CT-S1000v and what follows it.....

[moontom]

I've been super-impressed with the video demonstrations and sounds of the CT-S1000v, and have learned a lot reading these threads. Tempted to buy even though I don't need another board.

The other day in one of the threads, someone mentioned that the new Casio gets close to the Yamaha MX series budget synths. I haven't played the 1000v but used to own an MX and enjoyed it, and that thread got me thinking that Casio has an open lane in the market now for a product that might be described as "workstation lite." The soundset from the 1000/500 with an expanded arpeggio library, editable effects chains and either a more robust MIDI sequencer or a multi-tracking looper on board (or both!) would hit a sweet spot for folks who want to create music away from the computer. Yes, I know I'm a dreamer. But I might not be the only one...

[Shad0wfax]

The Casio CT-S500/1000V and the Yamaha MX might be similar in format and even in price, but they could hardly be more different in concept. The MX is certainly not a workstation, but I wouldn't consider the Casio a workstation either, despite the 5-track recorder (cannot edit the tracks and many home keyboards have track recorders either). The MX is a full fledged synthesizer, in which all parameters of the synth engine and the effect section can be tweaked, edited and controlled either from the panel or at least via midi. In the Casio you have the presets and although the insert effects can be freely assigned (and tweaked) to the upper 1/2 and lower parts, those parts are not even controllabe via midi, so they cannot be used in a DAW, but only for realtime performing or for recording non-editable tracks on the board itself. The system effects also don't have any parameters to edit and all you can do is select the effect type and the send level for each channel. As a music creation tool in the studio, the MX is much more powerful and flexible. The Casio is fun, sounds good and can be great for playing live, but in the studio the MX is much more flexible and versatile.