Casio CTK6000 demo and review - arpeggiator and effects fun

Perhaps my favorite in Casio's CTK series from 2013. The sounds, effects and arpeggiator alone make it a sonic powerhouse. I would have loved to see resonance and cutoff knobs built in, and a basic sampler (as seen on many other CTK's) would have been nice. Even so, the CTK6000 carries an air of class not often seen in portable all-purpose keyboards.

[@St.INK_WorldNews]

I just purchased a 6600 at Guitar Center. I got it for a steal at $50 because the box was mangled but the keyboard itself is in absolute perfect condition.

[@gearfacts]

That’s an amazing deal right there :)

[@jessytube8088]

We have had this keyboard for a while, didn't realise it could do all that !

[@gearfacts]

Yeah it's a fun one!

[@Thalestris24]

You can interface it to Bandlab/Cakewalk also, to create music electronically!

[@James-cs2wi]

Great video thanks 😊😊😊😊❤

[@gearfacts]

You are so welcome :)

[@Marginal391]

Hello 🤗 Could you please tell me if there's a way to use the metronome during a sequencer recording session? Thank you 👍🙃

[@Stanpianoman-zs7gy]

I'm upgrading from my 36 key Yamaha keyboard to the Casio 6600 with 76 keys. I am quite elated to receive it in the mail.

[@gearfacts]

Sounds great!

[@nv4699]

This is the keyboard I have right now. I love it. I think this Casio keyboards did get real cheap sounding for a long time, but they have really stepped up their game around the time they released this series of keyboards. I love 80s music and this has a lot of those kind of sounds and the arpegiator is really cool. I also like to use the music presets to jam with my guitar. I particularly like the music preset called Weep Blues. Great demo.

[@gearfacts]

I agree, they are right out in front now with home keyboards. It'll be interesting to see what Yamaha does to compete with them! Gearfacts

[@HubertEtAlice]

Gearfacts Well, so far all Yamaha came out with at NAMM 2019 is the PSR E360...😱😱😱

[@XaneMyers]

I like how the video stabilization makes it look like the camera is trying to avoid your hand or it's being knocked out of position.

[@gearfacts]

Yes, KZbin removed that feature a few months ago. I liked it even though it glitched out sometimes. I made a video specifically about KZbin's stabilizer, but no-one watches it, hardly any views :/

[@KevsGuide]

@@gearfacts were is it? as you said they dont have it anymore right?

[@TamalChakrabortyOfficial]

I am planning to buy a Casio keyboard and in a dilemma between CTK 6000 and CTS 300.. can you please suggest which one would be better in terms of learning and music creation?

[@gearfacts]

Definitely the CTK6000, it sounds way better and has more features. The only advantage with the CTS300 is slightly better portability.

[@TamalChakrabortyOfficial]

@@gearfacts Thanks so much for replying so quick, you helped clear this confusion now. Appreciate it!

[@gearfacts]

@@TamalChakrabortyOfficial That's my job :) :) :)

[@Doctor-Of-Doom]

How do I turn on the arpeggiator? When I do what the manual tells me, a bar turns on for me in the corner like yours but its the obar above the one you got.

[@gearfacts]

Try holding the arpeggiator button down for a couple of seconds. It's been a while since I have this keyboard but I think you have to press (short) to turn the arp on, then press (long) to choose an arp, and the first ten arps are actually harmony effects that do virtually nothing, so skip to something with a value higher than 10. Hope that helps

[@WillieWagglestick]

I cannot for the life of me get the arpeggiator to work on mine. I've held the arpeggiator button down, selected the one i want then pressed the button again for a short time but nothing happens. I've followed the instructions in the user manual too, but still can't get it to come on. Any ideas please?!

[@gearfacts]

Hmm, I haven't got this keyboard anymore but from memory you have to press (or possibly hold) the Arpeggiator button then promptly press the "+" button more than ten times because the first ten settings are actually harmony settings that don't create any arpeggios at all. Settings 11 onwards are the arpeggios. Give that a try and let me know how you go :) Gearfacts

[@WillieWagglestick]

Thank you so much - i think you've solved my issue as i was just selecting number one or two and wasn't scrolling through the higher numbers, and all i was getting was a harmony type sound so i think that's what i've been doing wrong; not trying the numbers from 11 onwards. Keyboard isn't with me at the mo, but i'll have access again to it in a couple of weeks and i'll try what you've suggested and let you know. Many thanks!

