Oldmuso Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Is it practical to hook up a Roland midi Bass Pedalboard to trigger bass tones - and if so to independently control the bass volume level via either a knob or slider. I am an "old time" organ player & do like to use my own bass lines - too much technology does'nt come easy, so would appreciate any help here - I have yet to decide on buying the PS-5S, but this facility would certainly influence my decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choppin Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Hello, The straight out of the box answer is yes, but there are considerations. The Px-5s is fairly detailed midi controller in and of itself. The first part of your question "...trigger bass tones..." is easily achieved but you have to be aware of what midi channels you are transmitting over. The Px-5s' keyboard for performance is layered or divided into 4 zones. Each zone can have an independent tone and can be layered or split among the 4 other zones. These zones receive midi information on channels 1-4 and this is pretty much set in stone. One of the zones could be setup to receive your bass information on the specific channel and the keyboard out for this zone can be turned off - so you could play the entire range of the keyboard with your hands using a different zone (assigned to organ or whatever) and use the bass pedal to play the sounds of the bass zone. The second part of your question deals with sliders and knobs. The heart of the control for the px-5s is the Stage Setting. When you select a Stage Setting, all of the tones assigned to the different zones, the special effects, the settings of the knobs and sliders, and the other keyboard controls, are all called up. So the answer to the second part of your question is yes. You would make the assignments in a specific Stage Setting to the specific zone (which holds the tone(s) you want) to the knob or slider that is related to your bass pedal triggers. You have to have knowledge of your pedal rig in terms of midi and you have to setup the PX-5s accordingly. So if you are dealing with midi, you are going to have to deal with technology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldmuso Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Many thanks for your comments - I currently use a Roland FP-4 Piano together with a Roland PK-5 Pedalboard - the PK-5 is very adaptable with access to 16 midi channels plus various other facilities - velocity/octave change/channel control etc. I am able to trigger a bass sound from the FP-4 but cannot independently control the bass volume level - when playing a gig this can be a problem. The FP-4 seems to get heavier as I get older so the Privia could fit my bill - I will try find one that I can try. Once again many thanks - your comments are very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hi and welcome to the Casio forums. You won't have any issues using your bass pedal with the PX-5S and assigning the volume to a knob or slider. Once you have everything configured, you just need to line up the sounds you need and save them as a new "stage setting" (PX-5S language for "performance set-up". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adriftsoul Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Hi everyone, I'm researching this same idea to retrofit an old organ 32 note pedalboard with midi to trigger base notes on my privia PX 850 - without a pc or ipad as intermediary - as I love the existing sounds and speakers of the 850 I'm new to midi concepts but have been trying for awhile now to determine if the PX 850 can do the midi-controlling 'by itself' It's mentioned below that: "The Px-5s' keyboard for performance is layered or divided into 4 zones." I'm wondering if the PX850 will also do this? thanks so very much for any assistance, I love the 850 and I'm really looking forward to having a full pedalboard to go with it. Cheers, alison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 The PX-850 has a usb (to midi host) jack. That means you will need a host between the 850 and a controller like a pedal board. Google for USB midi host and you will find boxes that will let this work without a PC. But to do this without any extra parts is not possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adriftsoul Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Thanks very much Brad much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adriftsoul Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Hi guys, So, further to my query above, I've purchased the kenton usb-midi host and a friend has leant me an acorn usb keyboard to try to trigger my existing piano sounds with. any suggestions on how to get this working?? maybe our cables aren't right? I've also purchased this http://www.jaycar.com.au/usb-midi-interface/p/XC4934 to see if the usb to midi cable might make the set-up work? we've been combing the net for hours on end and seems like I'm giving up asking you guys?!?! I really need a usb\midi host\casio for dummies page...! http://www.acorn-instruments.com/usb-keyboards/Masterkey-61 Thanks so much for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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