PA 700 Oriental - First impression

[Soundlufs]

Finally got my pa700 OR, and here are my first thoughts:

1) The keyboard keys feel is not great indeed, hopefully it lives for a few years of constant use.

2) Spoiled by sample libraries, I find the sounds quite repetitive - that 1700 figure reminded me of old nintendo "500 in 1" cartridges, where 500 meant 12 games actually.

3) ORiental extra seems worth it - lots of additional sounds and styles.

4) Sounds are mixed bag, with some gems like Flute, Clarinet, saxes ensembles and more, but most of the choir/voice sounds are weak, actually worse than my old ketron SD1000 module.

5) Arrangements sound solid, covering for many individual sound imperfections within a mix.

6) Kaoss is sweet!!

[Soundlufs]

Just to round up my initial post, as it my have sounded somewhat lukewarm, I am really liking the pa700 the more I get into it. It actually gets much inferior Youtube coverage than it deserves, considering that with introduction of Kaoss, and availability of some neat pads as well, it should not sound as cheesy anymore.

As I see it, Kaoss is there to gradually take over the whole Variations structure, and take the arrangements to new level. If you haven`t tried it yet - you should really check out the Decimator, Density, and Half options.

Also in the sound department, I notice how well the sounds sit in a mix, which looks like a thought through strategy by Korg designers, rather than coincidence.

If anyone reading this is still on the fence about pa700 - I`d say grab it!!