Korg PX-3

Pretty easey, you'll need the manual for a couple of things.

For what I use it, it's great. When I go on vacation, I take this along with my Yamaha travel guitar just so I can practice an hour a day and stay in shape. I play chord solos with a little reverb, and practice scales with the rhythem patterns. Some day, I'm sure, they'll have one where you can program the bass instead of the presets... Lately I found another great use for it: I play weekly solo guitar at a very small (but classy...) restaurant with my Godin nylon. Iv'e been using a Fender AmpCan so I can move around easily, and I just started using the Korg for a little reverb. I use the "Garage" setting at around 12. Nothing else. It works great. There's only one problem, see next category.

The thing works great, and is reasonably solid, however... DON'T LET THE BATTERIES RUN DOWN!!!! Keep an eye on the battery indicator, you got, at most, half an hour of playing time before this thing emmits the most horrible squeal you've evber heard. At home that's fine but live it can be a little embarrassing. Other than that, no problem.

Great! For practicing on the road, small gigs etc., I couldn't think of anything that works as great as this one. It's VERY small and the backlight is great for those dark restaurant situations. Just don't let the batteries run down...

If you want to play the Pandora straight out of the box, it is pretty easy. When you want to start getting deeper into it's features (programming effects and using the rhythm section), you'll need the manual. Once you get the hang of it, though, there's not much to it.

The sound varies depending on whether you're playing through an amp or if you're playing through headphones. I'd give the sound quality through an amp an 8, and a 10 through headphones (hence the overall rating of 9). For reference, I'm using a Fender California Stratocaster and a Fender Blues Jr. tube amp.

The Pandora doesn't sound it's best through an amp; it seems to lose some of it's sharpness, but it still sounds pretty good. Some of the presets don't sound too good, but many sound great. My favorites are Jimi, Eddie, Flowers, Phased, BB, 90's. The presets of famous artists come pretty close to creating their sounds. The reverb settings on the Pandora are excellent. You can choose different sounding reverbs, like Hall, Arena, and my personal favorite, Garage. The built in rhythm patterns, while a bit corny, are quite fun to play around with.

I first tried the PX 3 through my amp, and I was quite pleased with it. When I plugged in a pair of headphones, though, I was extremely happy with this purchase. Using the headphones, the sounds seem to really come alive. The stereo chorus, which sounded good through an amp, is aboslutely beautiful. The phaser jumps from side to side. The reverbs sound even better they did before. The distortions and overdrives sound much more powerful. It might be useful for you to know that the output jack on the Pandora is 1/4 inch. If you have a pair of headphones with a 1/8 inch cord, you'll need to pick up an adapter from a place like Radio Shack.

This unit has a very warm, tube-like sound. Most of the effects are quite good, but some of the pitch shifters leave something to be desired. While there are some preset programs that you won't ever use, you'll be able to program just about any sound you could want (and you can store up to 50 of your own programs).

For home and studio use, it would be quite reliable. I don't gig, but if I did, I don't think I could rely on the Pandora. It is small and made out of plastic, you know.

Haven't had to deal with Korg, and I doubt I ever will.

Since this is a multi-effects unit, it is suitable for just about any style of music you can think of. There are hardly any sounds that you can't get out of this little thing. For the price, you'll have a hard time finding anything that matches the features and great sound of the Pandora. You'll have a hard time finding a better headphone amp. If it were lost or stolen, I'd definitely replace it. I feel the PX-3 is well worth the money I spent. Let's hope Korg puts out a PX-4. If they do, I'll surely pick it up.

