Casio CT 401 Electronic Musical Instrument Demo.

[MrSkywalker1000]

Hey, nice Demo. I have a CT 403 and i love it :D

[synthartist69]

Awesome!

[goldmoogle]

you say 40 bucks at a pawn shop but the two on ebay are 200-300. I wish I could find one of these for cheaper ;_;

[smackyjack]

@goldmoogle Yeah, one of them was mine. I purchased mine about 6 years ago, so people are getting wise to how cool these are. Try small towns, not cities for cool pawnshop finds.

[georgexkr]

Are all the casiotone 400s this cool, or is it just the 401?

[smackyjack]

@georgexkr I think they run on the same tech, so i would assume that they all have the same sound.

[smackyjack]

OK I've put the old girl up for sale if anyone here is interested. Just hit ebay and search for the Casio Tone 401.

[Tastronauten]

@smackjack Thanks. I have checked the translation but in my eyes it is absolutely exact ;-)))) Yes, we love cool instruments. And very often it is not a question of money. We have a Yamaha CS80 beside a Yamaha PSR210. If you mix them to one song, 99,9 percent of all would not know, if you have used an instrument for 10.000 or 1 buck. Yes, fun is our motivation. Keep on rocking and watching our site.

[Tastronauten]

This keyboard is so much underrated. I have bought one last year, because your video has inspired me. And it was a fantastic deal, a wonderful analog and warm sounding instrument for only a few bucks. It is built like a tank, has a really good build in speaker, some nice sounds, drumkits as well and a few fxs, which are usable, too. Thanks for inspiring me. You find our Casio 401 on our analog synthesizer museum site. Search for tastronauten and casio.

[smackyjack]

@Tastronauten Why thanks! I try to find the elusive and take it to the next generation and say "Here, THIS is what started it." This line of little keyboards from Casio is I think their best up until the CZ series. The build quality and key feel is VERY professional and was well researched. It's usable as all get out when you throw some cool effects thru the signal path. I don't have favorite keyboards, but this is my favorite keyboard!

[smackyjack]

@Tastronauten Hey, I checked your page out. Very cool. You've got lots of nice gear! The German to English google translation was pretty funny, but I could read it and I agree with you completely! Cheap and fun that's my kind of instrument!

[Seantroll]

from 3.49 - 3.55 what song is that? i think ive herd it before form a 60s song after hearing it i got a casiotone 403, great keyboard

[smackyjack]

@Seantroll Just some chords. All my stuff on demos is always improve I don't play any covers, so if it sounds like something I'm sorry but I don't know what song. :)

[Seantroll]

@smackyjack thanks anyway, its very good!

[wassoreal]

love this keyboard. anyone know if this and the 403 have the same synth engine? can't find a lot of 401's out there for sale...

[smackyjack]

@wassoreal I think it does have the same motor. I'm not sure if the rest is the same, but I bet you'd be happy with a 403. There aren't that many of these synths out there anymore.

Good luck.

[sssyntax]

Awesome radio voice dude :)

"Your listening to the caaaasio 4 oh 1, its currently 12:35, its fine outside with a chance of slight cloud appearing later in the day....@

A great presentation too :)

[smackyjack]

@sssyntax Hahaha, thank you! Too bad I don't have the talent to go with it.

[MrCea19]

does it have a sustain ability? can you add reverb or gate?

Sorry thinking about buying this off craigslist

[smackyjack]

@MrCea19 No, it's just a preset synth, the warmness of the tone comes because of it's mono output, and really good programming on casios part. There's no ADSR or LFO or anything you can really manipulate other than switches like hold, sustain, virbrato and virbrato delay. I don't really miss any of the control on this keyboard, I like it just as it is. The keybed is great and it plays like a professional instrument. I'm really sorry about the delay in answering your questions.

[strag1]

Cheers, a trip down memory lane...was my second keyboard :)

[SavannaSteel2008]

Fantastic video, thanks for sharing man. I love the sounds on this thing. In fact I manged to pick up a CT101, which was the very first Casiotone keybaord from 1980 I think, a few weeks ago off eBay for £17, I was so pleased. It looks amazing (buildt like a tank!) and the soudns are fab, so warm and analogue. And like you I LOVE the piano sound and flutes, plus the 'funny' which as you say aint funny, but sure is cool. Thanks for sharing. I'm now on the look out for one of these babies as well!

[smackyjack]

@SavannaSteel2008 I'm glad to have entertained you for a few minutes. i really think this is my favorite keyboard. Just because of the surprising quality in the build and tone. It's great thru effects as well!

[smackyjack]

@SavannaSteel2008 I'll try in the next few weeks to do an entire piece of music with this little thing. I hope.

