Proposal - New flagship PA2x and M3 RADIAS combined
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:21 pm
Korg have recently launched a new variant of the Pa800 with a new sample ROM containing oriental samples. I'm sorry to say it, but it's not terribly exciting news for me at least.
So ... what would be exciting? ... what would make a musician like me sell both my M3 and Pa2x to purchase a new flagship arranger? Here is a specific proposal for a new product.
1. I believe that it is a big mistake for a flagship arranger keyboard to be designed with factory samples in ROM. The Korg M3 stores factory samples in SSD and RAM. Korg recently completely reworked and improved all the original factory samples. Then the M3 was relaunched with exactly the same hardware, but with a new much expanded OS and sounds and samples, and is now called the M3 XPanded. The Pa800 and Pa2x have an internal FLASH device (the SSD) and the Pa800 has 64 Mbytes of sample RAM and the Pa2x has 128/256 Mbytes. The incremental cost of doubling the SSD memory size and providing 256 Mbytes of RAM as standard must be negligible compared with the whole life support and distribution cost of having special variants of the keyboard, like the one just announced, for every country. So, I do hope that when any new arranger keyboard is eventually introduced to become the new flagship, that serious consideration will be given by Korg to providing a design that allows upgradeable factory samples and upgradeable sample RAM with an upper limit of maybe 1 Gbyte.
2. The hardware design should permit upgrades and add-ons for those who want them. For example the user should be able to purchase extra sample RAM, and be able to easily configure and customise samples and sounds and styles from a download site, add a RADIAS like synth card, and add an advanced arpeggiator such as Karma.
3. The mechanical design should cater for many different variants from a common core unit. For example, the design of the M3 is very clever. With a single M3-module design, which is demountable and tiltable, the module can be used stand-alone, or it can be attached to a 61-note, a 73-note or an 88-note keybed. The support and maintenance costs are minimised in this way, Korg could sell upgraded keybeds, and owners can quickly demount the core module and use it as a MIDI expander if they wish.
The Pa2x/Pa800 and the M3 are very innovative and have strengths and weaknesses. If a fusion of the technology and best ideas on both product lines could be achieved, specifically in the areas mentioned above, then this would then become my ideal keyboard and I would sell both my M3 and Pa2x to buy one. Japanese companies are reputably very good at fusion technologies where product lines are initially developed in parallel to test the market, and then are cross-fertilised.
Who else with a Pa2x and some other keyboard would sell both to purchase a new flagship arranger-workstation that played live like a Pa2x and sounded as great and as dynamic as an M3 and could be expanded at extra cost with RADIAS synth sound capabilities and Karma? How much demand would there be for a product like this?
Best regards,
Rob
So ... what would be exciting? ... what would make a musician like me sell both my M3 and Pa2x to purchase a new flagship arranger? Here is a specific proposal for a new product.
1. I believe that it is a big mistake for a flagship arranger keyboard to be designed with factory samples in ROM. The Korg M3 stores factory samples in SSD and RAM. Korg recently completely reworked and improved all the original factory samples. Then the M3 was relaunched with exactly the same hardware, but with a new much expanded OS and sounds and samples, and is now called the M3 XPanded. The Pa800 and Pa2x have an internal FLASH device (the SSD) and the Pa800 has 64 Mbytes of sample RAM and the Pa2x has 128/256 Mbytes. The incremental cost of doubling the SSD memory size and providing 256 Mbytes of RAM as standard must be negligible compared with the whole life support and distribution cost of having special variants of the keyboard, like the one just announced, for every country. So, I do hope that when any new arranger keyboard is eventually introduced to become the new flagship, that serious consideration will be given by Korg to providing a design that allows upgradeable factory samples and upgradeable sample RAM with an upper limit of maybe 1 Gbyte.
2. The hardware design should permit upgrades and add-ons for those who want them. For example the user should be able to purchase extra sample RAM, and be able to easily configure and customise samples and sounds and styles from a download site, add a RADIAS like synth card, and add an advanced arpeggiator such as Karma.
3. The mechanical design should cater for many different variants from a common core unit. For example, the design of the M3 is very clever. With a single M3-module design, which is demountable and tiltable, the module can be used stand-alone, or it can be attached to a 61-note, a 73-note or an 88-note keybed. The support and maintenance costs are minimised in this way, Korg could sell upgraded keybeds, and owners can quickly demount the core module and use it as a MIDI expander if they wish.
The Pa2x/Pa800 and the M3 are very innovative and have strengths and weaknesses. If a fusion of the technology and best ideas on both product lines could be achieved, specifically in the areas mentioned above, then this would then become my ideal keyboard and I would sell both my M3 and Pa2x to buy one. Japanese companies are reputably very good at fusion technologies where product lines are initially developed in parallel to test the market, and then are cross-fertilised.
Who else with a Pa2x and some other keyboard would sell both to purchase a new flagship arranger-workstation that played live like a Pa2x and sounded as great and as dynamic as an M3 and could be expanded at extra cost with RADIAS synth sound capabilities and Karma? How much demand would there be for a product like this?
Best regards,
Rob
Which group would own this beast?