Hi, I'm new here (as a member) but have been following the posts for a little while. I am planning to get the Casio Privia px200, was pleased with what has been said about it on this forum, and I like the features and the cost. I actually tried out a Privia px 310 in a store and the action seemed alright, and the sound from the speakers was ok (limited time playing with the saleslady hovering around), but it was about $1200 Cdn - way too steep for a older model Privia.
I have come across some info here on the forum about sofware (midi, sequencing) and hardware (M Audio), but I am really a newbie and I'd like to get some recommendations about what is a reasonably good (feature wise, cost-wise) setup to get around the time I get the Casio px200. Thanks in advance.

I bought Cakewalk USB Music Pack. This comes with the USB to MIDI interface and Cakewalks Music Creator softwar, their home version of Sonar.

I also have the cables I need to hook it up to my laptop mic input. One cable with twin 1/4" mono male jacks to a single 1/8" stereo male jack.

I could get better sound with an external sound adaptor, but I haven't invested in that yet.

Rich

Quick two penneth...


Before settling on the PX-200, I would check out its MIDI capabilities if I were you.

It's low on MIDI features, and that may or may not matter to you. Depending on what you want to do, you may be in for a tough time in 'talking' to your sequencer.

J

Ooo, we just ordered this package today! Any thoughts on how well it does or doesn't work?

Hi Mechanical Doll,

It works great. You can record many different tracks, both MIDI and audio and mix them together. You can select which track to record, which to mute, turn on or off the metronome, view in piano roll or score mode, etc. It has a lot of functionality. The full Sonar versions allow even more, but for what I do, it is more than good enough.

The USB MIDI converter has worked very well. I bought some teach yourself to play software with an adaptor and I could not get that one to work. The one with this pack works every time.

Rich

Thanks for the info Rich!

If I may, one more question - how long is the cable? We actually started shuffling around our setup this evening, and it occurs to me I'm probably going to need to keep the keyboard within easy reach of the laptop. I'd just like a rough idea of how much room I have to work with.

The cable's about 6 feet long. You still want your laptop close, because you will create a track, set it up to record, press the record button and start playing. I have a small occasional table at the end of my PX310 for my laptop, and it's the best location I've found. It does take me a moment to shift back on the bench and start playing, but you can also remove the blank space at the beginning and end of tracks, so that's not a big deal.

Rich

thanks for the info Dragon. I am planning to buy the px200 later this year, so it's good to know you're using the USB pack with px310. i read earlier that the px200 is pretty low on MIDI features - is that your experience? I would think the both pianos would be similar, and the px200 an upgrade in MIDI as well and sound quality. your opinion? thanks