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CarbonLifeForm

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Posts posted by CarbonLifeForm

  1. Thanks for your quick reply, Brad. 
     

    The LEDs light up just fine but what will happen is, when pressing the Tone Variation button, the LEDs for Standard, Advance, Modern, etc. will mostly go in order from left to right, but will occasionally go right to left. 
     

    More puzzling is sometimes just clicking the Tone Variation button will select a new Tone category altogether. Say I’m on E. Piano 1 and toggling between the tones in that bank, the Tone Variation button will change the category to a different one, like E. Piano 2, and that button’s LED will light up. 
     

    I made a quick video and will try to upload it here.
     

    Thanks, Matt

  2. Hi, just received my CT-S1 on Friday and I’ve really been liking it. A lot. 
     

    I am having an issue with the Tone Variation button not acting as I’d expect it to and was wondering if others are seeing what I’m seeing. 

    My expectation from reading the manual and watching videos is that when you select a tone category like Piano or Organ and then click the Tone Variation button that it will step you through the five available variations for each category from left to right, then start over at the first variation. I’m thinking it should just step through the five variations and start over while staying in the same tone category (Piano, Organ, etc.)

     

    What my keyboard is doing, however, is skipping to different tone category altogether. For example, when I select a category like Piano or Organ and press the Tone Variation button to select a different Piano or Organ, sometimes it switches to a different category altogether, like E. Piano or Synth. I don’t want to change the category but pressing the Tone Variation button will change the category. It’s totally random but it makes navigating through the tones a pain. 
     

    Sometimes I’ll want the Vintage piano so I’ll select Piano and tap the Tone Variation button, but before I can get to the Vintage piano, I’ll get bounced to a different category like E. Piano and I have to go back and select Piano again and maybe or maybe not the Tone Variation button will get me to the Vintage tone. Like I said it’s totally random. 
     

    Is anyone else seeing this?

     

    I checked out a CT-S1 on display at my local music store and it was even worse than my brand new board. Pressing the Tone Variation button on that one would often do nothing, just stay on the current tone, or it would select the variations from right to left, and left to right, without any rhyme or reason as to why. This model also did what mine is doing, changing the sound category altogether just by tapping the Tone Variation button. 
     

    I hope this is a bug that can be fixed via a firmware update or sadly I am going to have to return it, which would be a huge bummer because I love what Casio is doing and I think they knocked it out of the park with the tones they put in this board. The whole package is brilliant. 
     
    I’m happy to post a video of my issue if my explanation wasn’t clear.
     

    Thanks, everyone. 

  3. Hi, I hope someone can help me figure out what setting I need to change to unlock linked zone parameters on my XW-P1.

    When I edit a performance and enable a new zone, any changes I that make to either zone, in terms of volume, panning, etc. are mirrored on the other enabled zone. So if I set the volume of zone 1 to 90, zone 2 also is set at 90. Same thing with other functions like panning. If I set panning on zone 1 to -12, zone 2 also gets set to -12. It doesn't matter if I make changes to zones 1 or 2, if they are enabled, then the parameter setting is mirrored on the other enabled zone. If I enable more than two zones, this same linked behavior happens as well. I think I must have unwittingly linked my zones but I cannot figure out how to unlink them.

     

    I hope there is an easy explanation for this. It must be a setting somewhere that I have changed but I am unfamiliar with what it is and how to get back to it. I just need to make changes to my zones independently, so my changes aren't duplicated across all my zones. Thanks for any help anyone can supply. 

  4. Hi, there is an OLD reference to a NEW sound set on the now defunct XW synth blog website (https://xwsynth.wordpress.com) and the sounds are previewed in the video below.  I have checked the download section here on the forums but there's nothing labeled obviously as a new sound set (assuming it is official rather than user created). Is this a single download somewhere in the download section or have these been uploaded as individual files?  I am assuming this was an official Casio release rather than User generated tones (?) ... Thanks for your help.

     

     

  5. 4 hours ago, AlenK said:

    If you have direct evidence to the contrary I will believe you but I'll still be surprised. It runs counter to what studying Casio products tell us about the company's engineering.

     

    One of my bandmates has the CTK 7200. I love that board, too. I talked him into buying it to keep him from borrowing one of mine all the time  :-). If I get the opportunity to open it up side-by-side along my XWP1, I will. I have played both back to back and they don’t feel or sound  the same to me. I like the action on the XWP1 much better. It is much smoother and quieter. Of course,  they could be identical in design but just made differently. Production methods may have changed over the years. My XW is a very early one (5 yrs old or so) and his 7200 is nearly new. 

