BillErickson

Hey guys, Does anyone have any pointers to a gig bag specifically sized for the slimmer CT-S series keyboards (specifically for a CT-S500)? I did find an older post from a while back (see below) that suggests using rifle bags and a pointer to a now-obsolete ebay listing in India. Anything more recent / closer to home? Thanks for any leads...

Yes, but there are significant differences in the specs and body layout between the CT-S400 and CT-S500. The bodies between the the CT-S500 and CT-S1000V are exactly the same (other than the additional back-panel ports for the line-outs and extra pedal, re-assignment of two buttons, and color changes) and the specs are all the same except for the addition of vocal functionality and voices. In the case of the CT-S400/CT-S500 upgrade, there were significant changes both in body and specs to warrant the the number change. But in everything that matters, the CT-S1000V is *JUST* a CT-S500 with voice functionality added. As you say: Pure marketing.

The bass voices still sound weak in my good quality headphones. In addition, playing other voices in the same low octave range give a solid rich sound, so its definitely *not* the speakers. Not sure why your experience is different.

Now *THIS* is a justification that sounds reasonable. Otherwise, it just sounds like someone at Casio Marketing going "Yeah, it's a 500 with voice synthesis so we *could* call it a 500V, but let's jack up the number to 1000 to make it sound more impressive!"

Thanks guys. I guess you're just confirming that Marketing has little to do with logic or consistency. Too bad for the consumer.

Brad, now your just being pedantic and not even trying to address my point. Whatever...

Differences which can be completely covered by the "V" addition to the name CT-S500V. So why change the version number from 500 to 1000, other than a Marketing decision?? The CT-S1000V appears to be just a CT-S500 with the vocorder capabilities added. So why wasn't it just called a CT-S500V?

Looking at the specs between the CT-S500 and the CT-S1000V, I don't see any differences other than the addition of the vocorder features and voices and cosmetic color changes to the body. So why isn't it just called the CT-S500V? I suspect Marketing had a hand in this.... 😉

Nice review. Two of your complaints about the CT-S400 are exactly why I decided to upgrade to the CT-S500 -- better control of the DSP functionality and line-outs (of course, it's also more expensive 😉 ).

I've recently ordered a new CT-S500 to replace my current CT-S400. I've generally loved the CT-S400 but am looking forward to the assignable knobs, DSP control, and line outs available on the CT-S500. Anybody else upgrading from the CT-S400 to CT-S500? What were *you* looking for in the upgrade? If you've gotten your CT-S500, what's been your experience compared with the earlier CT-S400? One of the few things that's bothered me with the CT-S400 is the variation in voice volumes. For example, many of the bass voices are quite a bit softer than the others, so that I often have to crank the L part volume up to 127 and the U1/U2 parts down to 80-90 to get them to balance properly. Does the CT-S500 have a better voice balance, or will I still have to do some major tweaking?

Check out pages EN-61 to EN-62 (ENglish version) for a table with the parameters.

I assume when you say "tiny" you mean that the volume doesn't get high enough? I had the same problem with my headphones and PX-S3000. I found that by adjusting both the Overall Volume Level to its max (127 -- see page EN-18 in the users guide) and the Part Volume for the Upper1 part (see page EN-17) you can squeeze a little more volume out of your headphones.

Yeah, I was trying to push the batteries directly down into the tray when you have to put the bottom (negative pole) down into the tray and slide it sideways to the contact before pushing the top/positive pole down to the contact.

Oh foo -- after posting this and going back for another try, I figured out how to work-around the plastic fittings. Never mind. Where's the "delete topic" button?? 😉

After placing a pre-order back in May, and after several shipping delay extensions, my CT-S400 finally arrived last week. I bought it as my "portable" keyboard, since my 81-note PX-S3000 is a little too bulky for my tastes to take on the road. After playing around with it for a week, I finally got around to trying it out with batteries -- one of the important features I bought it for. But unfortunately I can't seem to get the AA's to fit. I've tried putting them in top-first, bottom-first, and sliding in side-ways, tried several different brands, and they just won't fit past the plastic fittings surrounding the metal contacts. Before I pull out a file and void my warranty by filing down the offending plastic, I wanted to see if anyone else has had problems with the battery case with any model CT-S series. Maybe I just got lucky with a batch having a manufacturing defect...