I thought too there must be a symmetrical second square hole for attaching the music rest, albeit I am belonging to the outside - not to say to the downside, because I am supposed to be the King (the highly wooed custumer).

Nah can't be the PX4.

Asians would never buy it, what with 4 being super unlucky.

As with the NAMM website, its the PX5.

Yes that number 4 thing is downright bizarre. I've got two "4"s on my car number plate, and some people that were about to get in looked at the car, then looked me up and down as if I was some kind of an idiot, and said "is this yours?" (there were no other cars there). They did eventually get in. They had just come out of an office tower with no level 4, too.

Greg.

Greg, at least we know now that You cannot be a taxi driver.

But 4 is such a low number - how can one avoid it all the time?

In my country is 13 the unlucky one. It seems more appropriate to be as a valid candidate (a prime number).

The site says Introducing Privia PRO - Shattering Expectations with Exciting New Pianos. So maybe it's the Privia PRO PX-5S.

Particularly when you've got Benford's law disproportionally shoving small numbers at you.

Every time I hear the name Casio I keep remembering the awful (sorry) toy keyboards from Casio and Bontempi I grew up with.

So I have a visceral reaction every time I see the picture Mike posted where I first think 'looks interesting' until I read the Casio name and the next thought becomes 'oh it's just a toy' .

I have to get over that because it looks truly interesting.

Casio keeps piling up the key buy awards issued by Keyboard Magazine. Over the last few years, Privias are being used by more pro musicians. While this is the same company that made those toy keyboards, it has grown up a lot since then and if you haven't noticed they offer some pretty capable products at very reasonable prices.

I know. It's just hard to change your preconceptions some time.

Thanks Galaxy! We just found out about 2 big awards which will be announced here at the show.

I'm certainly used to hearing comments like Nigeth's but less and less over the last couple years in particular. Our theme for the show is Shattering Expectations, I think once you hear what this new product sounds like of it might change his mind as well as some others.

I think Casio sometimes gets a bad rap about its history, in that even when it was making all those "toys" it was still making cool stuff. Think about things like the VZ-1/10-M, AZ-1, MZ-2000. And the earlier Privia pianos were still very respectable, too. And the stuff is always pretty dependable. I don't think Casio has so much to apologize for! Just because all the "toy" boards you've seen have been Casios, that has never meant that everything Casio has made has been a toy.

I totally agree - Casio warrants just as much respect as Roland, Korg, etc.

I lol'd at this..funny, but could be true.. Btw: is it the Chinese specifically that are not fond of # 4? Or Asians?

Gatsbee13: The passengers I mentioned earlier were anglo-saxon. ;^)

Greg.

I gotta say - you two (James and Mike) are doing it right. By simply having a human presence in these forums, you are providing a real glimpse into Kawai and Casio that contrasts sharply with the inscrutable competition about which there is only uninformed speculation. Even without spilling any serious beans, your posts indicate that your companies care about the user community (or at least don't mind you fraternizing with us).

The two "teased" machines are the main reason I've been waiting for NAMM instead of making a snap decision on the boat piano, and I'm obviously not alone.

Just thought I'd raise a glass in toast to you guys...

Steve

The Chinese character for the number 4 has (almost) the same pronunciation sound ("shi") as the character for death. This is why Chinese and Japanese people believe the number is unlucky, and tend to avoid using it for floor numbers, apartment numbers, etc.

This is also why there are no K-4, RX-4, or SK-4 Kawai acoustic pianos.

Kind regards,
James
x

I used to work in a town where all the phone numbers (including ours) started with 666. The first time I got comments about it, I didn't even know what they were talking about!

id still take a Yamaha CF4 though.. perfect size for my living room...

I see you missed Kawai out there

I was at NAMM and got to see the PX-5s first hand! That "thing" on the back is what I've been waiting for in a keyboard for YEARS (decades actually). Its a battery compartment!!!
Yes - you can now have an excellent fully weighted 88-key board that weighs 24 lbs and can run on 8 AA batteries!! Think about it... couple that with a Roland KC-110 stereo keyboard amp (runs on batteries) and you can play anywhere in the world!!! Have a party in the woods or forest, or entertain the neighborhood if there was a power failure or any number of scenarios!

I remember the days when "sounds like a Casio" was the worst insult you could hurl at a keyboard. How times change.

Wow, you could always hack up a power pod for the plug, get a few nimhs, and run it through an adjustable switching dc-dc vrm, for power on the go.

This observation bears repeating.

Wonder what the play time will be for your mentioned combination?

About 4 hours I'd guess ... A ba-330 is going to sound a lot better though

Seems I remember a video with Mike & Steve Fortner of Keyboard Magazine where Mike said 6 hours.