There are not lots of Keyboards or Digital Pianos designed solely for new learners to gain the ground. The reasons can be under wide spectrum ranging between financials and features to the market demand.
Luckily there's few keyboards that helps the newbies to form a solid base to further explore the possibilities of music. And one such keyboard is Casio LK 265 61 Key Portable Keyboard.
There's still some limitation to it and expecting it to replace a piano teacher make it sound like you need to consider your intelligence level before learning piano.
The LK Series from Casio stands for Lighted Keys keyboards and does the job what it sound like.
When the LK series was launched in mid 2017 and initially the series consist of :
- LK 175
- LK 190
- LK 265
- LK 266
- LK 280
along with CTK 2550, with LKS 250 being the recent addition in 2020 with a varied series name CasioTone.
Casio LK 265 is a wonderful easy to use portable keyboard with lots of learning capabilities and features and still being on the lower end of price scale.
It does not offer anything out of the world but is still loaded with features a newbie needs to learn piano.
So, let’s take a quick glance that what Casio LK 265 offers.
Comparing Casio LK 265 with Other Casio Best Seller Keyboards
image | Model | Keys | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | LK 265 | 61 | Lightup Keys Dance Music Mode Chordana App Integration Polyphony - 48 Tones - 400 Rhythms - 100 Lesson Mode | |
 | PX 160 | 88 | Best Model Great Sound AiR Sound Technology Hall Simulator, Reverb Effects 3 Year Warranty | |
 | WK-245 | 76 | Touch Response Keys Lesson Mode Tone - 600 Rhythms - 180 Bright Display USB MIDI Port | |
 | LK-190 | 61 | Light Up Keys Light Lesson Mode Tone - 400 Rhythms - 150 Dance & Reverb Effect Great Speaker | |
 | CTK-2550 | 61 | Touch Response Lesson Function Tones - 400 Rhythms - 100 Chordana App Dance/Music Mode | |
 | PX-870 | 88 | Scaled Hammer Action Keys Detailed Resonance Sound Projection Speaker Recording Key Slider Cover |
Casio LK 265 Features and Specs
Light Up Keys :
Without a doubt Lightup Keys system of LK 265 is the USP of the keyboard.
And to be frank its really helpful to start playing the piano as soon as you power ON the keyboard.
They Keys gets lighted up whenever you press them. But when combined with the (step up lesson mode) built-in 60 songs the keys will remain lighted up (depending upon the song) until you press it which is the requirement of the song.
Talking about the keys, the keys are also touch sensitive, with 2 variations and can also be turned On/Off .
What touch sensitivity provides to the user is in the variation in the loudness of the sound, depending upon the intensity of the keypress. (The harder you press the louder the volume will be)
These are also known as velocity sensitive keys and is quite useful for a budding pianist, as velocity sensitive keys allows you to be more expressive and provide richer experience.
The keys are not weighted though, but expecting weighted keys in this price range is not fair at all.
Learning Capabilities in LK 265
Step Up Lesson Mode
The step up lesson mode is not a recent add-on and is available in lots of Casio Digital Pianos and Keyboards.
But, the step up lesson mode comes handy when you are completely new and you need a point to begin your learning curve.
The lesson mode is built upon the songs available in the keyboard's sound bank, In LK 265 you got 60 songs in the song bank.
How it works ?
1) You need to select the song you want to proceed with, and enter the Listen Mode, the listen mode will start playing the first phase of the song several times.
2) On the next step which is the Watch Mode, the front screen will displays the keys (notes) you need to play (and with which finger) to repeat the first phrase you listened.
3) The lesson mode will wait for your input and does not proceed further until you play the phrase correctly and completely.
4) Now, you will proceed to remember mode, in this remember mode you need to play the phrase completely on your own and the lesson mode does not represents the keys (notes) this time. However, playing the wrong notes will generate a beep tone to indicate the mistake and will also display the note on the screen.
This really comes handy and a good way to learn in fun way.
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It also has lots of inbuilt instruments sounds to play automatically on the background with just a push of a button.
One of the coolest feature that Casio LK-265 offers is dance music mode.
What dance mode offers is when you activate a type of electronic dance music by pressing the respective button you can start up a rhythm on the concurrent time .
" Check The Sound Quality Of Casio LK-265 Below "
It also allows you to add a lots of music in background and make a complete new music of your own. It comes with lots of inbuilt instrument sounds, opening doors to a whole new level of creativity.
