Choppin

Hi Winip, The control section Scott was mentioning in the other thread if you go to page E-31 of the users guide tutorial manual, you'll find the stage settings section. Pages E-32 and E-35 talk about the modulation wheel specifically. There shouldn't be any midi filtering going on... however, do you have any program where you can view what is transmitted hen you use the mod wheel? In windows, a nice program for that is MIDI-Ox If you can actually see that a changing value is being transmitted when you use the wheel, you'll know if the stopping point is in Logic Pro

That's true. You could set the 4 zones so that they don't sound and just switch between stage settings with a single button. The advantage is you could setup one stage setting with sound, and mirror the exact same one without sound in case you wanted to hear the stage setting. The advantage of the local off is, you could use any one the stage settings and keyboard configurations to change the settings of your daw without having to preprogram the sound being off for that particular stage setting. Keep in mind, Each stage setting can have it's own grouping of what midi channels are controlled, what the patch settings are, what ccs the pedals are set to, etc. Once the local off is set, it remains set until you turn it back on.

Dan Selby, Joe has already responded but I'll add a little bit: For number 1, the PX-5s lends itself to be a controller and all of the knobs and dials are designed to be programmable and can be transmitted via MIDI. Though there isn't a "one button press" per se, more like a three button press, there is a midi control to turn local control off under the onboard system settings menu. Turning the local control off suppresses all of the internal sounds. 2. Of course - there are two headphone jacks in the back of the unit

It sounds like it could be a couple of issues: 1. velocity issue. The velocity the PX is sending isn't the same as when you play the Nord directly 2. sending multiple channels from the PX for the same note. If multiple channels are being received by the Nord and all ending up on the same channel, you'll have multiple of the same event on the same channel and you'll get sort of a (lacking a better term) phasing situation. The Nord tries to play the same event simultaneously (for the same note) and parts of the waveform may be lost in the reproduction. Check number 2 first. Check all of the zones on the PX and make sure NONE are transmitting midi. Press the keys on the PX and you should get no sound from the Nord. Next, turn on the midi for one zone on the PX. Play it and see if that makes a difference. After number 2, mess with the settings by turning off the touch and setting the no touch velocity to 127. That should transmit the maximum velocity regardless of how hard you play the px-5s. You should get the maximum velocity response from the Nord. Try changing the velocity value to other numbers and listen to the response from the nord. If it's determined that it's the velocity, you'll have to make adjustments to the velocity settings according to your taste. By this I mean, turning the touch back on and then editing the tone/stage setting velocity etc. Or if you like the static velocity, leave the touch sensitivity off.

not 100% sure. A simple test would be to change system setting, save all. Set that same system setting to something else. Load all. check your system setting and see if it got loaded. there is a thread somewhere on here about midi preferences (the mixer and such). I think those have to be changed every time. There's a work around to load a midi file that has all the settings as you want them.

...but the song sequencer is 8 tracks. It can be made up of multiple phrases

Just to expand on that a bit... a phrase can actually be 8k in terms of memory. That means it can contain up to 8K of midi data. So the content length of a phrase can change depending on how much midi data is actually contained. You could have volume, filter, note on + off, modulation, pitch bend, chorus, etc. - all sorts of events taking up the memory of a phrase. If you convert a midi track to a phrase, depending on it's contents, it can be way longer than 16 measures. If you use Auto for the end measure when recording a phrase directly on the keyboard, it can go beyond 16 measures.

Like XW-Addict said, finding something that sounds similar is a good start. Doing a quick sweep through the GM tones, I think VAR : P : 044 GM metal Pad with the modulation wheel up a little bit sounds pretty close; but that's after searching for only 5 or 10 minutes. Also try GM square lead2 VAR p 005

Hello, Here's a few settings that I think will help you along the right path. I made these modifications to stage setting 0,0 . I exaggerated them a bit so you could hear clearly the direction of the effect. The staccato vs legato can mainly be controlled by the AMP envelope settings - the time from when the attack reaches it's highest level from it lowest and those levels themselves: AMP: Volume 100 Velovity sense +63 initial level -64 Attack Time -27 Attack Level 0 LFO FilterAmpWave [SawUp] FilterAmpRate[-41] FilterDepth [0] other filter settings at 0 Amp Depth [+63] Amp Delay [-64] Those setting should put you on the right track. Taylor them to taste. If you want to get more creative and have more control, setup two different zones that have the same pitch but are split at different points on the keyboard. One zone can be your piano with effects, the other zone can be a straight piano. Then just play in different areas of the keyboard for either. Or play them both at the same time.

What makes it weird is that you said notes aren't playing either. Generally, out of the box, you should be able to connect the PX-5s to a DAW, load or create a file in the DAW, press play, and hear the PX play whatever file is in the DAW. According to the midi settings you posted above, it should work. Try setting the Sync Mode in the Midi settings of PX-5s to Slave. Look for a control for timing, clock, or sync in Mainstage and set it to Master. Then play a file through Mainstage. Do you have any kind of generic midi player on your Mac that you could load a midi file into and output it to channel 1 and USB? The test here is just to get some midi playing from your computer on the PX. If that can happen without any trouble, then that at least helps narrow it down to settings on Mainstage that need to be tweaked.

Sorry I can't be of more help. I understand the theory of how the setup should work, but not the parameters and configuration of Mainstage as I am not familiar with that product. The theoretical setup is: Pedal -> Computer via midi DIN or USB Computer runs DAW software which captures pedal input Daw Software outputs to virtual Midi ports on assigned channels A MIDI Thru is assigned from the DAW to pass the input of the pedal through the computer -> USB or Midi DIN Px-5s

You may have to add an external instrument to Mainstage. A quick search on the web brings up the link below. See if this information is useful: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH13578?locale=en_US

In the scenario you describe, MainStage should be sending the control codes as midi thru. The pedal into the Mac, Mainstage receives the information through a soft midi port assigned by the os, Mainstage sends the information out through another midi port (via a separate USB than the pedal), Px receives output from MainStage. What channel is MainStage sending out to? And can you test if notes sent from mainstage can be received by the PX?