The PX-3 is extremely easy to use once you give the onwers manual a brief once over. You can definetely just plug in and play without ever touching the owner's manual but to learn all the little intricate stuff built into this little blue box, the owners manual will provide that. Extremely well written, not like some others I've (can I get an amen from all those Digitech onwers out there!!). It features a rotary wheel for preset changes, 50 factory and 50 user presets, one 1/4" input, one 1/4" ouptput which is stereo and a 1/8" aux jack for bringing in an outside audio source (CD player, tape, etc). You can jam-along with the outside source and there is a center cancelling feature to try to wipe out the vocals anf guitar solos. This I haven't really messed with, it will only work if the vocals and guitar were recorded on the center track. There is also a phrase trainer which will allow you to record up to 16 seconds of a song, loop it and even slow it down to as much as 25% without changing pitch. This is a really cool feature and works as advertised. Also built in is a rythym section, both drums and bass. The PX-2 had the drums but the PX-3 adds bass lines. Pretty cool for soing little jams. One complaint I do have is the inability to hook up some sort of foot controller for patch changing. I realize that the intent of the PX-3 is for personal practicing but having the ability to use a footcontroller would make it that much more versatile for those planning on live use. I know other processors like the Zoom Fire and the discont. Zoom 9002 offered this ability. I went to a Korg clinic a few months ago and the guy running it said he used his PX-2 live all the time, he taped it to his guitar strap. Interesting but...ahh no.

Right now I'm using the PX-3 as a headphone practice amp/learning tool. I'm using it with all three of my guitars, PRS Swamp Ash Special, EBMM Axis and Ovation Standard Balladeer. They all sound great. I haven't tried it with my amp yet (Fender Hot Rod Deluxe) and I probably won't for two reasons. One is my buddy who has a PX-2 tried his through his Fender amp and it didn't sound that great, seems as though the Pandora series suffers from the same ailment as the Line 6 POD, they all love full range applications (i.e. headphones, direct to mixer/multi-track, PA system, etc) and don't shine through gear specifically designed for guitar. Secondly, I have a separate effects setup for my Fender HRD (Marshall Jackhammer, Boss Super Phaser, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay and Dunlop Limited Edition Crybaby) which I wouldn't think about replacing with the PX-3. This may sound whacked, but when I'm using my full setup, I may put the PX-3 in line in bypass to take advantage of its tuner since I don't have a play through tuner. Today I was pleasantly surprised however when I brought the PX-3 to the studio. I was too lazy to bring my amp and effects board with me so I brought the little guy with me instead. Holy crap, did it sound awesome!! Straight into the mixing board in mono, this little walkman sized toy sounded fantastic, even when thrown into the mix of a Fafner bass amp and a Line 6 POD. Made me think twice about my full sized setup. As far as presets go, alot of them were really good (surprisingly enough!!) especially some of the artist style presets (AC/DC, Van Halen, SRV, Deep Purple, etc). All the effects are really good. Very simple stuff (flanger, chorus, phaser, reverb, delays, cabinet sims, etc) and simplified tweaking. If you're looking for stomp box tweakability, this isn't for you. I wasn't looking for something that was to complex so I give this category the highest marking.

I could definetely depend on it for what I'm doing. If I were to gig, I highly doubt I would use this over my full setup. This has nothing to do with reliability, this is due to lack of foot "controllability".

I've never dealt with Korg.

I've been playing for over two years now and have been through a lot of gear on my rocky road of learning and determining what is right for me in all applications. I've owned various multi-effects processors which had all the in depth tweaking one could handle: Alesis Midiverb IV, Boss GX-700, Boss GT-5, Zoom 510, the POD and have tried various others such as various Digitech products (from RP-7 up to the 2120), Zoom products, Johnson Millenium, Rocktron Voodoo Valve, various modelling amps, the list goes on. After finally settling on my current full setup (HRD with the above listed pedals) and forever swearing off multi-effects processors and going tube with the bare necessity of effects, I found I really wanted something I could use in my living room, my den, anywhere on headphones with some effects capablility. I was using a JD-10 for that but it really wasn't what I was looking for. I had been busting my buddy's chops who has a Pandora PX-2 since he bought it and what did I end up with? Well, not a PX-2, but close enough! :) It really is great for private practice and the fact it sounded awesome in direct record was an added bonus. As I stated before, the only downside I can see is the lack of foot control. I do find I like to turn effects on and off while playing and switching over from cleans to distorted tones and when I need to do this, I'll have my full setup ready to work. As far as convenience , sound quality at $189.99, built in ryhthym machine, jam-along, and phrase training, it can't be beat in my opinion.