The bottom instruments keys has 3 rhythm keys, 3 baseline, 3 synth parts and 3 melodies and then you can remix all of them.
You can choose a different rhythm, a different baseline, different synth and different melodies. You can also change all of them at once.
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All the icons of the instruments are marked below the keys and will start to play as soon as you press the button.
The respective button will also get highlighted indicating what’s happening in the background.
Some examples are drum beats, bass, synths etc. You can play more than one beats at one time.
You can switch to other bass lines at any point of time without even dropping a single beat.
These are not some extraordinary features and almost all of the latest digital keyboards comes loaded with this. But having these at this price tag is still a great plus point.
The sharp and flat keys (black keys) also have different functions like you can transpose the key of the song up and down.
You can also do fills, endings and can also add some effects as well in between.
You can switch between different base line, different instrument and can create cycle between those. So, there are endless possibilities with all the 50 different preset the board comes with.
There are also lots of effects you can play with such as low-pass filters, high-pass filters, Lancers and low fly effects.
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Dance music mode is awesome because when a younger newbie player walks up to a keyboard and doesn’t know how to play then it may feel little intimidating for them.
But with dance music mode even the newbie can make music immediately just by combining few rhythms together.
It is a great-add on in the world of short attention spans to be able to make music very very quickly even by a beginner.
The Lesson Mode, Chordana App Of Casio LK-265
Another really cool feature that now most of Casio Digital Pianos offer are Chordana App connectivity.
The app will then play the MIDI file and you will see the keys lighting up showing how to play the particular MIDI file (the song).
It provides a great learning experience and makes learning piano really easy without the need of any teacher (at beginning).
You just need to connect your iPad with Casio LK-265 audio input and then load the MIDI file in the app.
Casio LK-265 goes a step further and allows you to download the MIDI file from the internet and transfer it into the keyboard and save it on one of the empty slot of the song bank.
And then you can use the Cassio’s lesson system to have it teach you the song without connecting the board with the app.
Casio LK-265 comes preloaded with 400 different sound, 100 rhythms and 60 song bank. It has all of those features that you know and love from Casio portable keyboard pianos.
Casio LK 265 Alternate
The Best Alternative Of Casio LK 265 is Casio LK 280. The Price is almost same so don't forget to check it.
My Experience With Casio LK 265
Casio LK 265 is a wonderful entry level keyboard and provides a great learning experience even for inexperienced players.
But the keyboard's layout is a bit complicated and to use every feature you need to give the manual a through look.
The two other similar keyboards in the price range are Casio LK 195 and Casio LK 280.
However the body is lightweight but not rugged enough.
The feel and sound of the keyboard is good but don't expect the feel of a real acoustic piano at this price.
From my personal experience I can say that the length of lesson practice songs are quite short.
It may seems quite perfect at first glance but in reality they are not.
Overall, Still I can say that Casio LK 265 is great keyboard if you are beginner and does not want to hurt your pocket.
It can also be a perfect item to gift your kids or someone who are interested in learning piano.
Casio LK-265 Digital Piano Manual
https://support.casio.com/en/manual/manualfile.php?cid=008016044
So that's all from our end. Hope our review of Casio LK 265 helped you to make a better decision.
If you have any doubts, queries feel free to leave a comment below. Your comments keeps us motivated.
Till Then,
Keep Playing and Spread Love.
One thing is not clear in the post that, will the keys light glow when I use any song with the app or will it only glows for couple of songs that comes beforehand ?
Secondly, Can I play background music in it ?
In simple words, it will play and light up the keys with the music of your choice but you need to convert the MIDI function with converted files (not the standard MIDI file). This is the only workaround so far.
And Yes you can play the music in background
Can I connect and practice music on my tablet or mobile ?
Yes, you can connect your smart device and use the learning feature and the app to practice chords and finger timing. And you can also check your playing scores too. You can use the MIDI files which come preloaded with the keyboard or you can use your selected downloaded MIDI files too.
Are the keys of LK 265 are weighted keys ? And should I go for LK 280 ? Is it better then lk 265.
No the keys are velocity responsive and you can turn it off too. You won’t get weighted keys at this budget segment keyboards and digital pianos.
LK 265 VS LK 280 –> Casio LK 280 costs a bit more than LK 265 and provides some decent advantages too. 200+ Tones, 30 more rhythms and 42 more built in song with 6 track recorders when compared with the LK-265.