KORG Pa5X // Three Outstanding Features 

Woody does it again - he focuses on the essential features. And he does something no one else has done so clearly - the first thing you notice when the video starts is the huge screen, which shows everything that's happening in a way that no one has shown before. He also points out what the actual purpose of use for the X-Fader is; namely editing. X-Fader must be the invention of the century for anyone who does a lot of editing. His alternative way of muting tracks is also far more user-friendly than using Matrix, because the mute function can thus be accessed from buttons near the keys, plus other functions are directly accessible at the same time from the same area. Chello Admin for Chellos Keyboard Players Club

Seamless sound transition was the final tie-breaker in my decision to buy the Korg Pa5x over Yamaha’s Genos 2. Six months in and I love my Pa5x. Thanks Woody for all your videos.

YES!!! Interaction between the mechanics of the keys, the velocity and depth of samples and cross-fading of multi-samples all contribute to player interaction. I bought the inexpensive Medeli AKX-10 last year, it was reviewed by many claiming as good as the Yamaha PSR-SX700, all for about $800. It was heavy and well built, lots of surface control, more than any other. It had a gigantic 9 inch display that was an absolutely perfectly made touch screen, best touch screen I have ever used....BUT....that interaction of keyboard to sound engine was bad, I could not control that keyboard, the only way was to turn velocity off. Been performing on piano for 56 years, played hundreds of stage pianos, at least a 100 digital pianos. I know what accurate touch is. For a practiced skilled musician I can adapt to all those stage pianos...most the time....but could not even begin to control the Medeli. I have hope for Medeli's future though...

And also THANK YOU KORG for bringing your SST technology into the Pa5x

Very nice! The demo of the dual sound engine was superb. Nice playing!

I doubt anyone is probably really asking for this, but what would be cool is if they took all of the features of a Nautilus and all of the features of a PA5X and just completely put it all into one instrument so if you wanted to make something up like on a typical workstation, it would have everything there, and it would have all of the different sound engines of the Nautilus, but if you were wanting to Use the arranger functions as a song creation tool or in a recording you were doing you could use the arranger functions or if you were playing at live and you wanted to use the arranger functions it’s like a background or two sequences you have made in your workstation sequencer into an arrangement Setting. And also have all of the customizability and sound programming of the Nautilus as in making the sounds up as in programs and combinations, and then for the arrangement feature taking those programs and combinations and converting them to the keyboard sets and being able to manipulate them in a Arranger style setting once they were customized and created as you would programs and combinations on a workstation. If this were completely a thing, I would definitely be interested in the PA Nautilus 5X or whatever they would call it. I’m sure they could come up with a better name than that, but it would definitely be an intriguing instrument. And yes, my Nautilus 88 also has amazing build quality and it has I want to say Japanese burled, birch or burled walnut in cheeks

Woody it is nice to watch you play , you explain clearly very complicated things ,, I have been using two styles and up to eight differnt synths ,, for thrity years ,, I talked to Korg year ago about making a double engine arranger synth ,, I have some new Ideas with arrangers and synths ,,, I am not a educator on you tube ,,, I am a artist creator ,,,I have asked any of the major keyboard makers for a tempo locker that would go to really any MIDI or synth that could be tempo locked with another cross brands ,,,Korg Yamaha Roland and co on many more ,, I have the Korg Pa5x it I will agree with you feels amazing I am very pleased with it ,, and it sounds wonderful , on my channel you will find videos ten years old where I used eight differnt synths I call the arranger my base board ,, and add many more I do Like to use hardwear synths ,,, I do not want to be a DJ I want to play my music ,,, I am really thankful to Korg for have making this amazing keyboard musical interment ,,you learn fast and prezent well ,, I just make music ,,,the possibilities are really open and I will not use the word endless that is but a artist should be able to take a Korg PA5x and Me I always need another or few more synths for the music I want to make ,,, I admire you Woody ,,,you do well ..this Korg PA5x has the best keybed I have ever felt on any keyboard Insterment ,,, the Korg M 1 had a amazing keybed ,,,I really Love this arranger it not easy to use it goes deep ,,very I say this a artist is always learning I learn something new each time I play ,,,I was Influanced By Patrick Cowley and Gary Wright ,,and Giorgio Moroder ,,wich at the time all i knew was Donna Summer songs Like Sunset People and Lucky ,,Patrick Cowley and Sylvester james ,,, could name so many being a child of the 1970's and 80;s Living in 2004...You do well Woody ,,,I enjoy your channel.

