Casio CPS 101! Have I heard these tones before?

[pianokeyjoe]

So I saw a youtube video from Keyboarder Hoarder and in it he was featuring the Casio CPS101. Now, mind you, I thought I had seen and played almost every classic Casio keyboard there was at some point in my life, but nooooo! So I tried to hear as best I could and compare the tones to some model I have heard or owned before or currently own. And I have to tell ya, non of the units I have played or owned sound like it! So I went ahead and found one on Ebay cheapish and bought it right away! It arrived today and I played and listened to the tones both with and without Chorus and touch response. Did you know that the tone changes when you activate or deactivate the touch response on these older units? Not all sounds, but some. So I listened to the pianos and vibe, and pipe organs and so on and I noticed digital artifacts like FM in the pianos, and vibes sounds with fades from pulse to a more square wave pulse(narrow to then wider pulse). I noticed on pipe organ 2 that it is more flute like but when you engage the touch response the attack changes to a percussive style blip tone with the flute sound softer afterwards. But here is the thing: Have I heard these sounds before?? CT6000? Casio Tone 701? Maybe the Casiotone 101? or the 201? I know these sounds are repeated in another model but which one? It is NOT, I repeat NOT the CPS201!

Now speaking of the CPS201, You guys may or may not remember me speaking of a strange Casio CPS model that I have not seen again since I played it back in 1987 called the CPS210? Well, this CPS101 is adding further credence to the aforementioned CPS210(CPS201 but with MIDI and plastic case instead of metal and power supply instead of built in PSU). Yeah... The CPS101 looks like a stripped down version of the CPS210! I know this cause upon looking at it, I now remember the chorus effect, and the plastic case with a smaller bevel at the key pivot point, the buttons were smaller like on the CPS101 and the MIDI with touch response keys! The 9VDC wall wart input instead of the massive heavy metal bottom and built in power supply of the CPS201 which I knew seemed a bit different to the CPS210. So? Have I heard the CPS101 before? Is there a CPS210 that came out in late 1987 at the same time the CPS101 did??   Also, the AUTO HARMONIZE feature which is in the CPS201 was in the CPS210 and When I saw that feature in the CT630(MT600 fullsized),it reminded me of the CPS210 cause before I played that particular model, I NEVER HEARD of such feature as autoharmonize. Then I saw it shortly after in the CT370 that was released in early 1988, about a few months after I played the CPS210. The sounds in the CPS101 sounds nice, different, not too cheesy not too synthy but certainly I have heard those tones in another model of the time frame but does anyone KNOW which one? My CT701 and CT6000 are buried under a ton of other keyboards and boxes right now so I can not confirm..

[Chas]

I had a look/ listen to some CPS101  videos, and the overall sound vibe I was getting was that of a Consonant Vowel Casio - check out the video below. Aesthetically, the CPS101  reminds me of a the HT 3000 in terms of form factor, though it doesn't sound quite like the HT Spectrum Dynamics sound engine. Saying that, SD synthesis IS based on Consonant Vowel, but it has a more refined and flexible sound. At a guess, the CPS101 is likely CT6000 based seeing as that was both Consonant Vowel and with a velocity keyboard, and there weren't any other CV series keyboards with velocity (other than the very loosely related HT6000). I also couldn't find a release date for the CPS101, as knowing that would possibly help to zero in on what era Casio sound engine could have been in use.

 

 

[pianokeyjoe]

@ChasWell sir, I thankyou for your input indeed. I can tell you as a Casio lover, that the CPS101 would have been released a year after the CPS201. See, the fabled CPS210(midi version of the CPS201 but with CPS101 case and buttons), was played in late 1987 or early 1988 shortly before the CT370 came out which has NOTHING to do with the CPS or CV but I noticed that keyboard having auto harmonize like the CPS210 but a much simpler interface and different tones from anything I heard prior. The CPS101 has those same keys as the CT6000/CPS201/HT6000 and the CZ1/FZ1/VZ1 but without the key weights of course. Yeah Casio made ALOT of INTERNATIONAL or REGIONAL Models that are not found in the Mainland USA but were found in catalogs and stores outside the Continental USA. For instance, like that maybe unreleased HT-X10? I also SAW a 73 note touch responsive Casio digital piano maybe a CPS model that was in Argentina and has never been seen before in the USA. It was from the mid 80's so 1987 and the keys were the same as the CT6000/CPS201 but 6 straight octaves(73 keys) instead of 5(61 keys)So that was a unique thing that stood out to me back in 1998 when I visited Argentina. Now the CPS210(midi version 201) Was sold in the Navy Exchange in Puerto Rico back in 1987-88 so again, not in the mainland USA so the hunt and mystery continues.  The CPS101 and CPS201 have very different builds but same sounds. The CT6000 was older. There is a fully weighted CPS2000 76 note digital piano and a lesser CPS700 76 note and BOTH have the same sounds but very different builds as well so go figure.

Edited April 10, 2023 by pianokeyjoe
added info