Are you having trouble deciding which Casio digital keyboard is the best choice for you? My guide will help you work things out.
Casio are experts at making digital keyboards and are considered one of the market leaders when it comes to entry level and mid-range digital keyboards. If you are totally knew to digital keyboards I should point out that a digital keyboard is the same as a home keyboard, or a portable synthesizer. Different manufacturers use a variety of terms.
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Moving on, Casio have two different ranges of digital keyboards; Casio CTK keyboards and the LK keyboards. The main difference between the LK and CTK keyboard ranges is that the LK range has what they call back light keys. This means that the keys light up and will tell you which note to press next whilst you are doing the onboard learning exercises.
Fortunately both the LK and CTK digital keyboards come with what Casio call the Step-Up Learning program. These are structured but fun lesson plans aimed at helping you to learn quickly.
Which is the best choice then?
I would recommend choosing the LK range of keyboards for younger players who are absolute beginners i.e. 4-10 years old. Younger players quite often need more assistance when learning and can become put-off if they get stuck with something.
The CTK range is for your older players i.e. 10 years plus. Older players if using the back light keys could become lazy and would benefit from being stretched. Added to that there are more features on the CTK keyboard range that will keep the interest levels up for older players.
There are several models to choose from in both the ranges. The LK has the LK-110, LK-230. The CTK range has more variety and includes the CTK-2100; CTK-3000; CTK-4000 and CTK-5000. All of these are suitable for beginners and intermediates as they include features such as effects, midi control capabilities, rhythm editors, onboard sequencing and more. Don't worry if you're unfamiliar with these features. That's the fun of learning.
One thing I always come across with people who wish they had spent more money on their first keyboard as they outgrew the entry-level keyboard far quicker than anticipated. To be fair this is always going to be an issue when buying digital keyboards and especially when choice is very often dictated by budget. However, if you are serious about playing, just like anything else you should be prepared to invest in that.
If you're an intermediate player, I would recommend choosing anything from the Casio CTK-3000 keyboard upwards. The CTK3000 keyboard features 400 sounds onboard, 150 rhythms, accompaniment capabilities, sampling facilities, touch sensitive keys and the ability to connect to a computer via MIDI which is great if you are already using music software, or want to in the future.
The thing to remember when buying a digital keyboard is to try them out. There are plenty of shops selling Casio keyboards, just make sure it is a music shop as they will be able to demonstrate the keyboards to you.
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