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Comparison Casio CT-S300 vs Casio CT-X3000

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Casio CT-S300
Casio CT-X3000
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Typesynthesizer (rompler)synthesizer (rompler)
Keys
Number of keys6161
Sizefull sizefull size
Mechanicsactiveactive
Sensitivity adjustment
Rigiditysemi-weightedsemi-weighted
Specs
Polyphony48 voices64 voices
Built-in timbres400 шт800 шт
User timbres100 шт
Auto accompaniment
Accompaniment styles77 шт235 шт
Custom styles50 шт
Learning mode
Tempo change20 – 255
Metronome
Sequencer (recording)
Built-in compositions
Effects and control
Timbres layering
Keyboard split
Octave shift
Arpeggiator
 /100/
Reverberation
 /24/
Chorus
 /12/
Transposition
Pitch controller
Fine tuning
Connectors
Inputs
mini-Jack (3.5 mm)
 
mini-Jack (3.5 mm)
USB to device (type A)
Connectable pedals1 шт2 шт
Outputs
USB to host (type B)
headphones
USB to host (type B)
headphones
In box
In box
music stand
PSU
 
PSU
General
Built-in acoustics5 W12 W
Number of bands11
Displaymonochromemonochrome
Power consumption8 W
Autonomous power supplyaA batteries
aA batteries /6 pcs/
Operating hours16 h10 h
Dimensions (WxHxD)930x73x256 mm948x116x384 mm
Weight3.3 kg7 kg
Color
Added to E-Catalogapril 2020november 2018

Polyphony

The polyphony supported by a synthesizer, in other words, is the number of “voices” (tone generators) that can simultaneously sound on it.

This parameter is often described as the number of notes that can be played simultaneously on the keyboard. However, this is not entirely true due to the fact that in many timbres one note can activate several tone generators. As a result, for example, to play a chord of 3 notes in a timbre with 4 tone generators per note, polyphony of at least 3 * 4=12 voices is required. In addition, Auto Accompaniment and Preset Songs (see related sections) also use tone generators, requiring even more voices to work effectively with these features.

The minimum value for a more or less functional modern synthesizer is polyphony for 32 voices — and even then such an instrument can be used mainly for initial training and simple melodies. For a more solid application, it is desirable to have at least 50 – 60 voices, and in professional models (in particular, workstations where you have to deal with several audio tracks at once), there are models with polyphony for 150 tone generators or more.

In general, a more advanced synthesizer is likely to have more extensive polyphony, however, it is only possible to evaluate the class of an instrument by this parameter very approximately — instruments with the same number of voices can differ greatly in level. The only exception to this rule are children's synthesizers (see "T...ype"), which support up to 20 voices.

Built-in timbres

The number of built-in sounds provided in the synthesizer.

The number of timbres is often described as the number of instruments that a given model can imitate. However, this is not entirely true — rather, this parameter can be called "the number of instruments and sound effects." For example, the same instrument — an electric guitar — with different "gadgets" (distortion, overdrive) will sound differently, and in the synthesizer each such gadget will be considered a separate timbre. The “drums” timbre usually combines different types of drums and other percussion instruments — in other words, it allows you to portray both the “bass drum” and the cymbals without switching settings, just by pressing the desired keys. And some timbres may not have analogues among real instruments at all.

The more built-in timbres, the more extensive the possibilities of the synthesizer, the more diverse the sounds that can be extracted from it. At the same time, in high-end models like workstations (see "Type"), this number can reach 1000 or even more.

User timbres

The number of memory slots for user tones provided in the synthesizer.

For Voices in general, see “Preset Voices” above. User timbres are sound settings that were not originally provided in the synthesizer's memory and are created by the user according to their preferences. This feature is indispensable in cases where the built-in set of timbres does not contain the necessary options. However, the capabilities of the User Voices may vary from model to model. So, one instrument only allows you to edit and supplement existing timbres (for example, add a “wah-wah” effect to a bass guitar and save such a bunch as a user setting), another makes it possible to set the sound parameters almost manually, and the third even allows you to load timbres through USB (see below).

The more user timbres in the synthesizer, the more personal “instruments” you can register in its memory.

Accompaniment styles

The number of auto accompaniment styles (see above) originally provided in the synthesizer, in other words, the number of accompaniment options available to the user.

The more extensive this set, the higher the probability of finding among these melodies suitable options for a particular case. At the same time, the abundance of styles in itself is not yet a 100% guarantee that among them there will be a suitable one, especially since different synthesizer models can differ markedly in a specific set of melodies. So the list does not hurt to clarify before buying. Also note that the situation can be corrected by user styles (see below) — many synthesizers with auto accompaniment support them.

Custom styles

The number of user auto accompaniment styles supported by the synthesizer, in other words, the number of additional styles that can be stored in memory in addition to the built-in ones. Note that styles can have different volumes (depending on the number of notes used), so this parameter often turns out to be not exact, but only an average-approximate one.

Modern synthesizers may have a fairly extensive set of built-in auto accompaniment styles (see above), but even the richest set may not contain the desired melody. Thus, many models allow you to supplement the standard list with custom melodies. The addition methods themselves can be different: in some models, these melodies need to be downloaded from external media, in others they can even be composed manually. Nevertheless, the presence of user styles allows you to expand the range of auto accompaniment melodies, moreover, at the request of the user himself.

Tempo change

The range in which you can change the tempo of the programme played by the synthesizer — auto accompaniment, lesson tune (see above), metronome (see below), recorded sample, etc.

Pace is measured in beats per minute. Changing it allows you to adjust the speed of the synthesizer to the specifics of the situation — for example, slightly slow down the tutorial if it is too hard to master at the initial pace. The wider the range of tempo adjustment, the more options the musician has to choose from, especially in the area of very slow and very fast tempos.

Note that the traditional range of musical tempos covers values from 40 beats / min (“grave”, “very slowly”) to 208 beats / min (“prestissimo”, “very fast”), however, in synthesizers it can be more extensive — for example, 30 – 255 bpm.

Timbres layering

The ability to overlay different timbres of the synthesizer sound on top of each other. This creates the effect of the sound of two (or even more) instruments at once — for example, piano and violin. At the same time, in advanced models, it may be possible to set different settings for different timbres so that the sameness of the extracted notes is not so noticeable — for example, the same "violin" can be set to smooth transitions between notes, while on the "piano" they will sound jerky.

Keyboard split

Possibility of dividing the keyboard of the synthesizer into two parts, each of which is responsible for its own timbre of sound. Thus, on one keyboard, you can play two "instruments" at once in real time — for example, accompany the solo part of the violin with chords of a string orchestra. At the same time, unlike auto accompaniment (see above), all notes are taken by the musician himself, without relying on the automatic settings prescribed in the programme.

Usually, several “split keyboard” combinations are pre-written in the synthesizer’s memory, however, some models allow you to separately select a timbre for each half, at the discretion of the musician.

Octave shift

Synthesizer support for octave shift function.

This function allows you to shift the sound of the instrument one or more octaves up or down — for example, so that the keys of the first octave sound the notes of the second, or vice versa. This function can be used for both simple convenience and more practical purposes — it allows you to play very low and very high notes that are not initially covered by the keyboard range. This is especially useful for shortened 49- or 61-key synths that do not initially fit the full range of the piano.
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