Considering all the features, I found the PX3 to be very easy to use overall.

I bought the PX3 hoping that it would sound as good as the PX1 with more features. Unfortunately, while the clean sounds are definitely superior on the PX3, the distortions do not sound anywhere near as good to me. I was able to program a great SRV, EVH, blues and metal patches on my PX1, but there is a certain buzzy quality to all of the distortions on the PX3 that I could not get rid of. Also, all of the presets are horrible and you cannot program over them like you can on the PX1. The drum/bass presets are fun to jam over, but are rather limited. I used both single coil and double coil guitars when using the PX3 and was not impressed with the distorted sounds. I returned the PX3 and will stick with my trusty PX1 for headphone practicing.

I really love the Pandora PX1, but the distortion, overdrive and fuzz tones on the PX3 are not anywhere as good. I spent enough time trying to program decent sounding patches that were at least as good as those I programed on the PX1, but had no luck. Others may like the distorion/overdrive sounds on the PX3, but to me that had a very "beer commercial" tone to them. To bad, because many of the features on the PX3 and the clean sounds are very good. If Korg comes out with a PX4, I give another shot, as I generally like their products.

I love the PX3. It is very easy to use and get good sounds out of, at least in headphones. Editing the patches is a breeze once you figure out how it works. The manual is decent and will get you started, but it doesn't take long to put it down start playing. I give it a ten rating for ease of use. If you have any experience using other effects processors, like the Digitech RP series, for example, this thing is a peice of cake.

I mostly use the PX3 with and American Standard Strat and a pair of Sony headphones to practice at home. This is what I believe the unit was made for. The sound qaulity is nice with this setup. I've tried to use it with my band, through my Roland JazzChorus 120, and it sounded kind of weak and trebly when it was cranked up, compared to my RP-1. Maybe it was just my setup and I didn't really play around with it to try to get a better sound, so your mileage may vary. Some reviewers have had better results.

The drum and bass sounds are fun to use, but they sound like your little brother's old Casio keyboard rhythms, in other words, pretty cheesey. But hey, whatda ya want, its not a drum machine! If the next version (PX4?)improves on this, it will make a great product that much better. I'll give it an 8 for the sound quality.

I've had the PX3 for about 2 months and so far so good. It is a light little thing, mostly plastic, and it would be nice to see it a little beefier, but if you are careful and don't drop, it should be fine. I wouldn't use it for a gig.

Haven't had to deal with them.

Overall, it is a great little toy. I play mostly rock and blues (been playing for 9 years) and it suits me. Great for practice and jamming in your living room without having you wife tell you to turn it down (use headphones!). Go get one!

The manual is well-written & editing it is also easy. The presets cover many styles, U can use them to start your own sound.

It has most of the guitar efx U can think of, the compressor, distortion & the delay sounds very good to me. But the modulation type efxs are too digital to my taste. It also gives me very good direct recording results.

I broke my PX-2 for dropping it many times on ground, that's why I bought this PX-3. U really need to find a way to settle it in studio & gigs, the guitar lead would pull it on to the ground.
Dropping the PX-2 many times before it's damaged also showed the PXs are quite tough- not the best way to test gears though.

I mainy play easy-listening jazz fusion, this Px-3 acts as my major recording preamp in studio & I record my lastest cd with it. Of course it can't be compared with my Boogie in gigs but it does help me to lay down good tube-sounding guitar tracks in recording situations. I would buy it again for its price/quality. I do wish Korg put out an upgrade of it with footswitch & proper power supply (When I bought this thing in the shop, I was not told that Korg has an optional power supply for Px-3). I do use it for rehersals sometimes & playing live in a really small space, especially when I don't feel like carry things around.

The manual was cool and helped with the bits where one button press means the difference of losing the patch or not.

Had difficulty understanding why sound jumped to one side if Chorus was not on. All in all sounds are good and I will be gigging with it soon. Pity there was 'nt an option to add compression before the overdrive section. Distortions/overdrives were natural sounding and really lets my strat sound classy.

