I’m wary of posting this topic as it will inevitably start the Roland – Korg - Yamaha arranger wars again!

But I have some questions relating to the touch screens on the G70 and Pa1x (and many other boards too for that matter).

It seems to me that the touch screen is an essential control mechanism on both the PA1x and G-70 arrangers. What I mean is, of course the boards could be built without touch screens, but since they have touch screens incorporated, the screens then become a vital means of operating the arranger. Or put another way it’s impossible (or at least much more difficult) to drive the board without using the screen.

So my questions are regarding the quality of the screens on the two arrangers.

1. Has anybody encountered problems with the touch sensitivity on either of the screens? Does the audible click on the G-70 really help?

2. I have fat fingers so find small interfaces (like the new generation of cell phones) too fiddly. Would either screen give me a problem in this area? I.e. which screen has the most intuitive and “easy to touch accurately” interface?

3. I notice that although both arrangers boast colour screens, Roland’s seems far more colourful whereas the Korg’s colours are muted to say the least. In fact it’s difficult to tell on most screens that they’re meant to be colour at all. I’m wondering whether there’s a good reason for this. Do the pastel shades work better under stage lighting conditions? Or is the Roland’s Technicolor approach easier to navigate? I’m just used to my monochromatic plasma display so have no experience of using screens in a live situation.

These are meant as genuine questions on the long-term usability of the colour touch screen approach to keyboard interfaces so here’s hoping this doesn’t degenerate into a mud-slinging match (although they are rather good fun to watch ).

[This message has been edited by andrewpowell (edited 06-21-2005).]

hi andrew,this subject has got some discussion already here,http://psrtutorial.com/ForumMain.html approx. 8% of males are colour blind and are unable to see red and blue colours on a screen,maybe the keyboard manufacturers will make allowances for this with the option to adjust from colour to black and white,mike

[This message has been edited by nardoni2002 (edited 06-20-2005).]

[This message has been edited by nardoni2002 (edited 06-20-2005).]

[This message has been edited by nardoni2002 (edited 06-20-2005).]

All I can tell you is that I still have my original purchase Korg Trinity from 1997 and the touch screen is still working the same as day one. It is, however, monochrome in light blue rather than full color.

One thing about it though is that you need to use your finger nail rather than your finger pad in order to get more accurate selection. If you don't have any finger nails to speak of (because you bite them off, cut them off, etc.) then some people use a pda stylus for touching, or some people use the eraser end of a wood pencil for touching.

Tom

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Bigger is not always better

A few comments from a music store owner with both models in my store:
The Korg PA1X when it first came out gave me some problems. I found that there was such a small area where your touch would actually make contact and trigger the change. This was especially noticable when selecting single touch settings. Even though there is a lot of free space around the name of the sound, you had to hit just in the center of the name. Then, Korg came out with new software which made the area larger around a word or icon so you didn't have to hit in such a specific spot. Now, I have no problems at all with the touchscreen.
Rolands G70 offers the click when you touch the screen and I find this very usefull because I can an audible sound telling me my touch triggered something. I've had no problems selecting things from the G70 at all. When I sold the VA products, I often found myself touching several times before making a selection but this has never happened with the G70.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

The Roland colors are bright, deep, and... painful to look at after a few minutes. I agree that in comparrison, the Pa1XPro colors are softer and less pronounced - but after working on the instrument for a while, you will appreciate how easy on the eyes the Korg Screen is.

I want valuable feedback about instrument settings, not eye candy / light show.

Hi George,

Just curious. Does the click come from the main outputs? If so wouldn't that be a little distracting during performance to have the instrument produce clicks through the PA system every time you select a new patch?
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Hello Andrew,

As someone who has used both the monochrome touch screens and color touch screens from a couple of different companies, here is my experience with them;

When playing outdoors (sunny or overcast) it is sometimes impossible to view the screen at all because of glare. This is true with monochrome and color.

The monochrome fairs better inside with stage lighting. There have been times when the backline was supplied and I had to use an instrument with a color touch screen and when the stage lights are the same color as sections of the screen, those sections all but disappear.

So basically I don't really care for the touch screen idea.

Dave