Pa2X Pro History

Korg is responsible for the most successful and respected Arranger keyboards in music. Used by tens of thousands of music professionals in every country around the world, Korg Arrangers have thrilled audiences and delighted players everywhere with the magic combination of unbeatable sound quality and professional features.

RX Technology is what makes the magic work. First used in the Pa1X Arranger series, RX Technology is the guiding philosophy behind the Pa2X Pro. RX – Real eXperience - guided all our design and sound decisions. When the Pa2X Pro performs, we want the audience and performers to Listen - and Believe.

Following on from the industry standard Pa80 and industry leading Pa1X, the next generation of Arranger from Korg – the Pa2X Pro - required we understand the needs of the modern musical professional whilst respecting the technology chosen by so many musicians worldwide. After countless interviews from musicians in dozens of countries, we knew what we needed to do to develop the complete professional Arranger keyboard – the new Pa2X Pro!

TC Helicon inside

To be sure that the vocal processing and harmonies of the Pa2X Pro are the best possible, we worked with a recognised world leader in audio technology - TC Electronics.

The Pa2X Pro includes as standard the world acclaimed TC Helicon Voice Processor. This features EQ and professional quality effects like Compressor, Gate, Delay and Reverb, designed and shaped specifically for vocals. These effects, combined with the XLR/Combo balanced connection with switchable Phantom Power to connect even pro-studio condenser Mics, dedicated high quality Mic preamp and built in ultra realistic 3 voice Harmonizer ensure your vocals have the highest possible sound quality.

The most important controls to keep your voice under control are available in the panel, using the user assignable Mic Slider Mode settings, and in the display’s main page. Simply connect your microphone and start performing!

Easy to use

With all the technological power packed inside, it was vital that we also made the Pa2X Pro easy to understand - and easy to use. But even more, we wanted the whole way you use the Pa2X Pro to be an intuitive, musical, fast, foolproof experience. Our graphical user interface uses an amazing Graphical Colour Touch Screen so you simply think, point and click for easy and intuitive use – RX Technology at work for you! The screen of the Pa2X Pro is a motorized tilting display and with the capability to select the right viewing angle, and one of the 7 different background colors in the Graphical User Interface, you can be sure the display can be read in all lighting and performing conditions, a truly professional feature.

So that musicians of all levels can make great music quickly, there are two interface modes: Easy and Expert.

















The Easy mode shows only the most important controls while keeping a clean and straightforward interface, useful for beginners or for live performances, while in Expert mode you have full editing control. Nothing stands between you and your professional performance.

The 2 Switches and 8 Sliders (the 9th acts always as a MP3 Volume control, except for Digital Drawbars) are fully assignable so your live performances work the way you want them to. For one song the Sliders can be Organ Drawbars, controlling the 9 footages of a tone wheel organ; for another volume controls for each part of a backing style or Mic settings.



And when you need more information? Check out the multilingual contextual Help System that is standard on the Pa2X Pro!

Touch control on sliders, knobs, drawbars and numeric fields

Don't simply watch – touch them! Sliders, knobs and drawbar positions will be changed directly by moving them on the touch screen. The same will happen with numeric fields: touch them, and then push forward to increase the value, pull back to decrease. Oh, and this is also valid for changing Tempo, for the smoothest accelerando and ritardando ever conceived!

Pro 76 keybed action

The 76 key keybed, designed for the demanding professional as well for expert pianists, has aftertouch and is velocity sensitive. The feel is great, and with a natural piano shape keys and the semi-weighted action, nothing stands between your inspiration and the music flow.

Mp3 Double Player & Recorder

The Pa2X includes as standard a Double MP3 Player completely integrated with the Double Sequencer allowing you to handle songs in any format (mid, kar and mp3) all in the same way, including search, selection, start/stop, playlist and crossfade. And like any Midifile, thanks to the powerful audio algorithms used by Korg, you can also transpose and change the velocity (BPM) of MP3 files, allowing you to adjust the key for your vocal performance or changing the tempo when required. Playback is immediate so there is no silence when you start your song. Lyrics, when available, are shown in the Lyrics page. MP3 files can also be used in our SongBook mode: everything has been designed for the maximum integration to make your playing time a breeze.

But that’s not all! The recorder function lets you record your performance as an Mp3 file, including keyboard tracks, styles, standard midi files, vocals with effects and harmonizer. MP3 files can be generated with a choice of 4 different quality options (up to 256 kbps) and saved in the internal hard disk or external media (hd, pen drive) for easy exchange with your computer or MP3 player.

Quality sound

Of course, having power, feeling and ease of use mean nothing without great sound and the stunning high quality sound performance of the Pa2X Pro will impress any audience. The Pa2X Pro delivers sound that makes it seem like you have the coolest band available on stage – all working under your control.

Korg sound quality is universally recognized as superior, and relied on by musicians everywhere. For the Pa2X Pro, we redesigned what was already one of the most powerful synth sound engines available to give you an even richer, more detailed, sophisticated natural sound than ever before with musical instruments from almost every genre exploding with depth, nuance, subtlety, accuracy and richness. We even used several sounds from OASYS (the most powerful synthesizer ever made) helping the Pa2X Pro set a new standard for arranger keyboards. And the DNC (Defined Nuance Control) system introduced with OS2 adds finer control to all that.

