vbdx66

Hi guys, Isn't it nice to have the choice really? Some points I'd like to clarify: 1. True, the PSR E463/EW425 don't have the MIDI/audio Bluetooth dongle, but: - IMHO it is a pity that in the CT-S's the Bluetooth module is not inside the keyboard (since it is being given for free anyway), it would have been much more elegant. - In exchange for that, the Yamaha's have a very nice feature: an integrated bidirectional MIDI and digital audio interface. What does this mean? Well, for instance, you can connect the E473 to an iPad and use it as a MIDI controller to control any music or synth app you want (e. g. GarageBand or Korg iM1) AND have the audio of the app being sent back to the keyboard, which greatly extents its possibilities. Conversely, you can directly record the audio coming from the keyboard in any recording app (or in Audacity on a laptop for that matter) without the need of any external digital audio interface, which is pretty cool. 2. Granted, the E463/EW425 don't have speech synthesis, but they do have a mike input socket and the DSP's can be applied to the voice, as well. So actually you can mix your own voice with your keyboard playing, apply some effects and record the whole mix as a breeze (you can also record your mix straithgtaway on an USB stick, which is pretty cool). 3. If you want sampling, it is better to go for the CT-S1000V. Yamaha made a bad move there because they implemented 4 sampling pads on the new keyboards and apparently dumped the melodic sampling found on the E463/EW410. So there, Casio clearly wins. I am wondering, though, whether these 4 pads on the Yamaha's will follow the same tempo as the rhythms - a bit like the phrase pads on the CT-X3000/5000. 4. As for the arppegios, I have always found them better on the Yamaha's than on the Casio's. Here it should be mentioned that on the E473/EW425 the arpeggios can be quantised - a really pro feature in my opinion. 5. If you want portability, go for the Casiotones. If you want more buttons and direct access to functions, go for the PSR E keyboards. The problem with the very minimalistic interface of the CT-S500/1000V is that you can't have your reg buttons and your rhythm controller buttons at the same time. Could be an issue for live playing with rhythms. 6. Where Casio clearly wins is with their chord recognition system. I am wondering why in this age and time Yamaha still haven't implemented On Bass and Full Range chord recognition. This remains a mystery. 7. A cool feature of the Yamaha's for those who like to play with rhythms: on top of the preexisting pads which let you mute some rhythm tracks for more flexibility, you can now completely revoice the rhythms and store the result in a reg memory slot. Nice. To sum up, I think that at the beginning of this year, the competition between Casio and Yamaha in the lower middle segment of the home keyboard market is getting pretty fierce. So, how can you make the right choice? Well, after having watched as many demonstration video's as you can (there are many more to come in the forthcoming weeks), go to a music shop and compare these keyboards side by side, then you'll know. And if your local music shop doesn't have the particular model you've got your eyes (and ears) on, you still can order it from an Internet merchant and send it back after the trial period if this is really not your cup of tea. Regards, Vinciane

Hi @Reg MidiStageWould you consider adding the CT-X 800 to MidiStage? Which information do you need in order to do this? Thanks Vinciane

Hey everyone, As in the title. Pretty cool video. And by the way Ralph is correct: “vocal synthesis” seems more appropriate than “speech synthesis”. I don’t care too much about this speech synthesis hype really. These filtered, vocoder or robot type voices are but a trendy gimmick to me. The choir voices are much more interesting. Does anybody now how many “natural” voices are available? Vinciane

I’ve sent her an email to ask.

Any clue about which looping hear she’s using? I could use that with my CT-X800. I am not too interested in the speech synthesis function, more in the way you can use the speech synthesis voices to broaden the sound palette when creating new music.

Hi everyone, One of the best CT-S1000V videos so far. Laura Clapp Davidson is really a very talented singer-songwriter and she certainly can put a nice keyboard to good use. Enjoy 😎 Vinciane

Actually the CT-S500 and CT-S1000V also have all the new high quality voices of the CT-S1 on top of the CT-X voices.

Yes, this is a pity indeed. I am wondering if later there might be another middle range keyboard with all the features of the CT-S1000V and the CT-X3000. 4-variation, editable rhythms would make a really pro instrument out of the CT-S1000V. This is strange. The CT-S1000V et CT-S500 are arrangers and none of the reviewers speaks of the rhythms, everybody is doing as though these keyboards are synths… 🤔

As in the title. These guys are pretty I imaginative I must say. Enjoy 😊

Yet another video by Fabien Nilo featuring the CT-S1000V

Hi, just a minor suggestion. It would be nice to have emoticons for when a post makes you laugh 😄 or angry 😠. Vinciane

Hi everyone, Some geeky stuff here. My good friend Paul J. Drongowski, who's a regular contributor to the PSR Tutorial forum dedicated to Yamaha keyboards, published on his blog an interesting article digging deeper into the tech behind Casio new speech synthesis engine found on the CT-S1000V. You can read the article here: http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-speech-synthesis-technology/ Enjoy 😊 Vinciane

