bimfood

Yeah, @Jokeyman123 you missed out without playing the MZ-X 500! From the specs it is a wonderfull keyboard and it would be so in reality, if there weren´t so many bugs AND if the keybed wasn´t made of thin plastic. I don´t understand, why casio makes such a lovley concept and than fails with the implementation in reality in such a way. First thing: If you take a nice keybed, for example some Fatar or an old DX7 keybed or a hammer action like the RH3 from Korg, you can play the Machine very nice and detailed. Some tuning of the Sound is needed, to fit in the characteristics of the external keybed. Second: Sound tuning: I can´t understand, why casio delivered this powerfull machine with such weak presets. The preset sounds don't do the machine justice. If you beginn to tweak them and put some internal FX on it - - - that´s the moment where the magic starts. (... and unfortunately the frustration) Third: Software bugs - working with INTERNAL SAMPLES works pretty fine. Samples will be load correctly and in a short time. Some Samples sound digital and sharp... but the intern sample set works well for me (I like the cheese classic sounds 😅) When you beginn to put internal FX (DSP and Master FX) you get a real spacy and fat sound. By the way, the sound is much more clear, than in the MZ-2000, which i like very much. BUT the FX parameters are not recalled reliable. Especially with the registration memory. Sometimes even some other parameters like paning, detuning will not recalled correctly - sometimes yes, sometimes no.... grrr Fourth: Software bugs - working with EXTERNAL SAMPLES: This is - in theory - a wonderfull and surprising function in a keyboard like this one. You can load in your own samples. Therefore Casio offers a software editor, wich is a littlebit cryptic, but it works. The MZ-X has 512 MB samplememory for user sounds. For me that is enough. It allows loading in multisamples, you can arrange them in the editor. - Perfect. You can use these samples in hex layers. What a powerfull thing. BUT: The time it takes to load is much to long. And it is not reliable. Sometimes some samples will not be loaded. So your hex layer sound plays only half. Even the MZ-X has a preload function for a few sounds, it is not working correctly. Sometimes the samplex 'fall out of memory' while you are playing.... grrr That together with the buggy FX recall.... is frustrating Over all: The keyboard in whole for me is cerebralized. It addresses the mind rather than the gut. It is more a keyboardish computer-thing with black and white keys. And less a music instrument, which allows you intuitiv playing. So sad, because Casio has the knowhow to build user interfaces with a highly intuitiv connection between hardware and software, in example see the MZ-2000.

For this reason, I sold my MZ-X 500. The bugs have driven me crazy.

I´d like to share some knowledge: I've been playing around with it for a few days now. I noticed that the send parameters for reverb and chorus are not saved in the registrations for the DSP effects. Is there a trick, or do I have to readjust the two parameters every time I call them up? @Monaro answerd on Youtube: The master chorus and reverb thong is really weird. Its like that on many of Casio's keyboards, even the mzx500. Sometimes it seems to save it and other times it just won't. Some of the insert distortion fx won't save their values either so as you found, you have to enter the correct value each time. Other a bit hit and miss with the fx and how they save in registrations. In synth mode, a pan value can be set for each of the four layers. However, the samples do not move in the stereo image. Does the stereo function have to be activated first? After some trial and error with the stereo layers in the synth section, I found the point: The preset for the DSP effect within the sound must be set to off. You may have to set it to "Stereo Thru" once in the meantime and then back to "Off". In the DSP effects of the combination, a stereo DSP must be selected for the DSPs or it must be set to Thru. It's wonderful how much spatiality the sound gets by distributing the layers in the stereo field. It's strange that Casio delivered the MZ 2000 (and also the MZ-X 500) with such weak preset sounds. The fact that the DSP effects are switched on in the preset registrations, but are set to Thru, is also moronic. What the Casio team is doing is bordering on self-sabotage. 😆

Mhhh... 30 years later, in 2024, the diskdrive still works 🤩

Thanks Brad, I took the manual. That describes the "DSP hold". And it says, that DSP effects bring their Rev and Cho send settings by default with them. But there is nothing written to the Registration memory... According to the operating instructions, the default parameters for pan, chorus and reverb are loaded when the DSP effect is called up. These can be "subsequently adjusted". If the parameters are not saved together with the registration settings, the DSP effects are useless because the default settings for reverb and chorus are 50 and 0 for most DSPs. What kind of bug would that be?

