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The CT-X range!


TheBradge

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Well, we know that Casio has shown us a new range of products. The CT-X line of keyboards consisting of the CT-X700/800/3000/5000

The cheapest will cost around 179 dollars if i'm correct, and that will feature 48 notes of polyphony, a 12 watt speaker system, +- 200 styles and +- 600 sounds. 

 

The most expensive one will cost about 400 dollars, which is pretty darn cheap if you ask me. 64 notes of polyphony. 30 watt speaker system. +- 240 styles and +- 800 sounds, and 4! Variations per style.

 

The best part?! They've introduced a new sound engine called the AiX, and if you listen to the CT-X700 you'll get blown away! It has better soundquality than the PSR-E series (That start at 150 dollars i believe) And better polyphony.

 

My imagination is that (we haven't heard it yet unfortunately) The CT-X5000 will sound even BETTER! And yes, the guitars will now have velocity switched noises like slides and things like harmonics, that's impressive. 

There are 3 things that i don't like about this (Or maybe my expectations were to high because of the MZ-X range) 

 

- No touchscreen (The UI on the MZ-X looks fantastic)

- No matter how hard Casio tries they just can't hold a candle to the Sweet! Voices on the Yamaha's (And that's 22 year old technology) 

- Still that weird box-styled keybed, how hard can it be to go back to proper style keybeds that don't rattle or clang?

 

I'm hoping that this topic will go to a proper spot (If this isn't the correct one) And that we can have nice discussions about the machines, and i'm sure we will! Because let's be honest, Casio have really REALLY outdone themselves this time in a budget range of keyboards!

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They do insist on piano style keys, which i agree is frustrating, especially for Organ playing (for me). I have noticed in the UK Gear4music is taking pre-orders on the CT-X5000(Jun 2018) priced at £409, the CT-X3000 (April-May) priced at £299 and the CT-X700 (February) at £209 with deliveries expected in brackets.... I am really tempted by the CT-X5000 and will have to see. I currently enjoy the instrument i currently use, especially the organ on the WK-7600 but have no doubt the sounds on the new CT will try hard to tempt me...

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Anyone looking for official information on the various models of the CT-X series is in for some confusion. This Casio site for the CT-X series -  casiomusicgear.com/products/ct-x-series - curiously has information only on the CT-X700 model. The Casio music web site for the US also covers only the CT-X700 (here). To get information on the CT-X3000 and CT-X5000 you can go here and here, respectively. I can't seem to find a similar page for the CT-X800 model, despite several online retailers (in Germany, France and the Netherlands, specifically) already advertising it for pre-order. 

 

I'm going to say here something uncomplimentary about Casio's use of the Internet. Specifically, the company's web presence seems to be needlessly complicated. There are _numerous_ official Casio web sites for their products and they often have different content for the same models and, sometimes even conflicting information. There is casiomusicgear.com. There is music.casio.com/en/products/keyboards/. There is casio-music.com/. Then there are the regional Casio web sites for their music products: www.casio-intl.com/asia/en/emi/ (all of Asia), casio-intl.com/XX/en/emi/, where XX stands in for the code for a specific region (e.g., "in" for India, "bd" for Bangladesh, "my" for Malaysia), casio.com/products/electronic-musical-instruments (USA), music.casio.co.uk/ (UK),  casio-europe.com/euro/products/musical-instruments/ (Europe, which I guess won't include the UK soon!), www.casioca.com/products/electronic-musical-instruments (Canada), etc, etc, etc.

 

Does it REALLY need to be so complicated?  I get the need for different regional web sites, at least, because different products are sold in different regions. But surely Casio can do a better job of harmonizing the information presented about models that are common?   

 

 

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I agree, In the age of the Internet, they can't really hide the fact that the MZX exists but is not sold in the UK. We know it exists and can import them. Likewise with the AT-5, 7300IN etc... Why not simply list availability on their website and unify the English speaking world as such Spanish, Japanese, Chinese etc onto language specific websites? We're big boys and girls, we get it!

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20 hours ago, Lee33 said:

I agree, In the age of the Internet, they can't really hide the fact that the MZX exists but is not sold in the UK. We know it exists and can import them. Likewise with the AT-5, 7300IN etc... Why not simply list availability on their website and unify the English speaking world as such Spanish, Japanese, Chinese etc onto language specific websites? We're big boys and girls, we get it!

 

Not sure what the last part means about the languages, but if you go to Casio.com and select a region, it lists what's available. Likewise, if a region has it's own site, like CasioMusicGear.com for US/Canada or https://music.casio.co.uk/ for the UK, it will list what's available. Of course, you can always buy anything online and import, but you may have issues if you need to use the warranty.

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Scott, i was replying to AlenK post above... I should have quoted. You are not wrong with regards to Warranty, but that would mean (according to Casio) we would not have support for the MZX series as this is not sold in the UK officially. I believe some have had some success with Casio UK support in regards to this model, i could be wrong, but im sure i came across that somewhere so, treat that as anecdotal at this point. It is a shame that the UK market has been avoided on this. You may argue Casio worked on a business model of where it is most likely to sell well, but throughout the music forums and musicians i have spoken too in my country it is well sought and desired with many put off by importing for the aforementioned reasons... Just one of those things and we move on....

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The biggest difference appears to be the power of the speakers on the two. 15w on the X5000 and 6w on the X3000. Other subtle differences appear to be a lack of modulation button, 50 user rhythm storage on the x3000 (100 on the x5000) and a few less system reverb and chorus types.... Not huge differences. 

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The CT-X700 costs much more in Europe (312 dollars on today's conversion rate) than in the US.

It's not fair from Casio for us européans !

Is there an explanation for that ?

 

Other than that, great news that  X-3000 and X-5000 have a pattern sequencer ! 

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2 hours ago, mirka said:

The CT-X700 costs much more in Europe (312 dollars on today's conversion rate) than in the US.

It's not fair from Casio for us européans !

Is there an explanation for that ?

 

Different market forces & economic environment.  I would guess it's just less costly to do business in the States so retailers can sell them cheaper here and still make the same profit. 

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3 hours ago, mirka said:

The CT-X700 costs much more in Europe (312 dollars on today's conversion rate) than in the US.

It's not fair from Casio for us européans !

Is there an explanation for that ?

 

Other than that, great news that  X-3000 and X-5000 have a pattern sequencer ! 

Yeah, that is steep. Normally manufacturers take the US$ price and use the same number for EUR, but around 70% higher price than in the US? Casio should rethink that.

EDIT: Btw, the WK-7600 is cheaper right now in Germany (€335) compared with the US where it costs around €358 ($449). ;-)

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15 hours ago, tuxfriend said:

Yeah, that is steep. Normally manufacturers take the US$ price and use the same number for EUR, but around 70% higher price than in the US? Casio should rethink that.

EDIT: Btw, the WK-7600 is cheaper right now in Germany (€335) compared with the US where it costs around €358 ($449). ;-)

Over the next 12 months there is going to be some great deals on the WK/CTK series as Casio look to offload the stock. Already the CTK 7200 is an excellent proposition only just more expensive that the X700. It's older tech but they have some useful features that the X700 do not have. 

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