Casio CT-670

This thing is one button-one function easy apart from MIDI and the sequencer, which are the only things that require a manual. Some people here complain about not having the manual -- download it, for crying out loud. It's all over the Interwebs. Anyway, suffice to say it's an easy keyboard to use.

This is your average early-90's rompler. I did an album in 1992 with this thing only, not by choice but because it was the only instrument available to me. I would record a part on the sequencer and play over it for a final take. It has 12 note polyphony which was too low when using the sequencer. With the sustain jacked up it was very easy to hit the limit at which point notes just stop. Jarring! The other dumb limitation of the sequencer was that you couldn't change the voice. So if you record with piano you had to play piano over it. Lame. Even the stomach-churningly bad demo song ("The Way That You Love Me" by Paula Abdul -- blargh) used more than one voice at a time. Perhaps that was a demonstration of extended MIDI capability rather than what it could do on its own. Or a bait and switch for the punters in the keyboard shop. Who knows. Speaking of MIDI, it has in, out, and thru. I had no problem using it as a controller, though of course was pointless since it's not velocity sensitive.

Typical of keyboards of its age, the sounds aren't multisampled. Each voice is a single sample that's pitch shifted for all 61 notes on the keyboard. The bad thing is that the shifting noticeably changes the time characteristics of the sound. So, play a trumpet sound a few octaves up and it sounds like Mickey Mouse, not like a trumpet playing that note. If it's realism you're looking for stick to the middle of the keyboard. Like I said above, it's not velocity sensitive. The pitch wheel is OK but limited to 3 half steps either way. There are buttons for adjusting voices (attack, sustain, release, decay, detune) but the changes are subtle. Don't expect to get unusual sounds out of it. A synthesizer this ain't. It's not suitable for pros, unless you're a professional muzak player or have unusually low expectations.

It's survived 18 years of moving between apartments and houses, plus my kids and I beating on it. It's indestructible.

Meh.

I haven't used it seriously in fifteen years. My kids whale on it and that's why it's still around -- it distracts them from my more delicate gear. If they finally break it I won't care -- it had a good run and keyboards like this are a dime a dozen. It disappointed me greatly when I bought it -- I was hoping for a cool synth along the lines of a friend's Yamaha PSR-16. I was an idiot - there's obviously a world of difference between a rompler and a synth. If a rompler is your thing, this is OK. But it's not my thing.

its very very easy to use the sounds are nice the piano is brialliant and i use the strin 9,6 for show must go on so its cool.

with 12 notes polyphopny its not much but my plaY DIDNT RERDUCED IT
the keyboard action is nice.
it has adsr.
you cant do any upgrades.
it has midi in out and i belive thru.
it has a sezxuencer but its not much.

it dfont have velocity touch.
it reacts superb toi my plAYING.

you can depent on it it has dropped several times.
but still works fine

nothing ever happend.

i would buy it again.
i play it for a year.
i own a technics kn1500 and other stuf.
i love al the rithmes.
it has ethnic rock WHICH REMINDS ME OF queen with these are the days of our lives.
and rock a ball\ad is queen iwant to break free,
and rock 3 is queen breakthru.
its cool for a queen fan as i.

I bought this keyboard in 1990, in Germany. After having learnt how to play on a smaller toy casio MT-140 (which had 20 rhythms, 20 sounds, and a fingered chord recognition section) this was the "top of the line" keyboard I upgraded to. It cost us 900 DM at the time (about 450US$).

It has 220 patches, and 110 built in rhythms. The patches can be edited using a single Attack, Decay, and sustain envelopes, but the modified patches cannot be stored. An echo-delay can also be added to the patches. Personally, over the last 13 years, I haven't used this sound editting feature very much. It's not made a difference to me. The preset sounds are not all good, but I remember it sounding better than the Yamahas and Kawaiis at the time, and at that price range. The Pianos and electric pianos are fine, and there is an awesome strings section. It doesn't have touch/velocity response, so that makes the piano lack feeling. . .but the sound is good.

The keyboard is easy to use, so the manual really isn't required.

The keyboard has 12 note-polyphony. It has synth-action without velocity or aftertouch. It does have a pitch bend wheel. It cannot be expanded. It has a 4 channel MIDI capability (something I have been using a lot of). . .and it predates General MIDI. The polyphony on the individual MIDI channels is pretty poor (6-2 depending on the channel). . . so I land up using soft synths on a cakewalk sequencer where polyphony isn't as much of an issue.

All 110 rhythms come with preset orchestrations, that can be split into drums, base, instrumentation 1, 2, and a high pitched obligato. These can be switched on and off individually. There are two fill ins, two intros and two endings (both short and long). In fingered chord modes, this gives a tremendous amount of variety to live performances. . .especially because one can switch to just drum and base for "quiet" portions, and switch back to full instrumentation during choruses and reprises. I particularly like this control.

