Pravito

Recently, I borrowed a friend's CTK-5000 to copy some of its built in rhythms . This might be useful for anyone looking for additional rhythm collections for their CT-X 

About the Rhythms

The CTK-5000, CTK-4000, and LK-270, all released in 2008/2009, are the last batch of Casio keyboards that carried rhythms from the past models like the WK-3800, CTK-900, and the earlier LK-series like LK-94TV 

Some of these rhythms are unique and cannot be found on newer CTK models. Some others are the oldest surviving rhythms from the 1990's CTK601 and CTK611 models with revamped sounds

How I Do It?

The CTK-5000, like many CTK and CDP models with AHL Sound Source,  includes a built in rhythm editor. I copied the rhythms by running each one in the editor and saved them into the 10 User Rhythm slots. Once the ten slots has been used, I copied them into SD card as .AC7 rhythm files  I repeat the same process until I collected all the necessary rhythms for this collection

Edits & Tweaks

Normally, I don't do much edits on this rhythm collection. But for the majority of the rhythms, I changed the drum sets into Standard Set 1, Standard Set 2, and Rock Set to make full use of CT-X's stereo sampled drums, and to make them sound different from the original

I also modified the tones into GM Tones to ensure compatibility across all models.  

Further Notes

I didn't copy all of the CTK-5000's preset rhythms; I skipped most rhythms in the WORLD, LATIN and PIANO RHYTHMS category as most of them appear identical in the CT-X presets. All the other categories are included from POP, ROCK, 8 BEAT/16BEAT, JAZZ, and EUROPEAN

CTK-5000 collection.zip

On 6/22/2023 at 4:22 AM, pianokeyjoe said:

oh @Jokeyman123! We can only dare to dream! It is actually kinda crazy, you CAN reproduce ALL classic Casio keyboard vintage sound waves and presets if you have the patience and time and the right keyboard synth, without having to reengineer the Casiotone. My Korg PA 600QT can do the PT1 piano sound and a few others by me fiddling with the built in samples of simple pulse waves and envelopes. I know a Casio VA synth would possibly be the ticket for a reproduction of the CZ/VZ/PT/MT/SK and HT series keyboard sounds and presets. The big one however.. for us nostalgia nerds.. is the reproduction of the RHYTHMS and Auto accompaniment patterns of all the Classic Casiotone keyboards of the 1979-1989 keyboards, before over orchestration of beats and accompaniments took over the keyboard industry on ALL brands. Again.. on my Korg PA600QT Arranger workstation, I can reproduce to the best of my ability, the beats and accompaniment patterns and progressions of the CLASSIC Casiotone boards.. A labor of pure love indeed as I remember alot of those beats and accomp patterns by heart to this day lol!

Speaking of CLASSIC RHYTHMS

this would be a good addition in a future standard keyboard and workstation lineup

Take for example, "Chicago Blues", "Funk" and "Very-Funky" from the CTK 601. Imagine they made a comeback as a classic rhythm, with modernized sounds but remain faithful to the original arrangement 

One thing I would love to see is the high-end / workstation refresh, as well as new lower end keyboards

my possible speculations /predictions would be:

1. MZ-S family, divided into two different classes. 3-digit series (e.g. MZ-S500) to replace the CT-X5000/3000, and 4-digit series (e.g. MZ-S1100) as a successor of MZ-X300/S500

2. a revival of 76-key WK models, possibly a 76 key version of existing CT-S family

3. LK-S500/S550 to replace the S450, maybe a key lighted version of the existing CT-S500 plus traditional "song bank" tunes from the usual Standard Keyboards family (Twinkle Twinkle, Lightly Row, Long Long Ago, etc)

4. XW-S & XW App - If Casio decided to make a surprise comeback into the affordable synth market, this will be a good name for it. I predict the sound engine would be combining that of AiX and a renewed HPSS / HexLayer

5. This might be a bit too far in speculation , but it might be possible for Casio to bring back the portable digital drums to compete with the likes  of Yamaha DD-75 or Alesis Compactkit 7. LD-S would be a decent name for this, and like the keyboards, it may be branded under the Casiotone name, and uses AiX sound engine

6. Like Brad said earlier, a PX-5S replacement is worth to wait. 

Of course, I don't expect all my predictions to come true (especially the XW or LD) , but I assume the MZ is highly possible, to meet the demands of developing countries (for ethnic music)

. Remember how the MZ-X500 was loaded with lots of ethnic content? I expect the same thing happened in the next workstation

I would love to have preset rhythms of CTK-5000, CTK-6000 and CTK-7000 converted for use on CT-X series. 

