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


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I'm wondering what else out there has an action that I'd like and weighs 25 pounds or under- am wondering about the PX-560-

 

Ideally:

MIDI out / music stand / 25 pounds or less / audio in / battery powered /

 

The only one I know is Kawai ES110, not battery powered though.

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OK, finally made it out to GC to try out.

 

Was really wanting to be bowled over, have a divinely delicious pianistic experience, ready to move on from the synth and semi-weighted boards, most of which are only 61 notes.

 

But it's been awhile since I seriously played weighted action, which I like 'cause it gives good control over volume. Unfortunately I was NOT pleasantly surprised. Took a fair bit of exertion for me, guess I was hoping for something between a semi-weighted and a weighted. On the plus side, the action did NOT feel mushy and vague, and perhaps with time I'd get used to it and like it, hard to tell.

 

The sound was coming from the onboard speakers in open space,and they were decent, but there wasn't much volume happening. I can imagine that pushed up against a wall there'd be much more volume.

 

The form factor is pretty compelling, so not-deep, so light, so battery powered, and the stand is solid, unlike the super cheap ones on the WK and MZ series.

 

 

So.... now that the PX-S series has opened me up to getting an 88 note instead of a 61 or 73 note board, I'm wondering what else out there has an action that I'd like and weighs 25 pounds or under- am wondering about the PX-560-

 

Ideally:

MIDI out / music stand / 25 pounds or less / audio in / battery powered /

 

If you dont like weighted actions and you didnt like the S1000 youre not going to like the PX-560.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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 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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.

At 14:05 , High Resolution Velocity with 16,256 levels?

 

[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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Casio S-1000 PIANO at 7:15

Yamaha P125 PIANO at 11:06

Casio wins the Acoustic Piano sound, imo.

 

[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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[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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MIDI 2.0 is right around the corner and should make high-res MIDI ubiquitous in newer gear. Im very curious to see which existing boards will be updatable once the spec is finalized, presumably this summer. I wouldnt buy anything without a clear upgrade path.
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High resolution velocity is always enabled internally. The High Res ON/OFF function is for the USB MIDI output. Some software is not compatible with the high resolution standard and may cause some issues, so an OFF switch is needed for those cases.

 

So, does the S series really have a 16,256 level velocity scale managed by the new key velocity software when playing the internal Grand Piano??? And all the other internal sounds get this high resolution too ?

 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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[video:youtube]

 

Jazz+

Thanks! That was funny, I asked for a comparison and there it was!

 

Thing is, he only took me half the way there-

because he said it should be considered Privia II, how he demonstrated how much less noisy the keybed was, and the way he played the 2 keyboards- it all seemed to be to the point that the S1000 has a better action and sound- at least that's how I interpreted it- but he never came out and said it.

 

I understand that it's all very individual what floats our boat, but conclusions need to be drawn, esp helpful for folks who won't have the chance to audition both boards. Of course it needs to be qualified, but he the reviewer needed to say something along the lines of, "For me, I felt I could better express myself, from being super soft to loud, it felt more in my control"- or something to that effect. I really have little idea how he experienced the difference of those two keybeds and sounds.

 

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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he said it should be considered Privia II, how he demonstrated how much less noisy the keybed was, and the way he played the 2 keyboards- it all seemed to be to the point that the S1000 has a better action and sound- at least that's how I interpreted it- but he never came out and said it.

Marketing can do what it wants, but I wouldn't see a real logical rationale for "Privia II" nomenclature. For one thing, I think Casio views it more as a "sub-brand" than a model, so it would be like GM changing the name of Buick to Buick II. But regardless of that, it represents I think at least the fourth completely different Privia action, and I believe the fifth or sixth Privia piano sample set/sound engine, so not the "second generation" of anything.

 

The sound comparison was interesting. As he said, people won't necessarily agree about which one is better, but to me, yeah, at least in this comparison, the tone of the new one is decidedly better. Though unlike the PX-S1000, the PX-560 has quite a few variations of its piano sound, and if it were me, I'd go through the others and see if any of them may come closer to the sound of the new model. That is, if you prefer the PS-S1000 largely for its less brightness, there are numerous less bright piano options in the PX-560 that might make for a useful comparison as well. Maybe the models can sound more similar than those samples imply.

 

As for the noise comparison, also interesting, but I have been in stores and played one Casio next to another that supposedly had the same action, and the noise level varied, so I'll be curious to see whether people consistently see this improvement, or if it is something that can vary on a unit-by-unit basis. Though if Mike or some other Casio rep confirms that it is quieter by design (i.e. this is something the engineers said they were particularly looking to address in this design), that would lend this comparison more weight.

 

I was disappointed that, after extensive discussion of how the new model uses software to emulate more of a 3-sensor behavior, he did not demonstrate that aspect.

