Korg PX-1 Pandora

Like everything, the Korg PX-1 has good things and bad things. I bought the unit for a bit of fun because it was cheap just so I could muck around with lots of different effects.

I bought it second hand and this is the first multi-effects unit I have bought or directly listened to so I can't compare it to others of its type.

I first went for the manual but the manual is terrible and doesn't explain anything. I read it a few times fiddling around with the px1 at the same time but it didn't make sense. So I just had to work it out for myself and I have got the hang of it now. It is fairly easy to edit patches once you work it out. But the bad thing is that there are only 20 presest patches available. This is not enough - 40 would be a lot better.

The unit is about 4 years old and the guy I bought it off, bought it in America new. Since then there have been the px2, px3 and px4.

I am using my px1 through my cheap fender strat copy and a Drive CD200 33 watt amp and it sounds really good. The noise reduction on the unit is really really good, it cuts out all unwanted noise so that it is silent when not playing. It sounds better with the unit with noise reduction that just playing straight into my amp which is great for me. Most of the distortion settings are really noisy but the nr cuts this out.

Some of the effects seem pretty flat and there aren't enough varied effects. A lot of them sound pretty similar. The effects sound good though, it sure beats having nothing or spending a huge amount of money on seperate stompboxes to do the job.

The px1 is really small in size, about 15x10cm, and because of this it is limits some effects. For example, you can't have flange, chorus or phaser with hall or room reverb effects.

When I bought my px1 it came with an adaptor power supply so that is really good to use instead of letting it eat away at my batteries all the time. I have used it with batteries and they lasted for about 5 hours. I probably won't use batteries when I perform with it because they could easily run out half way through without notice.

I would use it in a gig though, without a backup because it seems pretty reliable. No problems yet. Except because it is made of plastic if it fell off my amp or something like that it could easily break so I will have to be really careful with that. It isn't designed to go on the floor like stompboxes do.

I read on other reviews that people suggested putting it on your strap or in your pocket so you can switch effects during a song but I really don't think this would work as there are too many wires coming out etc. I am going to velcro it to my amp and have it within reach to switch only in between songs.

I haven't had anything directly to do with Korg yet and probably won't as I don't have a warranty or anything with it. They're website (www.korg.com) doesn't have any information about the px1 on their site because it is the first model.

If it broke I would try and get it repaired but if was going to cost more than $20-40 Australian bucks I probably woudn't bother because it isn't worth that much as I bought it for $100 Aus.

I play all sorts of music. I love playing stuff like Green Day, Chili Peppers, Blink 182 etc. etc. etc. All the good rock music of today. As well as bands like Dire Straits and The Eagles from the 80's.

I think the px1 suits me because I just wanted to get a whole lot of different new sounds and play around with them, but a lot of them don't really suit the music I am playing.

I have been playing constantly for about 3.5years and I am 15years old. I own two stompboxes, a dod delay and phaser which I bought second hand last Christmas. They are a few models old and work pretty well, but they make my guitar (especially the acoustic) sound really hollow so I looked for something different and found the px1.

I play in a youth band at my Church and we play every two weeks at the youth church. We play all types of music and it is good to have the px1 for that because it produces so many sounds.

If it was stolen or lost I wouldn't buy it again because I really want a unit that has a foot pedal to change effects during a song.

Before I bought the px1 I was serious about buying the Zoom606 for guitar because it had 40 effects, expression pedal and lots more but bought the px1 because it was so cheap. It was worth getting but I wouldn't buy it again; i would definitly upgrade to something better.

I really wish it had a foot pedal. My dad tried to take it apart to see if he could attach one, but it wouldn't come apart fully so that can't happen.

It would also be a lot better if it had more patches, as 20 isn't enough to get all the sounds you want witohut having to constantly edit them to get them back.

The px1 is also really useful because it has a built in metronome, electronic tuner which is really really handy, pre amp so you can plug your headphones in with your guitar anytime and listen to it without an amp and also a cd input jack so i can plug my diskman into it and listen to it and my playing through the amp.

The px1 is a good little unit and well worth buying it. It is so small yet can do so much.

If anybody out there needs a manual send me an email at jacqui@midnightoil.com.au becase I'd be happy to send it to you.

The unit is easy to use, but only by virtue of it's limited editing facilities.
There is no pedal input so don't plan on changing effects mid piece.

