With its wide selection of sounds, rhythms, and practice options, the Startone BK-54 represents an affordable and highly usable first instrument for those just starting out on the keyboard. Its 54 keys provide a range of four-and-a-half octaves, which together with the wealth of different sounds and the "Sustain" and "Vibrato" buttons ensures plenty of variety while playing. Budding keyboardists can practise in complete comfort thanks to the BK-54's different learning modes, adjustable metronome, and detachable sheet music holder, and the centrally-positioned LED display provides a clear overview of the most essential information. A microphone can also be connected to the BK-54, allowing the player to sing along via the keyboard's integrated speaker system.
Despite its extremely affordable price, the Startone BK-54 comes with a wealth of features usually only found at a much higher price point. With 300 voices to choose from, the BK-54 gives players an immense variety of sounds from the most well-known instrument families, and the "Sustain" and "Vibrato" buttons mentioned above allow them to add their own expressive touches. The accompaniment section in turn includes 300 rhythms including intros, fills, and endings that cover a broad palette of different musical styles and is easy for even beginners to navigate and use. What is more, the "Keyboard Split" button makes it possible to assign two different sounds to the keyboard, and alongside its two learning modes, the BK-54 provides a selection of 50 demo songs for players to learn - and they can even sing along using the microphone input.
An extensive selection of sounds, rhythms, and functions would not be much good if the user didn't know how to access them, which is why Startone has made the BK-54's user interface easy and intuitive even for beginners to use, while the light-action keys and easy-to-read display are also designed to maximise playing comfort - and thus enjoyment - for beginners of all ages. Another practical feature for less experienced players is the Transpose function, which allows them to play pieces in different keys without having to move to a different area of the keyboard, and of course the detachable sheet music holder and onboard metronome are perfect for allowing the user to learn new pieces of music step-by-step. Last but not least, all of this is possible in complete silence using the BK-54's headphone output, so players can even practise late at night without bothering the neighbours.
The Startone brand is exclusive to Thomann and was established in 2005 in order to offer high-quality, playable instruments for ambitious beginners even in the lowest price bracket. This resulted in a steadily growing range of wind instruments for beginners, which has since expanded to include keyboard and stringed instruments, accordions, and even drum sets. The product range combines proven quality with low prices – and Thomann naturally provides a full three-year warranty on all Startone instruments. The brand's mission is to always provide the motivated beginner with a reliable, good-quality first instrument at an unbeatable price.
As mentioned above, the Startone BK-54 features not only 300 voices and rhythms but also 50 demo songs for the player to choose from and learn piece by piece with the aid of the keyboard's two learning modes, and both beginners and more advanced users can make things a little more interesting by adding their choice of intros, fills, and endings from the accompaniment section (which will also prove immensely helpful in building creativity and developing their own ideas). They can also practise their own pieces with the aid of the onboard metronome, which offers a variety of time signatures and tempos from 30 to 240bpm. And of course, the option to include their own voice via the microphone input opens up yet more avenues for budding keyboardists to explore.