Casio WK3500 76-Key GM Keyboard

NOT compatible with Yamaha sustain pedals.

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Casio WK3500 76-Key GM Keyboard reviews

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149 People rated this product : * * * * * * * * * * 8 out of 10

 

7 People wrote reviews

Read all Casio WK3500 76-Key GM Keyboard reviews...
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10

"Remarkably good soundz, best value out there"

Feature:
The single best features of this keyboard for me: the great sound quality, the xclnt on-board speakers, it's relatively light weight, ability to be battery powered, and relative ease to program. i do wish there were more and better ways to save "registrations" (combination sounds), and that there were tutorials for getting up to speed on all the features

Quality:
So far so good- have had about 4 months, no problem, bring it 1-2 x's a week to jam sessions.

Value:
Am still surprised to get this satisfying of a keyboard for this kind of money

Desirability:
i've been telling a lot of people about this board, 'cause with its surprisingly good and satisfying sound, and with the auto accompaniment feature you can use it to practice your scales and get up to speed with the various programmed rhythms. They obviously used pro musicians to create the backing tracks.

Sound:
Totally blown away- i've owned quite a few keyboards, and to my amazement the piano sound on this board is the best i've heard, in fact many of the basic soundz are just outstanding. It really helps that the onboard speakers are quite decent and create a wonderful stereo sound just on their own, but plug this guy in and you'll be surprised at what a big sound it has. Tip: there's an overall eq setting that can be saved with the sound- this helps a lot, otherwise it's easy to get too bassy.

Overall:
Seeing how good this keyboard is at the under 400 bucks price point has made me want more- basically with this keyboard i give up a lot that more expensive pro boards have, like aftertouch, like a real sequencer, like an assignable foot pedal controller, like higher polyphony (only 32 notes here), more and better fx, better modulation wheel choices, better control means like ribbon controllers, etc. etc. But surprisingly i still absolutely love this board, get more satisfaction than i have from any of the other 8-9 other boards i've had, and would only trade up if the board it replaced had such great sounds and (hopefully) built-in speakers. i've felt self-conscious going into the home enthusiast range of boards, but i figured out some time ago that i don't want to be a programmer, and so many of the synths out there require waaay too much patience and left brain skills. and if you've never played a keyboard that has built-in speakers you might be in for a surprise- esp. the bass vibrates the whole board, so you get that tactile, and the speakers are right in your face, so even if you're getting your main sound from external speakers, the on-board speakers function as a set of built-in monitors. all i'm waitin' for now is for the manufacturers to get the idea of the portable party board: having a keyboard like this that accepted external sound sources and had a small on-board mixer would mean you could show up anywhere, even the beach, and play/sing along to songs on your ipod

Submitted: 12/14/2004

Style of Music: jazz/blues

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* * * * * * * * * * 9 out of 10

"The Mothership Has Arrived"

Feature:
I was glad that the unit had a power cord included. I was about to purchase an accessories kit offered by the store, but after getting home, I found that my old pedals and stands fit this unit well. I even use a Morley foot pedal for the organ sounds. The only addition item I purchased was a case.

Quality:
Although the case for this board is somewhat lightweight, which I am pleased, I do feel that with a harder shell, this unit would be more apt to be used by "pro-players". It's a light for on the road gigging.

Value:
Comparing this with it's competitors, this unit is priced just right. The sales man seemed to sway toward one of the competitors boards which is about the same price as the WK3500. After about two days of playing with both units, I really think I have made the right decision.

Desirability:
It looks a little space age like those compact stereo systems. Perhaps, a case color change would make it more sustantial. Even a black or gun-metal blue case would make it look like the "pro-boards". Whoever designed this unit has done a superb job to impress the amateurs and the pros.

Sound:
I was very impressed to hear such great sounds from a keyboard that is so affordable. I have compared it with Korg and Yamaha pro-keyboards, but actually, for the basic sounds such as pianos, organs, and basses, this board is very competitive. I was also amazed at the way an amplifier can really boost this unit. The only discouragement was the seperation of the sounds within an amp. I decided to purchase an amp with an equalizer on it and surely that has made this unit quite impressive. I had some musicians at a program to ask me about the unit. That day I was using the organs and with the drawbar features. I must say, that day I was "cooking". Those musicians were very much in tune with the unit. It is definitely a winner for the person that wants great sounds at a fraction of the cost of its pro-competitors.

