Korg has introduced the Pa5X Oriental, a new version of their Pa5X Professional Arranger keyboard that features middle eastern sounds, styles and pads.
The Pa5X ORIENTAL comes with an extensive collection of sounds taken from the worlds of Arabic, Turkish and Persian music, created by Arabic, Persian and Turkish musicians based in the Middle East.
The main differences to the Standard version are:
- Over 2,600 sounds in total (240 Oriental Sounds and 70 Oriental DrumKits)
- 844 Factory Styles (630 Pa5X standard + 264 Oriental Styles)
- 977 Factory Pads (548 Pa5X standard + 429 Oriental Pads)
Pa5X Oriental Audio Demos:
Features:
- The Oriental version adds Sounds, Drum and Percussion Kits, Keyboard Sets, Pads and music styles covering the rich musical traditions of Türkiye and Persia, with particular focus on Arabic countries.
- Over 2,600 sounds (240 Oriental Sounds and 70 Oriental Drumkits) including GM and XG sets
- 844 Factory Styles (630 Pa5X standard + 264 Oriental Styles)
- 768 user Sound and 384 user Drum Kit locations with full editing features
- Modern and Streamlined User Interface
- EDS-XP sound engine
- Real-time controllers
- Advanced chord recognition, and a library full of chord sequences
- Smooth transition between Sounds, Styles and Songs
- Two cross-fading Players able to mix everything: Styles to Midi-files, or Midi-files to MP3-files, or Styles to Styles (unique to the Pa5X)
- Each player displays lyrics and score
- Create your own Styles and Songs
- Onboard mixer with insert, master, final and mastering effects
- Dedicated Microphone and Guitar inputs with dedicated effects for each
- MIDI, USB, HDMI, Audio In and Out, Pedal connectors
- Standard File Formats
Pricing and Availability:
The Korg Pa5X Oriental is available now. See the Korg site for details.
This and Yamaha Tyros are my favorite synths
4000€ and sounds like general midi melted cheese oriental style. yuck.
Its a fair price for such a beautiful and realistic instrument, this keyboard line is the number 1 sold instrument in Dubai and Iran
I bet it’s used for wedding gigs …
No its the most sold studio instrument, for weddings the most used keyboard is the Yamaha PSR-A5000
this is not a studio instrument.
its the top of the range “home entertainer organ with extras” that plays cheesy sounding samples.
It is where i am from 🙂
For those of the professionals, like myself and others, that have studios with about 40 keyboards (all vintages) the Korg PA5X is actually a studio instrument because it is the only one that can control a whole studio filled with gear.
Awesome…
side note i was told by people that this term ‘Oriental’ was somehow “problematic” and they tried to imply it was not in use anymore
so its interesting to find that as totally wrong
Should they call it “Asia” instead?
Only problematic if one hails from snowflake countries of the west. People from the orient have no concern or consideration for nonsense such as this.
Interesting. I hadn’t thought about this. Can you tell where these people you mention are from?
Check on wiki, I’m from one of these countries,
Scotch-Pictures is right. there is no such thing as bad words, it’s all nonsense.
Go on then, start dropping racial slurs & see how popular you get.
It’s all just words, right?
That’s super fun that you are still using the term “snowflake” 10 years after most dullards stopped using it. Nice retro feel toy your rightwingin boot licking’ ! Keep it up!
Trying to dismiss something or someone by saying something is so 2000 and late does get old.
Boom boom boom.
my bag of chips says “oriental style”, too.
nothing wrong with that.
“mid eastern spices” sounds silly, doesn’t it?
The east is a huge region. Middle Eastern spices makes sense. You don’t get flavours like dukkah, cumin or sumac in Thai or Japanese food. Yet all are lumped under the banner ‘oriental’.
If it’s not patently obvious, I’m an idiot for discussing food & language on a synth blog.
Not at all, ‘Middle eastern spices’ is informative & useful for consumers. You don’t get dukkah, sumac or cumin in Thai or Japanese food. Yet Turkey & Thailand can both be described as oriental. In the context of food, it’s just not useful.
If it wasn’t patently obvious, I’m an idiot for discussing food & language on a synth blog.
The term has been used to denote these styles of keyboard for at least decades. For electronic keys, I know that both Casio (the AT-* series) and Yamaha (PSR-A*** series) had “Oriental” keyboards going back to at least the 90’s. There are almost certainly precursors to those that bore that name as well, both electronic and physical.
The main hallmarks of these decks have been not only the ethnic instruments they have attempted to emulate, but also the ability to retune the 12-tone scale to match the various commas of Middle-Eastern scales. And I’d bet the series likely takes its names from the designation of such “Oriental” instruments and scales.
uber-rompler but not a synth
what I dont understand is how to play 24 quarter tones on a 12 semitone keyboard-layout without messing with your head?
Some will argue the exact opposite.
Same like Alternative guitar tunings, it’s called “learning something new” Maybe you should try that from time to time lala instead of trying to force everything new to you to be the same old.
old.
how about coming up with an interface that lets you do both, instead of trying to force everything the old way down my throat? 😉
same old thing, same old 😉
I’ve seen this done amazingly on an SH-2000 using aftertouch, the video is likely still on YouTube somewhere. Not too different to bending blue notes?
thats all awful workarounds.
the point is we dont have a key between d# and d you can play
a 2nd function diminished d# on aftertouch/pitchbend/what have you is no replacement for the missing key(s).
I like to play exotic scales on a touchscreen keyboard, all keys look the same (no black keys), it just shows “the octave above is here now”, 😉
now it doesn’t matter if my scale has 5 notes or 12 or 13 or 24 or if the octave doesn’t repeat …
and my keyboard doesn’t confuse me with its 12 tet layout that plays weird pitches. 😉
What an embarrassingly bad demo video. Terrible demo track, cheesy graphics, wasted shots on keys, and zero information about why this synth arranger is different from anything else. I can’t believe this is the best a company like Korg could do.
I don’t think you understand advertising. Its perfect for the demographic
The “home organ” effect is cultural, because Middle Eastern arranger styles fit the lifestyles and parties of the intended audience. No, I don’t need quarter-tones much, but its a staple in Iran and other points east. Its no different from synths clearly aimed at EDM in our neighborhoods. Its smart marketing.
Besides, this instrument is like an OASYS with every single feature getting a button. Don’t dismiss it as a lightweight. “We” prefer linear sequencers; “They” rock out to arrangers. Abu is right about the popularity involved. Korg is filling a need. I got to play an earlier Pa and its a monster that earns its $5k price.