On 4/10/2023 at 1:53 AM, Just Alex said:

I guess, any keyboard which can load samples, can do that?

 

By custom sampling, I don't think that it could match the authenticity of the original tones. 

I would love to see a 16-track recorder and 4-variation rhythms on the next CT-S. Just imagine a CT-X5000 in a compact Casiotone form factor, combined with the upgraded AiX engine and new rhythms 

If you used to own a Casio keyboard powered by HL Sound Source (especially the LK-90 family) , I'm pretty sure you're familiar with the iconic 80's Fairlight CMI "ARR1" sample, in the form of "Synth Voice", "Voice Lead" and "Brightness" tones.

I would love to see this sample back on the next generation Casio, maybe under the name "80's Synth Voice"

Here's an example of the toneTetris GameBoy Intro - Fairlight Vox.aac

Does the CT-X3000/5000's built in metronome behaves the same as X700 in the recorder mode? I'm planning to get a CT-X3000 and curious about the workflow of the 16-tracj MIDI recorder

I expect a SA-80 in the future, preferably with 49 mini touch-response keys and better sounds (AiX, maybe)

On 10/7/2022 at 4:17 PM, Pigeon City Chicken said:

Definitely a fully editable synth section (including mono mode) like the MZ-X500 had, and Hex Layers.

 

We need a CT-X with a fully editable synth, pitch and mod wheels, and hex layers. Also drawbar organ too.

 

More out of sounds I miss the old Consonant Vowel synthesis sounds on the newer models as well as the additional ethnic instruments and rhythms on the Chinese, Arabian, Indian, Latin, and if they made them Indonesian/Malaysian models (did Casio ever make an Indonesian/Malaysian/Singaporean CTK/LK model with an altered song and tone/rhythm back in the day?).

A combination of CTK series (sliders, large screen, drawbar organ, CKF converter, and sampling), PX-series (AiR/MXi based piano samples) and CT-X5000 (AiX sound, world content, 30W speakers,  and 4-variation rhythms) plus editable synth (whether it's HexLayer or a new one)  is a perfect recipe for the next Casio arranger. 

The screen and interface of CTK-7200/6200/6000/7000/6250 is more intuitive than in X5000. If touch screen is not applicable, that kind of screen should return in newer models

On 9/23/2022 at 7:36 PM, d. gauss said:

5 pin midi

Same here. The last Casio to have this port is MZ-X and PX-560/360 

When I was very young, my parents gave me a Richard Clayderman CD and that was the beginning of my musical journey. My other influence is David Foster, Whitney Houston and Al Jarreau, particularly noting their use of electric piano sounds

I'm a big fan of electric pianos 

On 12/9/2018 at 10:51 AM, TheBradge said:

I owned the WK-1200, the CTK-601 and the CTK-731! Great machines. The 601 had a style called "World Pop" and in all my modesty i think that that's one of the best styles Casio has EVER created on a keyboard!

"World Pop" is a legend! 😉😉

Imagine if this rhythm is played on CT-X with new sounds, it would sound really awesome 

I used to have LK-50 (released in 2001-02). Despite not a CTK model, it incorporates the exact same tones and rhythms as the CTK601/611, only lacking reverb 

The dance category rhythms is quite exciting.  EuroBeat, Disco, GrovSoul and VeryFnky are my favorites. 

The only thing I despise about Casio's old rhythms is that most of these rhythms have crash cymbals in every 4 or 2 bars, which is quite annoying, and also some chord phrases which sounds quite excessive (for me, at least); one example of the latter is "Tango", listen the violins in both Normal and Variation 

As far as I know, Yamaha keyboards seems to be the only ones that work fine with Go-Tek floppy emulators. For Casio, I remember that there is one for CTK-811EX 

Nice one! Thanks for sharing these collections. 

Anyway, where I can find older CTK-series rhythms (especially with AHL sound source) to be used on the CT-X? I miss some of those rhythms on the CTK-5000/6000/7000 series and LK-270/280, most of which are absent in the CT-X 

I'm looking forward for a CTK-6250 to accompany my X700. The 6200/6250 seems better in every aspect except the sounds

More intuitive controls, 16 track sequencer, rhythm editor, mixer, and tone editor are the ones I'm looking for 

I would actually like to see removable phone-style lithium ion (with the capacity of 10000mAh or more) in a keyboard

On 9/21/2022 at 12:40 PM, hant7 said:

  Мне очень не хватает подсветки активных клавиш, хотя уже привыкаю. CTK-6200.

