Can you connect SX700 to a 'dumb' Weighted 88 key stage Piano?

[rorchard]

Hi all, I'm still new to all of this but experienced keyboard player of old!
Recently purchased SX700 which I really enjoy but I miss the weighted or semi-weighted keys.
Is there a way to buy a cheapish 88 or 76 key 'dumb' stage piano (just a keyboard with no sounds) and connect it to my SX700 to play the grand piano sound?
Many thanks!

[wersianer]

I put an M-Audio Keystation 88 MKIII with semi-weighted keys in front of my Tyros 5/76 and so built myself a BigTyros ... with which I am very satisfied.

[mikf]

Yes, you can use a dumb keyboard ( controller) or a digital stage piano to drive all the functions of the arranger. Its very easy to do and a simple  88 key weighted controller can be quite inexpensive. I used an Audio controller ( about $200 dollars) for this purpose for years and it is light to carry. A good weighted key digital piano is of course more expensive, heavier to carry, a little more complicated to set up, because now you want the piano sound from one and the other stuff from the arranger, and strictly speaking, unnecessary unless you want a particular quality of piano sound, but I think the SX has a decent piano sound anyway. 
You can get some info from this link to an article on the forum with a couple of demo tracks. Its a bit dated, but things have not changed that much and might give you a start. https://psrtutorial.com/music/articles/13-cp33.html.
Mike

[overover]

Hi rochard,

yes, of course you can connect an external MIDI keyboard controller to the SX700. However, this is only possible via the DIN MIDI IN socket, NOT via USB. It would therefore be ideal if the external keyboard had a DIN MIDI OUT.

Many "simple" MIDI keyboards now only have a USB-MIDI OUT (mostly a USB type B socket like the USB-to-Host socket on the SX700). To use such keyboards on the SX700, you also need a so-called "USB MIDI Host Box", which converts the USB-MIDI signal into a 5-pin DIN MIDI signal:
>>> https://www.thomann.de/gb/miditech_usb_midi_host.htm
>>> https://www.thomann.de/gb/kenton_midi_usb_host.htm

The more setting options the external MIDI keyboard has, the better. It would be ideal, for example, if there is a freely editable Velocity Curve or if you can at least choose from several preset Velocity Curves (in order to optimally adapt the keyboard to your playing style and to the SX700).

If the external keyboard can only transmit on a single MIDI channel, i.e. does not offer SPLIT options, you can either only control one certain Part on the SX700 (e.g. Right 3), or you can choose a MIDI setting that allows the external keyboard reacts exactly like the internal SX700 keyboard.


Hope this helps!

Best regards,
Chris

[mikf]

Rochard
I sense you are a piano player - as I am - so what you probably want to use is the full keyboard set up. This works great for piano, electric piano sounds, and best with AI full keyboard setting. The accompaniment will be driven automatically by your playing across the whole keyboard, rather than split into lh/rh sections.
Chris is right about the connector, this is important, but the Maudio 88 MK3 controller fits the bill well, as do some others. The more expensive hammer simulated controllers, get to be heavy and expensive, and in order to justify the additional cost usually throw in many more complicated features you may not need.  If you are a very advanced synth player, who loves all these features, this might be different, but piano players like my self and David Read on this forum find the semi weighted sound perfectly fine - and usually much better than the hundreds of bad pianos we frequently had to play in the past.
As a comparison, the typical 88key pro hammer simulated keyboard will weighs around 40 lbs and cost about $800. The semi weighted MK3 costs about $250 and weighs 13 lbs.
   
Mike

[Toril S]

This is interesting! I just treated myself to a digital piano, the Casio PXS3000. It has very good piano sounds, and some cool basic arranger features too. And it is the smallest DP in the world! But there is no DIN MIDI sockets. My bad. It has only MIDI over USB. Is it possible to hook it up with my Yamaha keyboards to get 88 weighted keys anyway?

[overover]

This is interesting! I just treated myself to a digital piano, the Casio PXS3000. It has very good piano sounds, and some cool basic arranger features too. And it is the smallest DP in the world! But there is no DIN MIDI sockets. My bad. It has only MIDI over USB. Is it possible to hook it up with my Yamaha keyboards to get 88 weighted keys anyway?

Yes Toril,

I already described in my post above that you can use a "USB MIDI Host" device. Such devices are available from different manufacturers and in different price ranges. Some of them only have a DIN MIDI OUT (which is sufficient to operate a USB-MIDI keyboard on a Yamaha Arranger Keyboard). Nevertheless, I recommend buying a USB MIDI host device that has both DIN MIDI IN and OUT, such as the device from "Miditech":
>>> https://www.thomann.de/gb/miditech_usb_midi_host.htm






Best regards,
Chris

[Toril S]

Thanks Chris!