JohnG7

How can it be a copyright infringement, I wonder? 🙂 The 3 pedal idea has been around since ... well for a long time. Hundreds of years? The three pedal electronic unit for a some time. Was it ever patented? The connector is an industry standard one, usually used to connect cables to a printed circuit board. After market pedals from third party suppliers have been around for ages. It's almost like asking aren't these ear buds made by JVC breaking copyright when plugged into my (older) iPhone? Isn't it? 😉 Of course I could be wrong. (BTW I don't have an iPhone.) It would be good if Casio made a short adapter cable that allowed the SP-34 to be connected to a PX-560. Or, just included one in the SP-34 box for their older models. That is, if they're compatible electronically.

You can download an appendix to the main user manual and a further 28 page 'MIDI implementaion' document from Casio here: https://support.casio.com/en/manual/manualfile.php?cid=008017041 As Casio say, it's not really designed to be a controller. Sure, notes pressed and pedals used will be transmitted and received on the appropriate MIDI channels but, for instance, the PX560 only uses the MSB of Bank Select commands. This means it won't transmit an altered value of the LSB just 00H. (I haven't tried it but reading the extra documentation sems to imply that.) It's just not designed to store registrations to be transmitted to other MIDI connected devices.

Well, if you like, I can try to explain exactly how MIDI works in (I hope) plain language for you. And then go through and decode, page by page, the "PX-360M / PX-560M MIDI implementation" addendum to the main PX-560M User's Guide. The real question is, how basic do you want me to start from? Before we start may I suggest you make a visit here: https://www.midi.org/specifications and download the tables provided there. They're copyright of the MMA so I can't reproduce them. Background: Moderator of several forums including the midi.org/forum. Admin of my own forum midi-tutor.proboards.com. Was, before retirement, a data-communications protocol analyst and principal consultant for a major computer manufacturer. And ... PX560 owner. P.S. If you choose to join my forum you will need to provide a little information about yourself during the registration process, in the box provided. If you like, in this case, you can say "directed from the Casio forum". No info = rejection. 😞

For those not familiar with how electrical power and acoustic power relate to each other, ... each doubling of electrical power to the same set of speakers will cause an increase of just 3dB to the acoustic output. 3dB isn't a lot. It's a small, just noticeable increment. However going from 6 watts per channel to 50, as in the example quoted above, gives the following: 6 to 12 = +3dB 12 to 24 = +3dB 24 to 48 = +3dB so going to from 6wpc to 50wpc will increase perceived acoustic power by fractionally more than 9 decibels. You will notice that improvement. And, it's likely that a PA system includes more efficient, larger speakers, thus probably giving another 6 or 9 dB improvement above that and significantly improved bass output. But if Casio (or anyone else for that matter) said model X max output power is 90 dBA and model Y is 93 dBA you wouldn't be convinced. That's why they quote the electrical power, it sounds more impressive. But all munufacurers do it AFAIK.

If you take a look at the MIDI manual for PX5S you may get some idea of the format of the sysex, and what the messages contain. Chapters 16 & 17 have layouts of the messages and might be used to decode them. So far F0 = start of sysex 44 = Casio identifier 7E = non-real time sysex message 7F 7F I think = applies to all devices 02 = MIDI device 2 ??? (PX560?) 01 = IPS - Individual Parameter send 05 00 40 is the data F7 = end of Sysex. That's the first. I'll work slowly through the others, see if I can translate them.

Hi Chris, Yes, I bought the stand and pedal board and am pleased with it. The keyboard is held to the stand with four thumb screws, one in each corner, underneath. It's quite simple to release them using finger and thumb. I lay on my back with my head on the pedal board. The metal reinforcing bar does protrude below the bottom surface of the keyboard, being situated towards the front underneath the keys themselves. It's fairly easy to disconnect using a cross head screwdriver. I don't think you'd want it on for anything other than the CS67 stand. I don't think removing it will affect the stand, more eventual wear and tear on the screw sockets in the 560. Because the cradle for the 560 is at either end of the stand, it's pretty essential, I would have thought, to have it on when mounted on the CS67.

Having just purchased a Privia PX-560M, and being deeply into MIDI editing down to the SysEx level, I am slightly dismayed not to be able to find a MIDI implementation manual for the instrument. I'm not dismayed with my purchase, quite the contrary, I'm taking great delight in being the owner of the 560. I've downloaded a copy of the 5S stage piano MIDI implementation manual, and wonder how similar the two products are? Any help would be greatly appreciated. JohnG.

The best place, and the official author/repository of all MIDI standards, is the MMA, the MIDI Manufacturers Association. They publish all the standards on-line, now. Search for the MMA. The key difference, for most MIDI users, between GM and GM2 is the adoption of the Bank Select commands CC#0 and CC#32. There is a table at the back of the GM2 MMA specification that outlines its specific use to select 'voices'. The Bank Select message must precede the Program Change message. I've attached the MMA GM2 specification. See the tables at the end of the manual. Hope that's of some help? GM2-v12a.pdf

I'm wondering perhaps if it was older stock. The firmware is at version 1.0 rather than the latest. I've downloaded and printed the appendix from the Casio web site, but there's no MIDI implementation in it. I found the one for the 5S but don't know whether it applies to the 560. Maybe a contact direct with Casio support will elicit some response?

Hi everybody, JohnG here. As of five days ago a proud owner of a PX-560. Incredibly impressed and pleased. A wonderful, versatile instrument. At the tender age of ... well, let's just say well into retirement, I've decided it's about time to learn to play. Had various synths etc. over the years but this is the first digital piano. Sequenced classical music for many years too via notation and DAW software. However, I can't find a MIDI implementation manual, not even a PDF. Is the one for the PX-5S any use for this instrument? Kind regards, JohnG.

There was no Appendix manual with the PX-560 I just bought. I had to go to the Casio site to find the manual and download it.