Excellent keyboard for the price (I got mine on ebay for under $150), the controls are very well laid out and useful, the keyboard doesn't feel as cheap as one might expect, and some very interesting sounds are lurking in the cool blue case. Some very useable arp patterns are included as well. Fire up a drum kit, toss on an arp+hold, play a chord and with a little tinkering you have an unexpected drum track ready to go! Also has very good midi and doubles quite nicely as a keyboard controller for softsynths, which is what I originally bought mine for.

If you don't pay more than a couple of hundred this is a keyboard that is hard to beat.

In performance mode, the factory presets are not too great, except for some pad and maybe a few bass sounds. I think this is the reason many seem to be disappointed with this keyboard. So, if you want to get anything decent out of this, study how it works. Yes it is sample based, so its synthesis is actually in its effects section. It has 3 parallel FX processors, if you hook this keyboard up to a computer you can edit it all the way.

Remember, this is a synth where you need to layer sounds to get anything decent. Just like most analog synths, where you use 2 or 3 oscillators, the CS1x needs to programmed in layers. Then detune these layers against eachother for fatness and movement in its sound. Also important is the use of its (one) filter. Don't just program the FEG the same on every layer, that'll just create a static, clinical effect. Slightly offset the filters against eachother, so that each layer of the performance can breathe, but at the same time compliment and interact with the other parts.

The Multi/XG/GM part of this synth is nice for rookies, though some sounds (like the harp) are quite good. Remember, on their own these sounds may strike you as flat and dull - that's because this is a budget synth, but more importantly because you need to sprinkle some well-dosed FX on them, layer them and mix them right. It definitely CAN sound really good. Download some XG songs for this keyboard and sit back and listen.

Finally, this keyboard is not a workstation, it cannot fulfill your every need in a production, but don't write it off as a toy because it initially may seem that way. This requires some time studying it, learning its possibilities. Then, you can go ahead and program some of the most impressive sounds I've ever heard coming out of a sample-based, middle-class synth.