Casio Privia PX-400R Arrived Today!

This keyboard is a winner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just unpacked my first PX400 a few minutes ago and I just want to point out a few features:

88 scaled hammer weighted keys

Pitch Bend Wheel (just to the left of the
lowest key)

37.5 lbs

8 watt per side built in speakers

120 panel tones +128 GM Tones +8 drum sets
layers and splits

16 Registration Memories

120 Rhythms

Casio Chord, Fingered Chord and Full Range
Chord Memory.

Polyphony- 32 notes

Song Memory - two songs (two tracks)

Pedals- Two (Damper and Soft/Sostenuto

Smart Media card for song playback, saving
songs, registrations

USB Port in back

1/4 mic input with Echo

Lyrics display for midi song playback with
lyrics (tune 1000 type)

Stereo Line outputs -1/4" type

2 Headphone jacks (1/4" type)

Midi in and Out

Wooden Stand included

Bang for the Buck------------Priceless!!!!!!!!

The list price for this Keyboard is $1099 and the MAP price is $799.00
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566

Well,
After 2 hours here are a few other observations:
You cannot mute tracks when playing a midi file.

You cannot change octaves of the right hand voice

There are no stereo inputs as on the Privia 300 model

Although the styles are very good, the Cymbals don't sound as good as the Yamaha models

If you buy this keyboard first as a good, portable piano and would like to have some arranger styles and the ability to play standard midi files from smart media cards, this will be a great keyboard for you, but if you want a lot of control over the styles and songs, you won't find these features on the Casio.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Is there any difference in the sound quality of the piano voices between the PX300 and the PX400R?

Beakybird

The Pianos sound the same to me. The difference is that the speaker system is louder and fuller in the 400.


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George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

I am considering purchasing either the px400 or the 300. I have a couple of questions about the features of the px400.

I tried them both out in a noisy shop and the sounds do seem to be the same, but the PX400 is supposed to have more sounds. The sounds are more accessible on the panel, but it seems to me that the extra sounds are just duplicates of the GM sounds. Are there differences that I just wasn't hearing?

I use a Mac, so I guess USB file transfer is out (no driver from Casio), but it seems that I could still transfer files via the smartmedia card. I don't know much about SMF (simple media file) format. Is it the same as .mid? Will I be able to transfer performances on the Casio to my sequencer for tweaking and what-not? Will I be able to transfer songs of my own devising to the Casio?

Any comments would be appreciated.

I purchased the Px-400 for use by the accompianist for our old time music choir and perhaps a replacement for my Technics
KN92O.
We found the pianos at venues were not satisfatory.
I have no complaint about the instrument as a piano but am unhappy with the other tones which I find unpleasant on the ear.
Is it my particular keyboard or is it general.

George, or any others who care to respond. I own a General Music Genesys, and am considering getting an 88 key keyboard to use as a Midi Controller with the Genesys. The Genesys is truly a great piece of equipment, however I find myself wanting more keys. Knowing that that is my plan, which keyboard, the PX400R or the PX300, would you recommend I give serious consideration to. Weighted/Hammer action is a must. If there is something else I should consider, please let me know. If I do something like this, can I expect to get full 88 note response from the Genesys? I'm looking for suggestions, recommendations, and advise. I would really like to upgrade to a Genesys Ensemble, but just can't justify the additional cost at this time. I would like to keep the cost to no more than what a PX400R would cost.

Many Thanks,

Jerry Mullikin

George please help me.
I have purchased a Privia PX-400R localy here in Hobart Tasmania Australia and like everything but the tones other than piano.
I am wondering if I have a faulty keyboard.
How do you find these tones?
On mine they sound so crappy whatever I do.

I have played the Privia 400 many times at my store and have demonstrated and sold many of them. The tones are found by simply selecting a catagory using the buttons on the front panel and then using the data wheel to select the different tones within the catagory selected. I find the tones mostly pleasing although not the best. I don't know how to tell you if your keyboard is malfunctioning or if you just don't like Casio's voices. Comparing these sounds to other keyboards, I would give them about a 5 or 6 in a 1-10 rating. For it's price, I think you get more then you pay for.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

December issue of keyboard reviews the px-400r. The review is mediocre - the main complaint seems to be the GM tones. The 300 got a Keybuym award, however, earlier this year and the reviewer then like the EP and other main tones too. He didn't consider the GM as being more than an extra considering the price value of the 300.

Just thought I would add that the reviewer of the 400 was especially negative on the non-GM bank sounds. His judgment confirmed my sense that, except for the main button sounds) they are hardly more than slightly polished sounds from the GM bank. Advertising them as additional sounds seems deceptive to me.

Hello,

I bought a Casio px400r, and there is something that I find a little bit negativ:

example: I have a memory card with 1000 midi files, and I'd like to hear the last one, but I can't scroll through the file titles and choose witch one should be loaded, because all files will be automatically loaded when I go through with the dial-jog. And it will be even slower, so to reach the files about 20, tooks a LOT of time. I means, there's no chanche to use the real capacity of a 64Mb card, or you need hours, to reach all the files.
Is it so, or I make somewhere a mistake?
Thank you for your replay.

fischnek

i know nothing about the PX 400 but maybe you can store the midifiles in subdirectories?
So you;ll have a dir for Rock, another one for 80's pop, another one for latin etc.
This way the files will spread.
Does the PX allow directories

I'm not sure I understand what you are doing. I am at home right now and not with the 400 at my store. I have a smart media card in my keyboard. I don't have to load a file to play a midi file on the card. I can scroll through all of them and play the file direct from the card. I can also load a file which then resides in the flash memory. Which are you trying to do?
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Hi George,

thank you for your replay! Of course, I can play midis from the card too. But when I choose the first, second third... file, I get always the message "please wait", for 5-15 secs. I can't choose directly the 20th file, I have to go through from the first one. So, the 20th file tooks 19×5-15 secs.
For example, I have an old Roland E-66, and when I put a disk with midi files, i can scroll to all files, without waiting. I hope I could now tell you correctly, what I mean.
If not, I will ask my friend to help me, my english is terrible poor. (I'm a guy from Hungary, Europe)
Thank you for your kindness.

fischnek