It's been a while since I had it tommyde, so I could only guess, and really, I don't have a clue now..lol. The main sequencer itself does everything like any other midi sequencer though. It works fine on all SMF files and is one of the better ones to actually use and edit with ( for an arranger's sequencer ). The main difficulty is that the patterns sequencer sends only the chord structure and pattern type to the "casio" type midifile or to it's main sequencecer. Anytime I sent the midi data out directly from the keyboard to an external sequencer, it did send all of the note data out from every part with no problem. Once I did any editing and sent it back to the MZ on disk though, the CC changes that should have brought up the proper effect commands from the mixing area of the board did not always seem to work. The patch and bank data was always correct, but not the effects or volume settings. I'm not sure if that was a function of the internal mixer itself being unable to distingusih certian cc commands though. At any rate, I remember getting around this by setting a registration memory up with the proper mixer settings and then engaging that memory after I had loaded the modified midifile. It worked. I don't know why I didn't, but I never actually looked closely at the event edit screen on my external sequencer to see what was and wasn't being sent to it

Korg AJ



[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 03-11-2002).]

Casio came sooooo close to a contender with the MZ, but they just didn't study their demograpgics well enough. It's too big, it's missing the mic features, and it's too much money for their "first" real entry into the higher end.
I'd watch closely, because if they learn from this experience .... they will surely put out a winner next time. Then Radio Shacks will be the hot spot to shop !
.......well, mabye THAT's a stretch.

~~~~~
> Once I did any editing and sent it back to the MZ on disk though, the CC changes that should have brought up the proper effect commands from the mixing area of the board did not always seem to work. <
~~~~~

Thanks, AJ, for the reply.

I played around with a WK1800 for a while, before "gifting" it, and liked the simplicity of use of it. I found that the main drawback with the workstation concept of the WK was the inability to store external sysex onto the floppy, like a MIDI data filer, or the popular high-end workstations.

The MZ2000 seems to have the same type of ease of play layout for live performance, and it has a ton of cool arranger features, but shortfalls in the MIDI implementation would keep it out of studio use.

Thanks again.

tommyde

If what I read is true and Casio has a couple of the top Technics guys onboard, maybe just maybe they WILL get serious, add some of the features that Uncle Dave mentions, improve some of the sounds / styles, and really become a contender. The MZ is already close and some of the synth sounds are very cool and very editable. Still, they are going to have to start following up and refining their boards after they are released. Frank used a good term on a different thread. Casio virtually orphaned the MZ after releasing it, which makes me wonder if new and improved models may never come from them. It almost seems as though they treated the MZ as a failed experiment for the company and already moved on.

korg AJ

I'm starting to wonder if Yamaha has hired some Cascio people to do their followup work on the PSR2000.
I'm starting to get really annoying with this, aren't I?
DonM

I think so Don, Yamaha probably got the ones that were replaced by the Technics guys. And... Nope, nowhere near as annoying as Yamaha has been Don, but I sincerely hope you'll keep trying. Keep railing on them.., so I don't have to do it all..lol

KORG AJ

Don,
Eat a moon pie, and get on with your life !
You used to be such a happy guy ... fishing, and golfing, and singing ..... What's with all the belly-aching? They'll fix the 2000's. Yamaha never dreamed that this thing would be taken so seriously ..... they are used to a home market and this was aimed at those buyers. We blind-sided them with all our critique !

Based on my past experience as a repair tech I do think that Yamaha will someday fix the problems you folks have experienced with the 2000. Historicly Yamaha has been a top notch company. But Don, you have to remember that you are expecting Lexus service on a Chevy Cavalier. The 2000 is a small cut above the Casios that you can buy at Sam's club. I'm sure they will fix it. Some things do take time. As my 3rd child would say "Chill". If you had kept the X1 you would still be the upbeat Don that we all know and love, instead your sacrifice of the X1 made me a happy man. I must once again thank you for that.

Tom

Tom,
You're wrong about the "Sam's club" comparison, but I agree about the Lexus/Chevy deal. The success of the 2000 was probably a big surprise to the Yamaha people, and they are just now finding out that they shouldn't have cut so many corners in it's development.
Even with it's problems, I had good luck with the 2000, but you could not pay me to endorse the X1 again. Aside from the weird polyphonic allocation, it's a hardware issue with me, and that will not change till a new case is built.
If they just put better keys on the 2000, and fixed it to do what it's supposed to do - it'll sell like crazy.

Tom, I was unhappy with most aspects of the X1, particularly the position of the fill and variation buttons and the absence of multi-pads. I also had problems getting the effects to work correctly, especially Distortion.
Yamaha did not market the 2000 as a cheap keyboard--they said, in print, that the OS was software-upgradeable.
Dave: I have a very happy life, and have eaten so many moon pies that I have outgrown my clothes. IF we hadn't complained to Yamaha that most certainly would have done nothing about the problems. My feeling is that if we don't continue to complain, they may still do nothing in the US.
I love the PSR2000, but even Yugos can be serviced after the sale!
DonM