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Information about Privia PX-3BK just appeared on the Casio Europe website:
* Stage piano without speakers
* Editable DSP effects
* 4-band equalizer
* "Ivory touch" keyboard
* Assignable buttons (portamento, rotary switch)
* Master keyboard functionality
* Editable parameters (mixer, tone/synth)

http://www.casio-europe.com/euro/emi/privia/px3bk/
http://www.casio-europe.com/fr/news/article/1555/

Very interesting! If they've managed to improve on the EPs and organs, it might be something worth considering as a stage instrument.

I wonder if it will be available in the US.

Interesting, looks like Casio is making these special edition models with more arranger functions. I saw portamento mentioned in the specs, but did not see anything about an arpegiator like most serious synths have. Looks like this is positioned to be a hybrid between a DP and synth. The sound editing functions sound intriguing.

They used to have similar sound editing functions in their WK3000 series instruments - a bit of a clunky menu-driven interface but there, nonetheless. I do like the inclusion of portamento - providing the synth sounds are actually good enough to use. Another throwback to some of the WKs is the use of a button (assignable) for modulation, rather than a wheel. Buttons are certainly better than nothing.

The most interesting thing for me will be whether the sounds have been sufficiently "tweaked" from the PX-330, to allow them to rival Yamaha and Roland stage pianos. The current offerings (beyond the acoustic piano) are sub-par IMO. I also hope they've addressed the slight but noticeable shortcomings in the acoustic sample and implementation - which are apparent in all variations, since they seem to use only the one set of samples, re-eq'd for their Classic AP etc.

Dusky, thank you for posting this information.

The new PX-3BK looks very interesting. It will undoubtedly appeal to those searching for a lightweight, speaker-less gigging board, and perhaps the home studio VSTi crowd too.

In addition to this model, it would appear that Casio is also launching two more '30th Annivesary' products:

- Celviano AP-6BP: Polished ebony version of the AP-620
- Privia PX-7WE: Matte white version of the PX-730, with 'Ivory Touch' key surfaces

Cheers,
James
x

Good stuff.

It would also be good if Casio could go further, and make a fully fledged master controller, like the M-Audio KeyStation Pro 88 (although that product is now discontinued). Judging by reviews of the M-Audio, I think the Casio action is almost certainly a lot better than it was.

Greg.

Agreed, I expect an action-only USB-powered MIDI controller will be the next step.

Cheers,
James
x

It will be available in the US in late June early July.

We are working on new demos of the EP and organ sounds which we hope to have posted on www.priviapiano.com in a few weeks. They are still making a few changes to the software (and I have a vacation planned) but I'll let you know here when the audio demos are posted.

Thanks for keeping us in the picture, Mike. I, for one, will be very interested to hear how the PX-3 stacks up. Having owned the 310, 320 and 330, I've long admired Casio's attempts to provide a less expensive and lighter alternative to the standard offerings; it's just that, up to now, these pianos have remained practice instruments for me. I'd love it if I could take the PX-3 on stage and know that I was going to get really top-notch sounds.

Mike,
Are you able to comment on whether the sound module on the PX3 has gotton a revision or is it basically the module in the PX-330 with some reworked or added patches? Thanks for any insight. The PX3 looks to have some intriguing things on it.

I'd love to know the answer to that, too.

Having achieved a good quality action in a lightweight shell, it would seem a natural progression to produce a version with better sounds and processing. There must be many people like me who would really appreciate the quality of a RD700GX or a CP5 in a 25lbs package.

Absoutely!
I was considering buying a px330 but were not convinced of the sound; if it's gotten better...well, that could be my choice!

Any chance they have fixed the "backwards" keyboard split that every Privia I have played suffers from? Specifically, on the PX-330 (and others), when you split the keyboard, any new patch you select alters the lower half of the split. In live performance, if you need to call up a new sound in the middle of a song, you generally want the left hand sound to remain constant while you change the right hand sound, so it's backwards. I wrote to Casio about it years ago, I did get a nice thank you note for my comment, but that's all so far!

