I emailed Ed Alstrom of CASIO about questions that appeared here:

> nine sliders, pitch and mod wheels, aftertouch, jacks for two pedals and two foot switches. More style and sound categories than Yamaha, but no bank switching (as required by Roland and Korg).

[Alstrom, Ed] Incorrect! Can be done over MIDI.

> Graphic sound editing. The display
> controls are just like on a Yamaha PSR-9k.

[Alstrom, Ed] MZ-2000 is without question an easier machine to navigate and learn than PSR-9000.


>There are control sliders and foot pedal
> inputs. Can these controls transmit data into the MIDI
> stream?
[Alstrom, Ed] Yes.

[Note: There are 9 sliders & 9 buttons, in addition to the Mod, Pitch, and user defineable button to the left of the keys]

> Does the mic input access to the DSP also allow it to make
> harmonies, like the Yamaha PSR-740?
[Alstrom, Ed] No. You can probably add 3 external harmonizers for
the money you'll save, though.

[True enough. A Digitech Vocalist isn't that expensive]

> When a user modifies or creates a sound, can it be saved?
[Alstrom, Ed] Yes.

> In other words, what memory is devoted to user created
> sounds, patterns, arrangements?
[Alstrom, Ed] Separate memory for each of these.

There you have it from CASIO...
It's not a PSR9000, but for the money, it's going to be a decent MIDI controller, with velocity & aftertouch, style arranger, arpeggiator, and 16 track recorder.

P.S.
I annoyed Mr. Alstrom so much, he gave me the email URL for the head of development in Japan. If you'd like to make a "Christmas list" of goodies you'd like to see on the next CASIO, email me & I'll compile a list. I was warned that Mr. Akio Iba does not speak English as well, and would appreciate terse statements...

P.P.S.
I was told that they're also considering an Internet connection (whether on the keyboard or via a host computer, I am not sure) for future keyboards.

[This message has been edited by Jeff Ganaposki (edited 09-27-2000).]