The rumours are True

[JohnS (Ugawoga)]

Hi

In Uk  E-Pianos are advertising the Korg PAX5 and you could put an order in.

So if anyone goes for one , lets hear about t
I am disappointed that Yamaha have not replied with Genos 3.

The main thing for switching over for me would be -:
1--How would it perform in Cubase
2--Can it make Styles from midi better than PAX 4 as some midi's do not work.
3- Are transitions between styles smoother without having to match each registration to same sound levels (Glitches can occur)
4-- Drum fills coming in when you acually press the button or pedal. On the Genos you have to get the timing spot on  or sometimes it does not happen.
5 -Is there buttons for registrations as i would not like to just rely on touching the screen.
6- The Sax has to be just as good as Genos or better and same with guitars and Strings.
From what i have read i think that the set buttons double up . I am not sure about that.
Most of all Sound quality and space for samples would be the swinger for me
I believe this Pax5 is a lot deeper than the Genos.


Surely Yamaha have to respond ,or is Yamaha working with Korg on this one??


All the Best
John

[DerekA]

It will be interesting to see the detailed specs. But from what I've seen so far, there are no "killer" features that leave Genos in the dust.

The tilting screen, and seamless sound switching, are nice though.

[casiokid]

Anyone know what's the boot up time is? Rumors say its 3 min?

[Gunnar Jonny]

https://www.korg.com/us/products/synthesizers/pa5x/

[Jeff Hollande]

Hey John :

Thanx for your good PA5X questions and remarks.

It could be possible this new Korg arranger might become a commercial success.
It looks tot be a complete new, spectacular and professional  arranger keyboard.

BUT ...
I am almost sure Yamaha will launch their new high end baby in 2023/2024 but not in 2022, I guess.

Some patience might be helpful and wise.

Best wishes, JH

[Fred Smith]

It will be interesting to see the detailed specs. But from what I've seen so far, there are no "killer" features that leave Genos in the dust.

The tilting screen, and seamless sound switching, are nice though.

Seamless sound switching is a killer feature to me.

Cheers,
Fred

[DrakeM]

Come on guys my S950 has 3 fill in times and one of them is instant switching.

Full fill in roll, partial roll and instant no roll 

[Lee Batchelor]

On the plus side, it has a capacitive screen and comes in three key bed sizes. Should be interesting to see Yamaha's answer to the PA5X. I wonder what the price is? I saw one price at about $5,770 CND.

[soundphase]

Seamless sound switching is a killer feature to me.

Cheers,
Fred

So do I.
It's for me the main issue of Genos.

[sunny]

May be this video about Genos 2 .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDiDUF0kNQw

Sunny

[Lee Batchelor]

That's interesting, Sunny. If it's Genos 2, why wasn't it at the NAMM show?

[soundphase]

It's surely a demo of the PA5X

[soundphase]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFlHXE4rI9Y

Very good demo. Very good sounds.

[Lee Batchelor]

The player is missing his baby finger. He plays well with such a handicap. Good for him for adapting.

[Lee Batchelor]

Here are my inital thoughts.

1) They've done the opposite to what Yamaha did with the Genos. The pianos, e.ps and organs are excellent. The other voices are not any further ahead of the early PSR3000. Yamaha's other voices are stellar, whereas their pianos, e.ps and organs lag way behind.

2) The drums are terrible. Again, they sound as dated as the early PSR keyboards.

3) The interface and OS is probably better designed and more thorough than Genos.

4) The capacitive screen and added color is a step up.

All in all, I'll keep my Genos and wait for Genos 2. Eileen, let's wait together. Be a sport and put the tea on while we wait would you ?

[JohnS (Ugawoga)]

I second that Piano's are great but the rest is third rate

I am also going to wait Lee

Eileen 100% as always


All the best
John

[DrakeM]

Yea, the link I posted in another post which have some of the guitar voices, did not sound anywhere as good as my S950 voices. I thought maybe it was just the fellow doing the demo that was the issue. But it sounds like others think the same thing about the Pa5x voices too.

Maybe Yamaha can steal some ideas from this new keyboard and put them in their next models. 

In any event, I just have to many hours invested in styles that I created which I would never ever give up. Yammi forever. 

[keynote]

Here's an EDM sound demonstration of the Korg Pa5X vs. the Genos using an Electro House Style on each. 

Korg Pa5X vs. Genos (Electro House Style) comparison

To me, the Pa5X has a fuller, richer, organic sound overall. The Genos sounds somewhat digital by comparison in my opinion. It's just one style but my initial impression of the Pa5X from three days ago was also that it sounded richer and fuller. The file is in .mp4 (video) format so if you click the link the Box website might say "it is unable to preview this file type."

