Topic: Korg starts shipping Pa5X once again... USA now getting a few too apparently.

[keynote]

The Pa5x has had some serious OS issues, even with the new OS 1.1.0 released this month. But it's still playable, as this recent video demonstrating the Pa5X Wersi Organ sound points out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMyRt7Vj0-Y

ICYMI, a Korg Pa5X showed up at Alamo Music Sound Lab in San Antonio, TX. Not sure though if they have any for sale yet. Sweetwater.com are usually the first ones to get new gear in stock, but still bone dry regarding the Pa5x and every other USA retailer I've looked at so far. Korg is supposed to be trickling out the Pa5X and shipping them to retail establishments in Europe and elsewhere, from what I've gathered. But at this rate, it could be well into next year before Korg gets back to a semblance of normalcy. I looked into Korg's recent financial statements, and it appears they could be on the cusp of going belly up. With the global supply chain crisis, the global chip shortage, along with the global pandemic and the sharp rise in inflation plus the Crypto meltdown and other economic slowdown indicators like the housing market (construction), companies large and small have in many cases felt the economic pain in a big way. Perhaps that is also why Yammie is so slow in releasing a Montage 2 and/or a Genos 2. FYI, high-end products like the Genos and the Montage are big money-makers for Yamaha since they get a larger profit on each unit sold. My guess is Yamaha is also experiencing a significant parts & chips shortage, which could be the main reason why they are slow-boating some of their hugely successful products. No parts, no chips, no keyboards. 

All the best,
Mike

[mikf]

The interesting thing is that Yamaha financials are a complete contrast and apparently going in a positive direction. But then acoustic instruments are their biggest revenue earner and traditional instruments have no chips or electronics.
Mike

[keynote]

Yep, Yamaha sells boatloads of acoustic guitars and other acoustic instruments, which is one reason why Yamaha's financials look a lot better than, Korg Inc. Korg perhaps decided to release the Pa5X quarter-baked knowing loyal customers would buy it sight unseen in most cases. That way, Korg could then use the financial boost to help keep the company afloat and pay the bills while their software engineers figure out how to compile a stable and competent OS and include additional features Korg promised but failed to deliver when they rolled out the Pa5X 6 months ago. I noticed many Korg fans are absolutely furious with Korg for selling them an Uber expensive arranger keyboard that is unusable in many cases because of missing features/functions on the Pa5X but were present on the Pa4X (which many sold to buy the Pa5X) and as a result they are currently unable to perform live 6 months on. Still, I have to admit the Pa5X sounds are excellent to superb in many cases. The Pa5X is still playable of course but the quirks, bugs, and other anomalies make it a hit or miss depending on your needs. Freezes I understand are pretty common with the Pa5X. I will add this YouTube video demonstrating one of the accordions on the Pa5X for anyone interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpgWTEW6L_o

All the best,
Mike

[Amwilburn]

We've had stock readily available in Canada since October.

Mark

[keynote]

We've had stock readily available in Canada since October.

Mark

TOM LEE MUSIC 👇

KORG PA5X76 76-Key Semi Weighted Rx Arranger

$6,299.99   
SKU 228274
Catalog #: PA5X76
This product is currently OUT OF STOCK for online orders. You can still special order this item and we will contact you with an expected delivery date.
Please CHECK IN-STORE for store pickup availability.

All three key versions of the Pa5X are currently OUT OF STOCK online at Tom Lee Music. There could be some available in stores, but I'm in the USA down here in So. California and the nearest Tom Lee Music store would be Vancouver, BC. No can do.

All the best,
Mike

[Amwilburn]

Yes, I know our website shows out of stock; but I've had a PA5x-76 here since Oct; The reason the website shows unavailable is because we didn't order on hand stock except for the displays, and if we have fewer than 4 of something it shows as out of stock/low stock; but the rep says they have a good amount of stock on hand.

Like I said, even after the Pa5x came out, Genos is handily outselling it. Not that the Pa5x isn't good; I *really* like the piano , guitars & bass, and drums, the seamless sound switching.

I've shown Pa5x and Genos to every keyboard customer since Oct, customers have been able to walk in here and walk out with one. But not enough interest, even from our PA1000 /Pa4x customers (possibly lack of marketing, possibly they don't want to market heavily until their OS is fixed)

Mark

[keynote]

So the Genos has two new competitors, obviously. The Ketron Event and the Korg Pa5X. It would be nice if Roland got back in the game, but that's another story for another day. I don't know about you, but I like to listen to the competition and observe any advancements in sounds, features, and technology. What I noticed about the Korg Pa5X is that in most of the video demonstrations on YouTube in particular, the Pa5X doesn't impress me an awful lot, but that's not due to the keyboard itself in my opinion but rather the actual players in most cases and the sound recording devices used to make the videos which aren't that great apparently which obviously makes it harder for the Pa5X to shine through and sound like the professional arranger it's purported to be.

Here is probably one of the best Pa5X video sound demonstrations on YouTube thus far from Alois Müller of Germany. It's 22 minutes of non-stop playing with a variety of instrument sounds, songs, and styles. It depends on what your needs are in an arranger keyboard. The Genos is top-notch, of course, but with a brand-new sound engine and many new stellar sounds and advances in technology, the Pa5X may fit the bill for someone looking to enter the high-end arranger market who doesn't already have a high-end arranger keyboard. 💡 Here's the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BT6q1KQJGg&t=575s

All the best,
Mike

[Amwilburn]

the Pa5X doesn't impress me an awful lot, but that's not due to the keyboard itself in my opinion but rather the actual players in most cases and the sound recording devices used to make the videos which aren't that great apparently which obviously makes it harder for the Pa5X to shine through and sound like the professional arranger it's purported to be.

That's pretty accurate. But additionally, it's harder to demo it because it's *not* quite the same operation as before (they had to come up with an all new chipset and design, hence new OS). So you're right; it *is* rather hard to demo to make it shine, but give it 6 months or so, and we'll probably start seeing people really put the PA5x through its paces. Even the style file format is all new - it can make use of the old styles though, but the newer styles on board cannot be played on any of the older models... somebody needs to do a style format converter for Korg!