Played it originally through a guitar amp and I like a murky, jazzy eq. I was shocked to discover that when the high frequency was not cut there was a lot of rather nasty 'transistor' noise on the output.

Do not plan on playing this unit through a PA, DI or no DI.

Never had any problems, case is a little flimsy, bezel and screen scratch very easily. Bezel dents with finger pressure so don't keep this in the bag with your cables.

I play lo-fi rock but not that lo. I may choose to add noise to a track but I still want the choice. The pandorac produces too much noise for even four track recording.
I still like the tremolo and it's reverb if fine as long as you cut the top with the eq.
These days all it gets used for is my friend pretending to be a leprechaun singing through the pitch shifter saying,
"Where's me pot of gold? Me bag of donkey's knackers"

I had a hard time when i first use it because it was my first multi effect. Im only familiar with stomp boxes which my friends owned. I also had a hard time editing, but a week of reading the manual i pretty much get the hang of it. Its simple ones u get to understand the manual.

Im using my friend's Gibson guitar(dont know what model it is) with two humpbucking pick-ups and my peavy amp. No noise when im at home practicing. But when i use it on stage(yeah !! this is what i use for in all my gigs for almost 4yrs) it sometimes gives OFF those shittyyy feedback. I love the distortion chorus and phaser.. but i think the sound quality weakens as time pass bye.. hmmmm. kuz its already been abuse(drop,sit on, kick etc). The only thing i dont like is the volume, its not that loud.

Yeah folks i gig with this thing. This is not an ideal thing to use on stage. But what can i do this is the only effects i got. I dont have a back up so when im playing live, im like suicidal =)hehe!! . So i must be careful not to step on it or not to spill beer etc. For protection i made a box with foam on it.

Thier website is good. Never dealt with em. But it would be nice if they have some patches to give just like the ones at Digitech

I choose this because of its sound quality and portability. Before buying this , i was relly gonna buy the Zoom 505 but when i test the Px-1 i was surprised with what this little box could do. Fuck zoom they suck !!!!!! But owning this thing had its disadvantage. One main reason is u will have a hard time using this on stage. But what the heck it won me 2 times in a battle of the bands here in our place. My band plays different kind of music from Alternative to Metal/hip hop metal/hardcore, from ballroom music to Pop(yuck!!!, =) but at least where paid$$$) and the pandora helps me achive those sounds. Now i bought the korg's ax100g im just waiting for it to arive. BTW Im a Korg loyal ...... luv u man!!!

Nasty piece of work !
-Loads of background noise
-Notes fade away quickly
-Not enough parameters to operate on most effects
-Overall sound gets easily messy
-Multiple effects not possible in many cases

Easy to use. Didn't need the manual either.

Just bought it today but the clean sounds pretty nice. There seems to be some hissing noise on every setting but if you're using this for practice you might not mind it. I wasn't expecting much from the distortion and that's exactly what I got. They all seem to be too noisy and the sound spreads out too much. Sounds digital too. Buying your own distortion pedal might solve the problem. I plug into an Ibanez Tubescreamer and a Big Muff before I connect to the Pandora and it sounds ok, I guess. The noise reduction is pretty nice but you can lose alot of sustain with it. Again, I only recommend this for practicing.

It's really light and plasticy :) I wouldn't drop it.

Haven't dealt with them.

I've played alternative rock guitar for 7 years and this Pandora is a fun toy. I probably wouldn't buy it again, even if it was selling for the same amount (4500yen is about $35 now). This might be nice if its the first effect you've ever had though. I used to own the Korg AX30 and Boss GT5 but they just don't have the sound that I want so I'm collecting stompboxs now:)

Yeah, this unit is quite easy to use because there's only one parameter for each effect to edit. The manual does help, it explain about effects that go like Chorus1, Hall1, etc.. and also about the parameter we can edit. The original preset shows what this unit can do with your guitar sound, but programming your own sound will get you the best this unit can do for you.

I use Mexican Stratocaster with SSH pickup and Marshall VS65R combo. I must say that this unit noise reduction works well. Without this unit running on amp's FX-loop, the sound from distortion/overdrive channel was very noisy. The noise completely gone after I set the right amount of noise reduction on the unit. Good work, Korg! The effects mostly can't please my ear. Distortion/Overdrive sounds too 'digital' and modulation,delay,reverb sounds quite lame. Also this unit sucks the sustain of your guitar. Effects that I mostly use are compressor, chorus, and light reverb/delay, I rarely/never use the others. Well, for the price you paid for this unit, you can't complain about that. Headphone and CD input jacks are valuable asset for practicing, although I never use it.

