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Any PX-5s successor yet in 2018?


BeowulfX

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Well its been 4 yrs. or so since the PX-5s was introduced. To date, the PX-5s still has unique features that adds value to its competitive pricing. 

But Roland has released its value digital piano+synth Juno DS-88 and Yamaha's MX-88...so competition is catching up at least with the digital piano+synth-function model.

 

May be its about time to introduce a successor to the PX-5s that improves on the current features of the PX-5s to make Casio's "Pro" stage-keyboard line more appealing/enticing in light of recent competition (value models such as Juno DS-88 and MX-88) and the more recently introduced expensive digital stage-piano offerings from Roland (RD-2000), Yamaha (Montage 8).

 

    1. Six to 8 zones, with toggle on/off switches below each zone fader/slider (of course each zone can be freely assigned to any of the 16 MIDI channels)

    2. Larger screen (doesn't need to be touchscreen but that would be welcome too)

    3. A couple more assignable knobs

    4. Exp pedal input (sorry to mention this again)

    5. touch strip in addition to the current Pitch/Mod wheels

    6. Some sample/trigger pads (for triggering audio samples/clips)

    7. Dedicated Split-button function

    8. Better samples of bread and butter sounds (i.e. "patches" or "tones")

    

Keeping my fingers crossed...

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Good question… The 5S is kinda due for an upgrade. Expression pedal/half pedal damping, etc.

And while we're at it, what about the 560? Even though it's got some very cool features that are a step up from the 5S (better piano/piano adjustments/better quality sounds/display/expression, etc.), the 560 seems to be stuck between a pro board and something for home enthusiasts (to quote Rich Formidoni), with the auto accompaniment & such. That real estate might be better served with a bank of sliders. 

 

I'd love to know what Casio has got on the drawing board. Anyone else curious?

 

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Curious? Of course. But personally I am done speculating about what Casio will or won't do in the future. I have been wrong too many times. Clearly, they have all of the technology they need to release a 5S successor with almost all the requested features (I don't think we'll ever get a touchstrip or ribbon controller). In fact, they have had all the pieces for a couple of years. Why they haven't yet released a successor is one of life's many mysteries, like where missing socks go.  

 

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3 hours ago, AlenK said:

Curious? Of course. But personally I am done speculating about what Casio will or won't do in the future. I have been wrong too many times. Clearly, they have all of the technology they need to release a 5S successor with almost all the requested features (don't think we'll ever get a touchstrip or ribbon controller). In fact, they have had all the pieces for a couple of years. Why they haven't yet released a successor is one of life's many mysteries, like where missing socks go.  

 

You've hit it with missing socks. There are 3 sets of socks missing a partner in my drawer that mystery kept me in a pickle. 

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Hi,

I have a PX5-S and I'm really hoping for a replacement. No slight on the PX5-S, it's a brilliant piano.

But, it's been around a while, and Casio do have all the technology required to build a replacement.

Some of us (me included) enjoy the process of buying and owning new equipment.

Chris

p.s. Imagine if it had a piano sample from the GP range.

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There is now the Dexibell S7, the Korg Grandstage, Roland RD-2000, the Kurzweil SP6, the Roland VR-730 and I am sure that Kawai and Yamaha will up their game as to boards which are three or four years old at this point, i.e., MP-7 and CP-4.   I could not understand that Casio sort of forced its PX-5S owners to buy the PX-560 rather than releasing a new and improved PX-5S over a year ago.  I am a fan of the Privia line, having owned four Privia boards but am frustrated with the less than stellar organ sounds, a sort of complicated and non-intuitive interface and am hoping that when Casio puts out an updated model, it will wow me.  Otherwise, I will go to the competition.  At 26 pounds and with very good piano action and sounds, an updated version of the PX-5S could be killer.  Although I enjoy my PX-560 in my home, I gig with my PX-5S with a Roland VR-09 on top.  I don't think the PX-5S standing alone, cuts it in a cover band.  I would love that to change.  If I could gig with a single board and cover Hammond parts as well as piano parts at a high level, I would be in synth heaven.  (I am tired of crappy Hammond sounds on boards with great piano sounds; can't Casio steal away a programmer that really knows how to nail the Hammond sound?)  That is the idea behind the Roland VR-730 although I am sure that the piano sounds will not be as good as those on the PX-5S.  I realize that many of us use two boards because we want piano action on the bottom and synth action on the top.  Sometimes, I just want one light and compact board that can do it all.  In summary, I am hoping Namm 2018 will be the year of the keyboard and Casio will be part of the excitement by releasing a great replacement for the PX-5S.  It is time.

