Casio WK-3500

There's a lot to fully using all of the features like modifying and saving DPS parameters, and you will need to practice a bit (though I didn't really check the manual - who does?). Still the basic functions are pretty simple.

32 polyphony is not enough for this kind of keyboard, though the only occasion I have audibly ran out of polyphony is when using the sequencer with more than 2 tracks.

DSP effects are pretty nice, especially overdrives and distortions, and combined with the drawbar organ sounds they offer some really really expressive lead sounds.

MIDI features were poorly documented and I couldn't make my MIDI footswitch work with this keyboard.

Haven't used SM or floppy, no comments.

The keys are bouncy and clanky but it seems I got used to them eventually. Not like I was expecting any kind of hammer-action but I liked the keys in my previous 100-euro Yamaha toyboard more. Don't know if it's a Yamaha vs Casio thing or just something unique to this model, though.

Pianos sound ok to me, but I'm not an expert. On the other hand if you buy this kind of product the piano sounds aren't probably the major thing.

I've used brass and violins quite a bit and I'm not entirely happy with the samples, especially not the "velocity" ones. My previous 100-euro Yamaha toyboard had better ones in this category.

What I liked most was the drawbar mode since I'm a big fan of the 70's-80's music and as I said, DSP overdrive can really knock any of them up a notch.

Overall the quality of samples seems very descent, what I find stupid though is that pretty much all the tones, rhythms and effects are poorly organized so it's hard to find the one you want.

I have used it on gigs, although very modest ones, without backup. Hasn't acted up or done anything weird, all the keys and buttons still work flawlessly even though it has suffered from occasional raindrops and of course, heavy use.

One thing I want to say here is the positioning of the accompaniment buttons, which I found myself accidentally pressing all the time when fingering some chords, and I read on the other review that I'm not the only one with this problem. I just taped a drumstick (ask your band drummer) and tape it between the buttons and the keys, works nice.

There's also an annoying demo-button which starts playing something and can screw up your gig in an instant so I have taped a bottle cap over it.

I think the plastic is pretty solid and the instrument itself feels sturdy so except for the poorly positioned buttons mentioned earlier there's nothing to complain.

No experiences here.

I've had it for 4 or so years I think, I don't remember what I paid but I remember being satisfied nevertheless. If it was stolen I would get something similar with hammer-action keys since thats what I prefer nowadays.

I love the DSP effects, wild customizable delays, reverbs and distortions. I hate the fact that it's pretty hard to save the presets in and everything is bound to become unorganized and messy in the listings.

Not being a pro-musican or a computer geek...the WK-3500 was the WRONG CHOICE for me !! Too bad I read many of these reviews saying the Casio was so great, I bought one and it is NOT great. I hate it because #1 it's very hard to program voices and once you get them just right they don't stay that way. Auto-accompaniment sounds cheap like the old little Casio's I used to have. Buttons like start rhythm are too close to keys and hit easily while playing messing up your proformance...and the book is very hard to understand and poorly written. Wish I would have bought the Yamaha DGX...live and learn !!

Casio does not state the type of operating system the keyboard uses in its spec sheet so I'm not sure about that. I think this keyboard is very easy to use. The user interface and controls and layed out very nicely and there is quick and easy access to the presets. The manual is also well written and makes it easy to master other advanced features as you go along.

The polyphony is 32 which is more than enough for my needs. The keyboard action is good, it responded very well to my playing. There are a multitude of built in effects (100 preset I believe)such as reverb, chorus, tremlo, delay, wah-wah, etc that are very good. It's easy to choose one and also tweak it to suit your tastes. Their are expansion capabilities in that you can add new sounds and rhythms into the board via the smart media card slot. I haven't experimented with that yet but it's good to know it's there if I need it. It has all the main MIDI capabilities that the average user would need and easily communicates a computer. I use it to control several soft synths in my computer and it works very well. An onboard sequencer is present but you are only limited to 6 tracks of real,step time recording. This isn't a problem for me though since I do all of my sequencing with my Cakewalk Home Studio software when I'm ready to create a song for CD. All 16 tracks of the sequencer can be used for MIDI based work by connecting it to a computer. You can do real time or step time recording with the sequencer and store 5 songs. I mainly use the on board sequencer as a scratch pad for experimenting with new song ideas and it works well for that.

Overall the instruments and sounds are outstanding. I really couldn't find one preset that sucked. Although it doesn't have as many sounds as more expensive synths I think it's about quality over quantity and there is very little filler here. For some of the presets such as the grand piano and strings I found them to be a little too reverb heavy but this can easily be remedied by disengaging the DSP button (turning off the effect routed to that sound) to give you a dry sound. Many of the presets with effects sound better dry. I think this keyboard has a great balance of acoustic and synth instruments, and I believe it works well for any genre of music. There was were presets in every category that made me say WOW. I also like how you can easily tweak a sound and add effects to it to produce the type of sound you want. There is no aftertouch but it does have pressure levels so it does react to dynamics.

I would gig with this keyboard but I would make sure I have a backup.

I haven't had to deal with the company yet on this product so I don't have an opininon here.

