Most Liked Content

I purchased a used Casio LK-280. It looks like it is in great shape. No signs of physical damage of any kind.

All other features seem to be working great, except for the keyboard keys not lighting up.

I've gone through the manual, page by page, to no avail.

Reset it according to factory default settings (pg 8), nothing happened.

Held down the function key for several seconds, able to see the feature on the LCD screen that indicates keyboard light is on or off. I tried both on and off, and nothing changed.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me to try? I'd really, really love to get this working!  

Thank you for any ideas you can offer!

Richie Rich

Will powered speakers work coming out of the line out inputs without going through an amp?

I thought it would be interesting to contribute diagrams or descriptions of our setups.  Mine is a home studio, and the diagram below illustrates the keyboards/synths that I'm using.  I'll get some pics later and include them as well.  In this diagram, I've focused on synths and omitted all things guitar as well as all outboard gear.













I need to put some things away.

Hi everyone,
I'm glad I found this forum! This is my first post here and I'd like to start by sharing my experience with Casio.

As a teen back in the 80's, I fell in love with synthesizers. I had been studying piano since I was 5 and although I enjoyed playing the piano, synths were amazing.  I think "Howard Jones" was a major "culprit" in whetting my appetite to get a synth, and after a lot of peskering, my folks gave in.

I originally wanted a Roland, probably because that was one of the main synths I saw popular rock artists using on stage, and the place where I was studying piano at the time had a used Juno 106 come through.  I thought it was a Godsend, but after a weekend of thinking about it (my mom insisted I be patient, after all, it was a big expense back then), when I got back on Monday it was gone!

Well, I then started considering the new CZ-1000 that was in the shop. I knew it would be fun, and although I didn't consider it a "serious" synth (I had friends around me buying everything but! Yamaha, Roland, Korg..).  Maybe it was desperation, I don't know, but I bought it.

Waveforms and LFOs and everything else was pretty new to me, but I had fun tweaking. Maybe too much fun.  And I discovered that the 8-stage envelopes for filter, pitch and amplitude were a head above the other "professional" synths that were out there. (Heck, even the DX7 didn't have stereo output!)

Then, I met a guy at the place where I worked, Tom, who had a CZ-101.  So we decided to get together with our keyboards one weekend.  After that weekend, we decided to meet again and share what we had come up with.

My friend absolutely amazed me with the sounds he had come up with!  One was a trickling water-type sound; another was an emulation of the "Baba O'Reilly" intro. Another was a pretty impressive helicopter sound (not the cheezy stuff I had heard in the past).

I began looking at my CZ-1000 in a different light. This thing had power.  In fact, I began "wowing" some of my friends who had other synths, as they couldn't reproduce the sounds (like the trickling water) that I was able to show them.   (I even came across an ad about a "modulation strip" that could be soldered to the CZ-1000 to give mod wheel capability. So I got it, and my best friend (his name is Mike Martin! lol) gave me a hand in adding it. COOL!)

----

Well, time went by.  I sold my CZ, which I now thoroughly regret. It was in good shape, but I thought the money was more important at the time. It wasn't. The money wasn't worth the synth.  --Big mistake.--  With it, I sold several cartridges, and all the sounds it could make that I've never seen people post, even on YouTube.  A true "love affair" ended.

----

Since 2001, I own a Yamaha Motif 8 that I enjoyed for a while, but I'm much more fascinated by tweaking waves than playing samples. (Yes, it's tweakable, but not the same world, imo.)

Then I  began exploring softsynths, and in particular, linux-based synthesizers, as I use only linux now.  So I use the Motif as a controller now, and it does a good job for that, weighted keys and all.

--------

Still, I certainly miss the CZ.  I've recently made a website where I'm showcasing linux-based synths, and I was finally able to tweak the trickling water sound my friend Tom had created back then. I did it on a softsynth called amSynth. I called the sound "Mr. Tom" in dedication.  What he could do, I've never seen demonstrated on any Casio demo, which is sad.  Still to this day, I think that synth series wasn't given the attention it should have. Especially the CZ-1, with all the capabilities the CZ-1000 didn't have.  Lots of powerful features there.  Unfortunately, sampling arrived on the scene and changed the tide.

