CT-S500 / CT-S1000V Firmware Update Now Available!

[Chas]

6 hours ago, Mike Martin said:

 

Chas, 
I just got back from a trip and I'm playing catch-up today. I'll try to get to your question as soon as possible.

 

Thanks Mike, appreciate it.

FWIW, I've tried to go directly into my phone's storage (Samsung Galaxy S10) by connecting it to my PC (Win 10) via a USB cable, found the Android Apps Data folders - (Android> DATA> jp.co.casio.LyricCreator> FILES - and there I found LyricData folder along with LyricSequenceData and VocalData folders. In the Lyric Data folder I could see my Lyric Data files that I created, and when I clicked on a file to show its properties, it tells me that it is a ".BYTES" file type. The files don't show a .LYR file extension.

 

I tried copying one of these files to my flash drive and renaming it to have a .LYR extension, and though my S1000V can see and select this file, if I try to load it I still get   -  [ERROR] Wrong Data.

Just thought I'd add this extra info in case it may help identify the issue.

[Brad Saucier]

Chas, are you pressing the "share" button in the app, or the "transfer" button?  USB flash drive transfer is done with the transfer button where it creates a LYR file.  

[Chas]

6 hours ago, Brad Saucier said:

Chas, are you pressing the "share" button in the app, or the "transfer" button?  USB flash drive transfer is done with the transfer button where it creates a LYR file.  

 

Yup, hitting the share button and then choosing "email" to send the file to myself. 

 

I'll take some screen shots and captures to show what I am encountering. 

[Brad Saucier]

Try using the transfer button instead.  The "share" button is not used for the flash drive method.  The share button creates an LYJ file which loads into the app itself, not the keyboard.  You want the transfer button, which creates the LYR file.

 

1.

 

 

2.

 

 

3. 

 

 

4. Which ultimately ends up in your devices own sharing app....

 

[Chas]

That did the trick!

 

By using "Transfer" and then selecting "Transfer to other", I could then select "email", send the file to myself, download the file to my computer, copy it to the MUSIC DAT folder of my flash drive, install the flash drive into my S1000V, and then I was able to select the file and load it into a user lyric slot successfully and it played back fine.

 

 I guess the terminology confused me, as I took "Transfer" to mean transfer the lyrics from the app to the keyboard (as "Transfer" was normally used for), and I took "Share" to mean the universal "Share Externally" i.e. via all other types of apps such as Email, Messenger, DropBox etc.

 

FWIW, I'll attach some screen shots showing that the lyric file ends up with a .lyj file extension if I use the "Share" option:

 

 

This first pic shows my lyrics stored in the app on my phone.

 

 

 

 

 Poo Bum is the lyric I want to put onto a flash drive. I tap the three vertical dots to get the options, and select "Share":

 

 

 

 

After I tap "Share", I can select which app I want to used to share the file with. Note that the file is shown at the top but now has a .lyj extension - Poo Bum.lyj

 

 

 

I then emailed it to myself, and again, you can see that the file is called - Poo Bum.lyj instead of Poo Bum.lyr

 

 

 

If I tried to load this file into my S1000V via flash drive, the S1000V couldn't "see" this file. If I changed the extension from .lyj to .lyr, the S1000V could now see the file and would attempt to load it, but would then give - [ERROR] Wrong Data.

 

I notice as well that the firmware update PDF Guide shows all the updates/ changes, but doesn't detail the steps required to copy a Vocal Synthesis file to a USB flash drive. Also, the main user manual hasn't been updated and doesn't show that LYR/ Vocal Synthesis files can be loaded in via USB under the USB Flash Drive Operations section. Just an observation, as others might also get confused and/ or use the Share option and encounter errors as I did. 

 

Out of interest, what exactly is the "Share" option in the App meant for, and why does it change the file extension from .lyr to .lyj? 

 

Still, it's all working now and thanks once again Brad for pointing me in the right direction 👍

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by Chas

[Brad Saucier]

19 minutes ago, Chas said:

Out of interest, what exactly is the "Share" option in the App meant for, and why does it change the file extension from .lyr to .lyj?

 

1 hour ago, Brad Saucier said:

The share button creates an LYJ file which loads into the app itself, not the keyboard.

 

 

 

 

19 minutes ago, Chas said:

I notice as well that the firmware update PDF Guide shows all the updates/ changes, but doesn't detail the steps required to copy a Vocal Synthesis file to a USB flash drive.

 

The manual for the app is within the app itself, which has been updated with the changes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[d. gauss]

just want to confirm that the new firmware will visually change the patch display via midi now?  i.e.  i select patch 1 piano on my ipad (camelot pro) and the casio will display said patch as well as the sounds associated sounds.

[Casiokid]

Interesting  firmware update.  Does this now mean I can connect my midi bass pedals or controller keyboard?

