EasyStart

Pa800 Main Features

RX Technology- the Pa800 Real eXperience means up to SIXTEEN

Performance settings- by title, artist, tempo, key- and instantly

recall one to recreate that song. A SongBook entry can also be a
MIDI file on a USB PenDrive!

Color TouchView Interface is incredibly EASY TO USE youll be

backing tracks and up to four real time tracks each to a

always in command of your favorite features!

separate track - all in one pass!

Huge collection of pristine sample data provides over 1000 factory

immediate transitions from one song to the next, creating a

Enhanced Style Functions 544 Style locations (419 pre-loaded)

seamless performance every time

3 endings. Tap-Tempo, Reset & Fade in/out

and more editing functions. Loads AIFF, WAV, Korg and AKAI data.

320 programmable Performance settings let you recall your

USB computer connectivity, plus two USB 2.0 Host ports for
various media storage

A real effects powerhouse, with over 100 different effects, including

Korgs acclaimed REMS guitar-based effects!

TC Helicon vocal processing works with the onboard mic input

for powerful effects and three-part harmony

16-Bit/48kHz Sampling (64 MB RAM) with Auto Time Slice/Extend

XDS Dual Sequencer allows you to cue one song while youre
playing a different one The crossfader allows smooth or

Styles can be up to 32 bars long, with 3 intros, 3 fills, 4 variations and

Multi-Channel Backing Sequencer to instantly record up to 8

New Easy Mode displays the most frequently-used controls, so youre

sounds with Korgs legendary programming

Songbook feature lets you create a searchable database of your

time control The realism is unparalleled

navigating through the Pa800 in no time

oscillators per program, with multi-level dynamics and extensive real-

Powerful onboard stereo speakers, and 4 assignable outputs

for flexible routing perfect for recording or PA applications

favorite settings at the touch of a button

EasyStart CONTENTS
Welcome!

Making Connections; Working with the TouchView User Interface

Easy Mode; Playing the Demo Songs

Playing Sounds

Selecting, Playing and Controlling Styles

Suggested Styles to Work With

Saving Your Settings (Performances)

Quick Recording with the Backing Sequencer

The SongBook; Using the TC-Helicon Voice Processor

Owners Manual References

Available Options

Pa800 EasyStart

Welcome!
The Pa800 is the most powerful arranger available. This guide will familiarize you with its basic operation, and
youll be making music in no time at all! Once youve got these techniques down, you can work with the excellent
Owners Manual for more in-depth details, and make sure to visit www.korgpa.com for lots of support and updates.

Making Connections
!

Please begin this guide by powering up the Pa800, so that the display pages come up in the proper order

1.

Connect the power cord to the Pa800. If you want to use an external speaker system, connect audio cables from the
LEFT/MONO and RIGHT outputs to your sound system, or for private listening, connect headphones to the
HEADPHONE jack on the front.

2.

Turn the Pa800 on by pressing the POWER switch on the rear panel. The Pa800 will go through its startup routine, and
youll be placed in Style Play mode.

Working with the TouchView User Interface

The intuitive Color TouchView user interface on the Pa800 allows for extremely fast and easy access to the Pa800s
features and parameters. You can even access a multilingual contextual Help System (simply press the HELP
button to the right of the display)
Before we dive in, lets get familiar with the TouchView display

Before you start playing, make sure that the BALANCE slider located beneath the display is in the center position, and
the BALANCE fader beneath the left speaker is also in the center position!

Please note the DISPLAY HOLD button to the right of the display. When lit, any selected page will stay displayed until
the EXIT button is pressed. When the DISPLAY HOLD function is turned off, the display will return to the main page
automatically, after several seconds.

