Casiotone SA-50 - Casio's New Mini Keyboard

[@kaitlyn__L]

I am, as ever, amazed by your ability to play mini keys so well!

[@leafsoup]

It's really easy, you just do the same stuff on a normal piano but make sure your hands are smaller.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@leafsoup ah, so I have to wear those tiny plastic hands on my fingers

[@kaisfp]

He seems to be a great keyboard player, but if you don't like you can play precisely enough with mini leys, then you can sample about 2 or 3 octaves of those sounds that you like and put them into a sampler inside a DAW and just play those sounds by playing your MIDI controller that's controlling the DAW's sampler, and you can correct the MIDI performance, you can hard quantize some of the sounds (especially the drums and probably the bass too) if you want to sound similar to this ending music of this video.

[@techtinkerin]

I like how it does not limit an absolute beginner with polyphony like the really crummy 80s toy keyboards did. Cool vid thanks 😀

[@loreleiofthemist]

i have a casio toy keyboard from the 80s, and it has 8 voice polyphony 😊 they're not crummy they're wonderful

[@GabrielVelasco]

Fantastic sounds from what is essentially a toy piano.

[@Nightingale1887]

Some of these sounds are like straight from a Square - Enix made game OST. Not bad for a budget keyboard. Pretty impressed with some of these sounds. A lot better than what I had as a kid.

[@gvoily9002]

You are so right! That’s what I was picturing too 😅

[@lucyferabyss1886]

As a kid? Dude, this was better than what I had as a young adult 😮

[@Nightingale1887]

​@@lucyferabyss1886 young adult? I had a X5D by then.

[@lucyferabyss1886]

@@Nightingale1887 Lmfao imagine your folks actualy supporting your career in the arts enough to make money.

[@Nightingale1887]

@@lucyferabyss1886 actually working and bringing around shit loads of newspapers made that happen.

[@nrdesign1991]

Lots of the sounds give me nostalgia for Music on the Gamye Boy Advace in the early 2000's. Great sound for a toy keyboard and finally something that doesnt sound atrocious like lots of other contemporary toy keyboards

[@acward2007]

Wow, I'm so surprised how good this keyboard sounds. I was expecting to hear tinny, low-fi tones / voices but this shocked me. 20 or so years ago you'd have to pay 10 times the cost for some of those pad and synth sounds. Brilliant demo, very impressed.

[@piccolo1976]

The Casiotone label makes me feel warm and nostalgic. Sounds really nice as well, especially the piano tones.

[@keyhoarder]

Also the colour scheme. Reminds me of my white casiotone Mt 65. But sadly doesn't have any of the great tones of it.

[@haraldneumann5348]

@@keyhoarderist Okay

[@jasonb.9790]

indeed. love my behemoth of a casiotone. it's big and heavy, but the retro sounds that come out of it are SO good, especially out of the super lo-fi included speakers. plus also, the auto-harmonize function is so groovy, it's fun to play around with it. for a seemingly low-tier keyboard, it had some pretty cool stuff about it. also, when the batteries start to run low, it has some fun glitchy behaviours. maybe not the best idea to be starving it for long, but i certainly am not bothered when the batteries begin to run low as i am recording due to the neat sounds that happen.

[@keyhoarder]

@@jasonb.9790 which casiotone you have? you can also do this trick using low voltage adapter. Most casiotones are 7,5 or 9v, i would try this with regulated universal adapter 3-12v.

[@jasonb.9790]

@@keyhoarder i cannot remember the one i have, and i am currently too far to check, but i do know that it is 9v input. however the jack is kind of loose, so every so often it doesn't make good contact, thus it relies on the batteries, which i haven't changed in forever, and so finally the thing happens haha. thank you for the suggestion though :)

[@ifxman]

If Yamaha and Casio were really smart, they'd consult with Keen On Keys before designing their latest and greatest musical toys. I've had the SA46, gave it to a friend to get them started but for this form factor, I'm sticking with the F30 and A50 for my couch jam sessions. Haha WOW that ending jam was magic....

[@keyhoarder]

I have also PSS a50. Sold f30 to a friend, but would definitely buy its sucessor if they improve it with touch response.

