thats a real shame. I hate to say kit but it sounds exactly like a Casio usually sounds.

That was not the 7500, it was the WK-6500, the little brother

Comparison here:
http://www.casio-intl.com/emi/sp/high_grade/en/spec/

One particular problem is that neither has standard midi ports, only USB. What's the point of not having this industry standard functionality, to spare $1 per unit? Pity.

[This message has been edited by trident (edited 10-09-2010).]

Even though the 7500 has a tri-element sound source,whereas the 6500 has a dual sound source,how much better could the 7500 sound,if the 6500 is such a train wreck??

It seems very evident that Casio intends to remain in the consumer grade arena-which is fine,as there are plenty of choices in the budget end of pro keyboards.

The only good thing I can say about Casio's new line of keyboards,is that they're very elegant looking,but I'll never waste my time again,to even consider a Casio in the future.

Obviously Casio learned their lesson with the MZ-2000,in that they shouldn't have made an attempt to compete with the pro arena.

-Elwood

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There is nothing "Pro' or "Semi Pro" about the new WK7500..It is a continuing series of the already existing WK series (WK500)...

And I will repeat my self..you will see a street price of around $500 for the WK7500..

It is a intermediate home keyboard....sure some folks can and will use it for light jobs like nursing home gigs...and it will do fine..

Elwood, in general terms..we can say when a keyboard has "LE" in it's name..it will be compromised from it's main line product line..Some folks will be happy with a lower cost board that meets their needs...but..others will not...

There is nothing "Pro' or "Semi Pro" about the new WK7500..It is a continuing series of the already existing WK series (WK500)...

And I will repeat my self..you will see a street price of around $500 for the WK7500..

Well it's painfully obvious now,that the WK-7500 is merely a toy,but with some semi-pro recording features.
This is enough to confuse anyone into thinking that the 7500 is emulating the old MZ-2000.

Nothing Casio does makes any sense....think about it...the WK-6500 is a scaled down version of the WK-7500,whereas the CTK-7000 is the WK-7500's equivalent,but with 61 keys.

The new WK/CTK series sounds much worse than the WK-3800,but yet it's a $100 more.

In Casio's infinite brilliance,they've managed to incorporate semi-pro recording capabilities into a Fisher-Price toy & slap a $500 tag on it.....how pathetic.

But I agree,there will still be folks out there that are willing to buy one,simply because their too cheap to upgrade.

NOBODY wants sh*t sounds,but then,some folks don't hear the difference,which is great for them.

To be fair though,the WK/CTK series will be a great stepping stone for 12 year olds to get their start in the music creation & recording business or to spawn future serious hobbyists.

-Elwood

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That "3rd element" in the Casio WK 7500 might be something that will give it much better sound than the one we heard in the demo. In all fairness, the demo sound was via a microphone? In one point you see the guy holding the microphone, pointing it directly on the right speaker.

Anyway, the real deal breakers are the lack of normal MIDI ports and only 2 variations. But if it is $500, what 76 keys could you get for the money?

Elwood,
if you check http://www.thomann.de/gr/search_dir.html?sw=casio+wk&oa=prd you will find that the newer WKs are cheaper than the older, and curiously, the 3800 is cheaper than the 3300.

Also, (and this has nothing to do with the matter discussed) the usual way of quoting in a thread is quoting in bold and writing your message in normal intensity, not the other way round.

[This message has been edited by trident (edited 10-09-2010).]

[This message has been edited by trident (edited 10-09-2010).]

Hi posters - in late Sept I posted and disappointedly no one came to my aid.

Notwithstanding the above I pressed on with my due diligence into keyboards and I had to let Casio go as their sound quality left a lot to be desired. As I said I had played and heard a Yamaha NP V80 and was most impressed with the sound reproduction.

However, I decided to give Casio one more chance and lifted my buying range to $2500. So I went to town to see a CASIO AP 620 in the Celviano range. I have to say the experience was also very disappointing with the quality of sound not at all close to Yamaha,so naturally I redirected my attention to Yamaha products.

