Casio CTK-691

I'm not a keyboard player. I just bought this to get some new sounds and textures and to play around with. I found the presets very easy to deal with, and although a lot of the sounds have terrible DSP effects added on, these can be altered or removed altogether.

Very tweakable, and I found the interface very intuitive.

I like the drawbar organ, not the presets but the tweakability. The piano sounds very nice to my ears, especially for a fairly cheap keyboard. The choir is nice, as are a couple of the synths. I don't particularly care for the other hundreds of sounds this keyboard has. They either sound artificial or just thin and empty. Some of the synth sounds are also like this, but provide a good basic starting point from which you can adjust the envelope, decay, vibrato and DSP effects to get a useable sound.

For the money, I can't imagine getting anything better to be honest.

I've primarily used this in post-punk/rock bands, so this has seen years of being shoved into cars, bashed about whilst unloading and 4 house moves all without so much as a bag for protection. In the last two months it's been knocked off it's stand twice by rowdy audience members during gigs. Then after a fairly quiet gig, I noticed that the display was broken and one of the internal speakers had stopped working. No idea how that happened. Can definately depend on it.

I have found this Keyboard dead easy to use even when i first got it!
Moving through the Pre-Sets is very easy you just type in a number and best of all all the preset numbers are on the front pannel! I find it even easier nowadays because i Play Synthesizers which are a thousand times harder to use.

It has dedicated built in speakers which sound very good but i don't seem to be able to Patch mine through an Amplifier which is bad because you can't hear it over my Synthesizers (which don't have built in speakers).

All of the rhythms or backings are easy to use,they give you the option to use Casio Chord wnich is basicly played with a single key or Fingered which is playing three keys.

It has a basic Synth Mode which allowes you to edit rhythms and Pre-Sets.

It has everything a beginner needs!!!!

The sounds are great and there is lots of them!

Its keyboard does not feel too good but it has velocity, no aftertouch but you only seem to get that in Synthesizers so its okay!!!!

Very good Piano Sounds and the Drawbar Organ Mode really is awsome!!!!. The Synth Sounds could be better and they could be more of them but they sound fine.

This Keyboard is very reliable and you can always depend on it!! I have never gigged it (i Gigg my Synthesizers instead) but i have watched it being Gigged and it was perfectly fine!!!!

I don't know anything about Casio's Customer Support because i have never needed it.

My Casio CTK-691 has been my workhorse for 3 years but i Play Synthesizers now and don't really play it anymore. Unfortunatlly i am selling it and Putting the money towards my new Synthesizer the 22 year old Roland Juno-106. The CTK-691 has served me well and i am going to miss it greatly.

Get this Keyboard! You get so much more with Casio Keyboards than you do with Yamaha Keyboards. They are fantastic value and sound great!!!!

The effects are very good and there are a significant number of them. Vey easy to program, store, and create your own tones.

2 sets of 100 banks (one in the "piano" section, the other in the "organ" section) to store sounds and settings, as well as labeling and aranging these tones. Not something you'd want to use if you play with a click track, but excelent for starting keyboard players, like myself.

The strings, synths, and organs are awsome. Everything is highly customizable. If you want to play Chicago, and some things from the disco era that require a big sound, you need to work to get the sounds right, and it takes some time, but for an inexpensive keyboard, it definitly does the job for someone just starting out. Again, I can't express enough how customizable every sound in the keyboard is. You can change the eq, the effects, the reverb, the chorus, you can layer and have a diffrent effect on each layer... it is a very good package for a very low price.

The horns aren't exactly right, lacking that full sound that is often needed, but if you work the volume control correctly, much of it can be eliminated. However, the saxaphone settings leave much to be desired.

I've had it reset and lose my settings twice, but -both times,- I feel it was the electricity in the studio's fault. Every time at home, or at a gig, it has worked flawlessly.

Fast response to e-mails, but haven't had to use support all that much.

I love my keyboard... I started playing about a year ago, and in that year, I've come to play pretty well, learning on this keyboard. I think this is a great starter keyboard that has a ton of effects, and possibilities. I am just about ready to step up to a Korg Triton, and there are some things (the strings especialy) that it does just as well. I would like the sounds to be fuller, therefore, I will be buying the Triton soon, ---however,--- I cannot stress how amazing this keyboard is, and what you get, for the money. It can't be beat.

There are far more presets that come with this keyboard than you will ever be able to use. Once you learn your way around the keyboard it is fairly easy to tweak the patches. I still have not figured out how to save the patches I had modified. I play mainly blues, R&B, some rock tunes, so I tend to use the pianos, organs, and the brass&woodwind patches. I have never done an A/B comparison between this keyboard, and comparable Yamahas or Rolands. I let my ears tell me if I am pleased with an instrument, and so far my ears likes what it hears. The woodwinds are a big improvement over their previous models, the pianos sound fine to me, and the organs though a little thinner sounding than my Voce V3, and just fine when you are playing in a group.

