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XW P1 discontinued ?


Bigmark

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My money is on "no more xw's for the UK because of Casio UK's unwise business decision to stop importing and selling XW's while Casio corporate is still manufacturing new ones for the rest of Casio's subsidiaries around the world"

 

I hope I loose the bet but I fear I won't.

 

That is odd I wonder why the UK stopped after being sold out all of the XW. I would have guess UK keyboard market embracing the XW synth their similar in way's of the Cz and such, A bit bigger but similar. In a way having said that might be the thing why maybe an XW with no battery in addition and a black color and a tad smaller for the UK market might do the trick .  

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Without knowing the sales figures it is pure speculation, though maybe the XW's simply didn't sell well in the UK and Casio UK have decided it's not worth importing them? With the size of a company like Casio I would find that surprising that they would stop supplying such an important product. Then again, I haven't heard much about other UK owners of XW's so just maybe they haven't caught on in the UK. This might be because UK synth owners are some of the snobbiest I've ever met, with most still looking down their noses at anything with 'Casio' written on it. I get it all the time, and even when you try and explain how good and powerful some Casios are they just don't want to believe it. In other parts of the World, Casio seems to generate a lot more respect from synth players hence the XW series possibly selling better in those markets.

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The plot indeed thickens...

I rang Casio UK instrument sales this morning ( on the pretence of trying to track down a p-1 ) the young lady told me that stock was indeed scarce but nonetheless gave me the contact for a couple of stores that had one or two available.

She did say though, that stock was not being replaced by Casio, and this usually signalled a new model on the horizon, although they had not been told anything ?

I then asked if I should wait for a new model rather than track down a XW-P1 ( those available are nearly double the pre Christmas price ) she again reiterated that they had not been told of a new model but stock would not be getting replaced.

So ...If I were a gambling man ...And weighed up the form...

1: Major retailers clearing XW synths at rock bottom price pre Christmas

2: Stock really scarce

3: Stock confirmed by Casio as NOT getting replaced

4: Told it was a discontinued item ( by retailer )

I would have my money on a new product !

This is what we did at my shop in september with the yamaha tyros 4.

We knew the tyros 5 launch date we knew how many 4' s were left @ milton keynes so we bought as many as we could afford to sell pre 5 launch.

Or it could be down to poor or slow sales in Uk, (At full price, big decision to buy, pre xmas price drop, no brainer

Units fly off the shelves)

We wait with baited breath.

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If it's down to sales, it's probably because the economy of the UK, is still in a recession despite what the government is telling us. Many musicians and digital composers are spending less in the way of hardware or renewing it whilst buying only when they really need to. People are spending more in the way of choosing a DAW (which usually comes with a lot you need), a few VST Plugin's or Reason Rack Extensions for example (i.e cheaper alternatives to actual hardware ). And with that, there has been a big move to controllers which have been cheaper and provide more controls for less money. 

 

Casio with their XW's in an actual product development, effectively split it's nose in half I think by alienating the features of one product over another or  in other words not combining all the features of both the P1 & G1 into one solid unit. UK buyers don't like manufacturers cutting corners off to make extra bucks when they could have been easily incorporated.

 

Similar but different products divide and confuse potential buyers from a product so they will go else where and buy something that does the job. It also comes down to the pricing of the product, and if you get that wrong whilst confusing the product buyers mind or by making them feel the manufacturer is in any way teasing them for more money with another product.. well, the risk of not selling is high and even more so when you start selling products in America for far less money than what it costs in the UK. Get the pricing right and it will sell like hotcakes.

 

I didn't buy the XW G1 on launch because it was OVERPRICED in the UK upon launch compared to the US, even though I wanted one. After that I forgot about it for almost 2 years and upgraded my software or bought other software such as Reaktor 5.8 on a deal they had last year, for just just £90 inc vat.

 

People in the UK are cautious with money nowadays and will wait... I don't think you can put it all down to snobbery. It's the product and features people are buying, not the name. 

 

Computers, software and dedicated controllers which control them have made a big shift in the market over the past 5 years.