  6. If it is a super loud pop you have a bad relay or power capacitor on the main power circuit board. If it's just a slight pop it's normal. If you are worried about your headphones, unplug them before turning on the keyboard. Also, turning the volume to 0 also is a good practice before powering on.

  7. 2 hours ago, Stewart said:

    I have a Yamaha psr s500 that don't work and i was thinking of taking that keybed out of it and put it in the XWP1.  I was wondering if that would work. Thanks. 

     

    Hi, Stewart, I agree with @Lee33. I repair keyboards as a side job and I have opened up and worked on many a Casio and Yamaha. All I can say is you would have to be extremely lucky for everything to work out and line up. There are so many different factors ... the overall size of the keybed (in all three dimensions), the mechanism the keys use to operate and trip the contact strips, the electronic connection between the key assembly and the main board, etc. The variation among all of these components is immense from keyboard to keyboard, manufacturer to manufacturer. I really don't think anyone is that lucky, but maybe you are!

     

    All keyboard makers use their own proprietary approaches (Nord, Roland, Yamaha, Kurzweil, Casio, etc.). Many use Fatar beds but even Fatars are different model to model. In other words, it is highly unlikely the keybed from another CASIO 61-key keyboard, like one of the CTK models, would fit into the XW-P1. Not to mention -- how the keybed transmits velocity and note on/off data might be different than what the main board is expecting to see. Think of how sustain pedals work opposite on Casios and Yamahas due to the polarity the circuit is expecting to see. Plug a Yamaha pedal into a Casio and it sustains constantly until the pedal is pressed, turning the sustain off.

     

    Your best approach is as described above -- open it up and regrease everything (use a Teflon based grease; silicone can get sticky). Figure out how to take the keybed apart. Lots of Youtube videos on this. Make sure the keys don't have any casting burrs or other protrusions on them that might be inhibiting the action. Study the mechanism to see how it works and add sticky felt wherever there is plastic-on-plastic contact. It's a big job, especially the first time you do it, but it is not rocket science. If you are near the D.C. area I'd be happy to help out.

     

    If that is too much to ask, find a Midi controller you like the feel of and hook that to your XW. I know ... then you have to carry two boards, which sucks. But maybe you make the two-board setup your home rig and you leave the second board at home when you go out and gig.

  8. Just when I was riding high about where I was getting in learning this synth, now I am slapped back to earth with the effects routing and controller assignments! I have tons of questions but I'm going to try to work through them first and see if things start to click again before posting questions that have *relatively* obvious answers.

     

    For now only one question is really pressing ... can changes you make in mixer mode be saved? The manual doesn't cover this. Maybe a better way to phrase the question is: can changes you make in mixer mode be saved as part of a performance (i.e., you play your performance, call up the mixer, make changes using the mixer, save/write the performance and then when you come back those mixer settings are recalled with the performance)? 

     

    Obviously, there is a lot of overlap between the parameters available to edit in both mixer mode and performance zone parameter editing mode, but they are not exactly the same. It would be good to know if you can use the mixer to make real time adjustments to your performance, then save those on the spot for recall later. Or if you have to make and save those changes in performance zone parameter mode only.

  9. On 2/5/2018 at 9:55 PM, AlenK said:

    CarbonLifeForm (great handle, btw), you CAN normally adjust the volumes of the zones independently in real time. There is something about the tones you have chosen that links them together. The only thing I am aware of that can link them is the DSP effect. If, for example, all the organ tones you chose happen to have a DSP effect then they will all go through the DSP effect for the tone in part/zone 1 and the volumes will be linked. You can see if a DSP effect is attached to a tone by looking at a part/zone that calls up that tone in the mixer screen. 

    @AlenK — thank you! I am still deep into your companion guide... just wow. Great work. Thank you again for putting that together. It’s not often someone takes the time to do that and then share it so freely. It’s also raising a bunch or newbie questions for me — but more in that later. 

     

    It’s great to hear it is possible to control the volumes of the 4 parts independently in PERF mode in real time! What is the procedure to accomplish this? Thanks again. 

  10. I am experiencing something similar. i created a performance with three organs -- one organ per part for a total of three parts (trying to get a fat, distorted Deep Purple organ sound). I was able to independently balance the part volumes of the organs in the on-board editor. Then I got the idea it might be cool to try to set it up so I could change the volumes of each of the organs in real time,  so I edited the knob assignments for each part. I stepped through each part and assigned a different knob to volume (cc007). So in part 1 I went to knob 1 and set it to CC007, went into part 2 and set knob 2 to CC007, etc. 

