If the PX5S has the sound that it says it does, I would like to thank Mike Martin for showing up on these forums and gathering "intelligence" from the actual community that plays these instruments that companies manufacture. While nothing is perfect and we as keyboard players are a picky bunch, I want to thank Casio for using their most advance technology to not only reproduce the piano sounds but actually export it to other key categories like, vintage electric pianos! From what information is available the vintage EP's are AIR powered and include release sounds and amp simulators. Plus it looks like Casio did not skimp on AP sounds and features. It looks like the PX5 has all of the capabilities that the AIR engine can provide "unlocked". For a possible street price of 1k or so this PX5 is definitely sounding like a "must buy" and really will give the big companies a run for their money ( literally because Casio will have it, lol).
Once again Mike thank you for listening to us and helping Casio to possibly create the gigging keyboardist's dream axe!

Well I too am grateful for manufacturer representatives on this forum, but you are hereby awarded the OBN.

Does it have weighted keys?

Man you make it sound as if Mike is personally hand assembling them himself!

Nah man, just saying he's been on here and other forums really getting input from players and sending back that info to Casio. James from Kawai is another asset that we have here. I just wish more companies would have people like them that really look for input from the actual musicians that play these instruments.

I really hope this thing lives up to the hype. I got excited about previous Casio offerings, and while good, and innovative in many respects, they didn't compete at the Roland/Kawai level. I would love it if this one does.

Some specs on the PX-5S at http://www.casiomusicgear.com/products/menu_privia/PX-5S

Specs don't say weighted like the other privas do, which leads me to believe they aren't weighted keys? :-(

88-key, Tri-sensor Scaled Hammer Action II - This means that have the same action of the PX150/350.

If that's the case, considering all the good reviews, I believe I'm ready to order.

I think you should wait a little. The PX-5S will take a few weeks to be shipping...

Man, I sure would be curious to know what they mean when they say it has an 8 track sequencer capable of storing 1000 phrases. Does that mean it's not like a regular sequencer and ONLY stores phrases? If it IS like a regular 8 track sequencer, I wonder what the total number of notes is. Enlightenment?

I'm sure glad I saved all those 8 track cassettes!

PX5S vs. PX780- which one wins out?
Seems it would come down to EP's and Organs + monitors vs. Internal speakers

I think they kinda have different feature sets. The 780 is just a slim console 350, yeah? PX-5S looks geared towards real time adjustments on the fly probably.

I'm liking what I see in the PX-5S. It reminds me of an Alesis QS8 that I had.
Still in use at my daughters school. At 24 lbs. I'm very interested had back surgery
for ruptured discs several years ago and have to watch what and how much I lift.
I already have keyboard amps and powered monitors that I can hook it up to.
Can't wait to give it a spin.

Not even close. I actually don't know whether the organs are any better or not, but the PX5S has tons of stuff that the PX780 doesn't. Tons of MIDI controller functionality, lots more sounds, extensive editabiliy, and 256 voice polyphony, to start. But you do lose the drum machine!

Marvin,
It looks to have the phrase sequencer from the XW-P1. I think it allows you to build a sequence through layering sounds. You can activate it either on the fly and record as you play or pre record your phrases and access them on the fly as you are playing live. Check youtube for demos and tutorials on it for more info.

Thanks for the head's up. Will have to check it out.

Thank you Rhodie73 and others for the comments. The PX-5S is the most remarkable instrument I've ever been involved with. I've been working on the preset sounds that we're using here NAMM for the last few weeks. It's depth and range of sounds is truly unique and it is far from anything you've ever heard from Casio before. We should have some videos and audio clips up after NAMM.

Most tempting.... looking forward to trying one. Looks like an excellent cost/performance ratio!

Wonder what the action feels like? If that is good, I might have to invest in it.

Mike, do you know if the PX5s will be available in Australia? I was most peeved to discover that the XW-P1 wasn't being sold here.

88 key triple sensor hammer action, 256 poly and only 24 ponds ? The PX-3 was a great controller and had some pretty good onboard sounds as well. This ups the ante a bit ....except my god it's one ugly beast

It is sold in Australia ... just took a while to get there.

I found a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfIMTbOg20I

Now I want a PX-5! Joe Sample can make any keyboard magic.