If it were lost or stolen I would probably end up buying it again for the simple fact that it is dirt cheap and sounds excellent. If you use this keyboard with a computer and combine its sound capability with the extensive sampling capabilities of soft synths you can have an awesome setup that in my opinion beats going out and spending in excess of 2000 - 3000 dollars on a more expensive workstation. The only thing I wish it had is expansion card slots for storing new sound packages. For example it would be nice if Casio could develop specialized sound sets for specific genres such as a hip sound/r&b soundset or ethnic soundset that could be added to the board with expansion. But then again maybe this is asking too much. This keyboard does very well at helping me make music and is an invaluable tool for songwriting.

I'm not sure which software this keyboard uses. Probably not important as it is mainly a portable keyboard.
Great presets, some of which, like the pianos, organs, strings, etc., compare favorably to some more expensive keyboards out there, in my opinion. For example in the $1,000 and under price range.
Generally easy patch editing, as it is very basic, and of course, is mainly tweaking, and not full blown in depth editing like a pro synth has. Still, if you want to just make music anyway, and don't care about in depth programming, this won't really matter anyway.
Decent manual, although it may take a little digging around to find what you are looking for. I don't really use the manual all that much anyway.

32 note polyphony, which although not the most by today's standards, is still fine for a $400 unit. The keyboard itself has a rather nice, somewhat crisp feel considering it costs as little as it does. It is very nice to play on.
It has a wide variety of effects built in, including some great Leslie effects which work well on the organs. I don't really bother to tweak them though. Also different types of chorus and reverb among the various effects here.
The WK-3500 has a smart media card expansion slot, which I haven't used, and a 3.5" floppy disk drive, which I have used quite a bit. Floppy disks, while they don't hold as much, are cheaper, and smart media cards are getting a little harder to find sometimes. You can save\load sounds, SMF files, registration settings, etc. with either floppy disk or smart media.
It has your basic MIDI capabilities, such as local on\off control, General MIDI capability, etc. Although, I do NOT like that it won't transpose other MIDI devices via MIDI if you're using the 3500 as the controller. In such cases, you would manually have to transpose any connected external MIDI devices, keyboards, etc. It will recognize, if I'm not mistaken, transpose data received from a remote MIDI keyboard, if it's being used as the slave device. So a keyboard, computer or other controlling MIDI device could transpose the WK-3500, if you're using it that way.
The WK-3500's keys are touch sensitive, but it does not have aftertouch. No big deal, and not really all that necessary on a $400 keyboard anyway.
It has a 6 track sequencer built in. I haven't really bothered with it.
Oh, I also LOVE having 76 keys, too.

The pianos and organs are VERY realistic, at least in my humble opinion. Casio has really gotten on the ball here, and in my opinion, beats comparably price Yamaha portables here, in which I have not been impressed by Yamaha's portable offerings as of late. Strings are also pretty good, in my opinion, although again it's a subjective matter. They do have a pleasing and rather lush sound even if they may or may not be the most realistic out there. Yamaha may still have a slight edge there, but not by much, in my opinion. It also has some nice synth pads as well.
As far as other sounds go, every keyboard and synth is going to have some that aren't all that great, and for $400, I wouldn't expect it to be 100 % perfect. I mainly use pianos, organs, strings, and pads on mine. The sounds that I don't care for I wouldn't really use much anyway. I don't really use the GM bank much, and sound effects are no big deal, either.
I would say it would do well for some pop, some classical, can't comment too much about dance, as I don't really care about dance music. It might work for some rock, haven't played around with the guitar sounds on it too much, so I can't really comment right now about it.
It's got some excellent effects, the Leslie effects are unbeatable in this price range in my opinion, as a lot of keyboards $400 and under don't have Leslie effects at all, or are very poor.
It seems to react well to my playing, and the pianos and organs are particularly expressive, from my playing experience.
It has good velocity sensitivity, but no aftertouch.

As long as it's not abused, yes I can depend on it. I don't gig, so I can't tell how well it would hold up. But generally, it's not really meant or built for serious gigging, although it certainly sounds excellent for more casual gigs, church, parties, etc.
The plastic case would probably not hold up too well under severe use either, although for $400 it wouldn't be too big of a deal to replace the keyboard should it be damaged.
Casual gigs, church use, parties, etc. as long as it's taken care of, you could probably get by without a backup.
Just don't plan on using it for serious gigs or abusive situations.

I might upgrade to the new WK-3700 if it were lost or stolen, since it replaces the WK-3500, and has some improved features, and a few more sounds, etc. But this was definitely well worth the money I paid for it.
I'm a hobbyist player, and play mostly here at home. I also own an Ensoniq TS-12, Korg N-264, Yamaha SY-85, and PSR-85 as well.
I love the great pro sound quality and feature set this this has for the $400 price tag, and the SMF file player is a plus, too. Also, I love its nice feeling 76 note non-weighted keyboard, as well.
I compared it to some of the current Yamaha PSR \ DGX portable keyboard line, but liked the overall sound, and feature set better, and felt this is a far better value, at least for me, anyway.
It definitely helps me make music well.
I'd definitely recommend the Casio WK line to someone who likes to play music, but doesn't want to shell out a whole bunch of money to get something that sounds good. For what it is, it offers great bang for the buck. As well as shows that Casio is finally getting serious about making a great sounding instrument, with an affordable price tag to boot.
It's not perfect of course, but then again, there will never be a 100% perfect instrument out there.

