Casio VL-1 - Part 2: Review

[@Hb093]

this way of reviewing should be the worldwide STANDARD for EVERYTHING! massive work and investigation, finally someone who really goes in depth, finally! thank you so much; i loved and enjoyed every single detail you gave to us

[@mathumphreys]

These 4 parts are the best review of the VL-1 on YT. I had one in the early 80s and kept it with me until the mid 90s when I lost it (I think it was stolen). I have been looking for a replacement for years but the prices are out of control . Fortunately I have just bought one in great condition so I'm super excited and can't wait for it to arrive.

[@TheMorphicResident]

In 1984, I was seven years old and saw Van Halen’s Jump on MTV. I begged my Dad for a synthesizer, and so he took me to RadioShack and bought me a Realistic Concertmate 200. Well, can’t say I was very happy with it; just didn’t sound like an Oberheim lol. Anyways, I have my own OB-6 now. I still have the Concertmate 200 and would never sell it. I learned a lot about sound from this little thing and it started my love of synths. Thanks Dad :-)

[@WorldView22]

You create top-notch youtube videos in terms of style and content that are a pleasure to watch. Well done.

[@notsofunnynowisit]

Brilliant!!! Bravo man, that was absolutely awesome! . No kidding - that was just admirable. I really look forward to your videos and whenever they show up in my feed I go get a drink and a snack and just absorb the jelly goodness of your comprehensive reviews. If this doesn't one day become one of the top 100 channels on the Tubes I don't know what can. Keep 'em coming!

[@KeenOnKeys]

Thanks for your support! Nice to hear that it's as much fun to watch the videos as I have to make them.

[@BlindLibrary]

hEY, JUST CURIOUS: wHAT'S THE NAME OF THE SONG AT 5:20 ?

[@BitsAndTips]

Wow! Good job, I like so much your explanation and your excelent skill playing the Casio's little keys. I don't know why you don't have more subscribers. I hope that you grow in the KZbin jungle's soon, thank you very much!

[@KeenOnKeys]

Many Thanks! I'm glad there are any subscribers at all, even if there are only a few.

[@whc2001]

10:36 The number is called “numbered musical notation” which directly corresponds 1234567 with CDEFGAB, and octave as dots above or under the number. It seems like only some Asian countries (like China and Japan) still use this notation system. One downside (or advantage?) is that it uses "movable do" which means any note can be the main tone, so you might see something like "1=F" on scores.

[@DenoNisshoku]

Your videos are so interesting and well-made. You deserve more subs and followers :c Ty for this cool tricks

[@searchiemusic]

16:32 oh my god the exact second my brain snapped out of hearing that melody in half time, it hurt my brain how fast it felt you were playing, i was like, WHAT, A NICE TEMPO????

[@bebopganymede]

I use your SHS-10 video to help me get better. I love your work. Never stop uploading.

[@tannerin]

thanks for such a comprehensive overview!! i've had one of these for years but didnt know about the easter eggs like the tempo buttons adjusting vibrato speed

[@Apathesis0]

The VL-1 demo song is my earliest memory of music affecting me. I think I was 3 years old

[@U014B]

One particularly stellar example of the VL-1 being used is Tony Banks' "Charm" from _The Fugitive._ Also, there's an old Flash cartoon called "Homestar Runner" which uses primarily old Casio keyboards like this for the music. (It's on KZbin and still going, if you wanted to check it out.)

[@emospider-man6498]

Pretty glad I found these videos

[@ShyamalBanik-p4d]

43yrs ago i have a this item.casio's 1st syntesizar.T2 bhai, agartala, tripura, india. ❤❤

[@JellyMonster1]

Excellent - still have my VL-Tone

[@rabbiltube]

Another excellent video, thank you.

[@marckfrombrazil]

ADSR... OMG! I wound never know how it works! Great job, great video! You are amazing! Thank you! I miss my little keyboard... Now it's hard to find, and costs so much! XD

[@nonmiproblue6020]

Great review 👍

[@fiocas5925]

I cannot tell you how many times I've enjoyed watching this amazing review! Thank you for making it so beautiful and fun to watch. Also, I hope you don't mind me saying it, but what a brilliant accent you have. Like Werner Herzog narrating a musical ASMR. I've been dreaming of buying a Casio VL-Tone and hopefully make some music. Do you recommend any software to record and mix sounds? Thank you

[@KeenOnKeys]

Try out Cakewalk by Bandlab, it's for free.