Dr. P, you'd be surprised at what you can accomplish with a can of black spray-paint....

K.

Your just jealous of my black nord ....

Hey mike,

Does the 5S carry the same weighted keys and keybed as the new Privias? Does it have after touch and lastly and most important when will it ship?

Thank you for your time! I'm between this and the new kurzweil sp5-8

Yes it is a weighted board. PX-5S is in the Privia family which all have weighted scaled hammer action. Casio just makes one keybed for all it's digitals and that includes the Celvianos.

Thanks for clarifying galaxy. I guess this would mean no after touch since the other models don't. Still wondering about the release date.

Shipping is late March, early April.

And as to the point early on in this thread about Mike hand-assembling these - it seems he has been, kind of! He's been spending sleepless nights programming the EPs, and they are beginning to sound very good indeed.

So, yes, thank you Mike, and I may well be another eager customer.

Oii march -April is so far away

@Mike Martin

Nice video for Kraft. Can you say what pedal unit you were using? It seemed to have two pedals. And was that the Yamaha set list app?

So now its a real machine and people have seen it, can someone tell us what the mysterious slot thing is on the back that we were all pontificating on wildly?

Battery slot ....

Wow, great to see Joe Sample tearing it up!

For those interested, the name of this tune is "Put it where you want it", originally from the Crusaders' '1' album (the first recorded without the band's 'Jazz' prefix). Here's a pretty cool (albeit heavily edited) live performance of the tune from 1974 (the Ali-Fraiser 'Rumble in the Jungle' concert):



I really love the the Jazz Crusaders late 60s and Crusaders early 70s sound...it's a shame there are not more live recordings and videos from this period.

Anyway, back on topic, the PX-5S sounds pretty impressive. Definitely going to have to seek this board out once it's launched in Japan.



Seriously?

James
x

Yup, Mike Martin says in the video that it can run on eight AA batteries...

At least noone saw it coming. And I can't imagine who would want it, either. Never seen a piano busker. Maybe it's a Japanese thing?

EDIT: By the way, the Internet claims that AA batteries were introduced in 1907. Who knew.

Yes, it's common to see youngsters (and sometimes oldsters) playing and singing out in public in Japan, especially outside train stations. Often these artists have their own cult following, selling CDs of their recordings. It's pretty cool. Definitely one of the things I love about this unique country.

James
x

I heard Mike has been busy hand-winding transformers for the power adapters and rolling foil and plastic for the capacitors. He's a very handy guy.

Did Mike say how long the PX5s will last on batteries?

The little square hole on the back looks like USB to host, and not a music rest mount. See 4:40 in the video above with Mike Martin.

Yep - can run on 8 AA batteries... I've been waiting for years (decades) for a pro board (88 weighted keys) that's light weight (24 lbs) that can run on batteries!!!! Couple that puppy with a Roland KC-110 stereo keyboard amp (also runs on batteries) and you can play ANYWHERE!!! Great for outdoor parties. Thank you Casio, and thank you Mike Martin!! BTW: finally got to meet Mike in person at NAMM... great guy!

hey casio, check out this thread:

http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthrea...tml#Post2022510

let me know what you think about the pedals.

@Mike Martin ; if the PX5S is not in production yet, would it be possible at all to do something about the design esthetics before it runs of the production line ? Even if it was only making it all black that would already do a lo of good IMHO. My impression is that almost everyone is impressed by the keybed, sound and things the px can do, but hardly anyone praises how it looks. It's probably too late, but I'd thought I'd mention it anyway. Perhaps a better looking PX5 BK is already planned or some design (color?) tweaks have indeed been implemented before the production started, I don't know...

Ps was it a prototype at Namm ? That would perhaps explain why it looked so "patched and stitched together" on the YouTube reviews.

Don't get me wrong - I'm quite impressed by the PX5 (I was already pleasantly surprised by the normal PX series and the PX5 has filled in many request that remained, like good EP's) . It's just it's appearance that spoils it in my opinion - but perhaps it doesn't matter and it will sell anyway...

i think the px-5s looks ok, it looks distinctive, one look and i know it is a px-5s.

Anything but all black! One of the worst things about the PX3 (and even worse on the black PX330) was that it was very difficult to quickly and reliably operate their black-on-black panels on a stage (or any environment without optimum lighting). The new design is a welcome functional improvement there.

