Korg PA5X 61 Musikant Arranger Workstation

The Formidable Features of the Korg PA5X

Since this fifth-generation arranger workstation doesn’t stray too far from the tried-and-true recipe of its predecessors, anyone who’s got experience playing the Pa4X will quickly find their way around it. The control panel has been treated to a handful of aesthetic as well as practical upgrades, including a new 4×4 multi-functional button matrix that can be used to trigger sounds and mute parts, as well as a new display that’s a little bigger than before to support the freshly designed interface. The best new feature however is probably the crossfader which, while it was already there on the PA4X, can now be used to crossfade styles. This means you’re no longer bound to style variations of one kind, which opens up the opportunity to crossfade to a different style right before the chorus lands or change styles like ELO did in their hit song ‘Mr. Blue Sky’.

Further Highlights

Besides the upgraded controls, this next-gen workstation comes with various brand new sounds on board, some lent by the Kronos and Nautilus, and including some stunning pianos from the ST2 stage piano. There’s also a sheer mountain of effects provided complete with inserts and sends and some new finalizers including a parametric equaliser and a brickwall limiter have also been crammed in. A microphone can be plugged in whether it’s a passive dynamic mic or an active condenser, since the PA5X even supplies phantom power and you can even jack in an electric guitar. Any connected microphone is backed up by dedicated effects including a pitch-correcter and a four-part harmoniser, while a connected guitar can be coated in classic guitar effects. At the core, you’re getting a fully-fledged performance tool but even on top of that you’re essentially getting a music-focussed computer in a keyboard housing. Build bespoke styles from the ground up, carve out custom sounds and save them to the gigabytes of supplied memory – you name it. Just watch the clips included under the Videos tab on this page and you’ll get the idea.