Interesting question. The new Yamaha PSR E473/EW425 were announced just 24h after the Casiotones - bad timing, Yamaha! What's interesting, though, is that these Yamaha's do have sampling capabilities, including four pads which can be used to trigger the samples. I suppose they are loopable. I don't know if there is time adjustment, you would have to check the manuals. If you want to know more I'd suggest you go to the PSR Tutorial forum where, as you can imagine, they are in the same time of hype with the PSR E's we're having here with the new CT-Ss. The manuals have been published online in the Yamaha library. I am sure that Jeremy See, Gearfacts and others will make extensive video comparisons between the Yamaha's and the Casio's in the forthcoming weeks. No won't it be fun? 😊🎶👍🏻

Thanks @Joe Muscarafor having pinned the topic 😎

Hi Mike, Brad, Message gotten. I made a new topic with the manual and the product page of both boards in the CT-S section. It could be nice to pin the post but not being a moderator, I can’t do it myself 🤔 I made a second post with videos pertaining to both keyboards. The Live event replay is really long. It might be useful if someone at Casio could divide it into chapters. I am sure it would bring more people to view it. By the way, is there a standalone video of the outstanding performance by Laura Clapp Davidson? If this is the case, I’d like to add the link in the post I made with the videos. And: slightly off-topic but actually not, why are keyboards almost always being demonstrated by men? Apart from Laura, I haven’t noticed another woman either speaking of or playing on the two CT-S . More generally, all keyboard demonstrators, engineers or marketing experts of major brands are usually men. The notable exception being digital piano’s, I suppose that classical music is more “feminine” and electronic keyboards and synths are “geeky”, you got the line… To my knowledge, one human being out of two is a woman and I am sure many of them are musicians and among those, some are bound to be electronic music instruments enthusiasts. I think there is a giant effort to be done in this area. When I have more time, I’ll make a specific topic about this subject. Vinciane

Replay video of the live event of January 20th Presentation video of the CT-S500 by Rich Formidoni Video performance of “Into the Dark” by Christian Matthew Cullen featuring the CT-S1000V Video performance of “Vocal Tone” by Lucian featuring the CT-S1000V Very fun video demo of the CT-S1000V by Benn Jordan The introductory anime is a piece of art really Daniel Fisher and Jacob Dupre for Sweetwater are having a crazy jam session on the CT-S500 and the CT-S1000V When I’ll come across new vids I’ll put them here. If you happen to find one please PM me 📬 Enjoy 😊 Vinciane

Hi everyone, Here are the links to the manuals of the new CT-S500 and CT-S1000V: CT-S500 https://support.casio.com/en/manual/manualfile.php?cid=008023009 CT-S1000V https://support.casio.com/en/manual/manualfile.php?cid=008023010 Here are the links to the product page on Casio’s website with sound examples: CT-S500 https://www.casio.com/my/electronic-musical-instruments/product.CT-S500/ CT-S1000 https://music.casio.com/en/products/casiotone/cts1000v/ Enjoy 😊 Vinciane

Hi @Brad Sauciernow that both models are official, wouldn't it make sense to put a link to these manuals as well as to the official demos in a pinned dedicated post in the CT-S subforum? That way people would find the information more easily I think. Just my 2 cents. Vinciane

Latency problem I am afraid.!

I mean, when will the keyboards be on the shelves of European music stores? Thanks

Hi, when will both models be available in Europe? Vinciane

I enjoyed the livestream very much excepted that it didn’t cover the keyboards functions extensively. These keyboards are missing three things: 1) a numeric keypad to conveniently select the sounds, rhythms, functions without having to dial the selecting knob. 2) 4-variation editable rhythms like on the CT-X3000/5000. 3) why on Earth isn’t the Bluetooth module incorporated inside the keyboard case? An external module seems like an inelegant solution, esp. since it is bundled with the keyboard. I’d like very much to see further demonstrations of the new sounds, rhythms and effects. I do understand that the speech synthesis is a breakthrough, but I’d like to see what these keyboards are capable of as pure arrangers/synths.

Yep. CT-S1000V with speech synthesis and CT-S500 without. The latter is most probably a CT-S400 with real-time controllers and a few goodies. But nothing in the line of the XW-1 or MZX500 if that's what you're after.

Nope. It's a CT-S so that ought to give you a couple of clues: light, portable, sleek but sparse interface, USB MIDI, audio and MIDI via Bluetooth, speech synthesis but I doubt you will be able to process the keyboard's voices through it (these will he two separate chips/modules I guess). No internal audio recording but maybe recording on a laptop/tablet/phone via Bluetooth. As for the manual... It'll be Casio... But @Brad Saucier and @Chandler Holloway will be there to translate it in plain English I am sure 😎