 

Sound we can hear, but like you, I was also disappointed that he didn't make any comparison whatsoever about how the two actions compared in feel, he only talked about how they compared in noise level and sensor design. So yeah, how they compare in feel would have been nice to hear about... if they differ in how heavy or light they feel, or in pushback, or in speed of return, or in front-to-rear consistency, or in dynamic response (i.e. how well it appears to track your intent in terms of velocity)... there are plenty of ways to talk about how actions can feel similar or different, and some can even be somewhat demonstrated visually.

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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Did he say there is a 16,256 levels of velocity applied to the Internal Piano?Is it true? I thought that was previously mentioned to be only for Midi Out?

 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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Sound we can hear, but like you, I was also disappointed that he didn't make any comparison whatsoever about how the two actions compared in feel, he only talked about how they compared in noise level and sensor design.

 

So yeah, how they compare in feel would have been nice to hear about... if they differ in how heavy or light they feel, or in pushback, or in speed of return, or in front-to-rear consistency, or in dynamic response (i.e. how well it appears to track your intent in terms of velocity)... there are plenty of ways to talk about how actions can feel similar or different, and some can even be somewhat demonstrated visually.

 

I've often thought it'd be helpful if there was a page, like a wiki page related to this forum, where people could read up on HOW to discuss the feel of different actions (as desired of course). It comes up constantly, and your 1 paragraph summation would be an excellent start to giving language to what turns out to be many different variables that is often summed up as, "I liked it!". Not helpful!

 

In fact, I wish there was a way to have wiki and informational style pages available for forumites on various subjects, in particular for controller keyboards. It's kind of the wild west out there, and having an informational page where every controller keyboard is listed, and people on the forum can add their experience on various sub-subjects like the action, suitability for iOS, etc., would be incredibly helpful in wading thru what are now intangibles and lack of information.

 

Back to the subject at hand- I'm going to set up my Nord Stage 88 and play it for awhile, get used to weighted action again. Then when I try out the S1000/3000 again I might be better able to judge it on the spot.

 

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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Did he say there is a 16,384 levels of velocity applied to the Internal Piano?Is it true? I thought that was previously mentioned to be only for Midi Out?

I'm pretty sure that all the Privias that have had high-res MIDI apply it to the internal piano sound. And I think that's been all models since the the PX-x50 series (including the PX-5S).

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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Yes, Hi Res applies to the internal

 

As stated before , the Hi Res on/off affects what is sent out via MIDI externally.

 

Some programs can deal with Hi Res, some can't.

 

Hi Res works very well with Pianoteq, which can really tell when setting up velocity curves.

My PX5S can get extremely nuanced with VST's that handle HiRes

David

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

 

 

 

 

 

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: Mike Martin.

Is the PX-S3000's internal key sensor software/filter/sound engine combo capable of managing 16,256 levels of velocity for it's internal Piano Tone? What's the limitation? Is the PX-S3000 enabling a substantially wider, more detailed range of playing dynamics than on the PX-360 and PX-560 models ???

 

 

 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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Seeking official confirmation-

Attn: Mike Martin. Is the PX-S3000's internal key sensor software/filter/sound engine combo capable of managing 16,384 levels of velocity for it's internal Piano Tone? What's the limitation? Is the PX-S3000 enabling a substantially wider, more detailed range of playing dynamics than on the PX-360 and PX-560 models ???

I'm not Mike and don't have more specific info, but just in general, velocity is a function of the time it takes the key to cross from point A (top sensor) to point B (bottom sensor). Standard MIDI can look at that amount of time and assign it a value of 0-127, hi-res MIDI can look at that amount of time and assign it a value in the greater range of 0-16,384. Your PX360 should already be doing this, as far as I know.

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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Go to 14:10 minutes for the High Res for the internal demo. If this is so, why is the first I have learned of ii?

 

[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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Seeking official confirmation-

Attn: Mike Martin. Is the PX-S3000's internal key sensor software/filter/sound engine combo capable of managing 16,256 levels of velocity for it's internal Piano Tone? What's the limitation? Is the PX-S3000 enabling a substantially wider, more detailed range of playing dynamics than on the PX-360 and PX-560 models ???

 

 

The PX-S1000 and PX-S3000 are new instruments but the core technology for the way Casio handles samples and interpolation between them is similar. The limitation? Im not sure what youre asking. Is the dynamic range wider - maybe a little but the goal is to respond as accurate to the way an acoustic responds. So if you make the dynamic range too wide it wouldnt be accurate but our team is always evaluating and improving in this regard.

-Mike Martin

 

Casio

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The Big Picture Photography Forum on Music Player Network

 

The opinions I post here are my own and do not represent the company I work for.

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Go to 14:10 minutes for the High Res for the internal demo. If this is so, why is the first I have learned of it Casio? I don't think PX-360 or 560 already has it. Chuck turns it on and suddenly he can play substantially softer than before.

 

Casio?

 

Im on airplane WiFi so YouTube is inaccessible. So I cant say exactly for certain what is happening in the video but I can guess....

 

As was correctly stated the high resolution MIDI on/off switch as found on all Casio products has no effect on the internal sound. Only what is transmitted via the MIDI output.

