Mid-level Arranger Keyboard

[OldTimerBill]

Hi All,

I am in the market for a mid-level arranger keyboard. I just started learning to play the piano at the first of the year and I own the Korg EK50. I am 72 years old and will primarily be playing at home. As I improve I might occasionally play at church or at local assisted care facilities. I have pretty much narrowed it down to 3 instruments but I am open to additional suggestions, both new and used. The 3 keyboards currently at the top of my list (with pros and cons) are:

Korg PA700
Lots of flexibility editing sounds and styles (which comes with a steeper learning curve)
The price of this Korg keyboard and the Yamaha are at about the top of my budget (about $1500 US)
Korg build quality and ecosystem

Medeli AKX10
About half the cost of the other 2 at $700 US
Not currently available but scheduled to ship in July or August
More user memory space but no ecosystem to get sounds and styles to fill up the memory
Questionable build quality
Sounds and styles may not be as good as the other 2 (these differences may not be quite as important to me as they would to a professional player)


Yamaha PSR SX700
Similar operation and editing capability to Medeli so more gentle learning curve than the Korg
Yamaha build quality and ecosystem

Thanks very much in advance for any advice.

Bill

 

[Biggles]

There is a lesser Yamaha model in the SX600.

As you have a Korg you should find the transition to a 700 pretty straight forward as there is commonality in the OS between the models.

The quality arranger market products is very limited, Yamaha Genos, the SX range 900, 700 & 600, Korg Pa4X, Pa 1000, Pa700 and the older Pa600 & 300 and that is basically it.

There are a couple of very old Roland models and also there is the Ketron range from a similar model to the Medeli to one as expensive as the Genos.

I find Yamaha SX models to have great acoustic piano sounds the rest are harsh and shrill to my ears so do check them out thoroughly if they are of interest.

 

[Vonny]

Yamaha sounds are of less quality than Korg. I just bought a PA600, loving it.
Previous keyboard was a Yamaha. After sales of Korg is much better than Yamaha, as I recently experienced. Medelli sounds good I played one, but as you said, no expansion packs or OS updates for Medelli up till now. I also found the Medelli OS rather complicated. The build quality was quite good though but not comparable to the Korg.
The Kort website offers lots of free styles and OS updates too.
By the way....the PA700 costs 1000,- Euro in the Netherlands!

 

[OldTimerBill]

There is a lesser Yamaha model in the SX600.

As you have a Korg you should find the transition to a 700 pretty straight forward as there is commonality in the OS between the models.

The quality arranger market products is very limited, Yamaha Genos, the SX range 900, 700 & 600, Korg Pa4X, Pa 1000, Pa700 and the older Pa600 & 300 and that is basically it.

There are a couple of very old Roland models and also there is the Ketron range from a similar model to the Medeli to one as expensive as the Genos.

I find Yamaha SX models to have great acoustic piano sounds the rest are harsh and shrill to my ears so do check them out thoroughly if they are of interest.

Hi and thanks for the information. In my research I have found exactly what you said about the quality arranger market being dominated by Korg and Yamaha. I occasionally see used models of the Tyros for sale as well as the Yamaha S series. I wonder why Roland is absent from this market (other than a couple of older models that you mentioned). Thanks again.

 

[OldTimerBill]

Yamaha sounds are of less quality than Korg. I just bought a PA600, loving it.
Previous keyboard was a Yamaha. After sales of Korg is much better than Yamaha, as I recently experienced. Medelli sounds good I played one, but as you said, no expansion packs or OS updates for Medelli up till now. I also found the Medelli OS rather complicated. The build quality was quite good though but not comparable to the Korg.
The Kort website offers lots of free styles and OS updates too.
By the way....the PA700 costs 1000,- Euro in the Netherlands!

Thanks for the reply Vonny. It was interesting to hear from someone who has actually played the Medeli. From reviews I have read it sounds like the Medeli menu system is more like the Yamaha than the Korg menu system.
Speaking of reviews, the main ones on YouTube (in English ) are by Jeremy See and a man named John Roc (sp?) who I believe is also from the Netherlands. He posted several videos about the Medeli then he started posting videos about his new Yamaha SX700. I am going to try to investigate to see why he changed.

I am a recent retiree so money is a consideration but not the primary factor. I just need to decide if the after-sales support makes the Korg twice as valuable as the Medeli.

 

[Vonny]

You are right about the after sales from Korg. I messed up my new PA and wrote an email to Korg Netherlands. Next day had a reply and instructions how to recover the OS.
I also watched the Jeremy See videos and something's very odd: he buys every newly released keyboard out of his own pocket? Even gives some away to students. Is he that rich or.....
In his first videos he's always very positive but in later videos all the negative thing come up. think it's best to visit a local music store and try some, listen to the sounds and accompaniment and find out whether the OS is understandable for you. Maybe you can ask for a demonstration? It took me almost two years to save up the money, but in the meantime visited about four large music stores and asked if I could have a demonstration and play it myself. A reliable music store will arrange that for you.
Money was a consideration for me too, the PA700 was my first choice, but why pay for more features if you are not likely to use them?? I'm very satisfied with my PA600, it has lots of features and I'm learning the OS with help of the Korg website and it has proven to be very understandable once you follow the tutorials online.
Take your time and don't rush.

 

[Biggles]

Pa 700 released mid 2017

Pa 600 released mid 2012

That is why it is probably better to buy the 700 rather than a 600.

BTW the Pa1000 is also a mid 2017 release.

The top of range Pa4X is well overdue an update.

It is a mute point that in the last 12-15 months Korg has released 7 new or updated synths / workstation but nothing in the Arranger line up not even an OS update in two years.