Pa800 EasyStart

E a s y Mo d e
Are you viewing more on-screen information than you need? Try going from Expert Mode to Easy Mode! Touch
the drop-down Page menu in the upper-right corner of the display, and select Easy Mode. This mode will show
you whats assigned to the Single Touch Setting buttons, and it will give you a shortcut to the lyrics in Song Play
mode. It also displays the status of a microphone connected to one of the audio inputs. If youre just starting with
the Pa800, try this mode to get comfortable with playback of Styles and Songs. Later on, you can return to Expert
Mode, where all Pa800 performance and editing functions are available to you.

Playing the Demo Songs

3.

Press both the STYLE PLAY and SONG PLAY buttons. Demos will automatically start to play, however you can also
select Solo Instrument, Style or Full Song demos by pressing the appropriate box in the display, and then selecting
the desired demo from the list.

4.

Press the EXIT button to return to the main demo page, where you can select a different demo category.

5.

Exit Demo Play mode by pressing the STYLE PLAY button.

Playing Sounds
The Pa800 utilizes Korgs amazing RX (Real eXperience) technology and sound engine from the flagship Pa1xseries instruments and that same sound engine powers Korgs new flagship workstation, the M3! With the Pa800,
you can use up to sixteen oscillators per sound to create guitar slides, harmonics and pull-offs, flute overblow,
frulatto, and many other beautiful nuances. This means that your acoustic instruments will sound incredibly
realistic, and you can authentically recreate an entire orchestra worth of instruments using just a few keys! Lets
experiment with a few of these sounds
1.

Press the SOUND mode button. Here you can try out and play individual sounds. In this mode the sound will be played
across the entire keyboard and will be heard solo without a Style accompaniment.

2.

Grand Piano should be the currently selected sound. This is indicated in the Sound Info area at the upper part of the
display. Touch this and youll be able to search for sounds by category. Within the piano category, try the Grand Piano
RX sound. You can hear the hammers return when you remove your finger from a key, just like a real piano and with a
damper pedal attached, youll notice string and damper resonance! Try pressing down on the pedal without playing
keys You can even hear the damper by itself!

3.

Press the DISPLAY HOLD button at this point, so that you can keep searching through sounds uninterrupted

4.

Press the Guitar tab, and then press Nylon Slide Pro to select this sound. Play the keyboard with varying degrees
of velocity (light, medium and hard) to hear the different guitar articulations, including a very cool slide!

5.

Now select one of the great trombone sounds using this alternate method of selecting sounds: Press the SOUND
SELECT BRASS button to the right of the display, and then select Big BandShake Y+. Play a chord, and move the
joystick up for a great jazzy shake!

6.

Press the SOUND SELECT WOODWIND button (press the E. PIANO button, and then press the button to the left of
PIANO to switch to the bottom row) and select Flute Frulatto. Try this at various velocities. Play softly, and you get
a tasty frulatto Hit it hard for a percussive overblow.

7.

Press the SOUND SELECT DIGITAL DRAWBARS button. This is Korgs world-renown DSP organ modeling in action!
Youve got rotary speaker emulation, switchable percussion and foot control.
a.

Try speeding up/slowing down the rotary speaker by pushing the Joystick Y+ (push it upwards)!

In STYLE PLAY mode (Explored in the next section); up to four sounds can be combined together!

Pa800 EasyStart

Selecting, Playing and Controlling Styles

A Style consists of up to four performance instruments, with up to eight accompaniment tracks playing in the
background. This is where the Pa800s serious power really shows!
To begin, choose a Style (see the list on the next page for some recommendations). Styles can be
selected just like Sounds. Use the STYLE SELECT buttons on the left side of the keyboard, and choose a
Category in the display. You can also touch the name of the current Style in the display. You can press the
STYLE SELECT button repeatedly, to scroll through tabs, or just touch the display to select them.
Press the STYLE SELECT POP/LATIN DANCE, then press the button to the left of the STYLE SELECT
buttons to select the bottom row (LATIN DANCE). On the display, touch the P2 tab, followed by Gipsy
Dance. Now follow these steps to get comfortable controlling your music:
1.

