Korg PX-3

Beginners can use this little gem, though once you start exploring its capabilities, the sky is the limit. I've had the Pandora PX3 for 2 years and I'm still juicing it for sounds.
Editing patches are good, the only thing i really wanted to mess around with is get arena reverb with delay, which you can't set.
Firmware wise, im not to sure about, though i do know there have been 3 Pandora effect proccessors, each sound a little different though there are more options on the latest model. Better backlight on the latest model

sound quality is really crisp, makes my playing sound good! i use a marshall 2 x 12 inch combo, but I can also use the effect box on its own with headphones with its volume control and battery pack. It also plugs into a stereo for home recordings.
10 different distortion/ overdrives, multiple effects including flanger, pitch shifter, chorus, vib, etc, different reverb settings from room to arena and dig. delay plus cabinet simulator. few other things like dolby nr

you can combine all these and save your setting, put your headphones on and have your own personal concert in the privacy of your room.

The auto wah sounds a little poxy, but thats personal opinion. I rather use a wah pedal.

I am pretty much positive i can rely on it in a gig, battery wise there are no problems. I havent tested it with an adaptor yet.

I play a mix of rock metal to neo classical. I either like my tone high and clean or heavily distored and clean with a little experimenting with flanger and mild overdrive. most of the time I use generous amounts of reverb to make my playing sound good! The pandora is capable of meeting my needs.
I've been playing for 8 years, though I have only used analogue delay, compressor and wahwah pedals in the past and distortion direct from the amp. the amp is a 2x12 marshall combo, my 2 guitars are a 'les paul copy' sammick and a carson.

If my Pandora had vanished I would definetley buy another one, depending on money surplus.
Its all good, it has all the effects I mentioned, metronom and other bass and drumbeats to practice and jam along to. Auxilary input so you can plug in your discman and jam along, phrase trainer to record a small section of your favourite cd and change the tempo or key. Also a chromatic tuner.
I like it for its portability with battery support, headphone output or being able to plug it into your stereo or computer to make recordings.
The px2 had a slight different sound when you softly touched a string, making a nice soothing violin sound which the PX3 has changed, but no big deal. It's like water off a duck's back as a friend of mine says
Price wise, its worth it in the long run

OK. REVISING THE PATCHES IS EASY. FOR HEADPHONES USE CAB SIMULATOR. FOR AMP TURN OFF C/S. BY TWEAKING PRESETS I LIKED, I WAS ABLE TO SET UP USEFUL BANKS (AS IN GROUPS)OF USER PATCHES. ONCE YOU ALTER A PRESET AND SAVE IT, IT BECOMES A USER PATCH, LEAVING THE PRESETS AS THEY WERE ORIGINALLY. HAVEN'T TRIED THROUGH AN EFFECTS LOOP YET. WE NOW BUG KORG TO INSTALL MIDI CONTROLLER PATCH.

FOR HEADPHONES, XLNT. FOR AMP, OK. I VELCRO IT TO THE INSIDE OF MY GUITAR STRAP AND SET UP THE PATCHES IN SMALL GROUPS SO I CAN CHANGE PATCHES DURING A SONG BY THUMBING THE SWITCH. VELCRO RULES. XLNT DELAY AND CHORUS. DISTORTIONS OKAY. FOR CLEAN, ADJUSTING THE EQ AND MINIMIZING THE NR AND USING SMALL CABS WITH LOAD AT HALF OR LESS GIVES GOOD BRIGHT CLEAN TONES. I'VE MODED FLOYD AND JAZZ AND ARENA TO SEVERAL VARIATIONS.
AS FAR AS THE DISTORTS, I LIKE ONLY ONE OR TWO WHICH I USE OVER AND OVER AGAIN WITH VARIOUS LEVELS OF LEVEL. MY FAVORITE ARTISTS ARE ME, JH, JB AND ME AGAIN. SO I CAN GET 2 OR THREE OF THOSE FOUR AND THEN I DON'T KNOW WHO SOUND LIKE WHAT, SO I GIVE UP. I USE SONY HEADPHONES OR A PEAVEY BASS AMP OR A DELUXE DEVILLE. RUN PRE OUT FROM DEVILLE TO A BASS AMP WITH THIS AS PREAMP. I'VE YET TO TRY THE LOOP AS I HAVE OTHER STUFF THERE.