This has to be one of the easiest keyboards to use. It's not a synth because you can't create you're own tones and it's not a digital piano because the keys on it are for a four year old. The keys are so thin, my girlfriend has thicker fingers. Give me a break, the keys are so flimsy on this. If anything did break on this keyboard, it woud be the keys, but I'm sure they are also probably the easiest part to fix. This is easy to use because it's for a beginner. It's a good choice for some parent to buy a ten year old something to mess around with or one who wants a small intro into the world of keyboards. But beleive me there's so much out there. If you have a choice still, go for a different keyboard. However it is fun to mess around with and it's like a classic casio you would see at radio shack (the kind that has 50 tones and does a few things) accept that this baby is on steroids. Look how frickin big it is and heavy. In order to get all those options in this keyboar and make it 72 keys, casio made it a little to big to be nice and portable. This thing is a bitch to bring around. However, the main thing I truly hate about this keyboard and other introductory keyboards is the fact that it has so many tone but no tone categories. Casio, couldn't you put some type of tone categories instead of listing every damn tone and number on the front of the keyboard. It would be easier to selcet the correct tone you want and you'd know where it is later. I'm always finding myself searching for what I want scanning my eyes accross the keyboard just for a tone. The stuff one here is enough, why would I need a memoy card!? No, I would never record with midi with this (well maybe as a controller). The recorder sucks and isn't needed because you have to play everything right once through or you have to go over it again. I'm not going to go over a song tons of times just to record it right and find out later that I accidentally recorded over it. All other features are simple (auto chord, mixer, connecting middi, split, layer, effects) what ever else I didn't list is explained is such a simple way in the instruction manual.

The polyphon?! Please not that...Casio is the keyboard industry's lowest standard with only 32. Come on Casio can't, no won't you ever make a keyboard with a polyphon of more than 32 (at least 64). Synth pads like Goblin are cut in half because they have an LFO in their background sound (yeah that cool undertone in that sound is what makes it cool in some way, but it's also what cuts the polyphon in half when you select that sound). Other sounds are like that too usually GM tone with more depth to them. Read the manual in the back under the appendix of tones and see how many tones aren't even 32 polyphon but only 16 (you kind of lied Casio.. how could you do that to us?) And then here's the real catch- although blending sound together not to create your own sound but just to layer two tones cuts your polyphon in half again. so at time you're down to polyphon that must be less than 10. That's sad.

Ok?! This should be a good thing to write about. Casio has a number of very cheesy tones on all thier keyboards, this one just happens to have more of them...a lot more. Wow, all these GM tones are a waste, well the sound effects like gunshot, ocean, clapping, and helicoptor. I love helicoptors and have been in them and that sound is nothing like the real thing. What a waste of room to add those stupid sounds. Some of those synth pads like goblin and junk like that are good cheesy sounds for someone who's just starting out, but if you want realistic sounds at least use an Alesis (even alesis isn't that good). The best thing about this keyboard with the best sounds that actually kind of repeat are the over 100 organ sounds. They really are cool. They are all mixed up in no order but sound somewhat realistic. Some of the basic tones like pianos, bass and guitar are ok. But the worst sounds are the sound effects and the brass, reed, woodwind instruments. Hey all those sounds in there are really just to mess around with, until you realize you're wasting your time with this keyboard and go onto another like I did. Layering as I said above sucks. When you try to layer to tones, one (the main tone) actually has way more depth than the one you're adding too, making the end sound not a combination of two tone, but a little bit of one and a lot the other.

Their products are so easy to use. You probably won't end up making a mistake with them and messing them up unless you drop the damn keyboard down the stairs. Their keyboards like this WK3500 is not good enought to be used for anything else other than just to play around. But overall, I'd say even if doesn't add up to your expectations of what a keybord should do, it still will last a while with the proper care.

It's hard to say what kind of support Casio has. They seem like this kid friendly company. All their keyboards (the products they make are no where near being considered synths or digital pianos- their products are just portable keyboards) must have good customer support. If their keyboards are so easy to use, then the company must be easy to get in contact with. I don't know...nothing's wrong with any of my casio electronics. I hope nothing happens to anyone elses.

If this were stolen, I hope that some little kid was the one who stole it (ten or under). Maybe that little punk would realize a whole world of keyboards starting with this portable thing and end up playing a clavia nord or kurzweil or korg or Roland or whatever else in the future. You get what you paid for. This keyboard can be found for under 400 and is worth the price. With Keyboards, Syths, Digital Pianos.. The more you pay usually (and I mean usually) means the better a product you will get with a better quality sound, more features and better over all product. Casio is at the bottom of the lie in Synthesized electronics but is great for those starting out, or little children.
Final Assumption-
This keyboard is certainly not that portable (it's big and bulky for a portable keyboard).
This keyboard's speakers will do well for it's size and you get the volume you'd probably want.
This keyboard has a polyphon that is way too low like all Casios
This keyboard has very basic, kind-of-cheesy sounding tones (but a lot of them)
This keyboard does what it's advertised to do with all kinds of extra crap, tones and features that most basic very beginner keyboards don't always have making it worth the value.
This keyboard (although others disagree..they are wrong)...has a very easy to follow instruction book, and the keyboard is very easy to use.

