Casio Casiotone CT-S1WE 61-Key Electronic Keyboard with Built-in Tones and Digital Effects

How it compares

These are the three Casios worth weighing against the CT-S1. Prices and differences below update from the current variant prices.

Buy the CT-S100 instead if what the player wants is backing rhythms to play along with, and the budget matters more than the sound. It has 61 rhythms and 60 songs where the CT-S1 has none, runs about 16 hours on a set of AAs against roughly three, and costs less. What you give up is real: 32-note polyphony against 64, none of the Advanced Tones that are the entire point of the CT-S1, and — the one that matters most — no touch response at all, so playing harder does not play louder. Neither of these is a piano-lesson instrument, but the CT-S100 is the further from one.

Buy the CDP-S110 instead if the words "learning piano" have been said out loud. This is the honest recommendation, even though it costs more. Eighty-eight hammer-weighted keys and an SP-3 damper pedal in the box are what graded repertoire and proper technique require, and no amount of good tone on an unweighted 61-note keyboard substitutes for it. The CT-S1 is a better-sounding instrument; the CDP-S110 is a better piano. Don't confuse the two.

Buy the PX-S1100 instead if you want both — a real weighted action and modern connectivity. It costs more, but you get 192-note polyphony, a hammer action, an 8 W + 8 W amplifier, and Bluetooth audio and MIDI with the adaptor included rather than bought separately. At 11.2 kg it's still portable, just not one-hand portable.

The detail

Action and feel

The keys are full size and touch-responsive with three sensitivity settings, and that is the whole story — Casio publishes no hammer or weighted-action specification for the CT-S1, because there isn't one. The keys are sprung. That is not a fault; it's the category. A sprung action is faster under the fingers for organ, synth and electric-piano parts, and it's why the instrument weighs 4.5 kg instead of eleven. But it will not teach a beginner to control an acoustic piano, and you should not buy it hoping otherwise.

If the response feels wrong, change the touch sensitivity before you blame the keyboard. It is a three-step setting, and it is the first thing to try if the keyboard seems not to respond to how hard you play.

Sound engine

This is why the CT-S1 exists. Casio's AiX sound source drives 61 tones with 64-note polyphony, curated rather than padded — 10 Advanced Tones that use the engine properly, 12 Casio Classic Tones from the company's own back catalogue, and a front panel that reaches seven main sounds with four variations each (Standard, Advanced, Modern, Vintage). There is no 800-tone list to scroll. That restraint is the feature.

Effects are preset per tone rather than left to you: 24 reverbs, plus chorus, delay and DSP configured for each sound, a 10-setting master EQ and a Surround mode. Tone Memory stores your own combinations of tone, layer and reverb for instant recall. You can layer two tones (Upper 1 and Upper 2), but there is no split.

The onboard MIDI recorder captures one song of up to 40,000 notes at a button press. It records note data, not audio.

Speakers and portability

Two 13 cm × 6 cm speakers run through a Horizontal Bass Reflex enclosure at 2.5 W + 2.5 W. The bass-reflex design exists to pull low end out of an 83 mm-deep body, but be realistic about the wattage: this is a bedroom and studio-desk amplifier, not something that will hold its own against a drum kit. For anything louder, run the Phones/Output jack into an amp or PA.

At 930 × 258 × 83 mm and 4.5 kg, it lies flat in a car boot, sits on a standard X-frame stand, and has strap pins fitted. Six AA batteries give roughly three hours — enough for a busk or an outdoor rehearsal, not a full day.

Connectivity

The Phones/Output jack is a 3.5 mm stereo mini jack, so ordinary headphones plug straight in with no adapter — a genuine difference from Casio's console pianos, which use 6.35 mm jacks. The same jack doubles as the line output, and there's a 3.5 mm Audio In for playing a phone or laptop through the speakers.

USB Micro B handles computer and tablet connection. The CT-S1 is a class-compliant USB MIDI device, so it appears in your DAW or notation software without a driver. The separate USB Type A port is not general-purpose — Casio specifies it for the WU-BT10 adaptor and nothing else.

Bluetooth is not built in. With the optional WU-BT10 fitted you get Bluetooth MIDI and audio; without it, everything goes down the USB cable. If Bluetooth is why you're buying, budget for the adaptor.

What you'll also need

• A sustain pedal. None is included — Casio's manual is explicit that a pedal unit does not come with the keyboard. There is a 6.3 mm PEDAL jack on the rear, and Casio names the SP-3 and SP-20 as the compatible options; the pedal can be set to sustain (default), sostenuto, soft or metronome.
• The WU-BT10 adaptor if you want Bluetooth MIDI or audio. Sold separately.
• An X-frame keyboard stand — no legs or stand in the box. → Keyboard stands
• Headphones with a 3.5 mm plug — no adapter needed on this model. → Headphones
• A padded 61-key gig bag if it's leaving the house regularly. → Keyboard bags & cases
• A USB A-to-Micro-B cable — not included; an iPad also needs a USB-C adapter. → Casio PP16 Plug & Play cable pack

Australian availability and delivery

Stock: The white (CTS1WE) on this page is not on our Footscray showroom floor — it comes in to order. The black is the finish we currently keep in store at 284–288 Ballarat Rd, Footscray VIC. The badge above is the live figure, so check it before you make the trip in, and call the showroom if you want one put aside. Availability moves on this model, so the badge on this page is the live figure; check it before you make the trip in, and call the showroom if you want one put aside.

Click & Collect: Free from our Footscray showroom, 284–288 Ballarat Rd, Footscray VIC.

Delivery: In-stock orders are dispatched the next business day. Standard shipping is a $7 flat rate and free on orders over $150 — including the heavy cabinet pianos, where we absorb the freight deliberately rather than adding a bulky-item surcharge at checkout. Estimated delivery is 4–9 business days after dispatch. Express is $15, typically 1–3 business days. Orders over $30 are tracked and insured. Some rural or remote areas may incur additional charges or longer delivery times.

Warranty: Five-year conditional Casio Australia warranty on the instrument; one year on accessories including the power adaptor, pedals, stands and carry bags. Australian stock through the official distributor.

Scarlett Music is an independent Australian retailer at 284–288 Ballarat Rd, Footscray VIC, trading since 1997, with a physical showroom and in-house technicians.

Related reading

• Casio digital pianos and keyboards: which one is yours?
• 61 keys or 88? How to choose
• Portable keyboards
• Casio CT-S100
• Casio CDP-S110
• Casio Privia PX-S1100