 

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And I forgot to mention the Yamaha MX-88 which just got a great review in Electronic Musician which is light and at a similar price point to the PX-5S.  Kurzweil will be releasing its light SP6 in about a month which is also in a similar price point give or take a few dollars.  Yes, it is time for Casio to come out with something spectacular simply to stay competitive and please its existing loyal customers which includes me.  

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The MX-88 has half the polyphony, lacks sliders, is physically much larger than the PX-5S, weighs five pounds more and has limited voice editing. (I would never buy anything that requires a third-party program for editing.) And in the US it's more expensive (currently about $200 more at places that sell both). But sure, it's competition. You could also see it as a validation of how much ahead of the curve the PX-5S was. Even four years later a big company like Yamaha can't quite match the features-for-price of the PX-5S. (Of course, the MX-88 has other features not offered on the PX-5S, such as DAW integration.) It's probably why Casio has waited so long to replace it with something better, as frustrating as that wait continues to be for people (like me) who think Casio should have done it already to stay even further ahead.

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Most of the companies, including Yamaha and Kawai, have been happy to rest their reputation on older boards for quite some time.  Even the Yamaha MX88 is not really new.  It is basically an 88 key version of the MX 49 and MX 61 which have been out for several years although I think it may have better piano sounds and other improvements which I haven't studied yet.  I would like to play it and see for myself.  Kawai did release the ES110 which is light and cheap but doesn't have a lot of non-piano features.  Even Hammond has been sitting on its SK-1 line which nails the Hammond sound but has less than stellar other sounds for quite some time.  It used to be that you had to buy a Hammond clone if you wanted decent Hammond sounds.  At this late date, unfortunately, it appears it is still hard to find a board with piano and Hammond sounds at a really high level with the Nord Stage 3 being an exception to the rule.  I am not a programmer but find this absurd.  Garageband on my IPhone has a more credible Hammond sound than many if not most of the non-clone boards.  I have concluded that the really talented programmers are locked down with NDA agreements or no company can afford to put the proper amount of R&D into their boards because they don't make enough money to do so.  Yamaha puts out better horn and other acoustic instrument sounds on its high end PSR/Tyros/Genos line than it does on its Motif line.  I have first hand experience there.  Roland's VK organ module was always better than the organs put in Roland's other boards.  In essence, sometimes the companies are intentionally forcing musicians to buy more than one board by dumbing down certain aspects of each of their boards.  I realize we live in the age of electronic music and a lot of music companies are competing to come up with the best set of weird synth sounds.  Many of us want great piano, Wurly, Rhodes, Clav and  Hammond sounds with a decent set of strings, horns, basses, guitars and a few good synth patches to get us through a gig.  Where I put Casio Privia on top is its form factor, weight, price, decent piano action and very credible piano and electric piano sounds.  If it could do non-piano sounds as well as the piano sounds a little better, I will stay with Casio Privia in the future provided it completely ups its game on Hammond organ sounds.  If Casio could match the flute sounds on the high end Yamaha boards, that would even be better.    I want to leave my Hammond clone home.  The days of bringing three boards to a gig are over for me.   And bringing two boards to a gig is getting tiresome.   My two cents.

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2 hours ago, Sonickeys said:

Most of the companies, including Yamaha and Kawai, have been happy to rest their reputation on older boards for quite some time.  Even the Yamaha MX88 is not really new.  It is basically an 88 key version of the MX 49 and MX 61 which have been out for several years although I think it may have better piano sounds and other improvements which I haven't studied yet.

Yamaha is actually a very conservative company. Their most innovative idea of late is the big nipple...er, knob...on the Montage. 

 

In essence, sometimes the companies are intentionally forcing musicians to buy more than one board by dumbing down certain aspects of each of their boards.

Blame the marketing department. They live by a "divide and conquer" strategy.

 

 If Casio could match the flute sounds on the high end Yamaha boards, that would even be better.

Getting a lot of Jethro Tull requests at gigs? :D   

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My wish list:
Pitch bend\Modulation joystick
+ Mod Wheel
+ Expression pedal input and continuous sustain pedal input
+ Nine sliders and few knobs
All those controllers with full MIDI controlling capabilities.
All this while keeping the same size and weight.

However, I'm not sure whether it is possible to add all those controllers and keep the same size and weight, so if it isn't possible I'll be satisfied with:
Pitch bend\Modulation joystick
+ Expression pedal input and continuous sustain pedal input
+ Six sliders and 3 knobs, or just nine sliders and that's it

About the action: make the keys texture less slippery\more moisture absorbent.