Well I have shopped around between the Casio 3500- and DGX 305 - The verdict is that this review will Try and be brief and to the point - Hopefully it will help some of those still looking around...

The Casio sounds pretty excellent for the money - The presests are incredible - And I haved owned a lot of pro gear in my time...

It is true that the Yamaha DGX series does have a slightly better piano sound which tends not to be so reverb heavy like the Casio - (very reverb heavy/ DSP heavy) - FOr the Casio Patch editing is so, so, but not to tricky - The main reason why the Casio is so appealing is the sounds u get alot of good sounds and despite what others may think - they are pretty good sounds that are clean and processed well...

The Yamaha DGX has a very breathy sax and flutes which are pretty good and I have to admit sometimes better then the Casio - However, the Casio sounds are very bright and really crisp despite the heaviness of the reverb sometimes...

3500 - Polyhony could have been higher like 48 or 64 notes which would have been nice - 32 notes is ok, but 32 is not high enough since the keyboard borders not only on semi-pro level, but honest pro level - and many people would be suprised that alot of popular artist have used this thing in the studio - actually some portables are used often in studios as of late because sound quality is up the with very late 90's synths and early 2000's synths - honest -

The smart media card for the Casio can save sounds and sequences - WHich is a MAJOR bonus - yet USB should have been included

The Yamaha Smart media can only save songs/sequences no sounds - or sound data(This I feel is a MAJOR downfall of the instrument)- USB is a nice feature

As I mentioned earlier the sounds are great for the Casio 3500/3000 series - The keys are new and hard plastic not cheasy anymore - I even like them better then the Yamaha - but I like portamento and true after touch (that stuff costs alot to put into a keybaord sometimes) and really is never put on portables in this price range... The keys look and feel great, and again border on pro synths - again since I have owned and played alot of gear in the past - I know what I am talking about -

This is very subjective because of the casing of the keybaord - the plastic should have been harder - or even had a metal bottom half - Casio really produced a great product - but shy'd away on some basic important stuff - Would I gig with this thing - Maybe - to bad casio didnt put this in a module and sold it wicked cheap - It is meant to be at home or in a semi-pro studio

Yamaha very good call back - Casio is a little so, so

If this thing were lost/stolen I would buy it again used very cheap -
The 3500 has made a very big leap and Casio put alot of effort into this thing - and it shows - Great for the money and features USB could have easly gone into this thing - MIDI is better - Then previous models - but could have been a little more thorough...

I don't like the reverb heavyness of the sounds sometimes - sequencer a little bigger would have been nice 10-15k notes at least - memory is cheap these days folks...

I really like the amount of great sounds that the wk-3500/3000 series has - and it does border alot on the pro-side easy - the samples are ok - the synth sounds are great - and for the money you can't bet it...

The Yamaha is a good, but the sounds are not has crisp has the Casio - that's a fact! AS for the Yamaha - The Piano is better, the flutes and various horn sounds are a little more breathier than the casio - and the Midi Implementation is very good, much better than the casio -

Bottom line - Get the Casio if you want alot of great crisp sounds at a great price... AGAIN very pro sounding keybaord by any standards...

Get the Yamaha if you want a little better piano and some horn sounds and flutes - also the strings are a little smoother on the Yamaha - yamaha similiar price -

I am going with the Casio - because of proformance and sounds!

This a follow up to my May 2004 post. About 3 months ago this machine died on me. I've since found out other WK series owners have had similiar issues. Since money is an issue when purchasing a keyboard I was limited in my choices. I thought I was going to get a WK 3000 or 3500 again when I heard the Yamaha DGX series. The sounds are so much better and realistic than almost everything on my former WK 3500. I also played a Yamaha S08 and finally understand why so many people in music forums told me to save up and get the S08 or even to get the Yamaha DGX series instead of the WK. I got the Yamaha DGX 505 and I've re-recorded my songs on my audio recorder and everyone thought I had the recording professionally redone. That's how big the difference is soundwise. My wife and all my friends think my music sounds much better. I never would have thought the sounds would have mad that much of a difference.

Yes, I would recommend it and buy it again if lost.
Had it 2 days, and passed the early confusion (data manager obsolete, other converter software not tried yet, but seem great for the expert) I started to enjoy my old tunes again (had a Roland D-20, and a Casio ct 680). Now they sound much better. Accompaniments are great, and so are the organs. I have to use the casio chord system (no 'left hand'...). Casio is a great packager. I'm far from being completely at ease with all the features (quite staggering amount of flexibility). Manual is not up to par, while much better than my Roland's. A usb port would be great. Sampled sounds are not well identified.
I suppose they are what they call Advanced tones.Have fun!

I have had a bunch of keyboards, and this is pretty easy to navigate around. The manual is good (if you read it...) and once you get the layout of things, most functions are intuitive. Editing patches is easy, have not done much of saving them yet, but the steps in the manual look reasonable.

For it's price, this is the best board available. I was comparing it to machines that are very different....

The Yamaha DGX and PSR models in this price range do not offer the same flexibility of patch editing, download new wave files, styles etc. The Yamahas really seem to be more bent on education until you get to the $1,000 line....

Other boards available for around $500 didnt have any rhythm (style) capability, built in, or sequencers (simple as this one is).

