The Y_man
Moderator
I've had the CTK-7000 for a few months now so some updates/observations for those who might be looking at this keyboard as a potential purchase.
The Y-man
- Sound from the built in speakers is ok for personal use in a small room - but lacks body and depth without the use of an external amp. Has a stereo line out which means you can go to an amp and listen to the built in speakers simultaneously which is a plus (the sepakers can also be switched off).
- Haven't figured out the rhythm editor (to make your own backing). I've used Casio's conversion program which converts SMF (.mid) to CKF but it only allows 1 x drum 1 x bass and 3 x chords which is a bit limiting
- The differences between the normal rhythm (backing) and variation is very slight in many cases which is a disappointment, and the fill-ins are a bit of a non-event.
- The 4 button rhythm section (Intro, Normal/Fill, Variation/Fill, Ending) means it is difficult to cut over to a variation using a fill-in)
- The recessed buttons are hard to use - especially while playing.
- When auto harmony is used at the same time as layering, the auto harmony only applies to the first voice, not to the layered voice
- While the tones can be edited, there's not much altering you can do to the fundamental sound (unless I haven't found it yet)
- Compared to my (very) old Yamaha PSR, the strings sound harsh, It's hard to get a rich violin sound too - sounds very thin. I end up using the er-hu voice instead - which is surprisingly useful. The brass is bright. The pipes are ok (oboe, GM bagpipes, Shakuhachi). Piano's are a step up from my old machine, and organs are fine.
- I wish the board would tell you if you were running on batteries (not when they're low already!) instead of AC power (when you forget to plug it in!!)
- Playing songs from the SD card - can be really slow getting to songs - you can't directly access a position - you have to scroll though - hint do NOT use the wheel for this - it only goes through a song at a time. Use the up/down buttons which you can hold down
- The music sheet holder is *very* shallow - I occasionally have sheet music falling down onto my keys while playing. It's also not tall enough to support an A4 page, which can fold over backwards and flip over....
- As others have mentioned - once the music sheet holder is in place - it covers up the labels to the rear jacks - so you need to memorise where your headphone jack is etc
- I am a bit worried that I can see what looks like the back of circuit boards between my keys - if the occasional liquid spill makes its way in....
The Y-man