Those Crazy Keyboards from the 80's

Someone is acouple of years out on that.
https://generror.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/history-of-casio-keyboards-1/
It seems the M10 was Casio's first Mini-Keyboard. Interestingly, like many Casio products, the IC inside was capable of far more sounds than the four you could actually select.

 

Apparently Elvis had one

 

Argos had exactly the same range back in 1984 (+ a few others)
I bought the MT65 which was identical to the MT68 except for being cream back in 1983 when it was £150 and only available in specialist music shops. As soon as I tried it I decided it was far better than any of the others. A friend, who always treated his credit card limit as a target, then bought the CT405 which was the same keyboard but in a full size, imitation woodgrain form looking like the Casiotone 701 in the previous feature.

Most Casios came in both a mini and full size version, but there was a big difference in price, about £100 in that case. About ten years ago I picked up a CT405 for about £20 in a "collect only" eBay Auction. It even came in a lovingly hand-made flight case. These keyboards weren't cheap but you didn't need to be Rick Wakeman to be able to afford one either.

 

A great MT68 from Yo9utube from someone who can really play.

If there is any additional effects on this they are very subtle. As soon as the rhythm kicked in I recognised the Casio sound.

 

I bought one back in about 1987. It was a shop display model missing the battery cover so I got it for about £30. Those were the days when I had both a large Comet and Carrefour within walking distance of my (then) house.

As for the VL Tone I somehow persuaded my Mother to buy the one a friend was selling in about 1982 after he had moved on to better things (like a new Roland Juno 6). Showing how thing advanced in just a few years my Mother bought a reed organ in the early 70s. It had just the one tone (reed organ ) made using a fan and seemed to eat through 8 D cells in about an hour.

I just had a look in the 1976 Argos catalogue and these were the only two keyboards in there.

Looking at the prices it it not surprising so many kids (including my sister) ended up with an Acoustic Guitar.

 

I have one, bought because it was cheaper (used) than a CZ101 (although I have since bought one of those). When new in the 1980s and early 1990s most Casios came in a mini key version and a full size one which was usually significantly more expensive (e.g. £80 to £100 more expensive).

The only thing the CZ1000 gains over the C101 is full size keys.
It loses the CZ101's cuteness and instead of buttons it uses one of those, oh so trendy at the time, flat membranes over the top of the buttons which tends not to wear very well over forty years.

p.s. All the ones I have seen on eBay look to be better condition than mine. The photo above is from an eBay listing. Maybe the worn membrane was why mine was cheap.

p.p.s The were several other CZ keyboards in the range. The CZ3000, CZ5000, and top of the range CZ1. Nowadays, the CZ101 is possibly the most desired as they all produce exactly the same sounds and obviously the CZ101 takes up far less space, as demonstrated by Vince Clarke in the 1980s.

Casio missed a trick by never making a CZ series module, since people like Vince used them mainly for sequencing. I have seen Erasure in concert and while Andy Bell did all of the Frontman stuff, Vince loaded floppies into his computer (despite this being the 1990s) and occasionally strummed a guitar (at one point dressed as a Cactus!)

Finally an ancient video showing Vince Clarke's music writing process using a Casio.