouch, a sampler, a full synth, a TOUCHSCREEN etc. Not a bad deal if you ask me.