Yamaha YPT 260 vs Casio CTK 3500
Piano is a very versatile and popular instrument to play not only because it sounds amazing but also how they give a foundation to your music learning. There are lots of options to start from even with affordable models like Yamaha YPT 260 Vs Casio CTK 3500 which cost few compared to what they can offer. If you are also interested in these compact pianos, go check what they will be able to provide and which of them will be the best option here.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
- Why Choosing a Digital Piano
- Which Digital Piano to Purchase
- What are Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500
- What Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500 Look Like
- How are the Keys in Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500
- How are the Sound Quality in Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500
- What else Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500 can offer
- Yamaha YPT 260 Vs Casio CTK 3500
Digital Piano Benefits
The typical instruments we learn when taking an interest to music are either guitar or piano. There are of course lots of people whose first instrument is different but it is true as well that these instruments are two of the most popular being played both casually and professionally. Piano itself is not as compact as a guitar for they will need quite the space to place on but with an electric piano or keyboard, it is getting easier and cheaper to access this instrument.
Digital pianos are amazing, they are convenient and portable enough to not consume a whole corner in your house but also compact to allow people to travel with it. Even those that come with a cabinet can be unassembled into several parts for easy storing in case you will not be playing it again for a certain time. The best benefit however is on the cost as they are very affordable to purchase even for casual players who are not sure yet about the commitment.
Their prices range from around a hundred up to those in thousands that are made for experienced or professional players so everyone can have the best and most ideal option. In addition, acoustic piano needs proper and routine care which may cost you some as well in the long term while the digital option doesn’t need them. The next benefit of the more compact digital piano is its versatility because besides highly depending on manual effort to create louder sound, they only have one sound.
Electric piano on the other hand can be adjusted to use the sensitive keys or standard keys and usually there are tons of sounds in their module to allow you to play various genres. In some models with the proper connectivity, we can use a recording program to compose or cover songs for added value.
| Yamaha YPT 260 | Casio CTK 3500 | |
|---|---|---|
  |   |
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| Product Dimensions | 42.1 x 16.9 x 6.6 inches | 12.1 x 37.2 x 3.6 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 12.5 pounds | 11.1 pounds |
| Shop now at Amazon | Check price | Check price |
Choosing a Digital Piano
With this many benefits, it is not surprising to see how many people want to have a digital piano but there are lots of them and it can be challenging to find the most ideal options. One of the most important keys to choose a piano is based on the player skill or experience because the models usually come in a range from beginner to professional with differences mostly on sound and connectivity or features. If you are a beginner, cheaper options should fit the application better.
They usually sound decent but not amazing either and in some cases also come with learning features to help you get used to the instrument quickly. Dimension matters for some users as they may take some space in their room and for a tip, there are narrower keyboards for students or children when they only play simple pieces to help focusing on the basic first.
About Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500
If you have decided to go with a digital piano, now is the time to see what the market has to offer because there will be tons of them and many are also very much similar to each other as well. Besides considering those factors, we also recommend setting a budget range first so then we can browse the options faster and to make everything more convenient, it is great to stick with well-known names for they have a higher reliability.
Digital instruments including digital piano are offered by lots of companies but then popular ones are not as many and talking about good instruments, you can always rely on Yamaha and Casio. They are very well standing in the beginner and mid-range market with various different audio equipment and instruments in which one of them is a digital piano. Besides the products’ quality, what we love from these brands is their price range as it seems that they always have the option for your budget.
For those who want to spend below $200, Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500 will be two of the most ideal options to pick. Both of them are very cheap and great for anyone who wants to start learning to play the instrument or just want to have it for casual playing at home. Being cheap doesn’t make these pianos feel cheap at all since they carry what you need and want in a beginner model yet, we can’t compare them to those such as Yamaha CP73 Vs CP88.
The YPT 260 may not an interesting piano to talk about due to its standard and basic sound engine but for something that you can buy at around $100, this is a great model and we also recommend both Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500 for children as the length are smaller than the more standard 88-keys for their small hands to reach.
Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500 Design
Buying a cheap piano, our first concern is their build quality and this is thankfully not true with either of them because while the plastic is not as thick or looks amazing to check out, they are pretty durable and seem to work properly to contain the internal components. Fashion wise however, it is very subjective and between the two we do like how Casio made their CTK 3500 with its edges in which Yamaha smoothen the sides, making it look “round”.
As for the dimension, Yamaha is measured at 37.2-inch long, 14.5-inch deep, and around 4.5-inch tall while Casio is also around the same 37-inch long, 11.5-inch deep, and 5.2-inch tall. They have this single matte black finish with a small display in the middle. They also have an array of buttons and switch or button/knob to control the instrument which feels nice and gives enough feedback when pressed.
Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500 Keys
Digital pianos are available in different types or different amounts of keys and the reason why Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500 are so affordable is probably because they are only using 61 keys while most pianos especially for experienced players or adults are either 76 or 88. However, the best thing about smaller pianos like these is they will save much space and since there are not so many keys, we can focus more on the basic first especially for children who will only play simpler pieces.
What’s impressive about the keys in these pianos is they are touch sensitive but unlike those weighted keys so those who plan to prepare their kid for acoustic piano will need a more expensive option. What we meant by touch sensitive here is that they do give the impression of giving a louder sound when you strike the keys harder and they also have the port ready if you want to add a sustain pedal but, we have to buy the accessory separately.
Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500 Sound Quality
Next is the sound quality and we do hope you don’t expect so much from these affordable pianos because there will be no impressive samples or modeling but they sound just fine for learning purposes. What’s different is that Yamaha only has 32 polyphony count while Casio gives you 48 which should be adequate for 61-keys and pretty basic for lots of music pieces you want to play. As for the sounds collection however, they equally have a whopping of 400 collections including classical and electric piano sounds.
On the additional features, both Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500 have this split feature which is used when there are two people playing the piano at once so the keys will be divided into two parts with the same sound.
Yamaha YPT 260 and Casio CTK 3500 Connectivity
The last part we want to mention is their connectivity because it opens a possibility for a wider application but it is unfortunate YPT 260 will not work as quickly as plugging USB cable for you will have to use another tool to connect it with a computer. To connect it to a computer as MIDI, you may need a MIDI converter box which occupies the headphone jack. Additionally, the speaker built-in the unit is only 2 and 2.5 watt which makes them not ideal for live application.
Yamaha YPT 260 vs Casio CTK 3500
These affordable pianos are good for the budget shoppers and while many parents bought them for their children, they are also convenient for adults who want to learn the instrument or for casual playing over the weekend. What’s different is that Casio has more polyphony and has USB port for connectivity with computers while Yamaha have louder speakers and more built-in song to play with.
Conclusion
You can go with either of them as they are equally reliable and sound good for the price range but they are not as impressive as a digital instrument yet. If we are to choose, we do prefer the Casio CTK 3500 as it has a USB port which means it can open for more functionality with your computer after done with the basic part.
