Guys, as you probably know, I need to get a new KB this year, as my Trusty (and underrated!) VA-7 is soon to be replaced by something shiny and new.

With 76 keys!


Here are my questions to G-70 and PAX-1 owners:

G-70

1. Does the G-70 have enough sounds and styles at it's disposal to sound more "cutting edge" then past Rolands - they sound great for live acoustic instruments, (especially drums) but what about electronic loops/beats/kits??

I've always had to work hard to get the VA to sound (VERY) up to date (ironic, since Roland came up with most of the Drum machines used in today's (and yesterday's) Dance music...)

2. Are the SRX boards any good? I would like to use the extra sounds - namely the rhythm loops - in the styles, or however I want to really - apparently OS 3 will let you do this , I hope it's a painless process!!! (Are they worth all that money???)

3. Finally, with all the talk of the extensive EQ editing and amazing FX on board the G70 now, does it REALLY let you change the sounds to individualise the keyboard in a meaningful way?? - I always thought EQ can be a disguise for a bad sound in the first place...

PAX-1

1. Does the Korg have styles that sound natural and not too electronic?? (because as far as I'm concerned it has the Electronica/Dance/Sampling Bases well covered - unlike the G-70.

2. Is the sampling easy to use? (32 meg is not going to be easy to work with, but if I'm talking about brief samples or drums etc - does it "just" make it? Especially live???)


I'm no DJ or Hip Hop Producer, I just need a Keyboard that covers those areas when I need them, because the we cover EVERYTHING from the 40's onwards - almost every style (except Metal).


Finally, I can tell you one thing.

If the Audya is all it's cracked up to be - I'll be buying THAT sucker than either of those other 2 boards!

Any opinions?

(Thanks for reading my long ass post btw!)

As a PA1X owner i can answer yes and yes. The sampler is more than adequate for the use you have mentioned. Recording/sampling drum loops etc and then time slicing them so that you can put them back together in a customised way is really what this sampler was designed for. I believe you can sample and layer up to 6 sounds for each note that you press on the keyboard and so build up very rich multilayered sounds.

Well that's good to hear Spalding - let me tell ya, this Keyboard (the elite version with MP3 and burning options) very nearly has my money.

If the Dual Sequencer works as advertised - that really is the clincher.

Why has no-one copied this idea yet btw?????

Brilliant!

A question no one has answered yet.
Unless you want to be a DJ, Why do you need 2 sequencers?

Bill

Because if you work with SMF's extensively (as I do), and you play high energy "dance" gigs (as we do), it's imperative not to leave people waiting on the dancefloor (even on gigs where more traditional older music eg Rock n Roll is required).

We're known for not leaving dancers on the floor waiting, but it gets hard as I have to "crossfade" between my VA-7 and Mini-disc at the moment.

Trying to manage two (or even three with the I-pod) different machines is hell compared to the much more sensible option (imho) of using the one machine to keep the music flowing.

I guess I should make the disclaimer here that I have specific needs that other people mightn't find a priority.

I'm not trying to rag on any Brand here with this topic, I just want what's right for me....

------------------
God I hate signatures.

BUT...

www.chi-chi.com.au

I can answer about G-70.


In spite of what is often said, G-70 has several new fresh sounds compared to VA-7.
Unfortunately for you no change is present in electronic drums department, where you will still find the same sounds of your VA-7, but you can take advantage of the single drum sound equalizer to customize and adjust the sounds according to your taste and needings.
Big improvements in acoustic drums is present in E-80, but I see that you are looking for a 76 keys; in this case you can consider the E-60 that has a sound set similar to E-80 and has 76 keys, even if the keybed quality in not same as (wonderful) G-70 action.


To me SRXs are the best sound libraries available in hardware; you can find a lot of high quality sounds and loops that you can use with G-70, but only you can judge if they worth that money, once again according to your taste and needings.


Yes, there is a lot of possibilities in customizing sounds using the single tone and drum sound equalizer.
About MFX, please note that on G-70 you have only one available for realtime parts and you can use another one for song/style parts applying a special trick (routing part to external input MFX via direct outputs).
On E-80 you could have 3 MFXs available for song/style parts but, as you know, only 61 keys.
If EQ and MFX improve or damage the sound quality it depends mainly on how they are used.

Because it is patented.

Let me suggest how could you manage this with G-70:
1 - You can select a new song while the previous is playing and then, pressing the Start/Stop button twice, the current song will stop and the new one will start immediately.
2 - You can prepare a Playlist with your songs and they can be played in sequence with no pause (you can also jump from one song to another in the list same as above).
3 - Since pressing the Style Start while a song is running makes the song stop and the style start immediately (and vice versa), you can use a style (even a simple drum loop) as an intermezzo between two songs.

Not a bad plan o3bor, thank you.

I would prefer, however to literally cross-fade (especially with 70's Disco and /or Modern Top 40 dance tracks) where as one song is just ending I fade up the next one (trying to beat match er.... somewhat) as opposed to a "Start/Stop" situation - even if the Start/Stop is immediate.

Your plan comes a close second though - you're smarter than I am!

I see your point and I agree with you; I was just pointing out some feature of G-70 that maybe you don't know.

Have you thought about adding the Ketron MidJay Module and using it with your VA 7, as this seems to offer everything you require?

Bill

http://www.ketron.it/prodotti/index.asp?idTipo=2

Well not everything......

(Refer to the 3rd line in my first post).

Aw geez Abacus - you're the guys doing the Audya!

Why even bother talking to me about the Midjay module???

(Got to admit though - nice features - especially that AUTO crossfade is a great idea!)

Now Abacus, about the Audya.........

Hi Hellboy44
I was just making an alternative suggestion; I have no connection with Ketron whatsoever.

Bill

Sorry, my bad.


I thought you were a Ketron staffer.

Apologies.

Abacus is one of our few Wersi users....

Who's the KETRON buff that I'm thinking of then???

AJ