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Casio Privia PX-S1000 ($600) and S3000 ($800)


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I fully understood what PianoMan Chuck was saying about "less bounce: heavier feel"

I never said that... that was Randelph that you were quoting!

 

I would describe it as "tighter". No, it doesn't hold a candle to a Kawai MP11 or VPC1 (nothing does IMO, but its not $2k-$3k either), but its now a serious contender among all the major players!

 

This is one of the best actions I've tried in this price range. It would actually be perfect if it weren't for the slightly more pressure required when playing close to the fallboard. You tend to notice that when you're looking/testing, but once you start playing it just works. If you watched my video where I played that Queen song, you'll see that I have absolutely no problem with it in any passage of that song (you can especially see it when the camera is switched to the closeup of playing the keys).

PianoManChuck

Authorized reseller: Casio, Dexibell, Kurzweil, Nord, iLoud, Viscount

Keyboard Reviews +

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I picked up an s1000 today at GC and was able to use a 16% off coupon, so out the door for $540. The action feels great and the grand piano and mellow piano both sound great...they actually sound pretty similar. The other pianos sound too bright for my taste. I cant imagine using any of the included electric pianos, they are not good. The vibes and strings are usable and probably the jazz organ could work for left hand bass. I bought it mostly to use as a controller for vsts so Im totally happy. I was going to wait for the 3000 but I doubt the epiano sounds would do it for me, so I couldnt justify the extra money and wait.

 

Can anyone recommend a usb to midi interface? All the ones I see seem to have the flat usb connecter and not the square shaped one.

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Those descriptions of the PX-S1000 (tighter action, less bounce, quieter, nice ivory surface, harder to press close to fallboard) remind me exactly what I felt when I was playing the CDP-S100. So I still think it's the same action. Would be happy to be proven wrong.
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He doesn't start playing until 7:10

 

[video:youtube]

 

Ok, youtube comparisons again. Going to need to have them side by side... but.... using the video as a rough estimate... the acoustic and rhodes sounds on the Yamaha are preferable, ymmv. Are these direct or the camera mic picking up the speakers? because the AP on the video just above off the Casio sounds much better than what we are getting here...

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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Those descriptions of the PX-S1000 (tighter action, less bounce, quieter, nice ivory surface, harder to press close to fallboard) remind me exactly what I felt when I was playing the CDP-S100. So I still think it's the same action. Would be happy to be proven wrong.

Mike Martin has stated they're not the same.

PianoManChuck

Authorized reseller: Casio, Dexibell, Kurzweil, Nord, iLoud, Viscount

Keyboard Reviews +

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Right... the ambiguity is whether the actions are different because of the software (since we know the PX has digital enhancements to the action), or if they are physically different as well. It may be academic, since if it plays differently, then effectively it is different, but if it's just the software processing, I wondered if the difference carries over to how the board triggers external sounds if using it as a VST controller.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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To me this is a special board. Amazing features for the price. The quality of the action, piano sound, while staying under 25 lbs and $600 is unmatched in my opinion. Speakers, Bluetooth audio, and battery power are also great to have. Music stand is nice too.

 

Plenty of value for me but the obvious cons are lack of midi and eps. I would have gladly paid $100 each for those 2 features to be included. It also seems like they should have included an electric and acoustic bass sound on the s1000.

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To me this is a special board. Amazing features for the price. The quality of the action, piano sound, while staying under 25 lbs and $600 is unmatched in my opinion. Speakers, Bluetooth audio, and battery power are also great to have. Music stand is nice too.

 

Plenty of value for me but the obvious cons are lack of midi and eps. I would have gladly paid $100 each for those 2 features to be included. It also seems like they should have included an electric and acoustic bass sound on the s1000.

My prediction:

 

The PX-S boards are right where Casio wants them, replacements/upgrades for the PX-160/350 that gets them in at an aggressive price point while nailing the action, piano sound, weight, battery operation, expression pedal input, etc.

 

I doubt that they'll go further into the arranger line with a MZ-X600, it'd take years and years to gain traction, and the Korg PA 700 has them beat in many respects (only $200 more in the states, 7" display, video out, song book features, more powerful speakers, knob for accompaniment volume, etc.), obviously not in all respects, but still, it'd be a hell of an uphill battle for them in that mid-range arranger market.

 

But where they DO have traction is the with the PX-5S, and all the gains they've made with the PX-S boards.

 

I predict that coming next is the PX-6S, it'd make alot of market sense for them. Put in the new keybed action, ditch the speakers, put in the organ/mixer/hex sliders from the MZ-X boards, solid MIDI controller implementation, some upgraded EP's, an upgrade to the organ from the MZ-X as well as the organ specific buttons, built-in audio interface, mic in, etc.

 

Do all that and you'd have an $1000-1,100 board that would the address the needs of many of us on the forum that are looking for a killer action, decent to great sounds, and controller board capabilities. I imagine half of us regular posters on this forum would snap up a board like that (though I'd want good speakers thrown in myself).

 

Randy

Numa Piano X73 /// Kawai ES920 /// Casio CT-X5000 /// Yamaha EW425

Yamaha Melodica and Alto Recorder

QSC K8.2 // JBL Eon One Compact // Soundcore Motion Boom Plus 

Win10 laptop i7 8GB // iPad Pro 9.7" 32GB

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Check out that backing track before and after the Sound Mode effect at 3:23, a bid EQ change.