[Brad Saucier]

On 11/2/2022 at 12:57 PM, d. gauss said:

just want to confirm that the new firmware will visually change the patch display via midi now?  i.e.  i select patch 1 piano on my ipad (camelot pro) and the casio will display said patch as well as the sounds associated sounds.

 

Yes

 

15 minutes ago, Casiokid said:

Interesting  firmware update.  Does this now mean I can connect my midi bass pedals or controller keyboard?

 

A host device is still required to connect the two.  The update allows MIDI to control the live keyboard parts you see on the display as upper 1, upper 2 and lower parts.  

[d. gauss]

On 11/9/2022 at 7:48 AM, Brad Saucier said:

 

Yes

 

 

 

thanks!

[CYBERYOGI =CO=Windler]

Does the CT-S1000V app work within an Android emulator for PC (Windoze or Linux)?

 

It is a major atrocity of planned obsolescence to design a keyboard that depends on a brainfryer that makes it become e-waste by turning incompatible 2 smartphone generations later or once the app gets removed from the appstore or cloud by lack of commercial interest. It needs to be made a legal requirement against e-waste to make musical instruments etc. compatible with real PCs instead of locked cloud-only throwaway gadgets those cause brain damage by pulsed microwaves.

[bytemare]

uhm, what??

[the-bunker]

On 11/20/2022 at 3:29 AM, CYBERYOGI =CO=Windler said:

Does the CT-S1000V app work within an Android emulator for PC (Windoze or Linux)?

 

It is a major atrocity of planned obsolescence to design a keyboard that depends on a brainfryer that makes it become e-waste by turning incompatible 2 smartphone generations later or once the app gets removed from the appstore or cloud by lack of commercial interest. It needs to be made a legal requirement against e-waste to make musical instruments etc. compatible with real PCs instead of locked cloud-only throwaway gadgets those cause brain damage by pulsed microwaves.

It probably will work with an android emulator - why don't you try it out. I take your point about the Android app becoming obsolescent - but electronic music gear has been a victim of obsolescence in many ways for decades, so I don't think you can single Casio out for this.

[anotherscott]

On 10/14/2022 at 9:05 AM, Mike Martin said:

This allows the USB Input to choose the live keyboard parts.  Registrations now selectable via Bank/Program change. 

This is great. I just picked up a CT-S500... and it's possible that I might have returned it if it weren't for this update.

 

On 10/19/2022 at 8:59 AM, d. gauss said:

you can name registrations now i hope?

On 10/20/2022 at 1:08 AM, Executor said:

I wonder why this has not been done in the Casio CTX? It is something that has been requested and it is one of the design flawsI 

On 10/21/2022 at 12:00 PM, Mike Martin said:

@ExecutorIt was done this way by design on the CT-X series as they are arranger focused products. Casio products have been implemented this way for years going back to the original MZ-series and before in other portable models.

 

It was a little surprising not to see named registrations, especially after (IIRC) the PX560 did not let you name registrations, but that was addressed in a later model based largely on the same foundation, the MZ-X500. So having added it once, it seems like they understand that this is a useful thing that people want. (Though one would think that would have been obvious on its face!)

 

But here's the main thing here that I think people may be missing: The fact that you can now select Registrations over MIDI, combined with the fact that almost everyone has a smartphone, plus the fact that the keyboard includes a little bluetooth dongle you can leave in, means it's actually pretty easy to get named registrations! You can use any of a number of MIDI apps (like that old favorite Set List Maker) to create a scrollable list of 64 sounds with their song titles (or whatever other way you might like to describe them), configured to send the appropriate MIDI command. Place the smartphone somewhere convenient, and boom, you've got a touchscreen with a scrollable list of your 64 named registrations. Just tap the one you want to select it. With bluetooth, you don't even have to run a cable. All this would have been impossible up until this new update. So if you really need those named registrations, you can have them. (Right now I'm playing with MIDI Designer Pro on an iPad for CT-S500 sound selection... it's got enough screen space that I can have a ton of buttons and not even need to scroll to find what I'm after.)

[d. gauss]

On 1/10/2023 at 9:03 PM, anotherscott said:

You can use any of a number of MIDI apps (like that old favorite Set List Maker) to create a scrollable list of 64 sounds with their song titles (or whatever other way you might like to describe them), configured to send the appropriate MIDI command. Place the smartphone somewhere convenient, and boom, you've got a touchscreen with a scrollable list of your 64 named registrations. Just tap the one you want to select it. With bluetooth, you don't even have to run a cable. All this would have been impossible up until this new update. So if you really need those named registrations, you can have them. (Right now I'm playing with MIDI Designer Pro on an iPad for CT-S500 sound selection... it's got enough screen space that I can have a ton of buttons and not even need to scroll to find what I'm after.)

any number of midi apps EXCEPT for the one actually made by Casio, which, really should be the obvious choice, but instead is basically useless. Grrrr.

