Casio LK-265 Keyboard Review

We gave the Casio LK-265 a 9.5 out of 10. It does a good job at serving the intended audience: Beginners! From making your own dance party music, to light-up keys and step-up lessons, this Casio is really fun, and user-friendly. And the touch-sensitive keyboard lends well to expression and dynamics. We took off just a half a point, because this serves young beginners better than beginners who have a bit of experience.

Overview

The Casio LK-265 lighted keyboard is a good choice for a beginner. It features the “Step-up Lesson System” and has touch-responsive lightweight keys that would particularly suit small hands. Also, with all the bells and whistles on this keyboard you can start making music right away.  

It has 400 tones, 60 built-in songs, 100 rhythms, 48 polyphony and the ability to access Casio’s Chordana play keyboard app. These features are plenty for a young beginner to get started and have a lot of fun in the process of learning. In fact, Casio makes keyboard learning fun and irresistible for any beginner. So, here is a comprehensive Casio LK-265 61-key keyboard review that will help you understand the instrument even better.

Features

• 61 full size, touch sensitive keys
• Light up keys plus “Step-Up Lessons” for fast learning
• AC adapter or battery power option
• Built-in speakers and headphone connection capabilities
• Direct connection to Casio’s Chordana app.

Design

The design of a keyboard might not be a primary feature when you’re looking for a keyboard but it’s worth considering. The LK-265 has a simple design that is robust enough to prepare budding musicians to eventually play a more advanced piano. Its plastic full-size key tops can easily fit little fingers when playing, which encourages a  good hand position in preparation to advance to an acoustic piano in the future.

The LK-265 comes with a control panel and user interface set in the middle for easy access during performance. Furthermore, its design is compact enough to fit in a the back of a vehicle. It’s also easily portable weighing only 7.9 lbs and, given the right carrying case, a student can carry it around making it ideal for those who use an instrument for lessons at school and take it back home for practice.

Specifications

61 lightweight, light-up keys with built in speakers of 2W each. Built-in lesson mode and connection to an app which delivers more lessons, more songs and away-from-piano practice capability. Jacks to plug in AUX speakers, headphones and pedal. 

Sound

Although Casio hasn’t focused much on the sound of this model, the quality is still clear. You can listen from two built-in speakers 2 x 3.9″, 2W on each side, connect to a pair of headphones or use a PA system for more amplified sound.

There’s a dance mode feature that enables players to create and remix electronic music from 50 EDM (Electronic Dance Music) styles.  Choose from variations of baselines, drumbeats, synth parts and even finish mixing your music by adding filters such as flanger, roll, gate, low-fi and different choices of reverb. There is a “Build-up Play” function which allows you to add sound effects in the style of dance music. 

Keyboard

The Casio LK-265 has a full-size lightweight and touch-sensitive keyboard which gives you a good platform to practice on. It has 61 keys, making it very portable and efficient to play most music without the need to adjust the settings. With its touch sensitivity, the volume will change depending on how hard or soft you press the keys. This makes it easy to express yourself while playing.

The lighted keys enable a beginner to see which key to press next, making it easier, especially for younger musicians.

Speakers

The LK-265 keyboard comes with two built-in speakers which measure 3.9” each producing 2W apiece. The speakers produce a decent sound considering it’s a beginner’s instrument.

The sound is loud enough for a performance in a small room without the need for external speakers. However, if you want to play for a larger audience or play along with other instruments, you can easily plug in an amplifier.

Of course It has volume control features and a headphone port allowing you to practice even in noisy environments, or when you don’t want to disturb neighbors. 

Polyphony

The Casio LK-265 comes with a 48 note polyphony which is more than enough for an entry instrument. This means the instrument is able to sustain enough notes to produce a rich sound, enabling you to play even complex music pieces without notes switching off during the performance.

Songs

Among the 60 songs available on the LK-265 are some beautiful and well-known classical choices including “The Wedding March” (from Midsummer Night’s Dream by Mendelssohn), Humoresque by Dvořák and the “Serenade from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” by Mozart.  

Apart from that, there are the usual well-known songs that children will know and enjoy playing, such as “If you’re Happy and you know it Clap your Hands”, “Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore” and “Camptown Races”.  

Connectivity

The Casio LK-265 comes with different connection ports and the ability to connect to different devices. These include:

Headphones

If you want to practice in silence so you don’t disturb those around you, you can easily plug in a pair of headphones in the ¼ jack. Once you do, the built-in speakers automatically shut down enabling you to practice without disturbing others. If you want louder sound, you can use the port to connect to an external amplifier or speakers.

Microphone and AUX input

The Casio LK-265 comes with microphone and aux input port. With this, you can easily play the instrument while singing along to the built-in songs or your own songs. You can also connect it to other instruments and play them together without an amplifier.

Sustain pedal port

The LK-265 come with a jack to connect a sustain pedal (bought separately) to get a more realistic piano experience.