[gorillaMaticIAP]

you make me want to learn how to actually play keyboard. I have a casio ct-460, and it still works great! Got it for free from a neighbor

[smackyjack]

@gorillaMaticIAP There's no secret to it. Just practice. You'll get there. I believe its 2% talent and 98% work.

[pmanderson70]

Very good presentation.

Thank you.

[smackyjack]

@pmanderson70 You're welcome...11months later.

[NunuQuadros]

piano sound sounds like a real piano when you play full chords.playing individual notes gives the game away though

[TheBuikorgel]

thanks for uploading this! After hearing your demo I bought a CT 403. It sounds just like your 401. Lovely stuff. Good craftmanship by the Casio engineers.

[waiffcake]

love this video. does the keyboard actually sound that amazing or does the amp, etc....that are you using contribute to the awesome, warm sound? what are you using?

[waiffcake]

love this video!!! i am considering buying one of these on ebay. the clarinet sound is so far out and reminds me of a mellotron! the bass on the preset drum beats sounds sooo good and thick, is that due to your amp and preamp or is this just that good of a little instrument? would you mind telling me what equipment you used on this video? And also, would you recommend buying the Casio VP-1 volume pedal to go along with this keyboard? Thanks soooo much!

[waiffcake]

love the video! i am considering buying one of these on ebay. The clarinet sound is way awesome, almost reminds me of a mellotron. in this video, the bass sounds sooo good on the preset drum beats...is that due to your amp and preamp or is that just cause this is such a good little keyboard? would you mind telling me what equipment you used in this video and if you would recommend buyinh the Casio VP-1 volume pedal to go along with this? thanks so much!!!

[willysquare]

Awesome video! What songs did you play with the Clarinet and Funny preset?

[smackyjack]

@willysquare No song, just messing around. If it was a tune that's been written before, it was purely coincidental. I always just improve on stuff like this, but as everyone that writes music knows, sometimes you compose songs that are already out there.

[dvamateur]

I am a big fan of Casio instruments from the '80s, as per attached video.

[killermangiro]

yo, i just gut a ct-405 with a broken tonebank switch. the first 10 instruments work, but the switch for the other 10 instruments doesn't seem to work anymore. have you ever opened the case of your casiotone? is it hard to fix?

[smackyjack]

Nope. Mine's in perfect shape, I've never had to do any work on it. I don't think it could be that hard. It would depend on how comfortable you are with electronics. I don't like opening any equipment if i can help it.

[Babelmind]

Hey, I have that keyboard for about 26-27 years, i thought i was the only one who had that item. (May be I'm the one in my country:) )Mine is really in good condition, just the amp inside is a little bit buzzling but I'll fix. Anyway, your video was so cool, thank you for that. May be you can record a few songs and put them here, it can be so terrific. Take care dude, and hello from Turkey.

[smackyjack]

Thanks Babelmind, for your really nice comment. I think just for you I'll try to put a song up that's nothing but this little keyboard and some effects.

[smackyjack]

Oh yeah, Hello from MEMPHIS, TN!

[whoiscuriousgeorge]

I love that vintage Casio tone. Even when the presets don't sound like the instruments they're modelling, they have a certain vibe to them that can't be easily recreated on newer synth modellers.

I've had a bunch of small vintage Casio keyboards in my time and they've all been a lot of fun.

[smackyjack]

Yeah, I'm partial to the very first few years of CT. One is because they have an analog drum machine on board, and Two, is because they seem more professional in form. Not to mention they have that cool vintage look to them. My first was a Casio, back in 83-84 don't recall the model # but it had an onboard mic, and sample pads that would play back what you recorded into them. Very cool for a keyboard right at 100$ or so. If you like this vid I also have one up for my CT 7000. Not as good, Cheers

[Keijz74]

Nice instrument.

[dvamateur]

I believe this is one of the first Casiotone keyboards, if not the first one. It sounds and looks fantastic! Like an instrument! Like a Fender guitar. Why don't the latest keyboards have an instrument look and feel? Why do they look more like cheesy plasticky LCD panel PC computers?

[smackyjack]

I don't know where it is on the timeline, Dvamateur, but I do know that it's one of the first. I agree with you it was very professional even for today's standards. It's built of steel, and is heavy. Several 1/4inch jacks on the back for input, sustain, volume pedal, and others. Really well built little instrument. I see this one out living my Motif 7.

Thanks for the comment.

[smackyjack]

@dvamateur Update. It DID out live my Motif.

[dvamateur]

@smackyjack Good. The eBay auction on the CT-401 start around $500 now. You see, an instrument is not only the sound, but also how it's put together, how it feels in hands, and how it looks, of course. Although I must say that Motif's keyboard feels very good. The only thing I don't like about the Motif is the front panel... The original Motif with the 240x80 LCD was okay though.  The one with the color LCD looks cheesy, at least to my taste, of course.

