I'm looking into getting one of these rather low-cost keyboards for open mic type events, nursing home sing-a-longs, etc. I'm aware of the fact that they just have a stereo 1/4" output. I also intend to use it to play B3 and EP now and then with a band that has asked me to do so.

Reviews that I have read for this purpose seem quite positive. There's a WK-3000 in the local Craigslist for not too much cash.

I also like that it has a pitch bend wheel - for the occasional synth lead line.

I know that it's getting a little long in the tooth, but I seem to remember positive reviews here from somebody - who was it?

The WK-3000 sounds pretty good. It won't blow you away, but not bad. If I remember correctly, the 3000 output is the headphone output, which should work. Somewhere on the web is a step by step for how to add your own line-out on the 3000 (so you keep the headphone jack for that purpose).

It's pretty easy to play once you learn where the buttons are. Bunch of sounds; don't limit yourself to the lower end of the spectrum. I've got a WK-3700, but used to have the WK-3500 (similar). I like having 76 keys, rather than 61.

You'll definitely going to want to run it through some sort of amp, as it only has a 6-watt speaker system built in, and the speakers are pointing towards you, not the audience.

...have a couple different flavors of Casio at home myself. I started with the old WK-1600, graduated to a 3000, brought an 1800 off of eBay for $125 a few years ago and have an 8000 at home.

The one word of caution that I would give you is that they have a tendency to have keys break over time up at the top of the key where it attaches to the keyboard. The keys that are used on all of the WK's are interchangeable with other WKs and other lower end Casios. I have an old crummy battery operated portable (non WK) that I scavenge keys off of whenever a key breaks on my gigging keyboard.

The key draw to using one of the Casio WK's for a Band in a Box user is poly timbral polyphony. Plug your keyboard into a MIDI/USB connector and you can rock out with Band in a Box. The WK has 16 channels of MIDI and up to 32 notes sounding simultaneously. I've graduated up to a Ketron SD-2 now, but used the Casio WK's for years for song arranging and development.

Jon is correct about the audio direct mod. There used to be a documented modification that you could do to any of the WK's so that you could run them through an amp. With the mod they're still a bit noisy but far better than running through the head phone jack. Let me know if you have trouble finding the directions to the modification.

Have fun,
Bill

Would appreciate being pointed to the mods for a line-out from Casio Kybds. Presently, I have to use the head-phone jack to my amp. Thanks, Ray

Hey Ray,

I just checked online. It doesn't look like the mod is out there anymore. Here's the basics:

What you'll need:

Screwdriver.
Two 1/4 mono audio jacks (what you plug a guitar cord into). Available at any Radio Shack.
Soldering iron.
Copper wire - about 4 feet.

Set up shop on a kitchen, dining room or picnic table. You'll need enough room for the keyboard plus the keyboard's lid opened up over the top.

The mod is easy. (Probably easier than hot wiring a car - although I've never tried ;-O ).
Remove any batteries from the keyboard.
Turn the keyboard face down.
Use a long magnetic screw driver to remove all of the screws from the bottom. Place them in a small cup or sandwich bag so that you don't lose any.
Turn the keyboard face up with the keys facing you.
Lift up on the cover underneath of the keyboard to loosen it up from the bottom of the frame.
Do the same thing with the back but do not remove the lid yet.
Now pull the lid forward a few inches so that the key bed (the part with the felt on top) is moved away from the bottom of the keyboard and towards you.

This is one of the most delicate steps:
*Slowly* tilt the lid back away from you. There are some ribbon cables that are held into place with flexible hook holders inside the guts of the keyboard.

Open these slowly and release the ribbon cables so that you can freely tip the lid back onto the table.

Plug the keyboard into the power brick. (Don't worry - the Casios use low DC voltage).
Now locate the volume knob or slider on the lid. Find the 6 wires coming out of there and the ribbon cable that connects to a small circuit board.
Find the black battery terminal.

Drill holes large enough to hold the audio jacks that you purchased into the back of the lid. Make sure that they
are situated in a spot where they will not interfere with lid closure. You can usually find a spot near where the other pedals and jacks are located.

Cut a wire long enough to go from the black battery terminal to one of the jack grounds.

Solder the ground into place on one jack.
Cut another small wire to go from the ground on one jack to the other jack and solder/series the two grounds together.

Cut two more wires long enough to reach from the jacks to the volume slider/pot or to the circuit board where
the ribbon cable from the volume pot connects (either way works).

Solder the two wires to the hot lead on each jack (do not connect them).

Plug an amplifier into the left jack.

Pull up any sound on the keyboard and use the mixer to pan the sound hard left. Also, turn off any reverb. This will help you verify that you're not getting any bleed through across channels. (Consult the manual if you don't know how to do this).

Use the "hot" wire from the left jack to probe for the sound on the panel that connects to the volume pot. You'll know that you have the right one because:

1. It makes a sound.
2. It is not distorted.
3. It varies in volume when you turn the volume knob up and down.
4. It varies in volume when you change the pan.

