anotherscott

If they are hexlayers, not only might you be able to control bell level with a slider, but you should also be able to change the velocity break point of where the bark kicks in. I don't know whether the editor allows you to make those kinds of sample-velocity-range changes to non hexlayer sounds. Maybe...?

The PX5S arranges locations this way... TONES: Acoustic Piano: 20 preset, 20 user Keyboard Instrument (including Electric Piano): 60 preset, 50 user Hex Layer: 50 preset, 150 user Organ: 30 preset, 20 user Strings / Brass: 70 preset, 20 user Guitar / Bass: 40 preset, 20 user Synth / Various: 80 preset, 50 user Drum Sets: 20 preset, 20 user STAGE SETUPS: 100 user The confusion may have come from the fact that the 100 user-rewritable Stage Settings locations--instead of coming pre-filled with copies of the same one sound like the user locations within the tone categories are--instead come pre-filled with more sounds. The manual does say that there are 100 rewritable Stage Setting locations... I guess what was confusing is that it does not specifically say they are pre-filled with sample programs, so you thought the 100 Stage Settings that were already there when you got it were some other set of permanent factory sounds? But also nowhere in the manuals is there any indication that there are more than a total of 100 Stage Settings in the keyboard. As you subsequently realized, there are no factory preset permanent locations like there are for tones, ALL locations are user writable. It also may not help that sometimes they're called Stage Settings and sometimes they're called Stage Setups. 😉

I played multiple XW's right next to each other at a store, some had very nice "buttery" keyboards, and some were horribly clacky.

I've never seen any board that can save Local Off between power-ups. I think they don't want to create a situation where it could become too easy for someone to turn the board on, hear no sound, and possibly just assume it needs service!

No. They are composed of waves. Though the "common tones" also draw upon the same set of waves. Download the appendix manual for the PX560. The 790 waves are listed starting on page 19. The PX560 lets you split/layer 4 "complete" sounds, whethere they are "common tones" or hexlayers. Each hexlayer, itself, lets you split/layer up to 6 waves, which are the basic building blocks that underly both the hexlayers and the common tones.

I know this is old, but in case anyone finds themselves here via a google search (as I just did), the information on how to do this is at https://support.casio.com/en/support/download.php?cid=008&pid=56

The reason it does not occur with Garageband is that Garageband does not recognize MIDI Program Change at all. (Boo!) There are also IOS apps that have MIDI filter functions, which can often take input from a keyboard and filter it on its way to other specified apps. But I don't think we need to go that way for this, just alter some settings... "MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE CHANNEL" is not the same as "MIDI input channel." Something called "Program Change channel" would be just for Program Changes. The more common MIDI channel parameter will be, not just what an app receives Program Changes on, but also what it receives other things on (like notes). It's always 1-16. If there were an option for Off, it just wouldn't see any MIDI input at all (meaning you couldn't play it). So you really have a two part question: 1. How do you stop apps from seeing those front panel tone change Program Changes from the Casio? By default, the Casio sends those Program Changes on MIDI Channel 1. So an answer is, either change the channel the Casio sends them on to some channel which none of your iOS apps are set to receive on (look in the Casio manual for the "Basic Channel" parameter to see how to change it), OR change your apps so that they receive on some channel other than channel 1. (Any of the other 15 channels will do.) That assumes that these apps don't have an option to ignore Program Changes (or receive them on some other specified channel, as SampleTank lets you do). 2. But, now that you have "disconnected" the Casio's MIDI send channel and the app's MIDI receive channel, how do you use the Casio keys to play the sounds in the app? Here you can use the MIDI zoning function of the XW-P1. Set up a Performance on the Casio with (at least) one zone, and set the zone's External Out Channel to the channel that your app is set to receive on. Now the keys will trigger your app (via that Zone in that Performance), while Program Changes from selecting tones (which are now sent on a different channel) will not. Now it should trigger the sound from your app, without sending it those unwanted Program Changes. But there are some other permutations to consider. What if sometimes you DO want calling up a Performance on your Casio to initiate a Program Change on the app that you have controlling it? Well, the Casio has parameters for that, too. Make sure you're running at least version 1.10 of the Casio firmware, and you can control exactly what Program Change commands do (or don't) get transmitted when you call up an external sound (i.e. a sound that's on your iPad) via a zone in a Performance. The options are shown on the chart at https://support.casio.com/en/support/download.php?cid=008&pid=56 Perhaps the main thing to remember about all of this is, if you want to control external MIDI devices, do it via Performances, that's where Casio built in all the MIDI controller functionality.