Mike, can you do a test for me on the PX5s? The fast repetition test... And post it as a video for us?

Don't mean to jump on stylistic bandwagons but I'm gonna'. I owned the PX3 and the black on black look was extremely difficult to read(sorry JFP) in many environments. The new look is an improvement. Just my opinion:)
Of course I haven't seen it in person. I have a question for those who have played it.
Does the chassis seem firmer than the 350?.

coincidentally- in November I had purchased an extra pair of Mackie MR5's- and white ones!! Maybe this is destiny!

I would just need to paint the monitor stands white!!!

Quote: "I owned the PX3 and the black on black look was extremely difficult to read(sorry JFP) in many environments. "

OK, point taken; perhaps not all black then, but at least 'something' to get rid of the toy-like / plastic look it now seems to have. There must be more classy color combinations, that are still readable in different circumstances, can't believe that this was the only possible design for Casio to come up with.

Anyway - still a very promising product. l

From the stage angle (backside) it looks decent enough.



From a working angle I cannot really tell because that particular blue hue on white does not read accurately in photographs. It would be good if they added a light to the on/off button. The panel text and buttons are similar to those on the PX350 and I reach for the closest lit button instead of the unlit on/off button all of the time.

Located an image that can be enlarged quite a bit:

(Click to enlarge)




I don't think the color scheme looks any worse than the Yamaha MO or the Motif XS:

Nah its a shocker from there as well .....






Yeah but they are just plain and boring ...not hideously and offensively ugly like the PX-5S ... but don't just go on the pictures and videos because in the flesh it looks even worse.

Function over form!

Casio seems to get "hands-on market research", "function over form" and "value for money". Perhaps they should make the PX5S even uglier to make sure it stands out and to bring the point home.... For example, thrifty retail stores such as ALDI have even found that their sales go down the nicer they make their stores look. A good looking store with labour-intensively mirrored shelves just doesn't match the idea of cheap. For many purchase decisions, the perception of a "good deal" unconsciously relies on picking up on cues that indicate that less money was obviously "wasted" on aesthetics or superficial, in-the-way of usability design.

At under 750 euros "self import" price, this board would seem to be destined to become the must have, good value, it does what you want it to do, ugly little keyboard you can't resist buying.

In the meantime many firms have grown really big with form over function marketing, whilst others who purely stuck to the function no-nonsens approach have faltered. Design IS an important part of the product as a whole these days - at least it will help boost sales a little more.

I agree that in basis the feature set and functional implementation of these features should be done well. But then the finishing step should still be design (actually it should be part of the whole product development process - you can't disconnect these two concepts).

Casio doesn't seem to care and due to the low price they will indeed sell anyway; but would it do any harm to have someone with a good eye and sense for classy design details have a say in the product development at Casio ? I doubt it would make these products much more expensive.

Maybe next year...

With this one I actually think it cost them MORE money to make it ugly then it would have to make it nice .... It's almost like they deliberately tried to make it as cheap and nasty looking as they could or ... Whoever designed it had absolutely no taste and neither did their guide dog.

My only complaint is that it would be nice if they silk screened the raised lettering on the back connector labels in a contrasting color. I don't read Braille.

Yeah... the jacks are labeled on top, but if the board is on the bottom of a two-tier stack, and you're trying to wire it up from the back in less than ideal lighting, forget it.

But the funny thing is, from looking at the sonicstate video, the Audio In jack is nicely labeled on the back! That makes it even more odd that the other jacks aren't similarly labeled.

Guys, the unit we had at NAMM was not final some of the labeling will change. They're all labeled on top. I'll confirm what will be done on the back.

Thanks Mike, its a pet peeve of mine with my PX-330 the labels are unreadable in a dark room / stage.
This looks like the top labels will be easily readable.

Normally I'd agree with you but style people are on a rampage lately. They take perfectly designed and functional items like garden shears, toothbrushes, sneakers, etc. and make them look like they came from mars while often removing essential features.

Can anybody explain the differences between a regular sequencer, and the 8 track/1000 phrase jobbie that this one has?