Cant say until I've tried it. Missed oppertunity with no solid clamp (for mike stand) or amp holder as it may hit the dirt if it's moved suddenly.

I play all types of music in semi pro covers band , from Blues Brothers to Pink Floyd via Gary Moore and Santana. I've been playing for 23 years (yes i'm that old !!) I own mainly Jap guitars (USA too damn pricey) Tele/2 Strats/Les Paul. I liked the PX3 coz its portable , good sounds , and has a CD aux in so I can practice without disturbing the street. I just wish thought had gone into the live band situation eg a holder / stand clamp etc, also it could have had small footswitch (only up or down change would have been godsend). I have had most models of this type from the Roland "Playbus" via Zoom 9002 and JHS Rock box and found (obviously !) the latest incarnation is the best. I may even be selling my zoom 4040 if this blue box works out well enough!!

The Korg Pandora PX3 is well worth the the $200 I spended to get it. Once you read the instructions and learn to use it, it's as easy as breathing.

I'm using my PX3 with a Fender American Standerd with three gold lace
pickups and a 25db mid boost and TBX. Mines sounds (at least I'm told)
alot better than the Fender Eric Clapton model Because of my mid boost.(I'm not telling where I got it. Ha.Ha.) Now if I could only play like him. But any way my Fender sounds like a dream through the PX3. I can make any sound I could dream of through this.

I've accidently dropped mine on a studio floor and it still worked like a charm.(although I don't recamend this) I've used this through a mixing board on gigs and it is just marvalous.

I've never had to deal with Korg,but if I do, I hope their not like Fender.

I am a blues player and the blue Px3 fits my bill to a tee. I've been playing for about four years and I am pretty damn good.( I better be; I practice for at least four hours every day.) I love the fact that I don't have to hook up all of my pedals to get a particular sound. I just pust a button or two and thats it. It's the greatest thing I've bought since my trusty mid-boost. Comparing the PX3 to the PX2 is like comparing the 96' Impala to the 99'. This product is totally outstanding for any level of player. When I first got it, (mail ordered from Musicians Friend) I was kinda mad because the thing is so small. But once I used it, I was blown away.It was well worth my very hard earned $200 on.( I'm a college student) If it were lost or stolen, I would some how put the whole country under marshall law, and when I find the bastard that stole it, I would cut his %&*! off with a
dull kitchen knife.

Unit is easier to use than the mark 1 or the mark 2 .The wheel is a real plus point as is the backlit display.The tuner is better than the previous models.

As with earlier models the sound quality and effects are very good for a unit of this size.The drum and bass sounds are ok but sound a bit old compared with most drum patterns/sounds out now.There are more presets now and I did not like that many of them.Too many distortion sounds not enough clean ones.Having 50 user patterns is a very useful addition to the mark 3.

Here is the problem ...If you have the drum pattern running and you change the effect as you change the drum pattern misses beats and speeds up and then down.The mark 2 did not do this.Had a problem with the wheel when changing the drum tempo sometimes changing the tempo caused the unit to crash drums just stopped.Had to switch off unit and switch on again.Unit did the same on another unit too

N/A

Think the mark 3 has potential but I think Korg have tried to cram too much into the new unit without pushing price up..think they should have looked harder at quality of drums/bass rather than the price of the unit.

Wow, can you say easy to use? When I played with it at the store, it seemed a bit confusing. (but then again I wasn't playing a guitar, just pushing buttons) Once you parouse thru the manual for a few minutes, it becomes easy to figure out. The Patch editing is a breeze and can be done in 30 seconds once you get the hang of it. This thing is packed with a ton of little features, like the bility to change the function of the jog whel in the corner. (it can serve as the master volume or patch selector, depneding on how you set it) The manual is long enough to get you going in the right direction and explains all of it's features, but not voluminous like some others. It is thinck because it has three or four different translations in one book. I do agree that I wish they hadn't folded the manual to get it in. Oh well, no big deal... I also have a DOD FX-7 that is nowhere near as powerful as this is, and this is still easier to use.

