Those Crazy Keyboards from the 80's

Discussion in 'Home Audio Gear Chat Area' started by Mister X, Dec 16, 2020.

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  1. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    I just spent ages trying to find a decent Casio CZ demo which doesn't cheat by adding reverb (The Jean-Michel Jarre sound was an home organ that was the first with a decent reverb while the CZ101/1000 doesn't have one. Anyway I eventually found one that I think is worth linking to.
     
    Longman, Oct 29, 2023
    #41
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  2. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    A 1991 newspaper advert from the U.K's largest electronics and camera shop for nothing but keyboards
    1991 Keyboards.jpg
    I paid £330 for a YS100 Synth two years earlier. Back then you had to pay over £500 to get touch sensitive keys AND accompaniments.
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2024
    Longman, Nov 17, 2023
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  3. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I have some huge keyboards from the early 90's but I haven't really messed with them, I love the smaller older models because they are easier to haul around. The big ones do suffer from damage to the keys, they all seem to yellow and break. My first nice keyboard was a Yamaha PSS-460, I really loved it and learned quite a bit (although I forgotten most of it).
     
    Mister X, Jan 18, 2024
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  4. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    A sweet Casio VL-Tone from 1981, these early ones really set the market on fire, kind of inexpensive but you could have so much fun with them.


    Casio VL-Tone 1981.jpg
     
    Mister X, Jan 18, 2024
    #44
  5. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    A stage full of synths but Phil Oakey still prefers his VL-Tone

    In the concert I saw around this time they segued from "Get Carter" into another song.
    The good news for me is I should be able to see them again in the summer
    https://letsrocksouthampton.com/lineup/
     
    Longman, Jan 18, 2024
    #45
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  6. lupogtiboy

    lupogtiboy Well-Known Member

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    I have a long-standing joke with my brother about these Bontempi keyboards, that whenever we see one for sale, I must buy it just so I have a Bontempi! My nan had one, seem to remember it had a fan inside it and sounded like a cross between a whistle and a wood instrument. I don't know what happened to it now though...
     
    lupogtiboy, Jan 19, 2024
    #46
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  7. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    They never come over here! That's funny he's got one on stage, I wonder how many spares they have to carry.
     
    Mister X, Jan 22, 2024
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  8. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    This is cool, from 1985, very late in the life cycle of the Apple II+, the Greengate DS:3, check out the big card that had to be plugged in, this was one of the reasons the Apple II+ was popular and lasted so long, there was something like 7 expansion slots on the motherboard. When products like this started coming out we all thought we'd learn the piano in a few days using computer teaching. This system still has larger floppy discs and can do 10 second samples, I wrote a program to record music off cassette onto discs and could only get, I think, 15 seconds due to memory or CPU limitations, I can't remember but it was way cool playing music off a disc back then.


    apple II 1985.png
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2024
    Mister X, Feb 27, 2024
    #48
  9. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    This is fun looking, our ebay only shows UK Listings, maybe never sold over here?
    The Yamaha DD-10 from 1988


    Yamaha dd-10 1988.png
     
    Mister X, Mar 29, 2024
    #49
  10. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Casio PT-1 from 1984, looks pretty basic but it was a four-color ad, maybe a lost-cost version with memory?


    Casio PT-1 1984.png
     
    Mister X, Mar 31, 2024
    #50
  11. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I love this video, check out the killer Casio Keyboard Collection including some rare gems.


     
    Mister X, Aug 31, 2024
    #51
  12. Cassette2go

    Cassette2go Well-Known Member

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    What about the hybrid Fisher sc-300k boombox with keyboard. Does that qualify? I have one.
     
    Cassette2go, Aug 31, 2024
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  13. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    I have four of the ones in the video MT65, VL1, SK1, and MT400V. The MT400V is the only one I didn't buy in the 1980s.
     
    Longman, Aug 31, 2024
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  14. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Those are great boomboxes C2G, I've got one here in my office; I think the keyboard is made by Casio but can't remember off the top of my head.

    I love that little PT-7, it just looks cool but it also goes for silly money since it's so rare.
    I have the VL-1, MT-500 (maybe), SK-1,
     
    Mister X, Aug 31, 2024
    #54
  15. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Another oddball kind of like the Omnicord


    upload_2024-10-19_11-47-6.png
     
    Mister X, Oct 19, 2024
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  16. Cassette2go

    Cassette2go Well-Known Member

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    Well, I still have my Fisher sc300k
    17293575748178242493288624279303.jpg
    It works perfectly. And no it's not for sale. It's a keeper.
     
    Cassette2go, Oct 19, 2024
    #56
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  17. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Those are nice, the keyboard is made by Casio!
     
    Mister X, Oct 19, 2024
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  18. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    Christmas must be coming. I predicted the newspaper adverts for Christmas presents would start picking up.

    1991 "No we can't afford an Amiga. How about a Keyboard ?"
    1883 yamaha.jpg
     
    Longman, Nov 3, 2024
    #58
  19. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    1981


    upload_2024-11-12_13-9-36.png
     
    Mister X, Nov 12, 2024
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  20. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Another neat ad for a Casio Pt 30 and CT 1000P, I haven't seen either of these but would love to play around with one, from 1983.


    upload_2024-12-23_21-27-7.png
     
    Mister X, Dec 23, 2024
    #60
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