Some how I found myself sitting in front of a Yamaha CVP 503 in Clavinove range. Then I went and played a 509. Well if you want quality, then just for the experience pop into a Yamaha music store and play a tune on the 509 WOW WOW WOWIE. The upshot to all of this is I split the middle and I signed and paid for a Yamaha CVP 505PE which is also a beautiful piece of furniture. (The PE stands for "Polished Ebony"). The 509 will just have to wait a couple of years.

The 505 arrives on the 25th of this month and guess what... I can hardly wait.

What started out to be an exercise in buying a $500 keyboard certainly had a really different ending. I still got a lot out of reading your posts and they helped me in my final decision For this I thank you all.

The Yamaha Electone MC 450 (still in showroom condition after 25 years) was donated to the local church after I had it fully srviced and checked out, as their organ had just given up the ghost and gone to heaven as it were.

By the way I did post the price of the WK 7500 which was AU$727.23 and I see them advertised at AU$699.00 The Aussie and American dollars are on equal parity at the moment so that makes the WK 7500 the same price in each country and no doubt there are deals to be had out there at a lessor price.

Cheers Knotawurri

Not having standard MIDI ports that you can use to connect to another MIDI keyboard is certainly a show stopper for me.

Hi Ian, I write to thank you for reposting my posting on Synth Zone Forum which was in the end to no avail. All people are different and just because it is a forum they are still same people as in different. Such is Life.

At the time I was looking for genuine comment prior to purchase but again as in life one gets on and does the job at hand. Forums can sometimes become a little clubby as in exclusive rather than inclusive. So be it.

My new machine (sounds like I am talking about a Harley of which I had two of them) has not arrived as yet. Still on the water from Japan or where ever. It is hard to imagine Japan manufacturing offshore after almost a lifetime (mine) manufacturing following WW2.

I did purchase this on my own volition without the help of any salesperson. In fact they were a hinderance as all they wanted to do is sell the bells and whistles. I was in the quality sound reproduction market.

I did manage to get a reasonable price in the end that was acceptable to both the music shop owner and myself. Experience in buying and selling cars amongst other life activities is always a great asset when negotiating a price plus the retailer was an amenable person to deal with. AUD$6,195.00 which way below the AUD$10,200.00 starting point at another retailer that I had visited. Yamaha also were doing a worldwide discount on the blighters which in its self was a not unhelpful reason that I went to this level.

My brother thought I was mad and said as much but I told him in seven and a half years I would be eighty and I might be dead for the last four of them. I am still buying green tomatoes and hope to for some time to come, in fact well into the future God willing.

All I know I will have a lot of enjoyment out of the instrument and I give myself five years to become reasonably competent. Here’s hoping anyway as that is the plan.

We live in a small city of eighty thousand people called Mandurah on the south west coast of Western Australia (WA), some eighty kilometres/fifty miles from the capital called Perth, which was “Home of the America’s Cup” back in the eighties. I saw every race.They were great heady days back in the eighties.

WA is very big in mining Iron ore, gold, diamonds, bauxite, coal of which most is exported to China.

WA is about one third of the Australian landmass and one of five states and two territories with just over a tenth of the population being 2.3 million. It exports ninety percent of the Australian wheat production due mainly to the eastern states uses their production for home consumption. All types of agriculture are conducted at a high level of sophisticated farming methods. Tourism, manufacturing , retailing - all are part of the daily fabric of commercial activity.

We have great range of climate with reasonably hot summers in excess of one hundred degrees at times and winters down to minus degrees ocassionaly. Nothing like America’s extremes. Did I mention the great white sandy beaches that we have and the great waves for surfing.

Australians have a generous view of America and Americans and accept and respect the great political alliance and friendship that exists between the two countries hence our support of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan .

In conclusion, I believe I have purchased myself a keyboard of note which will give me many many hours of self enjoyment.

Cheers Knotawurri