Casio 160 Keyboard

Casio instruments have long been amongst the best in the world; now, we are looking for the best Casio keyboards and digital pianos. With such a prolific manufacturer, there are enough options to make several lists, but we will try our best to narrow it down for you. We will list and review what we consider to be the best Casio offerings available in 2021. Let’s get started!

Here are the best Casio keyboards and digital pianos 2021:

1. Casio Celviano AP-700

The most realistic piano experience

We are stepping into expensive territory now with the Casio AP-700. At this level, it’s not enough just to sound good, it has to feel as close to the real thing as possible.

App Integration, Bluetooth, 6xAA Battery Power; Smart Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard; 700 Tones, 200 Rhythms. This complete keyboard kit features the Casio Privia PX-160 portable 88-key digital piano. It also includes an X-braced stand, a sustain pedal and a keyboard bench. It is utterly complete, ready for performance or practice. CASIO official home page, information on Electronic Musical Instruments. LK-160 - Key Lighting Keyboards - Electronic Musical Instruments - CASIO INTERNATIONAL.

The AP-700 has scaled hammer action keys with premium ebony and ivory feel. The difference between these hammer action and those of the PX range is that these are mechanical. There are no springs at all, the hammer action is entirely dependent on levers and weights. It has a max polyphony of 256 notes.

Three are three main piano tomes, named Berlin, Hamburg, and Viena. The flagship voice is the Berlin grand piano, which is modeled on the legendary D282 Bechstein. On top of the three pianos, there are a further 21 onboard sounds. Instruments can be layered to create custom voices and exciting textures.

There are two levels of play-along material, including 15 high-quality orchestral recordings. For the less advanced players, there are 60 training songs to develop your playing. Like most other models, it has duet mode for teaching, but this one also has two headphone outputs, which is a nice touch.

The Casio AP-700 is a very realistic digital piano. The mechanical hammer action keys, combined with the ebony/ivory feel, is superb. In fact, you would struggle to find a digital piano that feels more realistic. In our opinion, that’s the main thing when spending so much money, because cheaper pianos can sound just as good.

Getting the whole experience depends more on the physical attributes, speaking of which, the AP-700 has a reasonably large cabinet. That might be a negative for some people, but again, if you want realism, this is it. Our advice would be that it’s too expensive for a beginner, other than that, we love it.

2. Casio Privia PX-S3000

The future of Privia keyboards

The PX-S3000 is one of the latest 88-key Casio keyboards. It has an ultra-modern design and is a sign of the future for the portable Privia range. We can all agree that good looks are only a secondary concern, but the fact that it looks super sleek doesn’t hurt one bit. It’s also the world’s slimmest keyboard piano, so we’re off to a good start.

The PX-S3000 has Casio’s scaled hammer action keys with five sensitivity levels. Considering how slim the keyboard is, it’s remarkable that it houses such a realistic keybed. It sports a max polyphony of 192 notes, which is higher than many similar keyboard pianos.

If the advanced hammer action keys weren’t enough, this gorgeous keyboard also features the Air sound engine. That means it has stunning piano sounds with damper and string resonance. In total, there are 700 voices and 200 rhythms, which should keep the most creative players busy for some time.

There are 96 registration memories to save custom voices, like layered or split patches. As well as the 200 onboard rhythms, you can stream music/backing tracks through the keyboards built-in speakers from a smart device via Bluetooth.

There are lots of good things to say about the Casio PX-S3000, but the thing that stands out most is the weight of the keys. Never before have we seen such a convincing hammer action keybed in such a slimline instrument. That feature alone males this keyboard a dream for the working musician.

Couple that with the sound quality of the AiR piano engine, and the results are quite astonishing. The PX-S3000 is a prime example of a professional Casio keyboard. Ultimately, you could find better sounds and a better feel, but at this size and weight, you won’t even get close.

3. Casio Privia PX-870

The best home digital piano under $1000

Casio’s Privia range has stood the test of time, usually in direct competition with the Yamaha Arius series.

The PX-870 is one of the best-selling Casio digital pianos. It has Casio’s premium Tri-sensor II hammer action keys, with a max polyphony of 256 notes. One of the best physical features of the high-end Privia pianos is the simulated ebony, and ivory feel keytops. It might sound like an indulgence, but it makes a huge difference.

As for the all-important piano sound, it comes from Casio’s remarkable AiR Sound Source. This sound engine is present in Casio pianos far more expensive than the PX-870, so when Casio says it’s their best ever, we believe them.

One of the factors that determine how well the piano can utilize the sound engine is its internal memory. Casio opted to increase the memory in this model compared to previous ones, to get the best out of the AiR piano engine. Everything about the piano performance is very accurate, including the mechanical noises like the pedals, or key lift, and so on.

After the grand piano tones, the electric pianos are the best of the 19 onboard voices. Voices can be layered, too, and the keyboard can be split to create more diverse sounds. The onboard effects are pretty standard for the Privia range with reverbs, chorus, and brilliance.

