Update: And the twin via the comments of the post:
Casio Rap-Man
Interesting Flickr shot of the Casio SK1 and the Realistic Rap-Master with a cpation states the Rap-Master was a copy of the SK1. Who knows... I bet some circuit benders out there would. If you know, feel free to comment.
Actually, the Rap-Master was a copy of the Casio Rap-man.
ReplyDeleteThanks, post updated.
ReplyDelete...and, the licensed clone of the sk1 done by radio shack was the concertmate 500.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add - If you have'nt already visited, visit http://www.tonymason.com/casio/index.cfm for all your lo-fi sampling needs.
ReplyDeletelove your site by the way, as do many others. keep up the good (and no doubt time consuming) work - it's appreciated.
I have the service manuals of both, and they are very different.
ReplyDeleteThe Rap-Man can't sample, it's actually quite limited. The raddest feature is if you start scratching on the wheel, it stops the drum pattern until the start of the next bar.
Sk-1 can sample, has blippy drums, has a drawbar organ sort of synth included, and can portamento in mono mode (sample yourself whistling for Theremin mojo)
Thanks. Off to go post that casio site and update this post again.
ReplyDeleteLOL... I didn't know about the Casio Rap-Man. The original Flickr shot was mine, so I'll update my caption to reflect this new info.
ReplyDeleteWhen I opened the two synths I placed the circuit boards side by side and compared them. They looked very similar to me, probably due to the shared Casio design history, although the Rap-Man obviously had additions.
I was so bummed the keyboards weren't compatible. So close! Identical size, but slight differences in guide shapes and key retainers made it impossible.
I've used my SK-1 in practically everything I've done. Even if its only contribution is a single sound I try to fit it in the mix somewhere. It's the first synth I ever played, and I carried it everywhere with me for years.
The key was broken by a friend wailing on it too hard. It's just not right to let my favorite synth languish in a diminished state like this.
Anyone have a toasted SK-1 I could scavenge a keyboard from? I only need the strip of white keys!
"I've used my SK-1 in practically everything I've done. Even if its only contribution is a single sound I try to fit it in the mix somewhere. It's the first synth I ever played, and I carried it everywhere with me for years."
ReplyDeleteNow that's cool! : )
"Now that's cool! : )"
ReplyDeleteLOL... which is exactly why this is just killing me! On closer inspection I've found one of the black keys was also damaged and is just waiting to snap. Curses to the hamfisted!
What I really need is a board fried, circuit dead SK-1... I don't mind buying from eBay, and might go that route, but I hate to take a working SK-1 from the available pool when all I really need are the two strips of black and white keys.