Piotr1967 wrote:I completely disagree with this opinion of the PA1000. Even the PA700 sounds much better than the PA800 .... The price of the PA1000 also proves its class. ....
Hello Piotr1967,
judging a sound seems to be subjective - but I would dispute that the price of a keyboard could prove the sound quality to be "class" or that the Pa700 would sound better than the Pa800.
However, for the Pa700, as well as the Pa800 and the Pa1000 it is essential
1. the existing features of the respective model
2. the settings of sound and effect parameters
3. the audio systems used for sound output
Pa800/1000/3x have aftertouch keyboards, which can be used to create numerous sound effects via key pressure - that is not possible with the Pa700.
Since no sounds of the Pa800 are pre-programmed with aftertouch at the factory, they can be changed with the built-in tools and parameters. Unfortunately, also the Pa4x/1000 were only delivered with poor aftertouch sounds from the factory and the DNC sounds are mainly used there. This variety of DNC sounds can be used for special effects (doits, riff up/down, glissando up/down), but can hardly be used otherwise. Of course, this requires some editing work to prepare sounds in such a way that aftertouch can be used reasonably and nuanced for songs (for controlling vibrato, modulation, Lesley, filter, volume, tremolo and effects).
Aftertouch really is well suited for modulation options for wind instruments, synths, strings, organs, but also for switching effects (Lesley) and can also be easily dosed with the Pa800/1000 keyboards and never comparable to controls with joystick.
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Keyboard players who use less aftertouch might not miss it. But if you have prepared a few wind instruments or strings in such a way that there notes or chords are more or less emphasized individually with aftertouch, you will hardly think that a Pa700 could sound much better than a Pa800.
Korg's Pa series IMHO has never been suitable out-of-the-box to use reasonably good-sounding sounds for spontaneous music-making with factory settings - and this also applies to Pa800/1000/3x/4x, where the factory settings are not taken into account, that these keyboards are well equipped with aftertouch. It takes a certain amount of time to adjust these instruments so that they also sound like their technical qualities.
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Musicians with Yamaha's DX7 (and all subsequent generations of FM OP keyboards and home organs) have not only mastered sound design with FM synthesis, but have also used aftertouch for great effects. Innovative and musically excellent sound material can be found in numerous songs and albums (Stevie Wonder, Depeche Mode, Brian Eno, Whitney Houston, Spliff, Silent Circle etc), but fourty years later even today keyboard players should know the benefit and the difference between a keyboard with and without aftertouch.
Unfortunately, Korg does not support this in its sound presets, because otherwise you should also find corresponding sounds in the factory settings to point out the effectiveness of aftertouch!
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That the OP did not set his Pa1000 correctly is to be assumed. If you really think even the Pa700 sounds much better than the Pa800 I think it is assumed you also did not it with it - especially you never activated and used its Aftertouch parameters. But as mentioned at the beginning - judging a sound is something subjective!
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Infos ABOUT MODULATIONS BY AT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGLqL0Ps514
--> script autom. translated
With the help of AFTERTOUCH it is possible to change a keyboards sound after the note has been struck, for example to impress a vibrato on it. AFTERTOUCH expands the possibilities of musical expression considerably. But in order to create a nice vibrato with the help of AFTERTOUCH, it is important to understand how CHANNELS AFTERTOUCH works.
Originally AT came from the synthesizers.
These had purely electronic sound generation and the AT came with the intention of to breathe more life into the sound, because in the beginning these sounds were of course very static.
Let's take this mini-classic here, for example - if I press harder now, I can also give this sound a modulation, like with a trumpet or with a wind instrument.
So modulation here means that a vibrato is just added.
All this wasn't possible with the first synthesizers, so they sounded a bit static.
The concept is that you hit the note and then press it again after you hit it.
Such modulations are obtained when the button is pressed further.
Basically, an AT with many sounds works like a piano.
The example is of course not appropriate, because the piano has no vibrato whatsoever, unlike instruments where something happens after you hit it, like guitar, bass, synthesizer sounds or even the sounds of distorted guitars -i.e. whenever a vibrato comes into play.
Speaking of vibrato - you can of course also create this effect with the joystick - with the modulation I get practically the same effect as if I hit and hold down.
By now you've probably noticed that this is sometimes difficult to control. I'll give you a few tips as to what could be causing this.
One must first get to know and understand the basic concept of AT, why certain things work and others don't.
There is a single sensor under an AT keyboard and no matter where I play - whether in the treble or bass or mid-range - this sensor picks up a controller reading.
That is, this value affects the modulation of the sound like with the joystick or a slider across the entire width of the keyboard.
This is how you can imagine it with the AT - as soon as you press down you get its effect like with a slider or the joystick.
If you hit it now - for example relatively hard - it can of course happen that you hit the highest point right at the beginning controller value of the AT is generated - and if you then press it again, nothing changes, of course. For example, if you play fortissimo and press immediately, you can press whatever you want and nothing happens.
AT can then only be activated if you let go of something after hitting it hard and then press it again.
Many think you just have to wait long enough and then you can do it again. But that doesn't work, it always depends on the current AT value.
That means with a fortissimo touch I can wait as long as I want, because then nothing happens when you push it back.
Only when I relieve the load for a long time - i.e. go back to the basic position, so to speak, only then can I trigger the AT effect again - as often as I like.
You can try it and you can practice it directly. If you play here and work a bit with your wrist, you can really consciously trigger the AT effect.
That's the theory - in practice it's a bit more complicated with our keyboards, because we have the automatic accompaniment and that means as soon as the accompaniment for the left hand is switched on, the left hand play chords and the melody played on the right.
However, as explained earlier, we have a single sensor for the entire keyboard.
This means that a chord played hard with the left hand without letting up will not allow AT modulation for the notes played with the right hand.
But that's a bit unusual and if you're still playing with the automatic accompaniment, you'll sometimes wonder why you can't get aftertouch with your right hand.
In this case you have played the automatic accompaniment with the left hand with too strong a forte attack. The attack does not play a role for the chord recognition, but if you keep pressing with the left hand and don't relax, you cause the highest AT value and thus do not achieve an AT with the right hand.
It would be important to take your left hand away after the chord change and possibly leave a pause before starting again so that the AT effect can be triggered again.
So you should try it once - step by step and check whether you hit it too hard or the left hand has not relieved after the attack. Then just relieve and start again and then it should work.
So you always have to be aware with the left hand that you also trigger the AT effect for the right hand.
So with all sounds where modulation is to happen - eg for guitars - ease the pressure a little and then press it down again to alternately fade in and out the modulation.
I'll show you the sounds I've used here again - so that was the Concert guitar as the first one Sound in the guitar area that offers itself there. So just hit a note - no matter what volume - then relieve and then I can trigger this wonderful effect - and that's the key to triggering this effect.
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We used the so-called Channels-AT here. This means that there is one controller per midi channel that can trigger this AT effect. The result obviously depends on the sound properties. Then there is another midi event: the so-called Polyphonic Aftertouch. You have a single controller for each individual tone - every single button has it for a single controller and that is relatively expensive.
Most of today's instruments have Channel-AT - if you play with automatic accompaniment, you have to think that the left hand is also crucial for triggering the effect, because the sensor for the entire keyboard is active.
So when playing with automatic accompaniment, always keep in mind that you also relieve the left hand for AT of the right hand......etc.
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