Arpaul1958

Doug - 1) Sorry I haven't actually had mine apart - sorry if that was a bum steer 2) Absolutely put batteries in (my last guitar player was nicknamed "bigfoot".... power interruptions were expected) 3)you can borrow my power supply ( or even board if you really get screwed) if you want to eliminate the possibilities (S.Surrey) 4) Last casual gigging band was "Paul's Motel". Shut it down two years ago. Just hobbying and writing.

If the warranty is done(like mine) you might want to remove the top and then bend the ground tang tighter against the the ground sleeve that gets inserted....(if you suspect that there is nothing wrong with the ground supply). I have to admit that when fully inserted, my power supply end connector feels like there is some movement inside the case. I am out west (vancouver area) but I bought mine from Axe music is Edmonton.

Bravo. I'm sending you my PX5S AND my stage clothes. You know what to do!

Hi CZ. To my fingers, the Yamaha GH action is the heaviest of the three; the fatar is very similar to the PX5S. I can probably play the fastest runs on the fatar bed, but a more advanced player than me might feel differently. The PX5S has the most mechanical noise of the three, but the rather unique key-covering is the best of the three when you really have to wail with sweaty hands. I do not have large strong hands and fingers and if I was going to simply trade away one of the three beds it would be the GH on the P255. ...and yes I leave the Casio set up at home and plugged into my rather modest studio and use it for practice and song-writing. (The only reason I bought the P255 is that it lives in my getaway shack in the far north and the speakers make it convenient. There are lots of portable speaker options for the PX5S that sound fine. For the price the P255 isn't really tall on features and flexibility; it's modest sales figures in Canada seem to reflect this..)

...."as well as taking away some piano-ness. On the other hand, in 99% of the cases, an on/off sustain pedal is all one really needs. .." . On some rare occasions I wish for a little more control of the sustain....but this thing is not missing any "piano-ness". It's probably the most misunderstood (by me) and underestimated keyboard that I've owned. I've never had anything that floats into the room hanging on a shoulder strap and yet does so much. While I do still have a bit of loyalty to some of the yammy sounds, the army of talent that makes up the PX5S group has pretty much closed the gap with their creations. Roland Sh1000 , Wurlitzer 200A , Hammond M3, yamaha sy85, yamaha qs300 , yamaha motif ES, Yamaha p255 , Studiologic SL990xp , Kurzweil k2000v3, Lesage 1924 upright.

When you haul it out of the box, update to the latest re-ordering of sounds on the download section. Go straight to hexlayer 0-5 (called "the way it is"), on the key at the top right ("advance/+10") press a few times to change the piano layer to "GnPno Modern", then advance the slider S1 about 1/3 off stop, and advance slider S2 about 1/2 off the stop. Add sustain pedal as desired. It will sound very similar to the first sound on the Nord demo. ONLY BETTER. I almost bought the Nord Stage 2 before grabbing the Px5S. (couldn't find out how to shove the batteries into it). no regrets. Have fun.

Hi - yes I do use the PX5S as a midicontroller as well (sorry if I wasn't that clear). I use a Midi Solutions quadramerge box (around $100), but it is not actually necessary. One can use the "thru" midi jacks that most controllers have. You have to make the basic channel and zone assignments with or without the box. One thing I have to watch is which Yamaha voices respond to all five of the casio sliders (From a "plug in and go" lazyguy standpoint). If I put the time into tweaking and trimming, I would probably find that the casio soundbank is enough. I would still be using the lightweight synth-action controller for the organ and synth sounds. I think the keyboard guy (John) at the NYC manhattan Sam Ash Music tagged me in his comments when I was there in December ...."The PX5S is actually very deep, much deeper than people suspect from the packaging. When I saw what it could do I expected we would sell a lot more of these, but people don't seem to want to put the time in". In any case, the PX5S is good bang for the buck. I've had quite a few yamaha synths and a couple of their pianos. Gotta say, anything below $2500 in yammy is feelin kinda flimsy these days. Great sounds, though.

Great comments from all. A new MOXF8 showed up at our jam last month. I didn't have my PX5S there so I hammered the yammy for a couple of hours. Full of all the usual Yammy tricks and sounds. Decent action, nothing fantastic. I would agree with pax-eterna that the pX5S belongs on the ground floor. Great action, super pianos. At home I use it for its own sounds as well as a midi-controller for a Yamaha rack Motif ES (which still has some pretty killer EPs and organs) , with a 49 key light action controller on top to trigger some synth, organ and string sounds from both the PX5S and the Rack Motif ES. This is also my mobile rig. I prefer the slightly lighter and smaller build of the casio to the MOXF8 when it comes to humping the gear into strange places.

Hello Mau - tinnitus is not fun. I have had it in each ear at various times from reaction to pharmaceuticals ( as Howard mentioned above )and from exposure to loud noise . The only time it started in both ears at the same time was when I had a pinched nerve in my neck. I hope you find a solution, Cheers Rob

Here in the frozen northern wastelands I'm using the PX5s for its own voices and as a controller for a rack motif ES. Got the Yamaha on ebay for less than $400, pretty much new condition. Reasonable polyphony, ass-kicking organs,great arps, fabulous electric pianos, very useable strings. The casio acoustic pianos are better. The PX5s sliders needed no setting up to work on the yammy. I have to say there are not many actions that measure up to the casio. PS my battery holder holds exactly one laser guided water-balloon.

I've been using Modern Grand for softer stuff. I haven't used it for anything live yet , so that might require something else. It will be my replacement for the Baby Grand soft-synth module in Pro-tools.

Hi Chuck and all. Your videos are great. Your comment above about the action stopped me from buying a Nord stage 2 76ha. I've tried the Nord a few times but we don't have the PX5s yet in my part of Canada, and I haven't bought a board without feeling it first. (all the great links you folks have provided have certainly satisfied my curiosity about the sound quality). I've been playing a Studiologic SL990xp (Fatar keybed) and found it a bit heavy. The Nord ha is lighter, but still a little heavy or perhaps..mushy... Would you say the PX5S is faster than the stage 2 that you had?. .. PS thanks in advance, I was about to buy the Nord with borrowed money.. cheers Rob