Product: Casio CA-100
Price Paid: US This is my friends
Submitted
09/18/2001
at
11:32am
by
Mike.J
Email: TrcCtldy at aol<dot>com
Ease of Use
:
7
Software, what software, it's all in ROMs inside the synth. The presets sound decent, but there are some cool ones, the Airplane setting sounds like the synth on Van-Halen's jump until the plane starts changing gears and slowly rising in pitch. Patches! HA! if you know how to solder, you can get more patches, and no it does not have a manual, did I also say this does not have a working AC adaptor jack.
Features
:
6
As I am the literal Anti-Keyboardist, all I know is it has 61 really reasy to push keys. It has 100 sounds, some with as many as 3 variations. No built in effects (I use my guitars pedal board). Expansion, Dream on, ain't happening without a soldering iron and a good knowledge of sophisticated electronics. What the heck is a sequencer. Oh yeah, it has a 100 beat drum machine that actually sounds very decent.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
7
Most of the instruments are pretty realistic. I use this for progressive rock (ala. Beck meets Buckethead meets Dream Theatre). It reacts well. Did I mention this thing is powerful, you can overdrive an amplifier with this thing.
Reliability
:
9
As long as I dont use the AC adaptor, I am ok. Otherwise I plug the thing in and see smoke coming out of the top from a burning Diode or Resistor or something. I just run it off of 7 AA batteries and it's just fine.
Customer Support
:
3
They suck. It took them 3 weeks to Xerox me a copy of the Casio DG-10 Didgital guitar owners manual. And still 3 weeks later I had to make a ton of phone calls to find out they got bought out by some big corporation and lost the schematics to all their older products.
Overall Rating
:
7
If it were stolen I would go to a pawn shop and get another one. Hell they go for $12.00 at most flea markets. I have been playing keyboard for 12 years and I suck still, mainley because It took me until guitar lessons to learn theory. I wish it had a 1/4 output jack so I would not need adaptors to go into my amp.
Product: Casio CA-100
Price Paid: US $1.oo used
Submitted
05/17/2000
at
04:13pm
by
Anonymous
Ease of Use
:
10
Simple to use, 'cause it's just a semi-toy keyboard. Full size keys fit your hand.
Edit patches??!? What a novel idea! Never happen with this thing! The 100 "Sound Tone Banks" and 100 "Pattern Beat Banks" are stictly what-you-see-is-what-you-get. I gave it a 10 cause it's simple, and simple equals easy to use.
Features
:
1
Now, here is where this thing falls down. In fact, I'm a little embarrased to be reviewing this thing here. What do you expect from a guitar player? I use this thing as at-home acompanyment, nothing else. Action is like pushing buttons in an elevator, no expansion, no MIDI. and What's a sequencer? Damnit, Jim, I'm a guitarist, not a ...
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
3
Another area this thing never even THOUGHT of addressing. sound is pretty good, though, considering.
Reliability
:
10
Reliable as a rock, but who would gig with this thing? Maybe as a backup's backup...
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Who knows? Who cares? It's almost a toy.
Overall Rating
:
10
Bought it at a garage sale. It's been fun, and works fine for what I need it for- helps me make music, in a very basic way. I decided to turn in this review to say this: there are thousands of these things out there. Get one. They make great beaters- you won't care if you leave it out in the rain, or leave it behind. Can you say that about your classic MOOG?