Marvin,
While the Phrase sequencer on the PX-5S could be used to built entire songs, the PX-5S isn't really a workstation. Phrases on the PX-5S can be triggered LIVE from the keyboard. It could be riff or pattern of any kind that you can assign a key or range of keys. The phrase will transpose within the specified range as well.

I'll be adding sounds to the list here:

https://soundcloud.com/casiomusicgear/sets/privia-pro-px-5s

Note that we had the key-release sound on the rhodes sound turned up really high for demo purposes, but it is too loud in this recording. You'll be able to adjust this yourself.

Thanks for the quick reply, Mike.

Btw, that clav-wah sound is deadly! Wow!

Mike,
Does the PX-5S have synth sounds like the XW-P1 or is the synth sound strictly limited to the Hex layer?

It does not have the monophonic solo synth. The hex layer mode is similar in name only. Is a completely different animal on the PX-5S. There is also dramatic control over any of the regular tones, much more so than XW.

Scrap the two tone plastic toy look ....

The color isn't going to change at this point.

Mike,
Does that mean that it has synth patches like the PX-350. Can you load new sounds into it or are you only able to edit the onboard sounds? Will there be firmware updates that will enhance this product?

A suggestion, can you make the LCD bigger? seems like the LCD is small (it won't even display "grand piano concert" fully). see how the LCD has giant bezel around it, it could stand the LCD could use some biggining, perhaps on the PX-6S?

It has individual synth patches with full editing and insert effects. You change the sound of everything. Each category of sound has user banks. Firmware updates are possible but not guaranteed.

As long as we're talking about fundamental design changes for a future model, I'd like to get away from those thin rectangular buttons. Or at the very least, create more empty space between them. When two buttons practically butt up against each other, it makes it much harder to do things by feel, and much easier to accidentally hit an adjacent button. The buttons on older models like the PX-310 were much nicer to use.

Mike,

Does this mean that you will not be able to load new sounds or share user sounds? Watching you in one of the videos I thought you described that you would be able to load new sounds and that Casio would have sound libraries at some point. (It is all a blur, reading comments and watching videos, so I could be confused. It would take a lot of time to study everything I have read to find references to post ).

Yes you'll be able to load and share custom patches.

You don't need a larger display to fit a title. You only need one if the content is illegible. The name is not as important as familiarity with its sound. They could use shorter names like Piano1, Piano2, and so on. They could make a chart for the manual defining what each name is: Piano1 = Grand Piano Concert

The display size might become less of an issue given that some of the NAMM videos showed the PX5S can have its patches controlled via an ipad. One assumes that there could be more detail on the ipad screen about the various patches and settings.

Then fire the nutcases responsible and move onto the PX-6

It's possible that you are too attached to the piano motif. The PX5S is not a digital piano. It is breed of synthesizer with weighted keys. Look at the diversity of models in synthesizers past and present, including Casio, Oberhiem, E-mu systems, Moog, Farfisa, Arp, Korg, Sequential Circuits, Roland, Kurzweil, Alesis, Yamaha, etc. in the world of synthesizers the PX5S is beautiful. I suspect that you are mesmerized by UDS, ugly duckling syndrome. The PX5S is not a duck. It is a swan.

It's ugly. Period.

And it's absolute great in terms of features and control.

If it has professional aspirations as a killer board , why not give it a professional look instead of a toy exterior. It will help generating even more sales and acceptation among demanding customers.

I'm not attached to pianos at all ... I own far more synth's including nearly all the brands you have listed the most beautiful keyboard I own is my Yamaha DX1. As a Synth ..the PX-5S is ugly... as a stage piano its horrendous. My main point is who on earth approves these things ? Do they not question the styling ?

This is my point exactly ...there was no need to give it the silly colour scheme. It just makes it look cheap and not a professional instrument. Yamaha's PSR's and Tyros's are amazingly boards with great features yet no professional would be caught dead on stage playing one for years because of they way they look. Last year Yamaha brings out a black pro looking Tyros and presto ...a few have appeared on stages now.

Yamaha's PSR's and Tyros's are amazingly boards with great features yet no professional would be caught dead on stage playing one for years because of they way they look. Last year Yamaha brings out a black pro looking Tyros and presto ...a few have appeared on stages now.

Really?? That makes professionals look petty, superficially minded and monstrously conservative if this is the real reason they would not use those keyboards.