Wow again. This thing has unbelievable sound quality. The distortion processors are actually very faithful. The tube setting sounds as close as you can get to a tube without real tubes. (The only thing closer is my Crate CX-40C, The clean channel is so good that people mistake it for a real tube amp)Some of the heavier distortion settings (they call it scoop, crush, hotbox etc..)tend to sound alot alike. I almost wish that they had made it one kind of "Heavy" distortion with alot more settings. But there are 9 different types of distortion and a compressor, so you ought to find something you like. The Graphic Equalizer settings could stand to be a bit better, as it is now you can only boost/cut your high/low only. (two channels) The list of effects is amazing. There are four different kinds of choruses, Vibrato, four typres of flanges, two kinds of Double Vibrato (I dunno what it means either, but it sounds cool) four kinds of flangers, 2 tremelo settings, 2 pan settings, 2 autowahs, a fixed wah settings, (you dial up how open it is and it stays there) three random step filters, (once again, I have no clue what this is but it sounds real cool, kind of a spacey feeling) and a bunch (eight, I think) of pitch shifters. All of these are very good, some of the choruses tend to sound alike, once again I'd rather they just have one kind with more settings. All of these have one parameter that can be changed, and that parameter depends on what kind of effect it is. The manual tells you exactly what it is changing, I just fiddle with it until it sounds like what I want. The only disadvantage to this is that you can only run one effect at a time. IE you can't do a flange and chorus at once. I'm not an effects guru, but it seems like only the real high-end processors (like the Digitech RP 10's and up) actually let you do this. I once read somewhere that these are not effects that you would run together anyway, but I like to play around... The next setting in the patch programming is the Reverbs and delays. Once again, bunches of types of delays, inculding a stereo pong effect. However, like with the effects section, you can't run reverb and delay at the same time. (or if you can I didn't see it in the manual) Next, there is the cabinet emulator. Six different cabinet settings give you a wide variety of choices. And all of these settings actually sound good too. There is also a noise gate, (which cannot be turned off, but can be dialed way back) It even lets you name your patches, which helps. The factory presets are pretty good, I'm not sure as to how accurate they are to the artists they claim to emulate, but they're a good starting point for ideas. The sampling feature lets you grab ten seconds of a CD or tape and slow it down all the way to 25% speed. It doesn't distort the sound at all, but the way they do it it gets hard to hear the individual notes at playback speeds lower then 50 or 60 percent. It's got a tuner that is pretty good, it shows you how far off the mark you are so if you want to hone in on a specific tuning you can, like Drop-D or going a half step down. (you can even change the reference pitch from A440 to another pitch)Overall, the sound quality on this box absolutely amazes me. I cant believe how well this thing sounds for such a small box.

The unit is of course plastic and looks pretty cool. I don't know about how sturdy it is, I haven't played on stage with it. It feels incredibly light. I'd feel alot better if it was a bit heavier, that way you know there is some meat to absorb any impact. It's primary job is to give you a reliable way to pratice with your headphones at home, and it should hold up beautifly if you use it for that purpose.

Just bought it, hope to ver have to use CS.

By far this was worth the money. I went into MARS Music to buy the Pandora PX-2, but the salesman told me about this. I was reluctant to part with almost 230 bucks (the AC adaptor is NOT included and you have to buy it seperately, MARS sells one that works with it for 8 bucks)but I am glad I did. It truly is a great processor if you want to practice on your own. It doesn't come with any footswitches, so it would be difficult to use in a concert setting. I do wish it had a way to switch patches without having to stop playing, it really kills the guitar solo when you have to stop to switch between your lead patch and your rythm patch. The main purpose of this processor is to give you the best way to play at home with headphones and a CD player. ANd it does this beautifly. My advice, if you have the money, and you are looking for something to use at home, then get this. It is well worth it.

Fortunately, the PX-3 is very easy to use. That is important, because you are likely going to want to tweek the patches that come pre-set at the factory. The addition of the wheel is a vast improvement, and the back-lit screen is much nicer than the PX-2.

How do they do it? This thing is so small, so light...but it kicks-ass! I run a custom strat through it and use Sennheiser headphones. The sound is phenomenal. I do think, however, that the pre-set patches kinda suck. That said, some minor(or major) tweeking, and the sounds are great!