All the best,
Mike

[keynote]

Here's another Pa5X sound demo. This is a live performance using a Big Band style. The Korg PA series has been known to have that live band sound. Now with the Pa5X with SST (Seamless Sound Switching/Transition), it has even more of that live band feel in my humble opinion. The person playing in the video is German. He has the 61-key version which is the only version I've seen so far on YouTube. I'd go for the 76-key version especially since it's only $200 more than the 61-key version. But I'm going to wait and see what Yamaha comes out with in response to the Pa5X before I make a decision one way or the other. If Yamaha slow boats it then Korg will likely gain more market share in the flagship arranger segment. Btw, the organs on the Korg are excellent and it does have a better Leslie rotary sim needless to say. Excellent Brass sounds too. Although the Saxes I've heard so far leave something to be desired. But the nice thing with the Korg is the ability to shape the sound(s) to a greater depth and degree than you're able to do with the Genos. What we're currently hearing on the Pa5X is 'out of the box' sounds no doubt which barely scratches the surface of what you can do to shape the sound(s) to your preference if you know what I mean. Anywho, enjoy! PS: Competition is always a good thing and the more the merrier.     

Korg Pa5X Big Band Style Live Performance Song 

[Jeff Hollande]

Hey Keynote :

Thank you for your comments.

It is an excellent idea to wait for the new Yamaha high end keyboard first ...  it might take at least 9 -12 months before Yamaha will launch their new baby though, IMHO.
Hopefully it will be sooner, who knows.

No doubt in my mind Yamaha will bring out a new high end arranger keyboard that will surprise the entire arranger keyboard world.

It might be very worthwhile to go for the Real Thing.

Best wishes, JH

[mikf]

The learning curve moving from one brand to another is quite big, so there needs to be a big difference, or a particular feature an individual deems important, for experienced players to jump brands. It's not blind loyalty, or bias, just practical.
Also, my feeling is that the number of sales that come from people moving from the current TOTL model to the new one is relatively small. Most sales of a new TOTL model likely come from people upgrading much older models, lower grade models or people completely new to the arranger market. In many cases the more subtle feature additions or improvements may mean little to those buyers. They will just listen to how they sound, judge how easy they are to operate and balance how much each costs. Then there are other issues like weight, appearance, number of keys, which influence new buyers. But overall I just don't think Yamaha will be panicking about a new Korg.  Clearly Yamaha have been regarded as the dominant market force but the two brands are both good, have pluses and minuses and have co-existed without one wiping out the other.
The impact of a new model in the market, the benefit of one feature over another tend to get overstated on forums like this. The majority of Genos owners are not sitting with bated breath to see what appears - because they have no intention of running out to replace a $4000 keyboard they like with another $4000 keyboard that won't be too different.
Mike

[Jeff Hollande]

Today I have listened to the styles and voices of the PA5X very carefully.
There is absolutely no reason for me to order this arranger keyboard.

The styles are not my cup of tea and most voices are not what I am expecting.

Being a guitar player, most guitar voices are not good either, sorry.

Yamaha's arrangers have been my favourite key instruments for more than 20 years now ... and Mr. Korg's PA5X cannot seduce me.   

I am waiting for the new Yamaha high end keyboard to come.
No Korg PA5X for me. Amen.

Best regards, JH

[Gunnar Jonny]

...The Genos sounds somewhat digital by comparison in my opinion...

In my ears, Korg and Ketron have always sounded warmer and softer than Yamaha, which I think is more 'cold and CD-ish', or digital as you say.
That said, I think the Genos is the best sounding arrangerkeyboard from Yamah so far. The more knowledge and experience I acquire in the use of the instrument's possibilities, the better I feel it gets.

The new PA5X is extremely tempting, and as more videos emerge, the impression only gets better and better. Whatever happens regarding use of money for the musical area, I'm going to keep Genos.

[JohnS (Ugawoga)]

Here's an EDM sound demonstration of the Korg Pa5X vs. the Genos using an Electro House Style on each. 

Korg Pa5X vs. Genos (Electro House Style) comparison

To me, the Pa5X has a fuller, richer, organic sound overall. The Genos sounds somewhat digital by comparison in my opinion. It's just one style but my initial impression of the Pa5X from three days ago was also that it sounded richer and fuller. The file is in .mp4 (video) format so if you click the link the Box website might say "it is unable to preview this file type."

All the best,
Mike

I think the recording to me does not sound right for the Genos  as the style played has a great stereo image.
Example   https://soundcloud.com/silver-machine/oxygene8

[Oldden]

It may be that Yamaha will have a look at or even buy one and update the Genos to keep sales going. Is that wishful thinking.

[Lee Batchelor]

I've listened to a few PA5X (5X) videos, the last of which was the Big Band demo. While the keyboard sounds okay on the surface, to me there's still something very dated about its sound.

One of the big differences between the T5 and Genos was the updated sound processor. I read that in an article during the initial Genos release. Perhaps Korg has created some decent sounds in the 5X but are still using an older processor? To be fair, if you're going to play Big Band era music, you have to use an authentic style. The player in that video doesn't have it. He's still a good player but if he represents Korg, they need to find a "Peter Baartmans" to do their demos. Perhaps that's the problem with the sound of the 5X? As I said, there's something very dated about the sound. To my ears, the 5X doesn't even come close to the current Genos, much less what Genos 2 will sound like.