Rick Stirling

Tiger,

Go to MIDI DEVICES and be sure to check and enable all the OUTPUT devices you want to use. Note: These midi devices must have been previously recognized by your computer system. Then in the Sonar console, for each track select a device, channel, and instrument.

I just tested this on my system using channel 1 for my Microsoft Wavetable Synth and channel 1 for my MX-500 ... Worked fine.

I created the X500 INS file. It took about a week. ;-) I think that is why you do not see a lot of instrument definition files about.

re: #3  I have Sonar artist and can have as many MIDI tracks as I want. (I just created a new work with 36 tracks)  I believe you can only assign a maximum of 16 tracks to a single MIDI device, but you can have multiple devices defined in Sonar.

This outfit seems to have some tools that would help you create an INS file for your MX61 

http://www.jmelas.gr/motif/bundle.php

 

 

CASIO could put in a new update the insertion of a single note FINGERED.
Playing inversions in FINGERED3 is sometimes complicated by chord chaining.
The other brands already have this recognition of chords in which by doing triad the keyboard recognizes the chord and if make a note only for quick inversions the keyboard plays all the instruments of the accompaniment in a note only allowing to complete in the left hand minor and major chords. 

 

Playing Bossa Nova and Standarts with FINGERED 3 without chord encoding is a difficult and uncomfortable task.

 

Yamahas Keyboard Recognize notes using octaves and keyboards Rolands recognize just by pressing a key in the accompaniment!

Silvano,

Could you tell us exactly what you want to be able to do?  Like, "I want to press these keys and have this result".

Your post it is a bit confusing to me.

Fingered 3  mode works for me, I usually play 4 note chords but 1 and 2 finger chords also work in that mode for me.

Rick

 

I would like to see in the next firmware update the ability to make the MZ X 300/ 500 in to a full blown computer sound card. It would allow you to have 2 way audio through USB as well as 2 way MIDI through USB. It would support AOSIO 2.0 drivers for low latency on audio recording and soft synth instruments. It would support VST and DXI effects and soft synth instruments. This away if you have a laptop or desktop running Windows 10 or Mac OS 10 or even Linux/Unix you will be able to have much better audio and midi sound then what on board sound cards offer on a PC or Mac. I hope that CASIO reads this because this would go well with CASIO epically if a version of the MZ X 300/ 500 came out in a desktop module that could be hooked up to any midi controller keyboard or midi controller device.

I think you would need hardware support for 2 way audio over USB ... doubt very much they could add this feature with just firmware.

+ 1000 !!!

Got a reply from Casio Europe ...

They do not have a timeline yet for release of the EDM content.

We need a couple hundred folks to email her and say please! ;-)

I spoke with Ralph Maten and he told me that the EDM tones he created will be released by Casio Europe at some indeterminate time in the future.

quoted by permission ...

" hi rick, i would like to give everyone the data. but it is not allowed to me to do that. casio europe will upload this data but i can not tell you when. if you want you can contact liza from the marketing department, fedorova@casio.de
yours ralph" 

1 hour ago, Smark said:

No.  I updated to 1.4.1 when i got my keyboard in November and I dint have them 😭   I really want these!!!

If this was a promotion by Casio Europe then you would need to contact them. If the content was created by Ralph Maten then you could contact him to see if it is available. Ralph is on Facebook here ... https://www.facebook.com/AmpMedia?fref=ts

4 hours ago, marecki76 said:

Thank you, Rick.

 

Yes, I mean background noise.

I did factory reset.

I turn "Audio volume" in the rear panel to miniumum - > background noise audible.

I adjust N. Gate Tresh to value 127 -> background noise audible.

The noise is not coming from external audio input.

 

Background noise can be heard all the time...

I have a guarantee, so I can send for repair.

Did anyone hear this background noise in the instrument?

 

These are good diagnostics. Can you use the on board Audio Recorder and record the noise? If you can record the noise then the noise is being generated early in the audio chain, possibly in the DAC. If you can not record the noise then it is being generated in the audio output amplifier sections.

How would you characterize the noise? White noise or hum?

If I were you I would get the keyboard back to your dealer as soon as possible with as much documentation of the issue as you can create.

The only background noise I had on my MX500 came from an external audio source. I fixed that easily. ;-)

1 hour ago, marecki76 said:

 

3 hours ago, marecki76 said:

Hardly I heard this silent noise.
Quiet noise is the same if volume is adjusted between min or max.

