Adding a pedalboard

[MAT]

I would like to add a pedal board to the PX-560M and use it to play notes - like the pedals on an electronic organ.  It is hard to find a pedalboard in Australia, however there is this one: Studiologic MP 113 Dynamic Controller Pedalboard.  The sales rep from Casio sent this advice to the dealer:  "The PX560M is MIDI compatible so will work with any MIDI device. Just be clear with your customer that there is no internal MIDI map as such in the PX560 for the Studiologic pedal board specifically, so they will need to set up channels, note limits and control messages themselves…in other words, it probably won’t just plug n play, but it can be configured and the settings can then be saved into memory on the keyboard. "

I don't know anything about MIDI so my question is - how hard is it to make this pedal board play base notes like on an organ and how do you do it?   I am surprised that I can't find information about adding an extra set of keys to an electronic keyboard - but maybe people simply buy an electronic organ.  Hopefully it is possible to easily set up the pedalboard to my 560M.  I would appreciate any advice.

Thanks

Tony

[Casiokid]

Unfortunately you will not be able to play your PX-560M sounds with a pedalboard.  Unlike the Korg EK-50 or i3 keyboards,  sounds on Casio and Yamaha keyboards are not presented at the USB ports.

 

I play my keyboards with a Nord 27 Key pedalboard.  No problem when playing sounds on the Korg EK-50 with the pedals, but both Casio and Yamaha on their USB only keyboards do not present the sound played at the USB ports to be picked up by midi devices other than a computer.  More expensive/advanced keyboards have a dedicated 5 pin mdi DIN input port for this type of purpose.

 

As a 'work around' I have a MidiPlus (also marketed as a Pianobox) sound generator, which enables me to select and play pedal sounds  of my choosing (from a 127 GM Midi selection) which I then amplify back through the keyboard.   There's some Youtube demonstrations of this device

 

I've tried to explain all this as simply as possible so I hope it helps?

[Brad Saucier]

4 hours ago, Casiokid said:

Unfortunately you will not be able to play your PX-560M sounds with a pedalboard.  Unlike the Korg EK-50 or i3 keyboards,  sounds on Casio and Yamaha keyboards are not presented at the USB ports.

 

Actually this is not true for the PX-560.  It has a MIDI IN port selector.  Selecting port A will allow you to play upper and lower (splits and layered) tones from an external device.  

[MAT]

Firstly, thanks to both Brad and Casiokid for you quick replies.   So now I am a bit confused - if what Brad says is true, how would I set up the pedalboard so play.   I assume it is not just play and play (I wish!).  Do I plug in the pedal board to the MIDI In port selector, then select port A (how?) and do I have to do anything after that?  I assume it can't be that easy.

Again thanks for the information and for trying to explain as simply as possible.

[Brad Saucier]

On the PX-560, you would go to MIDI settings and select Port A as the MIDI IN port.  Once this is done, anything connected to the MIDI IN port can control upper 1, upper 2, lower 1, and lower 2 tones.  These are addressed through MIDI channels 1, 2, 3 and 4.  Configure your external controller to output through one of those channels, depending on which tone you want to control.  The range of notes which the external controller will play depends on the controller itself, the key range it is capable of, and any transpose settings it has.  

[Casiokid]

As Brad says, I was unaware the PX-560M could assign the Upper and Lower parts to  the Midi IN port.  This will make things easier. My own Nord 27Key pedalboard has a fixed Midi Ch3,  5 pin DIN OUT.   If the PX-560M has no  5 pin Midi DIN IN socket you will need a Midi to USB host unit to connect this type of pedalboard to the keyboard.  (Such as the Kenton Midi - USB Host Unit MKII or MK III)....And you should be fit to go!

[MAT]

Thanks again Brad and Casiokid. Much appreciated

[Robthemuso]

Will I need to select port A every time I turn the 560 on or can I save the setting? Also, is there a way to transpose midi in signals using the 560 transpose buttons?

[Robthemuso]

I have managed to successfully midi my pk5 bass pedals but when I apply transpose to the casio 560 the bass pedals do not transpose. Any ideas please. Thanks 

[Brad Saucier]

Does your bass pedal have a transpose function?  If not, you can coarse tune the sound engine itself using the mixer.