Casio CT-S300

I liked my CT-S100 (the slightly cheaper sibling of the CT-S300) so much that when the time finally came to upgrade to a keyboard with velocity sensitive keys, the CT-S300 was my first choice. The difference between the CT-S300 and the CT-S100, which has no velocity sensitivity whatsoever, is night and day! It is a lot more inspiring to play the CT-S300 because I can express myself better with it. Sure, for a professional pianist or somebody accustomed to much higher quality (and multiple times more expensive) keyboards, the playing experience of the CT-S300 will probably be sub-par, but to me, a guitarist for whom the piano is a secondary instrument, it is more than satisfactory. All the most important (to me) sounds, such as acoustic and electric pianos, are pretty convincing, and the minimalist user interface makes it very easy to find them whenever needed. Finally, the build quality is great, especially considering the price of the unit. It is a perfect balance between being light enough to carry it anywhere (thanks to the ingenious built-in handle!) and feeling dense enough to give an impression of quality. Oh, and it can also be used as a MIDI controller!..

• Extremely light and compact

• Lots of variety in sounds, and some great dreamy presets.

• The piano presets are not the best, especially the first one, which sounds more like a harp to me. That's a bit annoying as you know that any time you turn the keyboard on, you know you'll immediately have to switch the preset.

• The response is slightly strange (When you press down a key, its lowest position will feel a bit high) but the touch is light enough to allow you to train to play fast for long or play big chords without getting tired easily.

• The interface is a bit annoying if you want to use the metronome a lot. Once you activate the metronome, you assume that the main knob will allow you to change the bpm, but instead, it allows you to change the time signature (What???) I definitely think they should update that. There's also only one sound for the metronome, so if you like it, great, but if you don't, you'll have to use your own (which I personally didn't want to spend the time doing every time I'd want to practise).

Overall, the keyboard is great. I mainly bought it to be able to leave it vertically in-between two pieces of furniture of the living room to be able to pick it up and plug it in any time without having to go to a different room that might not be at a nice temperature, and it fits that purpose very well. The fact that it's light will make it a great travelling instrument if I ever choose to go around with it. The feel is also light which is good to practise for a long time. The only small downsides to me are the first piano preset, the metronome sound and access to bpm, and the keys that don't go down completely. If those were resolved, this would be a straight 10/10!

I'm an absolute beginner on the keyboard so I can't make an expert review but only a few remarks. First, the sounds are nice and soulful, unlike the other keyboards under 250€, and I listened to thirty of them, this one lets the emotion through and that's what a musical instrument has to accomplish, first and foremost.

The screen should be backlit but that's not essential. The build is strong, no ugly gaps, no misjoined plastic parts, the fit and finish are good. The feel of the keys is grippy, not too much, not too little. The controls are simple and clear.

Because it has a lower octave the keyborard sounds okay in a six-string guitar amp but much better in a bass amp, my Ampeg is the natural complement for it, and the amp's distortion is a really a good mach for the Casio's tones, no excess grit at all. Equalize more highs and mids and that's it.

One last thing about the sound, the headphones output is not just convenient, it also reveals the whole quality of the sounds, much better than the included loudspeakers, and even better than the 10-inch bass amp. I had not noticed when I played a two-notes chord slightly not synchronized with the loudspeakers.

But through the headphones output the clarity is so high that it became obvious, and allows more accurate practice. I hesitated between this and other larger keyboards but it's only 25cm wide so I can play it resting on my knees, on batteries. Or on the same table with my computer; I couldn't watch a tutorial and place the instrument on the table if it was wider.