Mark

[keynote]

Here's a very recent Korg Pa5X demo by Alois Müller. "Country made by KORG - Clean Stratocaster - Green, Green Grass of Home"

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr1gNMCCd6k

If you like playing country music tunes, the Pa5X is right up your alley. The electric guitars in the demo are excellent in my opinion. PS: Korg users are complaining about the lack of basic functions that were on the Pa4X but not implemented in the Pa5X and various 'bugs' in the operating system, but hopefully the bugs will be fixed and missing functions at some point will be implemented via OS updates. But if you just want to sit down and play, the Pa5X seems to be a great option and if Korg gets its act together the Pa5X could be the overwhelming choice if and when everything gets sorted out down the road. That is, until the Genos II shows up, if it shows up, and blows everything else out of the water. 

All the best, Mike   

[tyrosman]

who gives a stuff about Korg on a yamaha forum

[Divemaster]

I think it's always good to check out the "competition" on other expensive arrangers. It helps us to make decisions on what to buy and conversely not to touch with a bargepole. I'm afraid that Korg is very low on my own shopping lists due to most recent reports, and problems.

Depending on what Yamaha bring out next will be interesting, but if it heads up the road of semi synth, then I'll stick with my SX700. The adaptability of Yamaha styles, voices, registrations and midi songs is more important to my style of playing than having modern day garage, grunge, rap and other childish sci fi types of keyboard sounds. Most of the modern stuff these days isn't music. It's just horrible discordant noise, I don't ever have any intention of playing.
I know that there are those who like keyboards covered in knobs, buttons, coloured lights and sliders, but to me those are synthesizers, and not arrangers. Again I currently feel that the SX series have got it absolutely spot on for producing the sort of music that probably most of us are happy to play. The SX 700 and 900 are without any doubt superb arrangers.

I'd buy a Genos today, but I won't buy the current one, because it is now several years old, as are all the Tyros models, and that gives me concerns as to electronic component reliability. The very reason I sold my own Tyros.

It's a waiting game for me at the moment.

[Oldden]

I agree that electrical things go wrong, it does seem that it happens in the first year then settles down for a long life. I’ve still got my psr3000 which I play sometimes instead of my Genos, and it just works. Fingers crossed it will carry on doing so.

[Duffy]

who gives a stuff about Korg on a yamaha forum

Some do.  We are not all alike.
Some, like me play, more than one keyboard, so I find it interesting.
Why read it if it annoys you so much.

[AndrewKeyz]

They should ship these keyboards straight to the garbage bin. 

My expectations were muted, I didn't expect Genos quality and even so I just don't understand the point of so many of the functions on this thing and the lack of simple features such as registrations or wav recording which even £700 keyboards from Yamaha have.
What is the point of cross fading styles? Why prominently display this in the middle of the keyboard? Is this really a genuinely used thing? I can't imagine this being useful, only in the most extreme cases.
£4000 spent and you can't even leave a genuine complaint on the official FB owner's group.

No BPM display on the style listing is a huge problem. Why display the date a style was added to the keyboard? What can you possibly do with that info?

You don't realise the importance of such subtle things such as a style's initial BPM when you don't have it.

It is a poorly designed instrument. Korg is not learning from competition or its faults it seems to me.

IF BPM were displayed in the style listing, WAV recording was featured (both surely can be solved with software updates) and that stupid gimmicky double player strip was mostly replaced by say 8 physical registration buttons this keyboard's value is much closer to the asking price.
Right now I'd say it's not even worth half of it.
I'd recommend people to get a SX900 instead, save a lot of cash and do something else with that.

Regarding Korg on the official forum I've noticed people already getting frustrated there are no new styles available and third party support seems limited.
It is just not looking like a good investment from so many angles. I am so surprised people even consider this keyboard compared to a Genos.
I honestly think the people demoing this instrument pull the wool over people's eyes because they can sound good on anything.
When at home this keyboard, compared to a Genos, is just a major disappointment in so many departments.

[BogdanH]

hi Andrew,
Your complaints are totally valid and I can understand your disappointment. But at the same time, this also tells that we all have different needs, wishes and priorities.
For example, I don't care about wav (mp3 at 320kbps is perfect enough for me), I don't care if current BPM is shown all the time or not, and I practically don't use registrations (is my personal choice).
Being at that, I agree that styles crossfade is a pure gimmick. From what I saw on youtube, it's a simple volume mixer fading from one style into another... and Korg makes so much fuss about that 
On the other hand, Pa5x does have very good voices (is not only my opinion) and for many very important: everything can be done on keyboard itself (no external hardware/software is needed). Speaking for me, the only downside I see right now, is "unfinished" OS.. but I'm sure that will be sorted soon.
What am I saying is, we should never believe when someone says "this is the best keyboard". Finally, it's normal to expect that each keyboard brand has it's own features (the way things work) and that certain adaptation is needed. But if there are too many sacrifices, then we better skip that product -no matter how good it is.

Again, sorry to hear about your disappointment with Pa5X.

Just sharing my thoughts,
Bogdan

[AndrewKeyz]

hi Andrew,
Your complaints are totally valid and I can understand your disappointment. But at the same time, this also tells that we all have different needs, wishes and priorities.
For example, I don't care about wav (mp3 at 320kbps is perfect enough for me), I don't care if current BPM is shown all the time or not, and I practically don't use registrations (is my personal choice).
Being at that, I agree that styles crossfade is a pure gimmick. From what I saw on youtube, it's a simple volume mixer fading from one style into another... and Korg makes so much fuss about that 
On the other hand, Pa5x does have very good voices (is not only my opinion) and for many very important: everything can be done on keyboard itself (no external hardware/software is needed). Speaking for me, the only downside I see right now, is "unfinished" OS.. but I'm sure that will be sorted soon.
What am I saying is, we should never believe when someone says "this is the best keyboard". Finally, it's normal to expect that each keyboard brand has it's own features (the way things work) and that certain adaptation is needed. But if there are too many sacrifices, then we better skip that product -no matter how good it is.

Again, sorry to hear about your disappointment with Pa5X.

Just sharing my thoughts,
Bogdan

Wav vs mp3 isn't even an opinion. The fact it isn't a default option to export uncompressed on a £3700-£4300 machine with tonnes of extra storage options in 2022/2023 is a disgrace.
If you don't believe me, read some expert advice on the matter from mastering engineers for example and listen to the differences.
https://productionadvice.co.uk/why-mp3-sounds-bad/

You can buy the most advanced sound system known to man kind to listen back to your work, and then still be stuck with mp3 only. UNLESS of course you record on an external machine. Which to me seems unnecessary if a £700 Yamaha can do all that.

A Korg Pa5X cannot thus be considered a professional machine. Would a studio use it when you inform the sound engineers that you can only give them an MP3? I doubt they would be impressed. It is a home keyboard in its current state; nothing more, nothing less. Like a Casio at best.

