Korg PA-50

as an arranger, you don't even need manual to start using it. however, to create new styles, edit sound patches, etc., even reading the manual will take time to get used to it because you must navigate through several menus. on problem is that it takes some time to load styles from memory.

for the price this is very good. the polyphony and keyboard are equivalent to other models on the same price range. it doesn't have much expansion capability. includes 2 sequencers but I don't use them often. the effects are very good.

sounds are just great, namely pianos, organs, accoustic guitars, all kinds of brass, strings, etc.. thus is covers a wide range of music styles. sounds are editable (but it is not easy do do it in this keyboard). several kinds of modulation can be applyed to the sound and with some work and practice, this can become very realistic, specially for flutes, sax, trompet and guitars

it has been working fine for 2 years without any problem.

I never needed it

I tryed the EXR-5 before buying this. for rufly the same price, the PA50 is far better regarding the expressiveness of sounds. the only problem I find is the latency when loading performances and styles from memory. if is not used in arranger mode, as for band players, the raw sounds must be all processed to add more expression and work on the effects. For use as arranger, a lot of preparation is needed to acheive equilibrate performance.

I've been a semi- professional keyboard/synth player for over 15 years.
Last years i'm more into synth stuff and use a lot of synth plug-ins.I needed a decent keyboard to use on 1 or 2 men gigs. I use the pa-50's sequencer to play midi files together with an iPod with mp3 backing files.I must say tha pa50 is very straightforward. I didn't have to use the manual a lot. Only for finding out the differences in playing modes.I.e. when you select a style, the right hand sound is automatically changed by default. In other keyboard terms,it has performance setups built-in by default, which you can change.
The manual is decent but I did feel it doesn't cover any aspect of the machine. I find e-mu manuals to be better.

Considering the price, it has a lot of features. It uses the sound engine of the Triton which costs more in it's Triton Le version.
It also has the on board effects of the initial Triton range. The Dual saquencer mode is very neat but of course I do miss the use of a smart media card or usb connection.There are a lot more styles in this instrument than it's counterparts from other brands (304) and it has also over 600 sounds and room to store more.
It features also full fledged synth editing capabilities, which as a synth player I like very much. It alows you to tweak the piano or organ sounds should you not happen to like them.

All the features in the world are useless if the sounds don't deliver.
Sounds are also very personal. Since this is a bread and butter arranger, it has all the sounds you could ask for.In my personal opinion the piano's are better than on the Yamaha PSR range. The saxes are great for jazz,evergreens.Brass is great.The only small complaint is in the electric guitar departement.But maybe that's because I'm spoiled by huge sample cd's and amp simulator plug in's.Although this machine will be used by musicians that need different sounds and styles. I feel this machine could also be used as a groove box.It has the right drum kits and synth sounds.But it's a little lacking with recent dance styles(as all arranger keyboards. Still I feel this arranger has better house sounds in it,then i.e. acoustic guitars for bossa nova's although they are great.
One small complaint I have is, that to my personal taste there is too much reverb on the sounds. You could easily program sounds with less, still I'm missing a global reverb which I can turn down.I do feel this arranger can be used by keyboardplayers that do gigs in a band, without the arranger function. But please for Hammond B3 sounds, use a real hammond.

It has never let me down. And I feel if you handle it correctly, it goes a long way.

Never dealt with them.

Overall I'm pretty pleased with this little Korg arranger. I won't bother for the pa80, only if you absolutely need the Hard drive or vocal effects, but we all know these sound cheesy on all arranger,don't they?
Otherwise it has the same sounds and styles as it's bigger brother.Heck it can even import Triton sounds.
One small complaint though, it's output volume is way too low compared to my other synths and organs. I use a tube pre-amp to get a louder sound into my mixer.Another advantage over this is that the sounds,sound more natural, i.e. not so polished but I believe that's the case with all Korg Tritons, they sound very digital.

Korg pa50 OS v1.01

I bought this keyboard to replace my aging Roland E66. A friend was kind enough to let me try his pa50 beforehand, and I must say that I was extremely pleased with the presets. The tenor sax is awesome! Coupled with the pitch/modulation wheel, I could close my eyes and sound like Grover Washington.

