mike71

In the computer I am using in this exact moment I have a 01:00.0 Multimedia audio controller: C-Media Electronics Inc CMI8738/CMI8768 PCI Audio (rev 10) board that has a PCI-compatible bus interface and a FM capable 4-operator sound generator. I think that one could take a bunch of these chips, an Intel SoC with a PCI interface and make an FM synthesizer. Besides, if chip makers were making OPL-3 compatible sound chip and Yamaha didn't catch them maybe a reverse engineered IC was OK. By the way, it's not too difficult to emulate an FM chip in hardware, I think that a SID 6851 it's harder...

You're forgetting the PX-5S - was marketed in 2013. I consider it a stage piano/synth hybrid, and the PX-560 is different in some aspects. I sectetly hope that they are testing a new chipset capable of sampling and having a phase distortion engine with customizable wave shapes, but I don't hold my breath.

You can order the CDP S-100 in Turin https://shop.scavino.it/casio-cdp-s100-bk-pianoforte-digitale-88-tasti-pesati-nero-cdp-s100.1.44.168.gp.103936.uw The CDP-130 is in special offer, as one could imagine: https://shop.scavino.it/casio-cdp130-bk-risparmio1-pianoforte-con-stand-cs44.1.44.168.gp.80652.uw

I could understand if one is a localized site, so has to be translated -but if the site is in English, why? By the way I hope that the px-5 successor will not use the new action. From the drawings looks that has an even shorter fulcrum compared to the current hammer action II. A shorter fulcum will make people with log and tiny fingers accustomed to an actual grand piano to complain loudly because they tend to put the finger near the fall board. I know a woman that has a grand that used for 40 years and has the fall board scratched like there was a cat playing every time. I still think that a chopped Ap-30 or something like the Kawai MP11 could be a good pro stage piano. On the other hand a small, lightweight and battery powered digital piano is competition even for guitars from the point of view of kid wans to learn an instrument and for the shops.

'80 stule in cabling i think is a compliment, from the hacker or the repairman point of view. Because the lower integration, the lower automation on building electronics components, so things are more human accessible and there wasn't RoHS idiocy it's more easy to access it. On the other hand you can find a depleted battery that leaked over the PCB, ot the dreaded yellow glue and have unreliable operation due aging components. I think if one has an old synth if it will move it to gigging or in a recording studio, especially if it's a rare one. Even an FZ-1 or a CZ-3000. Moving old gear could be problematic and making cables insige coming loose, and replacing them is difficult.

I think if it was a denigrative idea, it failed the point. Because outsourcing industrial design is a normal thing tho do. For instance Olivetti was famous to have designed their maniframes, calculators, typewriters and personal computers by external architects. Compare the M24 http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=535 designed by Ettore Sottass versus the IBM PC http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=286 for instance. If you look at some Yamaha cassette recorder made in the '70 they looked auspiciously like some Olivetti programmable desktop calculators, this is because the case was designed by Mario Bellini. Anyway I think that with their glossy an minimal finish they're looking 2010's and can make a good impression in a living room, and this is a good selling mpoint due the high MOF[1]. Think a GEM Promega 2+ with its 7 segment led displays and big faders or a Moog Grandmother and it's colored display in your living room... [1] Mom acceptance factor[2] [2] Could be also wife acceptance factor, but i think they are perfect for a kid to learn piano.

Just found the description, you can't hide from Google and Bing 🙂 Anyway as I have supposed no MIDI-DIN and no big flash colour display... I suppose that the serial port for MIDI-DIN was repurposed to MIDI-Bluetooth so they lost it. They are looking similar to the PX-160 and PX-350 and aimed to home users. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/casio-redesigns-its-flagship-privia-digital-pianos-at-winter-namm-2019-300783310.html https://www.casiomusicgear.com/products/privia-series/px-s1000 https://www.casiomusicgear.com/products/privia-series/px-s3000 I'll remain with my px-5s and it's funky colour scheme (and MIDI-DIN) but I think the battery poer option could be useful for learners.