Lots of information about polyphony, effects, action, the on-board sequencer have been covered off in other reviews, and frankly I am not a very techy guy. The keys are a little noisy, and plastic to the touch, but remember what this keyboard costs.

Lots of useful sounds, the strings, woodwinds, and organs are quite good. The pianos a notch below the patches mentioned above, but still quite accepatble. Lots of onboard effects fairly easy to operate, and of good quality. The keys are touch sensitive so the harder you strike them the louder they sound.

As I mentioned before I play mainly blues, R&B, and some rock music. I use this keyboard along with another one to play horn patches on the R&B songs, pianos on blues and rock, and the organs to complement my Voce V3 .

I would not go throwing this unit around, as it is housed in plastic and would not hold up to well to a severe beating. I carry it around in a soft gig-bag, and treat it with respect. I have used it to play live at a club with my band, and it sounds really good when you mix it in with other instruments. We videotaped one of recent performances, and I was surprised at good the keyboard sounded.

So far so good.

I am a reformed guitar player who was asked to fill in on the keyboard more than 5 years ago, when we went through some personnel changes. I use this keyboard along with a Casio WK-1600 which I use as a controller for my Voce V3 organ module. I love the portability of this unit, for my ears the patches sound very good. I would probably replace this unit if it was stolen with a WK-3000.

Preset's on the Ctk691 are a huge improvement on past Casio keyboards and are getting quiet warm and fuller sounding, especially the woodwind samples, they are so breathy. If you are into basic piano playing, you will need to adjust the parameters like attack, release, resonance and touch response etc? to get best performance just press the SYNTH function, this is easy now with a dedicated button.

I bought this keyboard because it has a parameter adjusting functions, so I will tell you honestly what I think soon.

Editing patches is easy as, just select a preset patch and press Synth. All you need to improve a sound is there. Most functions in SYNTH have a range of minus 64 thru to plus 63, this is plenty for a beginner wanting to tweak a sound.

The following is a list of the SYNTH functions;

ATTACK - Adjust how long it takes for a patch to reach it?s highest output. This function helps piano patches to a great extent, but if you?re a pad lover, forget it !!! You press a key , no sound?no sound ?no sound, you can hear the pad getting louder, then it saturates your ears with a sudden quick attack response, this can be improved without a doubt, I love my pad patch to gradually reach it?s highest output, instead no sound then all the sudden screaming down your ears, enough said.


RELEASE - Adjust how long the patch takes to fade away to zero output. This has function is great and is needed for the piano presets, actually most presets, again, -64 to +63, all the room you need to expand a sounds length.
CUT OFF - Adjusting the overall loudness of a patch . This comes in handy for creating Dance orientated pads, like bright leads?this is nowhere near like turning a knob on a proper synth but it?s fun to modulate with the button?s + & - anyway.

RESONANCE - Go to high and you will get a screeching resonating pitch, be sure not to fiddle to much with headphones on !!

You can select how a patch will sound when using vibrato functions, again into the SYNTH function select SAW, TRI, SQR and SINE, in conjunction with vibration depth and rates you can get a flute sounding really good.

So overall the patches are dam good for the price, of course not in the league of a dearer Roland or Korg.

The editing of a patch is easy, but you still need to know what all the values in the synth function mean then you will effectively get the best out of this function.

The Manual comes with the keyboard. It does a sufficient job of telling you where all the functions are and a MIDI implementation chart is also present so you can see what the board can and can?t do.

Keyboard polyphony is 32 max and 10 for some, so using multi pads with dsp effects will chew up your polyphony drastically, I?ve tired extending the Release of a patch but soon as you move to a new chord or note you might loose any sustained sound. Overall its fine.

CTK691?s keys are O.K for a board at this price, very plastic feeling and a little loose, don?t be surprised if you feel and hear squeaks and creaks fairly quickly, but hey it feels as good as a $2000 dollar Virus indigo so no real complaints.(i begged a music shop salesperson for a go on one and was like WHAT, I WANT BETTER FEELING KEYS THAN A CASIO, SO THERE !!)

Built in Effects are pretty much Modulation and Distortion. The Electric guitars really shine with a distortion DSP, add REVERD to almost all patches. The DSP unit in 691 is OK, so its not amazing or close to pro boards or modules, but delay is excellent and phasing effects are reasonable.
LFO is also reasonable, you can adjust the depth of the LFO, 0 to 127, the higher you set, the deep the sound will be effected, also adjust the rate 0 to 127 again, you r not going to be doing any thing out-of-this-world, but you can change the rate in real-time by pushing buttons.




