Hello All
If you live in the UK, Korg start a tour today featuring the new PA800, details can be found here. http://www.korg.co.uk/news_list/news.asp?newsId=54&productCode=

Bill

http://www.korg.co.uk/products/professional_arranger/pa800/pa_pa800.asp

good close up of the top panel

Thanx Bill maybe some day we will see the PA800 here in the USA......I'd love to play one .




[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 10-24-2006).]

Further to the above:
http://www.laboitenoire.net/boite/index.php?boite=4&menu=1&id_info=595

Enjoy.

Great stuff....looks like it could be a winner!

There are a few things that might keep the Pa800 from going over the top. There is no expandability in the way of EX expansion cards, and no 76 key version (as of yet) .

Most of what I'm hearing in the way of sounds is very good. And the price is about a Grand below the Tyros2 which will make it very appealing to those who want to save money.

The excitement is brewing and Korg may have just come up with a Roland E-80 slayer since the E-80 weighs a ton (figuratively speaking) and has an astronomical price tag to go along with its behemoth weight and would, in my opinion, make it much less desireable to a majority of gigging keyboardists.

But of course the proof will be in the pudding of whether or not the Pa800 lives up to the hype and is as good as what we're hearing and seeing from the new demos.

PS: I have already heard some sounds on the Pa800 that don't impress me a whole lot but tweaking them may improve them quite a bit. The vast majority of sounds I've heard so far are outstanding though in my opinion. >> That Organ demo on the French video is great.

May the best board win.

Best regards,
Mike

[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 10-28-2006).]

The problem with Korg is not the sounds,hardware.(It never was).Or sequencer,sound editing,SMF playback etc.all are great.

The problem is over orchestrated styles/fills for a everyday arranger use.If PA 800 has the same styles as PA1x,I doubt that most western arranger giggers(not home players) would use it as an arranger.(all would go for PSR or T after gigging with PA 80 or pa1x,it's extremely common,-even after PAX having pads that play loops).BUT the selling point of KORG would be due to it's sounds,other non arranger functionality,weight,hardware,quality VH,etc.
The same reason that non mideast arranger users would go for other brands for arranger only KB.

PA 1x (and 800)built in sounds are 80% similar to pa80/50.

KORG needs a good style team for western styles.Or they should sell all YAMMY styles professionally tuned by KORG/YAM team.

It's a true all in one KB which is a little weak on arranger side.WHEN will they change same old PA80 layout that you need to press shift/a-b button to change the style or sound?OS (also styles) must be reworked.
KB with potential is always killed by design team(their proven hit triton sound board with same edit power is inside).BUT if you want to sell it as an arranger,STYLES,FILLS AND OS are the MAJOR selling factors.(take a lesson from 3K or 90's Rolands.)



[This message has been edited by jamman (edited 10-26-2006).]

See, I can't quite agree with that. The whole beauty of having sliders and mute/play buttons on those Korg models that have them allows the player to strip down or fill out the accompaniments to their liking. Granted, the PA800 has only three sliders, and that concerns me a bit. However, on the Pa1X you have the whole eight sliders (as were present on the i30) for some fine degree of control over orchestration. Remember it was the move away from sliders and mute/play buttons that caused the hue and cry when the PA80 was introduced. Okay, I know there are some strong opinions on this forum re. this topic of sliders, but for me, it makes a lot of difference.

The PA800 in fact has an expanded sampler with 64MB as opposed to the PA1X 32MB but with exactly the same features. The sliders mean that the player of the PAX has immediate realtime control over the fullness of orchestration. Unfortunately the PA800 does not have this feature which in my view is a mistake on korgs part.

Muting some tracks will not always help.If a style is written in busy(acmp) way,muting will only make it sound too hollow or too simple/unbalanced.You can't mute bass track(most bass line are again too busy),you can mute percussion track but not the drum track,if a fill is too busy and unrelated to the style,or unconventional snare hit which is cool for 1 song but useless for others.
KORG's most styles are taken directly from famous songs,including riffs and signature bass lines(bad choice for arranger playing).
eg.(LATIN ROCK style is taken direcly from SANTANA's SMOOTH including variations)and worst similar BASS lines,which make uneffective to play other simpler latin rock styles.

The style will fit particular for that song only but useless for general use.And you can't tune it to fit other songs,you just have to rewrite bass and drum lines.


But IMO - most styles must fit popular songs for arranger play.If a song has parts that can't be done with arranger ,you have to write a SMF.
you need good 8 beats/ballads with simpler bass lines and drum patterns,fills.You now have pads to trigger certain riffs /bass lines for particular songs(can't do that with older KORGs including PA80,this feature is a upgarde of PAx,which YAM has been doing it for years including in their lower models like PSR 550).

GOOD thing though is you can replace ALL styles with the styles that you want in KORG.YOU just need to convert good styles and revoice/balance from both YAM and roland.But would'nt it be great if it was done or an option to buy?Like I said,STYLES,FILLS,OS are major selling point of an arranger.

BTW-I'm a KORG user,and I can't stand overall YAMMY sounds,drums in particular(except for some longer sampled sounds(Like SAX and AC guitars,and newer T2 solo voices that beat both KORG and ROLAND.)BUT I think Both KORG and Roland need a lesson from YAMMY for OS and style making.

Good arranger with good OS will have a lot of users and 3rd party support will grow(making more free styles).YAM is doing that for past 5-6 yrs after 2k and both KORG and ROLAND should follow the route if they want to sell as an ARRANGER.I've seen both have copied same features/lay out(E80 from PA1x- including the the look and buttons,PAX having pads like YAMMY and etc.

To KORG USA and JAPAN -rework the OS and layout,make styles simpler,add some more real time features,then you will have a hit ARRANGER model.



[This message has been edited by jamman (edited 10-27-2006).]

Uh, oh.. my mistake. I see from the specs that the Pa800 DOES have a Sampler although 64 MB is rather limiting when you consider, for example, a Motif ES can load 1 Gig. But it is double the amount of the Pa1X so that is a step forward at least.

Can someone tell me why manufacturers skimp when it comes to the amount of RAM that Samplers on 'Arrangers' can utilize? 64 Megabytes is not much at all in today's standards. But I would still consider buying a Pa800 if it came in a 76 key version. That puppy has a REAL Sampler too unlike the Tyros2' simple Sample 'player'. For a Grand less than a T2 to boot. Kudos to Korg for packing the Pa800 with beaucoup high-end features at a very competitive price.

Best regards,
Mike