Also, I hope they don't use the small dark gray-on-black button legends that they used on the PX-330... impossible to read, especially on stage.

Another feature I've hoped for... when you do a keyboard split, I'd like to be able to send the left side of the split out the left output, and the right side of the split out the right output. This is something else extremely useful for live performance, when you're playing sounds that might lend themselves to different outboard processing, or different amplification, or you want the sounds in separate channels at the mixing board. All of which can easily come into play if you use split for one of the most common live purposes, left hand bass.

I actually wish they'd leave the speakers in, but I know that the market says that that seems "non pro." Personally, I often find them convenient. And sometimes, for a small cocktail hour thing, it's all I need. I also happen to like the way the speakers make the piano "feel" more real, because you can feel the sympathetic vibrations as you play, simulating the effect you get from the real strings in a piano.

I'll be eager to hear the sound samples. I actually thought my old PX-500L had better Rhodes and honky tonk piano than the PX-330. The newer Rhodes patch definitely sounds more digital. I did like the sound of the acoustic pianos on the PX-330, but I found the playability was a little tricky. I'd be playing pretty evenly (or so I thought), and some notes would come out distinctly brighter than others, I must have been playing near the threshold of sample crossing... but it was a problem I never had on older models. Maybe there was some keyboard velocity curve scaling I could have tried adjusting? But the older Privias always played perfect for me out of the box. Maybe they didn't have as many samples under each key to begin with so it was less of an issue, I don't know. That's something else I'll be eager to try on the new one.

Anyone wanting more info on the PX-3 can go over to the Keyboard Corner on the Music Player Forums. It looks like it will retail for $799. http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/18/page/1

YES, this is addressed on the PX-3. You can easily change the sound in the right hand without changing the one in the left.



Yes, big differences here. You'll easily see the difference in pictures. Even the jacks on the back of the instrument are clearly labeled on the TOP of the instrument so when you're reaching around to plug in the sustain pedal or audio outputs it's very clear where everything goes.



Yes this is easily done on the PX-3. You can save this as a registration and during the gig you can change the sound in your right hand WITHOUT affecting the pan position for that tone.



We're working on that now. I hope to have some up by next week.


-Mike Martin
Casio America, Inc.

Maybe this was fixed in previous versions, but I've read of Privia keyboards wearing out rather quickly (less than a year) with vigorous practice. Is there still a durability problem with the keybed, or are there just a few cranky people making a lot of noise of the internet? Other than the key surface, has the key action been improved?

I've got a PX330, and I like it. I've had it since last November. It is not heavily used and I've been looking for a home/lifestyle DP and played some better (double the price and more) Yamaha's and Roland's including the new HP305/7. In terms of price/value the Privia beats them.

But, my PX330, which is not heavily used, less than 2 hours per day, occasional monthly gig has developed a clacking on three of the keys. The keys are in general terms quite loose compared to the Yamaha's and Roland's that cost much more, and it is my opinion, that the sideways looseness is part of the clacking problem; it usually shows up doing scales or arpeggios. I can fix it by inserting a cardboard shim between the keys, but it's only really apparent at low volumes and doesn't affect playing at all. Maybe I'm just unlucky and the only one in the world? I still think the Casio is terrific value and will get it 'fixed' under warranty sometime in the future.

I'd be interested to know if the PX-3 uses the same mechanical keyboard action as the PX-330?

Perhaps Mike Martin can chime in here, but as far as I know, the keybeds used on all Privias and Celvianos are the same. The PX-3 will likely be using the same keybed as the PX-330.

The complaint you raised about the lateral movement of some keys has been reported before along with boards with stuck keys. I think it is limited to a small percentage of product as the PX-330 is no doubt selling well, especially at the $699 price point. I played a 330 that had just been opened and set out at a Sam Ash last weekend and it sounded fantastic. Wonder if Casio has made some tweaks from the early production runs.