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A word on Casio. In the past few years I've bought a low end calculator with aspirations of being a scientific calculator and a low end sample player for my yo

A word on Casio. In the past few years I've bought a low end calculator with aspirations of being a scientific calculator and a low end sample player for my young son. Both purchases offered a surprisingly high value for money, especially in the price points. I think the calculator was ~$15 retail and the sample player was ~$60 as I recall... both about 2 or so years ago. The sample player (Casio SA-76), really a toy, was really good for what it was: it can be battery powered and the batteries last a very long time, decent sounds and features, and it even powers itself off if its not used for awhile. And given my son's treatment of the device (drops, throwing, etc) the fact that it still works at all is amazing, but it actually hasn't had any problems at all from the abuse... aside from scuffs on the case. Don't get me wrong, no one is going to mistake these for high end tools, but on their own terms they've been excellent purchases.

NikolaNovak 5y ago
Similarly, I bought a Casio "Arranger Workstation" (CTK6250) a couple of years ago, and while a) It is more expensive in absolute terms at $200-$300 new, and b) It has its own level of cheesiness; nonetheless the functionality and value for money is absolutely astounding. For a kid starting to learn about music today, it's an all-in one that can last a tremendously long time - built-in decent speakers, battery or mains, more than good-enough sounds and a large variety, plus a sequencer, arranger, and while you have to menu-dive, you can in fact modify its sounds to a fair extent. The arranger part in particular can really motivate a new learner to explore and play and fool around :) It in fact makes it tricky to upgrade - "next level" from Roland or Korg is probably $1000, $1500 or more. I've since, erm, geeked out about synths and acquired a pointlessly-expensive selection to tinker with - but the Casio is now firmly in the family room for my 2 year old and myself to play. I don't see selling or giving it away anytime soon... it's the Honda CBR125 of electronic keyboards, the little engine that could and is just sheer exhilarating fun of its own :)
przemub 5y ago
Casio calculators are awesome. It's great that in my country we use them (and their even cheaper counterfeits!) instead of some overpriced TI crap.

NikolaNovak 5y ago

Similarly, I bought a Casio "Arranger Workstation" (CTK6250) a couple of years ago, and while a) It is more expensive in absolute terms at $200-$300 new, and b) It has its own level of cheesiness; nonetheless the functionality and value for money is absolutely astounding. For a kid starting to learn about music today, it's an all-in one that can last a tremendously long time - built-in decent speakers, battery or mains, more than good-enough sounds and a large variety, plus a sequencer, arranger, and while you have to menu-dive, you can in fact modify its sounds to a fair extent. The arranger part in particular can really motivate a new learner to explore and play and fool around :) It in fact makes it tricky to upgrade - "next level" from Roland or Korg is probably $1000, $1500 or more. I've since, erm, geeked out about synths and acquired a pointlessly-expensive selection to tinker with - but the Casio is now firmly in the family room for my 2 year old and myself to play. I don't see selling or giving it away anytime soon... it's the Honda CBR125 of electronic keyboards, the little engine that could and is just sheer exhilarating fun of its own :)

przemub 5y ago

Casio calculators are awesome. It's great that in my country we use them (and their even cheaper counterfeits!) instead of some overpriced TI crap.