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Casio Keyboards

Written on October 28, 2011 at 10:58 pm, by admin

photo casio keyboard

There’s a Casio keyboard for just about everyone from complete beginner to musicians on the edge of a professional career. They have a great reputation for quality sound plus lots of features, at very affordable prices.  This blog provides honest descriptions and comparisons to help you select the electric keyboard that’s best for you.  Plus we’ll keep an eye out for discounts and deals.
Making the Right Choice

Picking the best keyboard depends on both your level of playing and the sorts of music you expect to play. If you’re just beginning you might want to go for a low-cost model but this might actually be more expensive in the long run. You may quickly outgrow a low-end model and have to shell out a couple of hundred dollars to go up a couple of levels.

The first thing to look for in an electronic keyboard is “polophony.” That’s just a fancy term for being able to play more than one note at a time. Any keyboard without polophony isn’t much more than a toy. All the keyboards on the site can play many notes at the same time. Some as many as 48. “Fourty-eight? But I only have ten fingers.” Nearly all Casio musical keyboards can record the notes you’re playing so that you can layer several parts on top of one another.

You may want to consider the number of “tones” or “voices.” Some digital pianos are limited to a small number of piano-based sounds plus maybe a few others. More general keyboards can have a hundred or more tones emulating a wide variety of traditional instruments as well as various synthesizer sounds.

If you’re interested in more than just learning and playing some simple arrangements, you’ll want to look into keyboards with additional features. Many offer reverberation (echo) and other audio effects. If you’re seriously into musical creation you’ll want features that let you record multiple parts and put them together. Many keyboards include a USB port, allowing you to record, edit, and compose with your computer. If you’re especially into live performance, you can find keyboards that can automatically add rhythm patterns and simple arpeggios, and some even bass lines and harmonies.

People seriously into music may also be interested in keyboards with MIDI interfaces. MIDI was originally a stand-alone serial interface allowing a single source, such as a keyboard, to control one or more electronic instruments including synthesizers and drum kits. That has involved into MIDI General, and is now more commonly handled over a USB interface. If you have older MIDI gear you’ll probably need a USB-MIDI interface box.

Most electronic keyboards incorporate an audio amplifier and speakers. If this is the way you’ll typically be playing, be sure to check out user reviews of their sound quality. Most keyboards also include headphones, which are sometimes included. If this is how you plan to play most of the time, you’ll probably want to buy a better quality set of headphones. Simple adapters are also available for mis-matched plugs and jacks.
Which of the Casio Electronic Keyboards is Right for You?

Besides looking at the various keyboard features, you’ll also need to think about your personal situation.  Unless you’re looking for a Casio piano keyboard, you’ll be looking at Casio portable keyboards.

If the keyboard is for a youngster just interested in playing a few tunes, a mini-keyboard (such as the SA-76) is fine and very inexpensive. However for any two-handed playing you’ll need at least 61 keys. A “real” piano has 88 keys, so you’ll need that many keys for live performances of the full range of keyboard music. For personal or studio playing keyboards with 61 keys, such as the CTK 3000 are fine.   Personally, I went for a CTK 4000.  Many Casio CTK keyboards can record your playing and you can use this to fill in the bass and treble ranges.

If your intention is to first learn on an electronic keyboard and then move on an acoustic piano, you should take a close look at the keyboard’s “action.” Many Casio digital pianos and premium keyboards have special “weightings” so that they feel closer to that of an acoustic piano. You should also keep an eye out for touch-sensitive keyboards. They will allow you to work on the expressiveness of your playing whether you plan to move on or stick with electric keyboards.
Wrap Up

Casio was established in 1946. Known for a great balance of cost and performance, they’ve grown to become a leader in keyboards, calculators, and watches.  Click here for Wikipedia’s history and technical scoop on electronic keyboards.

The various keyboard series we’ve just discussed are intended for beginner, intermediate, and some advanced players. They’re all relatively inexpensive and packed with capabilities. Although they may not have the reputation of Yamaha, Roland, or Korg among professionals, Casio keyboards are just perfect for just about everyone else.

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Casio CTK 4000 and CTK 4200 — Both Great Choices

Written on November 16, 2011 at 1:45 am, by admin


photo casio ctk 4000

CTK-4000 1/3 Off

For not much more that a CTK 3000 you can step up to the 4000. That’s what I did.  I’ll explain the differences below. Most owners agree it’s the best you’re going to find without spending at least twice as much. We’ll also introduce the new CTK 4200.  It’s now literally just a few dollars more than the 4000.  So here’s the lowest prices right now.