Note Korg are the ones branding it a "Professional Arranger" and on its update page it states : "...ensure that Pa5X remains the world’s finest Arranger keyboard!"

[Misu]

<< I am so surprised people even consider this keyboard compared to a Genos.>>
When Genos appeared and I was surprised that many people tried to compare Genos with PA4x in terms of functions when with PA4x you only needed the keyboard and for Genos almost anything you wanted to do you needed external software.
We seem to like our differences, some see only the problems like me, others only the extraordinary things.
Personally, I will probably change PA 1000 to PA 5x at the end of this year after one or two updates.
My opinion is that at this moment the PA5x resembles the Genos: a comparable new sound and a lot of things that cannot be done in the keyboard even have dedicate ways to do that.
Best regards!

[AndrewKeyz]

<< I am so surprised people even consider this keyboard compared to a Genos.>>
When Genos appeared and I was surprised that many people tried to compare Genos with PA4x in terms of functions when with PA4x you only needed the keyboard and for Genos almost anything you wanted to do you needed external software.
We seem to like our differences, some see only the problems like me, others only the extraordinary things.
Personally, I will probably change PA 1000 to PA 5x at the end of this year after one or two updates.
My opinion is that at this moment the PA5x resembles the Genos: a comparable new sound and a lot of things that cannot be done in the keyboard even have dedicate ways to do that.
Best regards!

There is no denying many people seem happy with their PA5Xes (well at least about a 100 that I can see in the FB owner's club).
Some have even said they love the Fatar 88 keybed, which I think is astonishing as even when it worked fine I didn't think it was very good at all, and would prefer my old S80 weighted keyboard (less noisy and could play faster).
All I'm trying to say is "watch out". Certain things are not necessarily that obvious that this machine appears to lack.
If people are happy with those shortcomings then sure they should go for it.

If you pay me £3000 you can have my 88 key in its current state, even once I get it fixed I would be tempted to sell it at that price. I'd be lucky if I clear £2500 I suspect via eBay or whatever.
For me that is a major disappointment that drop in value.

Having said that, the guy I bought my Genos from had the same value drop after 4-5 months so perhaps I shouldn't be so miserable about the money thing. That Genos at least was never used. He didn't even do a factory reset.

[BogdanH]

...
If you don't believe me, read some expert advice on the matter from mastering engineers for example and listen to the differences.
https://productionadvice.co.uk/why-mp3-sounds-bad/
...

I respect your decision to avoid mp3 (whatever reason there is), but I'm not impressed by article of this guy. The way article is written, is on amateurish level, where nothing is actually proved. The only thing he does, is trying to convince others that "he knows better". Yes, mp3 is lossy format, but some knowledge is needed to understand what exactly is lost and how/when that impacts the sound. Expert, mastering engineer, whatever.. -person who made that article has no clue.
As always, just my opinion 

Bogdan

[AndrewKeyz]

I respect your decision to avoid mp3 (whatever reason there is), but I'm not impressed by article of this guy. The way article is written, is on amateurish level, where nothing is actually proved. The only thing he does, is trying to convince others that "he knows better". Yes, mp3 is lossy format, but some knowledge is needed to understand what exactly is lost and how/when that impacts the sound. Expert, mastering engineer, whatever.. -person who made that article has no clue.
As always, just my opinion 

Bogdan

There is no necessity to avoid anything using a Genos since it automatically exports to Wav out of the box.

The weird thing is on the Pa5X the sampler does not even allow MP3s to imported, only Wavs and AIFFs. So it cannot import the music you can create with the keyboard itself to be used in the matrix pad.
And the song player CAN also play Wav files.

 

[BogdanH]

...
The weird thing is on the Pa5X the sampler does not even allow MP3s to imported, only Wavs and AIFFs. So it cannot import the music you can create with the keyboard itself to be used in the matrix pad.
And the song player CAN also play Wav files.
 

That is indeed weird! .. without any concrete evidence, I'm sure these things will be sorted in next OS update (in April, I've heard).

In general all I agree with you about Pa5X.. for that money, one would expect it to be more flexible without even checking specs (including wav/mp3 stuff). That is, my positive opinion about Pa5X is based on what I could see so far and on hope, that existing issues will be solved with next OS.

Regards,
Bogdan

[tyrosman]

Wav vs mp3 isn't even an opinion. The fact it isn't a default option to export uncompressed on a £3700-£4300 machine with tonnes of extra storage options in 2022/2023 is a disgrace.
If you don't believe me, read some expert advice on the matter from mastering engineers for example and listen to the differences.
https://productionadvice.co.uk/why-mp3-sounds-bad/

You can buy the most advanced sound system known to man kind to listen back to your work, and then still be stuck with mp3 only. UNLESS of course you record on an external machine. Which to me seems unnecessary if a £700 Yamaha can do all that.

A Korg Pa5X cannot thus be considered a professional machine. Would a studio use it when you inform the sound engineers that you can only give them an MP3? I doubt they would be impressed. It is a home keyboard in its current state; nothing more, nothing less. Like a Casio at best.

Note Korg are the ones branding it a "Professional Arranger" and on its update page it states : "...ensure that Pa5X remains the world’s finest Arranger keyboard!"

Korg is a waste of Space

[keynote]

Believe it or not, the Korg Pa5X will have been on the market a whole year come June. And of course, Korg released it as a half-baked product to the public and Korg has been slower than molasses in January in getting things sorted out with only one OS update since the Pa5X was released. Something tells me Korg is in financial distress and that's one reason why they've left Korg Pa5X owners in the lurch in my opinion. The Kronos/2 has been discontinued, but the Nautilus is not a comparable replacement since, for one thing, it doesn't have aftertouch or other high-end features that were found on the Kronos 2. Now, this might be remedied at NAMM 2023, but only time will tell. Back to the Pa5X. I have some more bad news concerning the Pa5X. It appears the Pa5X is prone to note drop out, which seems to be a common occurrence from what I've read. The Pa5X has 160 note polyphony, which is not that much when you consider the complexities of new arrangers in the 21st century. It's now 2023, and we need all the polyphony the keyboard manufacturers can muster in order to avoid note drop out, especially when using an arranger for live performances. As we know the Genos has 256 polyphony, but it's divided i.e. 128 note for the Factory sound section and 128 note for the Expansion sound section, so basically in a real-world setting it would be rather cumbersome and inconvenient to effectively utilize more than 128 note polyphony when playing the Genos. Plus, the styles in the Expansion section use expansion voices predominately and vice versa. Hopefully, Yamaha will up the ante on the Genos2. Btw, the new Medeli AKX-10 arranger has 256 note polyphony and as far as I know it is distributed across the entire range of the keyboard. And the kicker, it costs around $700, and it actually sounds pretty decent, although not near as good as the Genos or Pa5X. FYI, apparently Medeli is now working on a new arranger product and supposedly when it's released it will smoke the competition and that could include the Genos2 according to what a person who works for Medeli said. But of course no word on when it might be released, plus it could be mostly hype, but we'll see. Enjoy whatever you play! 

