Casio CTK 2400 PPK Review

We gave the Casio CTK 2400 PPK a 7/10. It isn’t very clear who the target audience is for this particular model. The built-in sampling microphone, rhythms, and lessons are big wins for this CTK model. That being said, even though it has sampling, it does not actually have a record feature. This Casio could serve beginners well. But because the sounds in the sound bank are unrealistic, we couldn’t quite give it a high mark.

Overview

Casio’s CTK 2400 Premium Portable Keyboard is a 61-key instrument with a variety of sounds to choose from, a good selection of on-board songs and a sampling feature which lets you create your own sounds. It has a built-in microphone that enables you to very quickly sample any sound you like for up to two seconds and then apply the sound across the keyboard. You can also apply reverb effects to the sounds you create. 

Keyboard 

The keyboard has 61 non-weighted, non-touch-sensitive keys. The feel of this keyboard is similar to playing an organ in that there is no depth to the key when depressed and no variation in dynamic. You press it or you don’t. This keyboard is not good for intermediate to advanced pianists and beginners will not get the right feel for the piano if they learn on this keyboard. However, it’s fine for exploring, experimenting, learning some basics and having fun. 

Sound 

The piano sound is quite electronic rather than like an acoustic piano. The piano sound has not been sampled but rather, produced electronically, and that is quite obvious to the experienced ear. There are over 400 different voices to choose from, but many of these are also very electronic sounding. If you’re looking for a keyboard to create tracks with, these sounds probably won’t go much further than being fun rather than creating serious music tracks. The speakers are just 2W X 2W which is good for children in a small room, but the sound wouldn’t carry much in a big room.  

Features 

The Casio CTK 2400 PPK features include the 61 key keyboard with LCD screen. This is a very lightweight keyboard, weighing in at just 7.5llb, so it lends itself well if you intend to move it around often. Main features: 

Sampling 

The main feature of this keyboard is the one-button sampling capability which means you can capture any sound you like with the built-in microphone and immediately play that sound back on any key of the piano. You might want to sample your own rhythms – for instance, a hand clap, finger snap or something like a wooden spoon hitting a saucepan lid. You’re really only limited by your imagination. Song numbers 401 through to 426 are blank so you can use them to store your sampled sounds. 

Rhythms 

The CTK 2400 PPK gives you 150 drum rhythms to play along with, which you can select to play with full accompaniment or just drums alone if you want to play the chords manually. 

Auto Accompaniment 

For the beginner, this keyboard has the option of Auto Accompaniment. With the touch of a button you get full backing with chords and instruments. This can get a beginner going very quickly with minimum effort. 

On-board lessons

There are 110 songs you can learn with Casio’s “Step Up” lessons which come with the keyboard. The LCD screen will show the music notes and also help you play the notes with the correct fingers and hand position. 

Specifications

• The CTK 2400 has a 61-key non-weighted, non-sensitive keyboard 
• 48 polyphony 
• Two speakers of 2W each for a total output of 4W.   
• There is a Transpose (-12 to +12) and Fine-Tune function. 
• There are ten effects, a mix of reverb and chorus. 
• Song bank consists of 110 songs plus 90 demo songs 
• There is a built-in Metronome with a scope of – 30 – 255 BPM 
• Connectivity includes Sustain pedal input, Audio In, which allows you to use the keyboard’s speakers with your iPhone or iPad. The USB port can also connect to a computer, iPhone or iPad. It has a headphone jack for one set of headphones and a built-in microphone. 
• The keyboard comes with an AC adaptor but can also be used with 6 X AA batteries which will give approximately three hours of playing time. 
• There is an “auto-off” which will kick in after 6 minutes of non-action if the batteries are being used or thirty minutes if the AC adaptor is in use. 

Who Is It Suitable For?

Beginner 

This keyboard is absolutely for the beginner or hobbyist with a limited budget. Frankly, there are other keyboards in the price range that have better quality sounds and feel to the keys, but this is one of the few that comes with a sampling feature. A good alternative would be the Casio LK-265 which comes with the same on-board lessons but has light-up keys as well to assist learning. 

For a beginner who is really interested in learning the piano, the CTK 2400 would be ok for a while, but again, there are better keyboards on the market worth paying slightly more for that would give more pleasure to play. A beginner starting out on a keyboard that isn’t touch sensitive and completely unweighted may get into bad habits that are difficult to undo. 

Not for experienced creators or serious pianists 

For any serious pianist, this keyboard wouldn’t come close to being good enough. Not having 88 keys is a problem quite early on if you’re learning classical piano, and not having weighted or even semi-weighted is problematic. For instance, a serious pianist would be much happier with the Casio Privia PX160 which has 88 fully weighted, graded hammer action keys and a true grand piano sound produced by sampling. 

If you are a music creator and interested in the sampling feature of the CTK 2400, have a look at some more professional sampling devices which will give you a lot more depth to your sound and more options to store and use them. 

Although this keyboard is highly portable, a gigging keyboard player wouldn’t get a good enough piano sound, or a loud enough sound out of this keyboard. A better choice would be a keyboard such as the Yamaha P45. 

Pros and Cons

Pros 

• Very portable 
• Works with batteries as well as power cable 
• Sampling feature 
• 400 sounds 

Cons 

• Only 61 non-weighted keys 
• Not very realistic sounding instruments 
• No record function other than sampling 

Quick View 

Conclusion

The Casio CTK 2400 PPK has a few good features, including the lessons and the sampling feature, but even for young children, it’s likely that the novelty would wear off quite quickly. The keys are not particularly realistic or pleasant to play and the sounds get irritating, as they sound very electronic.  

Having said that, this would be a fun creative tool for a while, experimenting with sampling many different sounds and seeing what you could do with them.  

7Expert Score

We gave the Casio CTK 2400 a 7/10. It isn’t very clear who the target audience is for this particular model. The built-in sampling microphone, rhythms, and lessons are big wins for this CTK model. That being said, even though it has sampling, it does not actually have a record feature. This Casio could serve beginners well. But because the sounds in the sound bank are unrealistic, we couldn’t quite give it a high mark.

PROS

• Very portable
• Works with batteries as well as power cable
• Sampling feature
• 400 sounds

CONS

• Only 61 non-weighted keys
• Not very realistic sounding instruments
• No record function other than sampling