If all of the items above are true, you have found the correct contact point. Keep trying until you're certain of the point to connect the wire (It's a one in 6 choice - you'll figure it out).

Once you have located the right connection point, solder the hot wire into place, pan hard right and start the process over again with the right jack.

If you've done everything correctly, you should be able to put one sound on the Left channel and another on the Right without interference between the two channels.

If all goes well. Slowly put your keyboard back together. Take extra care when you're positioning the ribbon cables and locking them back into place.

Before you put the screws back in, double check to make sure that everything is still working properly and that no wires are caught in the lid or will obstruct the screw holes when you screw the lid back onto the keyboard. (I once got all the way to the end, and actually cut one of the ribbon connectors when I screwed right through the middle of one. Take your time and be careful.

I've done this mod at least 6 times on various Casios over the past 10 years.

Good luck,
Bill

Thanks for the info, Bill. Saving it for when I get brave enough to do it. I bought a Casio Privia PX 110 because it is light to carry around. My Rolands were getting too heavy to cart around. Later, Ray

The earphone jack output is electrically identical to an unbalanced Line Output.


--Mac

Can a CASIO keyboard turn in a swingin' performance?

Check these two kids out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MUVydVx6SU

Hey Mac,

Hope all is well with you. I'm not sure what you mean. By going directly for that volume pot, I bypass that noisy little headphone amp and go probably pretty close to where the direct out would be soldered in. The Casio is not the best sounding ax in the world, but bypassing the headphone amp it helps to cut down on at least some of the noise.

Bill

Ah, the headphone amp is noisy. I get you now.

If I tapped the vol pots for signal - I'd also insert a capacitor in series with each line, to block DC. (That could happen from outside the unit)



--Mac

Awesome. I do get some noise/interference this way (but it's less noisy than the blessed headphone jack). Do you have a rough idea of how big a capacitor I should use for each channel?

Thanks,
Bill

Well, it would be rather low impedance audio here, so if economy was a concern then I'd likely go for 10uF electrolytics to make sure that bass frequencies got thru and then some.

These would be polarized caps, so I'd put the DMM to the pot output to see if there was any DC there and govern the polarization direction of the caps accordingly. If no DC is measured at the pot, then it likely wouldn't matter but I'd want to place both caps in the same polarity for each channel, of course.

For ultimate audiophile edition I'd go with silver mica caps, which are nonpolarized. 1uF or 2uF should do it.

I'd want at least a 35V rating, with higher voltage ratings being better.

The idea here is to protect the keyboard from the outside world, as it were. Whenever you add electrical ports to the outside world, you want to guard against the wildest of possible scenarios. Such as plugging the keyboard into an amp or mixer that had a shorted coupling capacitor in its first stage, which would likely mean that DC would be present.

Is it needed to work? No. Just a good idea for the sake of longevity. Or, as my late uncle used to say, "couldn't hoit.." .


--Mac

Well, now I have interest in several of these lower cost casio boards. I see that the WK 1630 has lead synth programmability, and mod and pitch bend wheels as well. However, no drawbar organ from what I can tell.

-Scott

Scott - FYI the "sleeper" deal is now discontinued, but you may find one on the used market. Radio Shack marketed the WK-3000 (and a few other CASIO models that use that engine) under their own brand name. Identical in all respects exept for the nameplate, back when the Shack closed them out they sold them off for pennies on the dollar. So someone with a Radio Shack casio may be willing to sell it for even less $$. Keep your eyes open. Use the websearch to find out what the Radio Shack catalog and model numbers were. Identical to the WK-3000, right down to the big Grand Piano button.


--Mac

Speaking of Shack...


Scott and all,

I've had a Casio WK3500 for a number of years here, maybe 6, not sure. The 3500 is the 76 key version. It has given me sterling service. They may not be robust enough for year round gigging, as the keys issue above illustrates, but I think they sound pretty impressive for something you can hold under one arm and which has only 6 watts a side. Mines been extrememly useful for my occaisional home recording forays and a multitude of other uses.

For use with BIAB it has been a godsend to be able to manually turn off various MIDI channels at the keyboard, using the little rubber MIDI cannel buttons, in order to isolate particular instrumental channels and learn a part exactly. (I'm ashamed to say I still can't work out how to do that from within BIAB!)

The current Casio equivalent model in the shops does heaps more than my '2004 and costs $5-600 less than the $1100 I paid then for it. 2 big thumbs up from me for them. I concur with the poster above about getting the versions with most keys. If you are any kind of keys player you will find the 61 key layout compromising, but almost as importantly, the physically larger 76 key version has more enclosure space within the case for better mid and bass sound. Best wishes with your purchase. Cheers, John.

Quote:

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For use with BIAB it has been a godsend to be able to manually turn off various MIDI channels at the keyboard, using the little rubber MIDI cannel buttons, in order to isolate particular instrumental channels and learn a part exactly. (I'm ashamed to say I still can't work out how to do that from within BIAB!)

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right click each instrument name you want to silence and choose mute