[@gearfacts]

Yeah let me know ...that advice is just from memory...

[@leftymadrid]

Next week, I will be adding the Casio 6200 to my home studio, to help in recordings, with my guitar work!! Looks pretty complete, EXCELLENT for what I need it for, I hope it has some great pads, and bass sounds, along with ALL the INCREDIBLE sounds it has, should be perfect, price is 225.00€ which is not bad T all!!! Great video, great information as always :-)

[@gearfacts]

Thanks for your feedback, Lefty. I'm sure you'll be pleased with it. I mean, even if you can't quite find the sound you want for a specific purpose or song, it has a pretty good synth capability which will get it as 'near as dammit'. For example you can change a harsh stabby sound into a cruisy pad simply by increasing the attack time and adding delay. This kind of flexibility is great with the Casio range. Cheers and all the best :) Gearfacts

[@jnny7182]

Thank you this was helpful... any thoughts on the Casio WK-6600 76 key? Do you like the synth presets on it for modern pop music or 80s vibed music which seems to be becoming popular now which I’m thrilled about.

[@gearfacts]

WK6600 ...hmm not sure if I've reviewed that one. I do like the high-end Casios. I'd only choose one that has the DSP effects system though. Essential! The 6600 probably does have it :) #Gearfacts

[@jnny7182]

Gearfacts thanks very much for getting back to me. Looking forward to watching a lot more of your channel. Much respect.

[@lizetteromo1]

Would this ctk 6000 will be good for a little girl who wants to start learning piano? I don’t have much space at home so I’m looking into keyboard the price second hand is a 100 Canadian dollars but new condition. Or I found a Casio lk 230 that lights up the keys for 50 dollars. Any suggestions will be appreciated thank you.

[@gearfacts]

Sorry about the late reply - Well, for $100 that CTK-6000 sounds like a bargain! She probably won't use many of its features, but it'll sound much nicer than the cheap one, and if you end up selling it again you'd have no trouble getting all your money back :)

[@lizetteromo1]

@@gearfacts don’t worries, thank you for the answer. I knew was a good deal but unfortunately didn’t last long I was going to contact the seller in the evening and was sold already lol. I’m looking in to a lk 300 for 200 dollars with stand and a beach included or just waiting to find another good deal. I see you make a video about this keyboard and seems fun for children her birthday is not till march so I have a little bit of time to find the one.

[@gearfacts]

@@lizetteromo1 Yes the LK300 is a nice one. $200 seems a little bit on the high side, but the stand and bench are a nice bonus I guess.

[@lizetteromo1]

@@gearfacts I just found one Lk 300 for 40 dollars, just the keyboard with out the plug adapter. I think I may give it a try. Thank you for taking the time of responding.

[@Marginal391]

Thank you 🙂👍

[@gearfacts]

No problem 👍

[@RexTorres]

This looks very similar to the WK-6600. And I'm planning to buy the WK-6600 but am a bit concerned with its age. Would you still recommend the WK-6600 at this time?

[@gearfacts]

Sure. If it was selling for a good price I’d go for it. Good sounds, good features, it’s generally a nice keyboard :)

[@RexTorres]

@@gearfacts Thanks for the reply! I did order it. It's priced similarly to the newer CT-X3000 here. But, unfortunately, the CT-X3000 is out of stock.

[@raiyan1190]

can it ruin your keys if you do a glissando?

[@gearfacts]

Depends on the angle of your finger, but generally I would think it was tough enough to handle it. Gearfacts

[@raiyan1190]

Gearfacts Thanks dude

[@vainight7046]

which one shuold i bought? the ctk 4400 or the ctk 6000? Im gonna buy one of those, both used for a couple of years and basically the same price. but with the seller for the ctk 4400 i feel like more safe. is worth it the risk for the 6000? sorry for my english and the weird question

[@gearfacts]

It's a GOOD question :) The 6000 has a few more sounds but all the concepts and functions are the same as the 4400. Also the 4400 can do some sampling, so I would choose that one :) Gearfacts

[@thelonewanderer03]

Yamaha psr e463 or WK 6600 or WK 7600? Please help, very confused. Need it, to learn music theory and do music production.