I'm not too interested in patch editing (I'm more into live playing) but the manual (barring some grammatical errors) is more than enough to get you started. You can even download the pdf version from Korg's website should you lose the hardcopy.

No USB, but I think I can live with that. The floppy disk drive comes in handy for loading and saving MIDI files, which is just about all I need. The pa50 can be MIDIed to a PC by using a USB to MIDI interface such as the Yamaha UX16.

There are 2 (!) onboard sequencers. Not bad for the price. You could load up the second song before the first one finishes and even do crossfades, which is very cool.

Virtually 95% of the built-in styles are superb, very usable. The onboard effects blow away the ones found on my M1R. The keyboard is also very responsive.

Just had the pa50 for over a week, so can't say much here. But judging from the build quality, it should last me a couple of years. Just buy a case to protect it. You can download a copy of the OS from Korg's website should you need it.

The pa50 offers more bang for the buck than the Yamaha PSR1500 which I was eyeing. The large LCD screen is also a bonus for my middle-aged eyes. I wish it came with USB or a smart media card, but at the asking price, I can't complain.

Well done, Korg!

As a guitarist, primarily, i wanted a backing sequencer, and "band in a box" type of deal, and was searching for my first keyboard. I had played around with the Yamaha PSR3000, and the Roland EXR-5. I am a bit new to the arranger WS scene, and after reading reviews decided on this. Manual is about 3/4 " thick, but you can jump around in it depending on what you want to do. Also on the korkpa.com website, there is a quick start PDF you can download as well. Seem fairly easy to edit.

Its like the PA-80 but doesnt have the expandability, (nor the price). 61 polyphony voices, built in effects (see the PA-80 reviews, or Korg website, as Im not gonna blah blah about this crap). It doesnt accept new cards, plays SMF G2 and is good for an arranger, accompanyment during live sessions. I just mute the guitar part, if im with the singer, or if we have a bass player come up, mute the bass, and have him play live. Or a keyboardist for that matter. It has velocity sensing keys as well. Fell was a bit better than Yamaha PSR3k, but not quite as good as Roland EXr-5. Built in effects, with Vibrato for natural sounding Sax, brass etc.. The Piano, and Organs are great, for me anyway, im happier than a pig in shit. The price i got it for made it a no brainer, (700 Canadian)

Sounds are great. Like i said, piano, electric, organs, sax, and drums sound pretty darn good, to me anyway. Remember Im a guitarist, and wanted a keyboard for backing sounds to play midi files, with my singer, and myself. (For those bars that can only fit/want 2 people). I give the sounds a 9 only because of the price i paid. That said, bang for buck,,,you cant go wrong. Otherwise if i had paid 1000-1200$ for it, it would have knocked it down to an 8. this is also a great jamming tool as well. Imagine you can play along with a band, and you dont have to feed them, or serve them beer, and they always do what you want them to do, and they never talk back.

Im not sure, ive had it a week. Im usually pretty good with the stuff. Maybe I'll write another review. It seems fairly well built, (china). the big brother PA-80 had some issues as far as I know, but this one, my local music store guy told me, nobody has called him back or brought them back. I have no choice but to use it without a backup. I dont have another keyboard, and I aint buyin another one, so it better freeken work!!

I hope to God i dont have to deal with Korg. Ive heard stories, so I'll treat the PA-50 really gentle. Read the manual, and go online. They have dedicated website. (korgpa.com)as well. I dont need upgrades since i have latest s/w release.

If it was stolen, well, i guess I'd be fked now wouldnt i. Compared with the PSR 1500, 2100, and I liked the Yamaha PSR3000 but it was $1800. the PA-50 was $720, so you do the math, and tell me my choice wasnt the right one. Sure the Yamaha has 128 polyphony, and backing harmonizer for vocal, and Mega Voices (for live , real sounding instruments) but hey; i just saved $1100 didnt I? I think i made the right choice, since im having a blast on it. I just cleaned up a pink floyd comfortably numb sequence, and with me playing guitar live, it was better than the live musicians i played with before. If your looking into one of these PA-50 arrangers, you wont be sorry. For the money, they are worth every dollar, and the sounds are great. Seems you will need to get used to the manual, and dicking with the controls etc..