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Pa5X Update version 1.3.0
Operating System v1.3.0 for thePa 5X introduces several important new features and improvements for KORG’s flagship arranger. This update will not only bring some celebrated features showcased in previous KORG arrangers, the new Pa5X 1.3 OS will also provide some powerful, new technologies, seen for the first time in any arranger keyboard.
In addition to re-introducing the legendary KAOSSPad technology and CDG-file compatibility, the 1.3 operating system introduces many enhancements to the Style Edit and the SongBook, and important new features such as the Chord Sequence editor. There are also new presets for the Matrix, letting you choose SongBook Entries and Chord Sequences with the Matrix pads.
The overall operating system has received many refinements, improving ease of use and stability.
The list of improvements below barely covers the increased power and flexibility provided by OS 1.3. Check out the manual and introductory video for more details.
The new operating system is free to all Pa5X users, and is available NOW for download from:
https://www.korg.com/us/support/download/product/0/895/
Among the most important improvements you can find:
- Full CDG-File compatibility
- Re-introduction of the Kaoss Pad
- A new Chord Sequence Edit mode
- New Matrix presets for selecting Chord Sequences and SongBook Entries
- A new Set List order feature for the SongBook
- Finalizer for MP3 files (with settings saved in the SongBook)
- Redesign of the Style Edit’s main page, with new Record features, Undo History, Copy Track Settings, Delete Note and further improvements
- Over 53,000 User Samples can be loaded (preload buffer increased to 420 MB)
- Double the User Sound (12) and Drum Kit (6) Banks
- User-editable Round Robins for Drums (supporting the TX16Wx Sampler format)
- 16 Velocity layers for Drum Kits (instead of 8)
- 45 brand-new Styles
CDG-file compatibility
The new operating system reintroduces to the Pa-Series the much beloved MP3 + Graphics Lyrics format. The popular CDG format lets one synchronize images to a song, making reading Lyrics a colorful experience. This can make a karaoke show look fantastic, in particular if the images are seen on a big external display, connected through the Pa5X’s built-in HDMI output.
Kaoss has a new home
The mesmerizing Kaoss FX is back in a Pa-Series instrument, and is ready to mangle your Styles and MIDI songs in real time. This powerful MIDI effect processor was conceived with Dance and EDM artists in mind, to which it can give a fresh and modern approach to making live music.
You can pre-select and arrange 12 favorite presets (out of over 60), to be used as a predefined set for a live performance on stage. And assigning presets to each of the 12 favorite preset buttons is fast and easy – just keep them pressed for a couple seconds.
The redesigned Style Edit
We redesigned the Style Edit area and introduced a new Record and Play switch for each track. As common practice in the most popular DAWs running on personal computers, before starting to record a track you can try and rehearse your musical idea to understand if it will fit.
We also reintroduced classic features like Delete Note, for easily deleting single notes while recording, and the Copy Track Settings feature, to copy all or part of the track settings between different Style Elements.
As another quality-of-life improvement, we added an Undo history function, that will let you recover in case something goes wrong during Style editing. You can go back up to five steps.
A further improvement to the Style Edit environment is the handy ability to change the Expression values of all the tracks at once in a Style Element (by just keeping the SHIFT button pressed when moving a physical slider or a virtual one in the mixer). This makes it very fast and easy to balance the Style tracks while recording.
One of the most notable improvements to the Style Edit mode is the ability to change the length of a Chord Variation even after having recorded it. When reducing the length, the exceeding measures will be automatically cut, while lengthening will make the first measures be repeated in the new ones. Composing a Style will become much faster, since you will be free to refine the patterns at any time. Just enjoy composing your music.
Chord Sequence Edit mode
You will now be able to edit any Chord Sequence, either existing or one you just recorded. A must for optimizing your chord progression to match a Style. Add, delete or replace chords and measures. All happening in a comfortable list view, with big buttons to make everything as fast and immediate as possible.
New Matrix presets
Pa5X is the only arranger keyboard featuring a handy and powerful Matrix made of sixteen big rubber pads. We now got the chance to add new presets, and make everything more flexible.
We added two totally new Matrix presets. The one named “Chord Sequence” lets you memorize up to sixteen Chord Sequences that can be triggered at any time with the sixteen rubber pads. You can prepare the Chord Sequences for a full song, and start it whenever you need it.
If you want, you can enable the Loop All option to play all the Chord Sequences in cycle. These Chord Sequences are always available, so you can access them even from different Styles and Songs.
When choosing the preset “Set List”, you can use the Matrix pads to select all the available SongBook Entries that can be seen in the SongBook’s Set List page. This gives you direct access from the control panel to the selected Set List.
To assign one of the available Matrix presets to the four preset buttons, just keep the preset button pressed a couple seconds, and that’s all.
SongBook improvements
You may need to rearrange the Set Lists to a more logical and helpful order. Enters the Reorder Set List command in v1.3.0.
This is not the only new features in the SongBook. Entries based on MP3 songs can now save effect settings including the Finalizer. All leveling and equalizing for MP3s can now be done inside the Pa5X.
A welcome return to the Pa-Series is the ability of swapping Keyboard Sets inside a SongBook Entry, a very useful feature to match the right sounds with each section of a song.
EDS-XP Sound Engine improvements
The new operating system offers a stunning increase in the amount of samples that can be loaded. The 8GB of User Sample RAM (compressed from a linear 4GB) can now host over 53,000 samples, about 80% more from the previous 30,000. Together with this we increased the preload buffer from 260MB up to 420MB. To manage this huge amount of samples we even doubled the locations for User Sounds (up to 12 banks) and User Drum Kits (up to 6 banks).
This is not the only great novelty. Drums can now play Round Robins, a technology making the drums sound extremely realistic by removing unnatural repetitions, with up to four Round Robins assigned to each key.
Furthermore, we made the percussion’s dynamic range subtler, by increasing the number of velocity layers to sixteen, up from the previous eight. Each key can therefore play up to sixteen velocity layers and 4 Round Robins. This offers never-seen before flexibility in sound creation – and so in music.
To make programming easier, we decided to support the
TX16Wx software sampler format. With this third-party tool, you can create huge sample libraries, going as deep as to balancing each Round Robin and automatically mapping samples. You can then load the resulting multisamples and drum kits into Pa5X, in a nearly-ready state. And – yes, you can also edit Pa5X samples and multisamples with it.
External Midi device control
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External MIDI device settings for Styles and MIDI songs
Being able to send MIDI notes from any track, without playing the internal sounds, is a handy feature that will be appreciated by all the musicians relying on external sound modules or additional keyboard instruments. The classic Bank Select MSB, LSD and Program Change bundle can now be entered with the integrated virtual numeric keypad.
Effect redesign
Last but not least, we added sixty-six new effect images, to make them nicer looking, and make it clear how the effects are working.
Please note that Pa5X only supports user data created with Pa5X or Pa4X. When loading data created on different models, or converted through third-party utilities, compatibility can’t be granted. They may work, but may exhibit unexpected behavior.
If you still need to use older data, and you experience issues with them, please send them to KORG through your Dealer or Distributor, so that we can analyze them and try to fix the problem. Please detail the symptoms, and explain the procedure to replicate your issue.