I have been a CASIO fan since my Grandparents took me shopping and bought me my first CASIO keyboard from target when I was a kid, it was the Casiotone MT-205 I still have it to this day as well as CASIO's first sampling keyboard the CASIO SK-1. I've owned all of the WK series keyboards over the years, and now the MZ X500, which I enjoy, though glitchy at times it has allowed me to create music, import styles and edit them, and import my own sampled instruments. However, shortly after purchasing and starting to import my own sampled instruments, the keyboard would come to a point where it's memory would almost be about 3/4 of the way full and it would say on the screen re- adjusting memory, like it had to re organize the samples in memory to fit them compactly into their data cells. Anyway, after multiple factory resets, and sample reloads, every time the memory would almost fill up the keyboard would give that message on the screen and after what seemed like 5min or so it would finish, and it would screw up almost every sample in memory to the point that either the left or right channel of the sample would cut out randomly during play or multiple notes would not play at all and sound of the sample would only play out of either the left or right speaker only forcing me to do a Factory reset to fix all the problems, and next time around only be able to install at half capacity of memory to avoid the keyboard from re-adjusting memory and screwing things up again. I do not understand how this keyboard can fail at playing a 5-7mb .ZTN dropping off notes and cutting out during play as if the keyboard has only loaded a limited number of samples across a small range of the keys and has to reload new samples if you leave that range like there is a limited number of samples that it can proficiently play without screwing up. I only sample from C2 to F#5 every 6 semitones at 3 to 5 seconds max, which would be only 8 samples at around 5mb or less per instrument considering that I usually don't go past 3 seconds per sample. I have found that longer samples do affect the performance of the keyboard especially if you use them in the accompaniment section, Unfortunately not every sample can be exactly 3 seconds due to looping complexities and phase issues. I would like to sample more than 3 to 5 seconds for this keyboard but the samples have a limit of just under 9 seconds per sample at about 1.490mb per sample respectively. if you want good quality samples you need to be able to have longer loop times for more complex sounds, at present this keyboard can't proficiently play longer samples across a wide range of keys with out jamming up the memory which means layering your sampled instruments at 1.490mb per sample at 8 samples min across several octaves is out of the question because This keyboard has some serious memory handling issues with instrument samples. I do not understand why CASIO would make such a versatile keyboard but limit it's usability in that aspect. I Don't want CASIO to be a jack of all trades and a master of none when it comes to this kind of functionality, they have so much potential and so does this keyboard but it is going to have to either be dedicated to sampling instruments and synthesis or it is going to have to be a dedicated workstation at that current price point. I specifically bought this keyboard for it's sampling which I also took advantage of in the earlier WK series keyboards. Even though the sampling capability of the MZ X500 was an upgrade from previous models the sample memory and playability leaves some things to be desired. I am going to drop down to 6 samples at 6 semitones F#2 to C5 and see if that helps any. I am really hesitant to degrade my sample quality to accommodate memory, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. If anyone has any tips or tricks I am all ears. Now... for my christmas wishlist, In a future release if it was ever meant to be I would love a dedicated sampling keyboard as a base form factor unit that I could buy mostly void of all sounds or styles except for a basic few like piano, strings, drawbar organ, choir and etc... then I could download or purchase from CASIO if I desired, a single instrument or a Instrument Pack and Style GENRE Pack specifically designed to install into the keyboard to customize it to my liking. I would like at the very least 128gb of sample memory and better sample playability with the hexatone functionality and physical ADSR and EFFECTS sliders, but with all 6 zones in stereo and not just split channels, and with all 9 mixing sliders and an added bass pedal drawbar to add bass to the lower end of the drawbar organ keyboard and a drawbar for adding a copied 5th tone of the current drawbar selection((7 semitones up)) to every key across the keyboard including the bass much like the FARFISA VIP 345, and ;ayering ability of the drawbar. Currently you can only use one instance of the drawbar organ in the tone selection area. In the WK series I was able to layer the drawbar organ in the tone section as well as use it in the accompaniment section to fill in my chords like i was playing chords with the left hand too, while i was actually using the left hand to play organ bass, the accompaniment played the left hand bass, and the left hand chords all while the drum machine part of the accompaniment was not running. you can no longer change the sounds in the accompaniment section without the accompaniment running. CASIO probably doesn't even realize it, but they had Freeplay ability years before YAMAHA ever came up with it in their SX series, and nobody ever really thought to use it like that, but I did. The WK3500 was my favorite, and I used at church and events with not just the organ sounds but with strings and pad sounds that played independently of my melody adding a fuller sound with dedicated bass and chords in addition to my tone section layers and never having to be tied to a running accompaniment or tempo. The accompaniment chords never became muddled with my melody, when i played right hand piano chords the accompaniment strings did not follow the melody, it was like having an orchestra with seperate parts. I don't know if it's possible or not, but If Casio could just do some program editing or something and open up the ability to change the sounds in the accompaniment section without running the accompaniment so we could have Freeplay for chording and secondary bass that would be awesome, but I fear a Freeplay option is probably only possible in a new release model. Anyway, aside from that, I would like a better leslie simulation with seperate (speed adjustable) top and bottom rotors. and least 4 assignable DSP effects for any channel of my choosing, and added mixing sliders to adjust the volume and other settings of the different instrument channels of the accompaniment while live. Those are a few of my thoughts, and there are others in this forum that have also mentioned other added enhancements as well which would really be great. I am looking forward to new and better improvements. -Everyone's ideas count. #KEEPMOVINGFORWARD
