AT NAMM I played the prototype, and wasn't overly impressed, but knowing Rich Formidoni was working on it, I expect the final release to be a big improvement.

Wasn't Rich Formidoni a KORG guy?....what happened?

He joined his old buddy Mike Martin at Casio...

Mobile phone recording...
A bad one at that

Does not say swat about the endquallity

We are excited to debut our new MZ-Series at Winter NAMM 2016," said Stephen Schmidt, Vice President of Casio's Electronic Musical Instrument Division. "The MZ-X300 and MZ-X500 are top-of-the-line keyboards with a diverse range of features suited for many different musical genres."

The MZ-Series keyboards come with built-in speakers driven by dual 20-watt amplifiers that deliver a big, powerful sound. The MZ-X300 has 900 preset tone patches and 280 rhythm patterns, while the MZ-X500 features 1,100 preset tone patches and 330 rhythm patterns. With these abundant sound and backing-track options, users can select musical instrument patches to fit a particular performance style. In addition, there are many different rhythm patterns ranging from standard beats used in rock, jazz and pop music to rhythms from various regions of the world.

The MZ-X300 and MZ-X500 are capable of 128-note polyphony and feature Digital Signal Processing (DSP) effects that have been programmed based on 20 types of algorithms. Also fitted with a four-band parametric equalizer for precisely adjusting tone, both keyboards offer everything a musician would hope for to perform their very best. Additionally, the keyboards' 5.2-inch (color touch interface) LCD display enables easier operation and more intuitive control for musicians. This display makes it easy to call up and modify any of the rhythms or sound patches.

Casio's MZ-X500 offers 16 touch-responsive multi-pads for broadening performance capabilities. The pads can be used to trigger preset patches and samples created by the user, as well as to play back musical phrases, allowing the user to enhance a performance with percussive hits and additional melodies. Auto accompaniment chord progressions can also be assigned to any of the 16 pads, enabling the user to play chord progressions just by striking a pad. This eliminates the need to play chords continuously with the left hand so the user can focus on playing melodies. Similarly the MZ-X300 has 4 multi-pads which can be used for triggering phrases, samples, chords and more.

The MZ-X300 comes in an all-black design and the MZ-X500 features a blue design with black accents. Both new keyboards will be available in March 2016 at select music dealers nationwide for a MSRP of $1099 and $1499 respectively. To learn more about Casio's new MZ-Series and full portfolio of digital keyboards, please visit www.CasioMusicGear.com.

About Casio America, Inc.
Casio America, Inc., Dover, N.J., is the U.S. subsidiary of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. Established in 1957, Casio America, Inc. markets calculators, keyboards, digital cameras, mobile presentation devices, disc title and label printers, watches, cash registers and other consumer electronic products. Casio has strived to fulfill its corporate creed of "creativity and contribution" through the introduction of innovative and imaginative products. For more information, visit www.casiousa.com.