[@Electrohedron]

Aarrg! My life would have been so different if I knew about that repeat command. 17:24 (should have read the manual.)

[@woodenpints]

Really great music in this excellent and interesting review.

[@NathanJayMusic]

Another example of the VL-1 Rock1 Beat usage is Charm by Tony Banks (of Genesis). Have a listen!

[@albertoduran1955]

Amazing!

[@JoseVGavila]

I have no less than 3 units 😅 They were dirty cheap (10-20€ each) so I could not resist 😁. They are a bit lesser synth than my Yamaha MODX+ but, well, are pretty fun!

[@techtinkerin]

Brilliant 👍❤️😎I got one as spares off eBay but unfortunately the solder pads on the power switch are gone and despite trying I couldn't power it on..oh well.

[@kgbstudio]

this channel is what the world needed after the retro-keyboard bible site "weltenschule" went defunct many years ago.

[@repeatdefender6032]

so much nostalgia... i just bought one. lol.

[@pianokeyjoe]

PT1 being my first ever Casio keyboard only has 4 preset tones though that guitar tone I am sure could be accessed via easter eggs modding, as with some of the ADSR sounds.

[@devinbrines]

For the final performance at 18:00, you had to record all of the different tracks separately into another device, right? Or can you do all of that just inside the keyboard?

[@KeenOnKeys]

@@devinbrines yes, that was a multitrack recording

[@svenjansen2134]

You play very well Mr. Keen!

[@TravisReddell]

I have Casio VL-1 and my octave switch doesn't work. I took it apart and cleaned the little bit of corrosion that was on the switch and part of the board that the switch contacts, but it still doesn't work. If I move the switch to the higher or lower octaves it will stay in that octave once I put it back together, but will never change octaves when the switch is in contact with the board. Does anyone know what's going on or how to repair it?

[@svenjansen2134]

Last resort: put a octaver guitar pedal after it. Will sound good on drum sounds too!

[@channtron]

7:07 this frame help me route the octave function to my PT-1

[@Lilja2022]

I Got a question for the guy Keen On Keys? Are you German? Where are you from? Its a weird question but I recognize the Accent. Greets from Hagen in Germany.

[@KeenOnKeys]

Greetings from Berlin.

[@Lizardking881110]

13:38 “Da da da”.

[@TheMachinesWon]

Wish u did a part two in the Behringer cat

[@cwlkm]

Nice video! I recently bought a used vl-1 and was wondering if it's possible to install a MIDI port?

[@GNeuman]

Da, da, da....absolutely epic....

[@MrBassman91]

Obviously this is monophonic - but if you have recorded a melody can you play the keys at the same time as playing back the pre-recorded melody using the one touch play buttons?

[@squishmusic]

I thought the calculator was JUST a calculator :D Have one if these with no manual. I'll have to jam around now on it :D

[@NikolajLepka]

This whole video is giving me massive Homestar Runner vibes

[@Lilja2022]

You Got a German Subscriber now👍 for the Videos you make. Would it be possible to make a special video where you do a rewiev in German? Although I am German and can speak English well my typing goes woncky sometimes

[@KeenOnKeys]

probably not

[@Lilja2022]

@@KeenOnKeys okay thats Sad but Okay. You do Great Videos and because of you i am getting the Yamaha Pss A50 for Christmas. Early Merry Christmas.

[@альфредпетрович-д7р]

не чуди, на хер кому нужны обзоры на немецком?

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

I have my dad's VL-1!

[@Embrionyc]

That track at 5:20, whats that?

[@KeenOnKeys]

It's on my VL-1 album. You can listen to it on Bandcamp. Link in the description.

[@soloparaplaystation6624]

​@@KeenOnKeys the nintendo music game was made in this?

