stevecoscia

New Casio rig including my new PX-560M.

The PX-560M is going to be a terrific addition to my Casio rig. For now, I am mostly playing piano and few layered sounds. I haven't dug deep yet - the holiday break should offer more time off for PX-560M exploration. The touch screen layout is intuitive and it simplifies tone selection, splits, rhythm/metronome tempo, etc. - it's all right there in front of me.

Has anyone else found that the 76 Note Keyboard soft cases are too big for the WK-7500? I bought a 76 note keyboard bag and it was about 8 inches too long. My plan is to bring the WK-7500 on business trips (while driving my pickup truck around the USA). At my age, heavy road cases are too bulky and after two shoulder surgeries, my heavy-lifting days are over. I assessed that the WK-7500 was small for a 76 note keyboard, so I searched for a large 61 note keyboard soft case. I bought the Gator 61 note keyboard bag (Sweetwater item #:GBK61). It's tight, but it fits. That's good enough protection for my WK-7500. BTW - Sweetwater is real good at service and follow up. See below photos.

I never knew about the MZ-2000 until today - fun find on a Saturday morning. Impressive keyboard and big,informative display. I wonder if future Casio keyboards will include bigger displays.

Thanks. Too much Bling for me. Subtlety is more my speed.

Alen, I would assume that the next round of WK/CTK keyboards will resemble the XW and PX-5S interface to some degree. But, don't expect total congruence. The target customers for each market segment are different. Casio has likely read your post and their R-&-D folks are doing what they can. I've worked in the keyboard industry for more than 30 years and Casio stands out as a company with intimate customer relationships. Very rare among big corporations. Plus Casio REALLY LISTENS to customers. In business and customer service, listening is a critical success skill. -Steve Coscia

The wristwatch photos are clever. I gotta get one.

Hi Alen, Regarding UI, I learned the WK-7500 first and had time to get comfortable with it and dig down into its sequencing features. Not so with the XW-P1 - its purchase synchronized with a high level of travel and business activity which kept me away from my keyboards. Therefore, I still haven't had a big block of time to dig into the XW-P1. The UI is between the two is different and the XW-P1 requires a fresh investment of time and it's worth it. Since I am comfortable with the WK-7500, I still plan to use it as my songwriting and sequencing board. For now, the XW-P1 is utilized as a solo synth. From a synthesizer perspective, the XW-P1 is a dynamite keyboard with tons of flexibility and great sounds. If I don't reply quickly it's because I am either traveling, distracted and/or serving a client. Thank you for the correspondence and your patience. -Steve Coscia

XW-P1 (Gold), WK-7500 and KORG MS-20 Mini

At summer NAMM, Jeff Dunmire said he doing cool things between the WK-7500 Pattern Sequencer and Registrations. I'm pretty sure he said that he wrote instructions and that they're online somewhere. Sorry that I don't remember all the details. The Pattern Sequencer has lots of power, it's just a little tedious (lots of back and forth button pressing). The best way to learn is to experiment. Start with Mike Martin's Pattern Sequencer video and then go from there. It's best to create a matrix (either on paper or in a worksheet) to keep track of all the instruments in the Intro, Normal, Variation and Ending sections. A little organization goes a long way.

That was really good Mike. Nice work.

I do have an IPAD (there was no option for guys like me), but I'm not using it for music apps yet. I got an XW-P1 last December and I've been too busy traveling and serving clients. I do plan to use the IPAD with the XW-P1 when things slow down.

Excuse this "back in my day" moment: I used a Conn Strobe Tuner (below) to tune my keyboards prior to a gig. Sometimes my MOOG Prodigy's tuning would drift between sets so I tuned it more often. This was also prior to digital memory and presets, so keyboard players both played piano or organ with one hand and simultaneously tweaked the next required synth sound with the other hand. This went on all night long.

Interesting question. Two years ago, after about 25 years of NOT playing keyboards, I began researching workstations. My search synchronized with the WK-7500 release. I bought the WK-7500 and used the multi-track sequencer to record a few of my old 1970s and 1980s compositions (which would have been VERY expensive back then). During the 25 year lapse, I wondered what it would be like to hear my compositions. Casio made my dream come true. For a $500 investment, the WK-7500 just blew me away. And personally, it meant much to be able to finally record my compositions. Since then, I also bought the XW-P1. The XW-P1 is mostly used as a solo synth - very fat sounding. Casio has added much fun to my life and that's important. Travel and business obligations sometimes result in me not touching the keyboards for weeks. But when I get a travel break and I can be home without a heavy workload, the WK-7500 and XW-P1 bring on the fun. These days, Casio is re-positioning itself in the marketplace with what appears to be stellar results. Casio delivers value and affordability.

The differences between the WK-7500 and WK-7600 are NOT dramatic enough to be a deal breaker. Of course, the WK-7600 USA release may likely occur the week after you buy the WK-7500.

The advertisement for these models began last August and they were available during the fall in overseas markets. I suppose that Casio is clearing the WK-7500 inventory pipeline prior to a USA release. Maybe they'll be introduced at the Summer NAMM Show. These models do not possess a big jump in features - modest gains. Casio is probably working on something REALLY BIG for 2014.

Thank you Pierre. The WK-7500 Pattern Sequencer is terrific scratch pad for writing new music. By expanding each segment (Intro, Normal, Variation & Ending) to 16 measures, each segment can have a different time signature, instruments, etc. By using the 8/4 time signature, you get 32 measures at 4/4 time with very little tick granularity compromise. The Pattern sequencer was probably not designed to be a scratch pad, but it works for me. I mostly like to jam along with a variety of customized chord progressions and time signatures. Lots of fun. -Steve

New recording. It's all WK-7500 using the Pattern Sequencer. Various rhythms and themes throughout. https://soundcloud.c...tterns-multiple You might be able to discern that I like Tony Banks' A Curious Feeling album. That late 1970s period is stuck in my brain. Synthesizers deliver fun sounds a terrific creative outlet.

Thanks again Ted. Your correspondence and insight are appreciated.

Thank Ted. Sorry for my late reply - been serving clients and traveling. When my workload slows down a bit, I am going to continue forcing myself out of my comfort zone and learn more about keyboard/computer connectivity. A question, do you use a WK-7500 USD to MIDI adaptor? Or does the sw talk directly to the WK-7500 through USB? No rush on a reply. I appreciate your correspondence. -Steve

Thank you Ted for sharing your insight and expriences. Your remarks about downloading too many files and buffer overflow is helpful because I experienced that too when backing up too many WK-7500 files. It's good to know it wasn't just me. A question. How do you use Sonar, or Cubase, or Ableton-Live with your WK-7500? Please explain. Thanks again. -Steve

Pros It sounds good. The assignable knobs, sliders, wheels and footswitches. Cool design and lightweight. Versatile sound set (piano, synth, EP, etc.) Cons Small display (this may offset with an IPAD application)

While I have owned my WK-7500 for almost two years, I finally connected it to my MacBook Pro via Data Manager. It works fine. I am curious to hear from other WK-7500 owners about how you use and benefit from Data Manager. Do you use it mainly as a backup device? I envision using it to store numerous, large Song Sequences (since the unit stores only 5) and then load them back into the WK-7500 as needed. What about you? Share your ideas no matter how basic they seem. The synergy of fresh ideas almost always yields more creativity and user satisfaction.

Thank you Casio Man.

Thank you Gary.