How do you rate Casio keyboards?

How do you rate Casio keyboards? For some reason I don't see much about them.

If you're a 10year-old, I'd rate them 5 out of 10. if you're older...
Stay away

That was the impression I had over the years, but I'm wondering why. They seem to have the same features/prices as the comparable Yamaha ones.

Or do they just break sooner?

Yamaha has better build quality, and way better sound samples, more poliphony, wider price range etc etc...

And even yamaha keyboards have "plasticky" keys (PSR series), they are still better than Casio

I don't play piano so I don't know whether I would need keys that are just like a piano or whether fake ones would do.

The PSRs have sooo many sounds. Most of which I wouldn't use. I can't find if they have "pad sounds" (the synth tones). If not, I wonder if I could build them myself just by playing & looping very long sustained chords.

I played the PSR in the store, but still, for a newbie, it's hard to evaluate how well the features would work and which ones I'd need.

you CAN'T create your own sounds on PSR series... You can edit them A BIT... but that's all...

If you want to edit sounds you'll need a workstation... but that's not a newbie any more

It's me with another dumb yamaha question. I printed out the specs for the Yamaha Psr E400 and YPG 225 keyboards. It says that they are "General MIDI (GM) & XGlite compatible." I wonder what this means. What exactly is 'Midi-compatible'?

Hello Laura,

Midi is a universal system by which data is exchanged from one device to another to control sounds,sequence data & other functions amongst any midi-based unit such as keyboards,hardware sequencers,effects processors,computers, etc.,.

If you have a vested interest in music & keyboards & plan to evolve into a full blown musician down the road,I would suggest buying an entry level professional keyboard that will accomdate your progress for years to come.
Keyboards such as the Yamaha MM6,Roland Juno D,Roland GW-7 & perhaps even the Korg TR-61 to start with,would be a fantastic starting point to build on.
These keyboards I've mentioned will provide you with several sounds,editing capablities,expandablity,the ability to record complete songs & such,& are not priced that much more than what you are currently looking at-when you consider what you get for the money.

The prices range from $500 to $1,000 & they should keep you occupied for a very long time.

Casios have come a long way in the last 10 years,as thier sounds have improved dramatically & the Casio WK-3500 is a good example of this,but it is $400 and if you step up to a professional line of keyboards-it's really not that much more.
Also,if you choose to go with a professional music store like SamAsh or GuitarCenter-whatever you decide to buy,it will be cheaper at these places,as supposed to a place like say,Wal-Mart or Target.

Hope this info helps you out.

Elwood

Hello again,

I just read your introduction to the forum-which was very informative,so I now know who I am dealing with much more clearly.

Since you are a seasoned musician & after having read your backround,I think it would be really absurd for you to even consider buying any keyboard that is under a thousand.

Since you are familiar with computers and pro music stores,and since you want to do spacey,trance-type music-then by all means,you must consider the Clavia Nord Lead 2X!!!
SamAsh does not have them on display,but you can go to www.clavia.se and you can at least get an idea of what this amazing synth sounds like.

I have the Korg Triton Extreme which I adore,but the Nord Lead 2X has some amazing features & capabilities that no other keyboard has for a grand-it's major gear-lust for me & the nord Lead 2X WILL be my next keyboard.
Based on what I have read about you thus far,I think the Nord Lead 2X would be perfect for you.
Again,I strongly recommend that you contact Sweetwater.com,as they will give you all the info you would need about this board.

Elwood

The thing that annoys me about yamaha is the Auto chord function on one of the ones I played would only play majors, I think casio's have a smoother sound than Yamahas. Of course, I've only just started playing, And all the ones i've played are ones in school and stuff - Not "proper" keyboards.

I also bought a dead old one, That had an graphic equalizer (which you could switch to do just the lower keys) as well as a switch for adding echo or sustain -both of which were extremely useful, the casio I have just now is slightly newer and has neither, I especially miss being able to turn sustain on or off.