Maybe but it's a fact ... Image is important often more important then the music ... It's how you get Keisha

I actually like the looks of the PX5S. Black on Black is too damn hard to see. Of course appearance is subjective but the PX5S also looks to be quite functional as well.

I think the point is made about the looks of the new PX5S - now let them (Casio) chew on it. Perhaps Mike can bring over the remarks without being fired ;-) And congratulate them simultaneously on bringing out such a great piece of equipment ! It seems to be really good, it's just....you know...

I think the black bit on the end looks sort of alluring, like a woman wearing one of those black and white gowns:



Greg.

Yes, fair enough - it's true. But what do you mean by Keisha? Wiki lists these possibilities:


Keisha Buchanan, a singer-songwriter
Keisha Castle-Hughes, a film actress
Keisha Jackson, an R&B singer
Heather Keisha Hunter, major porn star, minor rap artist
Keisha Kane, a porn star
Keisha White, an R&B singer
Keisha-Dean Soffe, a weightlifter
Keisha (Raquel Rene Rios), a porn star

Try ke$ha .....you should know her considering she's got a Juno 60

Sugababes? Keisha Buchanan born in 1984...same year as the Juno 60, afaicr.

My Juno 60 was sold years ago - went towards the ESQ1, probably.

Nah if you don't know the Kesha I'm talking bout don't worry ... Your lucky

Hear, hear. And let this be the last we speak of her...

Well, thank you for the advice, and I'll look no further....but yes - I haven't got a clue who you're talking about.

Each category of tones has a user area for custom versions. So any variations you make can be saved and also saved to a USB drive.

What is particularly unique about the PX-5S is that Stage Settings will contain all of the necessary components. In other words, if I build a Stage Setting that has 4 zones and I adjust all 4 of the sounds that are being used, create a custom arpeggio and more...all of that is stored within the Stage Setting. This makes it very easy to share complex configurations.

I'm rather intrigued with the concept of the black and white look of the PX-5s, but I really wish that Casio had done it with the swank of a tuxedo. Black with white trim, or white with black trim would have looked a lot better than this.

Well at least there will be no mistaking who's playing a Casio from now on. And I'm sure we'll all get used to it. It's gonna be in a lot of rigs, so I guess we'd better

It's Ke$ha, without an "i" ...

1) Does the PX-5S have the short initial decay problem that another member said the PX-150/350 has?

2) I am mainly interested in the grand piano sound, does the PX-5S come with a improved grand piano sound than the PX-150/350? Or the same thing?

3) What pedal does the PX-5S some with?

The PX-5S has the same AP sample as the the rest of the new line of Casios. I think you have more control to edit and shape the sounds on it. And it seems that new sounds can be loaded into it. As far as the pedal,it probably comes with the standard SP-3. As far as the sustain of the sample, it is improved over the last generation and all older Casios. However, it clearly doesn't please everybody.

I have been listening to YouTube videos of the PX-150 to try and hear it. Does the PX-150 and PX-5S both have such alleged problems?

I do want a definite reply from people who have played the piano and others as well to do a comparison.

Adak,
The only real way to assess if this will be a problem for you is to play it yourself. Youtube videos are not a reliable way to determine this. I don't rely on the audio from a youtube clip to be the judge and jury of the sound quality of an instrument. It has definite limitations. The only way to properly assess the Casio is to play it in person and bring a good pair of headphones with you. That way you can compare the sound between other pianos for yourself. And don't forget to pay attention to how the action feels. That is more important than the sound. Other people's opinions are useful, but take them with a grain of salt. In the end, you must decide for yourself based on what you like or don't like and can afford.

The alleged problem exists in the PX-150. Since the PX-5S pianos sounds are based on those of the 150/350, it will probably be the same in this respect, but the 5S could have some subtle changes, or at least, more user adjustments which may provide a different effect. You'll have a hard time getting a "definite reply from someone who has played one" since it's not in production yet. The only person here who has played one is Mike from Casio, but even what he has played has been a prototype.

For those of us who are sensitive to this "problem" (in quotes because, again, not everyone sees this as a problem), you can hear it in some Chopin demos Mike posted at http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1967338/14.html - and you'll see in that very thread that people think they sound just fine! Remember that people don't even always agree on which real acoustic pianos sound better than which. So I would say, if those samples sound good to you, I expect you'll be very happy with whichever current Casio model you select. Of course, playing them yourself will be the final arbiter.