I am gob smacked to see these features particularly as this keyboard he’s been around nearly two years now. Well done!

Wonderful video. Enjoyed it

Thanks Woody, you mean very much to us🙏💫🎵😁🌷

I love my M3. The Karma program kind of makes it an arranger.

Fantastic work nice pick of standout features ❤️

I enjoy keyboard videos that truly explain what makes that instrument unique, creative and worthwhile to check out! Well done Woody!

The PA series is a very useful and powerful keyboard!

You are raising my motivation to turn on and play my PA5X 88 again I bought this year

Good Job Korg...❤

Hi Woody - thanks for your video. If you want to sych start both style engines see page 161 of the latest manual. Not sure if it goes as far as synchronising all aspects you may need. ▪ Start and stop both Players at the same time You can start both Players at the same time, to mix them with the X-FADER while playing. > Keep the SHIFT button pressed, and press any of the two PLAY/STOP ( ) buttons to start both Players at the same time. > Keep the SHIFT button pressed, and press any of the two the PLAY/STOP ( ) buttons to stop both Players at the same time.

I also did that with my Yamaha EL90 and Technics DP50 Drum Machine. Combining 2 styles did make some very interesting results :) I think the Yamaha Electones EL Series or higher also is capable of holding the current sound until you let go of it while already playing the next sound after pressing another registration (sound set) bank.

🥰I'm Very Happy With Your Incredible Talent🥰

As a new owner of the PA5X myself, I've been following your series on the PA5X closely and have really enjoyed them and found them to be very helpful. I was particularly intrigued and - in a way - somewhat relieved by the comment you made about how much you like the keybed action on your semi-weighted version of the PA5X. I say that because my 76-key version is also semi-weighted and I have been having some mixed feelings about it. There is no question that its build quality is top notch. Really solid. But - as several other PA5X owners have commented about - I do find the action to be signifcantly stiffer than pretty much any other semi-weighted keybed I've used in the past. This contrast for me is made more pronounced by the fact that my PA5X is paired with another much-loved Korg workstation, the Korg M3. The M3's keybed - also really well made - feels signficantly lighter in action. In fairness, I've only had the PA5X for a very short time, and I"m assuming/hoping that this is just a case of getting used to it. So your comments about how much you like its action are giving me encouragement that it's just a matter of getting a little more acquainted with it. I'd be really interested in learning if you had any similar initial reaction to the stiffness of the PA5X compared to other semi-weighted keyboards you've used, and if it took any length of time for you to accommodate yourself to it?

Great!! Thumbs Up!!!

That Roxanne Pop style really stood out to me. 👍🎶

One other stand out feature Woody (at least for me) is the set list mode (borrowed from the Kronos and Nautilus).

As for seemless sound transition..Roland has this feature for twenty years... It is called patch remain.. I just tried the onetouch switching on my E-60 and my G70 (both 17 -18 years old). Also food for thought The G70 has 6 fills and can layer 7 realtime keyboard parts.. Try that on any other arranger keyboard.

The dual style engine is a "gimmick" like you said, but actually a nice gimmick that I'd like to have in the Genos 2. It would allow you to use double the ammount of style parts, like just simply combining 4 different drumsets at once. When you think of how the G2 technically works having some parts use internal sounds, and others "Expansion" sounds increases the maximum poliphony you have available. And some users will love the 16 Pads instead of just 4 on the Genos The Pa5X is a great keyboard, and the Build quality and having like 4 variations of instruments to choose from is actually amazing when you think of how small Korg is compared to Yamaha. Sure it adds quite a bit to the combined weight, especially if you want a 76 or 88 Piano key version. But nothing beats the feel of having a really premium build quality instrument, and lets face it, both the later Tyros and Genos instruments really lacks in this department being a 100% Plastic casing. Not sure when Yamaha dropped the aluminium base, but the old P9000 was far superior in this department even the top was plastic but also weighed 27kg instead of 17 for the Genos. That was why I always liked both the Korg Kronos and even the old M and T series. It's 95% Metal or wood casing. My old T3 has some scrathes primarily on the back from sitting on various stands and a partly deform plastic casing around the pitch/Mod Joystick from having a spotlight that have been too close once. But eg the front panel and how its coated black is as pristine as new .. not a single dent or scratch and no printing has been worn off from use and oily fingers. You rarely find that kind of quality today where its all about keeping the weight and price down on most boards.

Great video Woody. Do you know if you can load midi and audio files into this.?😊

Thanks Woody! Too bad there is no Kronos successor in this quality, that would be so great!

