Topic: Yamaha or Korg

[BogdanH]

hello scannie,
There are tools for midi files that show you which keys are needed to be pressed. For example Piano from above (free) looks like this:



Only you know which learning method is the easiest for you...

...Or should I read the notes from sheet music and find the keys blind?

You can't learn new song by trying to play blind. It's not the goal to play blind.. playing blind comes by itself after a LOT of practicing and after you already know how to play particular song -and even then you will need to peek on keybed occasionally.

Bogdan

[Randyman]

For those of you still wanting a comparison between the Yamaha and the Korg arranger boards, I had the PA 1000 and absolutely loved it. However, wanting to buy another mid-range arranger board, I choose the SX 700 or 900.

With the PA 1000 I couldn’t believe how rich and deep the onboard speakers were, the quality of the styles made me feel like I had top Notch studio players on call, and the front panel guitar and vocal Controls were phenomenal, with volume knobs, mute effects, etc.

However I was extremely disappointed with the action, it just felt loose and lousy, having AT was nice but in no way made up for the subpar action. And while it has incredible editing of the sounds and styles, it was just too complicated for me, ended up wasting a lot of time just learning the system and never really getting up to speed.

I have heard the sx700 and 900 are very user-friendly, and for me that’s vital. And the chord looping capability of the SX 900 is a great feature.

Having recently bought the Yamaha EW425, I’m very disappointed with the sound quality, it feels like most of the sounds are two layers so you’re either being soft-moderate or moderate-loud, totally unacceptable.

So I am in the market at for a new arranger Board, or any board that gives me decent on board speakers, decent quality sounds, and preferably 76 keys, but I know that’s a tall order, esp needing to keep the price down to $1k to 1.5k.  Am also considering the Yamaha CK – 61. Any suggestions?

[Divemaster]

PSR-SX 700 or SX 900 will do all you need.
Check the specs on both to decide what you need, or don't.
Once you've worked with them you'll be hooked.
They are both fabulous arranger keyboards.

Keith

[Amwilburn]

The PA1000 has absolutely amazing speakers, yes, particularly the bass response. If you can afford the PSRsx900, the speakers aren't quite as bassy (but close) but even a smidge clearer (4 amplifiers vs 2 to drive 4 speakers). But if you're not looking at arranger functions, yes the CX61 is a pleasant surprise on the built in speakers. Not as great as these 2 arrangers, but surprisingly good for 'hidden' speakers. And the CX has very nice piano and organ sounds.
Alas, neither the sx700 nor sx900 is at the $1100 mark, although the sx700 does come in close to $1500 usd (not even close in $cdn though)

Mark

[BogdanH]

hello Randyman,
As Mark mentioned (above), with a price set to $1000-1500, you don't really have that much choices right now (keyboard market is quite dry these days)... and as you already had Pa1000 in past, I think you'll probably be disappointed with everything that you can get for that money -unless you are prepared to make big compromises.

I never had Korg (I only know what I could read and heard on internet), so I can hardly compare it with Yamaha. You say Pa1000 was complicated to use?.. so the question is what is better: not being confused because there just aren't that many options, or having a lot of options and simply not use all of them? Yes, I've heard that Pa1000 (and below) don't have that good keybed... but then, that's true for PSR-SX too -I guess that's the price we pay thing.

I'm surprised that you bough EW425 after having Pa1000 and so I'm not surprised that you are disappointed. And after you were very pleased with Pa1000 sound, you mention CK61, which has "hidden" speakers and is in general totally different keyboard category. In short, I'm not sure what you are looking for.
Still, my advice would be, get Medeli AKX10 -feature wise it's between PSR-SX700 and SX900 (and you save a lot of money) or Yamaha PSR-SX600 -if worth, Medeli would be my 1st choice.

Bogdan

[mikf]

Depends on priorities, but don’t ignore the DGX, it is a great price, and maybe the best value keyboard in the market. It has a much better keyboard and most arranger features. Not maybe the full range of features but most nonetheless a good overall choice for many.
Mike