A great beginner keyboard (Casio CTK-496)

Member Name: scmk55

Product:	Casio CTK-496
Date:	03/05/09 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: price, features

Disadvantages: lack of key sensitivity

I love classical music. I have been playing clarinet since elementary school, and had an appreciation for instrumental music ever since. I decided that I wanted to play a keyboard, so I went out and got one.

I found the Casio ctk-496, and due to the price and availability, I bought it. It came with a song book and a book stand for the back of the keyboard, but I had to have my own power adapter. It runs on 8 batteries I think, but they don't last long and are just a waste of time to replace, so I don't suggest that.

The keyboard has a lot of great features. For one, it has a lot of different instrumental sounds, so you can always find what you are looking for musically from a piece. It has the ability to record what you play, so playback is a nice feature.

It has a wide range of built in songs, some basic, and some very advanced. This is good because as you learn to play, you can challenge yourself to play more complex pieces.

The one downfall to this keyboard is the lack of key sensitivity feature. No matter how soft or hard you press on the keys, you will get the same volume intensity. This was a huge downfall as I believe the different volume intensities gives the song character.

Overall, for the price and features, this is a great way to get anyone started in the keyboard world. If they like it, they can move on to a more advanced keyboard.

Summary: a great beginner keyboard