But I still love tweaking, probably now more than ever. Lots of info out there to learn from, and I'm now doing my part participating in the virtual synth arena.  (How I wish I had had Internet back in the 80's, to show the world what my CZ could do!!!!)

End of rant...

If anyone is curious about the trickling water sound (as well as an emulation of the CZ "Brass Ens. 1" start-up patch) or about linux-based softsynths, feel free to visit me at:  http://amsynth.com


In my humble experience, Casio is where it all started.  I think the vision was good (and Tom should've been hired as a sound designer!).  It's just sad that more attention wasn't given to it when it first came out.

Fortunately, I do see some passion re-ignited for these 80's synths.  Maybe they'll re-make the CZ line, perhaps with a few more "modern" features, but maintaining the same traditional structure? I'd certainly consider the purchase if they did!

To me, the CZ line was as unique as the Moog or Prophet.


Love to hear anyone's comments!

brian

Does anyone know where I can try out the new AP-650 near Winston-Salem or Hickory North Carolina?I can not find any stores listed on the where to buy link on the Casio music gear website.  Thanks!

Sorry the forum was down today, but the migration to the new server finally happened.  Seems ok so far.  Let me know.

My band usually wants me playing electric piano on blues...seems to fit with the otherwise guitar-driven sound we have.  I REALLY wanted a gravelly Rhodes sound, but none of the eight electrics quite did it.  So, I opted for the one that was most metallic and had the most dialed-in tremelo, the "60s electric piano".

One night, I thought I broke my PX-330!

We were doing a request: Joy To the World by Three Dog Night.  The keyboard was mixed particularly quietly that night, so I found myself beating on it pretty hard.  Yay, Casio, it takes the abuse.

But my ears went into shock when I heard the perfect metallic clank of a properly played Rhodes - coming from my PX-330!  But only for a few notes, then back to the more bell-like tones that are a poor sub.  I immediately realized that the patch plays a completely different sample when you strike the keys hard.  Not a more aggressive sounding version of the same sample, but it's as if they sampled two completely different instrumenst.

Back home I explored it further and confirmed it.  Seems that of the "layered" voices, there's one that doesn't fit the rest in that patch...and I wish it were the normal one.  I experimented with the touch sensitivity, but no matter how sensitive I set it, my fingers/hands do not have the strength to reliablity coax that unusual sample out of the instrument.

On the whole, I'd say the patch is defective.  I'd love to see it always sound like a Rhodes, but second best would be always sound like the "60s electric piano" normally does.

Is there a software upgrade for this kind of issue, or did I really break it?

Thanks,

Clums

In one of the other threads it was noted that the Privia line has an unbalanced audio output.  When feeding professional amplified speakers, mixers, etc., balanced output and balanced cable allows for very long cable runs without hum or change in sonic quality. I own a Radial Pro passive DI box, but that just didn't seem to work right, and I also wanted a dual channel capability because I generally use two amps for the piano or need to feed a monitor and PA sytem.

The piano has plenty of output so the matter is strictly that of converting the unbalanced piano outputs to balanced.  While there are loads of DI boxes, the lack of info regarding impedance transformation or ratios was disconcerting.  My Radial Pro box reduced the levels.  Instead, I opted to build my own DI box which proved to be an inexpensive and one evening project.  The result is a dual channel box that has eliminated hum, ground loops while converting the outputs as required.

The heart of the unit is a pair of Edcor model PC600/600 transformers.   http://www.edcorusa.com   These are small 600 ohm to 600 ohm transformers that can be wired unbalanced on the input to balanced on the output.  They are designed for this use, have a flat frequency response and very low distortion.  The transformers are mounted in a 4 x 3 x 1.5" plastic box strapped vertically on opposite sides with a wire tie.  Two standard 3 connector 1/4" phone jacks are mounted on each end.  The unbalanced inputs are wired:  transformer pin 1 to tip, pin 3 to sleeve (pin 2 on the transformer and the ring on the jack are not used).  The output or balanced jack is wired:  transformer pin 5 to ring, pin 6 to sleeve, pin 7 to tip.  In a dual channel box do NOT connect the sleeves of both channels together.   If a metal enclosure is used, you must use fully insulated 1/4" jacks.

