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New member here (CTK and WK related post)


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Hi there - first post :-)  I was a member of the old Mad Max Casio forum from the mid-2000s which was gone a while ago, so was looking for a new place to post.  I'm sure there is a Casio group on Facebook, but I prefer forums to social media.

 

I have owned a CTK601 in 1997 then I switched over to a WK3500 in 2005.  What I liked about the CTK601 was that you could layer 2 voices together in synthesiser mode, then re-package it as a single custom voice.  This was a feature that the WK3500 didn't have, but the WK was better keyboard in pretty much every other aspect.  I loved the DSP button.  Also, the WK was better for saving your work.  For the CTK, you needed an external data MIDI filer which saved your work onto floppies.  The WK had an internal floppy drive plus a Compact Flash drive which was what I ended up using.

 

Then around 2013 time, I moved over to a Yamaha PSR E423.  The arpeggiator was probably its best feature for me but I preferred the Casio sounds.  So I was like to go back to perhaps either a CTK7200 or a WK7600.  Which do you think would be the better option for me?  I mainly write dance (house-type) music, so would like a keyboard where you can make your own rhythms.  I remember that the WK3500 allowed you import rhythms from the net, but I would also like to try my hand at making them myself too.

 

Thanks!

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What's your budget? If you can spend more, the MZ-X500 is all around a great instrument and sounds like your best match. It is really well suited for dance and house.  It would take me a page of text to explain just how much is in there.  Let us know and we'll help you figure out the different models as best we can.  

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Beginning with the CTK-7000 and WK-7500, the two models are identical in every respect, other than the fact that the CTK-7000 is a 61 key model, while the WK-7500 is a 76 key unit.  This similarity now carries over to the CTK-7200 and the WK-7600 - other than 61 keys versus 76 keys, they are identical, so it is just a matter of deciding whether you want/need 61 keys or 76 keys.  The current typical price difference is about $100 USD more for the 76 key (WK-7600) model.

 

 

 

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Many thanks both of you!!  I'll do some research on the CTK / WK models and also the MZ-X500 which I haven't heard of before, so again thanks for the heads up on that too.

 

For song data files, does Casio stick to a standard between the models?  I still have my WK-3500 song data saved from 2005 era on a flash drive :-)  The file extension for those is .Z02.  Rhythms downloaded from the net were .Z00.  User tones (with wave) were .Z06.  Complete data dumps were .Z08.  So yes, looks like they all start with a Z.  I'd imagine that most Casio workstations with a 16-channel sequencer would be cross-compatible?

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The new CTK/WK-6XXX/7XXX models do, indeed, accept the older Z00 Rhythm files, either in their raw Z00 format, or in their CKF encapsulated format.  They can be loaded into User Rhythm memory via the Data Manager 6.1 software or directly on the keyboard from an SD Memory Card.  As they are loaded into the keyboard's User Rhythm memory, the keyboard's operating system automatically converts them to the new AC7 format, so that if they are ultimately exported back to a computer or SD Card, they come back as the new AC7 files.  The Z00 Rhythm files are the only Z0X files that can be imported from the older models.  None of the tone based files are compatible because of vast sound engine differences between the older and newer units.  Of course, "ALL" files from the older models can not be imported because of the incompatibilities I have just mentioned.  Unfortunately, Casio has never provided a means of converting (porting) Song files from one model line to another.  Even though they have offered a software program for converting the CM2 Song files of the CTK/WK models that pre-dated the WK-3XXX units to Standard MIDI Files (SMF) with a .MID file extension, there has never been a means of converting CM2 Songs to Z02 Songs or CM2 or Z02 Songs to the CMS Song format (all three of which are Casio proprietary MIDI formats) of the new 6XXX/7XXX lines.  This seems even more curious, when you consider the fact that the CURRENT lower priced (entry level) CTK/WK models (WK-2XX and equivalent CTK models) still use the old CM2 Song file format.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks again guys :-)

 

I've found Youtube helpful too for listening to people playing on CTK, WK and MZ model.  I'm definitely leaning towards the MZ as I like the idea of pads (which is new to me).  The touchscreen with swipe left / swipe right gives it the modern touch too :-D

 

 

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