 

Did anyone hear this quiet noise?
Or is it a problem with my MZX?

 

Looking forwards to reading your opinions.

I interpret your "silent noise" as noise you are hearing when no sound is being played on the keyboard. The name for this is commonly called "background noise" or "noise floor".  I also interpret your "quiet noise" to mean a low level noise.

Turn your AUDIO VOLUME on the REAR PANEL to minimum. If the noise goes away then the noise is coming from your external audio input.

Don't those 'added' resource  files come with the 1.31 and up OS updates? They just gave out the SDCard to the first purchasers as those resources did not make it in the first batch of keyboards sold.

14 minutes ago, Casiokid said:

What software are users using to edit tracks, and splitting tracks (x16), of commercial Midi songs before eventually loading them on to the MZ-X500, via USB as accompaniment files?

 

Yamaha Musicsoft Midi Songs I understand enable any of the sixteen tracks  of their Midi songs to be adjusted in volume etc... on certain of their keyboards.  Would these Yamaha Midi songs be anyway compatible with the MZ-X500 albeit with less functionality?

 

Also what soundcards are users using on their computers for playback directly into the MZ-X500, to hear what a song sounds like (monitoring) before saving edited Midi files to USB and loading into the MZ-X500?

1. Cakewalk Sonar (INS file I created allows easy interface to MX500)

2. Should be fully compatible if the Yamaha files are Type 0 or 1 MIDI

3. Currently using integrated sound on my Alienware laptop but I audition the midi directly to the MX500 from the PC with Sonar via USB Midi cable

On 1/22/2017 at 8:31 AM, marecki76 said:

Hello,
Since Friday I have a MZ-X500.
With free samples (Burea Chapel) available at: http://www.familjenpalo.se/vpo/download  (The license allows the processing of samples).
I created Hex Layer tone. BureaChpl v1

Layer 1 - PedGedackt8 (C2-C5)

Layer 2 - Gedackt8

Layer 3 - Salicional8

Layer 4 - VoixCeleste8

Layer 5 - Rorflojt4

Layer 6 - Principal2

 

I do not know how to make better loop in Sample Manager.

 

marecki76

Caution! Wait a few minutes to load samples.

 

BureaChplv1.zip

Thank you for sharing your work.  I think it would be nice to have these samples available as individual tones.  I did create 6 hex layer versions where each had just one layer turned on so I could use the pipe tones with MIDI. Separate tones might be more efficient. 

cheers,

Rick

15 minutes ago, spetsnaz said:

it s same with mzx300?

Yes. I've just compared the 500 to the 300 tone mapping and they appear identical.

Check the tone mapping starting at page two in each of these documents ...

http://support.casio.com/en/manual/008/Web_MZX300APPEND-WL-1A_EN.pdf

http://support.casio.com/en/manual/008/Web_MZX500APPEND-WL-1A_EN.pdf

13 minutes ago, moontom said:

hi....I'm considering this board, really like the sounds and the pad functionality.

 

I'm wondering how easy it is to convert Yamaha styles to the Casio format, and how closely the converted result resembles the original. I use styles from the S950 and have a bunch that I'd want to port over to the MZ X.....oddly, tho I've seen a Vietnamese video that shows it is possible, there isn't much on this forum about this feature.

 

thanks in advance for any/all insights.

 

 

Very doable. My approach has been to take a target Yammy style and play it as a MIDI file (change the file type from .STY to .MID ) If when played as a MIDI you can hear the style elements play decently, then you can convert that style easily. If you hear things like a piano playing the rhythm channel then you will need more work to convert the style. 

19 minutes ago, Randelph said:

Rick, thanks for getting back.

 

I'm still curious regarding my original questions.  Yes, I can see, especially if you have multiple items to run, that simply using an inverter is overall simpler.  But in my case I've got enough items that already run on (rechargeable) batteries that being able to use smaller batteries and no inverter would be sweet.  I've got a 100ah deep cycle battery that I use sometimes, but would love to be able to have alternatives to that 70 pound behemoth.

 

Did you ever check out the running time at 3/4 to full volume using the onboard speakers?  I'm really curious what 7ah in series would give you.

 

What is the make and brand, like I said, deep cycle batteries that small are hard to come by and the Li-ions are pricey.

 

Thanks,

Randy

I only ran mine max for about 45 minutes.

