CASIO MZX500 HONEST REVIEW AFTER MORE THAN 4 YEARS.

[brownysweet]

Hi, my fellow musicians. I have written other reviews before but this one is  the definite one.  I will try to be as objective and clear as possible. So, let's get down to brass tacks.

 

1  MY OWN EXPERIENCE WITH MZX500

    I have three of these machines.  You must  think I am weird or something. Let me elaborate on it.  Each of my Casio Mzx500s  has been transformed into a musical monster with different characteristics. I have gotten REAL SAMPLES from different sources. These samples include STRINGS, SAXES, REAL PIANOS, DRUMS, SYNTHS, CHOIRS and the like. I have mixed and changed the parameters of 4 Hexlayers combined to produce huge sound combinations. This instrument has all the features to make it possible. I would never part with my MZX500s. This instrument is not a Kronos, comparisons are odious. A Kronos is super expensive, the Casio is affordable. So, musicians who start comparing the Casio to other instruments that cost an arm and a leg are talking nonsense. Sorry, no offence intended.

 

2 WHY DO SOME MUSICIANS GET SO DISSAPOINTED QUICKLY

 

   Granted, the factory settings are lame. Casio corporation should have taken the time to tweak and use REAL SAMPLES to offer a MONSTER KEYBOARD. I cannot fathom why Casio just gave customers A DIAMOND FULL OF DIRT. This instrument IS A DIAMOND but in the right hands. It was made to be tweaked to the limit . The sampling capability is not perfect but it is there. IN SIMPLE WORDS. TAME THE BEAST, MAKE IT YOUR OWN, GET SAMPLES. I was able to get excellent free samples from YOUTUBE and I also invested  100 dollars to get much better samples for this instrument. Casio should make a new version of this instrument, call it CASIO MZX ULTIMATE, load real samples and I swear they would have a BEST SELLER.

The same goes for RYTHMS. Is it too much to incorporate polished rythms the way other companies do? Maybe the price would be a little higher, but we musicians do not care . Although we have a pandemic I still have GAS. Yeah, GAS for the new MZX ULTIMATE. Mike Martin, do not abandon this marvel, make it happen.

 

3  LAST WORDS

   Do not  buy this instruments expecting spectacular presets. Start working on the available sounds, get real samples and the sky is the limit. Those guys who trash this instrument should stop for a moment and ponder. What would the Earth Wind and Fire guy have done with this instrument if it had existed before? It is not the instrument, it is you the musician and the instrument. Just my two cents. Cesar, MZX500 REAL LOVER.

[Jokeyman123]

Nice review! If I didn't have the PX560-many similarities and I love it-I'd have sprung for the MZ-X. It takes years to really dig deep into these complex instruments, and i dig. I still don't know all the functions of my TS-12 and SY77 after many years of playing and creating music with these, using professionally and at home. and I've finally figured out about 20 percent of what I can do on the XW-P1 after 3-4 years-and even that much can give me musical results that blow me away. Certainly keeping my brain working.

 

I imagine Bach getting his hands on one of these-look at what he wrote simply because there was finally a piano with 'even-tempered" tuning-he could now write in every key signature-and unfortunately for everybody afterwards trying to play his keyboard works-he did! Sometimes in the same piece!!!! No wonder Glenn Gould didn't live too long-he must have exhausted himself mastering all these Bach pieces-and he did. Now all I have to do is hit the transpose button....ah well progress.

[stevecoscia]

On 10/24/2020 at 4:01 PM, brownysweet said:

Hi, my fellow musicians. I have written other reviews before but this one is  the definite one.  I will try to be as objective and clear as possible. So, let's get down to brass tacks.

 

1  MY OWN EXPERIENCE WITH MZX500

    I have three of these machines.  You must  think I am weird or something. Let me elaborate on it.  Each of my Casio Mzx500s  has been transformed into a musical monster with different characteristics. I have gotten REAL SAMPLES from different sources. These samples include STRINGS, SAXES, REAL PIANOS, DRUMS, SYNTHS, CHOIRS and the like. I have mixed and changed the parameters of 4 Hexlayers combined to produce huge sound combinations. This instrument has all the features to make it possible. I would never part with my MZX500s. This instrument is not a Kronos, comparisons are odious. A Kronos is super expensive, the Casio is affordable. So, musicians who start comparing the Casio to other instruments that cost an arm and a leg are talking nonsense. Sorry, no offence intended.

 

2 WHY DO SOME MUSICIANS GET SO DISSAPOINTED QUICKLY

 

   Granted, the factory settings are lame. Casio corporation should have taken the time to tweak and use REAL SAMPLES to offer a MONSTER KEYBOARD. I cannot fathom why Casio just gave customers A DIAMOND FULL OF DIRT. This instrument IS A DIAMOND but in the right hands. It was made to be tweaked to the limit . The sampling capability is not perfect but it is there. IN SIMPLE WORDS. TAME THE BEAST, MAKE IT YOUR OWN, GET SAMPLES. I was able to get excellent free samples from YOUTUBE and I also invested  100 dollars to get much better samples for this instrument. Casio should make a new version of this instrument, call it CASIO MZX ULTIMATE, load real samples and I swear they would have a BEST SELLER.

The same goes for RYTHMS. Is it too much to incorporate polished rythms the way other companies do? Maybe the price would be a little higher, but we musicians do not care . Although we have a pandemic I still have GAS. Yeah, GAS for the new MZX ULTIMATE. Mike Martin, do not abandon this marvel, make it happen.

 

3  LAST WORDS

   Do not  buy this instruments expecting spectacular presets. Start working on the available sounds, get real samples and the sky is the limit. Those guys who trash this instrument should stop for a moment and ponder. What would the Earth Wind and Fire guy have done with this instrument if it had existed before? It is not the instrument, it is you the musician and the instrument. Just my two cents. Cesar, MZX500 REAL LOVER.

 

Thanks brownysweet for the MZ-X500 review.  Very interesting perspective on this keyboard.   I just bought a used MZ-X500 and your review will affect how I perceive this new investment.

 

Your "Last Words" about not expecting spectacular presets is interesting because I enjoy creating presets of chord progressions for jamming purposes.  As an older person, I under-utilize the music technology that lies under the hood because I have a difficult time keeping up. This might be an excuse on my part. 

 

I also own a Casio PX-560.  Hopefully the similar user-interfaces will be a musical benefit.

[Jokeyman123]

To Brownysweet-

 

I recently acquired 2 older Alesis Fusions and had to restore both of these, was a major undertaking-yes I am a music junky, but love to restore older equipment in addition to playing.

 

You have pretty much described a major reason this Fusion failed in the marketplace at least, and fortunately for people like me who are around 15 years behind the curve-was completely re-invented by 3rd-party geniuses of sampling, and I am deliberately dropping names, because what these programmers did for the Fusion was mind-blowing-Steve Howell and Klaus Schulze-I am not commercially endorsing these programmers-you'll have to look them up to see who they are. Steve sadly is no longer with us, he was a gift to many..just look him up. Klaus is still active.

 

By creating amazing sample libraries for this instrument-unfortunately too little too late as Alesis dropped support, but they soldiered on-they recreated this instrument. I am not comparing Casio to this monster-I love my Casios and you can see I am a big fan, but I also have utmost respect for people like this-who manage to overcome limitations of any instrument-to make it uniquely their own, as you are doing with what will probably become a legendary Casio instrument, whether Casio supports it or not.  Apparently, I do not think these are going to be on the market anymore, except sporadically in existing inventories. checking around some of the major vendors, these are no longer available, at least new retail.