Really interesting topic. If anyone in the future is brave enough to try this kind of thing on any of their Privias, it would be great if you did a video of the process.

B 1-16 should work fine as MIDI In.

I wish they'd stop omitting all the MIDI functionality from any of the boards that have speakers.

PX5S vs. PX560: https://casiomusicgear.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/the-definitive-px-5s-vs-px-560-comparison/ I see PX-S3000 as more of a home/hobbyist model than the other two, less suited for live performance (though obviously still usable for some). It has the advantage of Casio's newest action and newest piano technologies, but is less fully-featured. i.e. much less split/layer functionality, no 5-pin MIDI jacks, more cumbersome patch navigation.

It depends on which Fatar action you're talking about, and even sometimes which board it is used in. But you can say the same about Casio. In fact, at this moment, in this very forum topic area, the two most active threads are this one and the one on "Clicky/clacky keys."

Me too, though not enough to have a strong preference. The only strong preferences I have is weighted for pianos, no for organs. Almost everything else is sufficiently satisfying on either. Like almost everything else on my list, they are advantages if you need them, and you can ignore them if you don't. But I'd say they are significant differences to be aware of, if you are choosing between these boards, and that was the point of the list. Some other differences: MZ-X has monophonic synth functions and clonewheel organ functions (which is not merely a matter of sliders... the tone generation system is different, the single trigger behavior of the percussion is correct, many other parameters are customizable, etc.). You can load custom sample data (not just for the pads, but as playable instruments from the keyboard). The split/layer setups are more flexible. You can pick registrations by name from the touch screen. It has a pattern sequencer, and the arranger features of course.More editability in general. Weighted actions (and un/semi as well, for that matter) vary a lot. I haven't played the MP11, but the MP10 was quite heavy feeling. But the MP7 was much lighter, and I think most would find it very usable for a wide variety of sounds. Rolands also vary... I don't like the actions of the FA-08/DS88, but I've liked others. And Fatars vary. The TP40 is a lighter and better feeling action than the TP100. The version used by Kuzweil is especially light feeling. When it comes to non-hammer actions, I like Casio's better than the low-end models from Korg and Roland, as long as you can avoid the clacky ones. But Fatar makes nice actions, and I would take the one in the Numa Compact series over the Casio. re: " I don't know why in latest years nearly all new keyboard/synth has put the headphones jack on the back" -- probably cheaper. The other output electronics are already in the back. Putting headphones in front requires an additional circuit board at another physical location, and wiring it up to the rest.

I would say advantages of the MZ-X500 over MODX include: * built-in speakers * 16 velocity sensitive trigger pads * arranger functions * easier to do (and modify) 2-way splits on the fly * tonewheel organ engine with 9 sliders and other controls - though the organ sound, itself, I still find lacking MODX advantages include * mostly better quality sounds (though that can be subjective or vary with which sounds you focus on) * many more simultaneous effects * availability of 76 key version (and 88) * 1 GB custom sample expansion capability (vs. 256 mb) * FM synth * Large touchscreen providing better interface for many functions * 8-zone MIDI controller * built-in computer interface Other 7x-key non-hammer action boards in a similar price range would be Roland Juno DS76, FA-07, VR-730; Kurzweil Artis 7; Korg Krome 73 each with their own set of advantages/disadvantages relative to the MZ.