[@user-th3tg4fb5g]

13:36 *_Everything you do is planned out in advance_*

[@jacksonshelton8055]

Casio had a lack of experience in designing keyboards? Well, I guess, but evidently they knew how to produce synthesizers. But shoved them into kid's TOY keyboards. That's what makes them amazing. I have 2 Casio MT-205s myself, and they're basically synthesizers! Of course, not programmable, but I plan on trying to reverse engineer one and add hidden functions to it to turn it into a synthesizer.

[@maheshgovindbandekar146]

Is it still available for sale, still?

[@svenjansen2134]

Everything is for sale if you got enough money.

[@Zzsillykitty_Vi]

2:26 FÜR ELISE

[@hobbified]

2:27 und wenn ich diese Taste drück, spielt er ein kleines Musikstück

[@reviewerman9786]

@18:10 the real music starts

[@danielvictor7321]

I'm brazilian. I have a casio vl tone, but it's out of tune. How can I tune in?

[@KeenOnKeys]

There's a pitch control at the bottom side.

[@danielvictor7321]

Trank you!

[@danielvictor7321]

@@KeenOnKeys I got a casio pt 1, but I plugged the computer charger into one of his entrances and there was smoke and no more sound. If I open it I can fix it?

[@KeenOnKeys]

​@@danielvictor7321 Sounds bad. I have never experienced anything like that. Maybe the power supply has the wrong polarity. The sign inside the circle should be a minus. Unfortunately this is all I can tell you.

[@danielvictor7321]

@@KeenOnKeys I'm going to buy a vl-1 tone and take the pt-1 to the store to see if it can be fixed!

[@thomas_dries]

Is it sad that I REALLY want the Muppet one? 😂

[@shankarbiswal5312]

Sir its still avelev in india please tell me thank you

[@soloparaplaystation6624]

Alave?

[@U014B]

20:18 I tried typing in my credit card number, but it wouldn't fit! Now how am I supposed to know if this thing has spyware on it or not? EDIT: Never mind. I got it to take my mom's maiden name.

[@red_boum]

song at 5:25 anyone ?

[@soloparaplaystation6624]

Ruusdian

[@gdyo3367]

holy fucking

[@tbhon]

Everything you do is planned out in advance

[@panicBoydotcom]

Not epiTOME, ePIToME.

[@KeenOnKeys]

I know that by now, but I can't change it anymore.

[@MEANASSJAMSTER]

bravo! ...a good service! ...is there any history of these needing new capacitors? ...I would be amazed if all the 80's made ones are still working perfectly... - and did you ever see anybody do anything with that universal board area?...

[@MEANASSJAMSTER]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppCcfnyuaLGVqsU - I connected a stereo din cable to mine back when I had it ...connected left and right channels to opposite ends of that slider...

[@romanvandeyk506]

Genial! Deine Videos sind genau das, was ich mir wünsche, wenn ich mich über ein Keyboard informiere. Ich finde, Dein Kanal ist der bisher beste für Reviews günstiger Keyboards aus der Ära. Sogar besser, als 8 Bit Keys, von dem ich jedes Video kenne. Bleib dran!

[@lamarinaelche]

This amazing guys approach to teaching should be the prescription for all students, young and old. It invokes and awakens dozing intuition, and empowers the learner with a confidence to learn more! Respect - wish my maths teacher at school had been like this, back in 1966, I wouldn’t have been sent to the empty desk at the back of class and given a dunces kit to work with! Thank you Keen on Keys✅

[@альфредпетрович-д7р]

the "rusian version" is not a real casio at all - everything is made (ripped off) in mother rusia including the brain chip (i have the datasheet). it's a clone, not a rebranded casio. and also it was produced like 10 years later, somewhere in the early 90s.

[@jasonnicholas4336]

I remember these were ubiquitous when I was a kid; it's a pity that so few people realised how many features were actually packed in there. Also, I was about to get a new Teenage Engineering op-1 but am having second thoughts and think I'll just pick up one of these to noodle around on in the park instead. :)

[@olafwagner]

Wow, the composed demo at the end really gets a lot out of this instrument - well done. I especially liked the inclusion of the 'vocal'-effect with the speaker

[@kmajaleelmohamedkodenchery2796]

My first electronic piano!purchased for my daughter. when she was 2years old (1982)oh my goodness. what a good memories !

[@maval4537]

So educational, full of detailed information, pleasantly told, great music examples, a video in a class of its own! 💯👍🏻

[@StudioBonn]

This video runs in the Casio-Museum...? Not? It should! ❤

[@beloyaraistov8007]

5:20 great ... outstandig theme.... amaaaazing

[@mrzaadr]

Now I remember how we lost our VL1! I dismantled it like this. As a child.

[@Anne-Mirthe]

I did put it together. Still running!

[@arothmanmusic]

I’ve owned this keyboard for over three decades. At last I know how ADSR works. I also never knew about the tempo buttons adjusting the vibrato. Thanks! I used that calculator to cheat on a number of math tests in school. :)

[@ericMT]

2:30 this has to be the calculator Kraftwerk was talking about in their song Pocket Calculator. Very interesting.

[@chadjohnson-authormusician8072]

Your videos are top notch. Thanks so much! Overall, your English is excellent, but every once in a while, a word jumps out. In this video, it was "epitome." I had to listen three times before I realized what you were saying. The correct pronunciation is "uh - PIT - uh - me" (or "eh - PIT - uh - me"). :o)

[@KeenOnKeys]

Yeah, I know. You are not the first to mention this. But it sounded absolutely right to me at the time.

[@chadjohnson-authormusician8072]

@@KeenOnKeys Ok, sorry about that. I was just trying to help in case you hadn't heard it. Your English is very good --- much, much better than my German! :o)

[@michaeljames6953]

This is a really great and comprehensive review of the features of the VL-1. As I didn't see it mentioned in this review, I would like to add more thing I noticed about the sequencer when I was using it in the 1980s, and was a fantastic boon when I was working out arrangements, and I'd recommend any VL-1 user who hasn't tried this to try it and see how/if it works. What I found on my Casio VL-1 was that you can re-time an existing sequence without having to re-record the notes. How this works: 1) Switch the VL-1 back into Record mode after you have programmed a sequence of notes into the sequencer. 2) Using the One Note Play buttons, you can replay the existing sequence, and it will remember the timings. 3) How this is important: You can manually play notes into the sequencer, with or without the rhythm playing, and then afterwards, set the rhythm playing, and, using the One Note Play buttons in Record Mode, tighten up the timing. 4) Where it gets even better: You manually play notes for an impossibly fast run of notes, and then go into Record Mode, slow down the rhythm tempo to a minimum, and then, using the One Note Play Buttons, and the rhythm turned on, tighten up the timing of the notes to the slowed-down rhythm, and then when you put the rhythm back up to the default tempo, and it's like you've programmed an EDM riff. :)

[@colinmartin700]

Excellent video! I just bought a concert mate 200 because of this and the accompanying videos. Please continue to make these amazing videos about home keyboards!

[@svenjansen2134]

You play so well, you get the absolute most and best out of these 'toy' keyboards. They are instruments in the right hands. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and your impeccable playing and time feel. You play as tight as a computer but still human lol. Plus your playing these nice melodies trigger a huge nostalgia 8bit kick. Like you stick your head in a gameboy soundchip.

[@svenjansen2134]

Hands over speakers for wah effect like horn players do.. BRILLIANT

[@RetroPlus]

I just got one of these for cheap, I'm looking forward to messing around with it.

[@RaptureMusicOfficial]

Great review, thanks for your VL-Tone videos!

[@bestrickie2]

As a keyboard piano player and singer myself, this IS very interesting. These keyboards though small have onboard EXCELLENT features for their time. My first keyboard was an MT-55 Casio that were a good model in its time I bought myself when I was 19 years young back in August 1987. It has on board a good pipe organ and everything. I’ve owned many keyboards since and now I’m a proud Yamaha Genos owner as well as a couple of other stunning keyboards.

[@percarlson927]

Ha ha, you made the same mistake as I did when screwing in the speaker cover at 8:35 that is why it won't close at 8:42, I know you know what I mean 🤣I love all your videos, they are so good and real, THANK YOU!