[smackyjack]

I don't know about that price, I guess it's good, but I don't think I would pay that much for one. I'm glad I got the one I have. I'm with you on the Motif. I had the Mo7, the only really thing I liked about it was its Electric piano patches, I think they did a good job on that. I have my fave EP already so I really didn't need it. I'm a Triton fan myself.

[missingsayoko]

frog rocks.

[smackyjack]

And don't you forget it. Thanks for the comment.

[musicman9897]

was at a recording studio a month or so ago, and they had a healthy amount of really nice vintage synths, juno, korgs, whatnot, and then this. they bought it for 50$ from a bum off the street, and it's by far their favorite keyboard. when i played it i realized why, coolest fucken keyboard

[smackyjack]

Yeah, I have a bunch of Keyboards at my studio too. I've done two soundtracks just using this keyboard and nothing else. i just sold my Yamaha Motif 8, the guy that bought it from me wanted to play on this Casio for a minute, because of curiosity...he wound up offering me 500.00 for it, I said no. I told him to look on the bay, he got one for around 140 with shipping. It's one of my favorite little odd ball Keyboards. Thanks for the comment.

[xulica1980]

You play amaizing you remind of all classic games sega genesis

[smackyjack]

Well, I play as amazing as I can, there are plenty of folks more proficient than I. I'm more of a composer than player, but thank you anyway

[JakeAdel]

Great demo =)

Anyway does anyone know about the casiotone 610?

[smackyjack]

I think it's about the same as all of the CT models that came out in the early 80's If you have one do a demo and slap it up here on the old Youtube!.

Thanks for the complement and the comment!

[Harald136]

these old casios are more like music instruments than some other synths that sound like toys

[smackyjack]

I agree. It seems Casio was really trying to put "instruments" together. From what I gather they cost around 800.00 US dollars in 1980. That's like the price of a Nord 61 today. (around 1600.00) So if price was any indication Casio thought they had a winner on their hands back in the day.

[indytone]

Great demo. Thank you so much for posting this. I'm looking at a Casiotone 301, but can't find any info on them. I have found a lot of info on the model you demo (401), however.

Do you happen to know what the differences are between the two models?

[smackyjack]

I'm not sure the difference of the two. I do think they are similar. I know the 201 is alot like the 401. I know I would buy one if I found one in good condition.

Thanks for the post and I hope you get it. If you can Post some demos as a vid responce to mine. I'd like to see it. I'm a big fan of all the late 70's early 80's console type keyboards from Casio.

[ayy43]

I'm japanese.

I have casiotone403. Thanks.

[smackyjack]

I'm American, thanks for being Japanese! I hope you enjoyed the video. The 403 is a cool little machine.

[Shagawee]

hi, i just got one of these and it doesn't make any sound. it lights up perfectly but, it doesnt do anything. Is it my power plug? i just use a pc plug, it didnt come with a cord. any help would be appreciated.

[smackyjack]

Yeah, I'm sure a PC chord will work, I don't think that's the issue. The internal speaker is suspect. plug some headphones into it or plug the external output into an amp or a PA to see if it's getting direct out. if it is, you know that the internal speaker needs to be replaced.

I hope this helps.

S

[nrkistsbc]

I just had my in-laws pick up a 401 for me today for $40! I can't wait to get my hands on it and see what it can do. I may have to take your suggestion and see if I can find a tube preamp. At this point I don't even know if it comes with the legs or music stand. I love the retro sound and your demo is awesome. Thanks for posting it.

[smackyjack]

Congrats!!!! You can get a Presonus Tubepre for less than a hundred bucks (around 60-75) on Ebay. The tube amp just warms the sound. You're gonna love the drum machine. I just fininshed a sound track to a short film and used nothing but the 401. Post some vids of what you do with yours!

Thanks for the comment

[SizZ1eR]

Haha the Oboe, i dunno why but in the old days Oboe always sounded like a turbocharged bagpipe. LOL

My dad used the CT 701 back in the early eighties along with another Casio i dont recall the model. :-(

[mikedanous]

Few weeks ago, i went to a street market (on sunday as always in my city) with things thrown out of german's houses (i live in Poland and polish bring it from germany) and i saw 401. Of course i wanted to get i so i approached the seller and asked how much it was. He said that it was 40zł (about 15 bucks!) but it was sold already! Damn unlucky i am. Thanks for the demo. Really nice job. Greetings, Mike.

[smackyjack]

Yeah, that was a really good deal. If you like theses little keyboards. i just rented mine to a guy that wanted to use it on his next album. He took this and the Omnichord version 200 that I have. . Keep your eyes out. They are out there for very cheap.