All the best, Mike USA 

[AndrewKeyz]

Believe it or not, the Korg Pa5X will have been on the market a whole year come June. And of course, Korg released it as a half-baked product to the public and Korg has been slower than molasses in January in getting things sorted out with only one OS update since the Pa5X was released. Something tells me Korg is in financial distress and that's one reason why they've left Korg Pa5X owners in the lurch in my opinion. The Kronos/2 has been discontinued, but the Nautilus is not a comparable replacement since, for one thing, it doesn't have aftertouch or other high-end features that were found on the Kronos 2. Now, this might be remedied at NAMM 2023, but only time will tell. Back to the Pa5X. I have some more bad news concerning the Pa5X. It appears the Pa5X is prone to note drop out, which seems to be a common occurrence from what I've read. The Pa5X has 160 note polyphony, which is not that much when you consider the complexities of new arrangers in the 21st century. It's now 2023, and we need all the polyphony the keyboard manufacturers can muster in order to avoid note drop out, especially when using an arranger for live performances. As we know the Genos has 256 polyphony, but it's divided i.e. 128 note for the Factory sound section and 128 note for the Expansion sound section, so basically in a real-world setting it would be rather cumbersome and inconvenient to effectively utilize more than 128 note polyphony when playing the Genos. Plus, the styles in the Expansion section use expansion voices predominately and vice versa. Hopefully, Yamaha will up the ante on the Genos2. Btw, the new Medeli AKX-10 arranger has 256 note polyphony and as far as I know it is distributed across the entire range of the keyboard. And the kicker, it costs around $700, and it actually sounds pretty decent, although not near as good as the Genos or Pa5X. FYI, apparently Medeli is now working on a new arranger product and supposedly when it's released it will smoke the competition and that could include the Genos2 according to what a person who works for Medeli said. But of course no word on when it might be released, plus it could be mostly hype, but we'll see. Enjoy whatever you play! 

All the best, Mike USA

PianoManChuck stated Korg isn't even going to be demoing any products at NAMM 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHP3iccxiC4&ab_channel=PianoManChuck
see 1.50 in.

Quite astonishing if that is the case straight after the Pa5X release last year. Surely the new arranger should be there in all 3 key sizes to try out and some guys telling everyone why the **** it is worth so much money and demoing the **** out of it.

Note on the NAMM map they are listed to having a booth so no idea what info Chuck has. Given the space sizes though, that does seem awfully small for Korg. So indeed, maybe only sales and just a rep you can talk to and perhaps play 1 keyboard. But I doubt there would be any product reveals.
https://namm23.mapyourshow.com/8_0/floorplan/?hallID=A&selectedBooth=7502

Personally I should have bought the Medeli AX10 instead of risking so much money on the Korg. It looks pretty cute and quite useful, indeed like a Yamaha.
A Medeli AX20 or whatever could be great.

I'm hoping Kawai has some new wooden keybed slabs on display at NAMM. Perhaps both a VPC2 and MP12.

[keynote]

In Yamaha's press release on Mar 1 it included: "This year, Yamaha will introduce breakthrough products at the show across multiple musical categories, including piano, synthesizer, winds, acoustic guitar, drums and percussion, and professional audio."

Notice, no Arranger specifically. Synthesizer is mentioned, which is what Yamaha calls the Montage, even though the Montage has scads of bread and butter acoustic sounds comparable to the Genos in quality. Perhaps we'll see a new Montage+ or something to that effect. Yamaha has delved into introducing a brand-new synth/synth, such as a modernized version of the CS-80 or something along that line. A new Stage Piano might be released at NAMM since piano is mentioned in the press release. But it could also mean a new acoustic piano, so we'll have to wait and see.

The Genos2 might show up at the UK Keyboard Club event in November, since both Martin Harris and Peter Baartmans will be in attendance, but now I'm not so sure because Yamaha doesn't mention 'arranger' keyboard in their press release for 2023. That could mean the official announcement for the Genos2 (or whatever it's called) won't be given until NAMM 2024 on January 25-28, 2024. There have been whispers through the grapevine that Yamaha has put the Genos out to pasture, and if it's true that means no more high-end arrangers from Yamaha, period. But I don't buy it. Yamaha high-end arrangers sell really well, and they are a big moneymaker for the company since very expensive keyboards like the Genos bring higher profits for each unit sold, and Yamaha has sold tons of Genos over the past 5 years. Time will tell if the grapevine crowd is correct or not. It would be a huge letdown for scores of Yamaha arranger keyboard players if Yamaha goes the way of Roland, although there has been talk about Roland getting back in the high-end arranger game, which would be fantastic if indeed true. Don't hold your breath, folks.

UPDATE: Yamaha just released a new Stage Piano called the CK-61/CK-88. Here's the YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w7NVqPBVXQ

All the best, Mike USA

[rikkisbears]

Personally I should have bought the Medeli AX10 instead of risking so much money on the Korg. It looks pretty cute and quite useful, indeed like a Yamaha.
A Medeli AX20 or whatever could be great.

Hi, I downloaded a AX10 manual , might appear to be similar to a Yamaha, not so sure   it is, Doesn’t appear to have guitar mode. Didn’t mention xg sounds only gm 2. Style structure looks similar, but, Doesn’t mention anywhere it can load psr styles. Styles look like they are fully editable, but there’s only about 280 , I think.  Does the mix n match of style tracks. 
Might not really be a replacement for a Yamaha, if it can’t load Yamaha styles.  I’d want more than what it offers.

[rikkisbears]

It would be a huge letdown for scores of Yamaha arranger keyboard players if Yamaha goes the way of Roland, although there has been talk about Roland getting back in the high-end arranger game, which would be fantastic if indeed true. Don't hold your breath, folks.
All the best, Mike USA

Hi , not sure Roland are getting back into high end arrangers, don’t think they’ve even being doing that much with the mid arrangers. Be great if they did, they were very innovative in their day, love to be wrong.

Yamaha do seem to be taking a long  time replacing the Genos. Be better if they announced that there will be no replacement this year ( if there isn’t going to be one), rather than have people wondering what to do. ie buy a current one, or hope that something will be announced any day. 

[mikf]

Of course they will stay quiet until they have something to offer. Yes many would like to know, but telling them there is nothing imminent is just not good business sense for Yamaha.
Mike

[rikkisbears]

Of course they will stay quiet until they have something to offer. Yes many would like to know, but telling them there is nothing imminent is just not good business sense for Yamaha.
Mike

Hi Mike, you’re probably right.
In my case though, I’d happily been playing my sx900 for the last 3 years , but I wanted to upgrade. Had I known there was a new Yamaha on the horizon, I possibly would have waited instead of buying PA5x when I did. Didn’t see much point in replacing my sx900 for a Genos, when a new model could be announced any day.

If one already owns a Genos, then it’s just a case of waiting. For people wanting to upgrade or first time owners, it’s a hard choice to make.

[AndrewKeyz]

In Yamaha's press release on Mar 1 it included: "This year, Yamaha will introduce breakthrough products at the show across multiple musical categories, including piano, synthesizer, winds, acoustic guitar, drums and percussion, and professional audio."

Notice, no Arranger specifically. Synthesizer is mentioned, which is what Yamaha calls the Montage, even though the Montage has scads of bread and butter acoustic sounds comparable to the Genos in quality. Perhaps we'll see a new Montage+ or something to that effect. Yamaha has delved into introducing a brand-new synth/synth, such as a modernized version of the CS-80 or something along that line. A new Stage Piano might be released at NAMM since piano is mentioned in the press release. But it could also mean a new acoustic piano, so we'll have to wait and see.

The Genos2 might show up at the UK Keyboard Club event in November, since both Martin Harris and Peter Baartmans will be in attendance, but now I'm not so sure because Yamaha doesn't mention 'arranger' keyboard in their press release for 2023. That could mean the official announcement for the Genos2 (or whatever it's called) won't be given until NAMM 2024 on January 25-28, 2024. There have been whispers through the grapevine that Yamaha has put the Genos out to pasture, and if it's true that means no more high-end arrangers from Yamaha, period. But I don't buy it. Yamaha high-end arrangers sell really well, and they are a big moneymaker for the company since very expensive keyboards like the Genos bring higher profits for each unit sold, and Yamaha has sold tons of Genos over the past 5 years. Time will tell if the grapevine crowd is correct or not. It would be a huge letdown for scores of Yamaha arranger keyboard players if Yamaha goes the way of Roland, although there has been talk about Roland getting back in the high-end arranger game, which would be fantastic if indeed true. Don't hold your breath, folks.

UPDATE: Yamaha just released a new Stage Piano called the CK-61/CK-88. Here's the YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w7NVqPBVXQ

All the best, Mike USA

I wouldn't read too much into that first quote.
Synthesizer and professional audio could encompass the likes of Genos 2 easily.

I'm not so sure everyone knows what arranger even means.
Some people possibly expect some type of out board rack module when you mention it.
No doubt the CK will be shown at NAMM.
Yamaha brands it as a "stage keyboard" which wasn't in that quote either.

All these names given to digital keyboards / synths are just willy nilly at times if you ask me.

[BogdanH]

Hi, I downloaded a AX10 manual , might appear to be similar to a Yamaha, not so sure   it is, Doesn’t appear to have guitar mode. Didn’t mention xg sounds only gm 2. Style structure looks similar, but, Doesn’t mention anywhere it can load psr styles. Styles look like they are fully editable, but there’s only about 280 , I think.  Does the mix n match of style tracks. 
Might not really be a replacement for a Yamaha, if it can’t load Yamaha styles.  I’d want more than what it offers.

I don't now if Medeli has guitar mode (which is "nice to have") but one can make guitar accompaniment easy enough without it. That is, for me, it's not some decision factor. Similar for good old XG/GM2 voices: it's a feature on paper, which is very rarely used.
From what I know (one of the videos here), Medeli has a software which can translate Yamaha styles to Medeli.
If it would happen that my SX700 dies for whatever reason, then I would buy Medeli without even thinking twice. I think, it's currently the best featured midrange arranger: for only 800€ -imagine the price if it would have Yamaha logo on it.

...
In my case though, I’d happily been playing my sx900 for the last 3 years , but I wanted to upgrade. Had I known there was a new Yamaha on the horizon, I possibly would have waited instead of buying PA5x when I did....

-that sounds to me as you regret buying Pa5X... that you'd rather have (or wait for) non-existent keyboard that you know nothing about. Now I wish to understand: is it because you actually miss something (or don't like) on Pa5X, or is it because you think "next Genos" will be better than Pa5X?
I ask, because from what you said so far, I had impression that you're happy with Pa5X performance -keep in mind, that there will always be next new (usually better) keyboard on horizon.

Bogdan

[AndrewKeyz]

Finally arranged to get my exchange for the Pa5X btw in progress with Bonners. I was pretty happy with what they offered and that is mostly what matters in cases like that.

The exchange pretty much pays for (almost) two top of the range digital piano slabs I had been considering for a while. One I can use with the Genos and the other will mostly live in my studio desk drawer. If I get anywhere near the longevity I had from the Yamaha S80 (20 years) from either DP that will be excellent value.

I don't think I will spend over £2K on a single instrument again unless I am really sure I want it (a Yamaha Genos 2 would probably be the one). The Korg gamble was too big for me personally and taught me a big lesson.

And this whole notion of an all in one solution I'm not so sure worked well in the end. At least not for me.
Arranger + weighted action. I think it is perhaps somewhat flawed in its concept. Playing chords for the backing on the weighted action with the split point so high up seemed strange to me (sure you can adjust all such things but if things don't feel right out of the box that IS a problem somewhat I think).

If Yamaha takes no note of the Pa5X88 and instead just goes down the single 76 key FSX organ style keybed Genos 2, I think that is the best route actually for the majority of customers I reckon.

The Korg weighted Pa5X will absolutely be fine for some, I'm glad about that also. And also Korg doesn't have the CVP line either, so it perhaps makes more sense for them to produce it.

Moreover, always thought I wanted a CVP as well but it's not a right instrument for me either, after finally playing it in a store and thinking about how I would use it in reality.

I'd sooner have a cheaper keyboard and pre-program (with chord looper) or even pre-record the backing and THEN play piano, rather than trying to control things all with a single massive expensive machine.
And even with the weighted action route there are more affordable alternatives such as the DGX670.