IT WORKS FOR ME. I'LL BE IN GOA FROM NOV 12 TO NOV 24 SO CHECK ME OUT AT THE WEDNESDAY SWAP MEET. I'LL BE PLAYING A TRAVELER ELECTRIC GUITAR (THE ELECTRIC NECK AS I CALL IT).
USE THE RHYTHM PATCHES OFTEN, REMEMBER SOME OF THE PATCHES HAVE SIMPLE BASSLINES THAT WILL WORK FOR HARMONIC CHORD CHANGES EVEN THOUGH THE BASS NOTE IS CONSTANT. GOA RAVES AWAY!!!! YEAH.

EMAILED SEVERAL TIMES ASKING, IS THERE A KORG PEDAL BOARD WITH SAME QUALITY SOUNDS. THEY RESPONDED DAILY. (NO!)

I PLAY ROCK, BLUES, JAZZ, HOP, HIP HEP AND SOMETIMES HUP TWO THREE FOUR SORT OF HOPPED UP ( AS MY MOMMA USED TO SAY) SINCE THEN I'VE BOUGHT THREE ANALOG PEDALS (vintage ones, baby) AND WILL DUMP AT LEAST TWO OF THEM WHEN I RETURN FROM THE ARABIAN SEA. A MIDI PATCH FOR A FLOORBOARD MAKES THIS FINE. COMPARE THEN BUY THIS ONE. I'LL BE SPONSORED BY KORG.

Out of the box, it's got lots of good patches, both of the usable kind and of the kind that, while not terribly usable, illustrate various effects.

Editing patches is pretty easy, though a tad tedious. You get the difficulty that comes with putting everything in here in a box the size of a deck of cards. Not a lot of parameters for each effect--only two (type and level, rate, depth, depending on the effect), in fact, except for the EQ (three--high, low, level). But pretty good.

At times, it can get a little confusing--do I use the value dial, the +/- buttons, or the < and > buttons--when editing. But it just takes a bit of getting used to.

The manual covers everything, and is easy enough to get through. I wish it had about 20% more depth, but it's good enough to get in and get going.

The machine has a good selection of use options. A switch for pickups--one position for weaker single-coils, one for pickups with more output. Light or no light. You can reprogram the value wheel's functionality.

The interface for editing and moving around is a little confusing, though very compact and efficient. 6 buttons, three of which are multifunctional. The multi buttons have more functions than are shown on the unit, and you just have to get used to using them. But they pack a lot of power into a few buttons. It's a good trade-off.

The screen is excellent--informative, easy to read--the backlight is very cool, and you can turn it on and off at will (uses batteries faster).

Excellent. I use it with a Japanese strat, 1986, with humbucker in bridge position. Lots of good tones with this guitar.

Noise is more a function of where and what you're playing than the box itself, I find. (Play around fluorescents, computers, or other big electronic things, and you're going to get some noise. Otherwise, not much.) The Noise Reduction effect is very effective.

The quality of the various distortions is very good to my ear--lots of choices, and they range from spanky to insane. You can get good clean sounds (I had read somewhere that this is hard; I haven't found any difficulty getting good clean sounds), get it to just break up when you attack it hard, or a range of out-and-out overdrives and distortions.

The other effects are pretty decent too. Smooth chorus, good vibrato, good phasing, adequate (not great) autowah, decent reverbs, and a large selection of delays. I would prefer a couple more parameters to the reverbs and delays, but . . . look, it's a little box, and it can't have everything.

The rhythm unit is a cool feature. The sound quality's not realistic, but for just noodling and jamming, it's pretty good, and to fit it in the box... well, see above.

Just got it, can't say. Would I use it in a gig? Haven't even plugged it into an amp. It's probably not intended as a gigging machine, but it does have some great sounds, and you could probably do it.

Haven't needed any, so I can't rate support.

I was looking for a good box I could carry around the house and practice with--I just don't have a set and good practice space. I also wanted to be able to plug a CD player in, and to be able to plug the unit into a BOSS JamStation JS-5 (which lets you plug in a guitar, but only dry). This meets my needs and exceeds them. I can plug in the CD player, and it can even change song keys on the fly (with darn good quality)! Stevie Ray often plays tuned down half a step; I can bring him up to standard tuning with this. Very cool.

