Courtlaw Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Received the PX-5S today and not happy so far. The first disappointment is that it seems the slow rebound action defeats the purpose of the triple sensor for quick repetitions of the same key. (What good is the triple sensor if the keys do not bounce back fast enough to make it practical?)The second let down is the menu driven functions. First let me say that the manual packed with the unit is absolutely horrible and gives no real guidance on how to use this keyboard in a practical manner which is not good because the buttons, sound banks and understanding how to use the functions on the small LED driven menu is so counter-intuitive that it's driving me crazy.But here's the real kicker, the master settings do not include an easy set up to control the volume on the 4 zones for each of the 100 stage presets. Of course the manual is silent on this issue so you are forced to research on the web on how to do this. Now common sense would make you think there would be a global setting to do this across the board. But no,no no no. After watching a 14 minute video from MusicMan I learned to my disgust that you have to go knee deep into each of the 100 stage presets to reset the slider or knob to control volume for each of the zones.Is this for real? Please tell me I am missing something here. If this is true this seriously ruins the stage settings because unless you go in and change the slider or knob controls for each of the stage settings you are stuck with the preset zone volumes. What a dam. Shame. Please, please tell me this is not true otherwise I'm shipping this back tomorrow because it makes the stage presets unusable as is.You would think there would be 4 independent sliders to control zone volume right out of the box. Who the hell designed the architecture for this thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Yes you need to configure each Stage Setting the way you want unless they are preset that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theodorn Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 There is a stage setting where sliders 1-4 have been set to control the volume of the four zones, one for each zone. http://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/files/file/53-4-zones-4-sliders/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choppin Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Courtlaw, I know you are disappointed with the playing action, but try not to let that cloud your judgment on the rest of the keyboard. The Stage Settings are independently desiged from one another, that is true - there is no Master setup for each stage setting because each one is generally unique. Not all stage settings use all 4 zones. Not all stage settings have the 4 zones setup the same way. Not all stage settings use arpeggios or phrases. For example, a piano setting might only use 1 zone. Instead of defaulting to 4 sliders controlling volume (what a waste that would be) the sliders are assigned to different functions: filter, reverb, delay, chorus, resonance, (and something else I can't remember). Also, the knobs for many of the stage settings default to EQ adjustments. Similar tones have similar slider controls. An organ might have the sliders assigned as drawbars. Hex layers (sounds composed of 6 individual tones) might have all six sliders set to control the volumes of each tone that make up the Hex layer. I think you may be distracted with your initial disappointment of the keyboard feel. The stage setting design may be a bit different than one is used to, but I think this is one of the areas that the PX-5s really shines. Try to consider: each Stage Setting can be setup however one wants. That means a slider, for example, can have a range as to how much its values change according to its position. You could have one stage setting that plays piano and strings that uses slider 2 to control the volume of strings on zone 2. It could be set such that its volume is from 32 to 80, so there is always some string sound whether the slider is in the top postion or the bottom position. Let's say you then switched to a patch where the piano was still on zone 1 but a bass is now on zone 2. You still want slider 2 to control the volume of the bass, but you want a range of 0 to 127. If the volumes defaulted to a set programming as a master setting, you might not have this same control. You'd have to go in and make adjustments on a customized level. But I can understand the usefulness of hitting a button that automatically assigns a series of settings to the knobs and sliders. I still think you'd end up going in and tweaking the design. You could create a Master Stage Setting that has everything set and assigned the way you want. You can then write this stage setting to any position. Once written, you can change the tones to what ever you want without having to dig deep in the menus. Just use the zone buttons, the instrument buttons and the values change keys. The design of the board is meant to be setup as anything - not the same thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyzaadrao Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Courtlaw, Also have you tried the software editor? Only had my board for a few weeks, but as Mike Martin stated in one of the clinic videos, it might be easier when you're new to the board to use the editor. For me it's far easier to use the editor than the LED screen on the board itself from both the visual aspect to see most of the settings on a larger screen as well as easier to set up sliders and knobs and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Also.... go to http://sc3900.wix.com/px-5s a comprehensive set of user resources for the PX-5s. There are hours and hours of indexed self help videos by Mike Martin. FAQ documents created by the user community.Links to all important software and updates and additional manuals. The list goes on.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtlaw Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 Courtlaw, Also have you tried the software editor? Only had my board for a few weeks, but as Mike Martin stated in one of the clinic videos, it might be easier when you're new to the board to use the editor. For me it's far easier to use the editor than the LED screen on the board itself from both the visual aspect to see most of the settings on a larger screen as well as easier to set up sliders and knobs and such. Great I'll try that!Also I tweaked the hammer response and I'm happy with the action now. I noted that in my other thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.