If you like experimenting with DSP Effects functions and Synth functions you can mess a sound up pretty good, one minute a lead or bass is smooth and warm, next minute its vibrating and detuned, all this with the careful pressing of a couple of buttons.

You can access SYNTH, MAIN DSP, REVERB and CHORUS as well as the mixer to adjust the tuning or Octave.

If you want your patch deep n dark, maybe a freaky pad, go to synth function and adjust the octave to a minus value (in SYNTH function you van adjust a octave -2 to +2) then into the Mixer function, select the channel and lower the octave again to produce a very dark sound.

Overall the effects are reasonable, with some careful button pushing, SYNTH programming, DSP editing and Reverb selection you can end up with some very cool Lead sounds , Warm Pads, deep Basses and VERY DISTROTED Electric Guitars. (My neighbour thought I actually bought an Electric Guitar, that?s how good this thing can sound with some descent playing of course.

You can download Data from Casio?s website to you personal computer, I have not done this so I will not comment.
The CTK691 is General MIDI level 1
Can connect to the PC as sound source or input Device
If you want to control Softsynths, I would purchase a dedicated ?controller keyboard? with at least a PITCH BEND WHEEL and a MODULATION WHEEL, also one with knobs or sliders, the ctk691 lakes all the functions. Casio could have at least added a Pitch Bender, el cheapos !!

The keyboard of the CTK 691 is touch responsive so the harder you hit the louder the output of the sound, coupled with your own settings for touch response in the transpose function, SYNTH function and mixer you can hit a key hard and get no response or barely touch a key and its freaking the living daylights out of you, so the touch response gets a big tick here.

This keyboard does have a sequencer, but its a lot of button pushing and to limited so just connect to a pc and proper software sequencer.

The piano is good on the ctk691, not as good as Yamaha or technics but their acceptable.

The Most improved samples are woodwind flutes, pads, and various ethnic instruments like Sitar.

The piano is good on the ctk691, not as good as Yamaha or technics but their acceptable.
The Most improved samples are woodwind flutes, pads, and various ethnic instruments like Sitar.

I use the Ctk691 mainly for ambient and experimental music, yes it does not have the real time controls,
pitch & mod wheels but non the less its pulls of some very cool soundscapes, so this board is fine for those who like messing with their sounds, it has just enough features to get you interested in a proper ?SYNTHESIZER?.

The ctk691 was bought in a shop and to my annoyance it had a crack on back, about 3 or 4cm?s and one key in particular creaked, so I took it back to the store and got a replacement, apart from that the board works fine, I?ll upgrade soon to a proper synth so it will be for mucking around on so if it dies oh well.

Would never use it live, its too plastic and besides it?s a board for a home studio set up or just for frigging around with, YES the sounds are fine and I?m sure Brian Eno could work the pants of this underestimated board and its "not just for 10 yr olds" by any means, but it lakes many functions like pitch and modulation wheels.

Have not contacted casio for anything.

I?m not going to lose it but if it were stolen I would spend 5 times the amount and get a proper synth. I am keen to use a REAL SYNTHESIZER.

I have been playing keys for 5 years and this board rate good for the price, compared to same price/specs Yamahas.


The Casio CTK691 Produces some very warm sounds and sweet-as effects but I mainly use this board for warming my fingers up these days.

STILL A GOOD START IN KEYBOARDS AND KEEP YOU DREAMING OF THE DAY YOU BUY A NORD KORG ROLAND OR ACCESS !!!!!

Over all very easy to use.

The keyboard is easy to play. The effects are OK. I havn't used the MIDI yet. The sequencer is good. Enough memory for what I need it for which is to write song parts for my band. My only complaint about this deck is there's no audio metronome in the piece. How the heck can you record parts without a darn click?

Sound are very decent for a $200 keyboard

Called cust support to see if there's a way to switch on metronome, they answered call in about 3 minutes and were helpful to answer my question

Does any one know if there is a way to switch on the metronome in the keyboard so I can hear it?