[@ifxman]

@@keyhoarder Hi, sorry, just seeing this. Idk why I don't get notifications!? Thanks for the conversation It's funny cause we come at it from 2 different angles then, I guess... Cause for me, if I could only have one it would be the F30. I have way too much fun looping and sampling my ideas and the arrangements and patterns and fills and am having way more fun with those even tho the A50 is a better midi keyboard. In my honest opinion the A50 is probably the worst Yamaha has ever produced. I get that it is amazing for the money but it has lots of issues and granted none of them are that important but it can be a problem if you try and use it live. Most of the sounds are not normalized and the volumes are all over the place. The way you have to completely go all the way around the Effects because there is no Back button. Little things like that and whereas the F30 is basically a mini arranger. It's very powerful in that arena for it's size and cost. Well hopefully I don't have to part with either right now, they really are awesome low budget music makers. I stopped by your channel and subbed, you are having way too much fun, I love that HaHa. Keep on Jam'n 🎹

[@keyhoarder]

@@ifxman thanks, well i agree about PSS A50 flaws. I think they could normalize the volumes just by the software update. And i found that there is a big difference in quality of some tones, some of them sound nice (like piano and 2 fat leads) and some of them are dated like from 90s Yamaha PSR budget models.

[@Tieyme]

'The illusion is perfect.' You know how to give me a chuckle, sir. Great video. Thank you.

[@cheapnoiseinthehouse5578]

Oh wow! It's a world of difference from the SA-46. I was impressed by the tones all the way through. For a small keyboard that you can take everywhere, it is great. Who knows, may be Casio will remake some MT models, or better yet, SK. I can't wait to see Yamaha's new PSS keyboards, if they continue with this range. Really nice video? Best channel on KZbin.

[@svenjansen2134]

You must be classically trained, you play SO good everything sounds good, even if sound quality is low. A true gift! Thanks for sharing, Sir Keen.

[@Gluttonite]

Thanks for the review we cannot get this model here in the US but I heard from a reliable source we will be getting them before Christmas......

[@chrisdavis566]

Can't over how great these videos are! The songs with the instruments at the end are just mind blowing.... Keep up the amazing work!

[@spatcherw.keyboardsandbaby8586]

This machine uses a varriant of the AHL basic sound chip, which was uses on many of the companys full-sized kiddie units, of CTK and LK series varieties, between 2008-2017. If you were not aware, it was also used in the first gen casitone revival units from 2019 ad well.

[@kurrizzle]

Listening to that finale made me feel like I was playing some weird hybrid of Bejeweled, Runescape, and Banjo Kazooie. Amazing review and skills!!

[@fermio100]

Looks like a toy, but you demo it like a professional instrument.

[@roddangerson2046]

Funny enough it’s kind of not a toy, and believe it or not many lofi Musicians use these

[@ShoppingBored]

It kind of is. I was hoping if would have touch response

[@svenjansen2134]

Because he plays so good. Everything he plays sounds good even if sound quality is low.

[@totallyfrozen]

I’m surprised and impressed. I never expected to see a video of someone treating one of these Casio keyboards seriously. I always considered them toys.

[@adliberate]

Love the final performance on this one.

[@isaacwaheeb4050]

Another great video, your wonderful performance perfectly demonstrated the Sound quality of this little new keyboard I enjoy every video of your channel, keep going.

[@trashyraccoon2615]

The song frickin slaps!

[@cbalan777]

I appreciate how much info you put into this. I haven't had a keyboard since I was a kid and I've been looking for something to get me back into it. I have no idea what I'm looking at most of the time when I look at a listing on a website.

[@Acrimonious_Snake]

Get a Casio CTS-400 and be happy.

[@tsunamirider9895]

Great video. That end song was amazing! Impressed by what you can make with this small keyboard!

[@flukshun]

yah that track was a banger

[@LeonirZimmermann]

Great! I bought this SA-51 version, as my first musical instrument, after watch this brilliant presentation. Thank You so much.

[@willsnyder8735]

Fantastic video, this little Casio is extremely usable in all applications… that’s what I think is great. Anyone could afford, and make use of this for whatever needed. Education purposes, fun in the studio, compact for travel, just all around fun. Great little gadget

[@factmix217]

I have to say, you pull out the most you could from this keyboard and made many people buy it. In the end it really is a decent keyboard with many improvements.

[@hadireg]

You're such an artist KonK!! pretty sure casio is watching your reviews with great interest! TY

[@GizzyDillespee]

I appreciate the harmonious mustard colorway for the backdrop.

[@keyhoarder]

Mellotron alike choir tone is my favorite. And the song at the end of video is superb.

