Casio Privia

[Dana.]

Anyone know what the impending announcement will be?

 

Perhaps Mike Martin can give us a hint?

 

"The Leading Line of Digital Pianos Just got Grander."

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SHaka40]

New PX-130, PX-330, etc if I'm not mistaken. Features include an improved sound engine (I think it has 4-layers instead of 3), better key response (I read something about being able to retrigger notes before the key has returned all the way up or something to that effect), etc. I think the 330 will have a pitch wheel on it (no mod wheel though). This could make it a great option for a lightweight MIDI controller with a great action. But personally, I have some doubts as to how well the pitch wheel will be implemented, in terms of setting bend range, what channels respond to it, and those types a things that a dedicated controller might allow. I'm anxious to see how these new dp's sound and feel though. As a proud PX-320 owner, I'm a fan of Privias.

 

P.S. information on these new keyboards is sparse around the net, but hopefully somebody else on KC can give us some more details. The PriviaPiano site is counting down the days, so we should be getting some more details soon enough. Interesting though, there are a few retail sites that are already listing these products for sale/pre-order. Some of these sites list it as a "new product," while others list it as a "recently discontinued" product. I'm thinking maybe the latter sites jumped the gun and Casio made them take it off.

[Dana.]

Sweet! I just found this:

 

Casio PX330

 

http://www.ishibashi-webshop.jp/img/goods/1/411059400.jpg

[Dana.]

Apparently the PX130 won't have MIDI connections.

[ITGITC]

The new Casio PX330 digital piano features a new Linear Morphing AIF Sound Source based on detailed analysis of the acoustics of a grand piano. It realistically reproduces the fine nuances of everything from lilting pianissimos to powerful fortissimos.

 

Whazzat s'posed to mean?

 

Linear Morphing yada yada... OMG - izzat sampling or modeling, Voodoo or something else. WAIT - itmust be a NEW MARKETING TERM!

 

 

[Sven Golly]

I dunno, Tom, but I'd think you'd be angry at being referred to as a lilting pianissimo. Them's fightin' words up here in the Great White North.

 

 

[ITGITC]

I dunno, Tom, but I'd think you'd be angry at being referred to as a lilting pianissimo. Them's fightin' words up here in the Great White North.

 

 

I think there's medication for that.

[bhodaway10]

For all of you PX320 users, how is the EP and clavs on the unit?

 

 

[retrokeys]

I think "lilting pianissimo" falls under the category of "don't ask...don't tell." One should be careful who one "lilts" around.

[SHaka40]

For all of you PX320 users, how is the EP and clavs on the unit?

 

 

Well, put it this way, you shouldn't buy a PX320 for its EP or clavs. And I don't really see Casio upgrading their samples for their new additions to the Privia range. I'd bet that they update the grand piano sound/samples and keep everything else pretty much the same on these new models. When it comes to a Privia, it pretty much (and God I hate when people use this phrase...) "is what it is." And that is an exceptional action (especially if it's easier to repeat notes on the newer models) and a surprisingly good acoustic piano sound, in an unbelievably light package, all at an urivaled feature to price-point ratio.

 

With this said though, I really should start to dig a little deeper into my 320's other sounds. When I first got it, I went through the other sounds and the GM bank and found that most of them ranged from dull and bland, to usable in a live setting or mix. But I wouldn't be surprised if there are some real gems in there somewhere. I'll try to check out the EP's and clavs in particular over the weekend and report back with my findings.

[VLH]

wish they had a mono acoustic in there, but when I checked they said they didn't.

[Dana.]

wish they had a mono acoustic in there, but when I checked they said they didn't.

 

The "Variation" should be the mono sound; that's how it is on the PX-320 and PX-120.

[VLH]

Really--it's a mono sample? when I e-mailed and asked technical, they said there was not mono sample.

[Dana.]

I thought someone confirmed that here a while back. It certainly sounds like a mono version of the sample.

[acidolem]

I've been gigging with a PX300 for about 3 years now. I like the layout on the 300 better than then the 310 . Been happy with the (1) clav & (2) Rhodes , (1) organ patches. I own a real clavinet & Rhodes and what I look for when I play live is a keyboard that produces sounds close enough to allow me to think and play in the style of that instrument. There are a lot of other sounds I like on the Privia but many are not as easy to get to right away {scrolling}. The keyboard really rocks and I look forward to previewing the PX330

[bhodaway10]

For all of you PX320 users, how is the EP and clavs on the unit?

