Brand New Korg PA5X first impressions

Justin gives us his first initial thoughts on the brand new Korg PA5X arranger keyboard.
As well as going through some of the brand new features he also goes through some of the various sounds and styles that can be found inside the PA5X.
What do you think of this latest offering from Korg?
Let us know in the comments.

[@tkarlmann]

I really enjoyed your inclusion of the "Hill Street Blues" theme -- YES -- I'm old enough to remember it well!!

[@basspig]

2 weeks of ownership and I'm quite impressed with the ergonomics, convenience of the keyboard set buttons and especially the realistic articulation of instruments like guitars and woodwinds and trumpets. Past keyboards I've owned simply play a sample but this one articulates the sound much the way alive performer would voice the instrument. The only things missing right now are an instrument definition file so you can use it with your digital audio workstation and direct digital output so you can make a high quality recording because the inbuilt recording is lossy mp3.

[@bettertoolatethannever]

nice one, thanks, lovely playing

[@Echochamber79]

I would say some of the sounds are now better than the Genos. Incredible keyboards and I can't wait to get one. I pre-ordered the 88 Key. I am in the US and have to wait till the end of August... Don't know how I am going to last!!

[@AndrewKeyz]

Nice playing, sounds like a step up from the PA4x to me, close to the Genos. Probably little between them now. I'd say it's a nicer designed instrument than the Genos. Modern, tight and less elaborate with the plastic edges. The 88 key option makes this a serious consideration for many I'm sure.

[@achamilton]

Thanks for the early comments. You have indeed picked up on the sound quality which we noticed immediately on early testing. There is some phenomenal new sounds and the quality from the outputs stands out a mile - just something really nice about it. We are very very impressed and the new features open up some immense new capabilities.

[@manoaramiarimanana5635]

C'est le premier clavier arrangeur haut de gamme (que j'ai vu) qui possède à la fois un touché lourd, un châssis en alu, 88 touches, des sorties symétriques, etc. dans un seul instrument. Quel coup de maître de la part de Korg!

[@Ahmad-vw5uw]

Many Thanks for the bird's eye view demonstration, however; please advise if this unit can have the quarter tones facility, which is used a lot in Oriental and Egyptian Music.

[@achamilton]

Hi yes this does have Quarter Tone Scaling options.

[@vacation_generation]

Lol, love the honesty of the Mrs discussion when you don't gig anymore. Same here. It takes a lot of distraction....ohh look over there at that diamond ring/holiday to Majorca/new kitchen ha ha.......oh nothing to see over here at the Korg stand....

[@GalantGoStudio]

Thank you sir for you great review 👍 please can you make a video about Sound generation ... / Edit or Record a new style page... i want to check out the new features.

[@murateyi]

The question has to be asked: Is it really worth upgrading from a PA4X or even from a PA3X paying an average cost of £4,000 (depending on keyboard size) and get peanuts for your old instrument regardless of its condition!? And, have they REALLY resolved the Smooth Transition problem???

[@achamilton]

1st - Smooth transitions - 100% yes solved! 2nd - is it worth it? thats more difficult to say because its based on personal circumstances, all we can say is that the product is massively better, just as the PA4X was to the PA3X. its also been 6 years, so if it costs people roughly around £2k to change from pa4x to pa5x, then £2k divided over a number of years is maybe not so bad?

[@j.tenhoeve8072]

@@achamilton if you wait a little while the price will be much lower then te current just like the Genos at introduction was overpriced

[@dovykrainessmusic1659]

@@j.tenhoeve8072 true but by then if you try to sell what you have the price will also be lower

[@bobrobinsonmusic4180]

I’ve owned a Korg pa4x for years, use it at my gigs. It looks like Korg took away the ec5 foot switch option???? I sure hope not! I use the ec5 to control the drums and fills in real time at ALL my gigs! Is there another option for control of stops, start, fills, a b c d sections with a foot switch of any kind? Man, I sure hope so, or I can’t buy this amazing new PA5!

[@tkarlmann]

Could the new 4x4 button array work for you? Just move your hands quickly? lol?

[@bortchy]

hope will we taked elternativity or solving this problem.