I hope too. But doesn't look that is using the Grand Hybrid action, but the Privia action, because the hybrid action is taller. By the way I think that a "chopped" GP-300 could be an interesting stage piano. Make the stand with foldable or detacheable legs, make the underside of the piano flat, make the speakers optional and externally mounted, add expression pedal and the MIDI flexibility of the PX-5S, and eventually some knobs on the front. I think that GP-series coul be DIY-chopped, but it will be an interesting hack (literally) and not a thing that could be interesting for the pro market (heck, even the chopped Hammonds are a rarity)

The street price of the PX-5S is a bit less of the PX-360, and has more knobs, pitch and mod wheel, and has a more powerful MIDI integration. On the other hand has a tiny LCD display and it's a bit complex to setup and program and has some weirdness on the features too. Like you can have a metronome and a duet mode but you have to program a stage setting for it. The expression pedal input is missing and you can have only two pedals connected (Px-360 and 560 can have a stand with a three-pedal unit).

I think most people aren't reading manuals. I like LIDL products because their manuals are very detailled for cheap products. But most people don't mind reading the manuals and ond expect them on cheap gizmos. I still have somewhere the manuals of my first IBM compatible PC, there was a detailed description of the motherboard, with even the schematic diagram, in a good English. And was Made in Taiwan.

My PX-5s started to have noisy and clattering keys, started with C4, then F4, and now seems to me that C5 is beginning to be noisy. Being still in warranty I think I'll send an email to the Casio Service if they could change the felts in warranty, or better, add one felt on the exiisting one, like @Jokeyman123 didy season, of course. out of warranty. After the holiday season, of course. Hope they aren't saying that it's normal behaviour.

http://www.dorosupermercati.it/DoroWebSvi/SitePages/PublicListViews.aspx?NOMELISTA=Sezione Primia&Ordine=1 It's an Italian supermarket brand. Good ice creams by the way. Ah, that's Primia...

There' also Farfisa whrere the CCTV division is in busuness but the musical instruments was shut down, followed by Roland that shut down the Italian factory and moved production in far east. In Italy there are some keyboard manufacturers Crumar, Viscount, Studiologic ans some smaller factories. In family we have had two Panda, one was the first version and to have hot air in the winter they put a hose near the engine to catch the warm air, and as a side effect the smell of burnt oil, because they copied the design of the Fiat 500 and 126. There was a typical smell inside. Newer panda had a more conventional little radiator and luxury electric windows and modified the ignition key because you could start the old ones with a flat head screwdriver and a piece od brass sheet. Back in topic. I think there's a lot of personal preferences. We are all casio owners, because we have found that for our uses and tastes Casio was the best choice. so I supose it's natural we like the Casio sound, and for the budget you get a good compromise. Like the Panda that was used a lot by coppers, someone supposed that was designed for them, like the Marea Turbo or the Alfa 75 Turbo. I know people that like the Yamaha sound for acoustic pianos, and don't like the Petrof sound and vice versa.

Why a photo of an old Panda 4x4 Sisley, apart it's almost the same colour of the px-560? Cheap, lightweight and suplisingly in par wit a lot of other 4x4 vehicles. A Range Rover is better, with comfier seats, a working heating system and a more powerful engine, but costs a lot more. Fiat producion line was working on three shifts to fulfill the orders, and the models with catalytic converter are still normally ised. Newer Panda isn't the same thing unfortunately.

I have solved this simply with some scrap cloth bought in an open air market and a spare tablecloth. If you don't mind that one is a dark red velevet cloth with a fake medieval pattern and latin phrases written in fraktur and the other is a red and white cloth wit tiny flowers, works flawlessly. I think that the main use of a cloth is blocking dirt to enter in the keyboard, because it will make the keyboard act strange, like in this case. A buzzing sound could be easily generated by a missing ground contact caused by some speckle or other dirt. If the amplifier has an high input impedance you can add a capacitor in series, but most of the audio signal or the video signal will pass, but without DC coupling noise is caught by the wire. About the photo... I will not make any jokes about Cat Power and Cat Stevens, promise!