[@minecraftavatarofhunterbiden]

Dude that end jam. Thank you man. A+

[@willtaylor9091]

I love the SA series. I try to use my SA-46 as much as possible in my own music because it's a great tool for placing limitations on yourself to spark creativity. Looks like the SA-50 is a great upgrade!

[@dakotahrickard]

That's an awesome attitude and a great idea.

[@jaredbumbis]

nice!

[@lucyferabyss1886]

I do a similar thing here, that’s why I like using tapes and physical media whenever possible. It’s always so cool to place limitations and use mixed reality artwork in my pieces! I’d recommend trying to make an album on tape using overdubs, it’s a lot of fun and can lead to some “happy accidents” in a manner of speaking.

[@dl8cy]

As always a pleasure to watch Keen on Keys videos - Greetings from Berlin to Berlin

[@MazzaCheewanich]

Love your in depth review, I mean, literally, you showed us the main board 🤣🤣🤣 I like all the details you put on this review, as a beginner with a low budget, maybe I will give it a try.

[@spookylaundry3326]

Love that Casiotone is back. Picked up the CT-S1 for a cheap but decent living room keyboard. Sounds, feels and looks great for the price!

[@RetroPlus]

Yeah the CTS1 is surprisingly good

[@twistedwhiskers8776]

Casiotone is literally just a name

[@ultraali453]

This review was so much fun to watch. Thank you for introducing me to small Casio keyboards.

[@ma1nsun]

Sounds surprisingly cool

[@dwsel]

Happy about the new version, but I still wait for little Casio with MIDI functionality 👍

[@zaxolotl]

just found your account through sheet luck and im really glad! your review style is really unique and i really love the song you made at the end a lot!!! it's really catchy and it's cool how good you are at sound design to make something that nice sounding with this little keyboard

[@aren6]

Beautiful Final Performance

[@AndrewTSq]

wow that final performance.. did not expect that :D great song. loved it.. almost made me buy something I dont need lol :)

[@sauceseji]

hooold up, i haven't seen any of your vids so this is your first video that was recommended to me and I wanna say that i have been blessed by the algorithm gods. you are one solid talented bastard you!

[@jammystraub488]

These little keyboards totally make me feel nostalgic. It's a lovely little thing. I am curious if people that don't feel that nostalgia actually buy them?

[@MrVersipellis]

I'd never seen one before this video popped up and I'm thinking of buying one to keep in my little car because I work away from home a lot 🎹🙂

[@lucyferabyss1886]

I never owned a casiotone and I’m considering buying one while watching this. Seems like a great little thing to carry around.

[@eula1194]

i think ill buy it. i was gonna get the pss f-30 over this. but the size is really portable. i wont need to buy an extra bag that costs half the price of pss f-30 anymore xD

[@AtelierOrgan]

Great video! There is all that I want to know about this new keyboard SA-50. And your demonstration song is outstanding👏👏

[@onebloodypony]

that song at the end is some top shelf shit, i appreciate a person who loves casios and yamahas as much as i do so thank you.

[@ominkan3129]

I am happy Casio came out with a new keyboard because we get a new Keen On Keys video. That is golden. I love the let's look inside section which is always a treat to see the inner workings. Keen On Keys is the only one I have seen that turns these affordable keyboards into professional sounding instruments. A true musical genius.

[@nicow4908]

Great concert, thanks!

[@livinagoodlife]

Your showcasing of the samples is outstanding

[@teacher-sean]

Excellent presentation! I really like the subtle humor. A few comments about some of the weaker sounds made me do some quiet nose air laughs :)

[@KeenOnKeys]

Those are the best!

[@PocketOperatorGuy]

Another great and honest review. The hollow string samples kinda sound like the background music from an old RPG game. I remember those lo-fi sounds from older model Casio keyboards. Great demo as well.

[@Bamreality]

First video of yours I've seen, you really have a talent for teasing out the full potential of these keyboards.

[@captainbozo01]

I can't stop listening to the final performance track at the end

[@futu1983]

Adorable little song.

[@cubecubesson6779]

Thanks for review. Couldn't watch it all at once but 'I'll be back'

[@DoctorNemmo]

I loved the Pet Shop Boysian song at the end !

[@ValTek_Armory]

I really like the sounds on this, reminds me of a SNES

[@davidlancaster1974]

Brilliant analysis of this tiny instrument. I’m a grade 8 pianist but couldn’t play this keyboard anything like you do. I have a Casio CT-S500 but, having watched this, I need to buy one of these now for fun! Casio rocks.

