Learning to play more than one musical instrument was costly and time-consuming, and the electronic instruments of the time did not offer ease of operation either. In a bid to break through these barriers, CASIO developed the compact, lightweight Casiotone 201 electronic keyboard with a built-in speaker to offer the enjoyment of playing a variety of different musical instruments with simplicity. This innovative instrument enabled the user to play the sounds of 29 different instruments on the keyboard. Hailed at the time as a “third type of instrument”—neither an electric organ nor a synthesizer—the model proved a good fit with society’s predilection for richness of spirit and spread around the world in a flash, giving rise to a whole new way of enjoying music.
With its combination of a two-tiered pair of keyboards, a pedal keyboard, an accompaniment feature, memory, and large speakers, this electronic keyboard system could handle a diverse range of musical styles and broadened the range of expression possible in musical performance. It could be called the culmination of Casio’s work crafting musical instruments at the time.
The first 16-bit sampling synthesizer in Japan. The FZ-1 was the premier Casio synthesizer model at the time, providing 16-bit handling of all sampling—a technique in the spotlight at the time—to enable playback with high sound quality and satisfy the exacting demands of even pro musicians. It also featured a large graphical LCD display, enabling waveform editing and making adjustments possible for superior usability.
Seeking to offer acoustics and key-touch able to satisfy the demands of users very particular about piano performance, the AP-7 featured an Advanced Piano (AP) sound source and the Natural Hammer Action function. This was the first CELVIANO model, incorporating unique digital modes of enjoyment different from the capabilities of conventional pianos, including a built-in CD player allowing users to play with orchestral accompaniment, for example. The name CELVIANO was formed from a combination of Cerveau (French for “brain”), Electronics and Piano to convey the meaning “brain-equipped, new-era digital piano.”
This all-in-one keyboard came loaded with a wide range of features such as an offering of 522 high-quality tones powered by the Zygotech Polynomial Interpolation (ZPI) sound source, which was newly developed at the time, the Song Studio function, which enabled chord progression extraction from MIDI data, and the Drawbar function enabling organ sounds to be played with nine sliders. With such a high degree of perfection as an electronic keyboard, this model won many avid fans around the world.
The XW-P1 offered 620 types of preset tones across sound functions such as Hex Layer for creating sounds with layering and depth, Solo Synth for reproducing the sounds of traditional analog synthesizers, and Drawbar Organ, not to mention 2,158 built-in waveforms. Providing an intuitive approach to sound creation by enabling control of these sounds with knobs and sliders, the model provided a jam-packed smorgasbord of the features synth players want.
