smithh

You are correct about that. At 'power on' it comes up with 0-0, but the uninitiated immediately push the marked tone buttons to see what the sounds are like, and can be disappointed. It's as if the most important thing, the stage settings, are hidden.

This is a stunning Pad. Question, when you load a Stage setting file like this, it appears to also load a Tone?? in this case Hex User 159. Does this mean that if there was something in 159 before hand it would be overwritten? And if so, could that effect other Stage settings? Newbie questions, sorry.

What were your first impressions? And what are your favorite sounds (standard or tweaked or new)?

I am new to this forum, and have recently bought a PX 5S. I thought I would share some of my experiences. First off, I'd like to thank Casio UK for their support. They arranged for me to have access to a PX 5S so that I could make up my mind. Quite a few things drew to this instrument, primarily: - The keyboard action - The weight - The width (get in car) - The ability to run on battery (garden use) - The piano sounds - The sound engine flexibility/layering etc. - The simple memory stick recording/playback feature - The price - The support via forums, e.g. Q+A, new sounds The things that I don't like so much, but which did *not* stop me buying the instrument are: - The complexity of editing, getting drawn into time wasting - The knobs meaning different things at different times with no visual feedback (although I understand completely what Casio is trying to achieve here) - The quality of the plastic knobs and sliders (worry about them breaking/snapping) - Worry about the underlying switches (longevity/reliability) - The white plastic case potentially getting dirty quickly None of this stopped me buying the PX 5S however, and most of it may end up being silly unnecessary worries. The reason I put aside all such worries and bought a PX 5S is this: The PX 5S is very expressive! I don't know whether this is due to the action or engine or both, but it just is. When I play pianos or e-pianos on the instrument I can be very subtle - moving from ultra quiet/stillness to very expansive hard-edged music in an instant. It's hard to describe. Many of the sounds, including those in this forum, are truly wonderful. Some are stunning. There are a lot of less good sounds of course, but they are generally in areas I don't use, e.g. brass, and I will quickly replace them with ones I use. The instrument seems oriented to piano, e-piano and layering in pads. In these regards it excels. But even the sounds that come as standard can be improved with a little tweaking, I find. In fact, the IMPRESSION I get is that Casio could do well to invest more in sound production for this instrument. My GUESS is that the engine is capable of much much more. The efforts of Mike and team on this forum are wonderful of course, and most welcome. But I also believe the development of more Pro Sounds, perhaps in themed packs, would increase the appeal and sales of the instrument still further, especially when combined with the efforts of the community members. I have other impressions to share, but I'll leave it there for the time being.

To me its clear that #1 is the Casio.

I have just bought a PX 5S and will shortly be posting a review of what I think is an amazing instrument. However, I also worried about the release-key/bounce noise after a couple of weeks with the PX 5S. I rang Casio in the UK and they were very helpful/responsive. They got me in touch with a support person/contractor who offered to come to my house with another instrument and do a comparison. Since he lived close, by chance, I visited him. His PX 5S had the same noise, so I imagine it is inherent to the design.

Some interesting suggestions here guys, thank you.

Any recommendations for active monitors for PX 5S? Or any other speaker recommendations? Indoor use. Thanks in advance.

I also think it is possible to get rechargeable alkalines???? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_alkaline_battery I believe these are Alkaline, but I cannot be sure: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00E3DVQBW

I've kind of fallen in love with the sound of this instrument and am seriously considering buying one. But I worry about: - the white case getting dirty - whether the buttons will stand up to repeated use - the quality of the knobs and sliders In short - this is a totally intriguing instrument - but I worry about build quality. From the community's experience with this and other Casio gear, do I need to worry?

I managed to find one at a store and played it for about 2 hours. It is impressive.

New to forum, and very intrigued by the PX 5S. Something about the sounds draws me to this instrument. May I ask ... some people say that the quality of a piano can be somewhat judged by the size of the sample. Can Casio share any details of the sample itself in the PX 5S, e.g. what piano was sampled, from what positions, number of samples across keyboard, for each velocity range, length of samples (sustain), etc. What size ROM? Apology is this is a somewhat naive question, but I've not seen this aspect discussed elsewhere.