All-around value to supplement a small computer setup 
by James H. from Santa Cruz, CA USA, September 2008
Music Background:  Hobbyist /w background in classical trumpet

The WK-3800 is a value in features that can't be had from any competitor. When I got mine, I had worked with software and MIDI controllers before, but wanted to have something that was "turn-on-and-play" with few delays and no configuration, and plenty of sounds and styles for inspirational purposes. This was the perfect thing.When doing a direct comparison against competing brands, Casio will feel very cheap, because the keybed is not designed to sell the keyboard. It's pretty spongy and makes a little "whack" noise. But in actual play, unless you really need a true piano feel it is a non-issue: A fine range of dynamics can be had from this keyboard, and there are really great sounds, some of them good enough to fit into a record. The pianos, organs, some of the brass, and the synth sounds are the standouts in my opinion. There are plenty of accompaniment styles as well, and they do their job well enough considering how simple they are: 2 intros/2 variations/2 endings. There are options for setting DSP and ADSR on sounds("synthesizer" mode) and you can load ten of your own samples and styles through Casio's software.Some annoyances: Recording is cumbersome, as you will have to do the whole part in one take and you only get six tracks. Step-recording lets you get around this, but I don't like the interface. If you try to use it as a sound module, you can either do 16 tracks with the GM sounds, or 1 track with the DSP-driven patches, as there's no way to map CCs to anything but the GM patches on this. But these are minor things for me since I am using it to supplement other means of production, not as the centerpiece.

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