 

If Chuck was changing the velocity curve the video this is one area that is different than previous models. There are 5 total curves - I believe previous models only had 3. So switching to a harder curve would give the player substantially more control over playing softly.

-Mike Martin

 

Casio

Mike Martin Photography Instagram Facebook

The Big Picture Photography Forum on Music Player Network

 

The opinions I post here are my own and do not represent the company I work for.

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Go to 14:10 minutes for the High Res for the internal demo. If this is so, why is the first I have learned of it Casio? I don't think PX-360 or 560 already has it. Chuck turns it on and suddenly he can play substantially softer than before.

The function he is hitting is labeled "Hi-Reso Velocity MIDI OUT enable/disable" and you have the same option on your PX-360. It's on the "MIDI" screen, page EN-55 of the manual. From the name, I am surprised it would affect the internal sound (and not only an external sound triggered over MIDI), I thought the function was always enabled internally, but if PMChuck says it's different to him, you should definitely give it a shot! I doubt it's different between the two models, they basically call it the same thing, a MIDI Out hi-res velocity toggle.

 

ETA: I see Mike confirmed it should always be on internally. But on the video, Chuck did hit the Eb key that corresponds to the Hi-Res MIDI setting. Weird. Maybe a self-fulfilling prophecy based on expectation, like a placebo effect? I don't know. But it can't hurt to try it and see,

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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At 14:10 Piano Man Chuck says

Quote:

"Now one of the most interesting things I've found is High Resolution Midi; now you've heard me play this (plays a passage) I'm playing as soft as I can, now I'm gonna turn on High Resolution Midi.. hold the Function Button down and this key (plays same passage but it now ranges from much softer to loud) Now let me explain in regular MIDI every key is controlled with, when you press a key there's 128 different parameters to indicate where that key is. When you activate High Resolution Midi all of sudden that jumps to 16,384... so imagine the accuracy, that's why I'm able to play so much softer and everything in between. And at first I thought 128 is more than ample, 16,384, that's ridiculous. Well guess what it's not. It really works! It really works! And I'm so impressed with that."

 

[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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This is good news for the guys who play solo - playing ppp, pp on digitals is always challenging. Having a triple pedal with a library that supports una corda or other soft pedal mechanism is also a nice feature.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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So yeah, how they compare in feel would have been nice to hear about... if they differ in how heavy or light they feel, or in pushback, or in speed of return, or in front-to-rear consistency, or in dynamic response

 

I played it - it's quiet (unlike the new CDP-S100), it feels more substantial than PX-5S, no pushback, fast return, no wobbling, everything is good except front-to-rear consistency.

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If instead of obsessing with making the new Privias smaller/less deep (which has little or no real benefit) Casio made pivot a bit longer, they might have hit a home run with this action. To me it was very difficult to play towards the end of the black keys. Also why shiny plastic - I think Roland FA got a lot of criticism for their shiny surface, they even included matte overlays with the FA-07.
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I played it - it's quiet (unlike the new CDP-S100)

That gets back to some of my earlier posts. If the CDP-S100 and PX-S1000 actually have mechanically different actions then one could inherently be quieter than the other. But if the actions are mechanically the same (with the differences being the "smart" digital enhancements on the PX), then the power-off noise level should be the same, and then we could be talking about noise variation, not between different models, but rather a unit-to-unit variability, which is something I've seen before. A third possibility is that the actions are mechanically the same but some other aspect of construction is contributing to a different noise level between the CDP and the PX. But I think we need more info, or more people's experiences, before drawing conclusions about either model definitively being inherently quieter than the other.

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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Does the new pedal unit SP34 support half pedaling?

Or are the 3 pedals only on/off switches?

Yes, the middle and left are on/off, the right is capable of half pedaling.

 

By the time you get the must-have accessories like the special made bag ($129) and the SP34 pedal unit ($99), the real base price for many of us for the S3000 is $1,027.

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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Regarding the Roland FP-30 action versus the Casio PX 1000....

 

I am not exactly in love with the FP-30 action, but I assumed that I might be able to get used to it, given that I like the AP sample so much. The FP 30 has been out for several yars... I wasn't aware of it.

 

I demoed the Fp-30 versus The Roland Rd ( ?) 2000 piano sample and the FP-30 sounded reasonably similar. Once again, not given a heck of a lot of time.

 

But there is nothing much useful to me on the FP- 30 except the AP sample. They really save their good Rhodes sample for more expensive instruments, don't they?

 

The Casio PX 1000 on the other hand.... I wasn't wild about the " textured" keys or what ever they are. Once again I could get used to them I suppose.

 

The only reason I mention the FP-30 is because of the competitive price. Yamaha seems to be more of the same with the P 125. Not much new going on there...slightly better Rhodes maybe?

 

If there are adjustments to the sound of the PX 1000, I'd like to hear about it. There seems to be a similarity ( to me) to previous Casios.... not the radical shift I was hoping for perhaps.

 

 

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For me it will probably depend on which action is more accommodating. And that I wont know until they are side by side in my room. Late April?

 

[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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