The sound memory of the Pa2X Pro has been largely increased to achieve the best sound quality possible boasting all new multi level samples of the instruments you know and love. Many of these also include also various levels of articulation so the polyphony has been also expanded to 120 notes to cover even busy passages.

There are more than 950 ROM sounds, including a new amazing multilayer stereo Acoustic Piano accurately sampled from a Concert Grand (and including String and Damper Pedal resonance!), plus 64 drum kits. In addition, the RAM area contains up to 256 user sounds and 64 drum kits and of course, there is full on board sound editing.

Sound Expansion

Still not enough sounds? Many professional musicians choose to add their own sounds and because the Pa2X Pro is dedicated to professional musicians, the full featured internal Sampler can load Wave, AIFF, Korg format files and of course the incredible Akai sample library – about the largest sample library available – into the standard 128MB of added memory (expandable to 256MB).

The Pa2X Pro also features professional editing facilities such as Loop, Cut, Normalize and Crop of samples. A special "Time Slice" feature allows you to slice audio grooves and import the audio data into a Style so you can create some of the coolest rhythms imaginable.

More Sound Expansion - with RX Technology!

When editing SMFs in Sequencer mode, the Pa2X Pro can automatically replace the Guitar sound with a high-quality RX Guitar sound while adding RX Noise to the track. This means that you can transform a flat SMF into an ultra-realistic Song with a real guitar player inside – at the touch of a button!

Effects

But great sound is more than instruments. For many years, Korg has produced outstanding studio quality effects that are simply breathtaking. The Pa2X Pro has 4 Stereo Master Effects processors with 125 of these effects from the standards such as Reverb, Delay and Chorus through to specialised effects such as a fantastic Vocoder and some of the universally acclaimed REMS guitar based effects for authentic guitar tones. The TC Helicon vocal effects are separate and completely independently controlled.

Each Track features EQ with Low, Mid and High controls. A custom track EQ can be memorized in the general preferences for the Song Play mode. This will help adapting the sound to personal taste for any MIDIfile you play. Need a lighter Bass track? Save the right equalization, and the Bass will stay light with all the subsequent Songs.

A final semi-parametric EQ, with Low, Mid (with adjustable frequency) and High controls, is added to the sound output of the Pa2X Pro. Everything can be processed by this powerful and musically refined EQ, easily adapting the sound to your musical taste or correcting a problematic live context.

Styles

Matching this high sound quality the Pa2X Pro delivers a new set of deluxe styles, including 4 dedicated Pad tracks, programmed by some of the leading arrangers in the world each of whom worked according to their musical strengths. The result is hundreds of preloaded Styles that provide unparalleled realism and detail. Covering an expanded range of musical genres, the Pa2X Pro gives you styles for almost every important occasion.
If you require a special Style Collection simply record and edit your own styles on board. We add further realism to your performance with Fill 3/Break, Intro 3/Count In and Ending 3 Style Elements.

And if you are looking for more pre-written styles, you will be pleased at the exciting future for the Pa2X Pro with many new styles to be produced by both Korg and also independent 3rd party companies. Keep checking www.korgpa.com for more details!

Guitar Track and Fixed NTT for Styles

Guitar Mode allows any musician to easily create realistic guitar parts using real guitar neck positions. Guitar tracks are usually a challenge for every Style and Song writer (possibly even more than the Drums track!). Mostly, the results of guitar tracks entered into Styles and MIDI songs are artificial, unmusical playing, often in need of deep editing. The Pa2X Pro, however, offers a unique and powerful approach to program and play realistic guitar performances! The Pa2X Pro arranger include also the Fixed NTT, a feature that moves as few notes as possible while creating the style backing tracks, making legato lines and chord changes far more natural for instruments like strings, piano, mute guitar, etc. RX Technology at work: Listen - and Believe.

View your Songs as traditonal music notation

The Score Viewer displays the lead track (or any other track) as clear and plain traditional musical notations with notes or chords, together with lyrics and chord abbreviations. Chord names can also be seen in different languages (English and Italian). For music learners, we also added a function to show note names next to each note. The Score Viewer automatically adapts the score display to the track's key and clef, with automatic beaming, spacing and bar placement. Triplets and accidentals are automatically recognized. A sophisticated interpretation algorithm cleans up the score display, to allow for easy reading even with rubato (non-quantized) playing.

Powerful Technology

Korg introduced the world’s first Arranger keyboard with two separate MIDIfile players and Cross-Fader in the legendary Pa80 and our Pa2X Pro showcases these double sequencer features working at an all new power level. In addition, the Pa2X Pro supports the main musical formats such as Standard Midi File, Karaoke files, General MIDI Level 1 & 2 and of course is able to display lyrics and chords in most popular karaoke formats. Further improving on Korg's XDS Double Sequencer concept, two MP3 files can play at the same time, as in a double DJ turntable or CD player. MP3 files start immediately, and can be freely transposed, accelerated or slowed down as if they were MIDIfiles. No need for external players or controllers - they are all included and working in a highly-integrated environment!

