Customer Reviews

Casio CTK-4000 Personal Keyboard, 61-Key, with MP3 Connection, 10 Second Sampling, and Digital Effects

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you want to bang keys for a few days and then put this into the corner of your darkest closet this keyboard is probably fine. But, if you were planning on using this as a tool to learn to play a keyboard I would advise against it. After less than 4 months (Less than 40 hours total use) the keys are all starting to squeak and bend oddly.

If you're like me (and want something that is at least reliable and feels right even though you aren't a pro) I'd advise spending a bit more to get something that isn't so flimsy, as this is just annoying and I'll have to go replace it now. I have no idea what better products exist (I'm not a pro, as I stated), but I will seek one out.

I'm not a professional, but I've been playing music for close to 20 years, and I'm very picky about sound and build quality of the electronics and instruments I buy. I don't find the CTK-4000 to be "flimsy", as one reviewer stated. It's very well made, and it's perfectly suited to "bedroom" playing and practicing. Don't let the price fool you, it's not a toy.

The digital sounds are actually very good, especially the organ, piano, and harpsichord. There are enough others to cover most styles. The built-in speakers are plenty loud, and have a very full rich sound. This is what sold me, after playing twenty different digital keyboards in the store.

The training features and the onscreen helps are very nice. You see the staff with the notes you are playing, and there are many songs included.

The keys are not weighted, but neither are real harpsichord keys, so it's fine with me.
Overall it's a small, light, attractive keyboard, with good sounds and playability, and I did not play anything in the sub $300 price range that I thought was better. Spending more will get you more voices, sounds, and extra features like a pitch wheel, but not really a better instrument.

I selected this unit as a birthday gift to myself in August.
On the morning of my birthday in September, I was very excited to open it up, and begin playing it.
Prior to this unit, I had been using a 2000 model, the CTK-551.
I purchased the CTK-551 at a Flea Market in 2007.
Though it was in full working order as far as keys and controls, it unfortunately could not play from electricity due to a bad diode.
This is what led me to search for a new unit.
It was a tie between the CTK-2100 for $99.99, and this unit, the CTK-4000, for $149.99.
After testing both units, I decided upon the 4000, based on sound and tone quality.
The unit features 570 instrument sounds, utilizing the AHL sound engine, which is said to produce higher quality and more realistic instrument tones.
Most of the tones do in fact sound much morr realistic than that of CTK-551, especially the Pianos, Harpsichords, and Reed/Brass tones.
Some of the tones are still a bit on the artificial side, especially the organs and guitars.
The unit also features 180 background rhythms, including 8 and 16 beat, rock, pop, dance, ballad, and worldwide, e.g. european, Chinese, asian Indian .
These accompaniment patterns are very nice, and help me out quite a bit in making pleasant sounding songs.
I play by ear, and almost always create my own instrumental pieces.
Occasionally, I do play without the Auto Accompaniment, especially using the Stereo Piano, Organ and Reed/Brass tones.
The accompaniment section does include one of my favorite patterns in the european section which was not included on the CTK-551, titled Serenade.
I love the chord sequence of the pattern. It is a very peaceful arrangement resembling Bahrams Lullaby, consisting of string section, harpsichord, and acoustic bass.
The unit also gives the user the ability to create his or her own rhythms, based on the preset ones.
There is space for 10 extra user created rhythms, giving the unit a total of 190 rhythms.
Also, there is the ability to connect the unit to one's iPod, computer, CD/Cassette player, etc, to sample a portion of a song for up to 10 seconds.
I have used the sampler several times, and though the quality is decent, the volume must be kept down on the device being sampled, in order to avoid distortion.
Though I do love the CTK-4000, it will most likely be my final Casio unit, as I would like to broaden my horizons.
I am planning to venture to a store which sells Yamaha keyboards soon, in order to test a unit.
I have read that Yamaha units have even better sounding instrument voices, especially the Stereo Piano, which is said to have been sampled from one of Yamaha's high quality acoustic pianos.
Here are the aspects I like and don't like of the CTK-4000.
Pros:.
Crisp, clear instrument voices.
Great built in speakers, very loud and with a decent amount of bass.
good variety of voices and rhythms.
Customizable rhythms.
cons:
No microphone input for sampler.
Some tones are still a bit artificial.
USB Portion is not fully compatible with Windows 7.
Because of these small cons, I have given the unit a 4 out of 5 rating.
Hope you have enjoyed my review, and thank you for reading.
Spatcher

It was a gift for my young daughters 7&9. They love it. Plus it hooks up to my Mac so they can learn to play. Very prompt delivery and excellent service through amazon. Only complaint i have is that the power adapter was not included

I found this keyboard to be great right out of the box. I had a Kiawa before this and the MIDI connectors went out. This new USB connector is even easier than the old MIDI cables. The price was nice and the amount of sounds is way more than I had before. Casio has been around for some time and their product has been refined over the years. It may not be the most expensive or the best out their, but it sure met my needs. The sound is great and it has everything an amature player may want. The only thing that would have been nice are weighted keys. When you start getting into that however, your keyboards start at probably a grand. I would recommend this keyboard to anyone wanting a piano to play for their leisure, with or without MIDI capabilities. It does record, however most MIDI software does that at a significant level better.

I could not afford any of the Phantom keyboards for my 27 year old musician husband. He produces beats and I wanted to surprise him for Christmas since his previous keyboard broke plus I had a budget. I did not want some play school keyboard. So I did research and comparisons. And although it is not the heavy duty super star artist equipment, it gets the job done. And he was really happy on Christmas!

I'm a first time user of keyboards...I'm taking keyboard lessons at a local music shop. I am absolutely fascinated with this thing, and it's really fun to learn. I think this would be fantastic for any first learner.

Excellent Product, and The Best is the courier Ontime .
Is a Great Experience has a suplier how AMazon.

Thanks.

I WISH THAT THIS KEYBOARD WOULD HAVE COME WITH ITS AC POWER ADAPTER, SO THAT MY SON COULD HAVE START PRACTICING HIS PIANO LESSON. IT IS A SHAME THAT YOU HAVE TO PURCHASE ONE SEPARATELY NOW, I GUESS THEY MAKE MORE MONEY THAT WAY.....GREED. IT'S BEEN MORE THAN A MONTH NOW I COULD NOT FIND ONE IN MY LOCAL STORE.