KORG Pa5X-88 - Professional 88-key hammer-action accompaniment keyboard with EDS-XP engine and 8” tilting touchscreen

KORG Pa5X-88 - Professional 88-key hammer-action accompaniment keyboard with EDS-XP engine and 8” tilting touchscreen

The KORG Pa5X-88 is KORG’s flagship professional arranger. It combines an 88-key hammer-action keyboard with aftertouch with a next-generation EDS-XP sound engine and a modern, color-guided interface . Its 8” tilting capacitive touchscreen features a pad matrix , assignable mixer section , 9 faders, and 9 buttons with multi-color LEDs, for immediate control in live performance or the studio. With 160 voices of polyphony , smooth transitions between sounds/styles/songs ( Smooth Sound Transition ), and two crossfade- enabled players capable of mixing Styles , MIDI files, and MP3s , the Pa5X-88 redefines the workflow for a stage arranger.

It comes loaded with over 2,200 sounds (including multi-layered acoustic pianos with damper and body resonance), over 130 round-robin drum kits, and over 600 ready-to-play Styles . The built-in SongBook manages repertoire and playlists, the chord sequence library and advanced chord recognition speed up performance, and the 16-track sequencer allows for detailed song production. It includes a microphone processor with a 4-voice harmonizer, AutoPitch and dedicated effects, as well as a guitar processor with pedal and amp simulations. In terms of connectivity, it offers balanced outputs (Main L/R and 4 separate outputs), microphone with phantom power , guitar and line inputs, HDMI for external monitoring, MIDI In/Out/Thru , USB host (1 front + 2 rear) and USB device inputs. It can be expanded with the optional PaAS MK2 speaker system (wireless).

Main features

• 88-key keyboard (A0–C8) with hammer action and aftertouch for expressive, pianistic response.
• EDS-XP engine with 160 voices /160 oscillators, multimode filters with resonance and 3-band EQ per track.
• Tilting 8” TouchView touchscreen (capacitive, 800×480) and color-guided GUI.
• Two XDS players with crossfader: mix Styles , MIDI and MP3 in any combination, with lyrics/score on screen or via HDMI .
• Smooth transition between sounds, styles and songs ( SST ) without audio cuts or effects.
• Onboard library : >2,200 sounds, >130 drum kits ( Ambient and Round Robin ), >600 styles; >500 keyboard sets and >400 pads .
• Studio Effects : Up to 10 Insert + 3 Master per Style/Song, 3 Insert + 3 Master on keyboard tracks, master EQ and Waves MaxxAudio as finalizer.
• Vocals and guitar : microphone processor by Shift Audio (compressor/EQ/gate, 4-part harmonizer, AutoPitch , delay/reverb) and guitar rack with stompboxes and amp simulation.
• Built-in Sampler : 4GB (equivalent to 8GB linear with compression), import KORG/WAV/AIFF/SoundFont and edit multisamples , time-slice , etc.
• SongBook with filtering/sorting and 16-track sequencer ; Jukebox, markers, automatic score from MIDI .
• Connectivity : Mic inputs (XLR combo with phantom), guitar (jack), L/R line (TRS), stereo line minijack; Main L/R outputs and 4 separate outputs (TRS), headphones; MIDI In/Out/Thru; USB Host 3.0 (1 front + 2 rear) and USB Device 2.0 ; HDMI .
• Storage : 1 GB internal, rear microSD slot, and USB for external memory.
• Stage format without speakers (optional PaAS MK2 ); aluminum chassis with wooden sides.

Benefits for the interpreter

• Live without interruptions : mix songs and styles with the crossfader and change sounds without “muting” effects thanks to SST .
• Quick repertoire preparation : manage everything with SongBook and access it by list; display lyrics and sheet music on screen or via HDMI .
• Complete production on the keyboard itself: 16-track sequencer, MIDI and MP3 recording/reading, style editing, and a 4GB sampler.
• Integrated voice and instruments : microphone input with harmonizer and AutoPitch , guitar input with dedicated effects.

Use cases

• One-man band / duo : accompanies with modern styles, controls pads and mixes two songs on the fly.
• Weddings and events : Play MP3s with lyrics, display sheet music via HDMI , and link tracks with bookmarks.
• Studio : Create your own styles, record demos in the sequencer, and export MP3 audio directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I load my samples and libraries? Yes. It has 4 GB of user samples (equivalent to 8 GB linearly with compression) and supports KORG/WAV/AIFF/SoundFont formats.
• What song formats does it play? MID , KAR , MP3 with lyrics , and MP3+G (CDG) , with lyrics/score on screen or via HDMI .
• Does it come with speakers? No. It's a speakerless model; you can add the optional PaAS MK2 system.

Description for projects

KORG Pa5X-88 professional arranger (88 hammer-action keys with aftertouch); EDS-XP engine with 160-voice polyphony ; 8” TouchView touchscreen (800x480, tilting); XDS Dual Player with crossfade ; Smooth Sound Transition ; library of >2,200 sounds/>130 kits/>600 styles; effects up to 10 Insert + 3 Master per Style/Song and 3 Insert + 3 Master on keyboards; Waves MaxxAudio finalizer; mic processor (4-part harmonizer, AutoPitch) and guitar rack ; 4GB sampler (KORG/WAV/AIFF/SF2 imports); Mic XLR with phantom power , Guitar , Line L/R (TRS), Stereo Line (minijack) inputs; Main L/R and Separate 1/2/3/4 (TRS) outputs, headphones ; HDMI ; MIDI In/Out/Thru ; USB Host 3.0 (1 front + 2 rear) and USB Device 2.0 ; 1GB storage + microSD slot; 20W typical consumption; dimensions 1,262 × 396.4 × 146 mm ; weight 20.1 kg ; accessories included: power cable, music stand, quick start guide.