I think the only way you could get me super interested in a top spec arranger with weighted that costs into the thousands of pounds would be if it were combined with a top of the range Kawai wooden action (so not this plastic emulation approach) and has 5-10 years onsite warranty.


It's interesting because we are sort of conditioned to always want more, but when you sometimes get everything (you think) you want, new unknown problems arise and you wished you stuck with something simpler which has better functionality that suits better.
I guess it is very similar to buying a top of the range car and having lots of irritating problems like the doors won't open easily or the electric windows won't go down. Etc.

[rikkisbears]

I don't now if Medeli has guitar mode (which is "nice to have") but one can make guitar accompaniment easy enough without it. That is, for me, it's not some decision factor. Similar for good old XG/GM2 voices: it's a feature on paper, which is very rarely used.
From what I know (one of the videos here), Medeli has a software which can translate Yamaha styles to Medeli.


-that sounds to me as you regret buying Pa5X... that you'd rather have (or wait for) non-existent keyboard that you know nothing about. Now I wish to understand: is it because you actually miss something (or don't like) on Pa5X, or is it because you think "next Genos" will be better than Pa5X?
I ask, because from what you said so far, I had impression that you're happy with Pa5X performance -keep in mind, that there will always be next new (usually better) keyboard on horizon.

Bogdan

Hi Bogdan,  unless I’ve got it wrong, ( which is quite possible) if Medeli doesn’t have guitar mode, doesn’t it take it back to Yamaha’s sff1 era rather than sff2? Without  xg drum mapping even if there is a way of converting Yamaha styles to Medeli would they actually play back correctly , if drums aren’t correctly mapped.   Haven’t actually seen that particular video, so don’t know what the translator does. The onboard style editing from what I read is really good. The only reason I mentioned the xg is, I used to convert my old psr styles across to my Korg pa800. I used to have to create xg mapped drum kits so that the styles would play back correctly. Fortunately pa3x onwards actually had xg mapped kits , so made things a lot easier.

No , I don’t regret buying PA5X, my main keyboard has always been a Korg.
I used to just have a psr as a spare ,  hardly ever played them. I bought the sx900 when  when they came out and sold my Pa4x , Thought I’d have a few months break from Korg , ended up being years, (bad miscalculation on my behalf as to when new Korg would be released) 🙁.
I’ve really enjoyed playing sx900 ( still do). Hadn’t really considered buying a top of the line Yamaha before.
I’d just been left a small inheritance and I wanted to buy something I could remember mum by. A new keyboard, when I play I think of her.
Basically had there been a new Genos announced I would have waited a few extra weeks/months , just to see if it might have suited. But as is, I bought my PA5x, definitely no regrets. 😀 Best of both worlds.

[AndrewKeyz]

I’d just been left a small inheritance and I wanted to buy something I could remember mum by. A new keyboard, when I play I think of her.

This is pretty special. Thanks for sharing this with us.

[BogdanH]

hi Rikki,
Thank you for complete explanation.. it helps me ti understand your thoughts about all this.
The way I see SFF1/SFF2... It's just Yamaha's solution to be able to implement new style features. I mean, Korg doesn't have SFF2, still one can do almost everything on it (one way or another). Guitar mode can sometimes make guitar strumming easier and so it's nice to have.. but as said, it can also be done without it. Actually, depending on result we wish, it can happen it's better to do it manually. And there's another problem with guitar mode: you can't listen the result while you're inside style creator.

I think, the main "problem" when going from midrange to TOTL keyboard is not "does it have this or that": we wish and expect it to have everything and it should also have features we don't even need. And it happens many times, that we realize.. it's just a keyboard .. it's not 3-times better than the one we had before.. and we become disappointed.

AndrewKeyz sumarized pretty well:

...I don't think I will spend over £2K on a single instrument again unless I am really sure I want it...

-I would maybe correct that with "..unless I am really sure I need it".

Best wishes .. and try to enjoy keyboard you have 
Bogdan

[rikkisbears]

This is pretty special. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Thank you Andrew😊

[rikkisbears]

hi Rikki,
Thank you for complete explanation.. it helps me ti understand your thoughts about all this.
The way I see SFF1/SFF2... It's just Yamaha's solution to be able to implement new style features. I mean, Korg doesn't have SFF2, still one can do almost everything on it (one way or another). Guitar mode can sometimes make guitar strumming easier and so it's nice to have.. but as said, it can also be done without it. Actually, depending on result we wish, it can happen it's better to do it manually. And there's another problem with guitar mode: you can't listen the result while you're inside style creator.

Best wishes .. and try to enjoy keyboard you have 
Bogdan

Hi Bogdan, I checked out some of the videos on that link. I think the one you may be referring to was no3. Sampling and Grand Suite.  Definitely does mention converting Yamaha styles, so maybe something along the lines of what EMC used to do , but better, according to him.  Possibly still requires an amount of tweaking to get them sounding good? Certainly is an impressive keyboard for the money.  Sounds like he is going to make his sound and style library available for Medeli in the future.  Surprised to see he already had a sample library for PA5x, plus all the stuff he has for sale for Yamaha keyboards.  I’d never come across him before. That Medeli vs Event video was the first I’d ever heard of him.

Actually styles that used guitar mode were a pain to convert across to Korg. Instead of just being able to change the .sty ( or whatever extension was used) to .mid, I actually had to record the style as a midi file in my psr or VArranger software. Took me a while to realise why it just wasn’t sounding right. 😀

Think maybe guitar mode in Korg and Yamaha are different, I’m familiar with Korg’s version, but  not so with Yamaha’s. 

[rikkisbears]

Finally arranged to get my exchange for the Pa5X btw in progress with Bonners. I was pretty happy with what they offered and that is mostly what matters in cases like that.

The exchange pretty much pays for (almost) two top of the range digital piano slabs I had been considering for a while. One I can use with the Genos and the other will mostly live in my studio desk drawer. If I get anywhere near the longevity I had from the Yamaha S80 (20 years) from either DP that will be excellent value.

I don't think I will spend over £2K on a single instrument again unless I am really sure I want it (a Yamaha Genos 2 would probably be the one). The Korg gamble was too big for me personally and taught me a big lesson.

And this whole notion of an all in one solution I'm not so sure worked well in the end. At least not for me.
Arranger + weighted action. I think it is perhaps somewhat flawed in its concept. Playing chords for the backing on the weighted action with the split point so high up seemed strange to me (sure you can adjust all such things but if things don't feel right out of the box that IS a problem somewhat I think).