For one cheap board, the WK covers a lot of ground. This is my third Casio WK, and they simply keep getting better and more complex. The sound quality is decent, big step up with the Zpi samples; the DSP is LOTS OF FUN! and my favorite feature. Drawbars are a gimmick, but somewhat fun to work with; overall build quality is fine for the non-pro user.

The sequencer is really simple, but also really easy to use. I think this is a plus - anyone can midi up to a computer for a serious sequencer, so I think having a scratch pad unit built in is a great bonus.

Probably already covered this, but I think the Piano sample and related patches are a 7 out of 10, when price is factored in. Could be a bit better, but very usable.

Electric pianos are better, perhaps a 9/10....Guitars are a disappointment to me, 6/10 - but I dont use them much anyway...

Organs I say 8/10

Orchestral Strings 7/10 - some are cheesy, some usable

Synth pads/patches - 8/10 some fun ones in there

Rythm/Drums - 8/10 I like them better than the comparitive DGX Yamaha set

Casios are very tough in my opinion

No need yet

I would replace it in a second, although I would certainly always look at the newest Casio/Yamaha offerings...I think some of the Yamaha Sweet! and Cool! voices are better than Casios best....WK sounds

Seems pretty cut and dry. It has memory registrations which I guess counts as presets. I don't use them so I don't know how they sound. Editing patches is pretty easy for me, the manual seemed helpful in that area.

32 note polyphony. Actually its kinda limited when you get the drums going while you're playing, even with just piano or organ. The keyboard actions feels fine to me. Although when playing the pianos I like to have weighted keys. Has tons of different DSP's to choose from. One thing that was a big improvement over the WK1630/1800, it has a system reverb and chorus so you can use that with the DSP's. You can very easily edit the parameters of the DSP's. Fun to play around with. No expansion capabilities which is unfortunate because it could use some more memory and processor speed. It has MIDI in/out, which is pretty much standard for any keyboard. It has 2 line out ports if you wanna use more than just the onboard speakers. Sustain pedal ofcourse. In the front it has a headphone jack which has always been very nice. It also has a floppy disk drive which I have used many times for midi files, or new sounds downloaded from Casio's music site. If you have a smart media card, take advantage of that, there's a slot in the back to stick the card in, for the same purpose as the floppy disk.

Most of the sounds are very usable in my opinion. I love the piano's and EP's. I don't use any brass or strings much so I can't really comment on them. I have used the trombone which adds a real nice touch to a song. The biggest feature on this board is the drawbar organs. I can honestly say they are usable, but don't really sound realistic. First off, the drawbars can only be in 4 positions...0, 3, 5, and 8....Secondly, the tone sounds rather cheap, mostly when you start getting up in the higher ranges. I've used this drawbar setting on both the Casio and a Hammond C3 - 888800008 and it sounds SOOOOO much better on the Hammond. The percussion I guess sounds okay, they simulated the decay thing very well. I don't like the leslie sim. There's only 1 simulated rotor. On the leslie there's 2 spinning rotors, the horn, and the drum rotor. So without that, it really affects the sound. But it is a $400 Casio after all and so you get what you pay for pretty much.

I'm sure if you dropped it, there might be some cracks, the case is plastic after all. I would definately not use it solo, because I have, and its just not quite a solo instruments. I think thats because I don't have weighted keys. If I were using this with weighted keys my playing would be much better sounding. I have a Roland RD-300 which has 88 weighted keys and thats what I use mostly for piano. I have midi'd the two keyboards together yet, something I'll need to try though.

I've never had to deal with them so I wouldn't know. You can download new sounds and such over at the Casio Music Site - just google it and you'll find it.

If it were lost or stolen, I would not replace it. I'd probably get a nord Electro. I like what they have to offer. Its more vintage/analog sounds which is what I usually look for anyway. Been playing all my life but really seriously playing, about 6 years. I own a Roland RD-300 which is something from the 80's which I love to death. The sounds are not acoustic by any means. Alot of folks say Elton John used the RD-300. I don't know if thats the case I've never listened to him. The sounds very definately from the 80's and I love it. I also own a WK-1630 which has been sitting in my closet for a long time. Definately made a mistake buying that piece of crap. I'm also about to be the very proud owner of a Roland VK-8M organ module. It's on its way and should arrive next week sometime.

This unit could definately use some improvement but Casio took a big step when they brought this thing out. I only hope their new WK-3200/3700 will be another big step from the current WK's. However all in all, I really like this keyboard. I've used it for numerous recordings. I was going to sell it for the Roland VK-8 but I decided to make a compromise and bought the module version of the VK-8 to keep the Casio. One of these days though I plan to replace it with a nord Electro.