Support:
So far I haven't had to deal with the company. I hope this part of the sale does not disappoint me.

Overall:
I think I will be happy with this unit at least another two years. With improvements as a possible enhancement in the future, I would surely be willing to trade this one for a newer version.

Submitted: 6/2/2004

Style of Music: Gospel/Jazz

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Read all Casio WK3500 76-Key GM Keyboard reviews...

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About This Product!
Description
Casio's newest portables utilize the high performance Zpi sound source to deliver the most realistic piano, organ, and synth sounds, plus a huge library of built-in tones, rhythms, and DSP settings. These powerful instruments feature an on-board sequencer and a mixer, for unmatched creative possibilities, plus powerful built-in speakers to take your performance to the next level. These keyboards are ideal for home/project studio use, open-mic performance, education/classroom applications, or simply for pure musical enjoyment.

For unlimited possiblities Casio has created a brand new keyboard program where wave files can be downloaded directly onto a keyboard via a PC. The full program is available at music.casio.com as a free download. Using this software, new tones, tones with wave data, drum sets with wave data, rhythms, standard MIDI files, songs registrations and DSP settings can be loaded onto a PC, edited and eventually loaded directly into the keyboard. All you need to get started is to visit music.casio.com, download the Data Management Software and you can begin transferring to the keyboard, onto a SmartMedia Card or Floppy Disk via a PC.

Features
Sustain Assignable
MIDI I/O
Memory Floppy Drive/SmartMedia
Polyphony (max) 32-Note
Auto Rhythms 140 Preset
Tones 790
Keys 76 Full Size
Demo Songs None

Technical Info

Keyboard
76 full-size keys
Touch sensitive (with On/Off)
32-note polyphonic

Sounds/Effects
790 Tones: 566 preset tones (300 Advanced tones, 128 General MIDI, 72 Various, 16 Drum sets, 50 Drawbar Organs)
plus 224 User programmable tones (100 User tone, 20 User tone +wave, 4 Drum set + wave, 100User Drawbar)
Piano Setting Switch to get instant access of Stereo Piano Sound
Drawbar Organ lets you control simulated organ sounds easily.
Synthesizer function lets you create and store your own sounds.
232 Digital Effects: 100DSP, 100 User effects, 16 Reverb, 16 Chorus
Digital Equalizer
Spilt & Layer function
Advanced Tone: the panel sounds with more playability featuring bigger wave memory, velocity split and strong DSP units.

Rhythms
140 Preset Rhythm including 20 piano patterns and 16 User Rhythms
156 One-Touch Presets
CASIO CHORD/Fingered Chord/Full-Range Chord auto-accompaniment systems
Auto-Harmonize

Other Features
Built-in Floppy Disk Drive/SmartMedia to save/load various internal data such as song memory
Internet Data Expansion System lets you download new sounds (including sound wave), patterns, songs, and keyboard
settings over MIDI from CASIO MUSIC SITE
Flash ROM to expand sounds, rhythms, and to download songs from the internet.
SMF Player to play the songs downloaded through the Internet.
Musical Information System (Backlit LCD) displays selections and status of Tone, Rhythm, Mixer and keyboard functions,
and Tempo
On-screen keyboard and music staff icons display notes and chords played, and metronome icon indicates the beat
Mixer function allows control over each MIDI channel and accompaniment part
6 tracks/5 songs Song Memory
Pitch Bend wheel and Modulation switch
MIDI IN/OUT jacks; 16 CHANNEL Multi-Timbral
Transpose and Tuning Control
Registration Memory (4 sets x 8 banks)
Assignable Pedal Jack (Sustain, Soft, Sostenuto, Rhythm Start/Stop)
Bass Reflex Speaker system with 4 speakers plus 2 ports for added bass response
Individual lineout L/R for external amplification system
1/4 in. stereo lineout/headphone jack; 6W+6W output
Operates on D batteries or optional AD-12 AC Adaptor

Dimensions (W x D x H) 43 3/16 x 16 11/16 x 6 5/16 in.

Weight: 22 lbs.
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