 

The next Casio Synth needs more knobs, dedicated CC controllers ( oh Casio screwed up with XW G1 on that one, no slider midi control changes wtf???) and the the addition of 16 touch sensitive pads, a larger and proper high res LCD screen and perhaps even aftertouch on the keys, and at a price which is competitive.

 

A few examples in this thread if you are reading Casio.

 

http://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/topic/5072-the-casio-xw-z-mpc-controller-synth/

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Well, not totaly dissmisive, but Nick certainly didn't give the xw-p1 any real praise. I usually like nick's review's but, he was wearing those rubber band's around his risk that kid's wear, ive never seen him wear those before or since. It's almost as if sonic state was saying , hear kid's, were reviewing this little casio synth. but were not taking it  too seriously as a real synth. I know I sound like a buthole, I apologize. I don't feel like all the UK don't like the xw-p1, I just didn't care for the sonic state review. but this is just my opinion.

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Patrick

 

One of your posts above, in this thread, mentions loading audio files to the SD Card.  I do not see that that ever got addressed here or elsewhere, and the next Live Clinic may be a while in coming about.  Even then, the topics you want/need to be covered may not be included.  So, in the meantime, we do the next best thing.  Why don't you open a new thread on that topic over in the "XW-P1 Specific" sub-forum and we'll see if we can get you going on that.  I don't want to do it here, because it could get a bit involved, and I don't want to hijack this thread any more than I already have (Please excuse!).  If you've already got it sorted, then no problem.

 

See you over there !

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 This might be because UK synth owners are some of the snobbiest I've ever met, with most still looking down their noses at anything with 'Casio' written on it. I get it all the time, and even when you try and explain how good and powerful some Casios are they just don't want to believe it. 

 

 

Can I also add to the above that I've played some songs I've written and recorded, entirely on Casios, to some of my 'synth snob' friends. They know I also have VST synths, as well as a Roland JX3P and a Korg DW8000, so I didn't tell them what instrument was used on the recordings. Until after they said they thought the sounds were excellent, and THEN I told them...

 

"That was done by a CASIO? No f**king way...", is quite often the response I get.

 

The biggest shock they get is when I show them my HT700. Looks like a Casio mini key toy, but it uses PCM waves fed through the onboard analogue filter. It can sound VERY analogue at times, especially when you up the resonance and start sweeping the filter. I also played them a track using sounds from the XW-P1, similar response! Initially they thought I was joking and had used something else but no, these were the Casios singing to them. 

 

Slowly but surely I'm trying to break down the prejudice...

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Everyone,

I certainly appreciate your enthusiasm for the XW-P1 and XW-G1 which I obviously share.  I can tell you with confidence that the XW-P1 and XW-G1 are not getting replaced in the immediate future and as I mentioned before, we (Casio America) have many things in planned for these models.  As for Casio UK, I am not going to speculate and I've already told you everything I know.  The only other thing I can say is that there have been situations where this situation has been reversed - there have been models which Casio America chose not to import but these were available in other parts of the world.

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Everyone,

I certainly appreciate your enthusiasm for the XW-P1 and XW-G1 which I obviously share.  I can tell you with confidence that the XW-P1 and XW-G1 are not getting replaced in the immediate future and as I mentioned before, we (Casio America) have many things in planned for these models.  As for Casio UK, I am not going to speculate and I've already told you everything I know.  The only other thing I can say is that there have been situations where this situation has been reversed - there have been models which Casio America chose not to import but these were available in other parts of the world.

I'm glad we are able to get them in the US.  For the original poster, can you give eBay UK a try?

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  • 1 year later...
  • 5 weeks later...

I`ve got one of the last XW-G1 you could buy in germany at musicstore, Now they don`t offer the XW-G1 any longer.

To buy a new XW-P1 in germany is impossible...

hf

 

Same here in France, I got one of the last P1 (an expo model) ... And in french internet stores, when they show, it's as discontinued products.

 

Seems that in Europe we lack a Mike Martin to make casio products live ...

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Same here in France, I got one of the last P1 (an expo model) ... And in french internet stores, when they show, it's as discontinued products.

 

Seems that in Europe we lack a Mike Martin to make casio products live ...