I think it would be a mistake to judge the piano in the PX-5S based on the pianos in any of the other models. Our ability shape this sound and contour its response is quite remarkable. We can make it play the same as the PX-850, but we can also make it play and feel dramatically different. We still have about 2 months before the PX-5S ships so between now and then I'll get into some more detail.

Is the Air processing for the AP on the PX5 fully unlocked, meaning with all the added resonance and simulation effects that the more expensive models utilize (like the 850). Or is it "limited" to a few extra effects in he same way as the px150.

Mmmm ...prototype unit on NAMM, few months more development. Any room for aesthetic design improvements ? It's the only drawback I can currently think of about the px5, for the rest it seems a very impressive piece of gear.

JFP,
The PX-5S goes into production in a couple weeks. I was trying to say that we have a couple months to answer your questions and get demos online before it arrives in stores.

Roll on px6?

And the Air AP processing. Can we expect the same resonance and added effects for the AP as on the px850 ?

Fully enabled and variable. More control than the PX-850

Cool !!!

I wonder how long until GC stocks the PX-5S instead of the PX-3?

Well according to Mike it goes in production in a couple of weeks. Add shipping and distribution and I would say two months ??

I'm sure Mike regrets using that word! Check the page again..

http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1929041/4.html

Nothing was literally "locked" in previous versions, in the sense of "there, but disabled." The 850 did have other features that they were able to implement using the same chip. Likewise, the PX-5S will have features that the 850 didn't have... but that doesn't mean these features were "locked out" in the 850. So "fully unlocked" doesn't really mean anything, there's no specific list of features in the chip to turn on or off, they are just continuing to engineer improvements into higher end and newer models, using their AIR technology,

No music stand! Mike, where I can put my real book ??? ... What a disaster...

Wow! That puts enormous pressure on finalizing the presets. Who's doing that - you guys or is it being done in Japan? Is there a specific date set where that's it and nothing else can be changed?

Just wondering how the mechanics of a mass produced rollout like this work.

Looks like an external power supply. What are the chances of getting an internal power supply? I wouldn't mind paying extra money for it.

Well: 0 % chance...; they could throw out the batteries and build a power unit in there, but batteries is one of the sales arguments for the PX5.

Perhaps if you indicate exactly how much extra money you'll be willing to fork over , they will be convinced to do it ;-)

Mod it yourself. Put the external power unit inside. Make sure it's not going to overheat etc. Oops about the warranty.

One thing that's nice about the newer external power supplies that Casio uses is that they are not "wall warts" -- instead they are the "lump in the middle" style, with a removable power cord of common design. It would be cool if the power supply were small enough to fit in the battery compartment. (And you could even cut a hole for the power cord itself.) If you could leave it in there, you'd never worry about leaving it behind! I doubt it will be quite that small, though. (There would also be the question of whether the power supply, if operated so close to the electronics, might induce any hum/buzz problems in some situations.)

Good idea about it fitting in the battery compartment. But in reality, Casio made a good choice by doing it the way they did. First, internal power supplies get hot (heat damages electronic components) and/or shortens their life. Second, internal power supplies add considerable weight compared to the rest of the internal parts. Third, without extra shielding (more material/weight) hum could be introduced. Fourth, if anything goes wrong with an internal power supply you need to take the entire unit in for repair.

It also shares the same power supply as many other models like the PX-150 and PX-350. So the power supplies are easy to find at nearly any Casio dealer if you ever need a spare. Of course the batteries will also be handy if you ever leave your power supply behind.

I will take an inline power supply any day. To me its an acceptable compromise. Its the wall warts I absolutely detest. I keep the power supply in the case, I never forget to bring it. Unlike the damper pedal!

The fact that it can use batteries should also mean that if you're using AC power and for some reason the power goes out (someone walks near the cord and knocks it loose), the batteries should kick in right away, acting as a UPS. Not sure if they implemented it this way but if they did, that's a huge plus during a public performance!

"Rat in the snake"

If you punch "casio px-5s" into google, it is listed for pre-order for just $999.