My middle school from Argentina had (I think they still has) this same keyboard. It was a nightmare for me to perform with this as a prog rock fan but still I remember it with love.
I found this at my mother-in-law today, brought it home, cleaned it and found a replacement 9V AC because original adapter is lost. And it works pretty decent. :) Thanks for the video.
Oh man, you totally missed the point of this keyboard. it was an 80's video game music synth replicator. Harpsichord+Strings combo = Castlevania. Also hi. I legit still use these oldschool Casio's in my real professional music because of this. This specific model was my first one. I know it's basically a toy you could get at toys r us back in the day for $100 bucks, and it's not a real synth or a real workstation, but plug this thing into a keyboard amp and come back and tell me you can't make it sound amazing. Because it is amazing!
no way, there are much better Casio keyboards for this era for replicating 8-bit video games! Like the CT-460, CT-680 etc which do have a bit of synth capability and a distinctly SID-chip vibe. I've reviewed just about all of them I think. I mean this one is moderately good for that purpose, but it's nowhere near the best example of its time :)
I have the CT-638 which I bought in the mid-90's. It looks to be identical except different colored buttons. I don't use all the weird tones and beats, just the piano and sometimes I add in strings. Good basic keyboard, though I'm thinking of upgrading. It is a bit dated now. LOL
@@raulsete314 I had the same issue. It doesn't have a sustain pedal, so there's really no way to increase the piano sound by itself. What I did was to add the strings tone on top of the piano tone which seemed to increase it. I eventually bought a keyboard with a sustain pedal, so I haven't used my old Casio in years.
My parents bought me this keyboard as a Christmas gift from K-Mart back in 1991, a dream come true at 11 years old. lol. Used it for the school band but had problems because it was out of tune from factory and had no touch sensitive keys, other than that had a lot of fun with it back then.
Hi there!! Thanks for sharing this review as I now own one - it was my late mother’s keyboard and so it’s pretty special. Only thing is that annoyingly the Middle C key isn’t working and I would love to know how it can be fixed as it’s a shame to turf this keyboard :(
Cool lofi sounds there, but I noticed the hiss swelling at times during some of the voices - was that from the keyboard or something transient in the recording process? Still, a bunch of interesting doohickies to fiddle with. . (edit) Oh yeah! And as others may have pointed out - if you're restoring, film that shite! Love me some refurb vids!
Well y'know, it was restoring as in just giving it a much needed clean. It is true that I was amazed about all the keys functioning though ...it really was a thick layer of dirt. Actually I just remembered my restoration video about a Korg D15 ...far out that thing was gummed up. I used play-doh to clean it. So if you search 'gearfacts d16 play doh' you should find something that might interest you :)
mine just died on me! not suprising given what i did to it (there is still a vid on my channel) but I am still hoping to revive it. great unit. i circuit bend it for 10 years solid and it only just died. very sturdy
When you restore stuff, one cleans it. How did you restore it? Nice to see one in action. I'm just wondering if it even sounds like a standard piano, which would be the point for me to practice and learn on.
Hi DEfan ...yep that was about the limit of its cleanability, the dirt was caked thick and hard on it. I should have done before and after pics. Anyhoo, I wouldn't say it sounds like a real piano as such, but it does sound good. More like an electric piano/acoustic piano hybrid. I think you'd find the keys quite agreeable though, they have a nice intermediate feel. Thanks for watching Gearfacts :)
@@gearfacts I have one too. I will see if I fair any better (clean wise) but it sounds great! I can't test it since I don't play, but I want to take lessons so I need something to start on. I want to get it all apart and clean it up and if it breaks, well, it was free. Thank you for getting back to me. PS Are you a professional player?
how can use all the tones? I hit tone bank botton, select my tone but it just plays the normal 15 (the yellow ones). can you please help me bro thanks you
It's one of those keyboards where you choose the tone button for the category, then the other buttons become sounds within that category. I know that sounds weird, it's a weird keyboard!
Is that possible if i use this keyboard as a midi controller ? Can anyone explain to me please ? My father gave me this keyboard as a gift, because i want to learn piano. Thank you!
