Wm. Busch has brought his software libraries into his Kronos. Maybe that's as close as we come to the holy grail today! Check from msg# 2436630 on at http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2437902/3 and the page that follows. Also http://thekronosblog.blogspot.com/2012_12_01_archive.html

I'm looking at this thing really hard too. I had some Privia about 5 years ago that was nice and ended up moving on to a Kawai MP5 for the control and splits, etc. The 45 pound weight is a pain to lug around with the MP5 and the piano sounds are about equal.

Now with the PX5s being several generations more advanced than my old Privia it must beat down the Kawai MP5 in piano sound and now it has all the other sounds and split capabilities at like 20 pounds. I do like the MP5 action a lot but the old Privia was pretty close.

I like the black and white look, I just wish that they had an option for a music rest. Other than that this thing looks to be just what the doctor ordered.

"I like the black and white look, I just wish that they had an option for a music rest."

This! very much this. I keep hoping that the final design will include one, but I'm not sure it will. I'm flabbergasted that some DP manufacturers don't offer one. I understand that it's a stage piano, but I really don't understand why there's not even an option to get a music rest. It's not like it's rocket science to add one to the design.

If you're creative, you can probably figure out something for a music rest. The plastic ones that come with some stage pianos are flimsy. OK for sheet music, but forget about a big heavy fake book. I think a lot of people have gone to an iPad and iRealb.

galaxy4t, yes, I can come up with some kludge to hold my sheets and fake books. Why should I? That's just stupid design, forcing your customer to come up with inelegant and inconvenient solutions to a problem that you could EASILY solve without any real increase in cost to your product. I mean seriously, drill a couple of holes and sell sheet music rest as an optional extra for a reasonable price. I would be *VERY* interested in buying a PX5s, but the lack of a sheet music rest is a dealbreaker for me. Maybe I'm the only person on the planet that feels that that way, and that's o.k, there are lots of other people who will buy this board. I just think it's silly for casio not to do it, because maybe there are a lot of potential sales that won't be made for its lack.

I have one of those. Used it with the RD-700SX. Not bad at all, with the main disadvantage being that it added another 1kg to the already unbearable weight of the piano and it could easily roll over if handled roughly.

Indeed, I can't really understand what's so wrong about providing the most basic, plastic detachable note rest which will add $0.50 to the final value.

Did the previous/current PX-3 include a music rest?

James
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Yes, it had one. I'm sure if you searched you'd find just as many people complaining that they don't like the music rest we had on the PX-3.

Right, you can't please everyone...

James
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The reality is that as the "synth" side of the PX-5S really started to develop, there was a lot of discussion as to whether or not the PX-5S would be a Privia or something entirely different. The 2-tone black / white look is actually borrowed right from our XW series synths. Needless to say there are many 88 note synth / piano type objects that don't have them. As mentioned in another thread, there are so many elements in the sound engine that I'm much happier that we were able to get put in rather than something that doesn't have anything to do with the sound of the product like a music rest.

I think the PX-5S looks like a really exciting new keyboard. However I also think they made a mistake in not including a music rest. The PX-3 just fitted into a simple groove in the top of the unit and whilst it was not the greatest design ever it served a basic need. Many people will purchase the new Casio as a gigging keyboard often as a piano rather than a synth and these users are likely to prefer the inclusion of a music rest.

Of course as James illustrates you could just put up a separate music stand behind the keyboard but maybe manufacturers are thinking that no one reads sheet music anymore.

I think Casio made an error here as it is so simple to include a basic music stand and please many potential customers.

Let's support music reading - all 88-note keyboards should have a music rest.

Like so many others, I'm very interested in this board - particularly as a replacement for my FP-4. Unfortunately, the lack of a music rest makes it somewhat less appealing for those times when I need to read music. I have one of those folding stands pictured in James's post above; I wouldn't trust a large music pad or book on one of those in a performance situation. Carrying a heavy-duty stand just makes it more of a hassle. Result? I'm returning to the Nord Piano for the time being. But the PX-5S remains high on my list of possible future band instruments. It seems that Casio is really trying to create a remarkable new flagship out of the PX-5S, and I sincerely hope it's a runaway success.

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I'm sure there are far more robust music stands available - that one sells for just 12.00 GBP on Amazon.

The point I wished to make was that the lack of music rest shouldn't be considered a 'deal breaker' when there are plenty of other solutions available.

Cheers,
James
x

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James,
You're correct, but for me the plenty of other solutions which are available include the many different rigs that include a sheet music rest. I'm not saying that with malice, I want Casio to have a huge runaway success with this board (and I really think it will be). Of course I'm aware that free standing sheet music rests exist, but they inconvenient for all the reasons others have stated. And for me, there's one more. I'm interested in getting a new keyboard for my office, but I have very limited space. Having one of those beasts behind my keyboard would probably make it too cramped for me, but it would definitely spoil one of the great advantages of the PX5s (the narrow front to back width of the board). And aesthetically the stand is just an eyesore. So yes, for me it's probably going to be a deal breaker. I think it's a shame because I'd almost definitely get one otherwise; it looks like it will be a heck of a lot of fun to play with.

Warm regards,

So many players are putting PDFs of their music on iPads now... and there are plenty of iPad stands of every imaginable type, I'm sure there is something that would fit nicely on the Casio. I use a Satechi R1, which manages to fit on just about anything. Very stable (you could add velcro if need be), folds small and flat.

I find the ipad's 10? inch screen too small for sheet music, the notes must be tiny. I just measured a sheet of paper and it is 14 inches diagonal. How do people even manage reading sheet music on a small screen such as an ipad?

adak,
It's actually a usable solution for some people. You don't have to show the entire score at once, just two or three lines with the ipad in landscape orientation can be quite readable. It also has an advantage that you can get a bluetooth foot switch to signal page turns.

We just added a 10 electric piano demos to our soundcloud page -

https://soundcloud.com/casiomusicgear/

Mike,
What are the synth patches like? Is it the hex layer or other patches? How many sounds in the 5S?

There are few on the page right now but we'll be adding more. To show off some of the synth stuff combined with the arpeggiators:

https://soundcloud.com/casiomusicgear/px-5s-p-xperience

https://soundcloud.com/casiomusicgear/privia-px-5s-arpeggiation-and

Piano layered with big HexLayer:
https://soundcloud.com/casiomusicgear/privia-pro-px-5s-intro

I think total number of preset tones is 370. Of that we made 100 Stage Settings - which have complete knob/slider assignments.

Mike,
EP patches sound very nice. Pity none of these are in the current PX-X50 series. Maybe in another 3 years?

Difficult to say without playing and gauging the response, but those EPs sound like they may be as good as in any sample-based DP currently available - regardless of cost. Great job, Mike and Casio!

I have no problem putting them against any DP current available regardless of price or color. Keep in mind we're just showing a small taste of what this can do, the variety that the engine is capable of is quite remarkable.

Someone is going to have pull their finger out of those Swedish meatballs and get cracking on some new samples...

Agree, they do sound fantastic and competitive with higher priced boards. Hex layer sound samples sound very smooth. The sound is quite amazing to my ears.

Even though I'm primarily a classical player who occasionally dabbles in film music, I'm quite tempted to buy one of these PX-5S machines when they hit the stores for use as a traveling practise instrument because they offer such excellent value for the money, especially given that my FP-7F is way too heavy to lug around. Will this model have a dedicated furniture stand and a three-pedal unit like the PX-150/350?

K.