Rogerft

One of the most profitable companies in the world significantly upgrades its products on a regular basis for free across a number of generations of models. Its sales have increased at a rate others dream of. They view this as looking after and growing their customer base who will spend more money with them in future years and it creates huge interest around their products. No manufacturer gives hardware away but software is different.

A lot of hard working musicians in fact want a single keyboard that does as much as possible and choose a stage piano because of the number of weighted keys and its light weight. For many that is currently the PX-5S. Other manufacturers will be watching this and if the numbers are right will want a share of this (new?) segment. Casio have the hardware and are seeing traction through interacting with their customers more than is usual for a Japanese company. Bringing new product to market is very expensive so it makes financial sense to stretch what you have if the potential is there. Given the depth of the engine in the PX-5S incremental improvement is one way to differentiate and revitalise the product, win customers and welcome to the new world. Its not about wish lists if it makes sense to the marketing department.

The PX-5S has quite a buzz round it and in todays marketplace the strongest sales promotion comes from happy customers telling their friends and vibrant forums effectively promoting the product. Looking at the product cycle the 5S probably has quite some life left and anyway too frequent a model replacement can alienate previous buyers. I suspect it would be in Casio's own interest to react positively to what their customers are saying and also improving the product during its life cycle should positively effect sales and garner repeat custom. Obviously releasing a Midi Designer app similar to what happened with the XW is in line with this thinking. The best time to release an upgrade is on the eve of significant Trade Shows as this effectively gives you almost a new product and throws a curve ball at the competition. A number of manufacturers have achieved significant success with this type of strategy.

Ebonivor - Thanks for the FB invite much appreciated but I already spend far too much time on the web! So far I have resisted Face Book (after seeing how much time my family spend there) despite urging from friends. Thanks also for your insight into the possibility of new midi designer s/w, I will look forward to that.

Mike, hello and thanks for replying. The video I saw was a sales promotion of the PX-5S for Reidys done by a Casio rep. Given that many customers now buy online It is unfortunate that the information was not accurate and in fact gave the impression there was a new app developed by Casio. (Not something by Midi Designer under informal development by yourself and others). I think anyone making a purchase after seeing this video by an employee would have a perfect right to be less than happy with Casio. Once these things get onto the web its hard to do much about it! From my perspective I already owned the keyboard so have no issue other than an interest in what might become available. I understand your position that you are just trying to help owners and out of self interest and thank you for that. Roger

Ebonivor, thanks for your reply, I purchased my PS-5S a few months back and there was no mention of free apps so I had no expectations. I am not on FB but from this forum can see the effort Mike has made with support and development. I know what you mean about resolution and readabilty, I have a 24" Imac and have problems reading my Mail Inbox somthing apple ignore which is surprising given their user demographic! Unfortunately I find the data editor difficult to read too hence my interest in Ipad apps which I can read! I have no problem with purchasing Midi designer if there is a layout available, good luck with you efforts.

Yes Brad I think that is what is confusing as it is not free (all though it appears it was at one time) and it doesn't control everything which is how the new app is described in the video. I assume Casio is doing something similar to what was done for their Synthesiser although there is nothing on the Casio website about it. I know he is a salesman but its a bit naughty to promote using non existent software! I downloaded the Synth app and it is quite impressive but obviously no good for the PX-5S. Maybe someone from Casio can comment?

Thanks for the reply Brad. Its confusing as I just watched a youtube video where a Casio rep was playing the PX-5S and talking about the new ipad app which doesn't seem to exist! Shame the data editor can't be programmed to play a melody on the PX-5S as you adjust the controls so you could hear the effect. Would certainly speed things up for me as I can't get the keyboard close enough to the computer.

What has happened to this layout has it been abandoned? I find the editor (small text) and onboard screen quite hard to use as my eyesight is not as sharp as it was - the ipad is much easier! Is there a way to make text and controls bigger on the editor besides zooming the whole screen?

Really nice guitar Sounds Mike - Thank You! It's great to see the backing Casio (+you and your team) are giving this product, not every manufacturer does this. What you have achieved by manipulating the original samples is a tremendous strength of the PX-5S - aside from the expensive keyboards that can download and update Wave Samples most are tied to what they had at birth! It will be interesting to see how the refined Sounds grow within the PX-5S community ... I've been looking at Midi Designer and tried the two packages great potential here too a comprehensive program could really make the PX-5S sing :-)

Thanks - bit more knowledge ! :-)

Thanks BradMZ for that explanation .. But it does raise another question .... If I move any controller (Knob Slider or Wheel) and Power-Off without saving as it was a performance change to the controllers, when I Power-On again the Stage Settings are in the last saved state but the controllers are not in the position they were when the Stage Setting was created and their relative value when operated will now be different? ... Therefore if I wanted to play one of Mike Martins SS downloads as it was created is there a convention as to where the controller position was when that setting was created and where they should be when the PX-5S is Powered-On so as to recreate the same operational values and same performance? Hope I'm understanding this correctly! Ahhhhh ... Update ... The Knobs must have some kind of positional update function. As before, put all the Knobs to Max on SS 0-0 and Power-Off, then Power-On again and the EQ/Vol. sounds less than previous - However move the knobs away from and back to the Max setting and the EQ now sounds as it did originally. So there must be some positional reset ... Anyone else observed this?

Hello from the UK - I have just got my PX-5S and have tried to read all the info I can find but can't see an answer to this ... My Keyboard in running V1.12 as delivered and I have run the Knob calibration function. If I select SS-0 the EQ for the piano is controlled by the 4 knobs. If I put all the 4 knobs (EQ frequencies) to Max fully clockwise and turn off the PX-5S when I turn it back on the amount of EQ is much less than before. Does this mean you have to turn the knobs to centre? or Min? Before power Off. I can't see a requirement for this in the Manual/Online Tutorial Do the Sliders react like this as well? Any comments much appreciated. Roger