If Yamaha takes no note of the Pa5X88 and instead just goes down the single 76 key FSX organ style keybed Genos 2, I think that is the best route actually for the majority of customers I reckon.

The Korg weighted Pa5X will absolutely be fine for some, I'm glad about that also. And also Korg doesn't have the CVP line either, so it perhaps makes more sense for them to produce it.

Moreover, always thought I wanted a CVP as well but it's not a right instrument for me either, after finally playing it in a store and thinking about how I would use it in reality.

I'd sooner have a cheaper keyboard and pre-program (with chord looper) or even pre-record the backing and THEN play piano, rather than trying to control things all with a single massive expensive machine.
And even with the weighted action route there are more affordable alternatives such as the DGX670.

Hi Andrew, great that you finally got things sorted, you can put it behind you, and enjoy what you have now. Let’s face it, we’ve probably all bought something we later regret. Which piano are you planning on using with your Genos ie are you going to use it as a controller for the Genos?
My original setup with Kawai es 920  and the sx900 worked really well. The es920 was fairly narrow , I was able to get the 2 keybeds so close together, it looked like a double manual  organ.  I could quite comfortably press the buttons on the sx from a sitting position.
 Unfortunately can’t do the same with PA5x unless I sacrifice paas speaker system, which I don’t want to do.  Fortunately sx900 registration sequencer came to the rescue. No need to press the registration buttons constantly, just cycle through them with the foot pedal. My L shape setup now works.
I had also considered a cvp, and if my main aim had been to buy a piano that had arranger functions, I possibly would have bought the cvp it’s a beautiful piece of furniture that would have looked nice in the living area, but, the arranger functions were more important to me, the 88 keys on the PA5x were a bonus. Meant I no longer needed the Kawai es920.
I tend to think you have the right set up for yourself now. A nice piano , and you just add whatever arranger suits, be it a Genos 2  in the future or even  what the next sx  may happen to be.
Enjoy 😀

[BogdanH]

...Definitely does mention converting Yamaha styles, ...  Possibly still requires an amount of tweaking to get them sounding good?
...
Actually styles that used guitar mode were a pain to convert across to Korg. ...
...
Think maybe guitar mode in Korg and Yamaha are different, I’m familiar with Korg’s version, but  not so with Yamaha’s.

-absolutely agree on all that: converting styles for another keyboard is never a straightforward process -if at all, then usually a lot of modifications are needed to be done (for style to actually sound good). That's to be expected, though... if it would be simple "copy/paste", then that would mean keyboards are equal -no progress in that case.

And now I am just thinking aloud here... If it happens I buy newer/better keyboard, why would I even bother to use old styles as they are? Why paying for new keyboard, if result will be the same as on old one? I mean, one of the reasons why I decide for better keyboard is to also have better sounding styles.
Of course, here's a difference between a hobby player and a professional. A professional player would probably wish more seamless crossover, so he can continue with his job. But sooner or later, he needs to make a big step anyway and ditch old styles. In sense, what's the point of buying Genos, if the music sounds like on 350€ Casio -I'm sure you get the point 

Bogdan

[Jeff Hollande]

Hey Bogdan :

Giggers are obliged to keep their " old song styles ".
They have no choice / alternative if they want to keep and please their audience.

JH

[BogdanH]

hi Jeff

Giggers are obliged to keep their " old song styles ".
They have no choice / alternative if they want to keep and please their audience.

Maybe I was misunderstood... of course you would wish to continue playing the "good old songs" that you usually play (that's what audience expect). But that doesn't mean one should keep using 20 years old styles for that. Why not? Because nowadays we can create styles which sound much more realistic than that was the case many years ago -every audience will notice and appreciate that.

Bogdan

[AndrewKeyz]

Hi Andrew, great that you finally got things sorted, you can put it behind you, and enjoy what you have now. Let’s face it, we’ve probably all bought something we later regret. Which piano are you planning on using with your Genos ie are you going to use it as a controller for the Genos?
My original setup with Kawai es 920  and the sx900 worked really well. The es920 was fairly narrow , I was able to get the 2 keybeds so close together, it looked like a double manual  organ.  I could quite comfortably press the buttons on the sx from a sitting position.
 Unfortunately can’t do the same with PA5x unless I sacrifice paas speaker system, which I don’t want to do.  Fortunately sx900 registration sequencer came to the rescue. No need to press the registration buttons constantly, just cycle through them with the foot pedal. My L shape setup now works.
I had also considered a cvp, and if my main aim had been to buy a piano that had arranger functions, I possibly would have bought the cvp it’s a beautiful piece of furniture that would have looked nice in the living area, but, the arranger functions were more important to me, the 88 keys on the PA5x were a bonus. Meant I no longer needed the Kawai es920.
I tend to think you have the right set up for yourself now. A nice piano , and you just add whatever arranger suits, be it a Genos 2  in the future or even  what the next sx  may happen to be.
Enjoy 😀

Thanks Rikki,

I opted for the Yamaha CP88 in the end. There were quite a few other models I considered, including the Es920 and MP7SE. I tried probably about 20 pianos in the Milton Keynes Bonners store and the Yamaha actions (at least in the CVPs and CLPs they had were all usually fine so think the CP88 would be somewhat similar at least, I hope so anyway.

The plastic Kawai actions were pretty good and the wooden ones amazing as I found before. The only thing I found somewhat weird about the Kawais (ES920 and CA99) was I had to look for the volume control. Not necessarily obvious places to me. Not a big deal but I have never had that before sitting behind a DP and searching for that. Just thought that was funny.

The plastic Kawai action in the Nord Grand made that Nord instrument much better than compared to say a Nord Piano 5 that was also on display (straight above it actually - making comparison easy) but Nord seems to have added a fake notchy feel at the bottom of the keybed (ES920 didn't have that). It seemed weird to me and not something I am familiar with on real pianos. My U1 doesn't have this as far as I can tell. Maybe more like you are playing an old piano or so. Just thought that was strange.
Also due to the height of the Nord Grand and MP7SE (won't fit in the desk drawer) they weren't contenders. ES920 might have been ok but just thought the Yamaha CP88 possibly has the edge for me over the simple control and metal build quality. Can't say anything about the keybed as they didn't have that Yamaha or even a P515 on display but have heard relatively good things.

The advantage with the CP88 is it will fit in my studio desk drawer if it is only used as a VST controller / occasional piano once I get the second Digital Piano to use with the Genos. I have read the CP keybed action is maybe a bit hard but at least not as sluggish when compared to the Roland RD2000 (I did find this indeed somewhat sluggish myself on my unit. I could have continued with that action to be fair but really didn't like how the Roland worked).
From observation in videos the CP88 seems really simple and I usually love the Yamaha sounds so I think it should be ok.

