Alex Skolnick Takes Performance And Practice To The Next Level With New Korg Pandora PX5D [ Winter NAMM 2008 ]

WINTER NAMM SHOW, ANAHEIM, CA, January 17, 2008 — Alex Skolnick’s reputation as one of today’s finest and most versatile guitarists has been well earned. His ever-expanding guitar techniques and solo ideas come from his varied list of project collaborations, starting as a metal guitarist with Testament. Since then, he has shown himself to be equally at home in several different genres: among others, thrash metal with a reunited Testament; theatrical progressive rock with Trans-Siberian Orchestra and in collaboration with Jim Steinman; and tight post-bop trio jazz with his own Alex Skolnick Trio, among other projects.

Recently, Skolnick has added Korg’s Pandora PX5D to his setup, and he has been extensively utilizing it for a multitude of practice, recording and live applications. Says Skolnick, “For practice, I use the phrase trainer to record my favorite licks, slow them down at pitch and learn them at a comfortable tempo. This helps to absorb the lick in a healthy way. It’s a quick, effective way to develop your playing.” He continues, “For live performance, the PX5D gives you access to different tones and backing which are very fun to play over, and for recording, it works great with other applications like GarageBand, etc., by giving you a much wider range of sounds than you’d have otherwise.”

The PX5D has already found its way into other recent recording applications, as Skolnick explains: “I’ve also been using it to develop ideas for studio recording sessions. With eighty seconds of memory, I can loop a section of a song and play over it until I have a part I like. On a recent recording session, I set up my own separate station in the back of the control room. While the engineer was editing, loading the next song or taking a break, I’d be reviewing and developing ideas with the PX5D. When it was time to track, I was much better prepared.”

Korg’s new Pandora PX5D personal multi-effects processor and USB recording interface is the newest member of Korg’s popular Pandora series known for packing dozens of realistic modeling effects and a multitude of live, practice and recording functions into pocket-sized units. The PX5D is the first computer-ready Pandora (via USB) for direct recording, and offers new features such as footswitch control for live use, various new models and effects and enhanced editing/modulation capability.