About the sound engine, there are endless possibilities for improvements, but I'll be sattisfied with any significant improvement in that section.
Nevertheless, IMO the biggest weaknesses in the PX-5S sound engine are:
No dedicated Tonewheel organ emulation
The orchestral section is not very comprehensive

Just keep the real programmable sound design synth engine, I hate those stage pianos with sampled synth sounds, like those Yamaha MOXs and Roland RDs.

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On 2017-11-05 at 6:53 PM, Hag01 said:

Pitch bend\Modulation joystick [/quote]

 

That's a Korg and Roland thing (two different implementations). AFAIK Casio has never had one on any prior keyboard so I think it is unlikely.  

 

Quote

+ Expression pedal input and continuous sustain pedal input

 

The expression pedal input is a given now that it has already appeared on two more-recent Casio keyboards, the PX-560 and MZ-X500 (and given it was noted early by MANY people as a notable missing feature on the PX-5S). What do you mean by "continuous" sustain pedal? One that works like a real damper pedal on a acoustic piano (i.e., allowing so-called "half pedaling")? That feature is currently supported by the PX-560 when used with an optional three-pedal unit in association with their CS-67 piano stand. So conceptually the capability should be easy to add, IMO. It actually would mean supporting another continuous foot pedal (aka expression pedal) on a second (or even a third) pedal input but again that would not be very difficult to do. Casio already has the circuits and the code. 

 

Quote

+ Nine sliders and few knobs

 

No doubt the desire for nine sliders is tied to your request for dedicated drawbar (tonewheel) organ emulation. I'm not saying you shouldn't request or indeed expect this but playing organ on a piano-action keyboard is never going to be ideal. Nevertheless, I agree it would be great to have and might mean not having to carry two keyboards to a gig. 

 

Regarding knobs, based on the current dimensions of knobs and sliders on the PX-5S six knobs would fit in the same horizontal space as nine sliders. So that's how many knobs there should be (IMNSHO) if Casio actually does implement nine sliders.

 

Quote

However, I'm not sure whether it is possible to add all those controllers and keep the same size and weight,...

 

I wouldn't expect adding two more knobs and three more sliders would add appreciably to the weight. There's more than enough panel space to add them without changing the dimensions of the keyboard by the look of things.

 

Quote

About the action: make the keys texture less slippery\more moisture absorbent.

 

The current key texture already gives you better grip when you sweat than most others. It's a simulation of real ebony and ivory. Plastic keys will never be moisture absorbent; the best they can do is provide a texture that channels the moisture away from your finger pads. 

 

Quote

The orchestral section is not very comprehensive

 

The PX-560 implements much better orchestral strings and the MZ-X500 has some additional improved orchestral instruments, as well as improved pop/rock/jazz instruments including guitars and basses. I would expect at least these improvements and a bunch of others in a PX-5S successor. It would seem that Casio is on a trend to improve their sounds. Hopefully, they have realized that they have been falling woefully behind in that respect (aside from their acoustic and electric/electronic pianos).

 

Quote

Just keep the real programmable sound design synth engine

 

I couldn't agree more! Since the PX-560 and MZ-X500 allow four simultaneous Hex Layer tones, and the MZ-X500 allows monophonic operation and specific bass synth waveforms, I would expect not only a continuation of true, fully-editable synthesis in a PX-5S successor but an expansion of those capabilities to at least the level of the MZ-X500, if not beyond. 

 

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Yes, Brad, you conscientiously never fail to remind people who request new features that some of them, such as additional physical controls, will raise the price. A reminder doesn't hurt but frankly I think most people who have ever selected and purchased a keyboard understand that. More features usually means a higher price. But not all additional features will raise the price; some are actually neutral to factory cost. 

 

Furthermore, it is up to Casio's marketing department (in concert with the engineering department) to decide what can be included for a given factory cost and what the factory cost should be for a given model. As users of current Casio products and potential purchasers of future ones we need only request the features. Let Casio figure out what they can afford to add.

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It appears the PX5S price has dropped. I am seeing it advertised at $799. This could be a sign that something else is on the horizon. Whatever happens it seems likely whatever replaces it will cost more. I was surprised to see how many of the old Casio tones were retained on the PX5S. I would not want to pay more for a retread.

 

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11 hours ago, Casiofun said:

It appears the PX5S price has dropped. I am seeing it advertised at $799. This could be a sign that something else is on the horizon. Whatever happens it seems likely whatever replaces it will cost more. I was surprised to see how many of the old Casio tones were retained on the PX5S. I would not want to pay more for a retread.

 

 

Mike Martin posted in the Keyboard Corner the following:

Quote

It is simply a special, limited time discount. Back up to $999 at the end of November.

