Casio’s electronic gadgets invaded into the musical world during the ’80s with a lot of present day renowned professional musicians obtaining their initial lessons at home upon the Casio keyboard. The enterprise has since evolved into a global leader of keyboards, synthesizers and digital pianos. Built for beginners plus mid-level musicians, the all-purpose Casio CTK-4400 movable keyboard with 61 keys is a wonderful and affordable pick for learning and development.
Table of Contents
Top Casio Piano In the market
Picture | Model | Keys | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Casio Privia PX-850 | 88 | 96 lbs |
 | Casio PX-360 | 88 | 95 lbs |
 | Casio PX-160 | 88 | 84 lbs |
 | Casio PX-5s Stage Piano | 88 | 24.5 lbs |
 | Casio Privia PX-150 | 88 | 65 lbs |
 | Casio AP420 Celviano | 88 | 130 lbs |
 | Casio PX760 | 88 | 85 lbs |
The Main Features Of The Casio CTK-4400
The Casio CTK-4400 offers you the following features:
- Piano with 61 style keys with touch-sensitivity
- Button with hall effect ( tapping the button applies concert hall echo to the keyboard sound )
- Polyphony with 48 notes
- Step-up instruction system
- 152 songs
- Ten digital effects
- 180 rhythms
- Registration memory
- Arpeggiator
- Scale tuning
- Sampling function
- Rhythm editor
- Chord book functionality
- Music challenge
- Music preset
- Piano/organ configuration button
- Sequencer or recorder
- Headphone connection ( jack ) and Line-in with mini jack
- USB plug and play or song expansion
- Audio input
- Speaker system with Amplifier
- Transposition involving 25 step from -12 till +12 semitones
- Power adapter provided
- Number back-up styles from 151 to 200
In-depth Look At The Casio CTK-4400
So, how does the Casio CTK-4400 appear and feel while playing:
Really Portable
Portability is vital for a piano keyboard as both beginner as well as intermediate piano performers. They may need to carry their personal keyboard for piano lessons. A movable keyboard can also be easily moved which is not as simple with digital and acoustic pianos.
The CTK-4400 affords extreme portability due to its packed design plus lightweight body enabling you to carry it while travelling.
61 Whole-sized Keys Which Are Touch Sensitive
The whole sized keys of the CTK-4400 are extremely handy if you desire to continue performing on a true piano. This aids in use of correct fingering and practicing techniques.
Regarding touch sensitivity, the keyboard contains two levels of sensitivity with an added option to deactivate it. This supports a beginner in his lessons to monitor the finger movements, as heavily pressing the keys can make the sound louder. Similarly, for playing softly, the keys would need to be pressed softly.
600 AHL Sounds
Voices consist of the inbuilt instrumental sounds inside the keyboard. The Casio CTK-4400 contains voices equivalent to 600 AHL that add to the flavor of your lessons while making your playing enjoyable!
The numerous voice options enable you to back up, arouse your creative talent and lets you build more dynamic compositions by simply touching some buttons. Concert grands, brass instruments, strings, classic synths and woodwinds are all wonderfully emulated and set to employ for your experimentation or composition.
Instant Backing
Like any good keyboard, the CTK-4400 includes a lot of instant backing rhythms. There are nearly 180 rhythms, including styles ranging from pop, jazz and rock to classical plus oriental. They follow the melodies played by you with the right hand, governed by the chords played by you with the left hand.
In case you find playing the chords uncomfortable, you can choose drums only, else switch on Casio Chord style. The registration buttons of the CTK-4400 permits you to speedily store and reach your preferred sound, rhythm or tempo combinations.
The collection of 152 songs also lets you play together with different songs from various genres.
Hall Influence
The Casio CTK-4400 flaunts a virtual hall impact, which generally constitutes a crowd puller. Simply by pressing some buttons, you can make your keyboard sound deeper, creating a resonance similar to the symphony.
Impact of Hall generates a pleasant reverb so as to vitalize you and make you feel present inside the concert hall.This makes you perform like an expert musician, letting you grab the spotlight! The chorus plus different reverb effects can also be adjusted to produce an improved music tone.
Polyphony of 48 Notes
You will simply not be allowed to shed those valuable notes by the Casio CTK-4400. It assures you a smart performance, which you can also record and gift to your fans, as the keyboard carries a maximum polyphony of 48 notes.
Step-up Instruction System
The inbuilt step-up instruction system, specific to Casio CTK-4400 permits self-learning saving your cash on piano lessons.
You can commence learning piano playing while staying at home within some minutes. It is so comprehensive that you don’t require to fear about grasping the lessons. The requirements of starters are completely understood, with coverage of all the basics.
Further, you can opt to simply practice with either the left or right hand, as well as with both, till you acquire enough knowledge to perform by yourself.