While playing a Style, you have up to three realtime tracks layered on the upper half of the keyboard, and one lower
track. All of these can be muted and un-muted in the display (a yellow M means mute, a green P means play. Just
touch as desired to change! Press the green P on the lower left, above DR/PERC to quickly mute all the drums and
percussion! Press it again to un-mute.

2.

There are three Intros. Press SYNCRO START to have the Style play whenever you play a left-hand chord, and press
INTRO 1, 2, or 3, and then press on of the VARIATION buttons to choose the one that will play after the selected
INTRO is finished playing.
- INTRO 1 will provide a musical introduction, with a preset chord progression that begins and ends with the
chord you played.
- INTRO 2 plays a similar introduction to INTRO 1, but will use the chords you play.
- INTRO 3 plays a quick count-in.
Press Intro 1, play a chord, and push the big red START/STOP button.

3.

The four VARIATION buttons begin with a less is more feel at VARIATION 1, and get more complex up through
VARIATION 4. When you press a new VARIATION button, the selected VARIATION will not start immediately it will
begin once the previous variation ends its pre-programmed riff.
Switch from one VARIATION to the next, and notice the difference!

4.

The three ENDING buttons work in the same way as the INTRO buttons. The first is long, the second is shorter, and
the third is very quick! No matter how quickly you have to pass the mic to someone else, you can still get out gracefully!
If you need to stop immediately, just press the START/STOP button. You can also use the FADE IN/OUT button to
well fade in or out.
Press ENDING 1 to hear a great progression featuring some excellent guitar strumming! Start the beat back
up with a chord and that big red START/STOP button.

5.

Below and to the right of the display is the ENSEMBLE button. Press this, and the Pa800 will automatically harmonize
your right hand along with the accompaniment!
While the Style is playing, press the ENSEMBLE button and play with your right hand, while changing chords
with the left.

6.

On the right side, there are four PADS. These can trigger sound effects, as well as SEQUENCES!!
Press the four PAD buttons to bring more instruments into the Style If its melodic, it will play along with
your chords. If its rhythmic, it will automatically play with the beat!

7.

On the upper-right side of the keyboard, you have CHORD SCANNING and KEYBOARD MODE buttons. CHORD
SCANNING selects where the Style looks to see the chord youre playing. Push both at the same time to use the whole
keyboard. The KEYBOARD MODE buttons let you choose whether you want to split the keyboard into upper and lower
sounds, or just use the entire keyboard for the main sound.

Pa800 EasyStart
Press the UPPER button to have the style react to chords in the right hand, and then press FULL UPPER to
spread the guitar sound all across the keyboard.
8.

Below and to the left of the display are three more controls: MEMORY, BASS INVERSION, and MANUAL BASS.
MEMORY, when lit, will keep the accompaniment playing when you take your hands off the keys. BASS INVERSION,
when lit, will use the lowest note in the chord you played as the root. MANUAL BASS is just that. It drops the bass
line, and assigns the left side of the keyboard to the bass sound thats built into the chosen Style. And when you enable
MANUAL BASS, the Style stops playing; just the drums continue.
Try the MANUAL BASS button while the Style is playing, and take a bass solo with your left hand!

9.

Right beneath the display are four SINGLE TOUCH SETTINGS (STS). Each one of these can completely change the
sounds youre playing, as well as the effects and vocal settings. Are they programmable? Of course. Are they preset for
every style? You bet!
a.

In Easy Mode, you can see what sound youll be playing for each STS right on the main display! You can also
see this by touching the STS tab at the bottom of the display.

Press STS3 to switch to the Nylon Slide Pro sound.. Try pressing a key with high velocity for a string slide!
10. To change the tempo, press and hold the SHIFT button and rotate the TEMPO/VALUE dial. You can also use the
TEMPO LOCK button to maintain the same tempo when you switch to a new Style.
Turn the dial up to give your dancers a workout!
11. Dont forget the X/Y JOYSTICK, ASSIGNABLE SLIDERS and ASSIGNABLE SWITCHES! These controllers are all
totally programmable, and can do some unexpected things! For example, may styles use the switches for a ritardando or
accelerando, or use switch #2 as a talkover mute!
Set the ASSIGNABLE SLIDERS to ASSIGN. B using the SLIDER MODE button, and then manipulate the
sliders to change the tone of the guitar!