The keyboard also features auto-harmonize and echo-line. . .where the computer plays notes along with the prevalent chord (in the former), and a little harmonizing follow-up melody with the latter. I don't use these much, but it can add a nice soft touch to the melody. Overall, this board seems to be better for a Richard-Clayderman style kitschy soft classical music. . .there is a gentle purity to the sounds. Incidentally, the demo video featured Richard Clayderman. I can't see this keyboard being used for hip-hop or trance. . . though it does have some rhythms of that variety, it just doesn't feel like this keyboards style.

The sounds are great considering that there is no touch response. The piano, electric piano, and strings are particularly notable. I love its melancholy cello sound, and baroque harpsichords. It's choirs are not so hot. I also don't particularly like the flutes or brasses, but that may have more to do with my lack of skill in playing these instruments using pitch bend and modulation to make it sound like the real thing. . .that's probably why they sound a little flat to me.

The board works well for classical music. And for home playing. . .play with sing-along groups. . .karaoke. . . small bands. And hooked up as an out-of-date MIDI controller for a computer playing soft synths.

14 years and still not a scratch. It plays as good as new. One of my buttons has become a little moody though. . .maybe from all the food crumbs that might have gotten in.

To be fair, it hasn't been 14 years of continuous use. . . I went off to college, and came back to it. But the construction seems to be fairly sturdy plastic. . .with few protruding edges. . . and it hasn't let me down. With 61 keys it is portable enough for transport.

Never needed to.

It's totally worth what I paid for it. Long ago. If it were lost/stolen, I'd miss it. But I would buy a board that has velocity/after-touch, and would make a better MIDI controller for my computer music making. Hopefully something GM2 compatible.

It doesn't have a transpose button. It's good because that taught me to play along with different scales for different vocalists. . .but I think having the convenience would be nice.

I love this keyboards sounds. I love the rhythms, and the control I have over the orchestration of the rhythms. I like the way the board is layed out. . .how it feels to play it.

If they could incorporate a small-time sequencer. . .even a beat/loop sequencer. . .an arpeggiator. . .GM2 compatibility. . .and touch response. . .then that would be almost my ideal keyboard. A lot of my feelings for this board stem from the sentiment of having played it, grown with it, for a long time. It is in todays world, a relic from the past. It's not feature ridden. Compared with todays gimmicky Yamahas and Casio's. . this is reminiscent of an era when you could have a good sounding relatively inexpensive keyboard. . .that wasn't targetted at consumers who prefer a keyboard to have lighted keys, flashy displays, and prerecorded songs. Nowadays, a keyboard with so much class for the same price. . .is very hard to find.

Well, since this is a Casio, selecting presets is easy. Just press a button. It's not programmable at all, expect for the adjustable envelope and a cool detune effect.

It has 12-voice polyphony. It has no effects except for a psuedo-delay effect that delays the right speaker. It's not expandable at all (but this is an old Casio after all). The MIDI capabilites are decent enough for my needs. It also has an onboard 1-track sequencer which is totally useless. And of course, what would a Casio be without a built-in rhythm machine! It has lots of cheesy patterns, which is great if you're into that kind of stuff.

The sounds are your typical Casio stuff. Some are decent but most of them suck. The keys aren't velocity-sensitive and don't have aftertouch. I don't mind though.

If I did gig with it (heaven forbid), I would use it without a backup. Of course, I'd use it plugged into the wall, not on batteries. The plastic casing is kinda brittle, though...

I've never dealt with Casio.

My dad got this back in 1990 when it first came out, so I was a baby at the time. If it were lost or stolen, not only would my dad be angry, I'd be kinda heartbroken too, since this was the first keyboard I ever played. It's still decent today, but I wish it had velocity-sensitive keys. Oh well...

I bought it new in 1989. It was a blow regarding sound and I only missed the important touch response which this keyboard does not have. There are ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) paramtetrs and it helps a bit here and there to change the sound, but the original characteristic of it can not be changed except for one sound called "computer game". Let me reveal you a secret; if you hold the "Release" right key (increasing), long enough (about half a minute) you will get a sound of the bombing scene from the early computers that lasts some 30-40 seconds. Try it.
You really dont' need manual for it unless for the MIDI. It's all plain and clear. It has 61 keys.
Actually, at that time I was so impressed with the keyboard that I wanted to write back to Casio and thank them for the wonderfull product they made.

It has 12 polyphony. Keyboard is pretty good, but don't compare it to the top class instruments in range of 2500-5000 USD. No expansions, never used MIDI on it. I don't remember any sequncer on it (I sold it back in 1994) but it had asort of one or two track recorder (can't remember exactly) with approx. capacity of 1000 notes.

The sound was a blow at the time I bought it new, in 1989. I used it in a band before I dedicated myself to the Lord. Has useful, sprakling Strings, Pipe organs are not mighty, but they are very usefull and I loved them - there was a couple of soft pipe organ sounds that were just terrific. Brasses are weak as well as the most of the solo instruments. Pianos good enough but there is no touch response. Harpsichord very good. It's a 12-bit machine and basicly that's near the top what you can get out of it- considering that you did not have much of the memory for the sound those days.