[@gearfacts]

Totally, 100% Yamaha PSR-E463 in my opinion. Unly excpetion being if you are *very* fussy about your Electric piano sounds (then Casio is a bit better) or if you really need 76 keys as in the Casio WK series. The PSR-E463 comes in a 76 key version called the PSR-EW410.

[@thelonewanderer03]

@@gearfacts thank you so much. 🙏🏼

[@JaviBLENDer]

Hi, good video. How do you get the effect sound at the minute 3:54 of the video?

[@gearfacts]

That was done using the 4dn arpeggiator. I think that's what it was called anyway. It just drops 4 notes downwards over and over again. The sound I used with it might have been one of the synth lead sounds I think. Gearfacts

[@DrRichtofenXx]

Good helpful review helped me learn more about the feature of the keyboard . I have someone selling near me for $125usd but maybe I can get it to $100usd. What do you think of buying it for that price in 2019 or do you recommend other keyboards? I'm trying to learn piano again for practice mainly but I want to start music production and memorize chords and such.

[@gearfacts]

It's a nice keyboard but if you are thinking of doing any programming the forget it. It's a nightmare to create songs, and synthesis is limited and frustrating too. Anything from the Yamaha PSR-E series would be better :) Gearfacts

[@artiromanenko]

Which one is better to buy ctk4200 or ctk6000? Basically same price used. Yamaha 413 and 333 too old to compete with those? Which one of those to prefer?

[@gearfacts]

My choice out of those would be the Yamaha 413 simply because of its dynamic controls - It's just so much more fun than the others listed. Apart from that I'd take the Casio 6000 unless I really needed the sampling function on the 4200. Actually even then I'd still take the 6000, the sampler on the 4200 sounds pretty bad (see my other videos)

[@artiromanenko]

@@gearfacts Thanks. What about WK-220? For the absolute beginner 7 year old...

[@artiromanenko]

@@gearfacts Yesterday bought 2 good condition keyboards (LOL)! Casio ctk 6000( 75 eur, keyboard, ac adapter, notes stand) and Yamaha YPT400(psr 401) (50 eur, keyboard, nice x stand, pedal, no ac adapter). Well, Yamah, despite being older feels and sounds much better IMO! Only thing casio has audio in(sort of aux), so you can plug some audio source and play with it. Is that possible somehow on that Yamaha, cause kids probably will like to hook phone with keyboard?

[@ryeen94]

I'm having a bit of trouble making the arpeg go to the LOWER section when I do a split.. I've read the manual up and down and still cannot figure it out.

[@gearfacts]

I couldn't make it work either.

[@nathanwahl9224]

I've got a CTK-7200, is there any way to apply the arpeggiator to the third part (split kbd, left half) instead of the first part (no split, no layer, main voice)? For some automagic bass so I can concentrate on the solo with my right hand. Thanks in advance if anyone can help.

[@gearfacts]

If there is, I have not discovered it.

[@KevsGuide]

nice one, more light would be better

[@wavydaveeverett]

what ctk keyboards are you thinking of when you mention others ?

[@gearfacts]

I've reviewed dozens of other CTK keyboards (I'm not sure what specific ones were in my mind at the time!)

[@virendrakumari9926]

2:04 amazing

[@gearfacts]

Yeah that was a nice squishy one :) Gearfacts

[@Dory._.]

how do you make it go down an octave?

[@gearfacts]

I think there's a transpose button on the main panel, you can press it and use the minus button to take it down a whole octave. If there's no transpose button you can press the function key and press 3 (right arrow) until you get to 'octave' or 'transpose'. Sorry I can't be more specific, I don't have this keyboard anymore :) #gearfacts

[@mitzivicera982]

Does it have a built-in sustain?

[@gearfacts]

Yep :)

[@mitzivicera982]

@@gearfacts could you please tell me how to find it? Thank you.

[@gearfacts]

@@mitzivicera982 Press the function button then number 6. Keep pressing 6 until you see the sustain option appear (this may take a lot of presses)

[@carlosguzman-jj7mo]

@@gearfacts what do u mean by number 6

[@gearfacts]

@@carlosguzman-jj7mo The actual number 6 on the numeric keypad. You'll see it's also got an arrow under the 6, this means that it scrolls to the right whenever you are in Function mode.