[@achamilton]

Hi Bob, the EC5 has been finished as a product and yes the socket also removed. I must admit we have very few people as a percentage use the EC5 from our customer base and we had a number of complaints about the pedals being too close together for live use as well, nonetheless it was still functional for many out there.. Of course it is possible to use the 2 assignable pedals to control product features, otherwise a simple case of just tapping the style buttons which are situated very close to the left hand and now coloured with RGB LED so you can see what your doing on a dark stage. We are hoping there may be some kind of new pedal controller coming along but that is not confirmed.

[@bobrobinsonmusic4180]

@@achamilton thanks for the reply

[@pipofenix2557]

*¡¡BUENÍSIMO😍, ES UNA BELLEZA👏👏👏👏 SALUDOS DESDE **#ARGENTINA**🇦🇷.*

[@Burbuja254]

No te dejes engañas , el 5 es un parche malo de lo que será el 6 , ya que llevan 4 años sin sacar nada bueno , busca por KZbin y solo veras videos de 10 a 20 minutos ya que no trae nada nuevo mas que un violín articulado que los trae el Nautilos , y le han quitado la Función Kaos!!!!! , pensaba cambiarlo pero al ver esto me esperare al 6 esto es una estafa , y el precio 4500 euros una locura de estafa !!!!

[@eugenm]

Question : I haven't seen in the Performance Guide PDF, a chapter dedicated to Sampling through the microphone. What's going on ?

[@quangangkorg1380]

Hi! So sorry for my bad english! How about the number of User sound slot. On Pa4x is 768 user sound with 6 user folder. I wish Pa5x have more than that. Thank you!.

[@achamilton]

Hi, the manual does state 768 user sound slots for the Pa5X

[@sklodjan]

What about if that left &right player 1-2 slider breaks down? Is there any virtual slider on display which could replace it??

[@achamilton]

Hi! there is no virtual slider as yet for crossfade, but you do have independent volumes for the 2 players assigned to the sliders on the left. You can choose each players options on the screen or using the buttons either side of the fader to make selections for the players. - Just to add -- The build quality of this product is tremendous so I would have no worries about a fader breaking.

[@sklodjan]

@@achamilton thank you 🙏, that’s helpfully

[@PierreSIBANARCO]

Very nice demo than this one.. , and interesting. Regarding the sequencer, I would like to know if you can precisely edit the 16 tracks of a song created with 16 different instruments, but also edit the 16 tracks when using the arranger (intros, variations, etc. ..)? By 'editing' I mean being able to correct your own 'ducks' when you have recorded .. (chords of the left hand, midi notes of the 16 tracks, duration of the notes, volume of the notes, place of the notes, etc. ..), whether in a song WITH or WITHOUT the arranger functions. I refer to the sublime sequencer of my Kronos 2-88 where EVERYTHING is editable ('track edit') If this is not possible on this PA5X, then my future purchase project will fall through .. Of course, I will have to visualize (demo) the detail of this sequencer to see what can be edited with precision. For years, I have been involved in sound programming and song editing (Triton, Oasys, Kronos, etc.) Thank you for answering me with precision and possibly with links concerning possible work on the midi sequencer of this PA5X . Who doesn't make 'ducks' while composing..?! So, you will understand my objective.., I sincerely hope so! Best regards . Pierrot

[@bakerman3039]

What are you dreaming at night? This is an arranger. You play sounds and chords with drums. There is no "sequencer", just a record option with rudemental correction options. This keyboard is made for live playing, not for composing.

[@PierreSIBANARCO]

@@bakerman3039Thank you very much for your pleasant answer which, finally, will save me a lot of money! With my best thoughts. Pierrot

[@achamilton]

Hi, the sequencer is actually short on a few features at the moment but it is in further development. At this moment it is possible to record what you play as individual tracks, then you can go in to each track and add effects for example (up to 10 IFX + masters) and modify individual note data for example, deleting notes and changing lengths if you so wish, program changes etc. However, its layout is not like the KRONOS System. The beauty of the arranger is having all the backing band being able to change key with your chords and then recording all of that to individual tracks which you can then edit afterwards. This is possible to the degree mentioned above and I expect more features to be coming in the future. As of this second it is not possible to record your performance with the arranger running as MIDI data for example but that will come. One beauty of the arranger though is being able to record your own style patterns which then of course follow your chords. A normal sequencer can not offer such capability.