Never had any problem, very reliable, and I guess it still serves somewhere.

You dont need customer support for products like these.

I was glad that no one stole it at that time. I compared it to a certain Kawai FS keyboard from the same range. And although Kawai claimed 16-bit quality sound (Casio had 12-bit sound), it really was not such a big difference. You were getting about 200 sounds with Casio and only 100 sounds with Kawai, so I bought Casio CT 670 and Don't remember regreting it. The strenght of the Casio was it's capability to be used with computer. At that time I did not had one, so I droped it in favor of Casio. Previous to this Casio had Yamaha PSR-60. It was also a good keyboard but with limitations of the 80's.

Easy to use, I had no manual yet in 5 minutes I could work it like a pro. A bit confusing at first though with the number entry system.

The keys seem a little soft. The built in effects are okay. Haven't tried the MIDI ports yet.

The instruments are quite clear but not very varied. It reacts well to the touch.

I would depend on it like most Casio products. After what it went through just before I got it, I'd say it's pretty durable too.

I've only dealt with the website support, and so far it's worked well for my other Casio products but there's no manual for this one.

I got this keyboard after it was thrown in the snow and had spent two days in 5 degree weather. I did some research and a family cleaning out their basement found it and decided it was worthless. After having it for 5 minutes I love it already.

standard

the keys themselves are a little light and can sometimes be annoying. no pressure sensitive keys on this. the tonebank is ok, although a little outdated
it has a pitch bend, which i have never really used.

this keyboard id say works well for dance and classical. the instruments are pretty realistic, perhaps not as good as some.

as a background maybe it could be used.

never had to have it fixed

its a pretty good keyboard for the money i payed. if it got stolen i would just get an updated version of it. This keyboard would be great for a beginner, small band or just to genrally practise on. all in all, for its age and the prices you can pick one up for, its a good instrument.

I payed just $45.00 for the whole Key-Board synthisyzer.

Isn't that FAR-OUT!

I love you Angels-Camp thrift store!!!

It works man. Can some-one fill me in with some how-to's on the "FILL-IN'S" I need to have parts I played going in style and me working on the next one in tune and maken each part and slam bam, it's to-gether.

My name is Peter Brown. Some day you'll hear of me in the ROCK REALITY WORLD OF ROCKEN ROLL HOME TOWN with really big music. Bye.

Fill In's intro and sound bank changes quickly with no break in the music, no space, no pause. It's easy to use. The easy touch keys like a real piano.

Sonic Stireo, DVD Home theatre or the old Beatles album.

"Why don't we do it in the ro-,o-oad, No one's really watchin us,Why don't we do it in the road."

I think you could use it, the Key-board is just really cool.

Well I got this used but you can tell it wasn't hammered on. The recording was still there like some kid toin with the keys and they didn't have it very long. I've never delt strait with the company no but they are a good brand.

It look like new with a few wipe down. It looks clean to me.

This Keyboard even after 13 years of ownership is top notch in the ease of use area.

Preset Tonebanks are wonderful and change between sound is fast, accurate and simple.

Angle of tone control board to the keyboard is PERFECT!

THough not a 2003 model, this keyboard is chock full of features. As others may have noted, it is not up to the lastest technilogies out there, but as a stand alone or even plugged in board it does perform very well.

Sounds are the champon of this keyboard in my opinion, and is why this classic Casio has quickly become one of the most sought after - dare I say, "Vintage" casios out here.

Playoing and owning this keyboard is a joy to the hands and ears.

13 years of ownership, not a single problem.

I use it strictly in my family room for jams, writing songs, and of course the holiday Christmas songs for the kids.

Excellent. The 800 toll free support is top noth. The number is - get this. 1-800-YO-CASIO

This will be in my family (as an heirloom most likely) with my guitar collection for years to come.

The collectors of vintage keyboards are grabbing these up at an astounding rate. When they pop up on eBay, they go fast. If you own one, consider yourself blessed.

If ever I can change/mix anything quickly while playing, this is it - once you get accustomed to it. The digital read out/input although dated, is quick enough to respond to a tone or beat change.

The keyboard action is smooth, not key responsive but all the same for home use it's reasonably comfortable to play. Hooked onto a computer though can bring out its real versatility and the tones seem to blossom once a tune is played from the computer - good for midi use

Effects are good especially the organ sounds but the piano effect probably does not come up to scratch. The rhythms sound great and vary greatly with effects use when you vary the auto accompianment system. I've tried to emulate some rock songs with it and at times it sounds closely matched.

I'll never sell it and when I get another updated keyboard (soon), I'll teach my kids to play it. If it didn't have the 'auto turn off power' function it would be ok for band background

Never used customer support, never has broken down - it's very tough.

In Australian currency, at the time in 1991 it was the 'top shelf' keyboard for home use and yes it is worth every dollar if it can still last this long. I have been playing for 30 years and I've had Casio's all the way and I will still continue to purchase this brand, even now I am looking at the CT-671 to complement the current stock