If you were being picky, you could also argue that the super-straightforward interface makes discovering all of the CT-S1’s features a little tricky. You even get a music stand, though not one that looks particularly attractive or feels like it could take an awful amount of weight. Want to record yourself playing? One button press is all it takes. In fact, the more time you spend with the CT-S1, the more you realise what a well-thought-out keyboard it is. You can, of course, play along with any steamed- or wired-in audio - a very welcome feature. There’s little or no evidence of distortion in fact, if you connect up a smartphone (either via the audio input or Bluetooth adapter) they’re good enough to be used for music listening, too. Roland's take on the portable keyboard concept features 61 keys, more than 500 sounds, onboard Bluetooth and a Loop Mix feature.Īnd then there are the speakers, which - we’ll admit - sound far better than we thought they would, even at higher volumes. If you’re at all serious about learning to play, it’s worth paying the extra to get it.Īnother decent option if you're looking for a piano-style entry-level keyboard, the NP-12 is lightweight and portable, and sounds great. No, it doesn’t have a weighted hammer action, but it is smooth and reliable, and the velocity-sensitivity is something you won’t find on some cheaper models. The keyboard itself is equally impressive. We’re not going to run you through every tone that’s included, but we’re happy to report that Casio’s AiX sound engine really delivers the goods, providing pretty much everything you need and very little of what you don’t.

It’s the same story with the vintage keyboards, organs, synths, strings and other sounds - you even get some classics from Casio’s older VL-Tone, CT, CZ and VZ synths. Right from the off, the tones are impressive, with the default stage piano being immensely playable and easily good enough to perform with. It might have a very competitive price tag, but any fears that the Casiotone CT-S1 is a ‘cheap’ keyboard are dispelled the moment you start playing it. You can shift octaves, transpose and finetune the keyboard, and even select from alternate tuning presets.įortunately, your favourite setup can be saved for easy recall later on, as can your favourite tones. Other features include a MIDI song recorder, 24 types of reverb, EQ presets and a ‘surround’ feature for the built-in speakers (this doesn’t do anything when you’re using headphones).

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