Casio SA-76 | Mini Keyboard Review & Demo | 44-Keys 100 Sounds 10 Integrated Songs
There's no question that Amazon happens to be the primary place many people shop for goods, and that now includes keyboards. Huge amounts of keyboards are sold through Amazon every year.
We decided to go onto Amazon ourselves to see which digital pianos happen to be most popular and determine whether they're actually good buys, and whether or not they're worth all of the 5-Star reviews.
In today's article, we're going to look at one of Amazon's best sellers with the Casio SA-76 44-key portable keyboard.
Let's start with some background.
Casio SA-76 | General Background
Battery Powered Option
The first thing that you should know is that this instrument does not come with a power adapter. It supports a power adaptor, but that's an optional extra that you'll have to add on if you want one. As long as you've got the right pin polarity and the right adapter size, pretty much any universal AC adapter will do the trick, so you don't necessarily need to add the Casio branded one.
You can also operate the Casio SA-76 with 6 AA batteries as the power supply, and that's probably the way most family's buying this for young kids will use it.
The next thing worth noting about the Casio SA76 keyboard is how inexpensive it is. To be able to get something with any kind of piano function for under $100 is a big deal, and up here in Canada, it runs for around $70 CAD and $60 USD in the United States.
It's easy to take for granted when you're playing on a $200, $300, or $400 musical electronic instrument that it happens to be in tune, but so many baby and toddler musical toys aren't even close to being in tune.
Some people might ask if that even matters, but if you're trying to give a young child a musical toy to start laying some musical foundation, it should absolutely play in tune.
Casio SA-76 - Key Specs
Casio SA-76 - Key Specs
44 Note Keyboard with Mini Keys
The keyboard has 44 total notes, meaning it's half the number of keys you'd find on a normal piano or keyboard. The keys are also thinner and shorter, hence the name mini keys, as smaller size keys make it easier for small fingers to play. The keys are not touch-sensitive, but that's not going to matter for a young child beginner.
There's a helpful LCD display screen for navigating the different music options, and the interface, in general, is going to be very easy even for a young kid to use.
100 Sounds + 8 Note Polyphony
You have the option of 100 different tones to choose from, with 8 notes of polyphony. 8-note polyphony is not much but fine for the intended use of this beginner keyboard.
There are 10 built-in songs and 50 drum patterns, as well as a couple of different playing modes, and even a metronome.
There are 2 small speakers and amps on each side, with a total of 2.4 watts of amplifier power.
Casio SA-76 - 3 Piano Modes
Casio SA-76 - 3 Piano Modes
Tone Mode
As mentioned, there are 100 sounds to choose from on this keyboard. Some of the sounds are quite convincing, while others definitely are not, but it's expected that an instrument this inexpensive would not have the most consistent sound quality.
Out of the 100 sounds, there's a mix of pianos, electric pianos, organ sounds, synthesizers, reeds, harmonica, brass, strings, guitar, bass, mallet instruments, and various others. All of this is available to you in Tone Mode.
The second mode on the keyboard is called Pattern Mode. Which is where you start getting into the rhythms. There are 50 drum patterns to choose from and have fun with and 5 drum pads.
Then, there's a third mode called Song Bank Mode. There are 10 built-in songs that you can play back, and this is what is going to get toddlers up and dancing around the house. The songs are fun, high-energy, and perfect for getting a little one excited about music.
Who Is This Instrument For?
Casio SA-76 - Young Beginners
Best to Avoid If...
Who is this instrument for? Well, we can start by saying who it's not for. The Casio SA76 doesn't have any MIDI connectivity so anyone looking for a super inexpensive and compact MIDI controller or portable & arranger keyboard for production, this won't cut it.
While it is made for toddlers, it's also not the most durable, so the average 18-month-old wouldn't have a problem quickly breaking the keys, and that unfortunately won't be covered under warranty. You'll want to make sure your child is at an age where there a little more gentle with toys.
So, we're left at this being aimed at young learners to see if there's some musical interest there, at the most basic of levels. This would be a really great gift for a young child, instead of a bit of a cop-out of a gift card, and having them interact with it even for a few minutes a day would probably be a good gauge of whether or not there's some early musical interest.
It's hard to pinpoint an exact appropriate age, but we'd probably it's going to be great for kids around 2 and a half years of age, up to about the age of 7. It's not quite technical enough to keep an older child interested since there's no Bluetooth or other connectors to get it working with a phone.
Perfect Musical Exposure Toy
For the price, this is a really good way to expose a child to some basic musical ideas that can serve as a great building block for furthering musical education.
The biggest downside is that there's no MIDI output which would have actually opened this up to a lot more power. There's no sustain pedal, but this isn't a big deal given the fact that the action isn't touch-sensitive.
Other than that, for what you're getting for the money, this is probably one of the best musical exposure toys on the market. And sure, you could jump for one of the Casiotone 61-key portable keyboard workstations or something from Yamaha that's a bit more substantial, but that's not really necessary.
Thanks for reading! We hope you've enjoyed this look at a popular seller on Amazon the Casio SA-76 Mini Keyboard. If you're a parent out there and you are looking for exactly what we're just described, hopefully, you found this helpful.
We'd recommend checking out the accompanying video for a more in-depth review and checking out the rest of our YouTube channel for more musical instrument reviews. Don't forget to visit our website for more article reviews.
The post Casio SA-76 | Mini Keyboard Review & Demo | 44-Keys 100 Sounds 10 Integrated Songs first appeared on Merriam Pianos
2359 Bristol Cir #200, Oakville, ON L6H 6P8
