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#90767 - 07/23/03 09:50 PM Re: pa1x Pro options
Idatrod Offline
Member

Registered: 07/23/02
Posts: 562
Loc: Oceanside, CA USA
Quote:
Originally posted by Uncle Dave:
62 Korg voices beat 126 Yammies anyday. It's all in how you allocate it.


Good point Dave. They say that two voices whether it's one Main and one Layer, or a layered voice within one voice, etc., that the Korg boards only use 1 note of Poly. We will have to see for ourselves if Polyphony is going to be an issue on the Pa1X/Pro or not. If you're correct and if what I heard is correct then maybe were all making do about nothing. It has also been said that the GEM Genesys/Pro, which only has 64 note Polyphony, is also allocated much better than, let's say, Yamaha's Keyboards are. It is very intriguing to say the least. I can't wait to get my hands on one. You better believe before I leave the store that has it on display I will know for certain that it either has or has not passed my litmus test regarding note drop off.

I'm in the process now of thinking up new ways to get the Board to start dropping notes when I play it. I think if there's anybody out there that can make a Keyboard buckle (by making it start to drop off notes) when playing it, it's probably me. I just can't wait to apply the "pressure" to see if it will pass the test or not.

If it passes the test and the sounds are as good as they say and from what we've heard so far, and the other features are all they're cracked up to be, etc., the Pa1X (61 Key version) will probably be my next Arranger. And I say that about the Pa1X because of it having internal speakers and the Pa1XPro does not. But before I purchase it, it has to pass my meticulous and high standard. I am picky I agree but the Keyboard I have now is considered a Professional Arranger Keyboard and I can attest to that fact (It is absolutely wonderful). And there are more people than you can shake a stick at that use their PSR 2000 in a Professional environment. But if the Pa1X/Pro is all that Korg is saying it is, it should be head and shoulders above my PSR 2000 in respect to the term Professional Arranger.

Best regards,
Mike

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#90768 - 07/23/03 10:20 PM Re: pa1x Pro options
Idatrod Offline
Member

Registered: 07/23/02
Posts: 562
Loc: Oceanside, CA USA
Quote:
Originally posted by George Kaye:
"He also reminded me of how many Tritons are being used in the world and that the issue of lack of polyphony has not been a problem that Korg have received calls about from users."

"When I think of how many i30's i've sold and in the past year how many PA80's I've sold, and most of my customers are pro players using these keyboards for playing live in resteraunts and clubs, I have not heard complaints about notes being dropped off. I would hope that many of you will hold out and get to try this keyboard when it hits the market in October."

"My rep also told me that it is quite possible there will be a PA1X with 61 keys and speakers possibly in other countries, but as often is the case, the USA division has only choosen to bring in the pro 76 key model for now."
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California


George your Korg Rep should realize that the Triton is not an Arranger Keyboard. Thus note drop off would be less of an issue imo because of the Triton not having Style Accompaniment, Multi-Pads, Registrations, OTS, etc. But it is interesting that you say you have not heard complaints from your i30 and PA80 customers about note drop off. So maybe the Polyphony issue with the Pa1X/Pro will be mute "pardon the unintended pun " also.

But you just burst my bubble George!! No 61 Key version in the USA??? You mean I'll have to order one from Synth Planet?? From a place that the Manufacturer's Warranty is voided if shipped to the US? And the AC inlet Connection on the Pa1X probably won't work with USA voltage specs anyways?

I feel like somebody just stabbed me in the back!!! (PS: Not you George , you're just the messenger of the bad news). Korg! You've just lost my vote as Arranger Keyboard Manufacturer of the Year! Ouch!! Talk about a BIG letdown!!!

Back to plan "B". Which is wait and see what shows up on the Radar screen at Winter NAMM 2004. Gotta have those speakers... On a unit that will have a Manufacturer's warranty and be able use an 110 Voltage source.

Best regards,
Mike

[This message has been edited by Idatrod (edited 07-24-2003).]

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#90769 - 07/24/03 03:52 AM Re: pa1x Pro options
Anonymous
Unregistered


My KORG Trinity has only 32 Notes of Poly and I have been sequencing orchestral music on that for 8 years.

Here's an example of what a max of 29 notes sound like on my Triton Studio.
http://www.irishacts.com/sharp/superman.mp3

Regards.
James.

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#90770 - 07/24/03 06:29 AM Re: pa1x Pro options
The Pro Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 07/09/02
Posts: 1087
Loc: Atlanta, Georgia
I don't buy this, either on merit or fact. I grant that many people who sing along with their performances rather than perform instrumentally won't run into the same issues that I do - but on any given song of mine I run drums, bass, guitars and electric piano and/or synth pads with occasional horn stabs or strings as sequenced midi backing or arranger accompaniment. I have used polyphony counters that show this takes anywhere from 30-54 notes of polyphony alone (Yamaha's S-XYG50 softsynth has a polyphony counter if you want to find out the polyphony of your own sequences - free demo at http://www.yamaha-xg.com). Then on the same instrument I have piano and optional layered strings. Quite often I perform arpeggios with the sustain pedal down, which racks up the polyphony fast with or without accompaniment. The Yamaha 9000 Pro comes with 128 notes of polyphony standard and I can max that out pretty easily (acknowledging that Yamaha uses multi-voice sounds). But to compensate for this I've added a 64-voice dedicated piano card, which solved the problem of running out of polyphony. I also added the DX expansion card to give me another 16 notes of dedicated polyphony (total polyphony: 208). And I did this all for well under what the base price of a PA1-X Pro alone will cost.

