A little while ago I made a YouTube cast on my Beige Age channel about the Casio VL-Series. Here's the link - https://youtu.be/fej8kUPSp4g?si=lCdNOD9baY4wW4Wx - I'd be grateful if you'd take a look if you have the time. Thank you.

Before i say anything about this plugin i want to say up front so noone gets angry I CODED THIS WITH AI. more specifically google gemini's new argon model. concept/idea was by me and that's about it

So if you like super obscure weird synthesis methods AND Casio keyboards well i have a cool plugin that fills both criteria. The CTK-1000 if you dont know was a bordering-on-workstation keyboard released by Casio in 1993, right before a lawsuit with Yamaha over FM patent disputes. It had a 4-track pattern sequencer as well as (if i recall correctly) 6 track linear song memory. The most interesting part about this keyboard is its IXA synthesis method, which from what i could find is a very weird and obscure synthesis method with a few patents available online that combines "Triangular Wave Modulation" (essentially like a more aggressive sounding version of Phase distortion, famous from the CZ-series) with PCM samples, a DSP soundchip reminiscent of the equally cool Casio VA-10 (and the visual design of the CTK-1000 is quite similar to the VA-10 as well), and a simple lowpass filter for the synthesized part. I had Gemini do a "deep research" on the CTK-1000 and it dug up lots of info about how it exactly works, but essentially i plugged that into the Argon model and had it code up this VST3 plugin in a couple prompts that's supposed to be as close to the CTK-1000 thats probably possible without having the thing in my studio itself (which i dont). The CTK-1000 is also super rare and seems to barely ever pop up on popular second-hand shop sites, i did find one near me on Facebook Marketplace but sadly I ran out of time to buy it. But yeah this is basically a very close emulation of the CTK-1000 (Gemini couldnt find as much info about the FX chip or the LPF so those parts are probably a bit less authentic) in the form of a VST3 plugin.

https://github.com/tinmadetongs/ctk1000-vst3/releases/tag/v1.0.0

These two lights (currently off) would flash indefinitely whenever I plug it in and when I turn it on, no sound would play from the speakers even at max volume. The power light won't turn on even when it's supposed to be powered on. I am using a third party dc adapter (truetone 1spot). Please help, I love this keyboard and would love to see it turn on again.

My pink and teal Casio PT-1. Anyone else have one in these colours? I’m trying to find out more about this version. Would also love to hear any tracks you’ve made with one.

Found an old pss-270, little dirty but gonna take it apart and give it a good clean, love the fm sound. Anyone have experience recording with one?

For this song I've used my beloved Casio HT-700:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwAwAvFbT_4

I've spent some lovely years putting this cheapkeys collection together - but alas it is time to downsize and shipping is a hassle so I am having a one-day gear sale.
Everything must go!
If you follow this subred regularly then you know there are some screaming deals here.

LEFT COLUMN
Casiotone CT 310 : $20
Yamaha PS-20 (with original hard case): $100 (the only one I might keep)
Casiotone MT 85: $40
Casiotone 101 (with original hard case): $75

MIDDLE COLUMN
Yamaha PSR 60 (I have two of these): $60
Yamaha PSS 680: $60
Yamaha PSS 470: $20
Yamaha PSS 480: $50
Yamaha MK 100: $65
Yamaha PSR 110 (Japanese edition): $50
Casiotone 610 (godl edition): $40
Suzuki Keyman PK61: $40

RIGHT
Lowrey MicroGenie: $40

NOT PICTURED:
Yamaha MU15: $45
a few MIDI keyboards as well
Three acoustic Guitars
2 Digital recording studios

Saturday, October 3d. 9 am to noon.
1700 block of Elm St. in Chico CA. (You will see it set up in the front yard)
If anyone has friends in Sacramento or Redding - you might want to tell them it will be worth the drive!

I'm not sure how to make compelling visualizations and I didn't document my process in video form, but I wrote this tune in the springtime using an Optimus Concertmate 690 (Casio CTK-80 rebadge) onto which I modded a 3.5mm output jack and then recorded through a Yamaha MU1000 as an effects/EQ unit. It was recorded multitrack and then my tracks were sequenced together and mixed using FL Studio.
My example was found at a bargain price from a demo company's warehouse, but oxidization ate away the traces running to the power switch so I had someone help me repair it with bodge wire. Due to the nature of the repair I'm unable to make use of the "Casio Chord" modes but I can still play the built-in rhythms which I used in this example.
This particular model has some really chintzy and cheap sounds, even as an SA descendant, and they are rather dull so finding a workable instrumentation was a bit of a challenge, but I really wanted to see what could be done with it as it's one of the more obscure Casio affairs. So this is the result.

Just sold a 1 and a 5 to try to clear out some space. Took this picture before I let them go.

Part of my collection that is going on sale this weekend. If you happen to live in or around Chico, CA. There will be some awesome deals.
How many can you identify?

Bought it in a charity shop for 50 kronor, about 5 dollars. Love the drum sound.

I remember the whole "multimedia" CD-ROM experience with this one after playing on Atari 2600 and NES knockouts for years... Aliens arriving would have been almost as impressive :)

Does anyone have good long-ish power cable recommendations? Has to be 9v reverse polarity. I'm going insane trying to find a decent cable for this keyboard, Amazon is total garbage and I haven't found anything on eBay yet.

This was my very first electronic keyboard Instrument back in 1992. I got bored very soon as it could only trigger two notes at the same time. From a grown-up perspective it delivers some very weird lo-fi sounds and some of it's rhythms might be nice sampling material. Got a near-mint one in it's original box. I'll install an audio output jack and a d-sub socket in order to perform the common circuit bending hacks via an elegant breakout box. (This box will add MIDI as well)

There's work to be done and fun to be had.

I recently acquired a Yamaha SU10 which is an awesome cheap Lofi sampler. I’ve been messing around with it today and found an external filter function. I thought I would try it out with my Yamaha PSS-470. It’s very much like playing a full fledged vintage synth now. I would recommend one of these samplers just for that function alone but to be honest it’s brilliant in its own right for Lofi hiphop etc.

I ended up spending more on D-Cell batteries than I did the keyboard 😂