Oh, it also looks great.

i bought it in Japan and they don't have an english manule. but this unit is very easy to use, it took me only 5-10 min to figure out how to use it. easy to edit the patch, just roll the rotary switch for add&name the effect.

the preset's sound are pretty good. though u might have to EQ them little bit. editing patch is very easy, thanks to the rotary switch, it's very usefull. the distortion is pretty good for practicing. but i don't like the chorus and other effect are useless. the rythm function are very usefull for me, i can practice scale, arpeggio, phrasing or what not. the key-change function is good but sound little bit fake.

i bought this unit for practicing only so it satisfy me! i really like it becoz i can take it and practice anywhere i want.

i've composed an e-mail to the company about the english manule but they haven't reply so i went back to the shop where i bought this unit and i gotta pay 2,500 Yen for the english manule. it's very non-sence. i bought their product and i still have to buy their manule?

mostly i play rock&roll stuff but i also play blues and Jazz. this unit match good for practicing only! i used Ibanez jem with Marshall MG15RCD amplifier, sound ok for me but not enought for a gig. if it were stolen i'd try the other practicing unit. i like this unit becoz it's very easy to use and easy to bring it anywhere. i wish i can edit my own chord progression for bass or more drums sound. if u have any question i'll be welcome to answer.

Very easy to use presets. Just click on the switch. Editing
is not that hard, but the unit is very small and nothing can
make it as easy as a large rack mounted unit. The manual is
ok.

The sound is excellent for playing out of a headphone and more
importantly, recording. It is a little noisy. The clean effects
are great. The distortion is OK for recording or headphones.
The doubled notes effects (several of them) where you pick a note
and another note in harmony comes up is totally worthless. It is
a piss-poor imitation of Queen's Brian May guitar overdubbing.
Very important - the unit SUCKS with an amp. I even tried it
in 2 amps and it was stereo, but sounded very FAKE. The presets
sound like a parody of the artists. I found the Stevie Ray,
Jeff Beck, and Van Halen patches very amusing. But, there is
something about the presets that make you want to play for hours
and hours. I think the unit is VERY gimmicky, but lots of fun.
The presets are sort of like the artists sound. For example,
the Stevie Ray preset has a Vibrato that is supposed to sound
like a Leslie. It is a cheesy version of a Leslie. But, I
don't expect Korg to duplicate a real Leslie or Hughes and K.
$300.00 Leslie simulator in a little headphone amp!

Have no idea, since I just got it.

Have no idea, yet.

I record weird music and play in a more conventional band.
Check out
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/16/the_thereminbilly_explosion.html
and click on Pandora Blues and Pandora Blues Part 2 to get an
example of what the PX-3 sounds like, since I play guitar using
the unit on those tracks.

OH man this thing is simple, takes about 15-20 minutes to master, then you have every little control at your finger tip. the jog dial is very helpfull and speady and everthing is intuitive. nothing to learn!!

the sound is pretty damn good. the distortion is a little lacking, but hey, come on man this unit rocks for practicing. dont go into a record contract with it but its a damn good tool. the rythms are really good, fun to jam along with, making this a good practice tool!

built pretty solid, nice colors!

dont know, its too good for me to call em up

this thing rocks, dont hesitate if you need a little sized (pod is too big) modeler, its worth the money, come on go get one NOW!!!!!

I bought the first and thought it was average. The PX3 however is capable of so much more. It's rhythm section is ideal for playing along to an sharpening your chops. It's easy to edit once you've remembered all the short cut buttons etc but the manual is wellindexed and takes you through t hings step by step. I do think the PX3 produces better clean sounds than overdriven ones. The clean sounds are sparkley and transparent and I found them really inspiring to play with. The overdrive sounds are not bad 9often have to add a little chorus to get a fuller sound) and just show the limitations of a solid state derived distortion. This is a practise tool and not a substitute for 'proper' gear. I never travel anywhere without my PX3!

I used a Hohner GT-3, Ibanez 540 Radius and Ibanez J-Custom.

Dependable, but can be battery hungry. i wouldn't gig with this as it'sa practise tool.

N/A

I play rock.

Figured out most things without the little book. Instructions are well written, and in several languages. controls are easy and changeable (you can swap the roles of the up/down arrow and the wheel). Not perfect, there is no way to use a foot controller or any means of attaching it. Too light to sit on the floor by it self. I put Velcro on the back of mine and stick it to the music send or the guitar strap. Works OK.

I use both a Strat and a 335. through various headsets the sound is fantastic. The better the headset the better the sound. It sounded wimpy through the practice amp at the store. In the effects loop of my Fender amp didn't work too well either. It looses body, sounds AM radio like. Between the guitar and the clean channel it is OK but not as fantastic as in the head set. Direct for recording or direct to PA for gigging works great. If I could change voices or turn effect modules on and off while I play it would by perfect. But that isn't part of the sound quality.
I play bass sometimes, I have a cheep P-bass copy without an amp. I used the "Jazz" preset. Minor eq tweaks and direct to the PA. Everyone was very impressed, even me. I have never heard a bass amp sound so clear and alive. An amazing little box.

