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PX575 mixer functions


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Having a bit of a doddle with the mixer when recording multiple tracks. The manual is a little vague as to whether the mixer retains and/or records mixer volumes for each track. I can change volume levels after I record each track, but seem unable to preset the volume for a track and record with that volume. This would be a limitation as I need to hear my parts in context (balance of volumes) when recording multiple tracks. According to the manual, it states that every track I record also records the other tracks mixer settings which is confusing right there. And there is a function for recording the mixer header info but this is even more confusing. If anyone can clarify this for me. I think the WK3300 is identical, the manual is the same which isn't helping. I mention that in case anyone reading this post has the WK330 and understands any of this thanks.

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Still need help on the mixer functions-after spending more time on this it still makes no sense. To establish pre-set volume levels for individual tracks, I can only seem to do that by using the mixer while in play or tone mode, switch to song record and record a "dummy" pass on the master track which on the PX575 is track 11. I could live with that but whenever I arm a track to record, it revets back to its maximum volume level 127 regardless of what I've done. Using the function called "panel record" only seems to initialize these levels and every other setting the mixer is capable of. And another weird function is that i can change and record volume levels once I've recorded any single track, but only if I set the volume on one track, and then record on another track! What am I not understanding here? I can find no explanation for this anywhere on the web or any other user groups, or by studying any of the manuals. Maybe I'm just used to more typical workstations but I'm stumped.

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Following up on this one more time. Is it possible this keyboard only allows me to set the volume levels after I record a track? If that is what is happening, not so good because that means I can't play my live track balanced in the mix! This can't be right.  I think that is what is happening here.  Are the othe Casio WK's like this? Help!

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Sorry, Johnathon !

 

I didn't mean to ignore or abandon you on this.  The WK-3300 and your PX-575 are the same as my WK-3800.  I have been following this since your initial post on it, and have been poring over my PDF copy of the manual, but that's no good.  I need to actually get my hands on the keyboard.  Unfortunately, it is out on loan to my sis.  I've got to run down home (about 70 miles) tomorrow afternoon to take care of some legal stuff.  While I am there, I will stop by and "borrow" my WK-3800 back for a few days.  So, give me a couple of days, and I will see if I can come up with anything for you.

 

This much I can say now.  I never used its Song Recorder (You certainly could not call it a sequencer.)  after the first day I had it and found out that you could not record splits or layers.  If you had split or layer turned on, they shut off when you went into record mode.  As far as I was concerned, if my "performance" included a layered right hand tone, and the keyboard would not record the layered tone, then the keyboard was not capable of recording my "performance" - PERIOD ! ! !  So, I just used it as a real-time "live play only" instrument.  I also seem to remember, on the several recordings I did try, that things I would set up prior to recording just disappeared during the recording.  I never pursued this, as the split/layer issue was a deal killer for me when it came to recording  (but I dearly love almost everything else about it - even the massive physical presence it exudes).  I never understood the rationale in all of this.  For as sophisticated as the WK-3800 is, the song recorder seems overly rudimentary.  The keyboard's hardware and operating system are certainly capable, and deserving, of much more.  I think this is a result of the designers' lack of vision, or rather, their myopic vision of "home hobbyist"

 

Anyway, give me a day or so, and I will get back to you.

 

Regards,

 

Ted

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Thanks much (again!) Ted. As if my other Casios don't keep me busy enough! Yes, no keyboard split or layer capability with the song recorder are limitations. After reading your post, it does seem as if the mixer was designed for changing settings after any or all tracks are recorded although it does seem to be recording settings but in a way I can't understand. I guess I should accept this as a "hobbyist song recorder" rather than a real sequencer-no quantizing onboard which would have been helpful but I can live without that. For simple arrangements-drums, bass maybe a pad, string or horn part stuck in there will probably suffice.  It does have a remarkable amount of "tones" as Casio describes these, some quite good. I managed to assemble a "tone with wave" sound very easily with the IDES 4.0 software and it plays nicely with the PX575. And it has a very pleasant piano action. At 36 pounds not exactly a PX350 or PX5s, but also not a 50-60 pound 88-key monster. I would probably take it on a gig, just for the piano, electric piano and organ sounds.

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Finally figured this out, and no help from the manual at all on this one. I'm thinking of posting this with the WK or classic Casio forums since this same trick must apply to the the WK 3300, 3800, maybe even the WK8000 and any others close to this series. After frustrating myself with the mixer settings for recording a multi-track arrangement (without auto-accompaniment) the double-secret probation" function is this:

 

No matter what track you decide to use to record, you first must select your tone, turn DSP on or off and set whatever mixer settings you want on track/channel one regardless of which track you will record to-the channel always ready for live playing-and then select your recording track, after you've set everything up from channel/track 1 with the mixer, not from the track you are recording from! In other words, whatever pan, volume or DSP setting you set with the mixer must be done from channel or track one first, then you switch to record mode and select the track you will use to record this.

 

So the song recorder is recording all the settings on the track you select/arm to record (11-16) but based on what you set in track/channel one, not on the track you are recording to! Or-it is always recording channel/track one and all those settings (except split and layer)-and bouncing it to one of the 6 recording tracks based on which one you select.

 

Maybe all Casio song recorders do this, but it's certainly different from just about every other keyboard I've played. At least it finally works, and I stand by my original post, this is an amazing sounding instrument, loads of fun. I admit, i had to watch a few old Twilight Zone episodes to mentally prepare myself for thinking this out :):P

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Hey Johnathon !