In terms of interactive content, there are 10 concert play-along songs, but there is far more if you use the Chordana Piano app. The app also has lots of lessons and tutorials. Rounding up the main features is the 2-track record function, allowing up to 5000 notes.

As we have repeated time and time, Casio Privia digital pianos are always excellent. This particular model happens to be the best one available under $1000, which is good and bad. It’s good because it’s worth the money, but it’s bad because it’s getting into a price range where you have so many great pianos to consider.

We think the PX-870 could be more versatile, for example, the built-in recorder could have more tracks. Or, the onboard voices (other than the pianos) could be better. The thing is, this kind of instrument is mainly about the acoustic piano experience, everything else is secondary. In that sense, it ticks all the boxes, it feels and sounds just as it should.

4. Casio Privia PX-160

The best cheap Casio Privia keyboard

Yes, it’s another Casio Privia,but what do you expect? They are that good; you won’t find a list of Casiokeyboard reviews without them.

Despite being lower down in the Privia line up, the PX-160 has the same Tri-sensor II hammer action keys that you will find on the PX-870. They also share the same simulated ebony/ivory feel with the more expensive models.

Again, the flagship piano tone comes from the AiR sound engine. There are five acoustic pianos in total, amongst the 18 onboard voices. The voices also include some lush string ensembles that came from Casio’s award-winning PX-5S stage piano. Being cheaper than the PX-870 makes this digital piano more accessible to beginner players, and it has plenty of functions aimed at the learner market.

One of the best tuition features, which is common throughout the Privia range, is the duet keyboard mode. Duet mode creates two identical playing zones, so that a student and teacher can play side by side. It also has a second headphone jack, so you can keep your practice nice and quiet.

Yet another feature it has in common with the PX-870 is the 2-track recorder, and USB MIDI interface. The most obvious difference is that the PX-160 is much more portable, which is not only great for gigging, but also just moving it around the house.

The PX-160 is a fantastic way to get the outstanding AiR sound engine and realistic feel in an affordable weighted Casio keyboard. The fact that it shares most major functions/features with the much more expensive PX-870 speaks volumes about how good this keyboard is.

The piano sound, as we keep saying, is first class. The orchestral sounds are lovely, and they encourage a different style of playing, too, which is good for harmonic development. Having these features in a compact and affordable keyboard is why we think so highly of it.

5. Casio CT-X5000

Casio 160 Keyboard Mouse

The best arranger keyboard under $500

The first of two arranger keyboards on our list is the Casio CT-X5000. This budget Casio keyboard offers far more than its price tag suggests. It comes with 61 velocity-sensitive keys that have a nice action for a variety of playing styles, like piano, synths, organs, etc.

There are onboard sounds that come from the powerful AiX sound engine. The soundbank boasts everything from acoustic pianos right through to synth leads. If 800 voices aren’t enough for you, the soundbank is expandable and has plenty of space for user presets. The most noteworthy sounds are the real instruments, like acoustic pianos, horns, and strings, but the synths are better than most similar keyboards.

The 260 onboard rhythms, or smart accomplishments as they are better called, are also expandable. Things, like switching styles or triggering fills, can be controlled by footswitch, so you can keep your hands free for playing.

The DSP effects are high-quality, and include some amp models, too. The best of which is the rotary speaker emulator that gives a real vintage sound, especially to the organs. There are 100 effects in total, with some already applied to preset sounds by default.

The built-in sequencer has 17-tracks with a 42-part mixer. It’s user-friendly, and an excellent tool for beginner producer composers. Another cool production aspect is the phrase pads that you can use to trigger phrases that you have pre-recorded (up to 100).

The CT-X5000 isn’t quite the best Casio keyboard for beginners, but it could be the best arranger keyboard for beginners. If we had one complaint, it might be that some of the voices already have pre-programmed DSP effects. But, it’s not a massive complaint, at the end of the day, there are 800 voices and 100 effects, there’s something for everyone.

Having got our one complaint out of the way, the overall quality of the AiX sound engine is very high. Features like the rotary speaker emulator add lots of new creative possibilities, too. If you are a fast learner, you might outgrow the CT-X5000, but not before you’ve had more than your money’s worth.

6. Casio WK-7600

The affordable band in a box

Casio pitches the WK-7600 as an affordable powerhouse, and at first glance, that seems an apt description.

The WK-7600 is a 76-key arranger keyboard with a massive 820 voices. The voices range from acoustic pianos, electric pianos to horns, and strings. Although, the organ sounds are some of the most impressive, thanks to the high-quality DSP rotary speaker emulation. If that wasn’t enough, there are physical drawbars to give an authentic organ experience (50 user presets can be saved).

