marlie6211's Music Gear Setup

This is still my primary synth..have never found one I enjoy using as much as this one. I am laughing reading the comments that call it "very old", since I bought mine brand new. (Yes, it was the 90's, and I'll accept "old" but not "VERY old", lol).

For the time and the price point it was at, this thing was absolutely astounding when I bought it. I paid about $300-$400 for it if I remember correctly. It would not be live performance quality, but for the music I create, I like it precisely because it sounds a bit vintage. Once you are familiar with it, the functions are quite easy to use, and the 2 6-track internal memory function is great for starting a new song in its early stages without firing up the whole studio setup. I almost always start my song ideas with this keyboard. (Keep good batteries in it though, otherwise if it loses ac power you'll lose your content).

I have the 3 pin midi ports connected to an external mixer and then into the computer. The quality when using the DAW with this setup suffers just a tiny bit, but I haven't pinpointed whether it is the computer, keyboard, mixer or cables (I am far from a great studio engineer 😄). It doesn't cause a big problem for me, though.

I strongly dislike only one thing about this keyboard...the touch response. It is pretty much a choice between a whisper or "hitting the keys with a hammer" levels. It is very easy to have one note come clanging out horribly because the key was struck SLIGHTLY too hard. We're talking levels that overmodulate the sound and ruin an entire section, just from a very slight difference in pressure. You don't hear it until playback though, and that makes it even more infuriating. In fact, I keep touch response turned off because it is so unpredictable. Granted, touch response was newer and not found on many keyboards at that price point back then. But for practical purposes, they really could have just omitted it altogether on this one.

Also, if travelled with, you'll need a very sturdy case. This keyboard has absurdly thin plastic casing compared to its weight (which is rather heavy for its size). A couple of places on the side have chipped off over the years just from picking up or moving mine. (I have other 90s Casios with the same issue, my Yamahas seem much sturdier)

But even with those issues, I love it. I have a closet full of old keyboards/synths, and this is the only one that always stays out and has its own permanent channel on the mixer. Even my newer, more expensive ones don't have some of the functions that the CTK-611 has. Could just be sentimental reasons, but it is still my all time favorite.