I would guess that by the numbers you might get 1 1/2 to 2 hours + it's a question of voltage drop and where the keyboard stops working because of the reduced voltage. This is a spec that is hard to come by from the battery manufacturers. They tend to use a very low cut-off voltage in order to maximize the amp-hour specification.

The batteries I have are APC RBC9 AP600RM UPS 12V 7.5Ah SLA Sealed Lead Acid AGM Deep Cycle

10 hours ago, Randelph said:

Rick, this is a case of bait and switch!  You originally said you ran the MZ off of dc power directly, now you're using an inverter.  I was curious about your direct from battery solution.  Thanks

Yes, I know. Turns out dealing with charging 2 batteries was more trouble than it was worth for me.  One larger 12V or my car is easier to deal with and using the factory power adapter has its advantages. ;-)

4 hours ago, Randelph said:

Rick, 

Have been researching battery power, there's lots to know!

? How long can you play using the internal speakers at 3/4 to full volume?

? Are these deep cycle motorcycle style batteries that you've taped together?  If it's not deep cycle then I imagine they wouldn't last very long.

? Pics?

? Where you bought your batteries?  I haven't found many deep cycle batteries that are on the smaller side like 7ah.

? Have been considering battery packs up to 20ah each, but they're li-ion so much pricier

I retired my home brew solution and am using a 300W inverter with my car's 12 volt system. The inverter can be used with a standard deep cycle 12v battery too.

Now I just run the keyboard with its own AC adapter plugged into the inverter.

22 hours ago, BradMZ said:

snip

 

Any change to what is stored in a user tone slot will affect every registration, rhythm and midi sequence programmed to use that user tone number. 

 

snip

EXACTLY!  

We're adults here. It might not make musical sense to most of us to swap in a Tin Whistle for the Stereo Grand in Slot 0001 - but it might be great to swap out the GM mono piano in slot 1563 for a copy of the stereo one from slot 0001. Or perhaps I'd like to make sonic changes to a copy the Stereo Grand from slot 0001 that WOULD then be used by "every registration, rhythm and midi sequence programmed to use that user tone number."  How glorious would that be? ;-)

From an engineering standpoint it should be trivial to provide a link parameter for every factory tone slot (a) that could point to a user slot (b) so that every call to (a) would be replaced with (b) - if you don't like it just remove the link, no harm no foul.

We could even have a system parameter added, "Links ON/OFF" to turn all links on or off. ;-)

2 hours ago, Casiokid said:

Thanks Rick   v0.02 downloaded perfectly first time !

 

You've done some great work with these all with distinctive timbre capturing the essence of real pipe organ tab tones.  I might reduce slightly the tremolo effect, but very useable as downloaded.

 

Here in the UK I play my MZ-X500 coupled with a midi Key 27 Nord Pedalboard allocating the Lower Tone 3 for pedal voices

 

Great stuff Rick

OK ... I think I have corrected the file error.

Great!

Re: the tremulant, I gave it the typical Wurlitzer trem. I think it's a bit heavy myself. ;-)

OK ... I think I have corrected the file error.

37 minutes ago, Casiokid said:

Thanks Rick for going to the trouble of posting the download, but having trouble in extracting the file once downloaded ?  -Both on pc and in MUSICDAT...so MUSICDAT hasn't become corrupted. 'Unspecified error'... have tried several times and employed a number of tricks... I can see the .Zip trying to extract but doesn't complete.  -Any suggestions

Let me check it out.

1 hour ago, Casiokid said:

Rick -Any chance of posting these new pipe organ tones in the Forum's download section?

 

In general, as a pipe organist, I am very impressed with the quality of MZ-X500 pipe organ tones.  The realism of just the Organ Flute tone is just amazing which I use in 8',4' and 2'  footage simulating the stops on a pipe organ !

Here you go. As noted these are just a first attempt ... I'm sure myself or others can improve and add to them.

cheers,

Rick

5 hours ago, Casiokid said:

Thanks Rick

 

Did as you suggested  -using the inbuilt Audio Recorder.  'Hum' still present on playback, but then disappeared after playback without having to switch off and on again?  [Volume of 'hum' increases with volume control.]  -It's a 'mystery' as my Catholic friends say !

 

I don't think it is anything to do with the pressure switches beneath the keys ...seems more like an oscillator sticking issue if there is such a thing?

 

 

Sounds like a stuck tone. Sustain switch on? Stuck key?