This is a wonderful "bang for the buck" board for the advanced keyboard player, who wants to gig with an amateur band, play solo for friends/family/church/school, and for someone who wants a decent MIDI controller for his computer based soft-synths.
At relatively low price ranges, Casio has (IMHO) the best sound. This keyboard comes with 2-way internal bass reflex speakers and a line-out to hook up to external amps. The patches are of very high quality for the price-- excellent pianos, saxophones, flutes, brasses. The solo violins and cellos are excellent, but the preset string ensembles haven't captured my imagination. The preset "advanced" tones are comprised of patches with Digital Effects, chorus, and reverb. For each patch, one can tweak the synth parameters: ADSR envelopes, Frequency cut-offs, resonance, velocity sensitivity of the sound, etc. Then, one can tweak the amount of Chorus and Reverb that the patch is sent through, as well as the quality and quantity of Digital effect. The DSP (Digital signal processor) is an extremely modifiable box. . . effects like flanger, 3-tap delay, distortion, etc. can be loaded, downloaded, and modified. The combination of synth modification of patches, chorus, reverb, and DSP creates a pipeline that allows some pretty remarkable modifications of sound. In addition, using Casio's software one can take sampled wave files (the sampling has to be done using some other sound recording program) and imported into the WK-3500. . .creating potentially unlimited sonic potential.
There is also a pretty neat Hammond style drawbar organ. It sounds very classic. I found it more satisfying pulling the drawbars on the computer interface, than on the actual casio. . . (almost everything can be done through the computer. . .and I think the computer interface is nicer because you are not restricted to a somewhat limited LCD screen and multipurpose buttons).
The Casio site comes up with new sounds once in a while. I have also found a couple of websites where an user community is beginning to develop. . .that shares its patches. Since this keyboard features only about 2 Megs of user wav memory (that can be used to store both user drum kits, and sampled instruments) the files are typically small and can be easily e-mailed/shared.
The keyboard is fairly intuitive, but it does take some getting used to. The Manual is helpful, and does need to be read to learn how to use the keyboard efficiently. This is the kind of keyboard where it is very easy to start off playing, and at the same time, one that can grow with you, as you discover new stuff that can be done with it.

This keyboard has 32 note polyphony. This may become a limitation if all 16 MIDI channels are being used, and sounds are being layered. . . but for the amateur musician this should not be a big deal. The keyboard also features a floppy drive and a smart media drive, where one can store MIDI songs, registrations, user rhythms, user sampled instruments, user DSP effects, user sounds, and stuff. This is good for gigs where one can load up the registration of a song one is about to play for quick access. The keyboard can also communicate with the computer, and transfer sampled sounds (!) through its MIDI channels. So technically, the floppy/SmartCard drive is redundant except for gigs when you don't have the computer nearby to store stuff. The keyboard has velocity sensitivity, no after touch, and is 16 channel GM compatible. Each of the 16 channels can be individually changed, switched on and off, and assigned chorus, reverb, or DSP. The keyboard also features a (somewhat limited) onboard 6-channel sequencer, with a 5 song memory. I'd suggest. . .if you have a computer, do the sequencing there: it's more satisfying and less tedious that way.
The keyboard comes in built with 140 styles. There are three modes of chord recognition (single fingered, fingered within a chord section, and full keyboard chord recognition). . .and playing a chord gets the accompaniment to orchestrate based on it. Using a computer one can make up ones on styles, and store up to 15 of them in the user memory. The drums, base, and orchestration can be individually switched on and off at the touch of a button. There are two variations, 4 possible fill ins, and 2 endings for each style. This is very useful for the "one-man-band" style playing to impress your friends. Creating rhythms on the computer is fairly easy. . . but making good styles is hard, and requires musical inspiration.

The keyboard sounds great. It has a mod wheel and pitch bend wheel. . .to add the realistic touches to the saxophones, flutes, and guitars. I bought this keyboard for its sounds. I haven't gotten into tweaking the sounds too much. . .but I like to know that I can. That is where the on-board effects, and synthesizer functions open up the horizons for me.
The touch response is adjustable in 3 settings, and can be adjusted for each instrument.
I think the keyboard really shines when hooked up through MIDI to a computer. It opens up possibilities of all these new sounds, rhythms, etc.

It has been reliable so far. There are some weird buggy things that sometimes happens with the keyboard when its hooked up through MIDI. . . sometimes if you change instruments on some of the rhythm channels (5-10) it doesn't change back when you want to play an on board rhythm. And you have to go manually to the channel and change it. A good quick way out of many fixes is to press the Piano button. . . or to play a bunch of different rhythms each using different sound kits, so that the channels get reinitialized. The construction is fairly sturdy plastic. . .but I wouldn't want to throw the keyboard around. The pitch bend wheels feel most plasticy. The keys feel fairly substantive, as do the buttons. They can sometime give off a little sponge-foam mechanical sound. . .but that's not been a problem really. My previous Casio last me 15 years, and I intend to use this board for almost as long. . .and it looks like it will hold up.

Have not dealt with Casio directly. Their website has updates on new patches and stuff that one can download: http://www.casio-europe.com/euro/emi/cms/
And a user community is growing of Casio users. . . so I am looking forward to more shared resources. Check out http://www.originalz.com/casio/casio_bbs/index.php and http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~edmin/index.htm

Ok. After doing extensive research on the internet, I zeroed in on three keyboard models: The Triton 61-key LE (1000$), the Roland Juno-D (600$), and the Casio WK-3500 (400$). In my opinion, they were the best value for money in their class. I picked the Casio because (it seemed to me) the best value for money of all the three. Based on my needs, and budget.
I used to own a Casio CT-670, and was looking for something with good sound, general MIDI compatibility, touch response, and the ability to make my own sounds, rhythms, and effects. For a relatively low price, this keyboard gave me all of that. In addition, having the chord-rhythm accompaniment (which is often not available on high end boards) option is very nice for those solo performances. . .where you quickly want something to sound nice.
Right now, I wish it had a little more memory (without having to resort to smart card. . .). I also wish that registration locations could be named with song names, and there were more registration bank locations. In a typical performance, I'd be playing at least 15 songs, while the bank has only 8 places. . .which means, I'd have to load the remaining from the floppy.
What I love about the keyboard is that they have kept all these cool things possible. . .with the help of computers, and floppies. . .that perhaps more extensive keyboards have on board. . . While focussing on the basics: good sound, easy user interface, powerful editting features. Great value for money.

