Krome or PA 700?

[Musical mom]

Hi,
I've had a Yamaha DGX 300 for quite a while and as my kids are getting older, I've been dusting off my musical skills. I love playing around with different sounds and creating mood music. I'm looking to do some recording and try to get into sound design. I also do some performances, mostly for small groups.
The Kronos sounds like my dream keyboard, but way beyond my budget. The Krome sounds about right. However, my early-teenage son is a budding keyboardist and he really wants me to buy "us" an arranger. Would the PA700 be satisfying enough for both of us?

 

[anotherscott]

Either of them will work for recording, sound design (based on samples), and live performance, so to that extent, either will work.

PA700 advantages:
... can automatically generate style-specific backing tracks for you as you play
... built-in speakers
... drawbar organ functionality,
... 256mb of space for custom sample data into it (could enhance your sound design options)
... 4 trigger pads
... better (though still not total) ability to seamlessly switch between sounds
... audio inputs (vocal processing, etc.)

Krome advantages:
... more flexibility in splits/layers (you can split/layer 16 sounds at a time instead of 4, with fully flexible split points for each sound)
... 16 zone controller for triggering external sounds over MIDI
... availability of 73 and 88 key (hammer action) versions
... up to 5 keyboard-playable parts can have their own individual effects (vs. only 1 on the PA)

Those are the big differences that come to mind off-hand, maybe others will chime in with more.

I think some sounds are better on one, some sounds are better on the other, it's subjective.

 

[Musical mom]

Thanks for the helpful info. The pa700 sounds pretty powerful, but the lack of a 70+ key option is a sticking point for me...

 

[Biggles]

Welcome.

Neither.

Add some more styles and sounds to the Pa700 and the memory will be full, been there done that.

Krome, does not much love from Korg forum users, the update to model was minor.

At the price point of both Korg have not been forthcoming in updating the OS of either keyboard.

Keybeds of both are not to great.

A Pa1000 or a Nautilus would be a much better buy.

Downside is the Pa1000 is four years old and has not had an OS update of any quality since 2018 whereas the Nautilus is a pretty new model.

For arrangers in the price range of the Pa700 there is only one alternative and unfortunately that is a Yamaha SX700 but again the major downside of all arrangers is that with the exception of two very exensive models is that they are only 61 keys

Do take a look at a Roland Juno DS, the 76 key version, I would buy this anyday over a Korg Krome or a Korg Kross 2bdespite its age and it will save you a few $.

 

[anotherscott]

Add some more styles and sounds to the Pa700 and the memory will be full, been there done that.
...
Do take a look at a Roland Juno DS, the 76 key version

I agree that the Juno DS76 is another nice possibility. But in terms of worrying about running out of memory for adding sounds, the PA700 gives you 256 mb of freely usable sample space, which may not be a ton, but the Juno DS gives you only something in the 50 mb range (plus space for one of their downloadable expansions). And the Krome gives you none at all (though apparently there is--or at least used to be--an unsupported way to get some small amount). I don't want to over-sell that, though... I suspect that the majority of PA700 and Juno DS76 users stick with the built-in sounds rather than adding custom samples anyway. But it's a nice option to have.

As for memory for adding styles, well, styles don't exist in the Krome or Juno DS, so there's no comparison to be made there.

Comparing Krome and Juno DS the same way I did the previous comparison, I've got this, off-hand...

Juno DS advantages:
... 50-something mb of space for custom sample data
... trigger pads (for sounds on USB)
... better (though still not total) ability to seamlessly switch between sounds
... audio inputs (vocal processing, etc.)
... battery operation

Krome advantages:
... 16 zone controller for triggering external sounds over MIDI
... up to 5 keyboard-playable parts can have their own individual effects (vs. only 3 on the Juno)
... full 16-track sequencer
... touchscreen operation

though again, there may be other big differences that others may mention.

 

[Musical mom]

Can any of these models export MIDI?

 

[Biggles]

The Korg Pa range can export a MIDI.