Can you store both song styles into the songbook as a single entry

what does upper1, upper2, etc refer to?.... i have no idea....thks

I assume Genos2 doesnt have the seamless sound transition based on your direct interaction?

What's your favorite , Genos 2 or Kong ?

Hate to have to mention this, regarding the keyboard quality. I have an 88 key Pa5X, the weighted keys that aren’t quite weighted like an actual piano but aren’t far off and it’s very nice to play. After a year one key started making a lot of noise as though something inside the case was coming loose. It went back under warranty and was away over 4 weeks, which was bad enough. No idea what they did to it but they managed to ruin the keyboard action. Keys sticking, the weighting wasn’t correct, all in all worse than the original fault. It’s away again now and I’ve been told it could be two months. The quality at new was great but I’m wondering what I’ve bought now. These things are not cheap and Korg don’t cover themselves in glory with after sales care.

The build quality is fine except for the buttons. They all have that problem where the clear lens develops a crack after a few months. It's a warranty issue. But it's a pain in the neck because you have to send your keyboard out to warranty repair.

Two comments, Woody. I still am out of work, and not able to afford a new PA5X, but one day. Okay, first comment. With the Crossfade for the dual style players and the intros and endings, since each style may have different length intros and endings, it really isn't possible to sync them one to another. What I mean for that, if the style you've chosen for the number one player has an intro of four bars and and ending of four bars, but the number two player style has an intro of 13 bars and an ending of 8 bars, how would you sync the two? You wouldn't want to just cut an 8 bar ending to four bars, or double the ending from 4 to 8. My feeling on this, and I don't work for Korg, so I can't say definitively, is that for intros or endings you going to use one or the other players and not both at the same time. Of course, on the first example with the first style ending first, because of the nature of the style, you could get away with it, but for something more 'complicated', you would want to use either one, but not both of them. Second comment. Leslie emulation. Did you notice how the Leslie ramps up and slows down. I don't know if you still have the Genos 2, but the Genos Leslie is either 'On' or 'Off', there is no speed up or slow down. Furthermore, you should actually be able to modify the emulation to change the speed and the ramp up and ramp down speed. I don't know how detailed it gets, but you might even be able to alter the speeds for the different speakers in the Leslie. But, as I said, I don't have one yet, so I'm not sure the detail in editing.

The Korg MicroArranger used the dual Style fader too. Just a $600 arranger with the Triton engine, it sounds wonderful for a price 3x that, the realism of the acoustic samples are not as good, but for synth tones very good; sadly, now out of production. I still use my MicroArranger today just for the great sound engine, but have moved to the Roland E-A7 Arranger because the style creator is limitless compared to Korg PA5x and Yamaha Genos2. The Roland style creator can record complex chords and melodies without limitations. I am guessing on the PA5X, not a single video on RU-vid about the style creator.

A VIDEO IDEA FOR YOU ! I AM A PRODUCER, THIS WOULD BE USEFUL TO MAKE SONG IDEAS VERY FAST - ANYONE KNOWS IF THIS IS WORTH THE $$$ IF YOU ARE ALREADY A PRODUCER AND HAVE OTHER SYNTHS AND VST AND WORK IN A DAW ?SHOULD I BUY IT OR NOT ? OR I CAN SELL IT ANYWAY ? I DON'T KNOW IF ITS WORTH THE ENERGY AND EFFORT AND MONEY , EVEN IF SELLING IT LATER IS ALWAYS AN OPTION AND THANKS !

Please, before you return this keyboard, at least talk about the capabilities to make your own style, and show the screen or whatever is necessary in order to make a style... even if you don't manage to make a professional sounding style right away. (I'm assuming it would take some practice to get the hang of it at that level, so my expectations wouldn't be very high for a first or second attempt.) Is that a capability of the PA5x? I'd love to have a keyboard with arranger functionality, but I don't care about accurate interpolations of existing songs... and setting that up was a big aspect of this keyboard's R&D cost. However, I DO want seamless sound transitions (I use them on Kronos, Wavestate and Yamaha CK88) and the 2 style mashups would be a core feature for me.

The reason why the synth action's one of the best one Korg has ever made, is because Korg didn't make it, the Italians made it. Korg's still using that old way too heavy RH3 action.

The worst Pa that Korg ever made, with so much buggs. And it is now 3 yers ago that this came out and yet so many buggs. Unbeliveble

The double style is not really new (technically) .. If you take an old analog Organ from the 70's, you could press ALL of the Rhythm buttons at once . and it would play all styles at once 😉Not neccesarily usefull but It was possible 🤣