Cool Tip:

For almost all of the above functions, you can change settings simply by holding down the SHIFT button and
pressing the button you want to modify!

Cool Tip:

Use a complex chord (7th, sus2, sus4, etc.) when playing Styles the Style playback will vary to fit your
voicing! This goes way beyond just changing keys You might get a differently-structured bass line, or a slight
drum variation to fit a suspended chord. This goes for Intros, Endings, Variations AND Fills! Its one of the
many subtle ways that the Pa800 makes your performance more musical.

Try Working with these Styles:

NAME

BANK / PAGE

VARIATION

STS #

TEMPO

TIPS

Guitar Bossa

Latin

All

1,3

132

Girl from where? Try STS3 for a nylon guitar.

Gospel Shuffle

Funk & Soul

All

All

180

Check out Ending 1 I feel a HEALIN comin

on!

Cartoon Time

Movie & Show p2

160

A pie-flinging good time Recommended for

chase scenes.

Mystery Man

Movie & Show p2

147

Oh, beHAVE! Variation 2 gives you that great

VOX organ sound!

Blues

Funk & Soul p2

All

119

Unplugged Ballad1

Unplug.

All

All

94

Check out the Fills then take it to the bridge!

Slow-dancers like this Style more than words
can really say

Django

Jazz p2

All

All

106

Variation 2 brings in Stephan to help out!

Pa800 EasyStart

Saving your settings (Performances)

When you find a Style that you like, and have selected sounds that you enjoy using with that particular Style, you
can save all of these settings together as a Performance. Other settings saved with a Performance are the tempo,
any needed effects and transpositions and the Vocal Processor preset and volume settings. Up to 320
Performances can be saved to internal memory!
1.

To save a Performance, press the STYLE PLAY mode button. Press the popup in the upper right of the display and
select Write Performance.

2.

You can name your Performance by pressing the T next to Name:, and entering characters in the display. When

3.

For now, lets select an empty user location to save your performance, so that you dont overwrite the presets.

4.

For Perf. Bank: select 19 User 2. Next, for Performance: select 08-empty, and then press OK.

finished, press OK.

Quick Recording with the Backing Sequencer

The Backing Sequencer (Quick Record) function lets you record a Style with all of its elements quickly and easily.
This is a great feature for getting ideas down, as well as taking advantage of the wonderfully-programmed Styles
for writing songs.
1.

Press the STYLE PLAY button, and select the desired Style.

2.

Press the SEQUENCER button. The upper region of the DISPLAY will indicate New Song.

3.

Press the RECORD button (the red button to the left of the DISPLAY).

4.

Press the Backing Sequence (Quick Record) radio button in the display, and then press OK.

5.

Press the BIG RED START / STOP button. Youll hear a one bar count-off before recording begins

6.

Start Playing!

7.

Press the Sequencer 1 PLAY / STOP button to stop recording. (Pressing the Start/Stop button will NOT stop the
sequencer!)

8.

Press the PLAY / STOP button again, to hear your sequence. Ta Da! You (and the Pa800) have just created a SONG!
Congratulations!

One of the great features of the Backing Sequencer is the ability to change what youve recorded easily. For
instance, if you like what youve recorded, but decide to use a different style - or want to change a chord(s) in your
progression, it can be done quickly, without having to re-play the partslets view these edit functions, using your
current song
9.

Press the RECORD button to the left of the DISPLAY then select Step Backing Sequence, and then press OK.

