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I am in NJ as well! SJ 20 minutes east of Philadelphia.

Could you tell us a little about the Rhodes presets? I really like the one on the 130 as it sounds great on 70's Billy Joel album tracks such as James and Los Angelenos.

On my Juno I reprogrammed a sound with more chorus to give it an effect similar to Rosalinda's Eyes

Just some clarification:

Both the 150 and 350 can be connected as MIDI controllers through USB, right? Its just that the 350 also has the MIDI ports in the back?

Thanks!

DavidC, correct.

Only if you connect the 150 to a computer.

Thats very cool Mike! I can't wait to buy/try it. Is there a music rest for that model or did you just not attach it?

Good question. Music rest for the 350?

Yes there is a music rest.

Hi, folks -
my first post here ;-)
I am concerned about the midi implementation on the PX-350:
I own a PX-330, and was disappointed with the fact that incoming midi cannot control the high quality tones - the ones that you play from the PX keyboard! Incoming midi only controls the tone module for the auto accomp. The PX-330 actually has 48-parts (!) - but sadly only the last 16 is available to trigger from other keyboards. And those are the cheezy GM-ones....(I had to struggle through the PX-330 MIDI-implementation pdf to learn this:
http://support.casio.com/manualfile.php?rgn=5&cid=008009141)

Does anybody know (Mike?) if this will be the same in PX-350? I often use multi-keyboard setups, and need the flexibility to trigger (the best) piano sounds from external keyboards. The midi implementation manual is not up on Casio's download site yet....

Dax,
Bank changes allow you to access all of the sounds. Without a bank change you are limited to the GM bank, this is true of any GM compatible product.

Yes of course, I left it in the box. ;-)

I believe that is incorrect. You should be able to trigger any PX-330 tone from an external MIDI source (another MIDI keyboard or a sequencer) by sending the correct MSB with the Program Change on the desired channel. The MSB for each high quality tone is listed in the owner manual. No MSB (MSB=0) get you only GM. You have to send the MSB/LSB data in order to access all the tones on any instrument that has more than 128 sounds in it.

You are correct Scott, if for example you use Bank Select MSB 48 & program 1 you get the Modern Grand patch.
But if you fail to provide a bank select, then bank 0 is the default and program change 1 gives you GM Piano 1.

My Sonic Cell does the same thing, if I don't choose a bank I get general midi only. Some controllers are much easier to set bank information. On my Kurzweil SP4-7, to get the Preset 1 bank on my Sonic Cell I have to do some arithmetic which ends up coming out to 5200. I don't remember the exact formula but it like Bank number MSB * 128 + patch number not very intuitive, but once you know it its not difficult. My guitar synth controller (axon) on the other hand has software that has separate entries for MSB and patch number. The software on it also reads cubase patch scripts and gives a drop down list in the software, sweet! And Roland has a cubase patch scripts for all of its products! That makes it dead simple to call up any patch and layer it with the internal synth sounds or other Sonic Cell patches. The Kurzweil is a nice controller but the external patch selection could be simpler and more intuitive.

Mike, any idea of whether or not I can expect to see a 350 on display at a Best Buy?

I'd love to try it out!!

Mike, Kbeaumont, Anotherscott,

Thanx for enlightening me!

" ...if for example you use Bank Select MSB 48 & program 1 you get the Modern Grand patch.
But if you fail to provide a bank select, then bank 0 is the default and program change 1 gives you GM Piano 1."

Of course it was the MSB message that was missing. Found it in the user manual. Seems I misunderstood the MIDI-implementation chart....sorry if I confused anybody. Now I can implement my PX-330 in my Mainstage setups - using "local off" and bank/prog changes, it's dead easy to quickly create and change multisplits/layers without having to dive into PX menus. Now the PX-350 is even more attractive with its new soundbanks!

Mainstage Rocks!

Hello,

Can you please tell me if any of the Casio px 350 buttons are able to assigned as midi functions? Specifically, the transports buttons ( play, stop, record). I'd like to use this kb together with logic 9 if possible.

At Best Buy? Highly doubtful. Best Buy keyboards usually max out at around $500 or so.

The first of our PX-150's arrived. I unboxed one this afternoon and while a couple of things stood out to me, I am overall very pleased. I invite anyone who can to come down to try one. Coming soon to a dealer near you. It is quite different from the PX-130...really it's only the controls that seem similar.

No PX-350 yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

As someone else pointed out, I seriously doubt you see PX-350 on display at Best Buy though a few stores may try it out. But then at my local Best Buy, friendly though they were, they didn't even know were the power button was on the PX-130.

Sounds good Sam - the PX-150 looks like it may further reinforce Casio's reputation as a serious player in the DP world...especially at this price level.

On a separate note, is there a reason you do not mention Casio and Roland in your signature?

Cheers,
James
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