Hold on. You're going to say there is a backing track called "Polka of Doom" -- and you're NOT going to play it? I'm calling the police, this must be illegal. Ok, I've done my homework and it's totally a felony. It's in the Constitution of The Internet, Article 3, Section 5, Subsection 3: "Product Demos" it clearly says that if a demo says that a musical instrument has a hilarious setting, then there must be a sound clip of that setting that lasts no less than five seconds or four bars (which ever one is longer). When Benjamin Franklin, Hammurabi, Beyonce, Esther Dyson, and Galactus wrote and ratified this document in 3015, a war was nearly declared because this section was omitted in the first draft. Please upload a demo of Polka of Doom right away before Internet trolls from the future come back to turn you into a meme (the most severe form of incarceration in a post-matter singularity future).
@@redmenace2 It may never come. The antipodean imperial legislature have sentenced to 8000 days in an off-world penitentiary. Maybe then I will have learned my lesson :/
@@redmenace2 I fear it's too late. The Oceania Imperial legislature have sentenced me to 8000 days in an off-world behavior modification facility. Maybe then I will have learned :/
Sorry I'm no help with faults apart from videos I've uploaded about fixing certain problems. Search UA-cam for "Gearfacts faulty" and you'll see a few results. I am not a technician though :(
I don't have mine anymore but I remember it had this CRAZY numeric system for selecting sounds... I think the top row of buttons was the 'bank' of sounds then you press one of the bottom buttons to select a sound within that bank. But I remember finding it more complicated than that, it was a while ago sorry! :) #gearfacts
Not sure about this one, but I highly recommend the CT-460/660. It has all 30 sounds including SFX, MIDI I/O, a basic recording feature, and it's 4-part multitimbral. However, get an MT-540 or perhaps a (rare) Casio CSM-1 if you are short on space.
@@jackcimino8822 yeah just one flaw - the quality of the tones (sample rate) is a little bit lower. Still very good for the age and better than in the many newer Casios.
Lol@you hearting my timestamp ☺️ I got this keyboard for €20 with a Hohner stand in the charity shop a week ago but only got a power supply last night!! I love that particular blinketey blinketey bloo part that I timestamped so now I'm gonna try see can I do it myself☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️
My middle school from Argentina had (I think they still has) this same keyboard. It was a nightmare for me to perform with this as a prog rock fan but still I remember it with love.
I just got one of these ,it wasn't working but I fixed it, but it's labeled in Japanese so I've got a huge task of relabeling it,
I found this at my mother-in-law today, brought it home, cleaned it and found a replacement 9V AC because original adapter is lost. And it works pretty decent. :)
Thanks for the video.
I have a more modern Casio power adapter that works on my ct 670
what power adapter are you using?
I used a generic multi-voltage adapter
Make sure it's center negative
Does it have adaptiv keys?
Oh man, you totally missed the point of this keyboard. it was an 80's video game music synth replicator. Harpsichord+Strings combo = Castlevania. Also hi. I legit still use these oldschool Casio's in my real professional music because of this. This specific model was my first one. I know it's basically a toy you could get at toys r us back in the day for $100 bucks, and it's not a real synth or a real workstation, but plug this thing into a keyboard amp and come back and tell me you can't make it sound amazing. Because it is amazing!
no way, there are much better Casio keyboards for this era for replicating 8-bit video games! Like the CT-460, CT-680 etc which do have a bit of synth capability and a distinctly SID-chip vibe. I've reviewed just about all of them I think. I mean this one is moderately good for that purpose, but it's nowhere near the best example of its time :)
I have the CT-638 which I bought in the mid-90's. It looks to be identical except different colored buttons. I don't use all the weird tones and beats, just the piano and sometimes I add in strings. Good basic keyboard, though I'm thinking of upgrading. It is a bit dated now. LOL
a bit dated?? I have the casiotine ct310 from 1983
hey, i have the same, the piano sound lasts too short, do you remember how to increase it?😅 tempo keys don't appear to do anything😢
@@raulsete314 I had the same issue. It doesn't have a sustain pedal, so there's really no way to increase the piano sound by itself. What I did was to add the strings tone on top of the piano tone which seemed to increase it. I eventually bought a keyboard with a sustain pedal, so I haven't used my old Casio in years.
