Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...

electronic musical keyboards were first manufactured in June 1979 and continue to be made by

today. Older units in the Casio line, despite being limited, were and still are popular with independent artists like

Jack Stauber Hypnagogic pop musicians Jack Stauber (born April 6, 1996) is an American musician, animator, filmmaker and internet personality based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is widely known for his VHS-aesthetic live-action, stop motion, and comput ...

and

Outkast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...

for their unique and sometimes haunting sounds, particularly their

pulse-code modulation Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, compact discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications. In a PCM stream, the amplitud ...

keyboards. The original Casiotone line was abbreviated to CT in the mid-1980s but has continued to feature full-sized keys. MT and PT lines typically feature mini keys and the VL line features push-button keys. Most Casio keyboards feature automated accompaniment sections which may include drums, bass, chords and harmonies. Many Casio keyboards can be run on both mains electricity and battery power. Some Casio keyboards were integrated into other electronic audio equipment, including AM/FM radios and cassette decks. Casio keyboards from the 1980s and 1990s are occasionally used by ambitious sound designers who use

circuit bending Circuit bending is the creative customization of the circuits within electronic devices such as children's toys and digital synthesizers to create new musical or visual instruments and sound generators. Circuit bending is manipulating a circuit ...

, a process in which a person rewires the circuitry in innovative ways in an attempt to increase functionality, to extend the keyboard's sound palettes. The following list includes some of the instruments' basic specifications and is not exhaustive.

Casiotone keyboards (1980-present)

Synthesizers (1984-1988)

K Series (kid keyboards)

LK Series (light keyboards with illuminated keys)

M Series (mini keyboards)

P Series (petite keyboards)

S Series (sampler keyboards)

T Series (tape keyboards)

VL Series (button keyboards)

Other

References

External links

Models and production of CASIO keyboards instruments

Casio Home Keyboards , Sound Programming

Past Models , Electronic Musical Instruments - Casio

History of CASIO's Musical Instrument Business
{{Casio Casio musical instruments