Korg Pa5X Review

We’ve been waiting a long time for this keyboard to arrive! We’re the UK’s top keyboard specialists and this is the most anticipated keyboard of 2022. Here is our Korg Pa5X review.

See our fantastic Korg Pa5X offers by clicking here.

 The Chassis Design – Korg Pa5X Review

The physical design of the Pa5x stays faithful to the classic Korg Pa series. It’s sleek and futuristic, and you can clearly see that it’s a Korg family member.

For me, what jumps out immediately is the brushed aluminium body, the stylish wooden side panels, and the significantly bigger screen display.

The other thing that catches the eye is the bank of 16 small-ish square buttons on the right-hand side of the front panel. This is mysteriously called ‘The Matrix’ – more on this later.

Overall, it’s a very stylish keyboard chassis made to be practical at home or in the studio and to impress on the stage.

Keyboard Size Options – Korg Pa5X Review

Just like its predecessor the Korg Pa5X is available in (non-weighted) 61 & 76 note versions. Of course, this is handy if you’re pressed for space or prefer a compact keyboard for transportation.

Do you like piano-style keys? Well, I’ve got good news for you because Korg have also produced an 88-note, fully-weighted version of the Pa5X!

For people who come from a piano-playing background and don’t always find keyboard/organ-style keys particularly agreeable the addition of this 88-note, fully weighted model will be very welcome.

The complete options for the Korg Pa5X are:

The User Interface – Korg Pa5X Review

When you power up the Korg Pa5X, it’s noticeable that the touchscreen display is not only larger than Pa4X but also has greatly improved clarity.

This is an encouraging sign as touchscreens lend themselves to larger and clearer displays usually making the operation of the attached device much easier.

The visual display on the Korg Pa5X’s new touchscreen is a real improvement. Everything is bright, clear, and easy on the eye.

Whether you’re arranging, mixing, recording, or just tweaking voices for fun, having a display that is as crystal-clear as the Pa5X makes life so much easier.

The Voices – Korg Pa5X Review

A Korg Pa5X review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the meat and potatoes of the keyboard: The Voices.

Over the years, Korg have shown to the world a genuine passion and a unique flair for in-depth Keyboard & Synth voices.

Subsequently, you will find the Pa5X absolutely packed (2200 Voices) not just with their latest samples but also a vast collection of ‘Legacy’ voices too.

Grand pianos, electric pianos, strings, brass sections, drawbar organs, synth lead, and pads, they’re all there in abundance and use an entirely new sound engine called EDS-XP (Enhanced Definition Synthesis – Expanded).

The orchestral strings in particular give you a wonderfully wide scope for dynamic range. Attack the keys and the orchestra will strike back at you! Go gently on the keys and you’ll sense the bows gliding across strings.

If you are a person that plays with sensitivity, you will really appreciate the effort that has gone into providing such variation with these voices.

The Korg Pa series has been very popular with stage performers as the Voices have particularly good ‘cut-through’ when playing with a band – meaning that the keyboard can be easily heard between the guitar/drums/bass – The Pa5X continues this trait.

I couldn’t write a Korg Pa5X review without mentioning the substantial collection of synth pad voices. If you’re not careful you can easily lose hours and hours flicking through them!

When playing the vintage 70s & 80s pads, I found myself instantly transported and wanting to continue playing (and creating!) so evocative of that era they are.

Naturally, you can make these voices entirely your own with the Korg Pa5X’s in-depth voice editor and DSP effects array. Rest assured if you like ‘tweaking’, then you’ll love this keyboard!

The Backing Styles – Korg Pa5X Review

The backing Styles (of which there are 600) are absolutely brilliant and I could fill this entire Korg Pa5X review by simply talking about them! But instead, let me give you a summary of why they’re so good.

In simple terms, they sound truly authentic. For example, when you program a rock band Style what you hear will be very close to a real, live performance of a rock band.

One big improvement on the Korg Pa5X has been in the percussion samples. This may not sound very glamorous or exciting to you reading at home but don’t underestimate how important they are. They make a crucial difference! Let me explain.

When a snare drum, tomtom, or cymbal is hit by a real-life drummer it never sounds exactly the same twice. Keyboards of the past have simply sampled one ‘hit’ and recycled it into the backing Style.

This used to make Backing Styles sound a little one-dimensional and robotic. With Korg Pa5X, this is a thing of the past.

Multiple drum samples are now taken and reproduced when you’re playing the Backing Styles so you never hear the same one being played twice in a row.

This seemingly small change actually gives a real touch of authenticity to the Backing Styles and consequently, makes your performances sound more…human. It’s very, very good.

More Clever Stuff…

So far in my Korg Pa5X review, I’ve only covered the fundamentals but there’s still so much to tell you about!

There’s the excellent Crossfader that, in effect, allows you to run two keyboards simultaneously!

For instance, you can build two complete setups using Styles/Audio/MIDI files into ‘Player 1’ & ‘Player 2’ and fade seamlessly between them on the fly.

The wonderfully named ‘Matrix’ (those x16 square buttons on the front panel) which are are programmable allowing you to play sequences, patterns, sound effects, and more at the touch of a button. Excellent for adding variety and allowing spontaneity to live performances.

The system of saving your settings has been sympathetically designed for both home users and live performers.

The Songbook is where you can save your keyboard setups and you can arrange them for live performances into Setlists. Again, the large touchscreen (which flips forward and backwards to suit your sitting position!) makes the handling of such things very straightforward.

If you’re a casual player, then there is a simple Favourites function that allows you to keep a short list of your favourite voices or styles for next time you power up the keyboard.

Transitioning between Voices is also seamless with the appropriately named ‘Smooth Sound Transition’ (SST).

Gone are the days of jarring changes from your pitch benching lead guitar solo into your delicate symphony orchestra sounds.

Now, with SST, the Pa5X allows you to blend one Voice into the other (keeping the effects too) by using the sustain pedal to ‘bleed’ the initial Voice into the new one. It works brilliantly.

Summary

After playing the keyboard for a while, I got a sense of the designer’s soul. The Korg Pa5X was created to help you, the player, arrange performances that feel like an authentic expression of your musicality.

The Korg Pa5X facilitates a deeper exploration of your creativity.

When you realise the degree in which you can create music from the ground up and then go on to arrange and perform in a dynamic and professional way, you’ll understand the wondrous tool you have in your hands.

If you’re after a keyboard for 2022 that uses the latest technology and that will be strongly supported with major software updates (including new Voices & Styles!) throughout its lifespan by its manufacturer, then look no further than then Korg Pa5X.

A full Korg Pa5X review would probably go on longer than a J.R.R Tolkien novel. There’s still so much more I want to talk about but it’ll have to wait until next time.

At ePianos, our mission is to bring the showroom to you via our videos. Look out for our upcoming Korg Pa5x demonstrations and tutorials on ePianosTV here.

Click here to browse our fantastic Korg Pa5X offers and why not trade in your current model and upgrade?

Get a trade-in quotation quickly by filling out our Part Exchange form here.

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Chris Hammond

Manager at ePianos

Chris handles all of our ePianos marketing, and is responsible for the creation and production of the majority of our product videos. Chris is also one of our top blog writers, having extensive knowledge of keyboard instruments, years of experience in musical instrument retail, and a background in live performance and composition.

sales@epianos.co.uk chrisonpiano