B. J. Love

That's what I thought. Closer to the original cat's-eye. Sounds cool. I've been tweaking my Rhodes and stumbled on the parameter.

Oooooo. Thanks Scott

Nope. It's a head-scratcher - and sorely missed for basses and leads - but the PX has no Mono Mode. I can't for the life of my figure out why it wasn't included in the first place or hasn't been added in an OS update, but there it is.

On BJzRhodes (and I think most of the others) you could try boosting slider #3 a bit for a little more bell tone; that'll help it cut through. It's been a long time since I posted it, but I'm still using a slight variation of it as my primary Rhodes. I agree a little chorus can fatten it up and smooth it out. A touch of phaser could help too. I've never been happy with the PX phaser, but I've been experimenting a lot with it lately and I'm coming close to something I like. I'll post it when I think it's usable. You could always try a little compression too. I haven't messed with the compressor in the PX, but it's right there waiting...

In the insert DSP Auto-Pan there is an LFO waveform parameter with three choices: Sin, Tri, Tra. Sine and Triangle - okay... But what's a Tra?

I knew it was too good to be true. Too bad. I was excited to have at least one expression pedal input, and I certainly understand the rigid assignments of the proprietary 3-pedal unit, but not making the "damper" input fully assignable just seems dumb. Unlike the PX3 & 5, the hardware is there; this was a software choice. A bad one. I can't use the FCB1010. Nice piece of kit, but the layout doesn't work for me. And trust me, I have no shortage of midi gizmos!

Looking over the specs I see that, in addition to the new expression pedal input, the damper pedal input is also TRS (for half-pedaling) and it has a connector for the Casio 3-pedal unit - which also has a half-pedaling damper, sostenuto, and soft pedals. So.... just how flexible is the implementation of all these pedals? Can all 5 be used simultaneously? I assume the damper pedal input can be freely assigned to another CC#, providing 2 - count 'em! - 2 expression pedal inputs! With the damper pedal on the 3-pedal unit handling sustain (CC#64), can the other two pedals be freely assigned to other CC#s or transport functions - like start & stop, pattern advance...? Can all 5 pedal functions be filtered individually, on/off, by zone? By midi channel? I'd love to get rid of all the midi pedal gizmos hooked up to my PX-5S!

Here's a discussion of the problem and a few alternative solutions in an earlier thread: http://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/topic/6351-usb-audio-ouput-ground-noise/

Until recently, a pair of EV ZxA1s, now a Center Point Stereo Spacestation V.3 + a Behringer B1200D Pro Sub. I feed a small Alto mixer or a Samson SM10. I monitor onstage in stereo and send a mono feed to FOH when necessary using an aux feed from the mixer into a direct box - just in case the ground needs lifting. Stereo out of the mixer into the sub, filtered at 100Hz, then to the SS V.3. I loved my EVs, but the stereo image onstage is much more satisfying with the Spacestation. Highly recommended.

Behringer makes a similar pedal: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/TP300.aspx

In the studio and very small rooms, I use an old Alesis Ampliton for auto-pan on Rhodes patches. (Tho' it does lots of way cool stereo and mono tremolo and auto-pan effects - http://alesis.com/ampliton ) That way I can use the PX's internal phaser thru the auto-pan. Creeeemeee Smoooooth.....

Thanks Mike. Using what source for the panning? MIDI CC#10?

Can anyone explain the Dynamic Panning parameter and how it relates to the Pan Position parameter?

Thanks for the replies. I went with the standard midi connection solution. Minor inconvenience, but problem solved.

Yes it does. Seems to be unavoidable when USB & audio outputs are used together.

Thanks. At least now I know it's not some ground problem unique to my system that I had to hunt down. My issue with using the standard MIDI connections is that I'm using the Input for a pair of MidiSolutions Pedal Controllers. (Don't get me started about the lousy pedal implementation...) USB made it easy to plug my live rig into my studio with a minimum of fuss. Losing it means futzing with multiple MIDI cables several times a week. Minor PITA, but a PITA just the same... Thanks again.

