PianoManChuck

Tonight's UStream broadcast (#2) was awesome! After watching, I have some suggestions: 1) The camera that's broadcasting the LCD Display Screen is blocking Mike's hands & fingers. It should be smaller and moved to the upper left or upper right of the screen so that we can see Mikes' hands & fingers and still see his face. As it is, that LCD Display Screen takes up over a 3rd of the display and doesn't need to be so large. 2) I can see where another broadcast that covers Phrase Recording in detail could cover an entire session. This is an area that we'd all like to know more about, yet an area where almost nothing exists in terms of helping us to understand this feature and its potential with the machine. 3) Personally (and it may be just me), I'd like to see Mike's thought process as to how he took a well-known song (Pink Floyd's "On The Run"), and made a Stage Setting out of it. He touched on this in this broadcast, but I think if we can see that process from scratch to finished Stage Setting, we'd understand a lot more about sound design and how to implement/achieve it on the PX5. 4) Lastly, not sure if people want to see the viewers comments/questions as they came in during the broadcast... it would definitely take screen real estate away, but perhaps two versions of the broadcast could be made available on Youtube - one with, the other without user comments/questions. Not a biggie either way, just a thought. Just the fact that these broadcasts are even offered at all (as well as Mike's participation in the various forums) is something that potential buyers should factor in to the price of their purchase. As far as I know, Casio is the only company that has such an active involvement with its users, and that's something that just isn't included in a purchase price with any other competitor. Great job!!!

Excellent explanation and examples!

Yes, K1 & K2 are shortcuts and K2 gets you through the parm list much, much faster. Personally, I don't want to move the K1-K4 knobs because I visually rely on the knobs physical pointers to show me where on the physical dial I'm at for EQ. If I use K2 to change a parameter entry somewhere, the knob doesn't "snap back" to the physical position it was in for EQ with the knob's pointer showing me where on the physical dial I'm at (even though its doesn't change the EQ setting, it physically changes the position on the dial its pointing to). This brings up a great suggestion for a future model... rather than use physical pointers embedded onto the knob itself, use LED's (in a circular fashion) to show where within the physical dial you're at for EQ (or volume, or anything else with a knob)... have those "snap back" to show the position that knob is in for ANY setting when you choose that setting.

Maybe someone else could chime in on this... but cc07 is Volume and is normally thought of as 'master volume'. cc11 is expression, which does pretty much the same thing, but is normally used by a single instrument (you'll see "expression pedals" in use by various instrumentalists - guitarists, organists, even some keyboard players). Some people liked to use cc11 as sort of a 'fine tuning' to the master volume. Lots of differing explanations out there. Can't go wrong with this example: If you're familiar with a mixing console, the individual sliders could be thought of as cc11, while master volume would be cc07.

If anyone is interested, I put together a step-by-step instruction guide on how to accomplish this. In many ways, having it all written down and laid out in front of you makes it easier to understand what's going on (rather than just following cookbook instructions): CASIO PRIVIA PX-5S Assign Sliders 1 - 4 to control Zone 1 - 4 volume -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Select the Stage Setting you want to work with (ie: BANK XX). 2. Press EDIT a - Select "Stage Setting" (press Enter) b - Scroll down to pg 2, select "Common Edit" c - Scroll down to pg 4, select "Slider1 Edit" d - Hold "-/No" key until "CC11: Express" appears e - Press Exit f - Repeat steps c thru f for Slider2, Slider3 & Slider4 g - Press Exit 3 times, to get back to the !X-X display 3. Press WRITE a - Select "Stage Setting" (press Enter) b - Press Enter again (in response to "Press Enter" prompt) c - Press "+/Yes" in response to "Replace? No/Yes" You have now defined & saved what Sliders 1 thru 4 will control (MIDI CC # 11, which is "expression") - in this case, Volume. In the next sequence of steps, we'll define which controller controls which zone's volume by turning Slider1 "on" for Volume1 for Zone1..... Slider 2 "on" for Volume 2 on Zone2, etc. 4. Press EDIT a - Select "Stage Setting" (press Enter) b - Select "Zone Edit" c - Scroll down to, and Select "Controller Edit" d - Scroll down to pg 2, select "Slider1 Enable" e - Use "-/No" & "+/Yes" keys to select "On" f - Scroll and change settings to "Off" for Sliders 2 thru 4. g - Press (Step/Track +) to the left of screen to select Zone 2 (Z2 should appear on 1st line of screen display). h - using the methods above, change the settings for Slider1 thru Slider4 of each of Zones 1 thru 4 so that they match the following values: Z1: Slider1 Enable = ON Slider2 Enable = OFF Slider3 Enable = OFF Slider4 Enable = OFF Z2: Slider1 Enable = OFF Slider2 Enable = ON Slider3 Enable = OFF Slider4 Enable = OFF Z3: Slider1 Enable = OFF Slider2 Enable = OFF Slider3 Enable = ON Slider4 Enable = OFF Z4: Slider1 Enable = OFF Slider2 Enable = OFF Slider3 Enable = OFF Slider4 Enable = ON 5. Press WRITE a. Press Enter b. Press "+/Yes" in response to "Replace? No/Yes" Finished! From now on, using the Stage Setting of XX (whatever stage setting you were editing above) will now be set to have Sliders1 thru 4 control the individual volumes of the instruments (tones) set for Zones Z1 thru Z4: Slider 1 will control volume for Zone 1 Slider 2 will control volume for Zone 2 Slider 3 will control volume for Zone 3 Slider 4 will control volume for Zone 4 NOTE: When selecting Stage Setting XX, its a good idea to start with Sliders1 thru 4 at the very bottom (Zero setting)... this resets the sliders to ensure that the bottom position is zero.

Thanks... saves me from uploading one!!! You're way on top of things, as usual.

