You can't go wrong with a casio CTK601AD (Casio Keyboards)

Member Name:

Product:	Casio Keyboards
Date:	03/05/01 (1414 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Huge variety of voices/instruments, able to record your own songs., Drum Pads

Disadvantages: only two in-built songs, recorded songs disappear once the main power supply is switched off

Although it has a ridiculously long and silly name; the Casio CTK601AD keyboard is quite good.

I first heard about this keyboard when i was looking for a keyboard of my own as i was starting to take lessons. I tried out many different types of keyboard, but none felt right to me. However, at my school, the music department had ordered about 40 odd, new keyboards, that were the Casio CTK601AD!

I felt right at home with this keyboard, from the moment when i played the first note. The navigation of the keyboard, really good, and the buttons are laid out nice and easily, with labels to tell the newcomers what to do. Options such as songs, rhythm samples, and different voices/instruments, give this keyboard a endless of possibilities on what to play.

One of the main features on this keyboard is the ability to record tunes that you can play, and then overlap other samples that you know. For example, you can choose to record track 1, as Greensleeves,(or something else you can play), then put another tune on track 2, or a rhythm sample, such as R'n'B to spice the track up. Options for the rhythms, such as fillings, endings and starters, gives you custom made tune oter ideas.

You can make you own drum rhythm with the three yellow buttons in the centre of the interface. These contain, a hi-hat cymbal, a crash cymbal, a snare drum, and the three tom-toms. This may not sound much, but it can make a huge difference to your song.

Along with the 100 differents instruments avaliable, and the 100 rhythms, there are two songs built into the keyboard, which can either relax too, or choose to slow it down, and try and learn it for yourself. But once you have learnt them, there aren't any more, so more songs to learn would be an improvement.

Along with being able to change the transpose, tune and key of the keyboard, it has pretty much everything. This keyboard is definetely worth a look, and is quite cheap, compared to
other keyboards on the market.

Summary: