What you need to know about the Casio CT-S500 

What full size keyboard do recommend for beginners under $500 ?

Yamaha got a response keyboard to this but it gives the DGX vibe still. When CTX came out, it was totally new now they have this. They're very new like. I have the CTX 800 and the CTS 500. I had the Yamaha but sold them. These Casios are nothing like they used to be. They're sounding like they cost over 2 grand.

The lack of 5-pin DIN MIDI ports can be remedied for an extra $50 or so. I got the DoreMidi USB MIDI host box, which I've connected to my CT-S1000v via its microUSB port, and then I just connected the DoreMidi box to my Roland Juno DS via regular MIDI cables. It works like a charm, but I haven't used it for long, so I can't vouch for this particular MIDI host box's durability. The 73 keys would be really nice. I'd also like to see Casio increase polyphony to 128 voices, and also increase the amount of instruments you can layer to at least 3 for upper voices the way Korg i3 and EK50 can do that right now. But the lack of DIN MIDI ports was close to a deal-breaker for me. I almost got the Yamaha MX49 instead of he CT-S1000v. Almost.

@@ivanl.8201 Thank you Ivan for that excellent information , it’s the NAAM show this week let’s hope Casio addresses these issues with some new and improved keyboards . Even since the 80 s Casio has made some keyboards which were potentially great…. but they always left something important out ( always a deal killer)…I m referring to the CZ range which lacked polyphony or velocity…or the hex layer models which had so much potential but wrongly packaged.

​@@dougie6897 Yes! Thank you, Dougie. I hope they listen to us. My first keyboard ever was their little PT-1, and I absolutely loved it. Yes, it was cheesy and all, but there's always been that nostalgic brightness to their sound that I think can add some sparkle to just about any song. Yes, I've always loved how the CZ series sounded. I remember being about 12-13 or so, and Erasure had some big hits, and I think Vince Clarke had those CZ's in the mix. The phase distortion synthesis Casio came up with was a thing of beauty; it was like a "softer digital" tone compared to the DX7. I have the Arturia's CZ V plugin and love it so much and surely wish Casio created a new CZ unit with 128/256 polyphony. I think it'd sell like hotcakes. I also think they gave up on their XW-P1 way too soon. Like you said, that hex layer was great, but I think that keyboard fell a bit short. But I wish they didn't give up on it. I think it would have been fantastic in mkII or mkIII release. I wish Casio kept refining their products, much like Korg and Yamaha do. Instead, they often yank them from the market even though there's so much promise, and probably a winning synth in a version 2.0. One of my big regrets was not getting their MZ-2000 keyboard back in the early 00's. It's really shame that line got discontinued for so long. I really wish Casio becomes more patient with their product refinements. I think they have it in them to create some absolutely top-notch keyboards, and I think they're halfway there. Keeping my fingers crossed that they do take some of our feedback, too :)

@@ivanl.8201 absolutely correct, I couldn’t agree more 👍

@@dougie6897 Just one more thing before I forget. One thing that Casio got absolutely right with this model is its' electric piano sounds. They're absolutely phenomenal for this price point, and I think are worth getting this keyboard for alone, if e-pianos are something that you really need. I think combining its' e-pianos with pads from VST instruments or other synths can bring about some pretty amazing results.