Korg Forums

What is everyone using for EQ settings with their PA4X? If you use a Bose speaker system and have found a great EQ setting let me know.

Thanks,
Deane

HI Deane

I'm using PUNCHY as it seems to work well with the 15" speakers I use. I can get by without a sub-woofer. I do push the mid-range a little as my vocals are a little thin with just a 15" and a 1" tweeter.

Haven't used the Bose with the Pa4, so I can't compare with you. I am in the market for a portable line array system for crowds of 300+

Al

Hi Deane,

I think that it doesn´t make sense to share the EQ-settings.

There is no "one setting for all", even if you use the same speakers.

It depends too much on the location where you play ( and, of course, everbyody prefers "his" sound, the first more brilliance, the 2nd more bass and so on )...

Snoopy,
Yes, it does make sense to share information about how owners setup their keyboards. Often very useful info is shared that others would not have discovered, thought about, or had the knowledge about. You are right about various venues requiring different EQ settings but one must always have a starting part considered normal from which they make those changes.

Right now I use only the factory default settings and am not that impressed with the overall sound. Perhaps others have discovered settings that improve the factory settings.

Deane

Hi Deane, as requested, here are my settings:
FYI: Link Deleted Feb 2022 due to spammers/scammers

Background info to these settings for you: I've personally found that the Korg default Maxx settings sound pretty bad (and don't do the PA4x sounds any justice at all), so am not surprised that you are unhappy with those default settings.

I created some different settings, quite a few months ago, which sounded great for the keyboard sounds. However, I found that no matter what I did, I couldn't get my chosen (a decent) Mic EQ/sound with those particular settings (I know that I could have taken the mic out on a separate output but didn't want to do that). The main issue was that I tended to want certain frequencies cut and/or boosted for the kbd but didn't want those frequencies to affect my mic eq. Around the same time, I upgraded my mic from a SM58 Beta A (great dynamic Mic) to Shure's top of the line condenser Mic (KSM9 - very expensive).

Subsequently, I decided to go back to the drawing board and create a brand new Global Maxx setup with an attempt of meeting the following criteria:
a) I wanted the Piano sounds to sound natural and not too colored (one of the real tests to decent EQ on the PA4x)
b) I wanted the sound to be mixed/good enough, so that it would still sound good if the EQ was flat on my A&H mixing desk. This would ensure that if I need to tweak the EQ for a particular room/venue that I could quickly/easily adjust it on my mixer rather than having to make any changes within the Maxx settings.
c) I wanted to pick settings that gave me the best possible sound and Signal to Noise Ratio for my particular mixer and speakers (Qsc K10s). Other speakers, will, of course sound very different than the K10s but you can always use these settings for an A/B test or as a starting point for your own setup.
d) I wanted settings that gave me added 'zing' to the parts that need that and added 'thump' and 'body' to the parts that need that.
e) I wanted a Global Maxx setting, which wouldn't clash to much with any EQ settings that I chose to use for my Microphone (i.e. I wouldn't be struggling to get and decent EQ/tone from any chosen Mic.

I haven't had time recently to tweak the Mic settings fully but have included a screenshot of those too, just as information. They still need work though and are specifically for the KSM9 mic of course (and are also attempting to reduce feedback too).

One final point is that I also use these exact settings for my PAas and feel that they are a big improvement to the default option for that too.

I hope that these help, or at least give you something to play with.

Best wishes,
Jon [/img]

Thanks Jon.
I'll try these tonight.
Deane

Jon,
Thank you so much. Not only do these settings greatly improve the overall sound of my PA4X they helped me understand how to make any of the needed adjustments in the future. Lots of potential here with the many slots for saving various settings.

Deane

You're very welcome Deane, I'm glad that they sound good on your setup too and am glad that they will be of value to you.

Best wishes,
Jon

Hi Jon

Since Deane is a friend of mine, I tried your settings also. Except for a few minor adjustments in gain and intensity, due to my room and speakers, I am delighted with your settings. To be quite honest, I never touched the factory default. Thanks to you, I can now make adjustments. Thank you.

Bernie

Hi Bernie, I'm really glad that my settings sound good to you too.
Thanks for letting me know.

Best wishes,
Jon

Bernie9 wrote:Hi Jon

Since Deane is a friend of mine, I tried your settings also. Except for a few minor adjustments in gain and intensity, due to my room and speakers, I am delighted with your settings. To be quite honest, I never touched the factory default. Thanks to you, I can now make adjustments. Thank you.

Bernie

Hi Jon
I've never touched my settings either , on my pa3x.
Never occurred to me it could make such a difference.
Going to give it a try, adjusting some settings.
Thanks for the great explanation.

I have a Paas too.

I'm glad that you found my explanation/rational to be useful Rikki.
Yes, definitely try out my settings and let me know how you get on.

Interestingly, I thought (wrongly assumed) that everyone knew that the default settings on the PA4x (and the 3x) sounded really bad and that it was highly recommended to move away (change) from these settings to really get the best sound out of the pa4x. I guess, however, based on the fact that you and others in this thread have been using the default settings up until now, that this knowledge/understanding wasn't widely spread after all.

Anyway, give my settings a try, make any tweaks that you need for your particular speakers/pa and let me know how you get on.

Have fun discovering what your keyboard really does sound like with some decent EQ! I think that you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Best wishes,
Jon

The EQ changes do make difference in the overall sound and for the most part the difference is a good one. Not only that, making the changes is easy and can be done live while playing. Pretty cool.

That said, the changes do NOT solve the issue of instruments in the
sound sets that are not realistic nor sound very good in the styles in which they have been used. There is also a real issue with the sound level balance between the accompaniments and the RH sounds. This should have been resolved at the factory before releasing the keyboard.

What I need now to explore is how to establish several sets of preferred sounds and learn how to recall them when necessary. More work t be done.

Deane

Hi Jon,
I 'm only a hobbyist, and basically it 's the style editing / creation functions on keyboards that have taken up most of my time for many years , apart from a bit of playing to entertain myself.

I've never owned a mic, ( can't sing) but some of the guys at synthzone (including Bernie) have talked me into one. Bit of fun for the kids and grandkids to get together for a singalong when they come up for a visit.

Basically assumed korg would have the default settings right, so never thought to explore that part of the keyboard .

I'll see how I go.

Deane wrote: That said, the changes do NOT solve the issue of instruments in the
sound sets that are not realistic nor sound very good in the styles in which they have been used. There is also a real issue with the sound level balance between the accompaniments and the RH sounds. This should have been resolved at the factory before releasing the keyboard.

What I need now to explore is how to establish several sets of preferred sounds and learn how to recall them when necessary. More work t be done.

Deane

Hi Deane,
Have you ever checked out the video's on the korg site , (where you get your updates from).
If you haven't , might be worth a watch.
For instance, I was under the misunderstanding that I would no longer be able to play styles and have the melody sounds change automatically with each variation ( similar to ots on a PSR ) . The button that allows me to do that function has a new name.
I had basically taken the pa4x off my Wishlist because I thought I wouldn't able to play it the way I play my pa3 x.
It 's back on Wishlist, because of the video.

I 'd be highly surprised if there isn 't a function for what you're wanting to do.
Some things have changed from the pa3x, but according to most, for the better.