 

 

Well, put it this way, you shouldn't buy a PX320 for its EP or clavs. And I don't really see Casio upgrading their samples for their new additions to the Privia range. I'd bet that they update the grand piano sound/samples and keep everything else pretty much the same on these new models. When it comes to a Privia, it pretty much (and God I hate when people use this phrase...) "is what it is." And that is an exceptional action (especially if it's easier to repeat notes on the newer models) and a surprisingly good acoustic piano sound, in an unbelievably light package, all at an urivaled feature to price-point ratio.

 

 

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the convenience of the instrument is somewhat negated because you're intimating that I'd need some kind of module/laptop, etc.

 

 

 

 

[SHaka40]

For all of you PX320 users, how is the EP and clavs on the unit?

 

 

Well, put it this way, you shouldn't buy a PX320 for its EP or clavs. And I don't really see Casio upgrading their samples for their new additions to the Privia range. I'd bet that they update the grand piano sound/samples and keep everything else pretty much the same on these new models. When it comes to a Privia, it pretty much (and God I hate when people use this phrase...) "is what it is." And that is an exceptional action (especially if it's easier to repeat notes on the newer models) and a surprisingly good acoustic piano sound, in an unbelievably light package, all at an urivaled feature to price-point ratio.

 

 

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the convenience of the instrument is somewhat negated because you're intimating that I'd need some kind of module/laptop, etc.

 

 

 

 

Well, I guess it all depends on your standards and expectations. Myself, well I guess I'm not quite as picky as a lot of guys on the forum when it comes to authenticity of EP sounds (or even acoustic for that matter). That may or may not have something to do with the fact that I'm relatively young and have not had extensive experience on the real deal. I've grown up in an era of romplers, arrangers, and cheap toy keyboards that you can buy at K-Mart, whereas a lot of the fellas were fortunate enough to come up in an era of analog synths, electromechanical keyboards, and acoustic pianos were the norm. So my standards tend to be comparitively low. When I said you shouldn't buy a Privia for the EP's and clavs, I wasn't trying to imply that they were terrible or unusable. In fact, I use the main front panel EP all the time. It's just that I've heard better; much better. So if those sounds were the #1 thing I was looking for in a 'board, I wouldn't consider it.

 

It also depends on your application. I find the main rhodes sound perfectly suitable for live work or maybe even recording if it's the right genre and type of mix. Will it sound exactly like the real deal? No. Will it sound as good as a dedicated EP or clav virtual instrument, or even an expensive 'board like an Electro? No. But will the average drunk in the audience notice and/or care when the whole band is playing or the lead singer is belting out a ballad? Hell no. On the other hand, if you're doing some type of instrumental jazz or fusion work, the nuances of the sound could be very important to you as the performer, regardless of whether the crowd can tell the difference or not.

 

Hope this helps, and like I said, I'll try to remember to go through the GM bank and see how things sound.

[drawback]

Will it sound exactly like the real deal? No. Will it sound as good as a dedicated EP or clav virtual instrument, or even an expensive 'board like an Electro? No. But will the average drunk in the audience notice and/or care when the whole band is playing or the lead singer is belting out a ballad? Hell no.

 

Quote of the day.

 

[bhodaway10]

lol....yes great quote!

 

Thanks for looking through the GM Bank Shaka.

 

 

[resigned]

It's worth saying that the PX-320 is better than anything in it's price range. It should be compared to something like a Yamaha P-85 for value (it wins), and I expect the PX-330 to continue to reign in the sub-$700 digital piano range.

 

The Casio acoustic piano does indeed cut through a band mix and it makes a nice bottom tier keyboard and MIDI controller. Add a Motif or the like on the second tier and you got a rig.

[NoahZark]

No comments yet on the addition on that little pitch-bend wheel to the left of the keyboard? The PX-320 sure didn't have that. And didn't someone post here a while back about trying to retrofit a Privia to include a mod wheel? Well, that little exercise in engineering no longer seems necessary....

 

Noah

[acidolem]

No comments yet on the addition on that little pitch-bend wheel to the left of the keyboard?

 

 

It's a little pitch-bend wheel to the left of the keyboard.

[Joe Muscara]

I think it could be a cool addition, though I'd be more interested in what sort of control it could have over MIDI, such as program change and such.

[FJR]

Does the px series use the same keybed as the CDP-100?

 

Thanks

[SHaka40]

lol....yes great quote!