Подсветка активных клавиш в основном появляется на дорогих моделях, но сейчас она устаревает. В любом случае, CTK-6200 все же лучше CT-X3000 с точки зрения пользовательского интерфейса. Он более интуитивно понятен и прост в использовании. Я хочу, чтобы такой интерфейс вернулся на новые модели.

Backlight active keys mostly appears on the higher end models, but now it is getting obsolete. Anyway, CTK-6200 is still better than CT-X3000 in terms of user interface. It's more intuitive and easier to use. I want this kind of interface to return on newer models. 

Here are some great features from the past models that I miss on newer models, and expect them to return on upcoming models

1. Rhythm Editor on affordable models

I think the most disappointing downside about CT-X700, CT-X800, CDP-S350 and CT-S400 is the lack of rhythm editors. Remember the CTK-4000 family? This was a killer feature back then

2. Sampling

Casio keyboards got better sounds in the recent years, but it would be great if the SAMPLING feature from CTK-4000/WK-200 family is retained for CT-X and Casiotone models

3. "Voice" Drum Kit, a.k.a Drumset 9

This is an old, beatbox-like drum kit that makes an appearance on older Casio models featuring A² Sound Source, and well known for its use in the rhythm "JazzVoice" and song "LONG LONG AGO" in those models. Perhaps this was the predecessor of the Dance/SynthSet of newer models, since it was also used on some Techno rhythms

4. Built-in Pop Songs

For copyright reasons, I don't think this would return on current models. Back then it was fun to listen and play-along to pop hits like "My Heart Will Go On", "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", "September", "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" and many others.  Meanwhile, Japanese exclusive Casio keyboards such as the LK-512 (rebranded CT-X800 with lighted keys), has loads of Japanese pop songs with anime and video game soundtracks built in. 

5. Old arrangements of "Air on G String", "The Nutcracker", "Aida Triumphal March" and "Bridal March"

In the older models, these four songs are arranged in a more interesting pop style, while in the newer one it was redone with Baroque-classical type arrangement. Just my opinion

6. Funk 8 Beat, Mellow 8 Beat, Pop 1/2/3,  Rock Ballad1, Slow 16Beat, DancePop, Discosoul, Latin Fusion and 16Beat Shuffle1/2

These are great rhythms from AHL generation models that is sadly missing on newer models

7 Drawbar Organ

Back in 2018, I was expecting this to return on the CT-X5000's mixer function. But for now, it's no longer seen on other models. This was last seen on MZ-X500 and CTK-7200/6200

8. Touch Panel Control

The good old touchscreen of PX-360, PX-560 and MZ-X. Makes everything easier and more intuitive

9. CTK-7000/6000 display interface

If touch panel is not possible, this display can be a good alternative. Personally, I prefer the display interface of CTK-7000 series than the CT-X. 

Got any features you miss from Casio? Let me know in the comments 

14 hours ago, Brad Saucier said:

 

Agreed.  I noticed the new brush drum kit in one particular demo video.  Sounds great!  

We really needs a new sample for the brush kit. Most Casio keyboards have been using the same brush drum samples since the AHL Sound Source era, only with an addition of brush toms in CTK-6000/7000 models 

My first impression of this new S7000:

-the new Brush Drums sounds promising, very realistic

FINALLY! The Berlin Grand makes its debut on Privia. This is undoubtedly my favorite piano sound from Casio 

The electric pianos are superb, especially the "Greatest Love EP"  (DX/FM E.Piano) that sounds very faithful to the real thing. I also love the improved Rhodes samples 

I really hope these new samples could be carried on for the CT-X5000/3000 successor (or any other Privia models)

No doubt, all Casio keybopards has the BEST GM sounds. GM sounds in Casio is actually the same sample as their panel equivalents. 

For example, GM Piano 1 is the same as Stage Piano on AiX models, or Stereo Piano on AHL/HL models 

How about the rhythms?

Is there any rhythm with same names but entirely different arrangement?

I want the 16 track recorder to return on Privia

This is the reason why I'm not interested with the S3000 series