I like the attitude in reviewing this keyboard without prejudices for its price tag. Instruments can be inspiring for many reasons; I wish you many more hours of good music with your SA-76 :)
Thank you! I approach anything that produces sound as having the potential to be used for something creative, however inexpensive or limited it may be. The SA-76 surprised me greatly at just how good it sounds, especially its Tones. In a blind test I suspect many would be hard pressed to tell that the sounds were coming from an entry level Casio and not from something much more expensive, it really does sound that good. Perhaps my channel moto should be, "If it musics, use it"!
What a great review of the Casio SA-76. I am looking forward to the other 3 videos moon this topic. The instructor is very knowledgeable. Thank you for doing this four part video series.
@@Sweetpapa58 - thank you so very much for the kind words, I really appreciate them! Part Two is already up on the channel, and part three and four should be released in the next couple of weeks or so. Stay tuned!
@@CasioChaosTheoryIf you put "If it musics, use it" on a crewneck sweater for merch, I would buy it! Thank you for reviewing the SA-76, currently waiting to see if my ebay bid goes through!
Oh my Gosh I love this! Thank you for this channel! I found a Casio SA-77 laying outside next to the street while out on a walk one day. I figured would just let it be for a kid or someone else to pick up. But some 6-8 hours later it was still there and getting lightly rained on. So I took it home, and let it dry out 2 days before putting batteries into it, and it works beautifully!
I use mine in my production all the time, esp now in conjunction with my SP404 MK2. With the right FX processing you can really get some awesome sounds out of this thing
I got the SA-77 recently. I found it cheaply in a shop that sells used item's. I played a bit on a Hammond organ in the 80's. But after my parents sold it (it was my father's) I haven't touched any keyboard ever since. Playing on the SA-77 make me realize how much fun it actually was. I might get something bigger in the future (a digital piano perhaps). But for now, I just have fun with this.
I just ordered this today. Thank you for this awesome in depth video. Anxious to continue with the next three! Do you ever feature other brands? I recently bought the Yamaha PSS - F30 and was so impressed with it's capabilities as well. I am brand new to learning keyboards and find each of these to be a fun place to begin. I am a senior and music is what saved my sanity over the last couple of years. Happily subscribed! 🎹🎶
Thank you for the kind words, and I'm glad that you found my video useful! I haven't (yet) featured other brands, though I have always planned to cover other keyboards as well as Casios, and that is still in the channel game plan. It's just that it takes so much time to research, record and edit such in depth videos - there's so many video projects that I want to work on and not enough time to work on them! Also, I've still rather embarrassingly yet to finish part 4 of the SA-76 review, though I hope to address that over the next couple of months. Yes, the Yamaha F30 is probably the closest rival to the SA-76 in terms of design and feature set. When I first started working on Part 1 of my SA-76 review back in 2020, the F30 was almost double the price but has since been considerably reduced. It has some features/ advantages over the SA-76, though overall they are closely matched. Personally I think the SA-76 looks a lot nicer, but that's just aesthetics. Nicer still is the F30's more powerful big brother the A50, but that model is considerably more expensive. It is certainly apparent that modern small keyboards from Casio and Yamaha have impressive capabilities. The SA- 76 impressed me when I set myself the challenge to record an entire synth pop style song using only the little Casio and the free Audacity audio recorder. The results were surprisingly good, mainly because of the excellent sounding Tones in the Casio! If you check out my video "Harold F.", you can hear it in action. And yes, music has many powers and saving sanity is one of them. Enjoy your journey and have fun with these little keyboards!
Nice in depth review as I am still getting familiar with my casio s 76. Very helpful. Hope you can give us more tutorials on the beginners. More subscribers to come
Thank you for the kind words! I plan to make more videos showing how to use the features of many entry level Casios/ other keyboards, plus what you can achieve even with limited equipment. Stay tuned!
Thank you so much for the compliment! I just uploaded Part 3 of the SA-76 review series, and I'm about to start work on a new video featuring the oldest and the newest Casiotones! :-)
Sooooo? This little Casio has Bhangra, Adani, Baladi and other actual nice beats from the Middle East? And has actual Indian TABLA drum sounds! If I should find one of these in a thrift store(that we DO have up North lol), I shall buy it!