I have a question for Jokeyman123. And for everyone had opened their Casio. Or even the Power that Be that have access to the service manuals. When you opened the keyboard have you noticed some greasing or uneven greasing of the key mechanism? Because seems that some Kawai stage piano can become noisy, and the solution is a correct regresing of the key mechanism. If it's an uneven grease application in the factory, it could explain a lot of things, especially the rattling sounds.

I have this edition played by Jeno Jandó https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bartok-Piano-Music-Mikrokosmos-Complete/dp/B001LZMOYI

My idea on how it works the synth engine on the PX-5S. Basically you have a series of wavetable oscillators that read some waveforms from the Flash Rom. You could use them as tone or drums, where you have a preset setup, and a tone could be made with a series of wavetables, you could modify somewhat the sound with alowpass filter and you could control partially the DCA with an offset, if you try to edit a tone you'll sometime obtain counterintuitive effects. Try modify the ADSR on Rock Piano, you''ll get totally weird sounds. On the other branch you have the hex layer, where you can control al the six oscillators selecting the wavetable, and you could generate from scratch a waveform, You can't sync the oscillators (correct me if I am wrong) or use a ring modulator or AM modulator between them but you could obtan wery fat sounds, look at the Farfisa stage setting, for instance. Speaking for the PX-5S all this power is hidden behind the tiny LCD screen and the confusing user manuals, unfortunately. And yes, my other synth is a Kawai K5000, at least the LCD screen is bigger

I have tried the montage and the scaled down version, the MODX8 at a synthesizer exhibition some weeks ago. No Casio stand unfortunately. Anyway Mikrokosmo is a really interesting book especially for learning piano, you can easily "cheat" if you buy a CD and listen how the pieces should come....

Ihave a keyboard with aftertouch. the Kawai K5000. I have opened it, and o my big surprise on the keybed assembly there was a sticker "controllo qualità 2" that is clearly in Italian, puzzled I started to search and found that the keybed was actually made by FATAR in Recanati (Italy) - and spares for the keybed are available. I agree that with Chinese made products and the long and complex chain of suppliers and sub suppliers finding spare part is difficult because nobody has a complete spare parts inventory. Do you remember when TV sets came with a schematic diagram and there were TV repair shops? Now modern LCD TV sets are cheap and because nobody can find cheap spar parts, it is easier to too an almost-working TV set than repair it.

There is the PX-560 that has 88 keys, speakers, colour touch screen and it's also blue. 🙂 But it's not exactly the same thing of course. Yamaha and Roland make 61, 76 and 88 keys versions of the same synth, for different uses. Casio is make similar but not quite swappable models.

Roland Atelier church and combo organs have arranger functions. They're quite expensive (the combo organ is 3500€ and the church organs are "please come in the shop" price, I suppose because they're 200 kg beasts and aimed at a small market.

In the PX-5S you can route the output of the expander into the keyboard compressor and master EQ on the PX-5S. The quirk is that there's a noise gate alsto and can't be excluded, but for organ sound it's less of a problem. Real big quirk of the PX-5S, if you like organ sounds, is the missing expression pedal (if you are going to use an Oberheim OB3 expander it has an expression pedal input). But I think that the MZ-X 500 could be an interesting option, if you are interested more on organ sounds than piano sounds, and has a more synth approach, so has a sampler and a mono mode, and last but not least a nice colour LCD display. If you don't need an hammer action keyboard it could be an interesting thing. Anyway I have a PX-5S, and I like it, even if it has some quirks, don't have an MZ-X500 but I think that is an interesting arranger keyboard.

I think the philosophy of the two keyboards is different. The PX-5S (and the PX-560) are stage pianos and are geared to that thing, so they have an hammer action keyboard. The synthesizer and hex layer part are added to the core digitali piano functionality, so this is why there isn't a mono mode. But bear in mind that the PX-5S has a great MIDI interface, so you could serach say a Oberheim OB3 expander.