My parents bought me this keyboard as a Christmas gift from K-Mart back in 1991, a dream come true at 11 years old. lol. Used it for the school band but had problems because it was out of tune from factory and had no touch sensitive keys, other than that had a lot of fun with it back then.
Yeah I like Casio's emphasis on fun.
My first keyboard when I was a kid :D
It sounds okay, it's the kind of Keyboard you would show off to your pals when you were younger...
Exactly - It would have blown my mind in the late 80's. GF
My first keyboard:) when I was a kid
3:22 DX like synth bass
Hi there!! Thanks for sharing this review as I now own one - it was my late mother’s keyboard and so it’s pretty special. Only thing is that annoyingly the Middle C key isn’t working and I would love to know how it can be fixed as it’s a shame to turf this keyboard :(
I had this keyboard many years ago. I never liked the Piano sound on this one. Always preferred a Yamaha sound at least back in those days.
Couldn't agree more!
Thanks very much.
Beautiful Music ❤❤❤❤
Cool lofi sounds there, but I noticed the hiss swelling at times during some of the voices - was that from the keyboard or something transient in the recording process? Still, a bunch of interesting doohickies to fiddle with.
.
(edit) Oh yeah! And as others may have pointed out - if you're restoring, film that shite! Love me some refurb vids!
Well y'know, it was restoring as in just giving it a much needed clean. It is true that I was amazed about all the keys functioning though ...it really was a thick layer of dirt. Actually I just remembered my restoration video about a Korg D15 ...far out that thing was gummed up. I used play-doh to clean it. So if you search 'gearfacts d16 play doh' you should find something that might interest you :)
mine just died on me! not suprising given what i did to it (there is still a vid on my channel)
but I am still hoping to revive it. great unit. i circuit bend it for 10 years solid and it only just died. very sturdy
Wow so it took some punishment - Sounds like it held up well :)
Great review. Thanks. How do the organ options sound on it?
Better and more numerous than you'd expect. It gives no serious dynamics of course but it gets the job done pretty well. #gearrfacts
I'm trying to decide between this and the Roland Fantom 8. 🤷♂️
haha, tough call!
Thanks for this.
From what I can see online, the CT-636 does not have an input for a damper/sustain pedal - is that correct?
As I recall, that's correct. Not one of my more favorite keyboards I have to say :)
You didn't play the demo sound 😔 good video thouh
I find those demno songs a bit horrible :) But ok maybe next time!
It's all about the demo button on the CT-636. Was a huge hit in my house back in the day.
When you restore stuff, one cleans it. How did you restore it? Nice to see one in action. I'm just wondering if it even sounds like a standard piano, which would be the point for me to practice and learn on.
Hi DEfan ...yep that was about the limit of its cleanability, the dirt was caked thick and hard on it. I should have done before and after pics. Anyhoo, I wouldn't say it sounds like a real piano as such, but it does sound good. More like an electric piano/acoustic piano hybrid. I think you'd find the keys quite agreeable though, they have a nice intermediate feel. Thanks for watching Gearfacts :)
@@gearfacts I have one too. I will see if I fair any better (clean wise) but it sounds great! I can't test it since I don't play, but I want to take lessons so I need something to start on. I want to get it all apart and clean it up and if it breaks, well, it was free. Thank you for getting back to me. PS Are you a professional player?
@@defan2105 It's certainly the sort of late 80's sound you'd hear from Casio
how can use all the tones? I hit tone bank botton, select my tone but it just plays the normal 15 (the yellow ones). can you please help me bro thanks you
It's one of those keyboards where you choose the tone button for the category, then the other buttons become sounds within that category. I know that sounds weird, it's a weird keyboard!
Is that possible if i use this keyboard as a midi controller ? Can anyone explain to me please ? My father gave me this keyboard as a gift, because i want to learn piano. Thank you!
No midi xx❤
@@niiii_niiii Oh so sad :( thank u for the info
@@broccoboy7 you're welcome, wish it was better news xx
Great review, as always. Thanks!
