Chas Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Hey all, I've finally finished my latest video, the "Top 10 Famous Casio Keyboards"! As is always the case with my videos, this grew from a "this should be a quick video to make" to "OMG, there's so much more information than I expected requiring extra research/ scripting/ editing etc." It's taken a LOT of work and time to put together, though I hope the end result is worth it as there's a ton of interesting facts, snippets and history revealed about many different Casio keyboards. Enjoy! 1 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jokeyman123 Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 Zappa-goes to show, it the musician, not the equipment. and Spinal Tap.....a Casio "Fairlite" that had to hurt. I wonder if it was mid'ied? Ghostbusters! I'd heard this never realized how much. (Classic Casio prices are exploding as this video is playing now.)😀 😀 I do have CZ-1 and SK-1 samples playable in my Alesis Fusion . Can do alot musically with the simplest sounds, actually easier to compose with simpler sounds than more complex, evolving sounds. This video demonstrates that very clearly. Wall of Voddoo, thank you one of my all-time favorite songs. when my brother was in the hospital this past month (motorcycle accident) I cheered him up considerably playing Mexican Radio for him. I can hear how the MT-10 was so prominent-that is a very good almost Irish tin whistle sound. Can cut through (obviously) almost even the loudest of other electronic or acoustic instruments. Great video, I'm only half-way through. Impressive, very. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlenK Posted February 6, 2023 Share Posted February 6, 2023 (edited) So Chas is Casio Chaos Theory TV? I never knew. (But the clue was there all along: The letters of his first name, in order, are right there in the word "Chaos.") When the CZ series was listed at number 2, I couldn't imagine what would top it. But then the answer was revealed and I can't argue with it! Amazing how many Casio keyboards often derided as mere toys have been used to make hit songs. Goes to show that if the sound you need is in there, use it! PS. Nice to see that the XW synths get an honourable mention. Edited February 6, 2023 by AlenK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted February 14, 2023 Author Share Posted February 14, 2023 (edited) On 2/6/2023 at 5:05 PM, AlenK said: So Chas is Casio Chaos Theory TV? I never knew. (But the clue was there all along: The letters of his first name, in order, are right there in the word "Chaos.") When the CZ series was listed at number 2, I couldn't imagine what would top it. But then the answer was revealed and I can't argue with it! Amazing how many Casio keyboards often derided as mere toys have been used to make hit songs. Goes to show that if the sound you need is in there, use it! PS. Nice to see that the XW synths get an honourable mention. Thank you! Funny though, I never noticed the connection between "Chas" and using the word "Chaos" as part of my channel name. I might run with that concept as it helps makes me look more clever! 😁 The channel name actually came about from many years ago when I first started collecting Casio keyboards, and the band I was in at the time were joking about what to call my collection. I was hearing everything from "a Junkyard of Casios" to "a Scrapheap of Casios" and even "A pile of obsolete calculator Casios". Then one of the members of the band chimed in and called it "A chaos of Casios" in respects of the rather wide range of abilities and features that they offered. Thus when I was trying to figure out a catchy and unique name for my YouTube channel, I remembered my bandmates comment and originally thought of just calling it "Casio Chaos", but I've always planned to have my channel cover other keyboards and manufacturers too, so wanted to add a word that would open up the scope of my channel. Thinking of the particle physics subject of "Chaos Theory", I thought that by combining my original idea of "Casio Chaos" with "Chaos Theory" would give a good ring to the name as well as make it unique. Hence "Casio Chaos Theory" was born. And now I can claim that I was being really smart by using the letters of my nickname within the "Chaos" part! And yes, using the criteria and scoring system to decide on the placings of each famous Casio keyboard in the list, to me there was absolutely no doubt that the VL-1 should have the number 1 spot. Some comments kind of missed the whole concept of this being a "famous" list, as I was asked why some models weren't listed or why they weren't ranked higher. Um, because they weren't used by famous artists/ on famous recordings/ weren't seen on TV/ Movies/ Promo videos etc.! Additionally, while researching and compiling the list, the CT201 and CT202 were originally at a lower spot. But then I heard about the Ghostbusters connection, managed to contact Martin Page who helped write and record the song with Ray Parker Jr., and then found out that yes, a whole bunch of the sounds on the recording came from Martin's CT202. With that information, the CT201/ CT202 jumped up the list by about 3 places, as being on such a major international hit song was quite an achievement. Totally agree and have always believed that the name/ manufacturer of the instrument is not as important as the whether it produces the right sound for the song. And many times a simple little Casio had the perfect sound that cuts through the mix. A good example of this is the M10 being used for the lead melody in the Human League's "Open Your Heart". The band and producer Martin Rushent had access to some powerful big name synths when recording Dare, but rightfully decided that the little M10's flute preset, with a bit of reverb, was the perfect sound to play the Open Your Heart lead melody. Many similar examples over the years of this happening, such as the lead melody line in OMD's "Enola Gay" being played using a Korg Micro Preset keyboard, a very basic, simple and cheap preset "synth" keyboard that the band purchased from their mum's home catalogue! Granted the melody actually recorded two separate sounds from the Micro Preset and layered them, but still, it was the perfect sound for the song. Hopefully the video did open up some people's eyes to how often Casios have been used in well known music, and quashed a few preconceptions and prejudices along the way too 👍 Edited February 14, 2023 by Chas 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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