Dattaa

Hey Mike, what the heck, while we're dreaming up the future.

Currently 3 great EMI brands: Privia, XW, WK in descending order of price:functionality. Mash-up best of each into something new?

• 61/76-key WK chassis, performance guts of XW/PX

  (AiR / Hex / HPSS Mono Synth / Stp Seq / Drwbr Org)

• brilliant, re-designed control surface with:

- larger GUI display w/ intuitive/data-rich/menu-divin' navigation...

- 9 full-size/9-step sliders (Drwbr, synth osc/env parameters, etc.)...

- 9 rotary encoder knobs above sliders with preset/assign control...

- 2 or 3 pedal inputs (sustain, volume, trigger, expression, etc.)...

- semi-weighted, waterfall keybed w/ aftertouch, string/damper resonance...

- improved Drawbar Organ samples and Leslie DSP - make it best-in-class...

• and, of course, all of the above-related super-intelligent requests from my distinguishes peers...

Suffice, re-think, re-design, re-invent the GUI/control surface to be REALLY user-friendly, super-powerful/super-fast for realtime creation, control and edit of every parameter in the kb. No more cryptic, convoluted, time-consuming menu-diving to get things done.

Make the control-surface dashboard of this product the easiest, fastest and as realtime as possible. This kb's controls should allow a player to quickly/easily create amazing patches, save/recall/adapt/edit/tweak in realtime during performance. This new GUI control surface should be the best the industry has ever seen and lead the rest of the pack for years to come as the definitive, best genius re-think of a kb's user interface.

And one more thing. Stay competitive in the mobile app market with tablet editor/performance control apps! iOS now and Android when possible.

Deliver at competitive Casio prices and make it mobile-portable and batt-pwrd!

And you've got yourself another winner!!!!

;-)

Mike - Nice job on the latest PX-5S SoundCloud demos:

PX-5S Reverbed Piano

PX-5S Pad and Arpeggios

They're clean, clear 'n' crisp - just the right amount of DSP efx overall!

The playing is smart - subtle to display the 5S's sensitive responsiveness, yet, also expressive to demonstrate its brilliant dynamics.

Great job Mike. You've been listening to the forums and integrating the feedback into new demos! Keep up the excellent work ol' bean! And continued kudos to Casio EMI engineers too, who've been very busy of late!

d

Dattaa,

Thanks for the feedback!!

Let me know if there are other forums talking about it where you don't see me participating. ;-)

Yes you can name Stage Settings. So you can ? out the Song title or anything else in there that you'd like to help you remember. The display also shows the name of the sound on the currently selected zone.

We used an iPad app at NAMM called Set List Maker. It can send bank/program changes to any MIDI device. For the purposes of NAMM, I created sets on the app that were organized by sound type. So set 1 was all the Rhodes sounds, set 2 all the clavs....etc.

Mike - You seem to have all the bases covered re: responding to all the many PX-5S posts on the main dp forums out there. Just hope you're getting enough downtime and shuteye - sleep deprivation can sneek up on ya somethin' fierce! Always remember to take it, but take it easy too!

Great news that you can name Stage Settings. Wasn't sure if you meant you can 'print' or do something else to the Stage Setting names? The verb seems to be missing in the 2nd sentence of that paragraph? I marked it with a ? in the quote above.

One query: will the PX-5S Mac/PC software include an Editor module, for direct deep-editing of 5S's many systems and parameters? If so, can these direct 5S edits be saved/named on Mac/PC and transferred to 5S as User and Stage Settings? Will the software also include a Library/Data Manager module to name, save, organize, backup, upload/download, transfer User tones and Stage Settings to/from internet, Mac/PC and 5S?

Could the 5S's Mac/PC software also be enhanced to provide the functionality of the Set List Maker iOS app you were using at NAMM? It would be like a software favorites list. The Library module would allow you to organize Preset, User and Stage Settings into custom lists that you could call-up on the 5S from the Mac/PC software?

One more thing: is Casio developing similar type of iOS/Android apps for 5S as above?

Oh, and one last request - I promise - would Casio PX design engineers consider - even at this late stage in the development cycle - putting some type of sticky pad material on top of the battery lid? Then we can put our notebooks, tablets, mini music stands and/or efx pedals, etc. there - same as the upper-right sticky mat on the XW series!!!

Thanks for all the great info Mike. PX-5S looks like a true winner and best-in-show, again! You, in particular, and Casio, in general, have been carefully listening to loyal, dedicated Casio users for the last many years and filtering all our design form and function requests into these amazing new products. Looks like I'm going to plunk down some serious cash to get a 5S!

Since I live in the North Indian Himalayas having battery backup is a must. Major kudos and big congrats to Casio for engineering the music industry's very first weighted/graded 88-key, portable digital kb to run on batts. That's no small feat and everyone involved in this engineering breakthrough should be very proud of this mega milestone achievement!

Take note Yamaha, Korg, Roland, Kawai and everyone else in the dp/synth/kb game! Casio has set the bar pretty darn high with this product launch! Take note, sharpen your pencils to take better notes and get back to your drawing boards to play catch-up, because the digital keyboard market just got a whole lot more competitive in the $1K range and the serious piano prosumer just got a whole lot more keyboard for their money!

Dattaa

To Mike Martin

Congrats on a super successful WNAMM 2013 PX-5S launch! You hit all the right notes and masterfully orchestrated a perfect product roll-out. ALL the dp forums are a' buzz with the latest Cassie PX-5S product info...actual, imagined and everything in between. So well done Mike! You've earned yourself some serious R&R downtime to recover from NAMM's full-court press media blitz!