BTW, the keyboard is really a crappy one :-D
The CT-370 sounds about the same
Ahh c'mon JVG, it had a few good moments. Sure seems old-fashioned now though :)
Hey, I have the same Casio except for i don't really where the adaptor or what kind I should buy, so can you tell me which one should I buy
There are more modern Casio power adapters and I use one with my ct 670
Does anyone pass me the list of sounds? I have it in Japanese :(
www.manualslib.com/manual/26143/Casio-Tone-Bank-Ct-636.html
Do your two speakers work normally? I got a keyboard like this one and the left speaker doesn't work
It's not unusual for one speaker to die on these older keyboards.
How can I put the mode normal piano , of I press 1 it does not sound good... My keyboard is in Chinese
Press 00 on the keypad. Or 01. Hopefully that will bring up the piano.
Hold on. You're going to say there is a backing track called "Polka of Doom" -- and you're NOT going to play it? I'm calling the police, this must be illegal. Ok, I've done my homework and it's totally a felony. It's in the Constitution of The Internet, Article 3, Section 5, Subsection 3: "Product Demos" it clearly says that if a demo says that a musical instrument has a hilarious setting, then there must be a sound clip of that setting that lasts no less than five seconds or four bars (which ever one is longer). When Benjamin Franklin, Hammurabi, Beyonce, Esther Dyson, and Galactus wrote and ratified this document in 3015, a war was nearly declared because this section was omitted in the first draft. Please upload a demo of Polka of Doom right away before Internet trolls from the future come back to turn you into a meme (the most severe form of incarceration in a post-matter singularity future).
Guilty as charged :( Sorry about the Armageddon, folks, that's on me!
@@gearfacts Me and several dozen FBI Internet Strike Force agents from the future eagerly await your upload of the Polka of Doom clip.
@@redmenace2 It may never come. The antipodean imperial legislature have sentenced to 8000 days in an off-world penitentiary. Maybe then I will have learned my lesson :/
@@redmenace2 I fear it's too late. The Oceania Imperial legislature have sentenced me to 8000 days in an off-world behavior modification facility. Maybe then I will have learned :/
@@gearfacts Probably some super-cushy hot-weather resort prison on the surface of Venus. Your tax dollars at work!
I have one of that model that is presenting a fault and I would like to know if you can help me correct it?
Sorry I'm no help with faults apart from videos I've uploaded about fixing certain problems. Search UA-cam for "Gearfacts faulty" and you'll see a few results. I am not a technician though :(
Breath, again, hey?
I know how to play about 3 songs :/
@@gearfacts at least you know the good ones :D
I have it, its posible modulate one step or two?
I don't think it can be adjusted at all
BREATHE!
Anything made up by Richard Wright is a joy to play!
how do you select the different tone banks in the Synth please? My 636 doesn't respond!
I don't have mine anymore but I remember it had this CRAZY numeric system for selecting sounds... I think the top row of buttons was the 'bank' of sounds then you press one of the bottom buttons to select a sound within that bank. But I remember finding it more complicated than that, it was a while ago sorry! :) #gearfacts
Where is the sustain?
I don't think this models has a sustain pedal socket #gearfacts
Do You know if it has a midi interface?
No it doesn't.
Does it have the record option?
I don't think so
Me: an electric piano could never scare someone, they are harmless...
Casio CT-637: 1:54
Polka of DOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!
Is there a way we can get in touch privately?
Yes, but first tell me what you wanted to discuss?
These old boards can sound good. Does it have midi in/out? If so one could compose a concerto on this thing.
Not sure about this one, but I highly recommend the CT-460/660. It has all 30 sounds including SFX, MIDI I/O, a basic recording feature, and it's 4-part multitimbral. However, get an MT-540 or perhaps a (rare) Casio CSM-1 if you are short on space.
it doesn't have midi
@@jackcimino8822 yeah just one flaw - the quality of the tones (sample rate) is a little bit lower. Still very good for the age and better than in the many newer Casios.
@@keyhoarder I had a Casiotone CT-460. Not only it has MIDI, but it even has a 4 part multitimbral mode!
3:40
Lol@you hearting my timestamp ☺️
I got this keyboard for €20 with a Hohner stand in the charity shop a week ago but only got a power supply last night!! I love that particular blinketey blinketey bloo part that I timestamped so now I'm gonna try see can I do it myself☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️
Hey. Are the keys touch sensitive?
No :( Gearfacts