If you do get one of these things. Go on and pick up a tube preamp for it as well. The tone is Really awesome coming out of a tube. I think I'm gonna demo that next.

Thanks for the nice comment. Good luck on your search.

[yurayuka]

My parents bought just this CASIOTONE 401 model with special stand and case for me about 30 years ago.

It had a good sound.

If I remember rightI it was a flagship in CASIO.

Boy, does that bring back my youthful days.

[smackyjack]

Yes. The 401 was rather expensive back when it was new. I believe around 800 dollars US. And that was 30 years ago. I didn't pay that for it, but it did have the stand and the music rack. I think I gotta pretty nice little Keyboard.

I'm glad I could take you back.

Thanks.

[yurayuka]

30年ほど前だったろうか

まさにこの機種を親に買ってもらいました。

立派な専用スタンドとケースも一緒に

確かにいい音してました。

カシオにすれば結構高くて上位機種だったはず。

めちゃめちゃ懐かしいです。

[smackyjack]

I'm sorry I don't speak Japanese, but thank you for your comment.

[mkreibohm]

sweet review, man. I got the casiotone 403; got it for about $90 in near mint condition. anyway, I am considering getting a ct-6000, and I'd be really interested in a review of your 7000. keep it up!

[smackyjack]

Why don't you put some of that 403 here on Utube. I've not done a demo for the 7000 yet, because I think one of it's stereo channels are out.

[smackyjack]

Hey, man. I just posted another demo...Of the CT 7000. It's not as in depth, but you can hear some of the cool features.

[LzI]

Ok:) I found one for about $175, but im not sure if i want to pay that much. Ill buy it if i find it any cheaper though ;) Thanks again for the video :)

[smackyjack]

Eh...I would pay that if it were in really mint condition with the legs, and all. AND if it was the only one in town. I wouldn't go into debt over it.

Thanks for the comment, I'll be posting one of my ct 7000 (which isnt as cool imo) soon.

[LzI]

well. its not mint at all :p so i think ill wait for something else to come up :)

[LzI]

how much would you pay for a 401? :) Great Video btw :)

[smackyjack]

I paid 40 dollar from a pawn shop here in Memphis TN. Other markets (The internet) may have them for more (I've seen them for 150), but you can get them cheap. If you are going to buy online, these little things are really heavy. They aren't wood, they are all steel with wood veneer.

[smackyjack]

Thanks, I forgot to thank you. for a cool comment.

[whitEstripEdElephant]

"And we got, hah, frog.." I had to laugh when I heard that :D Great review

[smackyjack]

I love the thought of a bunch of Japanese buisiness men sitting around naming sounds for the 401...They got all the others then get to "Funny". It definately isn't a funny sound, to me anyway, they may have been tired. but Frog isn't a frog in the least. It is a really cool sound with effects.

[d4nial]

hmm. i've got the CT-403, which seems pretty much identical to yours. though it seems you select your sounds differently. and also i think i've got about 6 more tones. one being my favorite of ALL the old casiotones... Synth Brass! it's a beastly one, for sure. and also, your voice sounds just like Seth Rogen. sorry to blow your cover if you are him.

[smackyjack]

Yeah I think the 403 is a bit newer and has more sounds and such. I think the CT series are gems and are pretty much unoticed in the synth world. I don't know why...They do sound old and dated, but so does a lot of vintage gear. Go figure? I love them and are glad they are cheap...and sorry, no I'm not Seth, but thanks I've always liked his voice.

My CT 7000 has the synth brass, i think and You're right, awesome sound!!

[musclez1]

Hey cool video. I just purchased the casio ct 701 from a salvation army for $30. It is basically the same thing with more keys.

[smackyjack]

Yeah, I like the sound of all the old CT boards, I've got a 7000 too.

[sauermusicDE]

These older Casio CT keyboards (with wooden case) simply sound GREAT! Thanks for this detailed sound demo. :-)

[smackyjack]

sauermusicDE , I really think so too. I really like the warmth in the tone. It's very different than anything else out there. Including other casios. I have the CT 7000 too. (pretty much this one in stereo. I almost bought a 601 yesterday, the keys were mest up :(.

Thanks for the comment I agree absolutely. keep your eyes peeled for the CT7000 demo coming up next. (when I have the time)

talk to you soon

S.

[schnitzelfee]

i forgot the "r" two times... your and your .... great keyboard

[skuke]

great schnitzelfee

[smackyjack]

Thanks man, I've had this little keyboard for a while. When I have it going thru my Fender silverface Vibrolux it sounds really good. I'm going to be recording with it soon. I hope you really enjoy your new little Casio. They are limited, but sound really retro and cool.

[schnitzelfee]

i just got the keyboard as a present... i never heard it and now iwatch you video... now i love you video and of course my new keyboard

knut herbst