Ultimate Buyer's Guide to Casio Keyboards

Casio makes a variety of pianos for different applications and skill levels. At the lower end of the scale, you'll find the light-up keyboards, portable standard-size keyboards, and the ever-versatile mini keyboards. At the other end, you have your advanced models; the Privia digital grand pianos, and the workstations.

If you're in the market for a Casio keyboard, there is a mandatory requirement before you can buy one: you need to know the type of Casio keyboard that works best for you.

1. Mini Keyboards

Just as their name suggests, Casio mini keyboards are small, lightweight, and highly portable. For some musicians, their size is its main attraction. For others, it is its simplicity and ease of use.

Mini keyboards are known as the ideal beginner instrument. Many of them look so simple that they are almost toy-like, but that's the point of mini keyboards—they're rudimentary.

Take, for example, the Casio SA-46, a 32-key mini keyboard, which is designed for kids and beginner pianists. For simplicity's sake (and for cost-effectiveness too), the SA-46's functionality is kept at a bare minimum. 8-levels of polyphony, 10 built-in songs, and 100 built-in tones, plus a colorful design, is what the SA-46, an entry-level Casio keyboard at best, is able to offer.

Mini keyboards are mostly for kids as they are rather easy to master. Adult beginners can still use them to learn the piano, but you're better off spending a little more for at least a standard keyboard.

2. Portable Keyboards

Many of the keyboards Casio makes are portable and full of features. At the mid-range price point, you will find plenty of 61 -76-key portable keyboards at your disposal. Your budget will be your only limit.

These keyboards are feature-rich and are still fairly easy to use. Perhaps their biggest appeal is that they can easily be transported to and from venues. That doesn't take away from the fact that portable Casio keyboards are the perfect entry-level pianos for adult learners.

You can find a decent portable keyboard anywhere within Casio's CTK range of keyboards. Features of each model var. The CTK-4400, a 61-key digital piano, for instance, has 48 levels of polyphony and 180 rhythms. The CTK-6250, a similar 61-key keyboard, sports 210 rhythms as well as 700 built-in tones and room for 10 user-generated tones.

You can get a lot more functionality out of portable keyboards compared to mini keyboards. They are full-featured keyboards that are still easy to get accustomed to even for novice players.

3. Light-up Keyboards

Light-up keyboards belong in the same category as mini and portable keyboards chiefly because they are designed to be easy to play. One can argue that lit keyboards are even easier to master because the light shows you which key to play next.

Like standard keyboards, lit keyboards have anywhere between 61 and 76 keys. They are equally feature-rich as well. Some of them can have up to 600 built-in tones. The LK-175, a perfect example, has 150 rhythms, 400 tones, and an in-built EFX sampler.

It's a matter of preference really—whether you prefer a light-up keyboard or one that's just as easy to play but doesn't light up. Both are beginner-level types of pianos with more or less the same type of features.

4. Privia Keyboards

The Privia keyboard is one of Casio's greatest innovations. Their line of Privia digital pianos is comprised of a series of digital grand pianos. That's right, using enhanced sound mechanics and an 88 note Tri-Sensor scaled hammer, Casio has created digital pianos that sound and feel just like grand pianos!

Privia keyboards have a superior dynamic range, realistic transitions, and an in-built acoustics processor (the Acoustic intelligent Resonator) that simulates the sound of real open strings in a grand piano. The weight of the keys is also tailored to mimic the feel and resistance of a grand piano—this is all thanks to the 88 note scaled hammer action.

Add 16 tones and high-end USB MIDI connectivity to what is already a marvelous piano, and you get a beast of a music maker. Privia models like PX-S3000 and PX-S1000, and upright models like the PX-770 and the PX-880 which come complete with pedals. Privias are typically advanced instruments for high-quality music production.

5. Workstation

Casio workstation keyboards are often the reserve of music producers, both amateur and professional. That's because they feature advanced functions and sophisticated sound production mechanisms. As expected, they are not as easy to use as the other types of pianos.

Workstations are the preferred music makers for many artists and producers because they often come with mixing capabilities as well as advanced speakers. Take the CTK-1100, for example. The 61-key keyboard comes with 200 rhythms and 650 tones, a 17-track audio compressor, high-quality output speakers, and studio-level audio mixing capabilities.

Workstation keyboards are designed for advanced music production. They come with a steep learning curve for beginners but are relatively easy to understand afterward.

Conclusion

Casio Company is one of the biggest manufacturers of keyboards for all occasions. The company is known for a lot more than just digital pianos (digital calculators and watches are on their product list too), but in the music business, they are recognized alongside brands like Yamaha as instrument-making heavyweights.

Check out our Casio keyboard reviews:

Casio WK6600 Review: The Perfect 76-Key Casio Keyboard For Intermediate Piano Players Our Casio CTK 2400 Review: 8 Big Reasons It's One Of The Best Starter Keyboards For Learning Piano in 2023 Our Casio LK 280 Review: The Best Casio Portable Beginner Keyboard in 2023 Our Casio LK 175 Review: 8 Compelling Reasons This Is The Beginner Keyboard For You in 2023 Our Detailed Casio CTK 6200 Review: 8 Reasons It's One Of The Best Piano Keyboard For Under $200 Our Casio CTK 3200 Review: 9 Solid Reasons It's A Highly Recommended Beginner Keyboard in 2023 Casio CTK 4400 Review: 8 Reasons Why It's One Of The Best Casio Keyboards For Beginners Casio WK-245 Review: Is This The Best 76-Key Casio Keyboard in 2023?