There are 260 smart rhythms that can respond to your playing in various ways, to provide a full backing band. As well as that, there are 100 DSP effects from basic reverbs to crazier phaser and flanger effects. All of which can be tweaked extensively and saved as user presets.

The heart of many arranger keyboards is the sequencer. The WK-7600 has a 17-track sequencer (16 tracks plus 1 system track), and 32-channel mixer. For composers of any kind, this is fantastic for getting ideas together. These compositions can then be saved on an SD card as SMF’s (Standard MIDI Files).

If the 260 onboard rhythms aren’t specific enough for you, there is a pattern sequencer, so you can create your own. The pattern sequencer allows for up to 8 tracks, which are drums, percussion, bass, and five chord tracks.

The Casio WK-7600 is definitely the powerhouse that it’s advertised to be. It has all the expected bells and whistles of a good arranger keyboard. It has a massive soundbank, it has lots of rhythms, and it has a built-in sequencer.

However, the WK-7600 goes beyond what we expected in an affordable arranger. The sequencer is fantastic, but what’s even better is the addition of the pattern sequencer. Another particularly impressive feature is the rotary speaker emulation, that, along with the drawbars, takes you into full Hammond organ mode.

This keyboard would be a fantastic buy even if it were a little more expensive, but we’re happy it’s not!

7. Casio Privia PX-770

The best beginner home digital piano

The Casio Privia PX-770 offers a realistic piano experience at a reasonable price. Being part of the Privia PX digital piano range means that it’s going to be good, it’s just a question of how good.

It has 88 full-size keys with scaled hammer action. The hammer action is a Tri-sensor system, meaning there are three velocity layers. The keys also have a simulated ebony and ivory finish, adding another layer of realism, and it helps maintain grip when your fingers sweat. The PX-770 has a max polyphony of 128 notes, which is pretty standard for a digital piano at this price.

It comes with the same outstanding Multi-dimensional Morphing AiR piano engine that the higher-priced models have. The grand piano sounds were samples at four different velocity levels, so they are quite exquisite. There are 19 onboard voices, including electric pianos, and organs. The number of voices is quite pleasing for this kind of digital piano.

The sounds can be shaped further by the onboard effects. There are four reverb types and four chorus types that add depth to your tone.

Casio digital pianos are known to be fantastic instruments to learn on. The PX-770 has lots of play-along content, including 60 built-in songs, and duet mode, which is perfect for teaching. It’s easy to keep track of your progress, too, with the 2-track MIDI recorder. The whole thing is wrapped up in a stylish, slimline 3-pedal stand/cabinet.

The Casio PX-770 is a beautiful piano and ideal for any student/learner. It’s also ideal for any advanced player who doesn’t want to spend the extra money on the PX-870.

Casio’s best-ever grand piano tone (as they claim themselves) is absolutely gorgeous. The realistic ebony/ivory feel of the keys, of course, helps the piano tone. The other available voices are good, but not as important. Ultimately, it’s not quite as good overall as the PX-870, but it’s considerably cheaper, and for many, it will be the better option between the two.

8. Casio CGP-700

The most versatile portable digital piano

The CGP-700 is a nice alternativeto other Casio keyboard models, with a bit more versatility than most. Theversatility makes for value for money that you don’t see in some of the otherranges.

It comes with Tri-sensor scaled hammer action keys, not quite the same as the high-end Privia models, but very good nevertheless. The CGP-700 sits on an included stand with built-in speakers.

Now, here is where that value for money starts to come in. The CGP-700 has a massive 550 onboard voices and 200 rhythms. That’s a great deal more than the average digital piano. Rather than a bog-standard 2-track recorder, there is a 16-track sequencer with enough memory for up to 100 songs.

The focal point of the CGP-700 is the 5.3-inch color touchscreen that controls almost everything. The touchscreen has an icon-based system, so finding your way around.

We spoke about value for money with this keyboard, and that might make some people think it’s about quantity over quality. However, that’s not the case, the voices may not be as authentic as higher-end models, but they are still good. The sheer number of voices goes some way to make up for the slight drop in quality.

The built-in sequencer is more in-depth than you’d expect, and the touchscreen ties everything together nicely. Casio’s CGP-700 is the ideal keyboard for anyone who wants a balanced mix between performance and production.

Conclusion

Casio 88 Key Digital Piano

We can tell you that it was no easy task to choose the best Casio keyboards and digital pianos. It’s difficult enough when you are trying to separate keyboards from various manufacturers. But, when they are all from the same manufacturer, they carry far more similarities, making it a more difficult decision.

So, when you are choosing the right Casio for you, find a way to shortlist even further. Think about the size/style (keyboard or digital piano) then think about the features you need most. Hopefully, that will leave you with a few fantastic options!

James is a writer and musician with a passion for audio production. He is a lover of all things tech, especially the latest keyboards, synths, DAW’s, virtual instruments, and effects plugins. Musical interests include jazz, funk, hip hop, blues, and rock.