As far I know thus so far Ralp Maten and Max Tempia one of  Europe demonstrator that said lots of video's demonstrating Casio keyboards on the web but they sure miss a front man or keyboard wizzard :) showing off with the latest PX , XW synth or WK workstation sounds tips tricks or awe unheard performance . 

 

Not sure if that Casio call because of the list of affiliated (*American*) artist using their products.

Raises the question what is a good demo, I really liked Ralp and Max demo of the PX5S

both are very good keyboard players that representative for Europe.

 

And I have to practice a bit more to show off some not published piece-the-resistance of my I need

speed in my fingers to pull it off for the PX5S and XW because there is a sonic performance part that kicks its

awesomeness even up some more  wish I could share it today :)

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  • 2 years later...
On 03/02/2014 at 3:58 AM, Mike Martin said:

To set the record straight...As mentioned I can only speak for Casio America but we are certainly not discontinuing the XW-series.  In my discussions with Japan, Australia, Germany, Canada, Mexico and others they are still carrying the XW-series.  For whatever reason, Casio UK appears to be sold out of XWs.  Personally we are still investing in the XW-series.  That means more sound libraries, updates to the iPad app and support like live clinics.  The XW-series is not going anywhere any time soon.

Hi, you made this statement a while ago is this still the case?

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I can't speak for Casio but several well-known music instrument suppliers in the US still carry the XW series. I don't know about other countries. As far as support I would not expect any more sounds, firmware/software updates or live clinics from Casio for these products. After all, they are now over five years old! However, as you can see here in the Casio Music Forums there is still support from fellow owners including new sounds and the occasional document (ahem). 

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  • 7 months later...

Just to add to this thread now, over half a year after my post above, the XW-G1 does seem to have disappearing almost completely even from online stores and the XW-P1 has been "de-listed" from Amazon.com (its product page is gone) and is "currently unavailable" even as part of a bundle. It is also "currently unavailable" on Amazon.ca (Canadian) in any form.

 

The XW-P1 is still seemingly available at the online sites of multiple music retailers including Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Musician's Friend (owned by Guitar Center), ZZ Sounds, Kraft Music and even B&H Foto (only by special order at the latter). However, I suspect that once their stock dries up (there are probably at least a few units in each company's warehouses) they will stop carrying them too, even assuming they would still be able to buy new stock from Casio. At that time, whenever it comes, the XW synths will be as good as discontinued even if Casio doesn't do it formally. 

 

That said, the XW synths had a good run and lasted comparatively as long as other synths of their kind (that is to say, "performance" synthesizers). Back in November or thereabouts Roland quietly discontinued the Jupiter 50 and Jupiter 80 synthesizers.The JP80 was released in 2011 and the JP50 in 2012, so they lasted not quite seven and six years respectively. The XW synths were released in 2012.   

 

The difference, of course, is that Roland is still very much in the synthesizer game. They have since released multiple synthesizers that while not directly replacing the JP50 and JP80 continue to broaden the choices. Casio, it would very much appear, is not really in the synthesizer game anymore. The XW synths seem to be very much outliers in Casio's current product matrix. 

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Sounds like a business decision not to continue to sell XW series in the UK market. My guess is they are not selling well in that market. The Roland JD Xi is at a similar price point and the  Roland Gaia is $100 more. Yahama MX 49 is also in that price range and can be programmed with the third party editor. The MX is a solid product that can be midied up to another board and used as a sound module if desired.

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If you go to Italian site, there's no mention of the XW P1

In the shop where I bought my PX-5S there's still one on display that is shown as "last piece - 15% discount", like my Privia was. But now in the place were was my digital piano there is now a new FP-90 Roland instead, and maybe is only because they're now a "Roland foresta" and they are making mose space for this brand.

 

Or there are different policies debending on the country. Like Carrefour Italy that sells only a weak mustard in a plastic bottle in Italy with his brand, and sells three different kind of mustars, in glass jars in France. Worse doesn't sell  Beaujolais-villages bottles in Italy when you find it easily even in the mall in Briançon just passed the border. 

 

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  • 1 year later...

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