Mic test on PA900 ... detailed explaination

Here's a demo I just recorded using the internal mic input first, then switching to the VLT2 going through a small mixer. There's about 20-30 seconds of silence where I unplug and replug, so don't be alarmed if the sound stops for a while. I think it happens at 1:40, or 2:40 in the track. Can't remember.

Hope this helps clarify just how different the built in technology seems to be compared to the flagship TC stuff.

Thank you very much indeed!
Well, it is obvious that Pa900's vocal processing is nothing like Pa3x. I had some doubts and hopes, but I don't think is really up to the standard for using it live. Jus too bad, as a better harmonizer will have been the cherry on the cake for such a great instrument.
That being the case, I wonder how much do I need the other functions that sets Pa600 and Pa900 apart. I might end up with a Pa600 and a proper vocalist, as some other forumists already have.
Thank you UD, much apreciated!

You're welcome, and I hope it answered some questions for you.
I'm now fully convinced - it can't get any better with user manipulation. Any improvements will have to come from software or firmware upgrades.

Get busy, Korg!

Hi Dave

I'm very glad I stuck with the Pa600 and bought the VLT2, judging from your demo I would have been well upset if I had waited for the Pa900. I can't believe Korg have got it so wrong.

Have you tried using the VLT2 directly into the Pa900 without a mixer. I found the gain on the VLT1 was very low but the VLT2 has an extra 6db gain on the output so it should be better, I must give it a try, up to now I have been using the VLT2 into my Zoom R16 for recording.

I found using the VLT 1 directly into the Pa600 the only way to get a decent balance without a preamp/mixer was to decrease the gain on the limiter which does not affect the line/VLT input but drops the output of the keyboard.

I'll do a quick demo using the VLT2 into the Pa600 for a comparison.

Kind Regards

Col

When the PA800 first came out, I bought what was supposed to be the first one in the U.S. The rep hand-delivered it to me.
It was absolutely awful sounding.
I tried everything to make it sound good, but it just wouldn't.
I sold it after a couple of months. About a week after that, Korg released a whole new OS that dramatically changed it, and corrected about everything that was wrong.
Maybe that will happen again. It is always a risk to buy a keyboard that has just been released. We are the beta testers!
DonM

That's what I'm thinking too.

That would be indeed the way to solve this.
I would prefer the onboard harmonizer, as I donțt need all the fancy other functions found on latest TC processors for instance. I'd be very happy with a basic, but good quality vocalist in Pa900.

In other words, if Korg will fix this (if possible at all) I would go for it. If not, there's no other alternative than an separate unit...

Dave,

I listened to your MP3 on my Beyer DT 770 headphones. I hear bad digital distortion. This is heard at several points in time starting after 1:28.

Ian

Dave, I listened to the demo on my MS50 sound system and there is a fair amount of distortion. However, I'm not sure if the distortion is caused by overdriven components, or just a single component that is not functioning properly. I wish I could be of more help on this, but it's difficult to do from 90 miles away.

Hope you're able to solve the problem,

Gary

Dave,
I'm no singer but I listened to your demo and right from the beginning of your singing I heard a lot of distortion when you sang with harmony. I've got a PA900 sitting right here at my store and after hearing yours I tried mine again and I hear only clean sound with and without the harmony turned on.
I fowarded your posting to the product manager at Korg USA and asked him to look into this.

Might Dave just have a bad unit?
Could you try (and maybe record) something to test to see what is the case here?

Wow ... Might actually be just my unit, huh? That'd be sweet.

Thanx George!

Yeah, that's always a possibility I guess.

Still, there's a hitch(?) in my brain about those extreme settings for the compressor. Not saying it's a user fault, but settings like 64:1 seems much.

But anyway, that aside, it is clear it's not the same vocalist as in Pa3x, not even a stripped down version. It seems to be a different one, probably previous generation.

Adimatis,

As I already mentioned a few weeks ago the vocaliser on the PA900 is ( to the best of my knowledge) the same as the one used on the PA800. It certainly is not identical to the one used on the PA3X and that goes for many more items. As Andrea stated elsewhere Korg can ( and will have) cut corners wherever possible.You may think of hardware such as capacitators, wiring, speakers, keys, but most of all the DAC convertors. Another very interesting item to know would be the amount of MB used for all of the onboard multisamples. Going thru the manuals of both PA3X and PA900 you will find that the samples are identical but this does not mean at all they will sound identical. Critical here are the DAC convertors and the amount of sampling space allocated to each multisample. I have never been able to find out the exact data about this not even on my PA800 but I would be suprised if the overall size of the sampling MB on the PA900 were to be identical to the PA3X.

regards
John

P.S. Uncle DAve, despite all your efforts I hope for you and sundry that you have gotten a defective PA900 indeed as far as the mike input and vocaliser is concerned. Looking forward to what's to come. Best of luck !!

George,

Have you ever received an answer to your query to Korg on this?

Bill G

^^^ No news on this?

Dave,
He was out of the office last week but would look into this when he returns.

A YouTube with Pa900 harmonizer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJiMNoRvGdM

Wow - awesome voice - BEAUTIFUL song, and darn it all - it sounds much better than MINE! Has to be my unit that's bad. New one comes in on Sept6th. I'll update you all then!

Thanx for that video - best news I've had in a while. I LOVE that first song ... is that Russian? Just beautiful.

Yes, that unit sounds better than what yours recorded.
But it is not only the harmonizer - probably the on-board recorder is not really the greatest of them all.
So, did you return your Pa900 as a defective unit? Did they acknowledge that?
As for the videos, I can tell you I am hunting them!

Could be his mike is an unbalanced one... did you ever try that before you sent it back?

I didn't send it back yet - I've been talking with tech support, and still experimenting at home. Today, I'll try one more tube preamp, a balanced line transformer and a cheapo mic. Stay tuned!

I'd still like to hear the results of the MP3 test...

If you want definitive proof one way or another whether the input pre's are where the issue lies, that test will nail it down... If the machine can't play an MP3 input into the line ins as cleanly as it can from the built in MP3 player (set up to the same volume) then there's the problem in a nutshell.

If so, pre-amping the mike won't make a lick of difference, it will be the entire input circuitry. But if it's clean and the same as the built-in player, then all your issue is is to get the mike level up to line level, unbalanced.

From hearing the distortion on some of your examples, perhaps the issue is that the arranger's Parts are too hot to allow for the extra headroom adding a beefy voice in as well produces..? Perhaps the solution is to turn down the Parts (or move the balance slider more to the keyboard Parts, then turn those down) so you don't have to jack up the mike so much?

I hope the solution is another unit, but I think there are things you haven't tried to troubleshoot the issue, yet...

See new post:

http://www.synthzone.com/forum/ubbthread...rong#Post371295