Never had a problem with the PX-2, but I do agree with the another user's commnents that the power switch is a little flimsy.

Never needed customer support

I think you would be hard-pressed to find a better value. For about 200 bucks and some change, you get a light, portable, yet powerful and easy to use personal amplifier that kicks-ass. What more could you want? Buy this product...you wont be sorry!

As usual, right out of the box the factory settings are so-so. A few patches like "Eddie" and "Angus" are simply incredible. It seems as if the PX3 design team tried to match up patch names with the people they sound like. That makes great sense. The manual is very easy to use except for two annoyances: the book is folded during shipping and now it won't bend back to being flat, and the list of presets doesn't give the actual settings (like in the PX2's manual). If you want to see the settings, check out my web site at http://www.users.fast.net/~jwoertz/music.html. The PX3's new data entry wheel makes it incredibly easy to create and edit patches. And the enhanced LCD display screen is a real plus. In less than half an hour, I completely understood how to create and edit patches.

I use a Fender Strat Plus with Lace Sensor pickups through a Fender Deluxe 112 amp. Compared to the Pandora PX2, this unit is EXTREMELY quiet with my setup. Korg did a fantastic job on all the new patches. I am happy to see that every patch doesn't have to use the noise reduction all the way up to get a good sound. I also noticed that the noise reduction doesn't "fade out" as obviously as with the PX2. I also own a DigiTech RP-7 and the Pandora PX3 sounds better through the headphones and the amp. The COMP (compression) is outstanding and I can get a beautiful clean sound by mixing compression with chorus and delay. Then I choose which type of speaker cabinet emulation (almost always "4X12"!) and name the patch, and I'm set. The auto-wah is also an interesting effect. If you tweak the EQ right, you can get a great slow auto-wah Joe Satriani sound with a little delay. Awesome.

THE PX3 seems to be built very well. I guess the only thing that doesn't impress me is the flimsy power switch. It slides over and is a little too loose. A button would have been much nicer. But all in all, it seems about as durable as one could expect from such a small piece of electronics. One drop on a hard floor might kill it - not because it isn't made well, but just because of the small size and complexity of the thing.

Never had to deal with them. I used to work in a music store and Korg didn't have the best reputation with customer service. Maybe that's different now. WHo knows. I can't really give them a fair rating here, so I'll leave this one blank.

I play all kinds of music except country and rap. I like the sound of Angus Young's setup but something about Satriani's wah technique really is the perfect sound for me. The PX3 (believe it or not) can really match any sound I'm looking for. Of course I would buy one again if it were lost or stolen! I love the fact that it's so tiny. I can sit on the couch and jam all night without getting yelled at! And the fact that you can name each patch instead of giving it some meaningless number is great. I do wish Korg would have upgraded the drum samples, though. Even with the addition of the bass guitar to the drum patterns, the drums need lots of work. I never use them. The backlight and tuner are great. It really brings out my creative side more than any other effects unit I've ever owned. Please check out my "PX3 Patch Sheet" on my site at http://www.users.fast.net/~jwoertz/music.html

Switching around is easy, and the data wheel is a nice feature. Other features include, rhythm/bass patterns, intelligent harmonizer, built-in tuner, and the usual dist/modulation effects. Manual is not needed to get going, but is useful and is in fairly understandable Jap-lish. Had to consult the manual briefly to figure out how to change tempo and key on the rhythm/bass patterns. The funk and blues patterns are fun to jam with. Also has straight metronome, useful for practicing scales. I'm trying to give out less 10's because these reviews are not particularly useful with all raves so I'll give it an 8.

