Pa1x Destined to be a Classic

Reuben · Post by **Reuben** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:59 am

Wooooo (Rhymes with go) - not sure if many have caught up with the news but its looking pretty bad with Daz leaving the forum and not a lot of nice things being said about Korg in general.
I'm hoping it settles down soon - hang in there Sharp and karmathenever and chordial we really do appreciate you guys.
Its getting to the point where now looking back it seems that the Pa1x was at Korgs peak of brilliance and this keyboard is going to be a classic.
Hang on to that Pa1x!!
Anyhow I've added a Doobie classic here "Listen to the Music" for you to have some fun with.
http://www.box.net/shared/tmy0o3bj4k
I hope we can all listen to the music and forget our woes for a while.
Blessings to all,
John

karmathanever · Post by **karmathanever** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 3:32 am

Hey John

ts getting to the point where now looking back it seems that the Pa1x was at Korgs peak of brilliance and this keyboard is going to be a classic.
Hang on to that Pa1x!!

It's too late for me

but I am beginning to agree with you !!!

I wish I still had my i30 !!!!

Pete

Giner · Post by **Giner** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 3:53 am

I tell ya, when I hear guys like Pete say things like that, I'm glad I'm usually a day late and a dollar short.

Virgin territory for me this Saturday coming - I'm taking my Pa1XPro on the gig. First time out. I'm going to be packing my i30 also, just in case, though.

Cheers, Giner

BasariStudios · Post by **BasariStudios** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 5:19 am

I still think I30 is the king of all.

karmathanever · Post by **karmathanever** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:04 am

Now here's a golden opportunity for Korg:

Produce a new i30 which has all the original i30 features but has the current multi-samples from the PA2.

I'll pre-order one today....

neverkorgagain · Post by **neverkorgagain** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 5:41 pm

i30? it sounds like a childrens toy...

BasariStudios · Post by **BasariStudios** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 6:25 pm

neverkorgagain wrote:i30? it sounds like a childrens toy...

Yup, thats why still sells for 1100$ while PA80 goes for 750$ and PA800 for 1400$.
Dont forget, was made 12 years ago while the others 3 years ago.

neverkorgagain · Post by **neverkorgagain** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 6:38 pm

i had i30hd long time ago, but for this time its like oldtimer... and i bought one last week for 150euros with ec5 ... in my country in ads price goes from 150-300 euros depends how good is and does it have case.
p.s. and i had recently i5s and i4s they both sound better than i30...

karmathanever · Post by **karmathanever** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:21 am

i30? it sounds like a childrens toy...

Seems like you have always disliked Korg gear - why do you still use it?

BTW, i5 and i4 have exactly the same sound engine as i30

Charley Brown · Post by **Charley Brown** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 1:55 am

I'm curious about the i30. I have never had one. What did you like so much about it? Did it have some advantages over the Pa1x?

Thanks ~ Charley Brown

karmathanever · Post by **karmathanever** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 2:55 am

Hi Charley

Obviously the i30 does not have all the bells and whistles of the PA1/PA2 but it is a solidly reliable keyboard.

I loved (and now miss) the i30's "Backing Sequencer" features from which I created some great sequences.

If the i30 was reproduced right now with the current sound engine, I would buy one immediately.

But look, everyone to his own, I am not that fussed about sampling or tweaking sounds. I like the range of styles Korg have supplied and find that I can easily modify them to suit me without building them from scratch.

I also currently feel that the manufacturing quality has changed.

I am disappointed that my PA2 is suffering the classic LED problems but that aside, it is still an amazing keyboard.

So like all technology, manufacturers come up with classics like:-
Roland D50
Korg M1
Yamaha DX7
and, in my opinion, Korg i30

Again, in my opinion, I think many people want way too much in one keyboard. This will produce more potential bugs and issues - the nature of all computer technology. I personally think there is a strong argument to have arranger keyboards as arrangers, sampling keyboards for sampling etc...

I have my PA2Xpro and my Korg Karma - two entirely different keyboards with many unique features. There is very little overlap (if any) between these boards.

But, back to the point - the i30 rocks!!!

Cheers

Pete

Charley Brown · Post by **Charley Brown** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 3:09 am

Do you think the Pa1x will ever be considered to be in the Classic Category?

