The recently released CasioTone CT-S200 and the CT-S300 have been raising questions as it came out with competing prices with Casio's 2 year old Casio CTX-700. This has confused many beginner musicians and new instrument buyers, especially those who do not have the requisite knowledge to know the differences between these keyboards. In this article, I will be making an in-depth comparison between the CT-S keyboards and the Casio CTX-700 to let you know the difference for you to make an informed purchase when looking to buy one of these keyboards.
Compare:
Keyboard #1
$119 USD
Boasting of 61 full-sized keys, 400 tones, 77 rhythms with intro and ending fill-ins and 2 rhythm variations, the CasioTone CT-S200 was launched in January 2019. With colour options with white, red and black, the CT-S200 includes a dance music mode that allows you to arrange rhythmic patterns and apply realtime modulating effects, just like what a DJ would do on the dance floor. Although it seems a bit cheesy, this feature allows a young musician to learn about song structure and build an appropriate musical climax. The availability of the Chordana Play App that can be connected to your devices also allows you to load 50 songs to learn and play musical games with. You are also able to load MIDI files and the app has the ability to convert a song to a music score with a piano roll feature for you to play along with. Features such as song transposition and varying the tempo of the loaded songs are also supported via the app for your practice. It also has a "my setup" button that allows for a single registration memory setting. The CasioTone CT-S200 was also designed with portability in mind — lightweight keyboard and an optional carrying case included in the package.
However, the CasioTone CT-S200 does not have the ability to layer and split the voices across the keyboard and their speakers are only at a 2W amplification, which is slightly less powerful. The CasioTones, although newer models in comparison, they still use the older AHL sound engine from the Casio CTK line of keyboards in addition with a couple of tweaks. The keys on the CT-S200 also does not have touch-sensitive keys and there are no velocity curves on the keyboard.
To sum up this keyboard,
Keyboard #2
$149 USD
The CasioTone CT-S300 has 61 full-sized, touch-sensitive keys with 3 velocity curves. It boasts of 400 tones, 77 rhythms, an intro and ending fill-in, 2 rhythms, variations, and a pair of 2.5W speakers. The CasioTone was also designed with portability in mind, which would explain its light weight, battery operation and as well as the well-integrated carry handle that doubles up as a holder for the included music rest. Similar to the CasioTone CT-S200, the CT-S300 also features the dance music mode and it can also connect to the Chordana Play App which comes with all the added benefits and abilities. It also has the easy recall button that allows you to do a quick and easy recall of your user registration setting.
However, similar to the CT-S200, the CT-S300 also does not have the ability to layer and split the voices across the keyboard and it also still uses Casio's old AHL sound engine. The CT-S300 also only comes in a staid black chassis colour and although Casio did try to add a couple of colour accents to the CT-S300, it is still way less cooler than the red and white colour version of the CT-S200.
To sum up this keyboard,
Keyboard #3
$174 USD
Now, it's time to look at the CTX-700 which is the older model, yet was the benchmark price for the newer CT-S models. The Casio CTX-700 was released about 2 years before the CasioTones. It boasts of 61 full-sized, touch-sensitive keys with 4 velocity curves and it uses Casio's newer AIX sound source. Due to it using the AIX sound source, most of the CTX-700 tones sounds better than those on the CasioTones which is done justice by the CTX-700's 2.5W speaker amplification. It also comes with 600 tones, 195 auto-accompaniment rhythms and these rhythms are also better programmed than the CT-S keyboards. You also get the usual intro and ending fill-ins and 2 rhythm variations. Unlike the CasioTones, the CTX-700 has the ability to layer and split the voices across the keyboard which allows for more musical and creative capabilities. However, a thing to note is that there is no way to adjust the volume mix of the layers.
However, the Casio CTX-700 does not have the dance music mode feature and it has limited functionality with the Chordana Play App. The Casio CTX-700 also only comes in the standard staid black chassis similar to the CT-S300. Being at least 30% more heavy than the CasioTones, the angular and large form factor relegates the CTX-700 to being more suited for a fixed location usage rather than it being a portable keyboard.
To sum up this keyboard,
Conclusion
Both the CasioTone CT-S300 and the Casio CT-X700 are tied in the first place with 10 points each. Which of these keyboards you eventually choose depends very much on what keyboard features are important to you.
I hope this article was able to help you make a better and informed choice when choosing your Casio keyboard. You can check out my other articles here on this blog!
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