New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion

Posted by: Dnj

New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 10:32 AM


Take a look at the deck of the new Pa3x........with almost all the buttons the same color and not lighted it would be very easy to make a mistake in a low lighting gig situation to hit the wrong one. Why didn't they use a few different colors to differentiate the sections, modes, features to ease the confusion? IMO bad design on such an innovative full featured arranger.


Posted by: leeboy

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 10:34 AM

Donny,
They are lighted I'm sure...just like the PA2XPRO is.
There is a LED in the button.
Posted by: Dnj

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 10:52 AM

Originally Posted By: leeboy
Donny,
They are lighted I'm sure...just like the PA2XPRO is.
There is a LED in the button.


OK that may be so, thats a good thing.. wasn't sure But, that doesn't alleviate the BUTTON color problem for players.
Posted by: vangelis

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 12:35 PM

You must be used to the YAMAHA PSR series? with different lights?
When something is on the light is on, but it also blinks so the LED's serve two purposes, it is logically laid out for ease of use, nothing difficult about it.
Posted by: Dnj

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 02:05 PM

OK lets forget the lights for now.....all the buttons one color could create a problem in low lighting...even if there were no lights at all having different colored buttons would help the player navigate no?
Posted by: Nick G

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 03:22 PM

I can see different shades of grey for different groups of buttons.

Its no different to the PSR S910 Donny? how do you get by with that?




Nick
Posted by: Dnj

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 04:26 PM

Nick just seems like a lot more small buttions on the
Pa series units the Psr buttons are much bigger also although all white....and believe me Ive owned many of them..just my opinoon they should have added a few more colors to the buttons.
Posted by: Nick G

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 04:32 PM

The majority of the PSR buttons are much smaller than the PA.

The only buttons on the PSR that are bigger are the reg buttons, style play buttons and OTS.

Just like anything it will become second nature once you get used to it after a short while.

Nick
Posted by: Dnj

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 04:44 PM

Another thing I Like on the Psr vs the Pa is that the buttons are Rubber with a nice tacky feel...less slippage on split second changes. Too each his own.
Posted by: leeboy

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 05:04 PM

Donny,
Not on the Tyros series.
Posted by: ianmcnll

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 05:11 PM

Thing is, with the "touch screen"...why are there still so many buttons?

I thought the PA's touch screen would simplify the panel layout.

I have to agree with Donny...the PA3X has a lot of buttons the same color and the same size, and they are very close together.

I suppose one gets used to them, but it still seems strange to see such a plethora of similar buttons along with a touch screen interface.

Ian

Donny, I like the rubbery buttons on the S910 too...wish they were on the Tyros4, but it's layout is nonetheless very well done, with lots of big easy to use buttons ( I like that the whole button changes color on the T4).
Posted by: Diki

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 05:47 PM

Touch screens have their uses, but until one comes out that covers the entire surface of the arranger, imagine if you had an arranger where EVERY control was crammed into a four inch area in the middle of the keyboard... That would be awkward, to say the least!

IMO, physical buttons on the left and the right give you things to hit that are close to where your hands already are, sliders in the middle give you ease of adjustment no matter WHAT hand you have free at the time, and a touch screen gives you access to FAR more parameters for editing than a simple button matrix can ever give you...

Sounds sort of familiar, doesn't it..?! wink

BTW, NONE of my main arranger control buttons have any color whatsoever. Just LED's to light the way. To my mind, it's more about SIZE and logical layout than color. If your key colors were reversed (Farfisa, anyone?!) would it make the keyboard harder to play? smile The most important feature of buttons is a logical layout, so you don't end up with buttons better hit by the RH stuck on the left (and vice versa), and not cramming them in too tight, and ending up with inadvertent wrong button pushes, because you can't easily hit them quickly, accurately.
Posted by: Dnj

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 05:57 PM

Yes I remember my Farfisa Pro & Vox Continental keys very well... wink

http://www.combo-organ.com/Farfisa/Professional/index.htm

http://www.hollowsun.com/vintage/vox_conti/index.html

colors work with the brain signals & is definitly a good navagating feature no matter how you cut it.
Posted by: Diki

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 06:06 PM

Well, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't...

Probably the best keyboard for distinguishing different areas and buttons is the Lionstracs Groove, but DAMN! Boy, is it UGLY..!

We all want subtlety in the daylight, black arrangers, muted, sophisticated looks, but when the lights go down, and you are on stage with colored lights washing out all the subtlety, we need it painted like a circus clown!

Can't have BOTH... wink
Posted by: Dnj

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 06:18 PM

Maybe a nice feature could be a knob that allows you to rotate and change the color of the light on button lights, display etc, etc, for different venues.
Posted by: Diki

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 06:25 PM

Nice, but I would rather have a 'hidden' function that allows you to re-task the buttons. Not everybody wants the buttons where the manufacturer says you HAVE to have them. I'd rather decide where my OTS buttons or Variation select buttons go than be told...

It's all just software... ANY button should be able to control ANY function, if you want it to. rolleyes
Posted by: DonM

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/02/11 10:56 PM

Originally Posted By: Diki
Nice, but I would rather have a 'hidden' function that allows you to re-task the buttons. Not everybody wants the buttons where the manufacturer says you HAVE to have them. I'd rather decide where my OTS buttons or Variation select buttons go than be told...

It's all just software... ANY button should be able to control ANY function, if you want it to. rolleyes


AMEN, brother!
DonM
Posted by: leeboy

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/03/11 06:33 AM

Sure that would be great..except how do you mark the functions on them...Labelmaker?
Posted by: Diki

Re: New KORG Pa3x button COLOR confusion - 03/03/11 12:20 PM

If you go to the trouble of re-programming where they are, I doubt you will have any trouble remembering what you did...

Admittedly, someone ELSE playing your arranger might have a problem, but that's when you re-load the factory defaults!

My K2500's buttons are ALL completely flexible. I have little problem remembering what I've used them for.