casio – Preservation Sound

Obscure Synths+Keys of the early 80s, part XIV

chris — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 11:24:43 +0000

Today: just some offbeat keys+synths that caught my eye; i’ve never come across any of these in the shops+stages+studios of my corporeal reality so I think perhaps uncommon items? Srry, it’s early. About to head to the LAST FLEA MKT OF THE YR. Bittersweet times. Aie, I recall salad-days when April was young and barkers descended on New Milford plain to hawk goods of dubious origin. Like the sun, the tide, and the pork-belly market, that time will rise again I suppose. Below: the Akai AX-80 synth c. 1985, the Crumar Rhody ‘electronic piano’ of 1980, the fascinating Casio 8000 modular…casio…system of ’84, the 1980 ARP Solus (also above), and the 360 Systems ‘Digital Keyboard’ of 1984.

Casio CT-630 Drum Samples : free download

chris — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 15:06:44 +0000

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How are y’all doing today… a whiles back I picked up one of these old Casio CT630 keyboards. It’s an unremarkable full-size keyboard (with shitty midi implementation) that Casio made in the 80’s. I can’t recall where it went, but I did manage to make samples of a couple of the better beats and whatever individual drum hits I could get in the clear.

Download ’em here and enjoy! Casio CT630 samples

Studio’d

chris — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:40:15 +0000

Above: the Kawaii EP608 electric stringed-piano. Anyone?

Been super-busy at the studio lately, leaving me very little time to attend to this ole’ country blog. Got some really great stuff on the horizon once the mist clears, so stay tuned…

Here’s a little gift for y’all tho: I recently picked up a Casio 630 at an estate sale, and the sounds are actually pretty great in an aggressively-retro way. Anyhow, I made a drum-hit sample set (a coupla loops are in there too); here it is, feel free to download and use it however you like.

DOWNLOAD: Casio CT630 samples

Genre-branded instruments

chris — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 12:30:06 +0000

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On eBay: a circa 1990 Casio Rap-1 ‘Rapman’ synthesizer/child’s-toy. In its original box with original accessory-microphone; click here and make it yours for $20 plus s+h.

The Rapman (see here for a detailed analysis of its feature-set and cultural positioning) is an early example of the trend to market synthesizers towards performers of specific genres of music. Other notable examples (and there are many more…) include the E-Mu Planet Phatt and Orbit (hip hop and dance, respectively).

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Above, a recent attempt by an equipment-retailer to genre-fix some of their keyboard wares. A quick scan of the current crop of widely-available synthesizers indicates that there are in fact no actual ‘chillwave-branded’ instruments but nice try anyhow.

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Genre-branded guitars are nothing new, of course; above we can see the ‘Gretsch Country-Roc’ circa 1976 and below it a recent ESP something-or-other. Since the electric guitar is generally worn as apparel on-stage and in photographs, its presentational aspect offers ample opportunity for associating it with a specific set of aesthetic and cultural values. On the other hand, how much of a musician’s keyboard (or synth-module) does an audience member ever see? Only the narrow strip at the rear; any free-space there is generally used for overall manufacturer-branding.

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Whatever special-value for use in any particular genre of music, therefore, is largely limited to the actual sonics of the keyboard instrument and not its appearance. Attempts to buck this trend have resulted in limited success.

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The Keytar, for instance, presents no so much a particular genre-affiliation but rather a desire to celebrate the values of the 1980s.

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If you’re curious about the sonic-possibilities of the Casio Rapman, you can gain access to its drum sounds by downloading a free sample-set offered at this website. For the rest of its bounty, you’re just gonna have to drop the $40 or wait for the right yard-sale.