Hi drwaido, As you press the + or - keys, the name and number of the tone will change and appear in the LCD window in the bottom section. Can you identify specifically what name and number appears in the window when the sustain stops working? Part of the trouble-shooting will be trying to replicate your experience and having the same result when the same tone is drawn up. Also, are you only in zone 1 of the stage setting? In the display midway down on the far right, there will be a Z1, Z2, Z3, or Z4 depending on which zone you are currently changing the tone for. Thank you

Hello, Not all stage settings use the same parameters for pedal one. In fact, not all tones (the sounds that make up a stage setting) even respond to the hold control code. Also, there are "regular" Melody tones and HEX tones. Selecting a HEX tone may reset the parameters when moving to a regular tone or vice versa - since there are many more controls and options with a HEX tone. There's not really a fix because it's not technically broken. However, I may be misinterpreting your post. Can you identify which tone you have scrolled to when the sustain stops working?

Hello, With touch off, you should be playing at a consistent velocity at whatever value the Touch Off Velo is set. Depending on the number here you may get a different timbre. Experiment and you might find the exact velocity that meets your needs.

Hi, It's easy to modify sounds. The hard part is coming up with something that sounds good! There are some instructional videos by Mike Martin that will definitely get you on your way. Here's a synthesis 101 video that should give you a good starting point on how to make your own tones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCdK6r6w1qo

Hello, I'm no sound engineer but my very basic understanding of synthesis suggests there are a few different things going on. When it comes to emulated instruments, for the most part, the main essence of the tones are sampled (recorded digitally) at different intervals for the specific instrument. Based on the key played, the sample that has been related to that "range" will sound at a particular frequency. The electronic sounds (like saw, triangle, pulse, organ sounds, harmonics) may be created by or acted on by algorithms. These may include different types of amplitude or frequency modulations that may aid in producing harmonics or other effects. Then there are filters that can be applied to shape the tone. Put the tone through some digital effects and you have another layer to influence the sound. The user of the PX-5s cannot change the original design of the sounds. The user cannot resample or apply any real synthesis to existing tones. The user can adjust the various envelopes, and do some amplitude modulation using the ring modulator, and layer tones on top of each other, but cannot actually invent or create a new sound. The user can only alter certain qualities of the original sounds. These can be saved as user tones. The combinations of effects and settings may create a tone that sounds completely different than the original, but the waveforms themselves are not really being changed.

TLC, I think it's different than an accoustic. Not better, not worse, just different. The concussion of the hammer to the string isn't transmitted back to the key in an accoustic; the hammer is kinda thrown at the string by the key press. It resets once the string is struck. The lever mechanism in the casio is more closely connected and the "hammer" doesn't reset, it stays relative to where the key is pressed with a little bit of play. So you feel a little bounce that is transmitted directly to the key. I find it unnoticeable unless I'm looking for it. If you can, play other weighted digital pianos. If you aren't happy or comfortable with an instrument, find one you like.

Hello, I don't believe there is a sustain length directly related to the hold pedal, however, there is an envelope filter on all sounds where you can control the sustain and decay of a tone. In this case, I think you would want to control the decay time; the time it takes the tone to fall from it's sustain level to it's lowest level. You can adjust this by pressing Edit > Tone > Amp > Decay Time You'll have to be careful with your adjustments because you could end up making the tone sound unnatural and fake.

I like the innovation! That's great!

Hello, Welcome! The song sequencer functions like what is called a "Tracker" also sometimes called a "Mod Player". The concept is this: a series of patterns identified by a unique number are placed on a grid of tracks. Each pattern is triggered in sequence according to it's position on the track in the grid, the tempo of the song, the number of repeats for the specific pattern at its current position, and will play any pitch shifts of the whole pattern. Hopefully, you don't mind reading. There is a discussion about it with some details I participated in in this thread: You should go through the whole thread for more information. I'll include a big chunk of the description of the sequencer use below that is also in the above thread.

Yeah. I think the snap back on mine as well is very slow. It's not wear and tear as this was something that bothered me when I bought it almost 3 years ago now. Don't know of an immediate remedy but there are some that have opened up their PX-5s to do modifications for various reasons (tying the potentiometers to pedals, adding padding to the keys, etc.) . Of course this would violate the warranty. You could also build your own joystick or modulation wheel externally using something like this http://www.doepfer.de/we.htm Or you could purchase an inexpensive midi controller.

Hello smaug, selecting a stage setting only transmits the bank and program change information. It's not track information so upon selecting the stage setting, it doesn't setup how to play a particular track on an external device, it just tells the external device what instruments to choose and on what channel. Once that's engaged, you can use the knobs and sliders and other controls to affect the midi of the external device. If you want to change the volume, reverb, chorus, panning, etc on the external device, then you can do that by using one of the PX-5s songs and set all of the tracks (channels) to the instrument and initial settings you want. For example, press the [Song] button on the PX. Choose an empty song. Press [Edit] > Song Mixer> choose your various settings > set USB out ON and/or MIDI out ON One key part is to create a phrase ahead of time that is maybe one beat long and is empty. Under track edit, add this phrase. Now any time you press start select this song and press start, it will transmit all of your mixer settings for the song for those tracks that you have midi active. That includes volume, panning, reverb, chorus, pitch, program, etc.

I use a pair of vanatoo transparent one's. A bit pricey, but solid, adaptable, and great sound.