Multiply and Learn
Apart from the massive song library incorporated with Lesson System of Step-up, the CTK-4400 contains sufficient memory to include around 10 of your personal songs. Even though your favorite number isn’t present in the factory collection, you can nevertheless utilize the Step-up mechanism to study it! The sole feature not available to you with user-included music consists of the fingering manual.
Join and Play
A mini stereo audio input lets you attach your Casio CTK-4400 to your MP3 gadget, smartphone or iPad to stream songs with your keyboard. All your top-rated tracks can by played, and you may also sample the audio portions and activate them over the keyboard. This enables pulling up music and tones online from the net.
Moreover, the CTK-4400 can connect to your PC with a normal USB connection. An inbuilt General MIDI facility for attaching with a MIDI-compliant computer port and also with a separate Gm-compliant gadget is also provided.
Individual Studio
The onboard six track recording feature of the Casio CTK-4400 can store up to 5 songs, offering an incredibly handy tool for all playing aspects. It can be utilized to track your learning progress, record plays for self-evaluation and advancement, or to simply make a recording of your noodling for your musical creations to stay ahead.
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The Competitive Aspect Of The Casio CTK-4400
Let’s view a few of Amazon’s top rated digital keyboards on how they stand up to the Casio CTK-4400:
Casio CTK-4400 Vs Casio CTK-4200
According to Casio site the CTK-4200 has a better sound than previously ( perhaps better as compared to its prototype, the CTK-4400 ). Though, both pianos possess a likewise loaded and resonant, genuinely acoustic piano noise, better as compared to the Yamaha PSR-e343.
A notable difference is that the Virtual digital effect of Hall available in the CTK-4400 is not present with the CTK-4200. Additionally, the two keyboards are almost similar, though the CTK-4200 has a slightly different black or silver exterior.
The CTK-4200 has a greater price at nearly 190 dollars as against the CTK-4400, priced at $150. However, essentially, the 2 keyboards are similar. Accordingly, if you’re seeking to conserve some cash, pick the CTK-4400, since it contains a nice number of features, besides being almost similar to CTK-4200, though at a lower price.
Casio CTK-4400 Vs Yamaha PSR-E343
The Yamaha PSR-E343 is another digital keyboard with 61 keys identical with the CTK-4400, intended for starting pianist, but can be utilized by all grades of players.
Among the differences, the undermentioned features of the PSR-E243 are not shared by the CTK-4400.
- 385 voices and 100 attendant styles, besides polyphony of 32 key
- Absence of sampling feature
- Compliant with iOS ( connection cable i-UX1 needed though not contained ) for features such as Sound controller program, along with progress marker app being iOS compatible
- Movable grand button ( though resembling the CTK-4400’s quasi Hall feature )
- Extra-wide stereo signal utilizing digital signal management technology
- Playback of song constantly adjusted to tempo of player
There are many points of difference and similarity between PSR-E243 and CTK-4400. The polyphony of 32 key of the PSR-E243 is 16 keys lesser as compared to the CTK-4400.
Another difference lies in the Yamaha carrying 200 lesser voices as against the Casio. In any event, the importance of voices is mainly personal and if you primarily desire to produce electronic music, it is beneficial to have maximum number of voice choices.
And though it is quite handy to have 385 voices, the 600 voices of the Casio overshadows it. However, the feature of accompaniment styles also attracts the composer who wants to highlight the creation of melodies with the keyboard playing a selected accompaniment style.
Compatibility with iOS aids Apple users, though not so beneficial in the case of non-Apple users. Though, both keyboards possess USB or MIDI connectivity that assists music production. Hooking on your keyboard to your PC is always beneficial, as there are plenty of software which facilitate piano instruction.
Pros and Cons of the Casio CTK-4400
The following are the pros and cons of the CTK-4400:
Pros
- Keys which are touch sensitive
- Voices of 600 AHL
- 152 songs
- Effect of concert hall echo
- System of Step up Instruction
- Light at under 10 pounds
Cons
- Keys which are non-weighted
- Absence of ultra broad audio speakers
The Verdict of the Casio CTK-4400
To sum up, the Casio CTK-4400 constitutes a sturdy instrument that’s ideal for improving your technique, understanding latest songs, and also creating your own compositions. A flexible gadget for music advancement at home, within your practice area, as well as in schools, its economical price renders it a valuable consideration for students of all ages and expertise level.
If you desire plenty of voices plus rhythms, a big polyphony count to play more improved repertoire, besides a sampling mechanism, the CTK-4400 would be a big success. On the contrary, if you’re a fan of Apple technology with main focus to become an improved player, a much better choice would be the Yamaha. The PSR-E243 also is slightly cheaper than various keyboards priced at nearly $100.
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