​Which Casiotone keyboard is right for me?

Casio is always a great place to start when learning piano and keyboard. Dr Chris is in the studio with Tom to talk you through each of them and which is the right one for you.
Check out the full range: gear4music.me/CASIO-CTS-SERIES
00:00 Intro from Tom
00:30 What are the similarities across the range?
01:42 Which model is best to start with?
01:46 CTS100
03:14 CTS200
04:42 CTS300
06:53 CTS400
09:59 CTS500
13:30 CTS1000V
15:33 Other models available

[@asdfjkl227]

I like how the Casio guy explains stuff and the gear company guy let's the Casio guy talk. Great interview dynamic.

[@ahmed.aldabbagh]

The best vid on TH-cam comparing and clarifying the main model differences of the Casiotone series. Thanks for the clarification, very helpful!

[@apislapis]

Also check out the CT-X3000 & CT-X5000 Casiotones which also use the same AiX Sound source as the CT-S500 & 1000V as an alternative. They are bulkier in size but offer more DSP options and are reasonably priced too.

[@anonymike8280]

The Casio CT-S! is the only keyboard I know of that is both a good beginner keyboard and a minimalist workstation keyboard. My level as an instrumentalist is intermediate beginner but I have a full keyboard as my acoustic piano emulator and then both a Casio CT-S200 and Yamaha PSR-E263 as my workstation and portable keyboards. I have use for an small form keyboard because I also do songwriting and use the keyboard to work out my chord progressions. The CT-S200 has poor sound and tone but it is useful for my purposes nevertheless. If I sell a song and get some royalties, then I'll move up and I do have the CT-S1 on the list.
The CT-S200 I bought used from a mom whose son tried to learn on it and quickly quit. I can see why, because a kid might be so disappointed by the sound that he or she gets discouraged and gives up. The Yamaha had good sound but it is so busy with features that a beginner might end up confused. The Casio CT-S200 does have a good action though, I would say better than the Yamaha for acoustic piano emulation. With the minimalist design, Casio CT-S1 should be something that you can give to a kid to start learning keyboard fundamentals on without them being distracted by so many visible features. Myself, I just ignore them. They are there on all three instruments, but except for some occasional use of voices other than piano, they are of no interest to me as of yet.
If I met a parent and they asked what might be good for their kid to start on, I would say, try the Casio CT-S1 and make sure it's the S1. The price is right also. The only concern I have is what instructional materials are available for a 61-key keyboard. The use I put the 61-key keyboard to is composing chord progression and I do traditional exercises on the full keyboard. I use all three keyboards for all purposes, but the small formkeyboard represents a less daunting environment for someone who is not extremely advanced. Admittedly, I had some prior experience on traditional piano and also some guitar experience; hence my awareness of chord progressions.

[@alexanderwilliams1731]

Great keyboard’s!!!!😃

[@jongreen3712]

I just bought and waiting for my Casio ct s400 super excited to play for the first time I just figured I’d watch your reviews even though I already bought it lol

[@darshagarwal8307]

Same for me as well! Just bought it and am checking out reviews to be giddy about it!!

[@ALLKI]

CT-S1 FTW!🎹

[@samuelohouo9213]

GOOD

[@CozyRodent]

They need to update the connectors and in CT S1 also in/out stereo

[@michaelbeeministries2020]

Hello, how can I do a factory reset on the ct s500? Please advise, thank you

[@sugarfreemints]

Hello, I bought the casiotone cts 400 and the cts 500, but I realized that it is only compatible with Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, does anyone know if there is a driver for them to work with Windows 11?


[@CozyRodent]

I would cut CT S100 and then drop in price the line a bit

[@lukassembol7542]

Oh, come on! They all use micro-USB as the upstream port - not full sized USB-B like proffesional equipment does, not USB-C like modern electronics does, but an outdated, fragile, hard to locate port. And the same story goes for its 3.5mm jack ports. It still does not have BT embeded, and needs an expansion dongle instead.
Don't get me wrong, I love casiotone keybords - or at least loved them in the past when their HW was at least relatively modern, but lately despite all the SW improvements they begin to feel painstakingly outdated.
Just take the S300, transplant into it the AiX sound source, replace that micro USB with USB-C, replace the headphones and line-in ports with more reliable 6.3mm jack, replace the battery cage with (both internally and externally) rechargable battery pack, the power port should be able to handle 10-14V so it could be powered from car lighter socket (also power over USB-C PD would be nice), BT should be internal, and besides acting as a BT speaker and MIDI device it should be also able to act as a BT line-in for recording music sessions on connected smartphone (mix of AiX sound, physical line-in/mic and possibly audio playback from USB drive or phone itself).
All these modifications shouldn't raise the cost more than 100$, but price of such device could be easily 300$ more. Casio should really get inspired by their past success, instead of their past technology. 😉

[@ttattx]

what would you suggest then for a beginner keyboard. I was liking the CT-s1 and the CT-S400, but now you've got me nervous I'm buying an old dinosaur in a new time period

[@Tuckerslam]

So TLDR would be to buy S500.