Costs:  The transformers are $6.37 each, but with shipping and handling my cost was $28.  The four jacks and box will cost you around 15-$18, so for under $50 you have a dual channel matching DI box.  One option is to use XLR connectors.  That would work in the same size box if you place the transformers on the short sides.  The net result is complete hum elimination and the ability to use balanced TRS cables to the powered speakers and the PA.  Contact me if you need any other details.  

Gary

Jorge

Estoy usando el traductor de bing. Funcionó muy bien traducir tu post en inglés.
Espero que obras también va al revés, o esto puede no tener mucho sentido.

El Editor de tono en los teclados Casio sólo permite realizar modificaciones muy limitadas (ajustes) en tonos existentes.
Las formas de onda muestreadas básicas no pueden cambiar o reemplazar.

Edición de tonos existentes en un equipo requiere un programa de software conocido como un editor/bibliotecario.
Estos fueron muy populares en la década de 1980, pero que yo sepa, no hay ningún editor/bibliotecarios para los
actuales teclados Casio. Usted se necesita editar el tono del teclado, guardar en un tono de usuario y guarde en
la tarjeta SD RAM.

You'll notice at the top of the forum a new tab for Downloads.  This will allow you to share custom sounds for your Casio product.  At first we have sections for the XW series and PX-5S but we'll get sections for other Casio products added soon.

Mike, would it be possible for a future firmware update to increase the Octave Shift range in Midi Edit beyond the current -2 to +2? I tried to create a Stage Setting with drums shifted five octaves up to the top of the keyboard, leaving the rest of the note range for bass and pianos, but the combination of Octave Shift and Transpose is limited to a total of three octaves up or down.

Hello everyone, 

 

I need help with the auto-harmonize feature on the PX-350, how does it work ? Sometimes, it kicks in, sometime it doesn't ...

 

Thanks .

 

Aymeric

 

Hi All,

 

New Song ... remixer for a contest on BeatPort.  I used the Casio XW-P1 for Percussions, Bass, Pads, and Piano.  I used a Waldorf Blofeld for UltraBass, SynthLine. I used Logic Pro as the main DAW for vocal audio, audio processing. Pulled MIDI melody from Bass Stem and then reworked vocal tracks split into Female Lead - sent through a Vocoder filter, refrain (Drive) chorus sent through delay filter. I unfortunately like the song as it was, which makes remixing tough. I dont know about you but repainting part of the Mona Lisa with an upside down smile is not my thing.

 

Please listen and Enjoy...pointers are always welcome. 

 

http://play.beatport...624de067ded7352

 

 

Sean777

Hi, since yesterday I am a proud owner of the XW-P1.

after some study I created my first Hexlayer, and made this track with this



hope you like it

An Hex Layer using the CZ waveforms. Its a kind of homage to my beloved two CZ 5000

https://soundcloud.c...w-p1-beloved-cz


Obs: modulation wheel half way

Hi Can any of you guys help me out , I would like the easy instructions to save and play music to the memory card, Just to sit at the keyboard .. Save it as I play..... then listen to my mistakes.. I cannot seem to make sense of the manual, This is my first casio keyboard  for many years, and im a bit out of touch with the manuals Thank you for reading this

Naaah...There's not much out there (as far as I know) that you can use to make your own sounds and rhythms. I experimented with a proggie called "stytockf", which converts Yamaha styles to ckf format.

I think the brilliant guy that made the proggie gave up along the way, as there were no later versions available. Still, I managed to convert a few acceptable styles - frustrating as the work was - and it's not really something I'd recommend to others, unless you're a whizz at that sort of thing and have plenty of spare time on your hands. Likewise, I stopped making new styles along the way.......

But you can still pick it up on the internet - quite free, too - and try it out yourself.

If ya make some good sounds, then send them on, huh?

Peanut

Thanks Mike.  I should just wait until I get the PX-5s in hand before I ask anything else.  I'm just so excited I can't help it.

Hi,

Glade to see another venom + xwp1 ...

 

 

ps : cleaning isn't my priority ...

Hi Mike,
Since the manuals are so lacking in detail, could you give us a quick tutorial on how to create a basic drum pattern and how to save it, then call it up and trigger it in a live situation. I'm sure it's probably a simple procedure, but I have no idea how to begin, nor can I find any info in the manuals. A simple repetitive swing pattern and Bossa Nova pattern are what I'm interested in. Thanks for your help with this.
Looking forward to doing this so I can fire my drummer. (-: