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Main purpose of my collection is to explore the domain of the unheard. But I also want to clear up with this site about the bizarre world of tablehooters, because unlike with expensive synthesizers and most professional instruments, the world of small home keyboards and electronic sound toys was yet still a blind spot of the internet since yet nobody else had ever systematically analyzed and catalogued which instruments exist, which sounds they make and how they technically function. E.g. it is still not commonly known that many old instrument employ digital squarewave sound generators those behaviour and timbre differs significantly (see here) from what standard theories of analogue synthesizers tell about square wave tones.
With my collection I am not interested in collecting multiple case variants of technically identical instruments, nor need mine to be in perfect mint condition. I also do not collect overly expensive and professional things (like Roland TB303 or Minimoog) - not only by financial reasons but also because things with high collectors prices have already become well known establishment stuff while I want to explore and document particularly the domain of unknown electronic instruments those have no huge fan scene yet and thus don't appear in every common pop song today - and this despite many of them have great potential to set the sound for future musics.
note: I am not one of these wealthy snobs with big money. Despite my fairly large collection I neither own nor pay much money for my instruments (thus do not attempt to sell expensive things to me). All these instruments were gathered over years; monthly I spend not more money than other people for new CDs or videogames (perhaps roughly about 40..60€), and because I neither waste money for drugs (alc, tobacco, whatever) nor own a brain fryer (mobile phone) nor a petrol stinker (automobile), the limit of my keyboard collection is rather space than money. I am mainly watching eBay for forgotten, poorly described or broken items, thus often the postage is higher than the sales price. Only for very few items (mainly synthesizers) I paid over 50€, while most keyboards went far below 20€ and some I even got for 1€ by the lack of other bidders.
Nowadays I think that I have almost completed the task of collecting and documenting one specimen of every existing hardware class of classic small and midsize keyboards from roughly 1980 to 2000. Although I also buy cheap modern sound toys and beginners keyboards when they are interesting, as well their variety of unique sounds as the speed of innovation has strongly decreased, thus the collection will certainly grow much slower in future. (I e.g. don't even try to collect the hundreds of very similar My Music Center hardware variants, because most only differ in the selection of demo melodies and their very similar preset sounds. And I barely care about too new keyboards with flash based powerful microcontroller that self-destructs if shitshot, and those artificially limited functions got rather defined by advertising department than chip capabilities. But I do have plenty of yet undescribed Yongmei- and Medeli- grade keyboards.)
In the following texts "keys" always mean piano keys; those on the control
panel I refer "buttons". Functions those can always be selected by the
same single button press (important for live performance of tekkno etc.)
are marked with "OBS" (one button select). As far not mentioned otherwise,
the digital part of all these instruments is based on a single chip (here
often called "CPU") and there are neither MIDI nor velocity sensitive keys.
With "shiftregister noise" I mean a shift register feedback circuit (a
pseudo random number generator which outputs a more or less long, but repeating
bit sequence to approximate white noise). I refer an instrument "digital"
when sound generation and envelopes are digital, i.e. no envelope capacitors
and no controllable analogue filters are present. I call it "analogue"
when it contains any mainly analoguely generated or significantly this
way post- processed (e.g. differently filtered) main voice sounds. They
usually still contain DCO (digital oscillators), since VCO are extremely
uncommon in polyphonic home instruments.
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In the following all instruments are sorted by the sound generation technology they mainly use.
note: I initially had messed up the sorting by types of sound hardware very badly. Particularly Casio squarewave and stairwave instruments were mostly nonsense, because I did too much by ear instead of oscilloscope. I hope I have fixed these now, but with some other instruments the categories still may be wrong
The sorting is not alphabetic, so use your browser's "find" or search engines for particular models. I sort mostly in categories by hardware similarity - with brandless models brand names are rather meaningless. So I group these only for major brands (Casio, Yamaha etc.) where useful. "italo" stands for certain classic Italian brands (Bontempi, Farfisa, Antonelli etc. - likely more or less made by SIEL) those are technically similar; many sound awesome, but some early digital mini keyboards were absurdly bad. "chinaware" names the category of ultra-cheap Yongmei-grade Chinese trash tablehooters (quality far below Medeli), those are often poorly playable (e.g. polyphony bugs), but never the less can sound interesting. Big ones often quickly became ultra-rare because their fragile plastic shatters like porcelain (also nicknamed ming vase keyboards). A particularly interesting company of these is Potex, those made (despite many flaws) amazing tekkno toy instruments with lovely stylish case design.
 |
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Jörgensen Clavioline
- historical tube synth keyboard, great electro bass noises (with repair tips) |
updated
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|
 |
Dübreq - Stylophone
350S
- stylus operated simple synth with light sensor and VCF |
new
|
chinaware
|
 |
Golden Camel 7A
- absurd tooting tablehooters (with schematics) | general Yongmei info [transistor tooter hardware] |
updated
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| Kamichi XH-210 etc. (Yongmei, Miles) |
italo
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Antonelli - Star 2379
- organ keyboard with unusual polyphonic accompaniment, analogue rhythm |
updated
2005-04-26 |
others
|
 |
Jörgensen Electronic
- Tuttivox
- antique portable tube organ |
updated
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|
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Kamosonic KB-1000
- full polyphonic midsize tablehooter with analogue rhythm |
new
|
|
 |
Ramasio 892
- small midsize(!) full polyphonic keyboard, great polyphonic accompaniment |
updated
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|
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Jiaying Z4941
- full polyphonic analogue keyboard with nice accompaniment |
new
|
|
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Sankei Entertainer TCH-8800
- compact stereo set with warm analogue organ & rhythm |
new
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Yamaha
|
 |
Yamaha PS-2
- first PortaSound, unusual percussion |
updated
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| PS-3
PS-1 |
|
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Yamaha PS-30
- filter envelope sounds & layering, nice arpeggio accompaniment, unusual percussion |
updated
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| PS-20 |
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Antonelli 2495
- unusual, versatile accompaniment, arpeggio, analogue rhythm, MIDI |
updated
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Antonelli 2614 Stereo
- analogue rhythm, great versatile accompaniment & MIDI |
new
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Bontempi HT 313.10
- short keyboard with home organ sound & accompaniment |
updated
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Bontempi - Minstrel
Beta
- nice arpeggio accompaniment |
updated
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Bontempi - MRS52/D
- cute warm home organ sound, analogue rhythm, nice accompaniment |
updated
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Squarewave means that the timbres are mainly made from the square waveform (with or without envelope), which is the simplest electronic basic waveform (see here). This permits e.g. to re-create the unique electronic sound style known from historical videogames and homecomputers. I call an instrument "squarewave" when the waveform is not only processed internally (which is done in most analogue instruments), but also well audible as characteristic timbre.
italo
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Antonelli 2381
- cute accompaniment & arpeggios, analogue rhythm, sonorous timbres, serial port |
updated
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Madison OK 500
- VCF, programmable analogue rhythm, great versatile accompaniment & MIDI |
new
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others
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HBATEC
- bizarre sound, programmable analogue rhythm |
updated
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Fujitone 3-A
- bizarre sound, programmable analogue rhythm |
updated
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| Angeltone DM-380 | |||
| Karcher F2, Angeltone DM-100
- no rhythm |
|
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Elta KE-3
- accompaniment but no rhythm, bizarre sound |
updated
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| Angeltone DM-200 |
|
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(Medeli) Pan Toys MC-7
- very minimalistic sounds, programmable analogue rhythm [MC-2 hardware] |
updated
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| TrendLine MC 3700
Fujiyama KS-37 |
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(Medeli) Elite MC2200
- many accompaniments, many melodies, programmable rhythm |
updated
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(Medeli) Bontempi ES3000
- mini keyboard with drumpads & cheesy accompaniment |
updated
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| Thompsonic TS-37 |
|
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Creatoy 4207
- simple squarewave keyboard with great POKEY rhythm |
updated
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Hing Hon EK-002
- bizarre distorting sound & great blip percussion |
updated
2006-06-07 |
| Societé Europro 31646 |
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EuroPlay - Fix und
Foxi Musikband
- absurd blip rhythm |
updated
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| Music Band |
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Fujitone 1
- simple squarewave keyboard |
updated
2004-01-25 |
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Medeli MC-11
- simple squarewave keyboard |
updated
2003-11-08 |
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Superb Sound EK-922
- precursor of MC-2 hardware? (broken) |
updated
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Bontempi HF222.21 (HF222)
- organ keyboard with bassy analogue percussion & accompaniment |
updated
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Yamaha
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Yamaha PSS-30
- nice blip percussion |
updated
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| PSS-130 |
italo
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Bontempi Basic BK32
- simple polyphonic squarewave mini keyboard |
updated
2006-06-07 |
|
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Bontempi M40
- simple polyphonic squarewave organ keyboard |
updated
2006-06-07 |
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Bontempi - Concertino
25S
- polyphonic mini keyboard without rhythm |
updated
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| Concertino 25S
Barbie Concertino 25 Concertino C25/N |
others
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Elite - Little
Musicmaster
- bizarre Casio VL-Tone imitation |
updated
2004-01-25 |
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Mattel - BeeGees
Rhythm Machine
- monophonic toy keyboard with melodic POKEY rhythms |
new
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Yeno - Der kleine
Musikant
- very strong zipper noise, unusual analogue percussion |
updated
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Casio
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Casio VL-Tone VL-1
- first cheap mini synthesizer, blip rhythm [VL-1 hardware] |
updated
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| VL-10 | |||
| VL-80, PT-1, CK-10, EP-10
- no synth |
|
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Casio PT-30
- unusual analogue percussion, tape storage cartridge TA-1 |
updated
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| PT-20
- no TA-1 |
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Casio PT-50
- first ROM-Pack keyboard, RAM-Pack- sequencer, analogue percussion, unusual accompaniment |
updated
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Casio PT-80
- key lighting, ROM-Pack, unusual analogue percussion |
updated
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| MT-18 |
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Casio PT-82
- key lighting, ROM-Pack |
updated
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| PT-87
EP-20 |
|
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Casio KX-101
- keyboard- boombox with analogue rhythm, accompaniment & complex sequencer |
updated
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Yamaha
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Yamaha PSS-20
- monophonic with nice blip percussion & arpeggio mode |
updated
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|
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Yamaha PSS-80
- simple synthesizer, blip rhythm & accompaniment |
updated
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Yamaha PSS-100
- simple synth with great C64 sounds, blip rhythm & accompaniment |
updated
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|
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Yamaha TYU-30 Fun-Keyboard
- key lighting with music cartridge |
updated
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| TYU-40 |
others
|
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Hing Hon EK-001
- great sonorous multipulse timbres, impulsive POKEY percussion [EK-001 hardware] |
updated
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| Crowntone MT-5560
MeiKe MK-320B Yongmei MS-110A Stereophonic EK-900 Superb Sound EK-210 |
|
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Yongmei MS-210B
- great sonorous multipulse timbres, impulsive POKEY percussion |
updated
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|
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Playskool - Kid Keys PS-635
- multipulse timbres, POKEY rhythms |
updated
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Video Technology - Rhythmic
10
- realtime programmable analogue rhythm, simple synth |
updated
2007-04-12 |
chinaware
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Simba - My Music
World 683 3149
- monophonic with POKEY scale, cheesy sound & fat lo-fi tekkno rhythm |
updated
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Casio
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Casio PT-7
- polyphonic mini softtouch keyboard, sonorous bass, analogue rhythm [MT-11 hardware] |
updated
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| MT-21 |
|
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Casio MT-45
- great accompaniment, nice sonorous bass, analogue rhythm |
updated
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|
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Casio MT-36
- plain sound, unusual semi-analogue percussion |
updated
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| MT-200
- with computer interface PA-1 |
|||
| MT-90
CT-102 |
Yamaha
|
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Yamaha HandySound HS-200
- polyphonic mini keyboard |
updated
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|
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Yamaha HandySound HS-500
- polyphonic mini keyboard with audiogames |
updated
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|
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Yamaha HandySound HS-501
- polyphonic mini keyboard with audiogames |
new
|
|
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Yamaha PCS-30
- Playcard slot & key lighting |
updated
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|
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Yamaha PSS-150
- realtime programmable blip rhythm |
updated
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|
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Yamaha PSS-160
- accompaniment, unusual OBS realtime sliders |
updated
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|
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Yamaha PSS-110
- with rhythm, voice & animal samples |
updated
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others
|
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Video Technology - Rhythmic
2
- with analogue rhythm |
updated
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Video Technology - Rhythmic
8
- programmable analogue rhythm, pitch bend & simple synth |
new
|
|
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(Medeli) Letron MC-3
- C64 sound, nice user interface, programmable blip rhythm [MC-3 hardware] |
updated
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| Kawasaki 5A |
|
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(Medeli) Letron MC-38
- complex C64 sounds, programmable blip rhythm, many melodies |
updated
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|
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(Medeli) Thompsonic TS-33
- great MC-3 successor with simple synth, 8 note polyphony, great accompaniment |
updated
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(Medeli) First RAP-2
- strange Casio Rapman knock-off |
new
|
|
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Penrod AJ-430
- single-chip MC-3 clone with unusual great accompaniment |
updated
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(Medeli) Pan Toys MC-73
- with fewer and thinner MC-3 sounds |
updated
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|
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Testron CL-60910
- great accompaniment |
updated
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| Elta KE-4 |
|
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Elta KE-6
- nice accompaniment, programmable blip rhythm |
updated
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chinaware
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ABA-88
- squarewave keyboard with strange accompaniment & analogue rhythm |
updated
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| Talu LS-18
- absurdly broken glitch accompaniment |
|
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Bestar MC 3300
- programmable polyrhythm & faulty accompaniment |
new
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Casio
|
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Casio VL-Tone VL-5
- barcode pen, simple stairwave, unusual blip percussion |
updated
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|
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Casiotone 201
- world first Casio keyboard, unusual sounds [CT-201 hardware] |
updated
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Casiotone 202
- successor of Casiotone 201 |
updated
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|
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Casiotone 401
- world first Casio keyboard with automatic accompaniment & rhythm |
updated
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|
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Casiotone M-10
- simple semi-analogue mini-keyboard |
new
|
|
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Casio MT-30
- unusual sounds |
updated
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| MT-40
- analogue rhythm + bass |
|
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Casio MT-60
- great POKEY-like timbres, analogue rhythm |
updated
|
|
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Casio CT-410V (MT-400V)
- fantastic analogue synth with genuine resonance VCF & complex accompaniment [MT-65 hardware] |
updated
|
|
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Casio MT-800
- first polyphonic ROM-Pack keyboard, key lighting, analogue rhythm |
updated
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| MT-85
CT-810 |
|
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Casio MT-52
- semi-analogue rhythm & Super Drums accompaniment |
updated
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|
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Casio MT-210
- warm timbres, sample percussion & versatile accompaniment |
new
|
|
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Casio MT-500
- warm timbres, sample percussion, drumpads & Super Drums accompaniment |
updated
|
|
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Casio MT-520
- warm timbres, sample percussion, drumpads & versatile Super Drums accompaniment |
updated
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|
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Casiotone 7000
- long keyboard with many stereo effects, complex sequencer, analogue rhythm |
new
|
|
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Casio Symphonytron
8000
- modular stage organ prototype |
new
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| (CT-8000 + FK-1 + RC-1 + MB-1 + RA-2) |
|
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Casio MT-88
- ROM-Pack, key lighting, analogue rhythm [MT-88/PT-100 hardware] |
updated
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| CT-805 | |||
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PT-100
- great tekkno blip percussion, nice sonorous bass, no ROM-Pack |
||
| MT-28
PT-180 - blip percussion, ROM-Pack |
|
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Casio CT-6000
- first Casio keyboard with velocity, pitchbend & midi |
new
|
|
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Hohner KS 49 midi (Casio
HT-700)
- SD synthesizer with analogue filter & realtime programmable accompaniment [HT-3000 hardware] |
updated
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| Casio HZ-600 |
|
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Casio HT-6000
- SD synthesizer with velocity, midi & complex sequencer |
new
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Casio
|
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Casiotone 1000P
- additive synthesizer with programmable arpeggiator |
new
|
|
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Casio MT-70
digital dual sinewave sound, key lighting with barcode pen, analogue rhythm |
updated
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Casio AT-40
- midsize oriental keyboard with sinewave sound |
new
|
italo
|
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Bontempi ES 3300
- sick yelling digital sound bank, absurdly crappy lo-fi rhythms |
updated
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| KS 3400 |
|
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Bontempi KS 4600
- lousy wannabe sound bank, lo-fi sample percussion |
updated
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| KS 4400 |
Casio
|
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Casio CZ-230S
- phase distortion FM keyboard with 100 sounds, MIDI & sample based drum computer |
updated
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Yamaha
|
|
Yamaha PSS-16
- beginners keyboard with accompaniment & demos |
updated
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|
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Yamaha PSS-140
- FM percussion, many strange tekkno sounds |
updated
|
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Yamaha PSS-390
- FM synth with great sliders, many strange tekkno sounds |
updated
|
|
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Yamaha PSS-780
- most professional PortaSound synth, complex sequencer, MIDI |
updated
|
|
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Yamaha SHS-10
- MIDI keytar, versatile accompaniments |
updated
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italo
|
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Bontempi B10
- simple mini keyboard with beep rhythm |
new
|
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Bontempi B20
- gritty digital lo-fi sounds, realtime programmable rhythm |
new
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Bontempi B30
- gritty digital lo-fi sounds, realtime programmable rhythm |
updated
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Bontempi B40
- gritty digital lo-fi sounds |
updated
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Bontempi B50
- gritty digital lo-fi sounds (with schematics) |
updated
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Bontempi Confetti
Kla4
- gritty digital lo-fi sounds |
updated
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others
|
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Arton IK-51
- bizarre Soviet Russian digital midi keyboard prototype |
new
|
|
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(Medeli) GPM MC-5000
- programmable rhythm, FM percussion, good bass & accompaniment |
updated
|
|
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(Medeli) Fujitone 6A
- good bass, many strange tekkno sounds, FM percussion [MC-6, MC-6A, MC-6B hardware] |
updated
|
| Kaysound MC-6A
- different FM sound engine & demo |
|
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(Medeli) Letron MC-103
- FM keyboard with simple synth & programmable rhythm |
new
|
|
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(Medeli) Elta KE-10
- warm sound, realtime programmable FM rhythm |
updated
|
|
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Bestar MC 3800
- sample drumpads, FM rhythm, many strange tekkno sounds, unusual accompaniment |
updated
|
|
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Majestic EK-660
- interesting sound glitches & realtime programmable rhythm |
updated
2005-04-26 |
|
|
Superb Sound EK-905
- bizarre trashy lo-fi tekkno sounds |
updated
|
| EK-470 |
|
|
Leetone PF-50
- lo-fi FM keyboard with strange tekkno sounds & MIDI out |
new
|
| Terratec - MidiMaster TMM1
- midi controller keyboard with speakers but no sound |
italo
|
|
Bontempi ES 3200/M
- blip rhythms like Casio VL-1, great tekkno eastereggs [ES3200 hardware] |
updated
|
| ES 3100/M
ES 3100 M325 Antonelli DEK-2350 |
chinaware
|
|
Miles - Golden Camel-11AB
- grainy monophonic timbres, sample percussion, many demos |
updated
|
|
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Yongmei YM-3300
- toxic smell, great distorted rock organ timbres, programmable rhythm |
updated
|
Yamaha
|
|
Yamaha MK-100
- lovely e-organ sounds, layer functions, complex music & drum sequencer, blip percussion |
updated
|
|
|
Yamaha PC-100
- first key lighting keyboard, Playcard, blip percussion |
updated
|
| MP-1
- keyboard with musical score printer |
|
|
Yamaha PCS-500
- Playcard keyboard with lid & key lighting |
new 2006-06-07 |
|
|
Yamaha PSS-260
- programmable blip rhythm, unusual OBS realtime sliders |
updated
|
italo
|
|
Bontempi BS 2010
- simple lo-fi synthesizer with bizarre howling sounds [BS3000 hardware] |
updated
|
| KE 3860
BS 3000 BS 2000 |
|
|
Bontempi Concertino
32 / 32S
- nice digital synth sounds, simple blip rhythm |
updated
|
|
|
Bontempi ET 202
- nice digital synth sounds, trancey arpeggio accompaniment |
updated
|
others
|
|
Amstrad Fidelity CKX100
- lovely pop organ sounds, great demos & MIDI |
updated
|
chinaware
|
|
(Potex) Cyber Keyboard
- noble case design, ethereal chorus timbres, tekkno percussion |
updated
|
|
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(Potex) Super Jam
- warm sounding My Music Center successor with 128 great chorus sounds |
updated
|
|
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Medeli MC-32
- ethereal chorus timbres, programmable rhythm & drumpads, effect samples, many great melodies |
updated
|
|
|
Elta KE-491
- simple synthesizer with My Music Center sound, programmable rhythm & MIDI out |
updated
|
chinaware
|
|
Mega - My Music Center
- ethereal chorus timbres, animal samples [My Music Center hardware] |
updated
|
| Superb Sound EK-91DX
Electronic Musical Keyboard 98289 RJP - Dynamic Keyboard MU-7986 |
|
|
Alaron - My Song Maker
- longer & bugfixed My Music Center successor |
updated
|
| Miles 3738 |
|
|
Musical Centre
- ethereal chorus timbres, wonderful square vibrato sounds |
updated
|
|
|
Sunlight - Music Playkeys
- My Music Center predecessor? |
updated
|
|
|
Chicco - Sing
'n' Dance Orchestra
- pretty toy keyboard with key lighting, nice tekkno sounds & demos (with schematics) |
new
2004-04-04 |
|
|
Elta - Kid Line Keyboard (Elta
922)
- bugfixed My Music Center with key lighting |
updated
2004-08-27 |
|
|
Feng Yuan 28061
- ethereal chorus timbres, programmable rhythm |
updated
|
|
|
Jin Xin Toys JX-20165
- ethereal chorus timbres, 36 sounds & programmable rhythm (My Song Maker successor) |
updated
|
|
|
Simba Elecking -
My Party Piano (HP-29)
- lofi toy keyboard with accompaniment, glitchy pitchbend & nice demos |
new
|
|
|
Miles MLS-4900A
- toxic smelling My Music Center successor, programmable rhythm & cheesy accompaniment |
updated
|
| Toy Quest - Groovy Beat |
|
|
Music Fun - Melody Keyboard
(Sun Ta Toys SDN BHD 1996)
- My Music Center variant in Casio KA-20 case, many demos |
updated
|
|
|
MusicZone Keyboard
- creaky vibrato timbres, squarewave accompaniment, drum kit mode, nice demos |
updated
|
|
|
Play 'n' Jam
- toxic smelling toy keyboard, nice LCD animations & rhythms, wonderful demos |
new
2004-04-04 |
|
|
Sankai 01870K
- noble My Music Center successor, 49 keys, many Asian/ Oriental demos (with schematics) |
updated
|
|
|
SongMax HMP-138
- LED light effects, semi- realistic samples, nice demos |
updated
2005-04-26 |
|
|
Steepletone SEK-929
- ethereal chorus timbres, effect samples, many demos |
updated
|
|
|
Yongmei YM-238C
- My Music Center variant with key lighting, many nice demos & programmable rhythm |
updated
|
|
|
Yongmei YM-2100
- great fullsize hifi(!) My Music Center successor, programmable rhythm & nice accompaniment |
updated
|
Casio
|
|
Casio SK-1
- first cheap lo-fi sampler, drawbar synth, unique blip percussion |
updated
|
|
|
Casio SK-8
- lo-fi sampler with ROM-Pack & key lighting, upgraded as oriental keyboard! |
updated
|
| SK-5
- no ROM-Pack PT-280 |
|
|
Casio SK-10
- simple lo-fi sampler with blip percussion |
new
|
|
|
Casio SK-2100
- big lo-fi sampler with additional stairwave sound & accompaniment [SK-200 hardware] |
new
|
| SK-200
SK-100 Hohner PK60 |
Yamaha
|
|
Yamaha TYU-20 Fun-Keyboard
- monophonic with do-re-mi sample voice, squarewave & demos |
new
|
italo
|
|
Bontempi B310
- simple mini keyboard with grainy digital lo-fi sounds |
new
|
others
|
|
(Medeli) First Austria
MC-36/ KB 4588 (Casio MA-150/ MA-170)
- poor digital lo-fi sound, many nice demos, play teaching & MIDI- out [MC-36 hardware] |
updated
|
| Music Time - Keyboard 270 |
|
|
Blue Man Group -
Keyboard Experience
- very stylish boring toy keyboard with gesture control & nice demos |
new
|
|
|
Sankai 01504H
- lo-fi effects, programmable rhythm, accompaniment, nice demos |
updated
2007-04-12 |
|
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K-Mark WP9019A1
- 49 polyphonic mini keys, unusual sound, programmable rhythm, accompaniment |
updated
|
|
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Quelle 496.996 0
- 49 polyphonic mini keys, digital lo-fi sound & lovely demos |
updated
|
|
|
Yongmei YM-6700
- toxic smell, realtime programmable rhythm, trashy orchestrion accompaniment |
updated
2007-04-12 |
chinaware
|
|
Animal Keyboard
- interesting rhythms & demos |
updated
|
|
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Stereo Playkeys!
- great demo melodies, nice rhythm |
updated
|
|
|
Beat Square - Mix
Evolution (Potex Ultra-Mixer)
- impressive toy DJ console with working scratch disc, voice changer, keyboard & many nice tekkno samples |
updated
|
|
|
(Potex) Kid's Com - Mix
Me DJ
- toy DJ groovebox with many tekkno effect samples, keyboard, scratch disc & rhythms |
updated
|
|
|
Lolli Pop - DJ Mixer
- toy groovebox with sampler, touch sensors, many effect samples & rhythms |
new
|
|
|
Jin Xin Toys - Ultra-Mixer
(J.X.T 20808)
- toy DJ keyboard with many effect samples, scratch disc & rhythms |
new
|
|
|
(Potex) Light Mixer
- tekkno toy keyboard with light sequencer, many effect samples & rhythms |
new
|
|
|
(Potex) Kawasaki Pro 37
- noble case design, fat samples of classic rock & nice synth texture timbres |
updated
|
|
|
Rock 'n' Board
- tiny tekkno style toy keyboard with lo-fi samples & tribal rhythm |
new
|
|
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Sound Mixer HMP-288
- spectacular light effects & key lighting, nice demos, unusual slow vibrato |
updated
|
|
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Ouda MQ-5418
- lo-fi tablehooter with impulsive percussion & cheesy accompaniment |
new
|
|
|
Yongmei DL-2300
- toxic smell, cute electronic accompaniment, programmable rhythm |
updated
|
Casio
|
|
Casio MT-540
- atmospheric background effect pads, clear percussion & MIDI |
updated
|
| MT-240
- no effect pads |
|||
| MT-640
- drumpads (not atmospherics), bass speaker |
|
|
Casio MT-750
- midsize ToneBank MIDI keyboard with simple synth |
new
|
|
|
Casio SA-1
- mini keyboard with complex lo-fi wavetable sounds [SA-1 hardware, SA-series general info] |
updated
|
| SA-9
SA-20 |
|
|
Casio SA-21
- like SA-1 with drumpads and nice demos [SA-21 hardware] |
updated
|
| SA-41
SA-8 SA-2 PA-31 KA-20 TA-10 |
|
|
Casio SA-35
- fantastic tekkno trance wavetable patterns, nice demos [SA-35 hardware] |
updated
|
| SA-5 |
|
|
Casio - Magical Sound Dial
SA-40
- toy keyboard with atmosphere effect sounds & bizarre dial controller |
updated
|
|
|
Casio Sound Kids KS-01
- toy keyboard with cards, nice demo |
new
|
|
|
Casio GZ-5
- poor mini keyboard with MIDI-out |
updated
|
|
|
Casio SA-65
- interesting lo-fi wavetable sounds (like SA-1), LCD display, nice demos |
updated
|
|
|
Casio MA-130
- interesting lo-fi wavetable sounds/ percussion (longer SA-1) |
updated
|
|
|
Casio CT-840
- interesting lo-fi wavetable sounds/ percussion, ROM-Pack & key lighting (like fullsize SA-1) |
updated
|
| MA-220 |
|
|
Casio CTK-200
- 40 songbank keyboard with interesting lo-fi wavetable sounds |
new
|
|
|
Casio PT-88
- mini keyboard with ROM-Pack & key lighting (SA-1 sound) |
updated
|
|
|
Casio Sound Kids KS-02
- toy keyboard with ROM-Pack & key lighting |
new
|
|
|
Casio - Magical Light ML-2
- small with real key lighting, lovely demos |
updated
|
| ML-1 |
|
|
Casio Rapman RAP-1
- built-in voice changer |
updated
|
| DJ-1 |
|
|
Casio CT-647
- 40 songbank keyboard with unusual AI accompaniment (Expert Logic) |
new
|
|
|
Casio LK-30
- 100 songbank keyboard with key lighting |
new
|
|
|
Casio SK-60
- nice lo-fi sampler, vocal percussion & -sounds, siren effects, nice demos |
updated
|
|
|
Casio - Voice Arranger VA-10
- built-in voice/ effect processor, pseudo-vocoder |
updated
|
|
|
Casio CTK-1000
- unique IXA synth keyboard with velocity and midi |
new
|
Yamaha
|
|
Yamaha PSS-6
- mini keyboard with clear sound, many lovely demos |
updated
|
| PSS-12 |
|
|
Yamaha PSS-31
- clear sound, many lovely demos |
updated
|
|
|
Yamaha PSS-7
- mini keyboard with unusual granular tekkno sounds |
updated
|
| PSS-14 |
Kawai
|
|
Kawai MS20
- small keyboard, complex music pattern loops (one finger ad-lib), accompaniment, impulsive rhythms |
updated
|
|
|
Kawai MS50
- complex music pattern loops, accompaniment |
new
2006-06-07 |
|
|
Kawai MS720
- complex music patterns, simple synth, accompaniment, MIDI |
updated
2006-06-07 |
|
|
Kawai - Pop Keyboard PH50
- great movie effect & synth sounds, pitch/ modulation joystick, MIDI |
updated
2005-04-26 |
italo
|
|
Bontempi GT 509
- smallest 666 sound System 5 Plus keyboard, lo-fi percussion |
updated
|
| BT 304 |
|
|
Bontempi GT 759
- 666 sound System 5 Plus keyboard with accompaniment, lo-fi percussion |
updated
|
|
|
Bontempi GT 770
- GT 759 successor with warm virtual analogue sounds & accompaniment, lo-fi percussion |
updated
|
others
|
|
Mindscape - The
Miracle Piano Teaching System
- velocity sensitive MIDI (non-GM) keyboard for complex piano teaching software, many unusual sounds |
updated
|
|
|
Bontempi B9
- chord organ, pressure sensitive keys |
new
2005-04-26 |
|
|
Graber Rogg CTX 1000
- portable chord organ with nice sound, pressure sensitive keys |
new
2005-04-26 |
|
|
Nigam bulbul tarang
- string keyboard from India |
updated
2003-02-19 |
|
|
Baby Piano
- toy piano with nice sound and astonishing mechanism, velocity sensitive |
updated
|
analogue:
|
|
GEM Drum15
- drum machine without ICs |
|
|
SoundMaster - Memory
Rhythm SR-88
- ancient drum computer |
analogue monophonic:
|
|
GoodPlay - Elektronische
Orgel
- tiny dual-keyboard toy organ |
updated
2005-04-26 |
analogue squarewave:
|
|
Bontempi - Disney Band
- great POKEY tekkno noises |
updated
2006-06-07 |
|
|
Electroplay - Sound FX
Phasor
- amazing synthesizer soundtoy, world first single-chip softsynth |
new
|
|
|
Tyco HotKeyz
- toy accompaniment keytar with analogue wahwah & C64 rock sound |
new
|
digital squarewave:
|
|
Casio Melody-80 (ML-80)
- first musical calculator - with clock & 3 melodies, rough beep sound |
new
|
|
|
Casio MG-880
- musical calculator with game |
new
|
|
|
Casio ML-81
- musical calculator with clock & 3 melodies |
new
|
| Casio ML-85
Casio ML-88 |
|
|
Casio ML-90
- musical calculator with clock & 12 melodies |
new
|
| Casio ML-8
Casio ML-78 |
|
|
Casio UC-365
- musical calculator with clock & universal calendar |
new
|
FM synthesis:
|
|
Unisynth XG-1
- electronic pseudo-guitar (with repair tips) |
updated
|
dual natural waveforms:
|
|
SoundWaves - Graduate
Jammer Guitar MG-1530
- toy pseudo- guitar with great accompaniment & blip rhythms |
updated
|
plain samples:
|
|
Casio TSA-85 - Space Sonic
8
- alarm clock with SA-series sci-fi synth sounds |
new
|
|
|
Blue Man Group
- Percussion Tubes
- very stylish boring toy drum kit with hand gesture control & demos |
new
|
|
|
(Potex) Beat
Square - AIR-Dance Mixer
- unique tekkno toy groovebox with hand gesture sensors |
updated
|
|
|
KiK Discobox
stylish electronic toy drum kit with fat lo-fi sound & squarewave |
new
2005-04-26 |
|
|
(Potex) Kid's Com
- Cyber Drum Center
- electronic toy drum kit with 30 nicely unusual rhythms |
updated
2005-04-26 |
|
|
Simba - My Music
World drum kit
- electronic toy drum kit with lo-fi sample rhythms |
updated
2005-04-26 |
|
|
GoldTronic - Electronic
Air Drums
- electronic toy drum kit |
updated
2003-02-19 |
|
|
Mega - Gogo-Train (GT-27)
- toy drum machine |
|
|
Super Stereo
- toy drum machine |
|
| My Portable Rockman |
|
|
Xin Anda - 8-Melody
Letter Study Piano
- weird toy tablehooter with animal sound & alphabet letter samples |
updated
|
|
|
Creatoy - 64 Keys
- touch tablet with great OBS playability, squarewave piano & POKEY rhythms |
updated
2003-04-13 |
|
|
animal train sound toy (blue) |
|
|
SoundBlast |
|
|
keychain techno sound toys |
wavetable:
|
|
Casio Rapman RAP-10
- belt-mounted rap groovebox soundtoy |
new
|
|
|
Casio TSA-90 - Sound Maker
- alarm clock with SA-series accompaniments |
new
|
|
|
Azan Clock
- howling robotic muezzin voice |
updated
|
|
|
My First Sony
- Cassette-Corder
- toy cassette recorder with 6 drumpads & animal samples |
updated
|
|
|
My First
Sony - Sound Pad SOP-1000
- toy drum machine with effect samples |
updated
|
|
|
Casio TA-1000
- talking calculator with multi-alarm clock |
new
|
|
|
Hartung - Das Tierische
Eisenbahn-Piano
- yellow animal train sound toy with graunular sounds |
|
|
Texas Instruments - Magic
Melody / Der singende Spielball
- singing female robot voice |
|
|
Tomy - The Incredible
VoiceChanger
- vocoder-like sound toy |
|
 |
Jyotiophon
- optical theremin from year 2034 |
|
|
Tekknetion prototype
1
- live performance sampling instrument |
Beside the ones I listed here, I also own various other electronic instruments
(mainly modern sound bank keyboards, sound toys and many toy laptops) I
yet found no time to write about. Thus I gave priority to describing the
most unusual sounding and least documented hardware families - mainly focussing
on the realm of squarewave and stairwave. Although I am also interested
in historical videogames and pinball, I made this site about small tablehooters
because while those games are already well researched and documented on
the internet, toy instruments and beginners keyboards were an almost a
blind spot (and thus ignored by most musicians) despite many have interesting
sounds those differ much from the establishment stuff found on professional
instruments. Even pocket calculator hardware was documented much better
than household keyboards, so I decided to write this taxonomy by collecting
and examining specimen of most existing hardware classes.
| removal of these screws voids warranty... | ||
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