 

Thanks for looking through the GM Bank

 

 

No problem! Just went through the GM bank on my PX-320. Since you asked about EP's and clavs, I'll focus on those areas. There are quite a few decent sounds. The rhodes leads the pack in terms of both quality and quantity. There's probably about 5-6 Rhodes sounds in there (IIRC there were about 4 or 5 rhodes sounds in the GM bank in addition to the main front panel "Elec. Piano 1"). "Elec Piano 1" is a good general purpose sound, but a little dark for my taste. It doesn't really have that sparkly, tine-based high end that I like. The GM rhodes don't really suffer from a huge drop in sound quality when compared to the featured sounds like a lot of keyboard do. They all offer a slightly different characteristic, including one that is a little brighter than E.P #1, to my liking (I think it was GM bank, patch #10). The weak link amongst the EPs was probably the FM/DX-7 style EP. Then again, I don't think most of us would dare compare a real DX-7 to a real rhodes or wurly anyway, so that's kind of a moot point. They're OK, but they don't have that sweetness that most current emulations of FM EP's have. This may well be due to the effects more than the sample itself though (I'll get into the effects in more detail later). The Wurlies are kind of a mixed bag. While I didn't really keep count, I don't remember coming accross as many wurlies as rhodes, so there's probably only a few choices. The featured sound, accessable from the front panel, is called "60's E.Piano." I didn't really like it at first listen. I thought the nasally, reed-y midrange--which of course is in fact present on the real life, reed-based instrument--was exaggerated on the PX-320. But for some reason, I found the sound more and more acceptable the longer I played. It's still not a great sound, but at the very least, it's a usable patch that captures the basic tonality of a wurlitzer. There's only a couple of clav sounds on this 'board, but they were surprisingly solid. You don't get key-off samples and other nuances that you'll get with more dedicated or more expensive options, but the basic sample isn't bad at all.

 

In a nutshell, I'd say that the shortcomings of the PX-320's sounds lie more in implementation than raw sample quality; for the sounds we're discussing at least, there are some strings and choirs and stuff for which the samples are just hopelessly mediocre. Needless to say, this is not a synthesizer or workstation. Nor is it a high-end stage piano like an Yamaha S90 or one of those red things. So it lacks the features and programming that really help bring samples alive. Not the least of which is effects. If I was able to throw a studio quality wah on the clav, or sculpt some the nasal quality out of the wurly with a nice parametric EQ, then ouf course everything would change. With this said, you might be surprised what difference you can make with the 4 or so reverbs and choruses (presets, no parameters to edit) and a brightness control. For instance, I've cranked the brightness up on the EP #1, and changed the chorus type on the "60's piano" wurly. And of course, with the registrations, I'm able to save these patches for instant call up.

 

Hope this helps!

[Geren Mortensen]

I'm a PX310 owner, and I love the piano, EP and organ sounds -- primarily what I bought it for. As a sound designer, I would say that Casio's engineers did an excellent job with the loops on all of these sounds. And, while re-trigger would be nice (especially on the grand pianos), I don't necessarily miss it.

 

Unfortunately, it suffers from Casio connector syndrome. As long as I can remember, Casio's keyboards have had crappy connectors. This includes they're CZxxxx synths from years gone by. On mine, the power supply and 1/4" out connectors are dying, which means I'm going to have to relegate mine to the studio before too long. While I'm certainly going to miss the sounds and the excellent keybed, I'm not going to buy another Casio. I can't afford having an instrument crap out on me on a gig.

[Mike Martin]

The new Casio PX330 digital piano features a new Linear Morphing AIF Sound Source based on detailed analysis of the acoustics of a grand piano. It realistically reproduces the fine nuances of everything from lilting pianissimos to powerful fortissimos.

 

Whazzat s'posed to mean?

 

Linear Morphing yada yada... OMG - izzat sampling or modeling, Voodoo or something else. WAIT - itmust be a NEW MARKETING TERM!

 

 

Well I didn't write any of the copy above, I'm not sure where it came from.

 

The term Linear Morphing came from Casio's R&D group in Tokyo. The engine in the new models utilizes four stereo layers of piano samples - the transitions between those four layers is actually interpolated by the engine so the velocity response is smooth and incredibly dynamic. That's what they are referring to with the term Linear Morphing.

 

We're in the process of shooting a lot of video this week and recording MP3's. So we'll have a lot of information up by this time next week.

 

-Mike Martin

Casio America, Inc.

[bhodaway10]

Mike, I'm looking forward to the information, videos, and MP3's.

 

Geren, sorry to hear about the build quality on your unit. I haven't read of any other complaints however. Maybe yours is a bad unit?

 

Thanks again Shakka for the detailed review!

 

 

[Moog_Man]

I'm glad there will finally be a pitch bend wheel. That is my only beef with the 320.

[marino]

Hi Geren, you don't have to give up an instrument because of those issues. Changing a couple of connectors is routine work for a good tech - and gigging without a spare power supply is asking for trouble anyway. (I'm talking about external ones, of course)