[@MASAMEDIATV]

As always, nice video. I'm impressed with the final result. Can't wait to see you making an entire song with the merengue pattern. Even better if it's an entire album made available on your bootcamp!

[@KeenOnKeys]

That probably won't happen. But I'll try to find some time in the next few days to finish at least 1 or 2 tracks.

[@MASAMEDIATV]

@@KeenOnKeys Great. Make the track(s) available to download as a single, then. I'm a big fan of yours.

[@vincee7621]

Terrific stuff, thank you. Which keyboard with midi would you recommend?

[@videoway]

This was so much fun to watch! Thank you for making it. Loved the final song you presented. Would be great if you have a mini tutorial that shows how to layers and create such :>

[@CreepyT]

Hello Keen On Keys. I started watching all your videos a month ago and finally finished. You're like the AMSR of synth education channels and that's a good thing. Looking forward to many more. I grew up with a Casio SK1 and have had a SK8 for over 2 decades now. I ended up circuit bending it but the original functions are all still working. Do you have any plans on doing that series? Keep up the fun and informative videos.

[@KeenOnKeys]

Thanks! I have a few SK models and will certainly feature some of these in future videos.

[@gingerAV]

my casio CT-S1 is stellar, so i’m looking forward to anything casio puts out now

[@jammystraub488]

Exactly!

[@michael1234252]

You know what this newest Casio SA keyboard brings back memories I had with old Casio SA-5 Songbank keyboard that I grew up with. To this day I still have it and it works well. Honestly IDK where or when it originally came from but I've clamed it as mine. But I think it might have originally been my sisters. With the SA-5 Casio claimed it had 100 tones that you can play. But in reality it was just only 25 tones and 4 different effect modes. So with the combination of the effects and the tones made up all 100 tines that Casio clamed it had. Just hearing this new Casio SA-50 makes feel impressed on how Casio has improved the SA models in the past 33 years. Yet this is so much more improved compared to my old 30 year old SA-5.

[@CasioChaosTheory]

Excellent review as always, and it looks like Casio did actually make some notable improvements to the SA-46 rather than just repackage it. They also included a couple of things that I wished for when I reviewed the bigger brother SA-76 on my channel. No sign of an SA-76 successor yet though - we can but hope!

[@eenayeah]

What great video quality. Subscribing! Also wow, great--no, BRILLIANT--playing on such a small keyboard!

[@No_thanks780]

Excellent. Octave selection...and reverb!

[@spimfurt]

Right? The 21. century strikes hard.

[@ChrisT-O]

Your performance at the end is great, but I also liked the rest of the video.

[@adamyohan]

NEW VIDEO WOOOOO

[@dwsel]

Yayyy 🦸‍♂️

[@DoctorNemmo]

yahooo

[@crazyivan030983]

wow this tune at the end is wild!!!

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Looking at the PCB inside, i REAAAALLLLY appreciate the easy replacable electrolyte capacitors. I wish this was always the case.

[@WORDDDD1999]

always love ur videos so much. ur voice is relaxing, you know ur shit, and u can actually play nice chords

[@jackjackdaw5065]

I use my daughter’s SA-46 all the time for transcribing stuff on the couch. The octave and metronome keys has me really considering getting one of these!

[@Agnethatheredhairkid]

This is brilliant. I have a Casio PT480 I bought in August 1993.

[@geckoram6286]

It's amazing that the general layout of the boards and the mechanism for the keys are so similar to my 80s casio mt 200

[@desktorp]

I just wish they'd bring back the CZ synthesizers.

[@melona3727]

my Favoriite Channel :)

[@RubyInferno]

14:23 - Mannn I need a full version of that improvisation, gave me some strong millennium digger vibes! XD your channel is GOLD. it needs way WAY more subscribers.

[@ThierryC-te3rx]

Wow the Final Performance ! You have serious musical arrangement skills !

[@jridao2448]

Great job. Nice video editing and music. Your playing made me smile.

[@clevelog]

Thank you for the excellent review. I have an SA78 and was unaware of the capabilities.

[@kevinbirge2130]

Prince could have recorded a dozen hits with just this machine.

[@wa7saka]

sounds greattt you're making it sound really nice when you play

[@apislapis]

Thanks Keen On Keys. I've found your videos so persuasive I bought an SA-50 and a PSS A-50. I wonder if you had thought of putting the Medeli MK37 (also known as the Visionkey-1 in the UK) to the Keen On Keys test?

