maurochefe Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Hi! Is there any possibility of replacing the keys on the MZX500 with other keys? I really liked the keyboard but I don't like the keys on it. I want to stay with him for many years and so I want to know if other keys on other Casio keyboards or other brands can serve him. Thank you very much in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Stirling Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 I use my Korg Kronos 2 as a keyboard for the MZ-X500. Works like a charm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Stirling Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Following ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maurochefe Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share Posted October 14, 2020 GREAT! The Korg is already a machine! I'm using the Casio CDP 135 as a controller, but I want to have better keys on the MZX500 ... kkkkk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maurochefe Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share Posted October 14, 2020 Thanks Rick Stirling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jokeyman123 Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Unless you are an electronics engineer-and mechanical-you will not be able to do this. Every manufacturer has their own circuit designs, and physical construction-might as well try to put a Ferrari engine in a-motorcycle (I've seen almost). I think Rick is onto something here-I would never thought of that, gee thanks Rick.......what does a Kronos cost 3000? a small price to pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Stirling Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 1 minute ago, Jokeyman123 said: Unless you are an electronics engineer-and mechanical-you will not be able to do this. Every manufacturer has their own circuit designs, and physical construction-might as well try to put a Ferrari engine in a-motorcycle (I've seen almost). I think Rick is onto something here-I would never thought of that, gee thanks Rick.......what does a Kronos cost 3000? a small price to pay. I just had it laying around. 😉 The principle is the same, find a decent controller and use that on the X500. Much simpler than trying to jury-rig a new keyboard assembly into the machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jokeyman123 Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 I posted a more coherent answer in maurochefe's other post, despite myself. Careful where you leave that Kronos Rick-it might have wings and fly away. To my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Stirling Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 17 minutes ago, Jokeyman123 said: I posted a more coherent answer in maurochefe's other post, despite myself. Careful where you leave that Kronos Rick-it might have wings and fly away. To my house. Milford? Are you close to Port Jarvis? I'm from Binghamton, live in the West Rockies now though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jokeyman123 Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Yep-Port Jervis is a 30 mile run from me though, not all that close but I drive down there often-around here a 60 mile round-trip is typical. I've been to the Rockies by car-have friends in Blackhawk, near Silver City north of (and I mean north of-8000 feet up) Golden CO.. What an amazing place. Why my email is JDBlackhawk-was so blown away by the Rockies in Colorado-and then they took us up the "Great Divide"-I had never seen oxygen stations next to a 2-lane-with no guardrails-16,000 feet in the air! A Cessna was flying-below us! Now I know where they came up with the Wile E. Coyote cartoons eesshhh!! I was terrified-if the car went 3 feet out of the lane-and I've been battling fear of heights most of my life, so I'll stay here in Milford-only 1600 feet up, I'm above downtown Milford, and also 30 miles from Casio headquarters in Dover, Nj which is how I met Mike Martin. How do you like the korg piano action on the Kronos-do you have a piano-action Casio to compare it? I know SS likes the Montage action a ilittle more than the PX Casio he has. I'd go for one or the other-but the weight is a factor-and I'd need to sell quite a few other keys to make room for the Kronos. and if you don't mind me asking-what did you pay for it-I know what typical retail prices are, but sigh..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Stirling Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Jokeyman123: I live at 'only' 6300' but have 10,000' peaks to my east and west. 😉 When you first come out here to live, you stumble around a couple weeks until your body compensates for the altitude. 😉 I like the Kronos RH-3 action. Very piano like. I'm a bit more of an organist than pianist so I still like the 'organ' action on the X500. I use both. 😉 Re: price I paid for my Kronos ... Interesting story. I ordered mine from a dealer that gave me 12 months same as cash. They also offered price matching. The day after I ordered my Kronos 2 another dealer offered the same rig for $800 less. I applied for the price match and got $800 credit to my account. 😉 $3200 instead of $4000 - color me happy camper! Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maurochefe Posted October 21, 2020 Author Share Posted October 21, 2020 Thank you Jokeyman123 and Rick Stirling!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike71 Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 On 10/14/2020 at 11:52 PM, Jokeyman123 said: Unless you are an electronics engineer-and mechanical-you will not be able to do this. Every manufacturer has their own circuit designs, and physical construction-might as well try to put a Ferrari engine in a-motorcycle (I've seen almost). I think Rick is onto something here-I would never thought of that, gee thanks Rick.......what does a Kronos cost 3000? a small price to pay. Some manufacturers get keybeds from other makers, like Fatar/Studiologic or Viscount, so if you have a problem with a GEM keybed you could stlil get spares, but you normally can't swap say a TP100 with a TP40/Wood and use the same hinges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maurao Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 Could I use a casio px 560 as a controller of the casio mz x500 like Rick did with his Kronos 2? Would you only hear midi files or also ac7, z00, ckf since the two keyboards use the same file types? I am not practical of connecting between two keyboards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jokeyman123 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Easy to do. Just get a regular 5-pin MIDI DIN connecting cable-come in many lengths from 3 to 100 feet long or anywhere in between. MIDI DIN out on the PX560 to MIDI DIN in on the MZ-X. No drivers, no computer, no Windows OS to screw things up-its a beautiful thing. You will have to study and experiment to see what other midi information goes out the PX560 MIDI DIN port. Look at your manual and the midi implementation charts. You need to learn everything you can about 1) your keyboards and 2) MIDI. I can tell you, rhythm (.ac7) files are not the same across the 2 keyboards. And you will find out which controllers will work through midi/how to do that if it is possible. Simple controllers like the mod wheel, pitch bend are pretty universal across keyboards-others such as control knobs, slide controls and/or software controls may not communicate across midi. I tried loading and playing MZ-X500 rhythm accompaniments and there must be something different about how these are programmed as i could not load and play the MZ-X rhythms in the PX560 but I "roll my own" on the computer anyway. Tones, hex layers etc. will not be cross-compatible even though the operating systems are very similar. Make sure you understand the difference between the "A"- "B" and "C" mixer and midi channel settings-this is very important if you connect these together through MIDI. I can't speak for the MZ-X, but the PX560 will read and play .ckf files, but not .z00-these are for older Casios and I don't think these will work. You can save (I think) .z00 files as .ckf rhythms-depending on the Casio keyboard, then play these in the PX560, no sure about the MZ-X. Look over the many posts here about how many of us have worked at trying to make different rhythm file formats work across more than one keyboard or brand of keyboard. it's all here in this user group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akshansh - Alex Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Cable required: 5 Pin Din Midi cable (male to male) Connect midi cable as MIDI OUT on MZ-X Connect midi cable as MIDI IN on the required keyboard. That's it! However, I suggest you to place your MZ upside and MZ external player keyboard downside to play. Some of the functions may not work with another midi keyboard, so you'll need to operate that option from the MZ keyboard itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maurao Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 I thanks Jokeyman123 and Alex for the answers you have given me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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