First, just to help you understand the concept, your last sentence is kind of backwards. What you're trying to do is not get the lower Roland sound to transmit to the Casio but rather get the Casio to transmit MIDI data to the Roland (to trigger the Roland's Lower sound from the Casio's keys). MIDI does not send sound anywhere, it sends only MIDI data. And the fact that are unclear about which keyboard is transmitting and which is receiving means the first thing to check is whether you have the two boards cabled correctly: You need to go from the Casio MIDI OUT (to transmit) to the Roland MIDI IN (to receive). Second, to get the Casio to trigger the Roland's Lower sound, you can ether (a) change the quirky Roland's "MIDI IN" mode to KEYBOARD (in which case the Casio will play the Roland's lower sound whenever it transmits MIDI on any channel), OR (b) change the Roland's "MIDI IN" mode to MODE 2 (in which case the Casio will play the Roland's lower sound whenever it transmits MIDI on channel 3). If you haven't done it, download the separate downloadable MIDI Implementation document for the Roland. It covers all the different options.

Here it is: https://support.casio.com/storage/en/manual/pdf/EN/008/PX-560M-midi-imple_EN.pdf

Another great MZ-X feature... you can load your own custom keyboard-playable sampled sounds.

Yeah, I know. But PX5S is still current, and this topic is still a concern... and a relevant google search easily brings you here. So where better to keep this info consolidated? While I'm here... You could also keep your eyes out for a used Digitech MC2. An issue with any directly attached MIDI pedal is that they will affect the sound of just one MIDI channel. Sometimes that's fine (or even specifically desirable), other times it can be a limitation.

PX560 is different from PX5S. A least it already has a jack for an expression pedal!

Not possible with the PX5S hardware, but there are workarounds... see the thread below.

Besides using a traditional computer, you should also be able to use an iPhone/iPad and the Midiflow app (and probably other apps as well). You'd need a way to plug the MIDI Expression device and the Casio into the i-device at the same time, so you'd need some kind of USB hub. But especially since so many people have their iPhones or iPads at gigs anyway, this can be more convenient than bringing a computer.

That's true, with the exception that *Roland* can make additional sets of PCMs that you can load in. That's what the axial EXP packs are.

There is no way to load any external PCM into an Integra. It can use its main set, and it can use any of the expansions that are built into the unit, but there is no way to load new ones. The best acoustic instrument sounds of the Integra are its Supernatural Acoustic tones. The FA has a very small subset of the ones in the Integra (just piano, EPs, clav, organ, basses, acoustic guitar, and ensemble strings), and there is no way to load the others into it.

Our posts are crossing a bit. 😉 The only real issue I was trying to address was the "100% compatibility with Integra 7" assertion, which implied that you can get any Integra 7 sound out of an FA, perhaps that the limitation was only that you couldn't have them all at the same time (as you say, 2000 vs 5000 or whatever), but the two sound sets are more different than that... there are lots of individual Integra sounds that you simply cannot get out of (or convert over into) an FA. So if someone bought an FA assuming they could grab any sound they liked from a friend's Integra, they might find themselves disappointed. BTW, even the Integra isn't everything, it's still missing a good bunch of Roland sounds! It has their "latest and greatest" sounds, and it has the classic XV-5080 sound set from 2000 (also in the FA), and it has the equivalent of the SRX cards (which are mostly also available as FA expansions). But there were other Fantom era sounds that are not in it. I also found that some VR-09 sounds are not in it, perhaps those were also from the Fantoms, I don't know. It's always something... 😉

Those are categories of sounds, but they don't all represent different "engines" as people usually speak of it. PCM is PCM. The GM2 and PCM Drum sounds are still a function of the same PCM "engine." Tons of romplers (PCM) over the last 20+ years have had drum kits and a GM sound set, no one ever said they had 3 engines. A different engine would be something that used different sound generating algorithms (something in addition to or instead of PCM sample playback), something functionally/operationally distinct. As for Integra, here's the list from https://www.roland.com/global/products/integra-7/specifications/: SuperNATURAL Acoustic {but tons more instrument models than in the FA, with no way to get them into the FA}SuperNATURAL SynthSuperNATURAL Drum KitPCM Synth {include the XV-5080 set in the FA plus a HQ set which also does GM2}PCM Drum Kit So the two do have the same general categories of sounds (SN acoustic, SN synth, PCM including GM2), but not the same sounds, with some but not complete compatibility between the two platforms.