[@ForF]

Rock 1.: Trio- Da da da ☺️

[@Sarahbuildsstepsequencers]

If you know how to solder, you could recap it for even better sound.

[@zarrir]

How come i bought mine in 1979? By the way, this is the best review Ever

[@KeenOnKeys]

That's interesting. Are you sure? The Casio homepage states that it came out in 1981.

[@zarrir]

@@KeenOnKeys yes, i am sure. Perhaps 1981 was in USA? Purchased mine in December 1979 in Brazil. Bellow is the info i have: The VL-1 was the first instrument of Casio's VL-Tone product line, and is sometimes referred to as the VL-Tone. It combined a calculator, a monophonic synthesizer, and sequencer. Released in June 1979, it was the first commercial digital synthesizer.

[@charlesrochfort1228]

Klaus Schulze even had one ! I bought mine in 1981 based on that. I still have it and in pristine condition !

[@sub-jec-tiv]

That Radioshack Moog sounds beautiful

[@marcelodecarvalho6030]

Looking forward for the SK-1 video.

[@stephensmitherman5243]

Had it from Day one whilst at school.

[@edgarviernes2532]

I used to own this model..I still remember the fill in.

[@nanoloopbandit]

Your soundtrack is kickass 🕺🏻

[@jesusdferreira-sr3el]

Por cuando vendería uno ?

[@morrisrichie1]

So cool!!!

[@vhm14u2c]

I had a vl-tone 1 , and ended up trading it off for some EH effects. Eventually, was was able to acquire the concertmate version later in life on eBay.

[@MattGreerMusic]

I found some very decent bends on my muppet babies EP-10.

[@Johnnybananass-_]

Da Da Da

[@GreatGizmo74]

18:10

[@andiwidiyantogm]

@0:24 the first synthesizer that casio ever made… glad I am part of the first casio’s syhthesizer history… 38 years has passing by..

[@bergdragon]

I always used sniff smell inside from speaker when I kid 80's, that was my first trip experienced.

[@oO5Dynasty]

DOPE

[@domramsey]

The VL Tone was the calculator I used at school and I absolutely loved it. For a brief period, I was the cool kid who got to carry a synth around school every day and it was awesome.

[@StatsGod]

These videos are brilliant. Totally addictive in a weird way. The gentle irony, the quiet humor, so well complements the knowledge and intelligence of the analysis. I've been a fan of loopop reviews, but I'd like to encourage you to start moving up the stack (as you did with the CAT video) to talk about more complex tools.

[@kgbstudio]

there are tons of channels about 'serious' gear, but not enough stuff for retro/cult/toy/home keyboards.

[@mr.9931]

A little warning for anyone curious to open up your VL-TONE... So I got a VL-TONE from eBay for a whole 50 bucks and I was very happy with it. After watching these videos, I was curious to open my VL-TONE as I wanted to make sure that the silicon pads were clean for future use. This wasn't the first time I've opened electronics up because of curiosity and cleaning purposes. A few years ago I opened and cleaned my cousin's Nintendo 64 and brought it back from the filth condition it was in. I'm no expert, but I know the basic DOs and DONTs. Unfortunately while opening my VL-TONE, I ran into an issue I have never encountered. The screen cable. I tried gently moving the screen, but it wouldn't budge. I applied a little more force and was able to get the screen out of the plastic cover, but when I reassembled the unit, I noticed that the screen was half out! Later I realized that the cable came loose from the glue. I wasn't exactly scared, and I was actually wanting to fix the cable when I had time. But I just recently looked at my VL-TONE screen to notice that the screen started bleeding a black blob of death! I'm assuming this is somehow from the cable issue, maybe a connection went where it shouldn't have gone. Anyways, be delicate with that precious screen cable and treat it like gold! Now I need to figure out what I'm going to do with my damaged keyboard. Any ideas anyone? As I'd really love to get my VL-TONE back in working order and screen replacement searches have been fruitless... 😢

[@ringsystemmusic]

Circuit-bend it for fun.

[@svenjansen2134]

Must find that screen man.. Keep looking!