Also did the i30 have the notorious button problem plagued by the Pa1x?

karmathanever · Post by **karmathanever** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 3:24 am

Not sure about the PA1XPro as a classic - it certainly (currently) seems to be receiving a better rap than its successor. But we should be fair and look at the technology. Manufacturing issues can always occur but hopefully resolved.

The changes made within the PA2Xpro are fantastic.

I think the M3 will become a classic but not sure if a PA keyboard will be classed that way.

I am sure many will have different views.

(Never encountered button problems on my i30)
Cheers

Pete

Giner · Post by **Giner** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 4:35 am

Hi Charley,

On the subject of how the Pa1X stacks up against the i30, I took my Pa1XPro out on the gig last night after having been using my i30 for the past several years, so you might be interested in my in-the-trenches observations.

And the winner is . . . the i30.

You could be tempted to jump to the conclusion that it's an unfair comparison, one night versus nine years, but what are simple tasks on the i30 turn out to be more complex on the 1X. I'm sure you know that simplicity is the name of the game in a live situation where you don't have time to mess about too much in order to keep the flow going.

On the i30, it's a simple matter of pressing the bank number for whichever song you have stored as a performance, say C14, C36, D22 and so on. So three quick button presses and your next song is good to go.

Compare this with the same requirement on the 1X. I have all our songs loaded into the Songbook numbered sequentially from 1 to 144 (more will be added as time goes along). To select a song I first have to dial through the list to get to the one I want and, for example, scrolling from song, say, 12 to, say, song 125 already takes longer than the three button pushes on the i30.

Yes, this could be alleviated somewhat by having custom lists, but then in a live situation where you have a full dance floor, it's not always possible to stick to a set list, not if you're reading your crowd who, in the time it takes to deviate from your list to get to a suitable number, may well have left the dance floor. An example: Let's suppose you've just ended Donna Summer's 'Hot Stuff' and next in the set list is a slow-down number like Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight', but the crowd is up for another uptempo such as Hot Chocolate's 'You Sexy Thing'. Instead of the three button pushes on the i30, the 1X involves coming out of your current custom list and into another one. Valuable time lost, no virtual segue, and your crowd's back at their tables. Way to kill a party.

Oh, I'm not done yet. The harmonizer on the 1X is a beautiful thing, no question. But again, in a live situation, it has its achilles heel. That is, harmonies are not stored in songbook setups. So, you have to come out of the songbook screen into the main screen, hit the mic tab at the bottom and set the harmony voices you need for that song which, seven times out of ten, will be different from the preceding song, and different again in the subsequent song. More delay. It's been suggested that there are workarounds for this, but it's still more time-consuming than is tolerable.

Now, granted, the i30 doesn't have a built-in harmonizer, so we were using an old Korg ih that was sat on the right hand end of the keyboard. Not nearly as good sonically as the built-in TC Helicon on the 1X, but every harmony is only a couple of button pushes away, and without having to be in and out of screens on the i30.

One other thing, since installing OS 3.01 on the 1X, I've had the keyboard not start up on three occasions (it was fine with OS 3.0). Each time I have had to shut her off and re-power up up to three times to git 'er going. The i30 on the other hand was Captain Reliable for nine years, and never a blink of an LED.

Sorry this sounds like a bit of a rant, Charley, but there's my experiences for your perusal. Just the facts, man, just the facts.

Like Pete, if there was an i30 with the Pa2X engine, I'd be number two in the queue behind him at the Korg dealer.

Cheers, Giner

Reuben · Post by **Reuben** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 7:50 am

Hi Giner,
Try using the touch sliding Tab to the right of the screen to quickly scroll thru your songs rather than the wheel - its much faster. Also use your finger nail rather than your finger tip - I turn my hand over (palm up) and touch the scroll tab with the fingernail tip of my little finger. I find this gives the best response from the screen and you can scroll to any song probably in under 2 seconds.
And as mentioned before - have harmony on/off assigned to say Assignable 2 (button 1 is normally Ending 3).
If you unlock the voice processor preset (the little padlock tab on the main page you actually CAN store your favourite harmony settings STS for each song (I've just discvered this in the last 5 minutes !!)
What I would really like would be a small software update to show whether haromy is on or off while you are still in Lyrics Screen but of course I/m not holding my breath on this one.
I'd be giving the Pa1x another try.
All the best,
John