It does not, though some of the tones have natural sustain but you mostly have to hold the key down to get any sustain. If you go to 5:55 in the second episode of my review (Part 2 of 4) I cover this point along with the limited expression available.
Check out my "Harold F." music video for the full track (link below), and have a look in the description. In the description I detail all the SA-76 Tones and sounds used in the recording, along with the equipment/ recording software used :-) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AHbhDUmASyI.html
This keyboard is so adorable lol - I’m only sad it doesn’t come with a music sheet holder - Any chance you know if that accessory is available for purchase separately??
Hi Sven, I've never seen a music rest mentioned or listed for the SA-76/ 77/ 78. Casio would normally include a clip on music rest if one were available for a particular model, and in the case of a more recent model such as the SA, it would likely be a simple plastic affair. There's also no mounting points for a music rest anywhere on the SA series either unfortunately, so it looks like this model was designed to be ultra portable with no music rest.
@@CasioChaosTheory Ah okay great - thanks so much for this information. I’m looking to get one for my nephew and the music rest is pretty important as he will be taking lessons soon. Thanks again for the help!
It depends on what you want to learn. Unless it's for a child, the small keys aren't good for learning piano style playing. Also it doesn't have the Casio Chordana feature that comes with newer Casios, which is much more geared towards helping people learn to play keyboard. However, for a take literally anywhere, battery powered, instant access, budget portable keyboard for trying out ideas when inspiration strikes, it's excellent.
Yes, it is very suitable for beginners, though it all depends on how far you want to go. If you just want an introduction to playing keys and having a very good selection of tones and features in a compact and very portable unit, its a fun little keyboard to start out with. If you plan to progress to more serious playing, then perhaps one of the new Casiotone CT-S models with full sized keys might be more suitable. Mini keys (and a limited keyboard range) are fine for more simple playing, but when you start getting into more serious techniques, unless you are a child or have small fingers, they could be a hindrance. As for playing pop music, if you multitrack a recording you can get some very good results. Check out my "Harold F." video (link below) - it's a track recorded using only an SA-76 and shows what can be achieved with this little keyboard :-) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AHbhDUmASyI.html
You can do an approximation of the trumpet part in that tune, though it won't sound the same as the original Gonna Fly Now as it was recorded with real trumpets and there's some expression and modulation going on in the playing. The SA-76 has a good trumpet sound, but it cannot be modulated in any way.
The SA-76 has no record/ sequencing features. The only way to record with it is to take a line out from the headphone socket into a sound interface/ audio recording device.
Hello! Your reviews are the most helpful and informative i have seen. Thanks so much! 🙏🏾🤗When are parts 2 thru 4 coming out? Just got a Casio SA-77 and want to learn how to play it!
@@dljensen9882 - Parts 2 through 4 are already out! They should be in a playlist I created in my channel, or just search my channel for them individually. Thank you for the compliments and I'm pleased that my reviews have been helpful :-)
With no velocity sensitive keys, no accompaniments, no way to mix rythm with melody,, no multitimbral capability, no sustain pedal, it is just a toy. Its made only for kids to mimic djs. Pretty useless even for an amateur musician.
You've just described all the features missing in the classic Roland Jupiter 8! I agree that the omission of a sustain function is a let down (note that the SA-76's successor, the SA-80, now has a sustain option). However, features such as velocity sensitive keys and multitimbrality are not expected in this class of keyboard nor at this price point. The rival Yamaha PSS-F30 doesn't have these features either. These are entry level bargain priced beginners keyboards, and Casio even market the SA-76 as "for kids". The point of this review was to show everything the SA-76 has to offer, and despite its many limitations, it still has some very good and usable sounds onboard that can be used by those with creativity and an open mind. If you get the chance, search RU-vid for "The Model- Kraftwerk Cover with Casio SA 76", and "Material Girl Madonna Cover CASIO SA-76". Also check out my own song "Harold F." that can be found in my channel list. These were all recorded using just an SA-76. They go to show that it's not the keyboard nor brand name that's important, but how you use it. Case in point - I'd rather listen to Herbie Hancock performing with a cheap Casio keyboard than a beginner pianist attempting to play a 12ft Steinway Grand Piano, and I believe most people would feel the same.
