cpcohen

The "pads" on the PX-350 (and the PX-150) -- strings, voices, and a bunch of others -- will play forever, at constant volume, as long as you hold down a key. That's normal on _any_ digital piano (or synth), for those "non-decaying" voices. Holding down the pedal is equivalent to holding down whatever keys you play while the pedal is down, _and ignoring "key-up" signals_ for any keys you release, as long as the pedal is down. I think that's standard behavior for DP's and synths. The "piano" tones behave as they're supposed to - - they decay slowly, as long as the key is down, or the pedal is down. . . . . What do you expect to happen? The "piano" tones on the PX-350 has reasonably long decay times. If you play with the pedal held down, you'll get a confused mess of sound. . Charles

I can answer for the PX-350; check the PX5S manual to ensure correctness. . . . the keyboards on the two models are identical, and I assume the MIDI output is, too. . . . the pedals are different. The keyboard send "high-resolution" MIDI" -- two bytes of MIDI velocity. The range is (I think!) 1.00 to 127.00 , based on what I see in the Pianoteq "MIDI In" monitoring window. I _think_ the PX5S has a simple "on/off" damper pedal, which will send MIDI "0" and "127" to "MIDI Out". The PX-350 "SP-33" 3-pedal unit has a three position damper pedal -- "on", "half-damped", and "off". The MIDI value sent by "half-damped" is set by the function menu on the keyboard -- you can change it. The PX-350 (and I'm sure, the PX5S) responds correctly to _incoming_ MIDI damper values intermediate between 1 and 127. . Charles

Set up your "standard" settings as a saved "Registration". You can recall it (once) when you start the PX-350. That's the easiest way to ensure that _everything_ is set up right. . Charles

I think the _easy_ thing to do is to set up a separate 'registration' for the "new" LH/RH pair of voices. The hard way: . . . press "Split" -- you'll get the right-hand voice showing on the LCD, and the keyboard will 'un-split'; . . . Select the new RH voice; . . . press "Split" again -- the keyboard will split, with the "old" LH voice, and the "new" RH voice. . Charles

If the FC-3 supports "half-damper" operation, it probably _won't_ be compatible with the PX-5S "sustain pedal" jack. Actually, there's an easy test for "Is the piano broken?" : . . . Plug a 1/4" TS ("mono") plug, with two wires coming out, into the "sustain" jack; . . . Turn on the PX-5S. . . . The piano should play normally (no "sustain" effect). . . . Connect the wires together. . . . The piano should play with "sustain" effect (dampers off). If that's what happens, the piano is fine, and the problem is with the pedal. . Charles

OK -- you have identified the problem, I think. [You have intrigued an ex-programmer . . . ] Two kinds of sustain pedals: . . . normally open (the switch is _open-circuit_ when you're not pressing it); . . . normally closed (the switch is "short-circuit" (closed-circuit)) when you're not pressing it. The boot-up routine asks: . . . Is the pedal jack open-circut right now? If "yes", it assumes that you have a "normally open" pedal connected. If "no" (it's short-circuited), it assumes that you have a "normally closed" pedal. . . . Your boot-up routine thinks the answer is "no" -- it believes that you're using a normally-closed pedal. When you pull the pedal plug out of the jack, the jack becomes an "open circuit". So the piano (not smart enough to know that you've pulled the plug) says: . . . Ah -- "open circuit" -- all dampers raised, please! I suspect that the piano is working perfectly. The most-likely cause for this problem is a bad (probably short-circuited) cable to the sustain pedal. Another possible cause is a bad sustain pedal -- the switch inside (controlled by the pedal) isn't working right. Another possible cause (especially with the M-Audio SP-2 pedal, which can be set to _either_ "normally-open" or "normally-closed", with a switch on the bottom of the pedal) is a flaky switch, or bad contact inside the pedal. It is possible that the pedal jack on the piano is faulty, but you _really_ want to check out the pedal first. An ohmmeter, or simple "continuity tester", can diagnose problems with the cable and pedal. . Charles PS -- I'm not sure if the Yamaha FC-3 pedal uses a switch (on/off), or a potentiometer (for "continuous half-pedal" control). I know the M-Audio SP-2 is "on/off".

http://www.bome.com/products/sendsx Have fun -- . Charles PS -- I got a microKorg XL+ for fun. One of the things it'll do is to send SysEx messages through its MIDI Out jack. I haven't experimented with that, yet. But it's neat to control it from the PX-350 keyboard.

Small world -- I was very active on "StraightRazorPlace.com" for a while. I eventually decided that I could get good results with an EJ DE89 and a Feather blade, and haven't touched a straight razor in over a year. I think that you're wise, in putting away the razor when working on software. Too much temptation to do something you might regret later. . Charles PS -- I have a copy of "Bome's SendSX" sitting on my computer, waiting for me to program my MIDI Solutions "pedal controller". One day . . .