 

Glad you got all that sorted out.  Now you can just get down to enjoying that 575.  I think you are probably correct that most or all of the older boards operate this way.  While the newer boards do allow recording of splits and layers, they are not without similar frustrating limitations when it comes to recording mix adjustments to the various parts of the auto-accompaniment rhythms.  That is why, just as with the WK-3800, I continue to do my initial take on the keyboard, save it to an SMF on the SD Card, port it to the PC, and do my final mix (mastering) there with Sonar.  That saves me a lot of creative time fighting the idiosyncrasies of whatever keyboard I happen to be using at the time.

 

Regards,

 

Ted

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Right on that. That's why I decided on this older Casio rather than the newer WKs as an additional workstation-type keyboard. I prefer the full piano-action as on my PX350, but the added features of the PX575 mixer make this more workable for me in that regard-the PX350 requires immediate transfer to software recording for even as simple a function as balancing levels between recorded tracks, plus no editing of anything else. The assortment of sounds in the PX575 is immense and even has a not so rudimentary synth function for editing tones. Very nice! And having a transportable 88-key "semi-workstation" is very practical for my needs. Time to start submitting some music here on Soundcloud-I certainly have enough Casio sonic power to do that!  And thanks again Ted for your excellent support here.

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So far so good. 32-note capability so far not a problem-but only laying down 3-4 tracks with simple bass lines, drums, a pad and a piano or organ lead on top. No note-dropping so far. Pretty deep board for a "consumer" keyboard. Too bad it has no mod wheel and with no DIN midi ports can't connect outboard pedal for mod wheel/realtime stuff. I don't think pitch wheel can be re-mapped internally to be a mod wheel. Too bad. Will try my M-Audio UC-33 which has USB out, see if this works as an external contoller for mod wheel and maybe real-time drawbars for the organs. Probably not, but will try. Have midi spec chart for this. Casio did make that available for the PX575 series. Really liking the big screen and operating system.

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One final insight into this. If I decide to change any mixer track settings after I have already recorded on my tracks, it can be done but only by resetting volume pan etc. in song play mode and by selecting the track to modify with the cursor keys (track 11-16), then switching to song record , selecting an unused track to record a "dummy" track and starting record! Definitely an awkward process and if you have no blank tracks you are stuck and there is no overdub function. So right Ted this is no question not a true sequencer and was almost impossible to figure out. Makes the XW-P1 not so hard after all.

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  • 3 months later...

One more "kludge" I had to figure out when recording multiple tracks in the PX575 song recorder. Although there is no "quantizing" available to correct rhythms recorded live-and because I sometimes have to get reasonably close by ear otherwise editing tracks recorded with the PX575 will not quantize properly in a computer sequencer unless I'm pretty close timing-wise, I have to use track one (the recording track used for recording auto-accompaniment and other 'master' functions) to pre-record one of the "metronome" rhythm presets on that track first to use as a guide for all other parts. Pretty clumsy but better than nothing.

 

There is a "metronome" function built into the PX575, but it only works in real time when you play along live....not when you record. Wow what a glaring omission! So first I must determine how many measures in my composition, then record a metronome track of that length into track one in real time, then record whatever other parts I need in order to get close to a pseudo-"quantized" track that will at least line up reasonably close to what a computer sequencer needs to see. There are several "metronome" auto-accompaniment rhythms built into the PX575 specifically for this purpose. I can of course record in "free" time with no metronome-and keep all parts in sync by ear. For realistic timing in some compositions this is actually a better choice since the "feel" of many compositions is also determined by subtle "pushing" or "back-phrasing" of parts as any improviser or singer knows. and once I record a drum/percussion or other rhythm part, the original metronome beat can be erased easily. So still loving this old Casio, it's actually pulled me away from the XW and PX350-at least for now! Every time I look at the newer WKs and CTKs-I come back to this one.

 

How weird that in many respects Casio did not build on this concept completely-left out certain very cool features but upgraded other concepts drawn from these models. The PX575 LCD screen for example is so much easier to work with than the PX350/XW-P1 and although there is still no full sequencer except for the WK/CTKs the PX575 has a much better mixer/effects interface than other Privias.  My next Casio would combine all the best features of all these-the older WKs, the newest Privias/PX5s and the XW series rolled into one-if Casio had added the sliders, an arpeggio/phrase sequencer function and the 17-track sequencer of the WKs plus hex mode and the sample programming feature of the PX575 this would be a killer workstation/live gig mainboard for studio or stage-would sure make the other major companies sweat! But that's another post, right?

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  • 4 weeks later...

One more useful "kludge" not in the manual. After recording any single track of any length, most hardware sequencers require additional steps to "append" or lengthen any additional tracks-the sequencer establishes your first track as the total length of the arrangement for all subsequent tracks (not so with most software sequencers which let you "play through" prior track lengths to automatically add measures as you play. Since the PX575 has such a rudimentary sequencer internally I thought this might not work the same way but it does. Even though a single track will automatically shut the sequencer "off" and require playing from measure one (there is no ability in the PX575 to start from a specific measure or "marker") at least the original track length doesn't lock me into that-I can add any length to subsequent tracks.

 

Another workflow shortcut-since it is impossible to edit a Casio .Z02 (song) format arrangement with a computer I always save a song in both Casio song format and as an .smf midi file on the card to enable editing an arrangement either in the Casio or in software. And since there are only 5 memory slots for storing complete arrangements making it hard to keep tabs on multiple song files-I always use the same song memory slot for new work-makes it easier mentally to get stuff in and out of the SD card and into or out of the internal memory. I am still amazed at how easy and fun it is to create, map and store samples on this. And the piano samples are pretty nice, not tiring to play at all.

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