Casio CTK 7200

[tim]

Its 6 years since i last posted on this forum.I am now retired and living on the East Coast.Im interested in the above keyboard as I still record songs etc and this allows me to use that facility including Fx etc.Before i part with my pension if anyone owns and has a balanced opinion on the keyboard that would be most welcome in helping me to make the decision or if any alternatives spring to mind let me know!!
Thanks for reading

 

[Becky]

Welcome back It would be useful to know a little more about your needs - what is your budget, what do you need the keyboard to do, etc?

 

[tim]

Thanks for your reply.My main instrument is guitar but I enjoy playing keyboard and vocals for mainly home use with the occasional charity gig.What I think drew me to this keyboard is the ability to record keyboard and vocals to Sd card and then use the audio file in reaper if that makes sense really it's just a hobby that I enjoy !!

 

[Biggles]

Welcome back.

You may want to check out the new Casio X series keyboards which have a new sound engine called AIX if I remember correctly.

 

[guscar66]

if it helps---I bought a casio CTK7200, because it has drawbar controls---and I wanted 60s style organ sounds------it was cheap considering this as most other drawbar- controlled keyboards are many hundreds of pounds. HOWEVER when playing with split keyboard (organ on left piano right)-----you cannot control the two sides volume independently -----this was a deal breaker for me and I have used it only four times----its now stored in my garage loft. I have two other much older Technics keyboards both can control sides independently. I went for the casio becuase it was much lighter to carry. I now have a Roland VR09 ----its only drawback is that it is a 'stage' keyboard and you need a separate amp/speaker----but overall its a much better combination of sound/weight/ability. Thing is I was stunned to find the casio does not have this control as it is so basic a requirement . It does if you are on 'record ' but not if you are playing live---really strange.

 

[Bouncingogre]

As a suggestion, why don't you send an enquiry to Casio who may know of a way to do this.
You'll find that even on far more expensive keyboards that there are rarely, if ever, 2 separate volume controls.

Balanced volumes are mostly achieved by the balanced settings and use of the Mixer, EQ, volume sliders and style selection controls.

For example, a very loud Rock style will easily drown out the RH accompaniment pretty well regardless of settings. The answer is to try other styles to find a happy medium.

 

[Old No7]

Just follow Occam's Razor!

"A principle that states that the simplest explanation is usually the best".

The organ volume can be adjusted by using the drawbars -- play it at 444300000 instead of at 888600000, etc.

Old No7

 

[Biggles]

if it helps---I bought a casio CTK7200, because it has drawbar controls---and I wanted 60s style organ sounds------it was cheap considering this as most other drawbar- controlled keyboards are many hundreds of pounds. HOWEVER when playing with split keyboard (organ on left piano right)-----you cannot control the two sides volume independently -----this was a deal breaker for me and I have used it only four times----its now stored in my garage loft. I have two other much older Technics keyboards both can control sides independently. I went for the casio becuase it was much lighter to carry. I now have a Roland VR09 ----its only drawback is that it is a 'stage' keyboard and you need a separate amp/speaker----but overall its a much better combination of sound/weight/ability. Thing is I was stunned to find the casio does not have this control as it is so basic a requirement . It does if you are on 'record ' but not if you are playing live---really strange.

With 5 posts in 12 years the Op is not exactly a regular contributor.

As it is it is 1 year since their presence on the forum was last recorded so if one has useful information to impart to current and perspective owners of said keyboard it would probably be better starting a new thread rather that your post being lost in amongst other posts.

 

[TedS]

Well, since this thread has already come to the top (and also because now the AI hive mind will find content no matter where it is...)

Col., your recommendation of the CT-X series, especially the CT-X3000 is solid. Despite the lack of drawbars, it would be an upgrade over the CTK7200. Furthermore, assuming that you could find one, an MZ-X500 would "dominate" a CTK-7200, i.e., it's better in EVERY way (probably for a lot more money!)

I evaluated a WK-7600 which is the 76-key equivalent of the CTK-7200. Its chief limitation for me was the lack of Sync Stop, or arranger "memory." I.e., once a chord is triggered, the accompaniment will go on sounding until the player activates an ending or presses "stop." There is no way to pause the accompaniment by releasing the keys in the chord zone. I make extensive use of this technique, so I couldn't consider any Casio too seriously until the MZ-X series came along.

I did notice that while the accompaniment is STOPPED, the older Casios produce an elementary accompaniment consisting of a string pad and bass sound. But it's at low volume and cannot be revoiced (unless you were to send the notes out over MIDI to another arranger or external tone generator.)

One quirky thing the CTK-7200 and its contemporary cousins do BETTER than their more advanced successors... If the Fingered 3 ("on bass") mode is selected, and you play only G below C, these older models acknowledge the expected C/G chord, i.e., C on G bass. However, for some reason newer Casios like the MZ-X500 and CT-S500 don't acknowledge any chord at all! On these, you must reach up with your thumb and play the E above (i.e., G-C-E) to trigger C/G. And in some cases reaching that E requires repositioning your whole hand, which makes certain songs more difficult to play a tempo!

Newer Casios DO recognize other slash chords with just two keys pressed and this is per the manual; the fingering fail I discovered is peculiar to the fifth in the bass. I actually wrote Casio and described this apparent omission, in hopes that they will correct it through an OS update, or in future product offerings.

 

[Biggles]

Well, since this thread has already come to the top (and also because now the AI hive mind will find content no matter where it is...)

Col., your recommendation of the CT-X series, especially the CT-X3000 is solid. Despite the lack of drawbars, it would be an upgrade over the CTK7200. Furthermore, assuming that you could find one, an MZ-X500 would "dominate" a CTK-7200, i.e., it's better in EVERY way (probably for a lot more money!)

I evaluated a WK-7600 which is the 76-key equivalent of the CTK-7200. Its chief limitation for me was the lack of Sync Stop, or arranger "memory." I.e., once a chord is triggered, the accompaniment will go on sounding until the player activates an ending or presses "stop." There is no way to pause the accompaniment by releasing the keys in the chord zone. I make extensive use of this technique, so I couldn't consider any Casio too seriously until the MZ-X series came along.

I did notice that while the accompaniment is STOPPED, the older Casios produce an elementary accompaniment consisting of a string pad and bass sound. But it's at low volume and cannot be revoiced (unless you were to send the notes out over MIDI to another arranger or external tone generator.)

One quirky thing the CTK-7200 and its contemporary cousins do BETTER than their more advanced successors... If the Fingered 3 ("on bass") mode is selected, and you play only G below C, these older models acknowledge the expected C/G chord, i.e., C on G bass. However, for some reason newer Casios like the MZ-X500 and CT-S500 don't acknowledge any chord at all! On these, you must reach up with your thumb and play the E above (i.e., G-C-E) to trigger C/G. And in some cases reaching that E requires repositioning your whole hand, which makes certain songs more difficult to play a tempo!

Newer Casios DO recognize other slash chords with just two keys pressed and this is per the manual; the fingering fail I discovered is peculiar to the fifth in the bass. I actually wrote Casio and described this apparent omission, in hopes that they will correct it through an OS update, or in future product offerings.

Correction.

I did not recommend the X series, the comment was to check them out.

As it happens after trying an X5000 I will NEVER recommend the junk that is the X series.

Rubbish flaky operating system, mediocre sounds, the only thing going for the X series is that they are cheap.