One query - can the registrations (Stage Setups?) have their own text title name? It would be nice to quickly identify each reg setup with its own unique text title. It's difficult to find a reg setup you've created and used before - for a specific song, groove or style - when all you see is the bank#/reg#, with no title text to hint at what it actually is. Basically, without a title identifying what the setup is, you have to go through all your banks and setups and audition each one to find the one you're looking for, etc.!

Extending on this: could Casio develop a Mac/PC/iOS app that visually displayed all the reg/setup system settings and dp info for each reg setup? You could call it something like 'Stage Setups'. It would display the bank#/reg setup# along with its text title and all its system settings so you could easily find the patch you're looking for. Of course, once you've found the stage setup you want you hit the app's play button on your Mac/PC/iOS app and it opens up the stage setup on your PX-5S.

One more thing. You could print a short-form title list with just bank#/setup# on each line and also print an extensive list (showing all the PX-5S settings) for each stage setup from your Stage Setups Mac/PC/iOS app formatted for standard letter size paper, so you can easily keep track of your stage setups with all your latest settings, etc.

Any and/or all of the above would be great and very useful for busy gigging players!

Deep thoughts!

Dattaa

Whoops. Posted the above after only reading page 1 of 3 (for this post). Then I read page 2 and 3. Wow! You guys are pretty darn smart, bringing your A game to this thread!

So, yeah, it appears to be the PX-4. A mysterious mashup of XW + AiR + PX = ?

Mike Martin, gotta hand it to you man. You and Casio sure know how to create brilliant pre-NAMM media buzz!

Good on ya! Keep up the great innovation, imagineneering and ultimate 'dream' creation.

Have a great NAMM 2013. I'm sure you'll reap a ton of props and media attention with these new products!

Mike - perusing the 'Shattering Expectations' NAMM 2013 graphic for clues:

- Privia brand name logo printed on one of the glass shards at bottom center of graphic...

- AiR Sound Source logo in the lower left corner, just left of Privia brand name logo...

So, I'll take a stab. It's a 76-key weighted/graded Privia. Right?

Just hope it has all the goodies that PX-350 has along for the 76-key ride!

This is exciting news indeed!

Dattaa

Charles, have a gander at this:

http://www.joflaherty.org/PianoPedal/Pedals.pdf

Well-written article on M-Audio SP-2 sustain pedal and how to re-wire it to get half-pedaling on PX-xxx keyboards.

Dattaa

I _did_ try putting an M-Audio "Expression" pedal -- continuously-variable -- into the "Sustain" pedal jack on the PX-350 rear panel. All positions are interpreted as "damper off".

Charles

Dattaa

What I was wondering about is the half-pedal operation. As Charles mentions, the only reference to half-pedal is with the large pedal board. I have pedals similar to the two you note (from other keyboards) - they work, but are simply "on/off" pedals. I was hoping to find something which also supports half-pedal operation.

Charles

Charles, here's link and quote from Mike Martin, Casio Marketing, concerning their SP22 & SP33 sustain pedals:

http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1968403/13.html

The SP32 and SP33 BOTH support a "progressive half-pedaling." It is a variable controller from 0-127 in MIDI values. Not an on/off switch. The SP33 is actually velocity sensitive. The force at which you press the pedal also impacts the volume of the "damper sound". You can hear the dampers lifting off the strings and this will be either very subtle or more noticeable based on the how quickly you stomp on the damper pedal.

I know that Casio makes a three pedal board for the unit. However, I am just looking for a single pedal that is a little more substantial than the included piece and supports the half pedal feature. Is there anything (Casio or third party) that would fit this bill?

Casio SP-20 - http://www.casio.com/products/Accessories/Pedals/SP-20/

M-Audio SP-2 - http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/SP2.html

Both are good. I use M-Audio's SP-2. Works fine!

Dattaa

Hey Gary

Thanks for the props! Everything multi-tracked on a Korg D16XD 16-track digital recorder - nice board!

I played pretty much everything: kbs, guitars, vocals and tamboura. Had some help on egtr solos, percussion and santoor from two talented local musicians: Malcolm Reid and Peter Follett.

Check-out tracks from my micro-budget CD, Himalayan Muse, released a few years ago:

http://noisetrade.com/dattaa

http://soundcloud.com/dattaa

I used a CTK-671 kb on tracks other than vocals, acous/elec guitars and percussion.

Even though this CTK would be considered fairly entry-level, still, it was a great, affordable tool for helping stitch together this music project. Amazing little 61-key muse-generation machine!

Give 'So Suite' a listen at NoiseTrade.com!

Is there a way of changing some of the default settings on a PX-350 ?

Ie: I always play in Full Range mode but have to cycle through the five options by holding down the Accomp/onoff button

I would like full chord to be the default setting and not single finger ?

Can I also set a different tone say Rock Piano instead of GrPnoconcert if so required as the default ?

Store the settings you like as registrations. It will store accompaniment (fingering) settings, tone settings, tempo and more.

Mike - Could Bigmark use the PX-350's Setting Backup feature to have his fave settings/tones restore as default?

In PX-350M User Manual: Page E-46 'Other Settings':

Parameter: 8-3 Setting Backup

Display Name: BackUp

Settings: Off (default), On

Description:

Switching this setting from Off to On will save various settings in effect at that time, and restore them the next time the digital piano is turned on.

Who has tried out the new PX-350 digital piano (dp)?

What are your thoughts?

What stands out?

Give us your hands-on 'good, bad & ugly' evaluation!

Who has bought a 350?

What is your user experience with your new dp?

What do you like about it?

What don't you like about it?

Would you recommend this dp to your family and friends?

Who's thinking to buy a 350?

What are you looking for in a new dp?

What questions do you have about the 350?

What are you hoping to get from buying a new 350?

What other brands/models of dp are you also considering?

How does the 350 stack-up against these other brand/model dps?