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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
If the action is 3-sensor and the feeling, as portrait in this clip here; https://youtu.be/JnIQzHrV-8A and it can really be played with ease to the fall-board then this is something else...I look forward to trying it out!
"As well as being one of the smallest actions available, it also models the hammer response timing of each individual note in realtime.
Interesting. What does this mean? I assume we're just talking about ms-level delays on sounding bass notes as it "takes longer" for a heavier hammer to fly and strike the string at a given key velocity? Or is there some more complex behavior going on here?
"As well as being one of the smallest actions available, it also models the hammer response timing of each individual note in realtime.
Interesting. What does this mean? I assume we're just talking about ms-level delays on sounding bass notes as it "takes longer" for a heavier hammer to fly and strike the string at a given key velocity? Or is there some more complex behavior going on here?
I am not an expert on the mechanics of a piano so I don't know if this is all of it, but I assume that this is at least part of it.
From the YamahaMusician's topic, this is supposedly directly from a Casio rep:
"As well as being one of the smallest actions available, it also models the hammer response timing of each individual note in realtime. This is combined with physical scaling to produce something that feels really good. However, what is really impressive is that we measure not only note-on velocity but also note-off speed, so as to provide a much more refined key off response. Surprisingly, early prototypes with the same configuration as our Tri-Sensor mechanism were good, but by reconfiguring the actions with two repositioned sensors, the system worked even better."
This answers a few questions that have been under discussion here:
1) The action seems to only use two sensors (unless the rep means that they moved two of the three sensors and kept the third in the same place, but I find this an improbable parsing of the rep's words). However, in the development of the new action they first tried using three sensors and went to two sensors because testing showed that the two sensors actually worked better.
2) The "smart action" and "digital simulation" does in fact mean what I thought it might: they model the slight differences in timing response for each key on the keyboard caused by the differences in weight on a real piano.
Not sure how to interpret the comment on the sensors, but the previous generation of Privia keyboards, namely the PX-360, 560 and 5S... - had three sensors, - supported high-res MIDI, i.e. 16K velocity range and - supported note-off velocity.
So, Casio might have improved the action feel and the accuracy of the velocity readings, but none of these features is really new.
Not sure how to interpret the comment on the sensors, but the previous generation of Privia keyboards, namely the PX-360, 560 and 5S... - had three sensors, - supported high-res MIDI, i.e. 16K velocity range and - supported note-off velocity.
So, Casio might have improved the action feel and the accuracy of the velocity readings, but none of these features is really new.
I just checked my PX-350, which I _believe_ has the same keyboard as the PX-360 et al . . . :
. . . "Note off" velocity is fixed at 64.
So "variable note-off velocity" is a genuinely new feature in the new action.
. Charles --------------------------- PX-350 / Roland Gaia / Pianoteq
Not sure how to interpret the comment on the sensors, but the previous generation of Privia keyboards, namely the PX-360, 560 and 5S... - had three sensors, - supported high-res MIDI, i.e. 16K velocity range and - supported note-off velocity.
So, Casio might have improved the action feel and the accuracy of the velocity readings, but none of these features is really new.
I just checked my PX-350, which I _believe_ has the same keyboard as the PX-360 et al . . . :
. . . "Note off" velocity is fixed at 64.
So "variable note-off velocity" is a genuinely new feature in the new action.
Hi! Have a look at this doc that describes the PX-360/560 MIDI implementation. I also confirm that my PX-560 does send note-off velocity and hi-res MIDI velocity messages. The PX-5S, which is an older model, also supports them. And the 360 shares the same MIDI specs. The note-off velocity value can actually be used to trigger effects in the hex-layer sounds. Most Privia DPs used the same keyboard/action for a while. But the sound engine on the 350 and 360 is not the same. Anyway, let's see if Casio releases a proper replacement of the 560...
Well, the PX-5S is the same generation as the PX-350, and uses the same action. So, if _it_ sends variable Note-Off velocities, Casio deliberately "dumbed-down" the PX-350 keyboard!
Grrrr . . . .
My test was using Pianoteq's "MIDI display" screen -- all the "Note Off" messages had velocity=64 (= 40x). I don't think there's a menu item, on the PX-350, that turns "variable Note On velocity" on and off.
Progress is slow, but inexorable.<g>
. Charles --------------------------- PX-350 / Roland Gaia / Pianoteq
One interesting thing is that as this new key action was designed specifically for the "slim" CDP-S and PX-S models, then what will the future "fat" Privia and Celviano models use?
Oh well, too early for that now. But probably there will be something different then. Let the speculations begin...
Well, the PX-5S is the same generation as the PX-350, and uses the same action. So, if _it_ sends variable Note-Off velocities, Casio deliberately "dumbed-down" the PX-350 keyboard!
The PX5S came out quite a bit later, I think about a year after the PX350. So the 350 wasn't dumbed down, but the PX5S was improved. ;-)
I highly doubt that the PXS-1000/3000's action is going to be better than that of the P515, ES8, FP-90 or MP11SE. I think that would be an unfair expectation. But if it is better than other actions found in similarly priced and similarly sized DPs such as the P-125, FP-10/30 or the Numa Compact 2X, I'd declare it a win for Casio.