Casio VL-1

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Photograph of a Casio VL-Tone VL-1
Photograph of a Casio VL-Tone VL-1

The VL-1 was the first synthesizer of Casio's VL-Tone product line, and is sometimes referred to as the VL-Tone. Released in 1981, the VL-1 is notable for its kitsch value among electronic musicians, due to its cheap construction and its unrealistic, uniquely low-fidelity sounds.

Contents

[edit] Sound

Its sounds were mostly composed of filtered squarewaves with varied pulse-widths. Its piano, violin, flute and guitar timbres were nearly unrecognizeable abstractions of real instruments. It also featured a "fantasy" voice, and a programmable synthesizer which provided for choice of both oscillator waveform and ADSR envelope. The synthesizer was programmed by entering a number into the calculator section's memory, then switching back to keyboard mode.

[edit] Features

The LCD display
The LCD display

The VL-1 featured a small LCD display capable of displaying 8 characters. This was primarily used for the calculator function, but also displayed notes played. As well as this, the VL-1 also had changeable tone and balance, basic tempo settings and a real-time monophonic music sequencer, which could play back up to 99 notes. There were also 10 pre-loaded rhythms, which included waltz, samba, swing and bossa nova, among others.

[edit] Voices

[edit] Rhythms

  • March
  • Waltz
  • 4-Beat
  • Swing
  • Rock-1
  • Rock-2
  • Bossanova
  • Samba
  • Rhumba
  • Beguine

[edit] Notable uses and appearances

  • The VL-1 received some fame when the German band Trio used it in one of their songs, "Da Da Da". They used the Rock-1 rhythm preset and the Piano voice.
  • The music video for Thomas Dolby's hit "She Blinded Me With Science" shows a group of schoolchildren holding VL-1s during a dream sequence.
  • The same rhythm preset features in the first half of The Man Whose Head Expanded by The Fall, only to be cut short by Mark E. Smith's command to "turn that bloody blimey space invader off".
  • The VL-1's "fantasy" voice is the only sound on the cover version of Roy Budd's theme tune for Get Carter which is featured on the Human League album Dare. The instrument is also used on the hit single "Open Your Heart".
  • The VL-1 is found in several Homestar Runner cartoons, in one case appearing as Strong Bad's head.
  • The Rock-1 and Rock-2 rhythms are heard on the track Stop/Start by The Assembly
  • Boom Boom Boom Boom by the Vengaboys starts with a rhythm that is identical in sound to the Rock-1 rhythm
  • The VL-1 is also put to use by pioneering death industrial act Brighter Death Now.
  • The progressive electronica band Yip-Yip often uses the VL-1's distinctive beats.
  • Fergie's "Clumsy" also uses one of VL-1's beats.

[edit] See also

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