The standard MP3 board allow also for recording your entire performance (including Vocals and Pa2X Pro sounds) in MP3 format: Pa2X Pro a complete recording studio in your hands.

There is also a practical Marker function to allow you to jump directly to a given position in the song: you can fix the markers using the internal sequencer (or using a computer based one – the marker format is standard) and then remix your favourite songs during a live performance for added spontaneity.

Sequencer & Backing Sequence

Along with a powerful and fully programmable multi track sequencer, you can use Backing Sequences to create songs based over styles – quickly and easily. You don’t need to be a master programmer – you can write your own song in minutes: even beginners can easily create songs using the step edit feature. This approach is useful for home or studio use when you want to create great sounding songs or professional backing music for films, video, multimedia and internet applications very quickly.

SongBook

This exciting feature was developed to make your life easier especially while playing live. The SongBook is a Musical Database, completely user programmable, containing all the settings needed to play a particular song. You have only to search the title of the song you would like to play, select it and hit "Play". The SongBook can use Styles, MIDIfiles, Karaoke and MP3 and immediately recall settings such as Song Title, Genre, Artist, Tempo, Volumes, Sounds, Muted Tracks, FX settings, Easy Edit, 4 STS*, 4 Pads, Master Transpose and more. Everything you need to play your song back perfectly is in the SongBook, a useful musical feature that is unique to Korg - the only Arranger keyboards available with all these sophisticated controls.

(*STS - Single Touch Settings is a memory that recalls sounds for all the real time tracks (upper1, 2, 3 & lower).

Configurable

You can configure and edit almost anything in the Pa2X Pro. You can modify and save Styles, Pad, Performances, Sounds, Songs, SongBook, settings for Sliders, Switches, Pedals, Global (Midi channels, output routings, etc.) and more for both, internal and external control.

Scales are fully programmable and include Quarter Tone settings (4 memories for instant recall) and a programmable Arabic Scale.

If you are playing an organ sound, you will enjoy using the 9 Sliders as Drawbars. With all of this control, the Pa2X Pro also functions as a superb MIDI controller (Master Keyboard).

A complete Media edit section is available for files and folders handling including search, load, save, delete, copy, rename, backup, restore, delete, etc. functions for internal and external USB connected drives. During your extensive editing sessions the internal clock will fix the correct date and time in your files: another invaluable feature that all Pros will love!

Connectivity

Naturally, the Pa2X Pro has all the connectivity you need including 4 separate balanced/unbalanced analog audio outputs, 2 balanced/unbalanced analog line inputs, 1 XLR/Combo Balanced Mic input with switchable Phantom Power, 1 USB Device and 2 USB Host connections.



And because the Pa2X Pro is a fully professional product, the digital output (in S/P DIF coaxial format) is standard.

The optional VIF4 Graphical Video Interface (available in PAL or NTSC standard formats) can display on an external TV monitor either just the lyrics (useful for Karaoke) or clone the on board display.

USB

The Pa2X Pro has two USB Host connections available to connect standard Pen drives, external hard drives, DVD-CD players or even a Floppy Disk. One Host is located in the front panel for quick access in real time, while the second Host is on the back panel. A further USB Device connection is available for the Pa2X Pro to connect with a computer (PC or Mac) for fast exchange of large amounts of data from the internal SSD memory and Hard Disk or as a MIDI connection without the need for extra MIDI computer interfaces.

Hard Disk Drive

Of course, a huge capacity Hard Disk is standard on board for storing everything you need - and everything you record during a performance using the exciting MP3 record feature!

Compatibility

And if you have been one of the many longstanding Korg Arranger users you will be happy to know that even though the Pa2X Pro is all new, it is also compatible with the Korg “i-series” style format and with any “musical” Pa50, Pa60, Pa80, Pa1X file. This means your Pa50, Pa60, Pa80 and Pa1X sound programs work in the Pa2X Pro as well so you can keep your favourite Sounds, Styles, Songs, and Performances while benefiting from a cutting edge keyboard. Of course, the Pa2X Pro is fully compatible with Pa800 data.

Expandable & Updatable

Even though it comes with almost every features you could want, the Pa2X Pro offer useful options such as the Graphic Video Interface (PAL/NTSC compatible), a memory expansion up to 256 MB for sampling and a variety of Foot Pedals.

Not only you can expand your Pa2X Pro to perfectly fit your needs, you can also easily keep it constantly updated to new exciting features with the new operating systems available as free downloads from www.korgpa.com, ensuring your investment is always protected!

Pa800

If you need a compact and light 61 key version of the Pa2X Pro with built in amplifier and speakers, check out the amazing Pa800. Same incredible sound quality with almost all the most important features as the Pa2X Pro.

Play the Pa2X Pro so you too will "Listen - and Believe"!

Please note: Cosmetic and Technical specifications are subject to change without notice.