 

[video:youtube]

 Find 660 of my jazz piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book."

 

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So far I cant find a way to disable the internal speakers. Hopefully I am just missing something. Function F7 says Speaker Out enable/disable but it doesnt seem to affect the internal or external speakers. If anyone knows anything about this please let me know.

 

Edit: Ok I figured out function F7 will disable the internal speakers -if- you have something plugged in to one of the headphone jacks. External speakers still work with either setting.

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The EPs need to match the quality of the piano though.

The EPs in the PX5S and PX560 are already quite good, there's a nice selection between the stock EPs and the free downloadable ones programmed by Dave Weiser available at the Casio forum. So I expect that future replacements will have at least comparably good EPs, even though they are not in the newer but lower end CT-X and PX-S models.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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I agree on this. Casio is great value for the $. But even they reserve their best stuff for flagships like 5S/560. It would be amazing if the S-1/3000 had everything from the $1k+ models. For me an S3000 would be a slim and light cheap controller with decent piano like-action for a laptop or lower tier for a Kronos 61 or something like that. The onboard sounds are decent enough for around the house and even the casual gig but what were hearing is not necessary thrilling to play beyond the central concept AP patches. Id say the same about Yamaha P125 and the others in its price range.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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General thoughts after a day with the s1000...

 

As far as the look, feel, and piano sound everything has met and even exceeded expectations. I was happy to see the music stand is included and is sturdy and easy to attach/unattach. Bluetooth audio works great and the 2 headphones jacks are a nice touch (even though I would have preferred at least one be quarter inch). Also the organs overall are a little better than expected.

 

Acoustic bass, vibes, and strings are good but nothing amazing. Navigation is as expected...have to remember quite a few button/key combinations. Thankfully you can turn off the noises associated with choosing these functions. Alternatively, you can use the chordana play for piano app. It works fine but that uses up the usb connection.

 

Ep 006 is the Rhodes sound..I suppose its usable but its just ok. Hopefully the s3000 has a better one for those who are waiting on that.

 

Weird stuff...not a huge deal but it doesnt come with the full manual, just the basics one. Also you have to plug something into one of the headphone jacks to disable the internal speakers. The reverbs are all hall effects... there are no room or stage reverbs. Luckily the default hall reverb sounds really nice. Other than duet mode (piano on each side), you can only split bass to the left hand. Thats strange!

 

All in all Im still amazed to get so much keyboard in this small package. Hopefully the s3000 will be worth the extra $$$.

 

 

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I doubt that they'll go further into the arranger line with a MZ-X600, it'd take years and years to gain traction, and the Korg PA 700 has them beat in many respects (only $200 more in the states, 7" display, video out, song book features, more powerful speakers, knob for accompaniment volume, etc.), obviously not in all respects, but still, it'd be a hell of an uphill battle for them in that mid-range arranger market.

Somehow I always forget about the Korg arrangers. I haven't played a PA700, but from what can tell, you're right, it does seem to be a lot more board than the MZ-X500 overall, even though the MZ-X does have a few things it doesn't. What brought me to the MZ-X was the desire for a versatile, lightweight board with decent built-in speakers for unplugged rehearsals and maybe small solo stuff... I've also had it do double duty as an "upper tier" board and as a "take it on vacation" board. The PA700 does look like a stronger choice, but 21.8 lbs vs. 16.8... and the 16.8 was already heavier than I'd hoped I'd have to go for this particular use. People probably have different weight thresholds for what qualifies as a good casual grab-it-and-go board. But I have to say, now that you've brought it to my attention, I'm really tempted to take a closer look at the PA700 and PA1000.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Speakers can be disabled on the PX-S1000 by pressing Function and F7

 

Hey Mike, it appears that just as with my older PX-350, you need to plug something into the headphone jack to disable the on-board speakers.

 

I just tried one at Guitar Center here, and sure enough, just pressing Function-F7 did nothing unless the headphone jack was in use.

 

FYI, the S1000 plays wonderfully. Can't wait to try the S3000

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

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Ok thanks at least Im not crazy...I guess we have a case of the first batch blues.

 

It does work (disable internal speakers) if you plug something in to one of the headphone jacks.

 

That's been a standard of the Casio boards for awhile. As i mention in my post above to Mike, you had to plug something into the PX350 headphone jack to disable the speakers.

 

 

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

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Thats fine if thats the case. Mike did not seem to be aware of it yesterday and its not mentioned in the manual.

 

Sometimes the pre-release features don't always translate to production.

 

Same with the manuals.

i.e. Function F7 could have worked on Mike's board at NAMM, etc..

 

When I used to use my PX350 to gig, I carried a 1/4" headphone adapter with me to "turn off" the speakers on stage.

 

You could get a simple 3.5mm or 1/8" plug for the S1000

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

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I recommend you try the S1000 and S3000 next to a Yamaha P-515 , at Guitar Center, before you jump in. . .

 

Yes, wouldnt that be illuminating? If only...

I hit both Guitar Center and Sam Ash today. Neither place had either the P-515 or the S1000. Plenty of other, cheaper, Yamahas and Casios, but nothing Im interested in. Maddening.

Yamaha P515 & CK88, Pianoteq, Mainstage, iOS, assorted other stuff.

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