This board is very easy to use. The layout is done quite well. The sounds on this thing have come a long way since the Casio WK-1800. Casio took a big leap and used the sound source from the MZ-2000 on the WK-3500. The preset sounds are really good. The stereo pianos are really nice and sound very realistic. The saxes are mouth watering. Casio has done a great job with them. The bass guitars are pretty good. Organs are great (because of the drawbars). Brass is decent, drums are decent as well. Strings are so so.... The leads and pads are pretty good too. Editing patches is very easy. Nothing complicated about it. The manual is good for reading on the shitter:) You'll learn more playing with the board.

It has 32 poly, which isn't great, but still not bad. I haven't maxed it out yet. The action is way better than my former Yamaha PSR-550. Casio has (true) full size keys, and the action feels much better (in my opinion). It has a crap load of effects and they are FULLY editable too. You can edit parameters deep within the effects, and they sound great. It can be expanded.. My model the 3500 has a smart media card, and a floppy disk drive. You can expand it with new styles, sounds, registration, ect. One HUGE plus is that you can download totally new sound samples that aren't edited versions of the preset voices. Casio calls them "Tone With Wave". I haven't really explored the midi capabilites yet, I do have a drum machine midi synced to the Casio, and it works quite well. The keys have touch response, but not aftertouch. There is a basic 6 track sequencer (what really should be called a 6 track sketchpad). It's very easy to use, and allows basic editing per tracks such as panning, level, reverb, ect. The onboard memory is 10,000 notes. It's not a lot, but it's there:)

The sounds are a huge improvment compared to the previous models. The used the soundset from the MZ-2000. The acoustic pianos sound really good, and are very realistic. Basses are good. Guitars range from very good to so so or passable. Strings are ok. The drums are alright. The eletronic, hip hop, and techno kits are really good. Organs are great (drawbars). It works well for rock, classical, blues, jazz, and you can pull off a little bit of hip hop, techno, ambient, and dance. It reacts well to playing, and is adjustable.

I wouldn't gig with it. The 3500 has stereo outs, but if you're a hard performer, and your equipment takes a good beating, you may eventually break the casing on this keyboard... It has good construction, but I don't think Caiso intended this model for the gigging musician. When I used to perform I never gigged without a backup (regardless as to what keyborad I was using)... ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP! For home use and possibly light gigs here and there this model will hold up very well.

Dealt with them when I had a MZ-2000, and the CS department knew nothing about that keyboard. When I asked a question all they did was read to me from the manual (even though the answer to my questions weren't in the manual). So I can't really comment on the support for this item.. However there are several user sites out there where users exchange info on this board and many more.. Feel free to check out www.synthzone.com and look into the user forums. The arranger forum has a lot of info for users.

Overall it's one hell of a keyboard.. If it were lost or stolen I'd replace it without question. I compared mine to the only keyboard in competiton with it, the Yamaha PSR-550 (which I used to own). I love this board, there are some things I wish it had, but for the price and what you get, there is no sense in complaining. The best bang for the buck in its category. I got mine dirt cheap, but for $399 you cannot go wrong. If you can afford it you should have one of these in your home. Even if you have a Korg Triton, Yamaha Motif, Roland Fantom, Yamaha PSR-2000 and up, Korg PA series..., this Casio will make a great addition to any set up.....

I got this as a tool for my modest home recording studio, and am not a serious keyboard player. The presets sound pretty good, and the organ sounds are quite nice! Have not messed with creating my own patches. The manual is decent, but not great. As was mentioned before it tells you what the features are, but not really how to use them.

Others covered this already. For me the features are great, I like the modulation wheel and the dedicated line outs. I wasn't sure if it was worth the extra 100 for the 3500, or get the 3000 and save the money...now I'm glad I got the 3500. I think for the $$ this keyboard has a lot to offer.

As was mentioned....I heard the noisy saw and thought something was wrong...then realized that is how it is suppose to sound! Ha! All the presets/effects sound darned good...and record well. Very clean with no noticable noise using the line-outs. I have used the organ and piano settings a lot, and they sound ver good. Also like the strings, and horns...again a lot of bang for the buck.

So far, so good!

Don't know.

For $400 it has a lot to offer. Good tones that are usable, ease of use, feels well made, and some added features other companies aren't offering on keys in this price range. I have been happy with it so far, and would recommend it. Again, keep in mind that I do not use all the drum patterns and accompaniment features...I mainly use it for augmenting recordings...and it works well for that.

The split, layer and other features are pretty easy to use compared to many other more expensive keyboards. e.g. Split point setting is quick - hold the split key down, press the key for the split point. No need to mess with sliders and buttons.