I checked the Helicon "VoiceLive 2". Yes, it has an XLR "mic" input, and a mic preamp. It's not cheap -- might be worthwhile if you're going to use its features. The "VoiceLive 2" output seems to be either balanced (via XLR jacks) or unbalanced (via 1/4" jacks). I suspect if you plug a 1/4" "TS" cable from it, to the PX-350, you'll be able to make things work. There are various kinds of "DI boxes". Most of them _don't_ have mic preamps built in, and you need that amplification. [if you have hum problems, and can't fix them any other way, a DI box might be useful.] . Charles PS -- I am using a DI box, right now, to eliminate hum from my computer, from getting into my audio system. It's a kludge, but it works nicely.

The mixer (or preamp) output is 1/4" "TS" (tip-sleeve - monophonic, "unbalanced"). And it's 'line-level'. [There are mixers that deliver "balanced" output with XLR connections, but they cost more money than the one I listed.] The line-level input on the piano is also 1/4" "TS" (tip-sleeve). So you need a 1/4" monophonic ("TS") plug on each end of the cable. This is a standard item in any music store -- some call it a "guitar cable". It's a really simple arrangement. . Charles PS -- sorry for the delay in answering -- I have to turn on the "notification" feature . . .

I'm using a Gator 88-key stretchy cover on my PX-350, and it's plenty large enough. What's the problem with using it on a PX-5S ? . Charles

If you can change the PG58-QTR to a PG58 with an XLR cable end (maybe by just replacing its cable?), any of the Behringer preamps or mixers will work fine. That's what I would do. I suspect that 1/4" plug on mics only work for karaoke machines. The mixers have 1/4" inputs (as well as XLR inputs), but they're "line level" inputs -- they don't go through the mic preamp. You might be able to get enough gain, though, to drive the DP's "Line In" input. . Charles

You'll need a microphone preamp, or a small mixer that has one or more microphone preamps built into it. For a microphone preamp: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/MIC200.aspx For a small mixer (I have the Behringer Xenyx 802, and it solves a _lot_ of problems for me) -- http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/302USB.aspx http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/502.aspx http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/802.aspx Essentially, the preamp amplifies the (extremely small) signal that the microphone produces, so that it's compatible with the "line level" input of the PX-350's "Line In" jack. . Charles PS -- all the above preamps and mixers expect a mic with an "XLR" connector. What mic are you using, and what kind of connector does it have?

Thank you! And thanks for writing-up your thoughts on the keyboards you tried out. . Charles

I don't want to bump the thread, but I did find a solution: . . . I bought a MicroKorg XL+ (on sale, $350). There's a huge amount of customizability for _every_ patch. The "Duo Sign" (two sine-wave oscillators) patch, with the MOD wheel up just past midway, give a pretty effective reed-organ / harmonium sound. Nice and rich in harmonics, good for drones. A very different playing experience from the PX-350!<G> And the "effects" section can be used stand-alone -- so with both running, I could have things like "flanged grand piano". You can waste a lot of time (= have a lot of fun) with stuff like that. . Charles

You're right -- sorry! . Charles

If you haven't figured this out yet: . . . lower numbers (negative) make the layered tone softer than the "main" tone; . . . higher numbers (positive) make the layered tone louder than the "main" tone. . Charles

>>> What he was suggesting was that once you "adjusted" the tone in Layered mode and then went into Split mode the volume would be adjusted. I've been trying to get this to happen, but as far as I get is the Layered mode. When I go into Split it all changes. <<< i just checked the manual. What it says is that, if you set the "Layer" volume, and go into "Split" mode, the right-hand keyboard plays _both tones_ of the layering. Presumably, the "bass" tone would be softer in the right hand -- but it would still be there. I don't think that's what you want. . Charles PS -- yeah, they should have put a "split balance" item in the "Volume" menu!

This is an interesting thread. The annoying thing (to me) is that Casio has chosen to _not_ make those features of the PX-350 hardware accessible via the standard menus! They've been "hidden" from the User Manual. My suspicion is that it was a marketing decision -- some features (e.g. multi-band EQ) are just "forbidden" in a piano in the PX-350's niche. So they're built into the hardware (because that's common across different models), but only "opened-up" in specific models. It's a sad way to run a market. . CHarles

A question (from somebody thinking about getting a WK-7600): . . . Are all the "WK" keyboard actions identical (except for number of keys)? And are they all "synth-action" (spring-loaded), velocity-sensitive keyboard? Thanks -- . Charles

FWIW -- Try this video: and this one: I don't think PianoManChuck has any reason to be be biased, one way or the other. . Charles PS -- If I had a PX-330, I think I'd be tempted to "upgrade" with a software piano - either PianoTeq or one of the "sampled pianos". I have a PX-350, and like it. . Charles

+1 !!!! Piano lessons -- for correct hand position and touch -- are cheaper than physiotherapy. If your knuckles are getting red, you're _really_ mis-treating your hands. . Charles

Thank you! That would be a real "gotcha!" for me. . Charles PS -- _why_ did they ever design it like that?

That's a neat box! The MIDI Solutions peda controller is over $100 (and it arrived yesterday . . . ). And there's no supporting software, I'll have to figure out the SysEx messages myself. What fun!<g> . Charles

I just bought a Korg microKorg XL+ -- a full-blown (but tiny) synth. One of the options is to use its "Effects" module to process audio that arrives via the 'Line In' jack. . . . Would that work with the RS-5 and your Casio DP? . Charles