Direct connection to Chordana Play App

You can easily connect the LK-265 with Casio’s Chordana play app to make learning more fun. When you sync the instrument with the app, you can use it in a few different ways: first, the app can use the lighted keys to guide you on how to play your favorite songs. You can also share different music tracks with your instrument by downloading your favorite songs to your device in MIDI file format, then sync your device with the instrument and enjoy your playlist. In addition, you can transfer downloaded music to the keyboard and use it later even when the device is not connected to the app. 

The Chordana app can be used away from the piano keyboard, using a virtual keyboard on the screen of your device. The screen will give you feedback on how you’re doing – letting you know if you’ve played the correct note or chord, for instance, and the music notation is available in the app so you can practice note reading even if you can’t get to your keyboard. There are 50 songs available on the app so you can keep learning even if you’re sitting at your kitchen table.  

Additional Features

The LK-265 comes with the famous Casio Step-up Learning System that enables you to practice on preset songs and any song that you have added, at your own pace. This feature gives you simple step by step lessons that motivate you to improve your skills while making the process easier and fun.

It also comes with an LCD that shows you the settings, performance and other functions in the keyboard. This helps you learn music notation and enables you to learn hand positions. It reduces guesswork and makes learning faster. 

The keyboard uses an AC adapter for connecting to a mains power source, but also works with 6 X AA batteries enabling use even when there is no power source.

Who Is It Suitable For?

Young beginners 

Certainly, this is a good keyboard for young children and beginners. The keyboard connects with an AC adapter, but also works with 6 X AA batteries enabling you to play even when there is no power source. 

The portable design means you can carry the instrument room to room without any struggle. So, let’s say that the keyboard is in the living room and someone wants to watch TV. You can very easily pick up the keyboard and take it to another room, so you won’t miss out on practice time. 

The notes appear on the LCD screen, which gets a beginner reading music! The lighted keys are great to get started quickly, but as soon as possible, start to play without the lighted keys as this will strengthen skill and knowledge.  

This keyboard comes with a scoring system where you can track your progress. It will show you how well you are doing with your practice.  This can be a particularly good tool for children who may need a little more incentive to practice. Again, proving that this keyboard is best for young children and beginners. 

For a slightly older child who is starting or progressing on the piano, a good comparison keyboard to the Casio LK-265 is the Yamaha NP12 Piagerro 61 key piano keyboard. It has more focus on a realistic piano sound and comes with only 10 different voices which includes two different piano sounds, two different electric piano sounds and two different organs. It also includes strings, vibes and harpsichord. It doesn’t have light-up keys or nearly as many creative sounds. A more serious piano student might enjoy the piano sound quality better, especially if they aren’t too interested in the dance music element. 

Intermediate players 

Early intermediate players who are interested in the creative side of the LK-265 might really enjoy creating their own dance music. With the dance music mode, you can get budding musicians engaged. This way, you inspire them to create any kind of music they listen to and relate to. With this, you get into the mood of creating more regularly and making music becomes a habit. Once it becomes a habit, progress will be made.  But keep in mind that they may be a bit underwhelmed by the piano sound. That’s especially the case if they are studying classical music. 

A similar alternative keyboard is the Casio CT-S200RDAD. This has many similarities, including 61 keys, Dance Music Mode and also works with the Casio Chordana app on an external device. This one sits in the same price range and also has a built in carry handle, making it extremely portable. 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• lightweight and compact design
• 400 instrument voices and 100 accompaniment style.
• App 

Cons 

• No recording capability 
• Lightweight keys wouldn’t satisfy more advanced players 

Quick View 

Conclusion

The LK-265 portable keyboard is a good choice entry-level keyboard. This instrument has many useful features, such as the light weighted 61 keys and LCD that assist you with your hand positioning. The LK-265 comes with the Casio “Step-up Learning System” that enables you to practice on preset songs as well as any song that you have added, at your own pace. The feature gives you simple step by step lessons that motivate you to improve your skills while making the process easier and fun.

It has an LCD that shows you the settings, performance and other functions in the keyboard. Certainly, this helps you learn music notation and hand positioning, so essential to playing the piano well and easily. Also, it reduces guesswork and makes knowing the correct settings for the instrument easier.

Overall, the LK-265 is a great choice for for beginners and lower-intermediate players. In fact, the assistance with getting started has the ability to jump-start learning and the creative side is likely to inspire and keep a beginner involved. So, it’s very good value for the price and can get you started. It’s also one of the more fun instruments and will encourage creating dance music and an interest in DJing. 

9.5Expert Score

We gave the Casio LK-265 a 9.5 out of 10. It does a good job at serving the intended audience: Beginners! From making your own dance party music, to light-up keys and step-up lessons, this Casio is really fun, and user-friendly. And the touch-sensitive keyboard lends well to expression and dynamics. We took off just a half a point, because this serves young beginners better than beginners who have a bit of experience.

PROS

• lightweight and compact design
• 400 instrument voices and 100 accompaniment style.
• App

CONS

• No recording capability 
• Lightweight keys wouldn’t satisfy more advanced players