This tutorial will show you how to set up Sliders 1-4 such that they control the individual volumes of Zones 1-4 on the fly: http://youtu.be/wOLVGnkcLro

+1

Thanks, Rob! But I also say (to everyone who asks) that keybed action is a very personal thing! You have to try everything that you're interested in to find the action that's right for you. The Kronos and the PX5 are heavier action than the Nord... that doesn't make it better, just different. I can work with ANY weighted 88-key action and be comfortable with it in about 10 seconds... but I still prefer the heavier action. Kronos rates #1 with me for action, Privia PX5 (and PX350) at #2. Nord last. But that doesn't mean I don't like the Nord action, just means I prefer the heavier action, that's all. I still didn't sell the Nord (I started to but not getting the price I wanted)... so I'm still using it. Speaking of selling... I sold my PX-330 within an hour of listing it on Craigslist (literally) and at the price I wanted. Tried listing the Nord (Craigslist) for 2 months, but kept getting lowball offers. I know it would sell on eBay but no way I'm ready to pay their fees unless I was really desperate to sell it. Bottom line, Privia is much more popular and in demand when it comes time to sell (and seems to hold its value quite well).

So I did backing with a Korg Kronos, lead (piano) with a PX5 (Stage settings 00, 50 and 53). The PX5 pianos cut through the mix quite well. This is also a good example of a mix where settings are changed on the fly, for both instruments! The PX5 and Kronos actually sound great together: Enjoy.

Thanks!! Youtube's Content ID system matches certain copyrighted material (such as what you mentioned) with a "Matched 3rd Party Content" warning. Without going into details, that's something I try to avoid with demo's, tutorials, etc.

Thanks for the update. Curious to hear your thoughts on the 9-layer organ if you get a chance to try it.

Thanks Hopefully people will find this useful in making a decision.... seems that this topic (what the presets/sounds sound like) is the most frequently asked request I get from everyone. However, unlike all previous models, each one of these "stock sounds" can be made to sound however you like... so if a piano or organ or guitar or whatever doesn't sound the way you'd like in these sample videos, you can simply tweak it to sound however you wish!

Yes - I see your point, and you're right. Luckily I don't need an epxression pedal for my stuff. Do you have an update for us on what (if anything) you did to solve the problem since your last post?

For those who do not have a PX-5S, and curious as to what the Presets of the 8 SoundBanks sound like... I put together a series of videos that does exactly that! Here's a link to the playlist... play the videos of the corresponding SoundBank(s) that you're interested in, or play them all! Remember, these can all be used as the building blocks for your Stage Settings!

This is for anyone that does not have a PX-5S yet, and is curious as to what the 100 different stage settings sound like straight out of the box:

Hey everyone! You should gain a much better grip/understanding of "stage settings" / zones once you watch this video: Enjoy!

The KC-110 really packs a powerful punch and sounds like it has much more power than it really does! Great that you can plug the PX5 into the line in of the MZ-2000, that should be interesting and I'd like to know how that works out for you!!! You can pick up a KC-110 on (fe)eBay for around $250... great price for what it is... especially with having multiple inputs and being stereo. The fact that its stereo AND is specifically designed for keyboards makes it worth it over anything else in its price range. I've got an old pair of Samson EX-30's sitting around (runs on their own rechargeable lead-acid battery) with 200 watts of power each! Each one weighs more than twice that of the PX5 (ouch!).... but they have wheels and a telescopic handle. Haven't tried that out yet but will try to do so shortly

I have the Roland KC-110 battery-operated stereo keyboard amp. Works great!!!! I wonder if Casio's warranty covers damage from birds

I'm not sure why only alkaline batteries.... but alkaline are the only kind of batteries I ever buy anyway. I'm just ecstatic that I have an 88-key pro keyboard that can run on batteries - I've been waiting for that capability for over decade! It makes sense that Casio is the first to produce this... they've had battery-operated (non-pro) keyboards for a couple of decades, they've simply taken the technology they've had in the past, modified it and married it with current technology. Don't forget, their portable (non-pro) keyboards also had to power an amp and speakers... the PX5 doesn't have that kind of current-draining demand since there's no amp/speakers.

That's already in the works! There's 370 presets in 8 sound banks... that's a lot of stuff to go through! Even at 10 seconds per preset, that's 3700 seconds (over an hour!). So the examples of each of the tones is going to be relatively short and broken down into 8 videos (1 video per sound bank). Its already been recorded, just a matter of finding the time to do all the editing, mixing and uploading at this point... but it should be soon!

The following video is an "Idiots Guide" to layering 4 sounds quickly... using 4 zones and only 4 buttons to do it! http://youtu.be/BWUgUVRn1iQ Enjoy!

Since you've waited so long for a new keyboard, you probably couldn't have made a better choice! The PX5S does so much, you'll be spending a lot of time with it (in a good way)! I had a Korg Triton... for 11 years! Wasn't the greatest keybed, but what it could do was absolutely astonishing for its day. It wasn't until the release of the Korg Kronos that I sold the Triton. The Kronos was as far above the Triton as a worm is above the amoeba. And the PX-5S is one of the best boards I've seen as far as stage pianos go. The PX-5S was the catalyst that made me decide to sell my Nord Stage 2. Looking at all the advantages and disadvantages of each, you just can't beat the programmability, the action (much better than the Nord), and the 24-lb package! Granted the Nord has much better piano samples than just about everything out there, but 4x the price better? Nah.

Thanks for the warm welcome, Brad!! Its great to be here! I haven't been this excited about a keyboard since the Korg Kronos! The PX-5S and the Kronos are definitely game changers

This video is a great place to start with understanding Stage Settings and Zone Editing: http://youtu.be/FzXVBTOnLTI Enjoy!