This is definitely not a gigging tool. Although you can put it on your guitar strap (resulting some people thinking you're using wireless transmitter..), the sounds are not suitable for stage use. I really worried about those button and jacksockets, they don't look very durable.

Never deal with 'em.

I play rock, pop and some jazz, but this unit simply can't get me enough for those sounds that I wanted. I've been playing for 6 years and I own a Fender Strat plus two BOSS stompboxes. I like this unit because some of the fx sounds quite good and easy editing, but for overall sounds I can't really suggest this one. It's a good starting multi-fx for beginners, especially with the headphone/CD jacks that really helps you in practicing. For people with more buying power and playing experience, try getting a good rackmount fx. Instead of buying this unit, I suggest you better get your hands on that new Pandora series PX-3, it has more features than this one.

Pretty easy to use, if you dont mind menus.

Save me. Most of the distortions on this unit are okay, the modulation is okay but cheesy and the delays are fine. The noise this pedal puts out is UNBELIEVABLY CRAP. There is so much white noise that no-one would ever take this pedal where it might be heard. Korg say you can use it on stage if your quick... you can use it on stage only if you are very, very slow... to throw the thing into the trash and get dirty stamping on it.

I suppose. But don't expect to have much fun switching through menus.

Worst guitar thing I have ever bought, would never trust company again... gives me trauma about multi-effects... etc... etc...
Do not buy. Ever.

Plug in and go. I picked it up cheap, used and the previous owners user patches were still there. Very easy to edit, no manual and I was editing and saving patches in 5 minutes. I've ordered the manual, but realize now I probably won't need it. Who knows, it might show me even more options.

I have a Danelectro Mod and Yamaha acoustic with Crate amp. I run this through a Boss DD-5, Akai E1 Headrush, and Boss stereo chorus.
Some of the patches are unbelievably clean, while others provide more noise than I like. Effects vary. Maybe 25% of the presets are worthwhile, but it's so easy to edit you just can't lose. The Rotary patch owns. The distortions are very unusual. I'm not huge on distortion but these have a great presence.

Haven't had it too long. Feels very plasticy. We'll see. Seems flimsy but it's not for gigging, it's for practice/ studio.

Mad that Korg doesn't have all their old manuals on their site yet.

How can I complain. At $45 including ac adapter and shipping this thing is unbeatable. Half the price of a new pedal. With headphones this thing rocks, through the amp, not so much. I think it would work well into a mixer. Very easy to use, wide variety of unique sounds. I also own the Korg AX300G and was afraid there would be a lot of overlap. No way. The Pandora sound is very unusual and since I am generally working on soundscapes rather than death rock that totally works for me. Bring me the funky stuff.

You can get many sounds out of this little devil!! Editing/saving patches is easy. The manual is not bad (small as the processor too).

The unit sound is O.K.But having compressor only without drive is a big mistake...The sustan in this unit is not good, so it's not suitable for solos that need much sustain. I don't think the distortions are warm enough. I play Heavy metal, and I think it's not the tool for it.

It can't be used in Gigs. Or else let some one switch for you and wait until he reaches the desired effect. This unit is for practice only.I own it from about 3 years, I've dropped it about 10 times and it still works like hell!!but the buttons aren't reliable at all.

Never dealt with them...

I play Heavy metal...It's not it's tool for sure. If you are rich, get it a play with it in your spare time... I've been playing for 4 years and I orderd a Boss GT-3 now...so if it was stolen I won't buy it again for sure...

If you use it for practice, everything needed is there. It's definitely not a studio tool, neither a gig box. Use A/C adaptor cause it sucks the batteries (5-6 hours max).

I used it with several good guitars and in several Fender amps. The effects were very nice, but I lost all the dynamic and a lot of headroom, and it added a "nice" hum... so, I lost THE TONE and that is very bad for a multiFX, even if this one is the smallest and most design of the world ! Surprisingly, it sounded not so bad plugged dirctly in the mix console. Finally the only way I can use it is for practice. With headphones and CD plugged in, it's OK. But it's an expensive toy !

I dropped it twice without damage but I do my best to avoid a 3rd time. Anyway, it's more a toy than a real music device...

I have a lot of different effects, vintage or not, and this is the worst one. Nevertheless, I keep it for practice cause it's handy.