[anotherscott]

On 10/31/2022 at 12:33 PM, Brad Saucier said:

Send a bank change MSB value of 116, along with an LSB value (00-15) which reflects your choice of 16 registration banks.  This sets up registration selection, but doesn't change anything yet.  Now send a program/patch change message (00-03) to select one of the 4 registrations in that bank.  Repeat the entire process for other banks and registrations.  

Wonderful!! Where did you find this info? Weirdly, the MIDI implementation chart (the version updated to include the firmware changes) describes the feature, but tells you to check the original manual to get the actual Program Change data... but of course, the original manual pre-dates the update, and the info isn't there.

[Brad Saucier]

6 minutes ago, anotherscott said:

Wonderful!! Where did you find this info? Weirdly, the MIDI implementation chart (the version updated to include the firmware changes) describes the feature, but tells you to check the original manual to get the actual Program Change data... but of course, the original manual pre-dates the update, and the info isn't there.

 

Updated MIDI implementation manual sections...

 

7.1 - "Bank Select", last paragraph 

 

8 - "Program Change", last paragraph 

 

13.3.14 "Registration Recall" 

 

 

[anotherscott]

Ah! When I referred to the MIDI Implementation Chart, that was a mistake on my part, I was referring to the docs that come with the update. And I thought they referred the reader to the owner's manual, not the parameter guide. (I think because of the text of the link provided.) Whoops!

 

Though as it turns out, even those sections of the MIDI Implementation manual you pointed me are still kind of cryptic. 7.1 does give you the MSB for the bank change (in hex). But then for the Program Change needed, all section 8 gives us is: 

 

Quote

A valid Program Number is ”Registration Area Number - 1”. (00H-03H)

 

So, yeah, it's kinda there, but you may need your special MIDI decoding glasses. ;-)

 

13.3.15 only presents a sysex alternative, I believe.

 

But anyway, thanks for the info, and showing me where it came from. Very helpful!

[Mario79]

On 1/15/2023 at 4:18 AM, d. gauss said:

any number of midi apps EXCEPT for the one actually made by Casio, which, really should be the obvious choice, but instead is basically useless. Grrrr.

Completely agree. It's 2023 and I have to keep with me a block notes containing the mapping registration/song names for my CT-S1000V. Why should I download an app on my phone (with all compatibility problems...) to make a thing that could be easily implemented onboard of the keyboard?  

[howardcano]

Hi Kids,

 

I want to play my CT-S500 registrations from an external controller, and this was apparently not possible with the original firmware.  Then I found this thread about CTS50106.upd, which seems to add this feature.  I downloaded the firmware and updated according to the instructions.  Everything progressed as described, but after re-booting my CT-S500, no indication was given on the display of the new firmware revision, and I don't seem to have any menu selections to redirect the USB MIDI in.

 

Does the new software support this option only on the CT-S1000, and not on the CT-S500?  Or did I somehow not get the new firmware installed?

[Brad Saucier]

6 minutes ago, howardcano said:

Does the new software support this option only on the CT-S1000, and not on the CT-S500?  Or did I somehow not get the new firmware installed?

 

Which version number does the keyboard tell you?  How to check version number is in the firmware installation manual.  Both models get the new features. 

[howardcano]

43 minutes ago, Brad Saucier said:

 

Which version number does the keyboard tell you?  How to check version number is in the firmware installation manual.  Both models get the new features. 

Hi Brad,  thanks for the quick response!  I was actually editing my first post to give an update,  but I'll instead do so here:

 

I was under the impression that the new firmware revision would be displayed automatically on power-up.  I thought maybe that auto-loading My Setup was preventing this from occurring, so I disabled this and then re-installed the new firmware, making sure to remove the USB drive after power-down so the "MOUNTING" prompt wouldn't be displayed on power-up.  There was still no display of firmware revision on power-up.  As you pointed out, my initial assumption was wrong; one must manually check for the new firmware revision via the menu.

 

The new firmware is now installed, and I have changed the USB MIDI in to Part A.  Now I can change registrations on the CT-S500, but play them via a different keyboard!

[ilan5]

Is there a chance there will be a new update?
Midi Out is very limited, it is not possible to activate external drum sounds or external bass sounds and there is also no option to balance, program or change sounds in the existing rhythms

[Brad Saucier]

2 hours ago, ilan5 said:

Is there a chance there will be a new update?
Midi Out is very limited, it is not possible to activate external drum sounds or external bass sounds and there is also no option to balance, program or change sounds in the existing rhythms

 

The CT-S series does not feature rhythm editing.  The CT-X3000 and 5000 do have that feature.