hi i am a new to this forum i was wondering if anybody could tell me which is the best keyboard to buy the mz 2000 or the wk 3500 i have noticed the wks are quite cheap just now and i used to have a mz 2000 i wished i had not sold it as it was one of the best sounding keyboards i have ever owned especialy the drawbar organs but i now see this wk 3500 getting a lot of good reviews does it sound as good as the mz ?2000 ? ...........

I've never seen/heard a mz 2000, but ...from others' decriptions, the mz2000 was the better keyboard. It is more versitile...being able to use more than 1 DSP effect at a time, and generally more parameter controls. The wk3000/3500s are also good keyboards, with great tones, ability to download new tones/rhythms/effects. Also they have a 76 note keyboard. The down side on the 2000 is that it is out of production...so you would have to find a used one.

thanks for that jim
i didnt know the mz 2000 was out of production it was quite a heavy keyboard but it sounded better than the yamaha psr 1000 that i owned what is the dsp? you mention

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I used to own the MZ-2000. All I can say is DAMN it was nice board. Sold mine some time ago too. I'd take the MZ over the WK-3000/3500 any day. The WK's share the same sound set (that's why the WK's are so nice now). The MZ has a huge screen. Initial and AFTERTOUCH, 15 watt speakers system (and man does it have bass). Also the MZ-2000 has an EXTENSIVE voice editing. It's even beyond the voice editing capabilities of the Yamaha PSR-3000. The MZ gives you 64 voice poly, 9 sliders to edit with and operate the draw bars, and the drawbars on the MZ are way better than the Casio WK's. It has 16 track recording with a capacity of 40,000 notes. It records user styles (and also does loop recording and pattern copy and paste) I'd say the only advantage the WK's have is 76 keys and smart media storage. Oh yeah, the MZ also has a mic/line input with its own volume control. The mic/line can be used for hooking up a microphone or a drum machine, and anything else you can think of plugging into it. The mic/line input also has effects you can use for the incoming signal. The MZ is still miles ahead of the WK's, and even has features some of Yamaha's top arrangers don't have like full voice editing, aftertouch, and real time sliders. Also I currently own the WK-3500. When I was shopping for a new board I was looking for another MZ-2000, but I couldn't find any for sale so I took the WK-3500 because it shares several of the MZ's features

Squeak

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 12-29-2004).]

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 12-29-2004).]

DSP is 'Digital Signal Processing', like adding reverb, echo, phaser, ect... Another words, adding sound effects to a tone.

hi squeak
thanks for the response i loved my mz 2000 it had brilliant sounds but i sold it (wished i hadn`t) and bought a solton ms 50 which is also a good keyboard with realy good saxes and plenty of good organs but it still fell short of the mz i dont do much in the way of editing sounds on keyboards i mostly just use the presets that are on board i think the mz represented good value for money as compared to the yamaha psr keyboards which seem to hold a much higher price i am in the same boat as yourself now as i cant get my hands on another mz but the wks seem to be readily available i think i will wait a few days then decide what to do

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The MZ-2000 was a very good keyboard but it still was quite expensive for the Casio brand of products I don't quite think it ever really found a market. Those used to buying Casio keyboards for a few hundred bucks weren't prepared to pay the higher price tag and those buying supposed "Pro" keyboards weren't so open to buying a high end Casio. But it really was and still is a very good keyboard that competes well with other brands. Casio has always provided great value and the MZ-2000 was no exception.

[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 12-30-2004).]

You're right about that price on that beast Nigel It was selling for over $1,000 When I first saw the board I didn't know what to think. I saw all the features (which were way beyond any Casio), and then I saw that price. I wish Casio would come out with a newer version of it. You're right too in that the Casio buyers weren't ready for this model. The typical Casio's as you stated were a few hundred at most, and here Casio releases one for over a grand.

Squeak

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 12-30-2004).]

Team,

Let me know those of you who ARE definately interested in NEW CASIO MZ-2000s.

For security purposes (and easy of mind on transactions), I'll have them on EBAY soon- unless there are some who won't mind meeting here in MD. Ofcourse other methods of transactions can be discussed.

Thanks

The fact is that the MZ2000 was really a Technics keyboard to which Casio added the drawbar option and the microphone input, all the rest was identical to the Tehnics model (that still was twice as expensive). Probably Technics was even making the boards for Casio and put their name on it.

But now Technics completely witdrew from the instrument market, so perhaps Casio can't get them anymore.

That's an interesting point. I've heard this in the past when the MZ first came out. However, I don't remember if it was ever truly (carved in stone) that Technics was primarily responsible for this board. It does look like a Technics board. My main question would be--was Technics responsible for the (sounds) of the MZ-2000? The MZ's sounds were good and way above the tradition Casio, but coming from Technics I would have expected a little more. The KN series was a great sounding line up. Maybe Technics had a hand in the overall design and operating system for the MZ-2000.

Squeak

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jim Wintringham:
[B]I've never seen/heard a mz 2000, but ...from others' decriptions, the mz2000 was the better keyboard.

Hi Jim! The former user forum has disappeared I guess. I found this one by accident looking for MZ2000 info. How's it going? Dave

Hi Dave, Yea...Casio said it would only be down a short time.....NOT!
Pianoman set up a Casio user forum, at: http://www.originalz.com/casio/casio_bbs/
..if you want to see a little more Casio 'chatter' ....drop by.
Jim