 

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You know what?
I Thought about it, and the improvements I want in the sounds section, is just a very comprehensive set of sounds.
I want to be covered for any gig.
you enter to Yamaha\Korg\Roland product pages of their stage pianos\keyboard workstations, and they always writing "huge sound library for any musical style".

I have to say that almost all the patches on the PX-5S are good sounding, the harmonica is so so, the bagpipes is really bad,  the clarinet is also so so, but that's all the bad sounds I can remember now.
but to be covered for any gig we need:
Tonewheel organ emulation.
Full set of orchestral sounds(many essential orchestral sound are missing in the PS-5S).

More variety of electric pianos.
Much bigger sound library that cover all the sounds you might need in the western popular genres.
And as I said earlier, keep the real sound design synth engine, this is a great synth, just make the option to build monophonic patches.

 

How much would I pay for the dream Casio?
If they will do what I ask, easely 2000$.
Really, there is no instrument on the market that do what I want and also portable, except for maybe Roland FA(not as portable as Casio), but Roland FA  has to many disgusting and ridiculous sounds, really bad sounds, I much prefer the Casio sounds...

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  • 1 month later...

I want the next PX successor to have 48 sliders and 15 knobs, an expression pedal, monophonic option, and also be gold-plated and have a 3-D touchscreen on which I can play Mario Kart between sets. All this must be done without raising the weight or the price.
 

Seriously though, I think we need to realize what this piano is and isn't. While I do miss a couple things on my PX5S (monophonic mode and an expression pedal input to be exact), it's still an awesome board and if mine got destroyed/stolen tomorrow, I'd buy another one even after these years. It's still ahead of the competition.

For my synth-action and touchstrip needs, I slave my Korg RK100S to the PX via Midi. For monophonic mode, I plug the Korg into it's own input. I agree that the PX won't quite cut it as a single keyboard for a cover band, but neither will anything else, until someone comes up with a keybed that can switch from weighted- to synth-action with a throw of a lever (keep THAT under 26 pounds!) I need both actions, so I need two boards (or, in my case, one board and one keytar).

If you're not happy with the EP sounds or the bagpipes, for gosh sakes change them! There's a powerful tool called a Hex Editor, use it! Yes, some of the stock sounds are crap. But after some hex layer programming, I have a killer bagpipe sound and get compliments on "It's a Long Way to the Top" probably more than any other song.

 

If Casio comes out with a PX-5S mark II, I might buy it or I might not. As long as mine keeps working there's nothing that would make me drop a grand on another one even if it has the aforementioned upgrades.

 

Ivan

 

 

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On 2017-12-22 at 2:20 PM, craZivn said:

If you're not happy with the EP sounds or the bagpipes, for gosh sakes change them! There's a powerful tool called a Hex Editor, use it! Yes, some of the stock sounds are crap. But after some hex layer programming, I have a killer bagpipe sound and get compliments on "It's a Long Way to the Top" probably more than any other song.

 

Hey now, you can't just dangle that out there like that. I'll bet there are dozens...well, maybe six...okay, maybe only three...PX-5S owners who would like to get a killer bagpipe sound. Now they know it's possible but the code is still a secret. Have you considered uploading it to the forum, assuming the bagpiper's union won't "toss their caber" at you in response?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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OK, now I have to weigh in. Do any of you realize how many reeds (all double reeds by the way) are in a set of Highland Pipes? 4......3 drones and the one in the chanter. The last time i even mentioned a bagpipe sound in a club, a fine Scottish gentlemen threw a pound of haggis at me and threatened to kill me with a tam o'shanter and wrap his kiltie around my neck....rough people these bagpipe players.  See here for a possible gig if you dare...

 

http://www.tamoshanterclub.com/

I think they may already have a house-piper there already but you could try.  I will leave you all with this,

And an excerpt from the poem

by Robert Burns (accompany softly with px5s bagpipe sound)

 

Ah, Tam! ah, Tam! thou'll get thy fairin!
In hell they'll roast thee like a herrin!
In vain thy Kate awaits thy comin!
Kate soon will be a woefu' woman!
Now, do thy speedy utmost, Meg,
And win the key-stane of the brig:
There at them thou thy tail may toss,
A running stream they dare na cross.
But ere the key-stane she could make,
The fient a tail she had to shake!
For Nannie far before the rest,
Hard upon noble Maggie prest,
And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle;
But little wist she Maggie's mettle—
Ae spring brought aff her master hale
But left behind her ain grey tail:
The carlin claught her by the rump,
And left poor Maggie scarce a stump.
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