Hi togehter, I´m trying to store some regestrations in the MZ-2000. At first everythings looks okay. Until I get to the effect section. The effect typ of DSP, Reverb, Chorus and Master is stored in the Regestration. The DSP-fx has four parameters in the fx-setting menu, third and fours parameter set the value from DSP to System Reverb and Chorus. I can tweak these ones, but the value ist not stored within the Registration. If I recall the Registration, the send values are the predefined standard values of the DSP-effect. Does anyone know how that works? I tried the "Tone DSP Hold" ON and OFF to avoid that the DSP settings will be overwritten bei the sounds own DSP settings. This had no effect. In the Mixer screen on page 2, the Send-to-Effect values can be set. If I turn on the DSP for Upper 1 or Upper 2, it seems, that the direct send to System Reverb and Chorus will be ignored. In other words: It seems, that the DSP is not a parallel signal chain, but it is connected in series. Is that true?

Okay. I played with this thing 2 to 3 hours. It´s a funny board. I had the MZ-X 500 a few years ago and sold it (1) because of the keybed and (2) because of its cerebral interface. The layout of the MZ-2000 is very nice. The hardware knobs are at that place, where you are / I am looking for them. The menus on the screen are well orderd and the graphic design leads you perfectly through the complex structure. (Much better than in the MZ-X 500!!). Last thing: The interaction / connection between hardware buttons and screen functions is supirior. Orientation is easy. The proportion of hardware elements fit in human scale. Much better than the MZ-X 500! Everything has the space which is needed. Nothing is squasched or squeezed, like the sliders and wheels at the MZ-X. The keybed of the MZ 2000 feels a little bit plastic-like, but in an okay way. AND THE AFTERTOUCH gives you a big option for dynamic playing. I just played around a little bit. I am looking forward to use the synthesizer functions. I like the sound. It has a little bit 90´s style muffled/ dull sound. First experiments with the internal DSP Effects are promising. It´s a little dissapointing, that only 2 of the 4 DSPs can be used for the so called 'melody part' upper 1+2 and lower 1+2. Also the effect sound quality is clearly 25 years back... It would be unimaginable if the MZ-2000 with its wonderful operating concept had the engine of the MZ-X 500 under the hood ... the MZ-X certainly wouldn't have flopped

Yeehaa! I got a MZ-2000 Keyboard yesterday. The next days I will explore it. First impression: Seems to bee a nice machine. 😎

okay, the mz-x500 was a nice try for me. I like the engine and the concept of working with sounds. Everything is simple to use. The problem is the midi-functionality, so it doesent fit in my setup. I decided to sell my MZ-X 500.

The second option: what Layer does the Knob affect? Upper 1 and Upper 2 send their signals on CH 1 and CH 2 Lower 1 and Lower 2 send on CH 3 and CH 4 The Midi settings on the MZs are a little bit.... lets say 'amateurish'

How is the Midi-Out configured? Have a look in the Systemsettings or Midi-Menu and get sure, that it says 'out' (not Thru)

Is there any way to filter out the midi Volume Signal with external gear?

I use the iPad as a Soundmodule togehter with an other Masterkeyboard (weighted action) an the MZ-X500 as second keybed. In parallel to this, I use the MZ-X500 as standalone and backup. In the main scenario I use the MZ-X´s keybed via midi to play fast synth parts with my iPad-Sounds. AND I use some (user-configurated) sounds from the MZ-X directly. All these I manage in the iPad with aum. In backup scenario I want to use the MZ-X as fully standalone and plug it directly to the FOH mixer.

I changed the 'Keyboard Chanel' to CH3 in the Midi Menu. My iPad with aum recives Program Change items ONLY on CH 1. Seems that the MZ-X500 transmitts some LSB-Data on CH1. Is it the Upper1 or Upper2, which sends on CH1? How can I change that?

Okay. Maybe I find a way to Filter that out in the iPad