10. In the lower region of the display, you can move one event, measure or step at a time and change the Style, Tempo,
Chord, etc. of your song with out having to re-record it.
11. To exit, press Done, and then press Yes.

Pa800 EasyStart

And now to save your song

12. Press the popup in the upper right of the display, and then select Save Song.
13. You can save to the internal memory, or to USB media, inserted in either of the front or rear USB 2.0 ports. Touch
Save.
14. Name your song by pressing the T next to New Song, and typing onscreen. Press OK, and then press OK again.
When prompted, Are you Sure press Yes.

The SongBook
The Pa800s SongBook feature is a database of performance settings, standard MIDI files, and karaoke files that
you can search by name, tempo, key, meter or genre. Its a great way to organize your favorite settings so that
you can get to them quickly and easily! You can even create custom lists so your set goes without a hitch.
1.

Press the SONGBOOK button. Here you can scroll through the list of hundreds of exsisting entries. This could take
awhile. Lets make things easier...

2.

Press the Filter box in the display. Here you can narrow your search down. As example: Pop songs that have a

3.

Select one of the songs that you may be familiar with, and then Press the Select box in the display.

4.

Press the START/STOP button to play the selected file.

tempo between 100 and 130 BPM. Press Cancel to exit this page.

Using the TC-Helicon Vocal Processor

The Pa800 includes a powerful Vocal Processor from TC-Helicon! Its capable of producing three-part harmonies,
with selectable gender for each part. It even contains dedicated delay, compression, and reverb. From Barry White
to the Chipmunks and everything in between, your vocals will take on new life!
1.

Press the SLIDER MODE button until Mic is lit. The ASSIGNABLE SLIDERS are now set to control volume and FX level!

2.

Turn the rear panel MIC GAIN knob down, and set ASSIGNABLE SLIDER 1 (mic volume) near the top.

3.

While talking/singing into the mic, adjust the rear panel MIC GAIN knob.

4.

Go to either Style Play or Song Play mode, and touch the Mic tab on the bottom of the display.

5.

In the display, youll see VP: > 001 TC-Helicon. Touch the arrow after VP: to choose a preset.

6.

To remove the harmony parts, either push the HARMONY button or touch the icon with three mics.

Important Owners Manual References

Glossary of Terms

25

Style Record Mode

106

Sequencer operating mode

170

Media edit mode

222

Recognized chords

293

Troubleshooting

298
7

Pa800 EasyStart

Dont forget to check the website often for OS updates and other useful downloads!

http://www.korgpa.com

Options

VIF4 - Video Interface Board

A video interface board (PAL and NTSC compatible) ideal for
karaoke, showing lyrics directly on any monitor or TV screen.
Useful also to "mirror" in a TV the internal display

HDIK-1 - Hard Disk Installation Kit

Kit for installing a standard 2.5" ATA hard disk drive (Hard Disk
not included)

Hard Disk (not available from Korg)

You can use any standard 2.5" ATA hard disk drive (supported
capacity up to 2 Terabyte)

Pa800 EasyStart
EXP-2 - Expression/Volume Pedal
Connected to the Assignable Pedal socket, will provide various
control functions, like Master Volume, Keyboard Expression, Vdf
CutOff, etc. (depends on the Global settings)

XVP-10 - Professional Expression/Volume Pedal

Connected to the Assignable Pedal socket, will provide various
control functions, like Master Volume, Keyboard Expression, Vdf
CutOff, etc. (depends on the Global settings). Rugged
construction for professional use

EC5 - Assignable Multi-Switch Controller

Five-switches Foot Controller. Individual functions, like
Start/Stop, Bass Inversion, Synchro Start, etc., can be
programmed and saved in Global Mode

DS-1H - Damper Pedal

Professional, piano-style Damper pedal

PS-1 - Switch Pedal

Can be used for sustain when connected to the Damper socket.
Can also be used for connection to the Assignable Pedal socket,
providing various functions (depends on the Global settings)

Please note: Technical specifications are subject to change without notice.