wk7600 vs. wk6600: same sound engine or different?

[thozzman]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I'm interested in the wk7600 or ctk7200 but can't find either at any of the local GC stores. All they carry is the wk6600.

I checked it out and found the quality of the tones acceptable but nothing to get excited about. I'm wondering if the 7600 or 7200 models

have the same sound engine as the 6600 or has it been improved?

I'm willing to take a chance and order one of the newer models but would like to hear from someone who has experience with both.

Thanks!

[- T -]

There have been two model line releases, to date, for the CTK/WK-6XXX/7XXX models.  All CTK models are 61 key units, while all WK models are 76 key units.  The initial release included the CTK-6000/WK-6500 and CTK-7000/WK-7500.  The second release included the CTK-6200/WK-6600 and the CTK-7200/WK-7600.  The sound engines in ALL of these models are identical, but the speakers in the 7XXX series seem to have a little better bass response than the 6XXX units.  Being higher priced models, the 7XXX units include 800 preset tones and 250 preset rhythms, as opposed to 670 and 200, respectively, on the 6XXX models, but the major differences are more user and/or performance oriented features.  The 7XXX models provide for 100 User Tones, 100 User Rhythms, and 96 setup Registrations, as opposed to 10, 10, and 32 on the 6XXX units.  The 7XXX models are equipped with 9 sliders which provide for drawbar organ stops, mixer level controls, tone selections, and parameter controls, and have the ability to record performances directly to an audio file on the SD Card.  The 6XXX models are equipped with none of these.  All models are equipped with linear Song Sequencers for MIDI recording of performances, but the 7XXX units also include a looping Pattern Sequencer, for the creation and editing of User Rhythms.  The major improvements provided by the second release models are sliders with 8 adjustment steps, as opposed to 3 steps, on the initial models and the inclusion of an onboard global equalizer.

 

[thozzman]

Thanks, Ted, for your very concise but spot-on summary of the differences between the two series! I think I'll take a chance on the ctk6200. One more question: on both the 6XXX and 7XXX models, preset chord progressions repeat up to a certain number of measures, depending on the preset selected. In the 7XXX series, are user-created progressions also limited in the number of repeats, or are they basically an endless loop? Thanks again.

 

Tom

 

[- T -]

Tom

 

You have misunderstood the "limit" on rhythm loops.  On both the 6XXX and 7XXX units, the maximum number of measures in any given rhythm loop (preset or user) is 16, but the number of times the loop will repeat is unlimited.  Start a rhythm loop to playing, and it will repeat, over and over, until you change it or stop it, but these are maximum figures.  Most practical rhythm loops are one, two, or four measures long, with the 8 and 16 measure patterns being reserved for one-shot intros and endings.