[@PierreSIBANARCO]

@@achamilton Hello, and thank you for your clear explanations. Would it then be possible to visualize this PA5X sequencer (photos, demos..?) when you want to edit a MIDI track of the arranger OR a MIDI track of a created song? I would like to see for myself, because for the moment, I can't go and try this arranger with a merchant. I am on holiday ! If you have video links to advise me on this sequencer, do not hesitate! Thanks again for your kind and friendly response. Pierrot, cordially.

[@bliksimstraal]

You can use a midi to USB adapter and output your 16 tracks to software like Cakewalk on PC. There you can edit and save your midi files back to Kong. This feature possible on Pa4X, Tyros 4, 5 and probably Genos too.

[@bortchy]

where is EC5 conection ? What you havealternativity for EC5 ? What about swiches and buton on keyboard and, korh key gumi is only maby 4 year by using on profi gigs.What korg provide to solving this throuble. -How to export Paxyx songbook and resurces ? May taked answare on this questions ?

[@achamilton]

Thanks for the comments. There is no more EC5 connection and the pedal is no longer made. However, we are hoping there may be some kind of better pedal coming which may use MIDI or similar but this is unconfirmed. there are 3 pedal sockets in the back so 1 for damper and 2 for assignable which is usually more than enough for most people. You can Import data from Pa4X in to the Pa5X. It will take User styles and Keyboard sets for example but it will not convert the songbook at this moment in time. There are ways around not loosing the songbook data but it is just a little fiddly. However software will come in due course which allows proper conversion.

[@bortchy]

im disapointed with KORG no reason to buying PA5X. I know, still now no support and after few year will be this expansive mashine only for garbage. I used EC5 and now no cable no pedal no nothing.No alternativity. Than is bether or Wersi,Ketron or Ketron. If i need to to working from the start sll 1500 song performance in songbook is bether changing instrument.It is not applicable.In the fuuture it is bad đesision to buy Pa5x!

[@achamilton]

@@bortchy I think you may be getting the wrong impressions of the product. It is indeed far superior to a Pa4X. Just because a pedal socket has been removed for a pedal which was used by a tiny percentage of people, does not make a bad product. For those that use it, there may well be a new future option available but we will have to see. The product is very new and software is being updated and hopefully with a big V2 software update in the next few months. That will add even more features and make it even better than it already is. The Pa5X is truly superb instrument and the sounds are incredible along with the better screen, better effects processing, multi style/ song player etc. etc. There will be a conversion available for songbook also in the near future as far as we know. I very much recommend you go and play one and see how great it is.

[@bortchy]

@@achamilton im disapoint with Pa5x sounds is not alllNobady ask if you play pa5x or 1st x it is not important.Only if you make god atmosphere.for that you need tols what i say.

[@bortchy]

@@achamilton wana be alive and see maby

[@davidkyle2073]

How much better than the Yamaha psr sx900?

[@KenAtTheTube]

Curious about the boot up time? I love my PA700, but it takes forever to turn on!

[@ablesam]

45s PA5X.

[@Artur_Yahyaev_AR]

How about sample limit? On pa4x limit 15048

[@achamilton]

The memory on Pa4X was 1.5Gb when shared between drives. The Pa5X currently states 2.5Gb of sample space without sharing, so you immediately have more space and the software is being developed so we believe this will grow to 4Gb availability eventually.

[@Artur_Yahyaev_AR]

@@achamilton I know that there is 1.5GB of memory on 4x, but I mean the limit of sampler banks, on 4x the limit is 15048 cells, and this is very inconvenient. So I'm wondering what the limit on pa5x will be

[@Artur_Yahyaev_AR]

on 4x, this is indicated on the SOUND RECORD SAMPLING INFO buttons 15048

[@achamilton]

@@Artur_Yahyaev_AR I am afraid that data is not quite available yet. We have queried this with Korg but could not get an answer yet. I would keep an eye on their website for the download manuals to appear which should hopefully have the information available.