boy am i tired of reading reviews on keyboards,if you read all reviews on every brand keyboard known to man,none are worth buying,but let me tell you ive tried them all,i've been playing keyboards for 15 years now,i too stayed away from casio keyboards,don't lie,so have alot of you,you seen them on every home shopping network around,i said i won't take one of these on a job,i been looking for a great synth-piano -string-organ,i tried roland,yamaha,ect.the list goes on,but i ran into this casio ctk 691,this thing is great.easy to use,programable you name it,this thing for the buck sounds great,

i think polyphony is 32 note,keyboard action is good,better than an xp-50 i used to have,built in effects are great,you can go online and download casio sounds

heres where this thing surpised me,pianos are usable,strings are great but the organs are awsome,this thing has some great sounds 700 in all thats all youll ever need,listen,i mean this aint no motif, or triton,or fantom by far,but if you want just to play again,and listen to yourself,this is really a great instrument,i had a roland rs 50 keyboard,had a yamaha sy85,xp-50,xp-10,alesis qs6.1,this thing smokes them all,dont forget i'm just saying the synth part,i use a pc for recording,i dont have no use for this things seqencing,i dont use sequences on the job.i dont program sounds this is all i'll ever need,let someone else do the programming

i dont know how stable or reliable this thing is but for the money that i payed for it who cares.no i woudnt gig without a backup with any keyboard

never dealt with them,

now,i forgot to mention that i use this with a roland controller,the casio does not have a pitch bender or a mod wheel,but with the roland this is a monster duo,i'm tellin you this is a great little keyboard i would buy another in a heartbeat,lets face it i would hate to beat up a 2000.doller motif or let some drunk spill beer all over it

Compre este teclado hace unos meses , antes tuve un yamaha psr- 275 ,en fin este teclado en un principio me parecio un poco complicado ,pero a medida que lo estudie e sabido sacarle partido puedo decir y sin temor a equivocarme que en mos de 2 semanas se aprende lo escencial .

es el teclado mas completo en ese rango de precio ,sencibilidad al tacto,midi memoria interna (!por fin puedo guardas los preajustes de usuario!!) ,modo sintetizador,

en un principio me costo acostumbrarme y olvidar la facilidad y simplicidad de mi yamaha psr, y bien pues como todo cambio , en un principio lo sentia todo raro incluso empese a odiarlo!!! .!!pero no fue cuestion de tiempo para darme cuenta de la potencia de este teclado!! ,

!!! gracias a la funcion sintetizador y la funcion DSP puedes personalizar tus sonidos hasta el punto de sentirte satisfecho y pensar " dios esto salio de mi propia creatividad !!..

le doy un 9 como puntuacion por ese simple hecho , digamos en el yamaha psr , lo unico que hacia era prender el teclado y tocar, y eso en un principio terminaba odiandolo , en cambio en este casio empese a darme cuenta de lo gratificante que es tener una identidad sonora propia

sin duda lo volveria a comprar ,pues creo que me hice ver a la musica desde otro punto ,me hizo sumergirme a otros aspectos del sonido que no conocia .y creo desde mi punto de vista que con este teclado " la calidad la haces tu mismo " .

Con mis comentarios no prendendo decir que el casio es mucho mejor que el yamaha , pues en si el yamaha tiene sonidos bien realisados ,pero a la larga terminaran aburriendote .

Hey, just reading about the CTK 691 lets me know that its the one for me - I ordered one today: $168.00 + 18.00 Shipping.
(The step recording is the thing I'm after - it really makes composing easy - one can eliminate so much 'throw-out' so quickly. Plus all the other features are just gravy - for me! )
THE MAIN THING IS: I GOT BURNED ON A YAMAHA 295 ! What a piece of GARBAGE!!! I am sending it back today... I have an old 225GM that is far superior! Buy one if you can find an old one. Yamajoke "replaced" the 225GM with their new PSR 275 - at twice the price for half the jam
I simply cannot tell you how disgusted I am with the PSR 295, oh - except for the couple of "sweety sounds" which are fair at best.
I'm an old Hammond B-3 cat anyway which is the world's #1 ALL TIME, but I have to get into MIDI so -- am looking forward to the CTK 691.
Flames to come, no doubt. Bring em on.

Unbelievable!

More than you will ever use!

Great Best in Class!

If it is anything like their watches it will last forever!

I own a project studio which is full of top of the line keyboards my favorites being my Hammond XK2 and Yamaha S90. As a matter of fact I own 3 Yamaha keyboards and a Yamaha tone generator and I usually favor Yamaha gear. But Casio must be given credit for this little jewel it is unbelievable that you can get anywhere near this quality of sounds out of a keyboard in this price range. I tried several keyboards in this price range and had intended on purchasing a Yamaha for my son for Christmas but the Yamaha PSR-295 WAS NOT IN THE SAME LEAUGE!!!!!! It is obvious the bad grammar that both Louis and Seba?s Keys are the same person who are just trying to slag the Casio CTK-691 in order to feel better about his bad purchase decision that he made buying the wrong board. Also, note that His review of the Yamaha PSR-295 is the only one on this site! So I would say he is the only person who thinks the PSR-295 is even worth writing about. Why else would Louis go out of his way to agree with Saba?s Keys and to slag the Casio before he ever wrote a review on the Yamaha he seems to think so highly of?