I also have the Kawai MP11SE on backorder (stock expected in August) but if something better comes out at NAMM I can probably still change it.

I am thinking of getting the K&M 18950 stand for the CP88 / MP11SE with 18952 Stacker for the Genos / Genos 2.
I will try to get it quite lowish like you mentioned.
I think it will be a decent setup.

Looking forward to it anyway.

[Jeff Hollande]

Hey Bogdan :

Lee B has a lot of gigger's experience, he is the right man to tell us his opinion.

IMHO the audience wants to hear very good live covers of the original songs and ... a perfect sound.
The audience wants to dance, sing, drink, eat and have fun together that evening.
These people do not care about new and old styles, arrangers, technique etc.
They only want to hear good music, a great singer and meet a perfect entertainer.


Best wishes, JH



 

[BogdanH]

hi Jeff,
I see no post from Lee B here in this thread.. but yes, everyone is entitled to his opinion.

Greetings,
Bogdan

[rikkisbears]

Thanks Rikki,

I opted for the Yamaha CP88 in the end. There were quite a few other models I considered, including the Es920 and MP7SE.

Hi Andrew, nice. Had a look on the Yammie website.  More professional looking than my es920 was.  I had mine set up in living room originally, so I had the optional piano stand so it looked like a piece of furniture. Eventually moved it to my music room and stacked sx900 over the top.
Must admit my preference is Yamaha piano’s . I read one too many reviews on the p515 that said it had a heavy action, so it put me off, and I bought es920. When you can’t try them in real life you’re dependent on reviews.   Then one of the guys on Korg forum said PA5x had a heavier action than the p515, (and personally I don’t mind the PA5x action). Can’t win, P515 probably would have been perfect. Oh well, mute point now.😀
Let us know how you go with your cp 88😀

[rikkisbears]

And now I am just thinking aloud here... If it happens I buy newer/better keyboard, why would I even bother to use old styles as they are? Why paying for new keyboard, if result will be the same as on old one? I mean, one of the reasons why I decide for better keyboard is to also have better sounding styles.
Of course, here's a difference between a hobby player and a professional. A professional player would probably wish more seamless crossover, so he can continue with his job. But sooner or later, he needs to make a big step anyway and ditch old styles. In sense, what's the point of buying Genos, if the music sounds like on 350€ Casio -I'm sure you get the point 

Bogdan

Hi Bogdan, tend to agree with you on that one. I have about 300 to 400 old Yamaha factory styles ( spent the first 3 weeks sorting thru about 5,000 of them, deleting duplicates 🤪, then I sorted thru about 3,000 Korg styles ended up with just over 1,000.  Am I ever going to use them, maybe a couple of dozen or so.
I basically have a process, first choice is an onboard factory style. If not totally suitable  I use style assembly  to alter it. If that’s not an option , I go thru the old styles in my data base to see if I can find one that works and tweak it or do a mix n match of old and new.
For Korg I basically do the same thing  , Korg does lack a few styles (type of style)that I use a lot in the sx900, those I’ll end up converting or do a mix n match of Korg with some Yamaha tracks.
I don’t really use the factory intro’s much anymore, except for count in , to me it sounds a bit strange using the same intro for 10 different songs, yet,  for many years when I was able to actually audition a keyboard, instead of having to buy off the internet,  that was the first thing I used to do, play thru all the intro’s. Gave one the false idea that the keyboard had a heap of new styles, whereas in actual fact , a lot of the time it was basically the same style , just a new intro😞.

No comment on what pro’s may or may not do, got myself into trouble on another forum with that. Haha😁
My lips are sealed.🤫

[BogdanH]

Hi Rikki,
Yes, I think that many of us went trough all this, by trying to sort out the styles & voices that we find as most usable (or maybe usable in future). It's very time consuming process and at least for the styles, I often ask myself if it's really worth. I mean, when I decide to start with some new song, among those hundreds of styles, none sounds the way I wish -which is to be expected, of course.
So yes, onboard styles are my first choice too when playing just for fun and they are also usable in "emergency" situations. But if I decide to "adopt" some particular song, then the only solution is custom made style -because I wish it to sound the way "my band" plays it (my band is not the best, but it is unique and that's important for me).

Professional musicians.. well, I am a hobby/amateur player and so I have certain freedom which pro's don't always have. For example, they need relative big repertoire of songs available at any time and so they can't just switch to new keyboard and start gigging -because new styles can't be made (or converted) over the night.
Other than that.. my lips are sealed too

Greetings,
Bogdan

[rikkisbears]

👍

[robinez]

i've also ordered a pa5x 76 keys in holland in july 2022. Mine was delivered last friday (april 7 2023).

I also have the Yamaha Genos and lot's of experience with the korg pa4x, so it was rather easy to find the features on the pa5x that i would wanted to use.

I've spent now around 8 hours on the pa5x and had zero problems. Things i have tested:

- Adding songs to my songbook
- Adding sounds to the user area
- Programming new sounds in the synthesizer engine (on oscillator level)
- Created new songs based on Midi files
- Revoiced those midi files on the pa5x in the edit mode
- Changed existing styles and stored them as user styles
- Created new styles by copying an existing styles and then use the copy feature of specific elements from other styles (like for instance the drum and bass programming from one style to another)
- Reprogrammed the effects in a song in parameter mode, for instance creating a Cirrus type reverb in overb by setting large spaces and LFO on the Sustain of the reverb
- Created a Custom controller section
- Used MP3 files for backing tracks and stored them in the songbook
- removed the voice with the included voice killer from an audio song
- Imported my own programmed sounds from the PA4x and my own keyboard sets from the pa4x
- setup new user areas for the styles and keyboard sets

And a lot more.

Now i've read lot's of horror stories online, but maybe i'm lucky but until now i had zero Problems in OS 1.10.

Tomorrow i will import some of my own sample libraries and see how that goes.

but for now, i'm really impressed with the pa5x.

[rikkisbears]

Hi ,
congratulations.
Must admit I haven’t found too much I haven’t been able to do , either.
I don’t have any old sample libraries, so not something I’ve tried.
Only thing I am extremely careful with is using the import/export as .mid  file function.  It can cause a crash. Happened twice. I think I know exactly what caused mine to crash. So not repeating it😀.

Enjoy, be interested to know how you go with your samples.