I’m having ground noise problems with the USB and main outputs. Usual set-up: MacBook Air connected to Belken Dock via Thunderbolt Presonus Firebox to Dock via Firewire; unbalanced 1/4” audio to Mackie 1202 PX-5 to Dock via USB; unbalanced 1/4” audio to Mackie 1202 Mackie 1202 monitored via balanced cables to Rockit 5s and EV ZXa-1s Whenever the PX-5’s USB and audio outputs are connected simultaneously, the Firebox emits a high-pitched “whine.” Fairly low-level, but definitely present and decidedly annoying. The noise will disappear if either the PX-5’s USB or audio output cables are disconnected. I first suspected a problem with the Firebox - an older interface. I tried removing the Firebox AC adapter and powering it with Firewire - no help. I tried lifting all the grounds in the system, individually and collectively - no help. I tried new cabling: 1/4” audio, USB, Firewire - no help. I tried connecting the PX-5 directly to the Mac, bypassing the Dock - no help. I didn’t have a Firewire/Thunderbolt adapter, so to eliminate the Dock, I pulled out an older MacBook Pro; connected the PX-5 USB directly to the Mac, the Firebox Firewire directly to the Mac - no help. So, gotta be the Firebox, right? Wrong. I pulled the Firebox and replaced it with a spare Lexicon Omega USB interface - connected directly to the Mac and powered via USB. Exit high-pitched whine; Enter good ole 60 cycle hum - from the Lexicon. Different noise, same cause. Only present when PX-5 audio outputs and USB are connected simultaneously. The problem is a ground loop somehow created between the USB connector and audio connectors. One more interesting thing: the problem exists whether or not the PX-5 is powered On or Off, or even completely disconnected from any power source. It exists solely as a reaction to the USB and 1/4” audio outputs being connected simultaneously - to anything. I experienced the same problem with a PX-330 before I bought the PX-5. I wasn’t concerned with using the 330's internal sounds and controlling soft synths simultaneously at the time so I ignored it and didn’t do such extensive testing. But I really want to incorporate that kind of flexibility with the PX-5. The PX-5's internal engine is too good to sacrifice in favor of soft synths - I want both. Together. Without whines or hums. Has anyone else experienced this ground noise issue? Any solutions I haven’t tried?

I thought it might be better in the "Stage Settings and Tones" category. Really no big deal, just a housekeeping issue.

Mike's response via Facebook: "Bj, I'll have to check but yes you may have to edit the Stage Settings select the NEW tone and save the Stage Setting again" Sorta OT: Sorry for posting this here; it belongs in the catagory above. I tried to delete or move it without success.

In my live work I tend to use a limited number of basic sounds and save variations across banks. Example: 00 - Rhodes 01 - Rhodes/String Layer 02 - Rhodes/Pad Layer 03 - Rhodes/Lead Split 04 - Rhodes/Bass Split etc. It's important that the basic Rhodes sound be identical so I can switch on the fly with no surprises. In the example above, let's say I create my Holy Grail basic Rhodes and Save it as both a Tone (say "HG Rhodes" in Hex U100) and Stage Setting. Next I create the split and layered Stage Settings using the HG Rhodes Tone for each. So far so good. Now let's say I decide my Holy Grail Rhodes would sound even better if I rolled off the DSP Distortion High EQ from 64 to 48. I rewrite the the Tone - same name, same location. Now that change should automatically be reflected in all the Stage Settings that use that Tone, right? 'Cause that ain't happening. Do I have to re-load the edited Tone and re-write all the Stage Settings again?

The Xboard is a capable little controller. Changing the controller parameters is easy. Here a link to the manual and free software editor: http://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?catID=237&subCatID=945&prodID=13558&prodName=Xboard%2049&subCatName=USB%20MIDI%20Controllers&CatName=E-MU+%2f+Creative+Professional&VARSET=prodfaq:PRODFAQ_13558,VARSET=CategoryID:237

Set the Xboard to the same midi channel as your strings, change the pedal control parameter from CC#64 (Damper) to CC#07 (Volume) or CC#11 (Expression). Example: For a piano/string layer with the ability to fade-in the strings with an expression pedal, put the piano on Zone #1 (receives on MIDI Channel #1) and the Strings on Zone #2 (receives on MIDI Channel #2). Set the Xboard to transmit on MIDI Channel #2, set the Xboard's Pedal Input to control MIDI CC#11 or #07.

Yeah, I've pretty much ignored the arpeggiator and the Phrase Sequencer. Some suggestions and help with practical applications would be much appreciated.