     

    I quickly realized that now each of the three knobs controlled all three parts simultaneously. That could only mean that the knob assignments must be a global thing in performance mode,  and cannot be assigned per part. So I went back in and set all the knob assignments to their default. But the volumes of all three organs/parts are still linked. If I change the volume of one in the editor, it changes all three. I am not sure why I can't get back to being able to balance the volumes independently.

     

    I am also coming to the conclusion that there is no way to set up performances so that you can have independent control over the four part volumes in real time. Am I missing something or is that correct? If that is the case, it is a disappointing discovery for an otherwise great synth. Real time control of the four part volumes seems like it would be a basic feature! 

    • Thanks 1
  11. This is very helpful. Thank you. I am now reading your companion guide. What an awesome doc. Thank you for putting it together and for sharing it. 
     

    Using the footswitch for the rotary on/off when playing organs in PERF mode is very helpful, but it would also be nice to have a volume pedal. I am guessing that the only way to have both would be to use either a midi pedal plugged into the midi in and assigned to volume CC007, or use an external analog pedal coming from the line outs (like a guitarists volume pedal, only stereo).  

  12. Hi, everyone! Hopefully someone can help. I’m having an issue with the pedal assignment on the XWP1 when switching in and out of performance mode. 

     

    I downloaded a bunch of user sounds from this site and loaded them onto my board. To my delight, I discovered that some of the organ patches utilize the sustain pedal as an on off switch for the rotary speed function, allowing you to play the organ with both hands and switch the speed with your foot pedal.  After some digging I found that you set up this parameter from a dropdown in the data editor. I couldn’t find a way to do this on the board itself, only with the editor. But I was really happy to discover it since the XWP1 doesn’t have a dedicated input for a midi cc/expression pedal. 

     

    The problem I’m having is when I switch away from one of the performances set up like this (pedal assigned to rotary rather than hold) and into the tone mode. If I select a PCM patch like a piano or electric piano that is set up to use the sustain pedal as a hold/sustain rather than rotary, the pedal doesn’t work at all. It’s like the board doesn’t load the pedal assignment for the newly selected patch. It seems to retain its previous pedal assign setting from the performance mode even though you are now playing a PCM tone that is saved to use the pedal as a sustain pedal.  

     

    If I switch back into performance mode and select a performance that is set up to use the pedal as a sustain/hold function, then switch to a PCM piano, then the sustain pedal will work correctly as sustain pedal.  So at least it appears consistent that the board is remembering the previous pedal assign even after switching to a new tone, but  it would be better if it loaded the pedal assign that was saved with the patch you have just selected. It is frustrating because it involves several extra steps to get the pedal assign correct when switching patches. 

     

    Can anyone else recreate this? Am I doing something wrong? I’m on firmware 1.11. Thanks so much!

  13. I forgot to add. Tonight I figured out a workaround: Use an SD card. Once it is formatted, create a new registration and save it to a registration bank. Then before you turn off the piano, follow the steps in the manual for saving the bank (or all of the banks) to the SD card. It's a quick and painless process. I then turned off the PX3 and turned it back on. I had to load the bank I had just saved from the SD card but that was quick and my registration was right where I stored it. Cool. Next, I have to test this out after I create multiple registrations to see if all of them will save  and load in the same way as the one test case did. 

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  14. I looked at the main circuit board for something that resembled memory but didn't immediately identify anything. I suppose it could look like an op amp. If you figure out what the component is and where on the board it is, could you let us know? Almost all circuit board parts are sourced from third party vendors so it's likely it is available somewhere. I don't mind soldering small components either. I'd be more worried that the board might lose all of its tones and have to be reinstalled somehow. 

  15. Hey, guys, I am having an issue with my PX-3 not saving anything -- registrations, bank names, etc. nothing. When I try to perform a factory reset it hangs up on the "Please Wait" message infinitely and will not complete the reset. 

     

    I'm handy with keyboard repairs and opened mine up looking for an internal battery but found nothing on any of the circuit boards. 

     

    Has anyone resolved this issue? Thanks. 

  16. Hey, guys, I am having the exact same issue with my PX-3 not saving anything -- registrations, bank names, etc. and doing a factory reset produces and infinite "Please Wait" message. 

     

    I'm handy with keyboard repairs and opened mine up looking for an internal battery but found nothing on any of the circuit boards. 

     

    Has anyone resolved this issue? Thanks. 

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