Frankie J

Got it! Thanks a lot Brad! I've got an MZ-X500 and just now checked it out. Your explanation helps a lot. Of course, I guess I could just memorize them all, too 😁. It's a bit overwhelming how much there is to learn about this fantastic instrument but this forum, with great experts such as yourself, helps tremendously.

Thanks for the articulate explanation Brad. I have a naive (dumb) question/comment: Is there a simpler way to determine if a Tone is DSP or Direct other than looking the Tone up in the Appendix? Wouldn't it be nice if there was a little dot on the touch screen or something like that to indicate a DSP Tone? I think that would make choosing Tone combinations much easier, no?

Sorry Rick. I should have read the thread link you sent first before replying. Your suggestion is a very good one that makes perfect sense. Thanks.

Thanks Rick, I sorta gathered that but didn't much care since I'm such a newbie and hadn't saved anything to Registers (or anywhere else for that matter). I also guessed that ZAL files mean ALL, everything, no exceptions, etc. Is that guess correct? Now that I have learned how to back things up, I do that. There is some cool stuff on there though.

WOW! Great sounds! Thanks a lot, Allanon.

Thanks for the reinforcement, Randolph. On the stick is a MUSICDAT folder that contains only an EDM.ZAL file. When I loaded it and inspected the Registers I noted a whole bunch of Ralph Maten stuff, which initially made me think it might have been used by Ralph Maten at a show or demo until i realized that stuff all came off the EDM.ZAL. Since after loading some the registers, strange (to me) things happened (like two instruments mapped to Upper 1 on the left hand side of the display), I restored to factory settings. I figured I could go back to the stick EDM.ZAL anytime, probably after I learned more about the MZ. The card that was attached to it is in German (which I mostly understand) so I could scan and post that if there's some interest. I see no mention of further distribution prohibition or copyright, so I guess I could upload the EDM.ZAL file as well. Maybe Brad could comment on the appropriateness of doing that. (Brad?) I forgot to say that the card has a compatibility statement for Firmware Version 1.21 and the EDM.Zal is dated May 23, 2016 so it may very be already uploaded.

A very interesting sound! I found Distortion Gt 1, 5 and 6 (Tones 433, 437 and 438 respectively) that sound somewhat similar to my untrained ear . Sorry if I'm stating the obvious.

So I've decided to keep the MZ-X500! A very big thanks to all for the advice which helped me make the decision. It is connected to my Celviano AP22S so that I can have a weighted 88 keyboard to practice piano on and have fun practicing piano the Celviano keyboard using the instruments of the MZ. I hope not to be too much of a bother on the forum with my other beginner questions. Once again, BIG thanks to all!.

Thanks Leon. Yes, I just looked at the Korg and it costs roughly 2.5 times what paid for the MZ-X500. This is what sort of intuitively drew me to the MZ in the first place: so many features and capabilities for a very competitive price. Even if I got one of the Yamaha boards I would still be spending more on other accompanying hardware just to catch up with the MZ.

Thanks Brad. Where I picked up that software name was this Ralph Maten video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OX686EONfA After more carefully watching it again, I think he said the software he was talking about was just like the Nord Sample Editor and now I guess he was talking about the Casio Sample Manager for MZX. That wasn't clear to me at first. Anyway, I have already downloaded the Casio Sample Manager and flipped quickly through the manual for it. Based on your advice I will be removing the Nord software from my Mac. Thanks again. Frank

Thanks Steve. I'm gonna give it a try!

Thanks. I will try refining my touch screen technique using your advice. And thanks for the info the M-Audio info. They caught my eye (after Rick's comment above, I went a lookin') and they seem to be reasonably priced.

Thanks for the advice, Steve.

Great suggestion! Thanks. Do you think I could use my old (15 years old) Celviano e-piano as a keyboard controller (it has MIDI I/O)? If so, then I'm off to buy some MIDI cables! I wouldn't get much for it anyway and I like it (especially the numerous songs on it, some of which, I would like to learn). It has 88 weighted, full size, velocity sensitive keys.

Thanks for the comments. If I opted for one of the less expensive and less capable Yamahas, then I thought I might use software on my Mac (and/or iPad) for music/sound synthesis, for example, the free version of the Nord Sample Editor or GarageBand. They probably aren't as well integrated as the functionality already built into the MZ, I'm guessing.