Watch Steve McNally’s video on Korg’s channel.

It will also record as an MP3 audio file.

The Krome

 

[anotherscott]

Can any of these models export MIDI?

Yes. As Biggles' examples show, boards that, themselves, let you save/record MIDI (e.g. things with multi-track sequencers) also typically (always?) let you export that MIDI. The other keyboard mentioned in this thread, the Juno DS, has only a more minimal "pattern sequencer" which, yes, exports MIDI, but these are just, well, patterns, not anything like complete songs. Just 8 measures max.

OTOH, while not "exporting," all the boards (including the Juno) do generate MIDI in real time as you play, so you can connect to whatever MIDI recording software (DAW) you like on your computer (iPad, whatever), and record the MIDI for what you're playing.

 

[anotherscott]

Thanks for the helpful info. The pa700 sounds pretty powerful, but the lack of a 70+ key option is a sticking point for me...

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is action. Especially since your preference is for something with more keys, you might be thinking in terms of using it to a good extent as a piano. I would say that the PA700 and Krome actions are pretty poor for piano playing (assuming their keys are similar to the Kross 61 and King Korg I've played, which I think is the case). Between being pretty light feeling overall and also having resistance that quickly increases as you move toward the rear of the keys, you may find piano expressivity to be frustrating on either of these. (The piano sound itself is infamously subpar on the PA700 as well.) So that might push you toward either a hammer action 88, or at least a non-hammer board that feels more playable for piano, as such boards go.

 

[Biggles]

As Scott points out Korg piano sounds can be a bit below expectations for some users.

Korg Pa’s arrive with a pretty flat tonal soundscape and the Eq needs setting from its default Off position for all the sounds to have more presence and vibrancy.

Additionally a member here called Reuben has produced a piano soundfile for the Pa range and his file is very easily loaded into a Pa and is imo vastly superior to the lead acoustic sound that Korg promote as their best Piano.

The poorish keybed was one of the factors that lead me to sell my 700 and it is why I suggested the Pa1000 as a better buy as that has a superior keybed with aftertouch and more of everything v a 700.

 

[CowboyNQ]

I’ll weigh in to add a small amount of clarity WRT the Krome. I have never even seen a PA700 so will remain silent on that model.

Action: Col and Scott’s comments on the Krome 61 action are correct. The 61 and 73 key versions are tricky beasts to play piano accurately and expressively on. Doable but takes a bit of getting used to. The 88 is a weighted hammer action but frankly not one of the better ones going around. I find it sluggish and unresponsive compared to Korg’s higher-end keyboards.

Sound: The Krome sounds excellent all-around with the possible exception of the organ tones which are nothing special and lack a drawbar function as they’re sample-based. Piano sounds are notably good.

Ease of use: The large touchscreen and large font makes the keyboard a joy to navigate. I use mine mainly in theatres and even the darkest of dark stages presents no problem at all. You do have to learn to speak Korgese but that doesn’t take long.

Good luck with your purchase.

 

[anotherscott]

Piano sounds are notably good.

Yes, the Krome piano sounds are better than the PA700 piano sounds. (At least the standard ones... I haven't heard the Reuben piano Biggles suggested adding to the PA700.)

One more thought... the DGX you're coming from is an arranger. If you actually use it's style/accompaniment functions, you might be disappointed by the lack of those kinds of functions on the Krome, and may want to stick with an arranger. The issue again is the 61 keys... to get around that, Korg would have you either go up to a Pa4X 76, or down to an XE20.

 

[Biggles]

I do not think, well actually I know, you will not find a one size fits all keyboard without spending more cash than you seem to have allocated.

As your DGX does have arranger features and you Son is suggesting an arranger why not give him the DGX and buy what you want for yourself.

As a Dad you have no doubt put his needs over yours for many years.

Its now Dad time !

 

[anotherscott]

I assume Musical mom is a mom and not a dad. ;-)

 

[Biggles]

Oops

Apologies Mom