    CTK -4000 from Amazon $150.03
    Casio CTK 4200 from Amazon $149.97
    CTK-4000 from buy.com $146.99 free shipping


Casio CTK 4000 One of the Best Affordable Keyboards

Like the 3000, the CTK 4000 has 61 touch-sensitive keys. So how is this keyboard different from the 3000? You loose the pitch wheel, which offers blended notes for synth styles – not to important for other keyboard styles. In return you get 10 seconds of audio sampling (versus 1 second for the 3000). You also get an additional accompaniment function, the “arpeggiator,” offering 90 different arpeggio patterns.

You’ll also be adding “AHL” – Acoustic and Highly-Compressed Large-Waveform tones. I’m not sure exactly what the technology is, but it means even better sound quality. The 4000's sound is especially good on piano, harpsichord, and organ tones. It also has a great saxophone tone, at least to my ears. The speakers are plenty loud with good sound quality. It’s succesor, the new CTK 4200 is nearly identical.  If you try out a dozen different electric keyboards you’re not likely to find anything better for less than $300. You can pay more for a few more features and tones, but you won’t get a better instrument without paying a whole lot more.
Recommended Users

Casio’s 4000 is one of the best and most economical choices for those learning and beginner to intermediate players. Advanced players will want to go a few grades (and a lot more dollars) higher.

The “Step-Up Lesson System,” also available on the other CTK models, is an automatic teaching system that breaks learning up into several parts. Each piece of music to be learned is first broken down into individual phrases. You first practice the right-hand part of each phrase, then the left-hand, then both together. Finally you put all the phrases together, and you’ve learned the piece. The purchase includes a paper printed song book containing the songs built-into this learning system. There’s also a “Music Challenge Keyboard Game” that measures and improves your reaction speed.

The keys themselves are exactly what’s needed for everyone other than advanced players. The 2-levels of sensitivity are a must. Without that you simply can’t get much expressiveness into your playing. The keys have a good feel as an electric keyboard, although not the advanced weighted keys of a much more expensive electric piano. So the 4000 is well beyond a “toss it aside” first keyboard and the best value for almost anyone other than serious musicians and perhaps those planning to move to an acoustic piano.
My Review:  Any Got Ya’s?

There’s a few things to dislike, but they’re shared by Casio’s other CTK models. Unless you buy the premium package, you’ll get just the keyboard with no power adapter to run it. A set of batteries will cost you almost as much as an AC adapter and only last 10-15 hours. And nope, you can’t use rechargeable batteries (even their fully-charged voltage is to low). In a way the premium package is a bargain. You get the power adapter, a stand, and headphones for less than the cost of adding an adapter and stand separately. On the other hand, the three added item don’t seem to be particularly good quality so you’re actually better off buying something else separately.

I personally recommend getting the World Tours WTAD5 power adapter and leaving it at that. You may eventually want to add a sustain pedal, headphones and maybe a stand. So think about those in your budgeting.

There’s one more drawback to the 4000 model and below. All settings, samples, and “recorded” songs are lost when you turn the keyboard off. I have mine connected to a PC and leave it turned on until I’ve finished a “project” so this isn’t a big deal for me.
4000 Details… not really ;-)

I’m running out of time and want to get this posted. So for now I’ll just list the other features that I haven’t already touched on.

    48 note polyphony
    570 tones
    180 rhythms
    152 built-in songs
    6 track recording
    split and layer keyboard
    reverb and chorus
    transpose
    auto accompaniment
    auto harmonize
    USB MIDI


casio ctk 4200Casio CTK 4200

This model is mostely a minor cosmetic update to the 4000.  You will find a few additional features, but nothing to write home about.  First, the number of tones in increased from 570 on the 4000 model to 600 on the Casio CTK 4200  You’ll also get a pair of “quick change” buttons for a little convenience.  One switches between piano and organ tones, while the other toggles the chord auto-accompaniment on and off.  Like its predecessor, the CTK-4200 is already developing a reputation for “exceeding expectations.”
My Evaluation

There’s quite a few great keyboards out there, but you’re not likely to find something better at anywhere near the price of the 4000s. It’s the one I chose and purchased for myself. I bought the 4000 a few months ago, and don’t really feel left out of the 4200.  The sound of both is great, and it has all the features on my must-have list, plus a few more. While you won’t get the true feel and expressiveness of an acoustic or high-end electric piano, you do get 2 levels of sensitivity and a good quality feel. You’re likely to pay several times more for anything significantly better. It won’t be the main keyboard for “serious” musicians but the 4000 and the 4200 are  great values for the rest of us.

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