Choosing between a Korg Pa600 and Yamaha PSR - S770 ?????

[Mac Avoy]

I have decided to buy an arranger keyboard in the mid price range. I have been practicing keyboard and piano for more than 11 years and I would like to upgrade my very old keyboard (which basically can only play sounds).
I am preferring a keyboard which has very good sounds (not the quantity but the quality).. styles are appreciated but I am more into creating my own styles... an arpeggiator (optional), a multitrack sequencer (must).. awesome drum kits and more realistic piano sounds, split layer dual and harmony functions, with a master equalizer and various effects.
I am basically a home player and like sequencing film scores and play piano. I would like to know which one of the above two (mentioned in the title) is better for me........
Also I am looking forward to modify the STS or OTS (one touch settings) to my need and a memory bank to store them.ASAP

Thanks, in advance.

 

[Fred Coulter]

First, I hope you're aware that neither of the keyboards have a full 88 keys. If you're playing the entire piano repertoire, you may find five octaves limiting. You may also miss the weighted action of a piano.

Both of the keyboards are arrangers. This means that the styles are the main reason they exist. If they aren't your priority, you may with to look at other keyboards. Additionally, while I've heard other people talking about creating their own styles, from browsing on PSR Tutorial, creating your own styles isn't for the faint at heart. There's software available to help you, but it doesn't do that much hand holding. (PSR Tutorial is a Yamaha site; things may be different on the Korg side.) Are you sure that's really what you're interested in?

Both of them have full 16 track sequencers, but I don't know how easy either one is to work with. Have you considered doing your sequencing on a computer and then downloading the sequence to the keyboard?

If you live anywhere near a good music store that stocks both keyboards, I'd go try them both out. See which one sounds better to your ears. (And then, since you've taken up the time of some poor clerk, you probably should buy whatever you decide on from them, too.)

Best of luck and let us know which one you decided on.