Great. Mine has been dropped, left on until the batteries died, left plugged it for three days, spilt on, rained on and it still works.

I play swing, rock, blues and jazz. this little guy is a great practice tool the phrase trainer works well. The only thing better is Slow Blast on the computer. The rhythm section is great too. I haven't used the center channel cancel feature. the effects, though limited, sound great with both guitar and bass.
If you use it through an amp as an effects unit you will be disappointed. The box was designed to feed a full range source: headphones, PA tape direct. Any of these full range devices will sound great.
This is a practice tool. As a practice tool, it is the best around. I was not meant to be something to gig with. It does sound great going direct to the board. I put a piece of Velcro on the back of mine. There is a corresponding patch on the top of my amp, on a cloth sleeve I can put on any guitar strap and on one of the music stands at the church I play in. As long as you only need one voice per song and there is time between songs to find the next voice, it works to gig with. Just remember, it wasn't ment to do this.

I got this thing used so I didn't have a manual, and it took me a few hours to get the hang of it, but it's really easy to use. The phase trainer is easy to use, and editing patches is even easier. The only reason I'm giving it a 9 and not a 10 is because I haven't seen the manual for it.

I no longer own the PX-3, but this was my setup when I was using it. Gibson Les Paul DC Standard --> Morley ABY Box --> (A) Used for clean channel Marshall JMP Pre-Amp --> Marshall VS256R Amp (B) Used for PX-3 --> Marshall VS256R Amp. The sound quality was really good. Very low noise. I gig a lot, so the PX-3 wasn't great for me. I used an A/B box so that I could change from the PX-3 to clean (I had to use a pre-amp for clean, because the signal get split in half...) I was really happy with the sounds I got out of the PX-3, but I ended up selling it because I need pedals, because I gig a lot. But, the PX-3 is great for recording. I wish that I still had the PX-3 for recording, becuase I bet it would sound sweet with my new amp (Fender HotRod 2x12 Deville.) My favorite settings had to be the Hendrix and Van Halen patches. The distortion sounds really good on the PX-3, and even comes close to a Metal Zone. The 90's patch on it is perfect for Nirvana sounds. When I had the PX-3 I was in a band that played a cover of Smells like Teen Spirit and the 90's patch was perfect.

The pandora seems very reliable. I only owned it for a few months, and I giged without a backup.

I play blues, classic rock, shred, pop/rock, rock, jazz, and a little hard rock. The PX-3 is good for any style of music. I've been playing for 7 years. I wish that korg would build a pedalboard like the POD so that it could be used for gigging!!! The thing is really made for recording, not gigging. It would be nice if it had a belt clip.

i just got this a few hours ago, i haven't looked at the manual yet but it's pretty easy to use. i just plugged in and started playing with the buttons. i really like the rotary wheel, it makes adjusting the volume and tempo very user friendly. i haven't tried to edit the presets yet, but i'm sure it's not difficult.

i never write reviews, but i liked this thing so much that i have to give it an endorsement. i'm using a fender strat. the sounds on this are pretty clear, i'm really happy with this and have no complaints. the effects are fantastic for what this is, a little all-in-one effects box to be used with a good set of headphones. most of the presets on this are very usable. with a little imagination, i'm sure even the cheesy ones could be cool, although limited in what you could do with them. what i liked most is its versatility. it has a pretty good dirty sound as well as heavy distortion. the rhythm patterns aren't great, needless to say i'm not as thrilled about them as i am with the effects, but they are fun to jam over.

don't know, just bought it.

don't know

i play a lot of different styles - classic rock to metal. i've been playing for 10 years now, i have no aspirations of playing out or anything like that. i just enjoy jamming along with my favorite tunes or coming up with my own stuff. i've owned a fender blues jr. (back when i didn't live in an apartment), various transistor amps, and countless pedals. if i lost this i would get another one. i really like the versatility of this thing, as well as its size which makes it very portable an easy to store. i've looked at the zoom 505, and i found that to be somewhat limited in it's range when looking for a sound that wasn't heavily distorted. it wasn't bad, but the px3 is just that much better. far more versatile.

so to sum up, if you're like me and find yourself having to live in an apartment, want some effects and a cool sound but you also want your neighbors to have peace and quiet, this thing is perfect. i'm not disappointed in least, but instead pleasantly surprised (how many times can you say that about something!!!)