Presets sound OK to quite nice.

Manual has some useful details except I haven't managed to find out the sampling rate + bits spec anywhere. Manual says never to turn on the keyboard power whilst the pitch bend wheel is rotated... Doesn't say why. I'd sure like to know before someone does it.

Takes minutes to transfer a 1MB instrument from floppy to the synth is not much faster if at all from using midi transfer. Casio's PC software often locks up after uploading samples (doesn't refresh successfully) and has to be terminated. PC software doesn't let you upload multiple samples - have to do one by one. PC software a bit basic - doesn't allow you to set loop points for instruments etc.

While it's a bit lighter (10kg?) than a Korg M1, it's bulkier and wider (could just about squeeze the box into my car).

I am unlikely to give 9-10s for ratings, until _decent_ brain controlled synths arrive.

32 note poly. Keyboard action good. 76 keys. Lots of buttons to make it easy to get to features. Can store 32 user setups in 8 banks x 4 buttons. You can use the 4 buttons to quickly retrieve a setup (e.g. in a performance) but there will be a brief interruption and possibly change in the sound if you're still playing depending on the type of sound (loop/one-shot)

Very many built in DSP effects, room for add on DSP effects too. The WK3500 has a modulation wheel (unlike the WK3000 - only a modulation button). You can tie the modulation wheel to the DSP parameters- control reverb time, tremolo speed etc - not sure how that ends up from the MIDI point of view. There's a pitch wheel, but you can't assign it to other stuff.

You can't assign different DSP effects to each split/layered instrument - you pick a single DSP effect, but you get to choose whether it is ON or OFF for each split/layered instrument

The split and layered instruments/notes are played on different midi channels - 1,2,3,4. Some other keyboards in same category lump them all in one channel, or worse don't send the split/layer stuff.

Expansion limited - accepts smart media card - I haven't got one - appears to be just a glorified floppy.

In practice you only have 1.5MB of space (out of 2MB) on the synth for _all_ your user instruments/stuff - including drums, songs. So a multi sampled instrument leaves you with very little room for other user instruments. This doesn't affect the built-in instruments, so it's not that bad. But there doesn't seem to be a way to increase it - it doesn't seem possible to play instruments from the smart media cards - you have to load them into the 2MB shared area.

Drawbar organ feature is nifty- can easily control the various drawbars (and the click sound etc) on the fly with the channel buttons.

On-board sequencers? There's one, but don't care - PCs are cheap get one.

Has headphone stereo jack AND L+R line out jacks. WK3000 only has headphone jack. Plugging stuff into headphone jacks cuts sound to built-in speakers.

Built in speakers are decent (and loud in small room). Piano is surprisingly good. Most sounds probably the same as the WK3000. Not very much variety - the standard GM sort of stuff - organs etc. I quite like the er-hu sound from the music.casio.com website.

The DSP effects save many of the sounds ;).

The noisy-saw sound has crackles and pops- worried me till I found out that's the way it's supposed to be :).

No aftertouch. No surprise.

So far it's new so I dunno. Haven't got a backup...

The distributor here Jebsen & Jessen (SEA) doesn't seem very supportive of the product - no answer to emails, prices are higher than US etc prices, accessories not as well stocked - needed to wait for pedal and was sold a proel pedal instead of casio.

Haven't needed repair yet.

Worth what I paid but if lost/stolen would still see if there's a better deal - technological advances etc. Plus would need to get more money first - I'm not a pro, far from it.

LOTS of features for the money. Decent sounds. Manual implies keyboard can be screwed up easily. Sample space only 1.5MB. Uploading from floppy slow. Would be good if PC software were better.

Compared with Yamaha keyboards of about same price range (DGX300/500)- they have no modulation wheel, no separate line outs, worse ease of use (e.g. split, layer). Sounds not as good, fewer DSP effects. The Yamaha manual doesn't show how to load user sounds into synth (maybe not possible?). Yamaha built-in speakers are a bit soft - the max is sad.

Couldn't find other 76 key synths in price range here. If you're looking for a keyboard in its price range, definitely check it out.

this board has a lot of features for a $400 keyboard/workstation, and the manual is very good about tell you what they all are. My only complaint is that the manual doesn't help you much figure out HOW to USE them as well as I would like. It does tell you about all of the features, but they're a little hard to master with out a bit of work.

The preset sound sound are actually pretty good. I'm lovin' the organ on this thing. That 90% of why I upgraded from my old casio to this one. (wk-1630 to the wk-3500), and the storage was the other 10% (3.5" disk or Smart Media).

It has 32 polphony, whish will soot most of my needs. Some of the tones will not aloow 32, but most will.

The built in effects are wonderful. But I really wish that this thing had a 16 track sequencer rather than 1/2 to a 1/3 of that. And it would be nice to see a usb port to conect to the computer for both tracking audio and midi, and for file transfer.

Even with out these fetures it's really a steel for under $400.

The sounds overall are pretty good. This is not a $2000+ synth, but for under $400 they're great.

I'm lovin' the organ sounds.

Haven't had it very long, but I never had problems with my last casio wk-1630.

Only called once, but very helpful.

Other than the missing features mentioned above this is the best sub $400 keyboard out there. Nothing at this price range can compare.