[@achamilton]

@@Artur_Yahyaev_AR On the recording sampling screen we have showing available samples of 1048576

[@DJIncendration]

Please do a comparison between this and the Genos!

[@bortchy]

dont need comparison.Genos is not suitable keyboard for many musicians.

[@achamilton]

We have started a comparison video but we are struggling to find time to finish it! the Pa5X has gone mad for sales and is taking up all our time! We will get round to it asap so keep your eye on our channel.

[@bortchy]

@@achamilton hhehe😅🤣🤣🤣🤠

[@soulgirl62]

Justin... i have a PA4X and i have a stick i can put midi files to convert to styles.. does the PA5X do the same?..im just down the road i might come and have a good look at it.

[@GalantGoStudio]

No midi to style converter on pa5x.

[@achamilton]

absolutely, come and give it a try, styles from 4x will definitely transfer, anyway midi file conversion will probably come on an update

[@deepak1987]

What is the name of the first song you played at the start of the video? Please let me know.

[@achamilton]

The style works well for the song 'You to me are everything' but we had a bit of Hill Street Blues going on as well!

[@saxosoprano1954]

on peut faire tout ca avec le sd9 rien de neuf pour moi votre pa5x

[@Nebuchadnezzar18]

When is the release date?

[@sklodjan]

Has already been released , International version 61 key €4.299.00

[@huchrahlan8156]

💓💓💓💓👈👍

[@edwardc7462]

Alright not a bad instrument but ohh the price 3,999 for the 76 and 4,299 for the 88 at the time of a cost of living crisis with people struggling to pay for food and gas and electricity to bring out such an expensive instrument is madness, what a jump in price from the pa4x which was around 2,700 to 2,800 now it starts with the 61 PA5x at 3,699, all I can say is good luck trying to sell it at this price You’ll need it

[@jrf1962]

They have remove the kaos function for DJ stuffs. No good KORG! And the price is too expensive. I keep stay with PA4X.

[@abangvirgo4767]

Cek hrg

[@Steven-zg5bq]

same as the 4x just more $$$$..........tyros 5 will wind circles around this

[@vladimirkorg7745]

сколько стоит ? какая цена ?

[@vedant1637]

$4699.99

[@besim.mydyti]

pa4x samples :(

[@achamilton]

Hi, have you played a Pa5X yet? When you play it you will be impressed. The sounds are incredible and enhanced and have a lot of new sounds in there never before on a Pa4x. The processing power is far superior with enhanced effects capabilities and the audio convertors definitely sound better. So it is indeed a quality step from the Pa4x.

[@tomekcosik6449]

Nie dałbym tyle za ten plastik

[@giovannitrisi7635]

!!!!!! Un flop !!!!! Un giocattolo bintempi con lucette color …… che tristezza!!!!!!!!

[@giovannitrisi7635]

Era ……. Bei tempi …!!! O BON … TEMPI …!!! Come si fa A DARE TASTIERE NUOVE CON SONORITÀ VOMITATE E STRAVOMITATE DA VECCHIE E SORPASSATE TASTIERE ?????

[@Russsssss]

Bad acoustic sounds.

[@madness8556]

My thoughts exactly.... The distorted guitar and sax sound like a 1990s rompler. Yamaha still has the big edge!

[@achamilton]

@@madness8556 I wouldn't base it on that little clip, we only had a very short time to make this vid, the reality is when you play it in the flesh the sax and guitar are as good if not better than anything else we've ever played, try and play it yourself if you can.

[@Echochamber79]

??.... you're crazy! I have a feeling there are many fake accounts where people spread negative views on the Korg to try and stop sales. It's unfair to make such claims especially when they are false.

[@madness8556]

@@achamilton I'm a big Korg fan having owned over a dozen of their instruments starting with the T3 in 1991. However, I have to say that Yamaha has Korg beaten when it comes to their acoustic and electric guitar and bass sounds.

[@genosman9014]

@@madness8556 i agree with that Yamaha is way better im not convinced ill be wating on Yamaha