[@elistvan]

Great review as always. I think a lot of people will buy these if Casio discontinue soon the sa 46/47 product line, but it's a missed out oppurtunity against the yamaha pss-f30 or a50.

[@JohnMitchellCalif]

"let's see what's inside" -- !!! -- Subscribed

[@lpsc_zzz]

Looks like a pretty cool little keyboard to mess around with, glad this showed up in my recommended

[@Wizil808]

Man what were they thinking on the Orchestra hit on the SA-50. Sounds great on the SA-46 8:55. I like how after hearing the very much lacking SA-50 version you were like.... "Thats a Shame"... lol I watch that like five times. Great video as always. I am always looking forward to a new video!!! take care

[@HauntedHarmonics]

Great work, as always. Have you ever thought about doing a video on the Yamaha MK-100? It’s an insanely capable little keyboard, especially for a Portasound. Has a 2 oscillator synthesizer, custom rhythm section, and a really cool & unique rotating case/interface. Would love to see a full overview and technical breakdown of it 🙂

[@KeenOnKeys]

I have the MK-100. It's not at the top of my list, but I will make a video about it in the future.

[@kgbstudio]

indeed a cool keyboard

[@kenzieprice6745]

Has my vote too!

[@keyhoarder]

Happy owner of the MK-100 here, and i totally agree. Real gem, wam pre FM sound - digital oscillator, so we may call it Virtual Analog, haha. Very versatile arranger options for keyboard this year (1982-1983 i think) and this price. Rotating menu is pleasure to use. I have also full size PS-55 which share many similarities with the mk-100.

[@kenzieprice6745]

@@keyhoarder I found the PS-55 of similar sound too! Two of my favorite Yamaha keyboards!

[@fijielectrical8323]

Thanks for the video

[@MurrayDagostino]

Man that sounds so much nicer than my old lo-fi SA-20.

[@codysuchomski6498]

These sounds are great for the price. Great video man I enjoyed it.

[@sureshpai2469]

Excellent review 👏👌♥️🙏🏻👍

[@joelfluri8110]

brilliant video as always, thanks!

[@SirUndest]

Neat as usual in your videos! very similar in form factor but the improvements are very nice

[@nojuanatall3281]

This sounds way better than I expected.

[@spimfurt]

Why they don't want to release a proper synth for a few bucks. If somebody wants to cheaply go where no man has gone before, just connect a midi keyboard for few bucks to the 10 years old phone and ducktape it together. You get a wireless touchscreen-synth-seq-sampler-studio-compas-aftertouch-motionsense-touchresponse-swupgradable-thermometer-online-karaokeprompt thing, operating for hours on it's own battery. And in the shop near is a 21th century Casiotone with medieval samples for (astonishing) 60 Euro. Keen, is it still fun?

[@KeenOnKeys]

Yes, and if it's just because of your comments.

[@b0bhumperdinck795]

Yeah why and how would you buy this thing even if it's cheap when you can save up and buy a real keyboard or synthesizer from quarter Roland or Lisa's the thing anymore the time

[@autumnbrushtail]

I think you guys might not be the target for this keyboard. (I'm not either, but I know when a comment is necessary to be made)

[@Am71919]

There's no such thing as a proper synth for "a few bucks", when was the last time you came across a REAL synth for only a few dollars? If you want a decent synthesizer from casio, your best bet is the CZ series

[@jonytube]

@@Am71919 Behringer synths are quite cheap and punch way above their weight. The crave is a beast of a synth :)

[@latebloomer2]

You are my new "8 bit keys" channel 😆

[@Mamiya645]

Compared to Kurzweil KP-10 this is the same layout, same chassis, different colours names and speaker-grill design, and the Kurz has a wider LCD. Very mysterious. I did not like SA-46 sounds but this would be welcome as another compact sketch-pad to have lying around. Good vid, thank you.

[@kxaifer]

I have the Casio sa 76 and omg does this sound so good, but some sounds do be better on the old ones, I hope they keep making more the keyboards

[@rustyshimstock8653]

Thanks for this. Since Casio may be listening, I'll suggest that it would be handy to add a usb-rechargable battery and headphone jack.

[@barefacedquestions]

The sound is fantastic, but I've realized why I'm always partial to Casiotone. Their designs are impeccable most of the time.

[@SynthesizersAreLife]

It almost sounds like an early 90's workstation keyboard, like an M1 type device

[@Desmaad]

I'm getting a very '90s JRPG vibe from all of this.

[@alakazamthisisasham]

i want one now. cool tunes man