Ok, so I'm a power-user and like the option of having more than ample polyphony to cover Yamaha's multi-voice sounds - but at least I had that option with the 9000 Pro... on any Triton-based instrument, including the PA1-X Pro, I wouldn't. The optional Korg expansion cards add sample memory to the instrument but not polyphony. So even if Korg doesn't think it's possible to max out their polyphony and I do it anyway, there's nothing I or Korg can do about it after the fact. And don't even get me started about what will happen when the PA1-X cross-fade dual sequencers come into play. I don't want "least significant allocation", I want to not need it.

Of course I intend to give the PA1-X a fair shot and if it's a better instrument for my needs than my 9000 Pro then I will buy one. I was rooting for Korg in the first place and they came through with things like the first SP/DIF digital output on an arranger. But the polyphony issue isn't going away without solid hands-on evidence that it isn't an issue - and if Korg's production costs to match the polyphony options of Yamaha's 9000 Pro are too cost prohibitive for them, then that'll be all the more reason to stay with a proven leader.
_________________________
Jim Eshleman

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#90771 - 07/24/03 06:45 AM Re: pa1x Pro options
Idatrod Offline
Member

Registered: 07/23/02
Posts: 562
Loc: Oceanside, CA USA
Well said Jim. I concur wholeheartedly.

Mike

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#90772 - 07/24/03 07:00 AM Re: pa1x Pro options
trtjazz Offline
Member

Registered: 08/01/02
Posts: 2683
Couple of you guys beat me to the illogic in the "we have plenty of Tritons out there and haven't had a problem" statement......that's because they are not running full bore as the pro noted. I will say when I had a Motif with it's 62/64 note poly was the first time I had note drop off as I tried to load up voices and sustain etc....so to those of us that use any board in an arranger way, I say 62 poly doesn't cut it. IMO.
Terry

------------------
jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html
_________________________
jam on,
Terry
http://www.artisans-world.com/

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#90773 - 07/24/03 07:52 AM Re: pa1x Pro options
dlstarry Offline
Member

Registered: 02/04/01
Posts: 698
Loc: MN. U.S.A.
My thought's exactly, on the poly problem.
I can't believe that Korg would make such
a well thought out keyboard & then cut corners
with only 62 note poly.
Maybe it won't be a problem, but it don't seem
right to me, Time will tell.
I was thinking at first this new Korg sounded
like it would be a good replacement or addition to / for
my 9000 Pro, but I don't know now.
_________________________
Denny
KN5000, Yamaha PSR-SX900

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#90774 - 07/24/03 08:42 AM Re: pa1x Pro options
Alex K Offline
Member

Registered: 12/03/99
Posts: 732
Loc: Phoenix, AZ USA
Quote:
Originally posted by George Kaye:
... I had a lengthy conversation with my Korg Distict Sales Manager this morning regarding the issue of 62 voice polyphony. Here's what he had to say:
First, all Triton products have no more than 62 notes of polyphony. Even the Triton Studio 88 has just 62 note polyphony, although there are two seperate boards in this instrument each having actually only 60 notes each. So, if you think you have 120 total notes to work with, you are wrong because you can not "share" the polyphony with the same kinds of sounds. Piano, etc. have their own 60 notes and other sounds have their own.
Now, regarding voice allocation, Korg uses the system of "least significant allocation" which means the sound with the lowest volume will be dropped if needed. Because Yamaha uses many sounds with 4 waveforms per foice and Korg never uses more than 2 waveforms per voice, Yamaha sounds can use up more polyphony with the same number of fingers being used for sounds...


I know for a fact that I on occasion run out of polyphony on my Roland G1000, which also uses no more than 2 waveforms per voice and has 64 note polyphony. It also uses a fairly good scheme of voice allocation, so it is not very notitceable, but it is noticeable to me. We are not talking about the question of how many notes one can press at the same time - we are way past arguing that 10 voice polyphony is sufficient. We are also not talking about pre-programmed sequences, where one can easily manage the numbers of notes being played by editing them out. This is real-time play, with eight polyphonic parts of arranger, and layered voices for the solo parts. Add to that two waveforms per voice (I bet most of the better acoustic sounds do use two waveforms), and the sustain pedal... Now, did you say that Korg intends to allow the sequencer to play at the same time???

I just feel that Korg has just built a six-million-dollar man, but with a slight limp. For the money they are intending to charge for this instrument I would expect it to be without such significant shortcomings.

By the way, I don't sing (though I am trying to learn), so my performances are instrumental. Of course, this is not an issue for people who are doing mostly vocal acts, since all they want is bass and drums, but then they usually go for a minimalist solution anyway, and probably would not plunk $3500 for a PA1Pro. Isn't that right, Uncle Dave?

Regards
_________________________
Regards,
Alex

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#90775 - 07/24/03 10:40 AM Re: pa1x Pro options
dud Offline
Member

Registered: 05/05/01
Posts: 232
Loc: israel
hello !

also there is another problem , I think that the acoustics sounds of KOrg are not so good , and if there won't be oriental sounds like in the Tyrus and the SD1 I will need to sample some acoustics sound , and that will increase the problem of poliphonia.

by

------------------
davidfle@hotmail.co.il
_________________________
davidfle@walla.co.il

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#90776 - 07/24/03 11:00 AM Re: pa1x Pro options
Clif Anderson Offline
Member

Registered: 02/17/00
Posts: 532
Is it true that no Korg products exceed 62-voice polyphony? I thought my Karma with MOSS installed had 68-voice polyphony. That would be true for Tritons as well. I believe the MOSS board is like a Yamaha plug-in, having its own 6-voice polyphony.

But I feel Korg has become trapped by the Triton's success. It seems Korg won't let itself exceed Triton specifications--62-voice polyphony, 32MB ROM, 16MB ROM expansions. In the meantime, Yamaha has reached 175MB ROM and 128 voice polyphony (expandable) and Roland has introduced 64MB expansion cards and Emu has 32MB expansion cards.

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