[@박물관을찾아서]

I wonder what the DSP disable means...

[@gearfacts]

It just cancels out the effects :) #gearfacts

[@박물관을찾아서]

@@gearfacts thanks. I have some questions about. Ctk6000. Could you. Tell. Me your. Email address? ^^

[@thecrownedclownlebouffonco7945]

Hey man how do you delete your recordings?

[@gearfacts]

Hmm I don't know ...operations like that are ALWAYS difficult on Casio keyboards...

[@calebpitt1628]

Hold function. Press song sequencer button go down to track edit press enter the. Press clear then press enter twice then press yes :)

[@rojoroker]

Wk 6600 or PSR e453, Help me please! Thanks!

[@gearfacts]

Personally I'd go for the PSR e453. It's just more fun, plain and simple. Gearfacts.

[@PseudoNo]

I'm not a professional, and not even an amateur. Just bought a synthesiser for a one-hour-a-week hobby (bought almost 8 years ago and still "playing" once a week), so my point can be superbly subjective. I think my WK7500 is not far away from CTK. As for sounds, it has some pleasant piano and bass guitar voices, organ is good (but you have to tune it carefully). Others sound to me too "plastic" and cheap. I've bought it to "experiment" with synth sounds as it has rather interesting DSP control onboard. But the process is a bit difficult and boring. As for all other features I haven't used them even for 70% I suppose. So, today, after 8 years of usage I can say it worth of money if you know what are you going to do with it. Well, in fact, as every other synth or sophisticated electronic device. As for playing - you can create a chef-d'oeuvre even with a saw or spoons. It's only up to you.

[@gearfacts]

I like the 7500, and agree with your comments :)

[@ianrejas8940]

how to do the arpeggios?

[@gearfacts]

It's tricky. You have to press the Harmony button, then the right arrow to move through options to 'harmony type'. then turn the dial to choose anything from 11 upwards - those are the arpeggios. You should be able to test the arpeggios by playing the keys as you turn that dial and go through the arpeggio choices. It's a complicated keyboard to use. Gearfacts

[@ianrejas8940]

Gearfacts Thanks 😁

[@ElBlancoPapi]

Just bought a ctk 6250.....haven't even opened it yet

[@gearfacts]

Ah the 6250 ...funkier control panel, defs!

[@hernanreynales1153]

Hola me podes explicar como armar una base de cumbia...y separar las octavas?..graciass

[@EmonArts24]

Price???

[@gearfacts]

It varies depending on location, currency, previous ownership if any, and retailer.

[@КРАБИКСЧАЕМ]

Кто то поёт сказать? Возле клавиатуры есть какие то рисовки разных инструментов, как включить?

[@КРАБИКСЧАЕМ]

Может *

[@gearfacts]

Мне нравится русский язык :) #Gearfacts

[@paulb8340]

This is basically a man who is waffling while messing abott on a keyboard talking tech not explaining/ not showing how its done very frustrating and you ve been doing it for years ..and yiu still cant be bothered to edit properly ??? I have Got this keyboard (hence why Im here ) but i cant replicate much whats on here....shame

[@gearfacts]

So how would you do the demo?

[@paulb8340]

@@gearfacts I would learn how to edit film properly, put more thought into what and how you say it (so they are more engaging/interesting). You ve been doing these for years now !!..Then explain what you are going to do ...Then how to do it in simpleton terms .....by showing the steps to get that sound .....on a more positive note I have got a lot of info about from your Vidz so thanks dont wanna sound tooo negative !! I do find these keyboards baffling but im making efforts to change it ..Thanks

[@gearfacts]

@@paulb8340 Yes, Gearfacts is the largest collection of music gear videos in the world.

[@paulb8340]

@@gearfacts just to add to this i do have the manual and should take time to read it but its heavy going and complicated . I do appreciate the videos but I suppose i wish there was a easy step by step guide to getting sounds even with the manual its hard going ..thanks tho ..I know even yur vidz take up a bit of time ..sorry if i sounded harsh

[@gearfacts]

@@paulb8340 Thanks for following up, no worries at all. Thanks also for watching my channel :)