Sounds are much better than the zoom 505 which I recently sold. Blues and Jazz tones are nice, it's the crunch/gain stuff that always leaves me wanting with typical headphone units. This one is better but not great.
First a few notes about using a headphone unit. I'm not an electronics guy, but let's apply a little common sense. Most people are going to say here that the "sound is OK thru the headphones but sucks through an amp." Fine, but remember it doesn't have a line or instrument output, it puts out enought power to drive a speaker (headphone) albeit a small one. Do you think if you plugged your guitar into your beloved Tube Screamer and plugged the headphones straight into the output of the TS-X you could hear anything? (Actually, I think it would come thru very faint, almost inaudible).
The point I'm getting at here, is turn the volume way down to match your guitars normal output. Let the power section of your amp do the work. Of course there's going to be hiss etc. if you have it cranked to (small) speaker levels. I did this through a pignose 40w tube amp into a 2x12 cabinet. Sounded decent, NOT pod or flextone, but decent.
Another similar point, with getting better tone out of this unit. If you use $200 home audio headphones or even decent $50 sony's the highs are going to sizzle. On any headphone unit I use, I seem to get better tone from these cheaper Koss closed headphones. When listening to a home stereo the Koss has significant loss of highs. It worked perfect for guitar applications. Point: You don't plug your Marshall super-lead into Polk Audio home stereo speakers right? Of course not, you use special mid-rangy guitar spkrs. Same applies to the headphones, it would be neat if someone made a set of cans for guitar only. The koss thing was a fluke and not perfect.
So, don't get me wrong with the 7 rating. The sounds are very good and much more "real" tone than the previous PX versions. Is it tonal nirvana? No, but it's a great practice tool. The effects section is fine, don't notice anything special or worse with their modulation effects.

Not really a gigging tool, but I wouldn't want to drop it. It would be decent enough to use *as* the backup if your amp fried, you can put the pandora through the PA, remembering to roll down the highs on the board. It would get you through the set at least.

I won't say but I wouldn't expect "boutique" type support. You probably would get shuffled around in a huge Japanese company, might be better to go your dealer.

Great practice tool! Forgot to mention digital phrase sampling (or riff slow down without pitch change). I think they give you 16 seconds to sample riffs from your cd and learn them. I paid almost $200 for a unit just for music study (it samples several minutes however). So I give the korg an 8 for decent tone with a tone of useful features. A great practice tool!

All Pandoras have a great sound using Sony studio Monitor headphones. This newest offering has 100 presets, a built-in 8 second phase sampler for jamming to loops, etc. Best feature yet- a bass-player-in-a-box, that follows the drum machine perfectly, doing 1/4/5/ blues progressions in ANY key you select. It really sounds like you are play to a band! The new rotary wheel makes volume changes, etc. even easier than before. This unit is somewhat complex, and requires that you read the manual to really learn how the features work, editing, etc. Many of the switches have multi-functions, and you can't just wing it until you understand it. The manual is well laid-out.

Many of the factory presets are kind of funky, basically used to showcase examples of what can be done. 50 factory presets, and and additonal 50 blank preset for storing your favorite tones. I use these exclusively for headphone practice, and they are GREAT! I don't think they sound outstanding through an amp, however. But what do you want out of something 2 3/4" X 4 1/2", and less than 1" thick.

I have never had any trouble with ANY of the Pandora family. This new unit uses 4 AAA batteries....PX1 & PX2 used 2 AA. But this thing does SO much more than the other two units. The color is blue-chrome over a matte finished plastic case- really cool.

I have never delt with Korg directly, but did have the opportunity to meet one of the key designers at the NAMM show in L.A. Jan 99'. A very friendly and informative guy- he REALLY knew the Pandora family! And was rightfully very proud, and gave great demonstrations!

When I'm at home, I play only through the Pandoras. I can get the 'Wall of Sound' and not disturb the rest of the family. They have been a real marrige saver! And the stereo imaging of the echos using good headphones sounds better than playing out of an amp, to me.

Data wheel is a big improvement over previous models

Much improved over previous versions. Especially the voicing of the Distortions. Sounds especially good through a PA or direct recording. not nearly as Processed sounding as the other versions.

Who knows, just bought it. I have had both the PX1 and PX2, never a problem with either.

Excellent for direct recording, personally I don't like the sound of most other direct recording devices but this sounds excellent on tape. a tremendous improvment, also quieter than the previous versions. the harmonizer effect could be better but for the size and price it's great