Hello Keyboard Experts, I received my MZ-X500 a week ago Wednesday (Dec 6th) and have since been overwhelming myself with the myriad of possibilities this instrument offers. I'm pretty sure I got a good deal on it even though it was an "open box"/demo model (called B-Ware here in Germany). Everywhere now they seem to be going for a lot more. No scratches and looked brand new to me. The first thing I did was upgrade the firmware to 1.50 and restored to factory settings. It came with a USB stick that contained additional Tones, Rhythms, etc., installed that. I guess my main questions are (asked here to spare readers the lengthy append below, if so desired): 1 - How does the Casio MZ-X500 stack up (in terms of function, price and quality) against the Yamaha PSR-EW400 or PSR-E453 for someone learning piano and with interests in music synthesis? Should I keep it or return it and opt for something else? 2 - It seems the whole keyboard moves a very little bit when striking a key or more and the keys click a little bit at the bottom of the key travel. Is this normal? I did see the forum entry where someone got their keyboard repaired and the recommendation to have it done under warranty. Noted. 3 - Sometimes the touch screen doesn't seem to react. Is it the way I am touching it or a response time issue? Does using a stylus (for better accuracy) make sense? I will be playing the instrument mainly for my personal enjoyment and if I ever get good enough, the enjoyment of others. I have a somewhat decent singing voice (some kind of mix between Dean Martin and Johnny Cash - I like to think so), so singing could also play a role in my musical endeavors. When I see some of these YouTube videos I realize I have zero musical talent in comparison. However, those videos can also serve as inspiration. I had been considering a Yamaha PSR-EW400 (less expensive) and then after visiting the local music store, also a Yamaha PSR-E453 (even less expensive). The E453 was still in the box so I couldn't try it out and then it was sold when I went back a few days later. So I only have YouTube videos and forums and my personal experience with the MZ-X500 to determine if I made the right decision. After playing around a little bit, I read through both manuals completely (some parts multiple times). Now I am racing against the clock (I have a two week grace period to return the MX) to assure myself I have purchased a machine appropriate for me and that I will take advantage of most, or at least some, of the great features this keyboard has to offer. I also have a Casio AP-22 (APS or APK, I think) e-piano, a Keilwerth Bb Clarinet, and a Selmer (I think) Bb clarinet. I am not a professional musician or I would probably say I am not a musician at all. I've had 2 years of piano lessons 45 years ago (gulp, that's a long time, eh?), played clarinet in junior high school (40 years ago) and more intensely played bassoon in high school. When I was actively playing music, I enjoyed it a lot and found it to be rewarding. So now that I am retired, my desire to play music has been rekindled. It was precipitated about a month ago at a birthday party where the entertainer there had a nord stage 2 keyboard/e-piano. That got me playing around with synthesizer apps on my iPad and subsequently GarageBand on my Mac. So much for background. The MZ has a great sound and multitude of features that will probably take me to the end of my life to master if I could even achieve mastery by then (I doubt it). So the past week I have been experimenting with the MZ, Garageband and other iPad synth apps, checking out learning piano and clarinet via the internet, practicing piano (just learned that there's such a thing as Blues scales - that's cool), practicing clarinet and am now just about ready to go completely crazy. I worked most of my life as a Systems Engineer so I love technical stuff but music synthesis and DSP is currently just blowing me away. I will probably be putting that aside for the moment and trying to develop a disciplined approach to learning what to do with a keyboard and at the same time furthering my musical skill both for piano (I'll probably have to sell the Celviano because of space limitations - but maybe I can stack my MZ on top ) and clarinet. Oh, and just for kicks, I ordered a Melodica that should get here tomorrow (no problems with price for that - I got the non pro version for 17€). I'll be 66 in February so I guess I fall in the senior citizen budding musician category. I was going to summarize my questions here but that wouldn't be fair with such a long entry so I've put them at the top. If you've made it to here, thanks very much for your interest and please make whatever comments you have (and thanks in advance for those). Sorry for the long entry.

Thanks very much! Quit obvious if I would have poked around in the menus more. It worked fine. Guess I was too hung up on what was in the documentation and I didn't see anything there regarding MEDIA. Oops! Thanks again.

Hello, I am a complete newbie to keyboards and have just obtained an MZ-X500. There are numerous references to "saving all keyboard data/settings" or "back up your data to USB" before installing *.ZAL files or installing new firmware, in this forum and in the firmware update doc (version 1.50). I cannot find any instructions on how to do the backup! So can someone please tell me? Thanks in advance. Frank