- Casiotone
Casiotone refers to a series of home
electronic keyboard s released byCasio Computer Co. in the early 1980s. These first keyboards used asound synthesis technique known asVowel-Consonant synthesis to approximate the sounds of other instruments (albeit not very accurately). Most Casiotone keyboards were small, with miniature keys designed for children's fingers, and were not intended for use by professional musicians; they usually contained a rhythm generator, with several user-selectable rhythm patterns, and often the means to automatically play accompaniments. While Casiotone keyboards were discontinued when more accurate synthesis technologies became prevalent, their cheapness and abundance resulted in their being widely used by garage bands.Casiotone keyboards came in three distinct families, separated by the method of synthesis.
Keyboards such as the CT-202 use
Vowel-Consonant synthesis . The later model of this family, the MT-65, is one of the more well known and sought after models, as it also contains auto-accompaniment drum beats and bass lines. The distinctive sound of these keyboards is frequently heard in theHomestar Runner Macromedia Flash animations.The famous
VL-1 uses a method of sound synthesis based on thewalsh function .Some other keyboards (such as the MT-35 and MT-45) use a combination of two different binary weighted numbers (1 and 64). The larger weight bit provides the fundamental, and the smaller weight bit provides the harmonic complexity.
The later, more professional range of keyboards, the CZ series, used
Phase distortion synthesis, which is mathematically almost identical toYamaha 'sFrequency modulation synthesis , although implemented slightly differently to avoid patent infringement.ROM Packs
Later models in the PT series of keyboards, such as the PT-80, were no longer marketed under the Casiotone name. Such models included a ROM cartridge bay to accept Casio ROM cartridges containing various polyphonic music tracks.
References in Popular Culture
* In the song "Over and Over" by the electronic band
Hot Chip , the wordCasio is spelt out. It should be noted that the group'sAlexis Taylor regularly plays aCasiotone MT-70 .
* The name is featured in the name of electronic bandCasiotone for the Painfully Alone .
* In the song "Casiotone Nation" by the bandSoul Coughing on their album "Ruby Vroom ", lead singerMike Doughty repeats the line, "The 5% nation of Casiotone" along with mentioning other "5% nations" of fringe interests such asPay-Per-View ,nipple clamp ,corduroy and many others.
* Dan Deacon uses aCasiotone MT-800 .
*Maurizio Arcieri of electro-wave duoKrisma adopted theCasiotone MT 65 for all the compositions of their album [http://krisma.mayancaper.net/records/records_fido.html Fido] .ee also
*
Casio CZ synthesizer
*Casio SD Synthesizers
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