TEST OF PA5X'S MIXING QUALITY

[♚Chello]

TEST OF PA5X'S MIXING QUALITY

I have gone through all the internal styles on the Pa5X to check the levels, and the result is shocking.

The same level for all tracks in a style is used in 137 cases, and the levels are mostly 100 and 110.
Be aware of what the same level actually means:
No customization has been done at all..!

Max level 127 for a track is used in 74 cases
120 in level for all tracks in a style - one example
125 in level for all tracks in a style - one example
127 in level for all tracks in a style - one example !!!

Apart from these, there are only 335 styles out of 677 styles that are OK mixed, which means that more than half are badly mixed.

I now see a very obvious connection with why I heard strong distortion in many styles in the Movie & Show genre:
Only 17 styles out of 46 styles are OK mixed, while a level of 127 occurs in 20 cases.
The style Abstract Orchestra has 127 in all tracks, and it's really no wonder that I experienced strong distortion no matter what I did..!

COMPLETE LIST:
Pop: Same level for all tracks - 27 cases
Classic Pop: Same level for all tracks - 4 cases
Ballad: Same level for all tracks - 14 cases
Dance: Same level for all tracks - 38 cases
Ballroom: Same level for all tracks - No cases
Rock: Same level for all tracks - No cases
Country: Same level for all tracks - 2 cases
Latin: Same level for all tracks - 4 cases
Latin Dance: Same level for all tracks - 2 cases
Jazz: Same level for all tracks - No cases
Funk: Same level for all tracks - 30 cases
Movie & Show: Same level for all tracks - 16 cases
World: Same level for all tracks - No cases

Pop: Max level 127 for a track is used in 2 cases
Classic Pop: Max level 127 for a track is used in 7 cases
Ballad: Max level 127 for a track is used in 7 cases
Dance: Max level 127 for a track is used in No cases
Ballroom: Max level 127 for a track is used in 3 cases
Rock: Max level 127 for a track is used in 11 cases
Country: Max level 127 for a track is used in No cases
Latin: Max level 127 for a track is used in 8 cases
Latin Dance: Max level 127 for a track is used in 6 cases
Jazz: Max level 127 for a track is used in 6 cases
Funk: Max level 127 for a track is used in 1 case
Movie & Show: Max level 127 for a track is used in 20 cases
World: Max level 127 for a track is used in 3 cases

Pop: Styles that are OK mixed - 15 out of 71
Classic Pop: Styles that are OK mixed - 13 out of 27
Ballad: Styles that are OK mixed - 16 out of 58
Dance: Styles that are OK mixed - 28 out of 74
Ballroom: Styles that are OK mixed - 33 out of 47
Rock: Styles that are OK mixed - 37 out of 58
Country: Styles that are OK mixed - 29 out of 34
Latin: Styles that are OK mixed - 18 out of 51
Latin Dance: Styles that are OK mixed - 18 out of 44
Jazz: Styles that are OK mixed - 30 out of 49
Funk: Styles that are OK mixed - 27 out of 71
Movie & Show: Styles that are OK mixed - 17 out of 46
World: Styles that are OK mixed - 33 out of 47


CONCLUSION:
This is very serious, and is the worst I have ever seen from anyone; much worse than Yamaha at its worst.

The consequence is particularly serious for styles that have a max level of 127 in one or more tracks (it is almost always drums & perc that have this), and at the same time have one or more effects - these must be set again if the level is changed.

One more thing:
It is useless to reduce a style`s output volume that has a maximum volume of 127 in one or more tracks with Finalizer, as this does not change this.

Only very few users are capable of such advanced edits, and thus these styles are useless for most users who have a certain understanding of what is good mixing and what is not.

I can guarantee that if I had known this when I bought the Pa5X, it would have been returned immediately.

Fortunately, I didn't discover it until now - fortunately, because the Pa5X is, after all, the best keyboard I've owned - a jewel that needs (A LOT) of polishing to perform what it's actually capable of.

Korg's sound engineers, on the other hand, are NOT capable !!!

[♚Chello]

END/ADDITIONAL COMMENT

I have also discovered another "phenomenon":
The fact that most styles (especially) in the genre Movie & Show in general is unprofessionally mixed with maximum volume in some tracks is in itself bad enough, but there is also something far worse:

When one or more effects are added to such a track, severe distortion occurs - it is not advisable in practice to add any effects.

I specifically checked this as well, and found that despite this, Korg has in some cases used effects in such tracks, which is bound to end horribly wrong.

It still looks as if they have discovered this along the way, as far fewer effects have been used for this genre's styles than what has been done for others.
This is doubly strange, because anyone who knows a bit about mixing understands that a genre like this requires MORE effects than others, as it strictly consists of effects..?

With this, Korg has brought shame upon itself, as with this poor work they prove to the whole world that their sound engineers must have bought their exam papers on the black market, as they certainly know nothing about basic mixing.

We users should demand 342 new updated styles, as there are so many like this that are badly mixed; in all cases new updated styles for styles where max level 127 has been used !!!

I will do my future edits in a different way than before, where I consistently turn down all instruments that have level 127 to a more functioning level.


This involves a lot of extra work, but is necessary to sort out Korg's misery.

[♚Chello]

ONE MORE COMMENT:

When I add the Reverb Room effect to drums and perc in a style, the same thing happens every time, albeit to varying degrees:
Most sounds apart from drums and perc are greatly reduced in level - we are talking about several dB.
This happens no matter how I adjust the effect.

Again, it's strange that no one has written anything about this; that some effects reduce levels for sounds that are not processed by the effect.
Organ and human voices in particular are reduced.

This means that reduced sounds must be amplified, either by increasing the level with the slider (which you cannot do if there is an effect there), or by adding a compressor effect.

Thus they reveal actual conditions with too high levels in most styles - when the level is already at 100-110 or more, there is not enough headroom for increase, and anyway the risk of distortion increases.

If all styles had an average level of 70, there would have been enough headroom for almost anything.

The consequence is that the vast majority of styles cannot be edited completely according to what is desired, as there is not enough headroom for this.