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Updated
10/09/2000
 Welcome to the Casio VL-1 Site ! The Casio VL-1 (also known as the 'VL-Tone') is a teensy-tiny handheld toy keyboard from sometime in the early 80's. Actually, it was primarily a calculator with a built-in sound source as a sort-of twisted novelty. This cute little cheese-devil is probably the single coolest musical gadget available for under $20 USD. I picked one up on eBay for $11 without a manual - I immediatly fell for the classic cheesecore sounds, but was saddened to find not a single web page devoted to it. So here, in glorious HTML, is Maximum Cheesecore, the one and only website devoted exclusively to the little calculator that would not be quiet. Coming soon : Audio samples and tracks starring
my VL-1 !
 A
look under a very small hood . . .
Funky PCM-based noises 5 totally unnatural voices Drum snare, high-hat, cymbol, ass-kicking castanets! 100-note memory step sequencer 29 teensy tiny tactile keys Built-in speaker 1/8" mini-jack (line out) Powered by 4 x AA batteries Optional power adapter jack MIDI abstainant Demo song! One key play (undeciphered)
Now
how
much would you expect to pay?
Just a few of the oft-overlooked features of this musical mothership:
If you doubt the awesome power of the VL-1, crank the volume and hit the yellow [Music] button - and prepare to have your mind blown. Forget the voices, cause once the rhythm kicks-in around measure 16, you'll be convinced. One word : Castanets!! 8-)
If are blessed enough to find one of these little cheeseballs to call your own, try your damnedest to get one with the K-Radical tan leather-like case - the babes will swoon when you step-up and unleash your beast from its Muskrat Love sheath. With brown trim and snap-clasp even!
Not only does it bust charts, but it will add-up your Denny's bill too! Set the power switch to [Cal] and you're good to go - numbers and operators down on the keypad, functions are on panel buttons - it's even got modulus, square-root and memory! Actually, the calculator has a destiny - it's the interface for the ADSR feature (see Programming the ADSR Voice).
Like any other Casio calculator, it turns itself off after 5 minutes.
[
COMING SOON ]
Dig
that
crazy built-in speaker!
The VL-1 has 5 built-in voices and one programmable ADSR voice (see Programming the ADSR Voice). Most of them sound best with the [Octave] switch set to 'Low'. They can all be useful and a couple are just heavenly.
Okay so this tone is pretty weak - you might not like the sound of it compared to the others, but with the [Octave] set to 'Low', the very lowest C might help you fill-in a downbeat someday.
This is one of the phattest, sweetest sounds you will ever hear coming from your little tan buddy. This one sustains 'till you release the key with a slight tremolo after a few seconds, making it the VL-1's most versatile pad.
This hardly mimics a violin in any way - it does, however, make a great lead voice for a mutant space zombie flick (octave set to low) and an equally Buck Rogers-style 'suspense' noise (highest notes on high octave).
Really only sounds good at the 'high' octave setting, but the upper-half of octave 'med' is okay too. Reminds one of many a bad Vincent Price film.
Set the octave all-the-way down and use notes nearest the middle of the keypad - if used carefully, it could almost serve a bassline.
It's time to get funky . . .
Set the voice to [Violin] and the [Octave] to 'Low'. Cup one hand over the speaker with your palm almost flat and very near the grill. Hold the lowest note on the keypad and ease your hand up away from the grill very slightly, then stop abruptly - the sound will change over the course of the note, giving a 'whaaaooowuumm' to it. With practice, you can create a very convincing effect much like a vocoder.
Though you wouldn't want to over-wear your classic Casio, special occasions might warrant the use of the deadly forbidden Kung-Fu Octave Kick - cocentrate your lifeforce on your note and go wail on that [Octave] switch with any of your other 9 free digits.
It should be obvious that if you really intend to use something from a toy in a real track, you should take-advantage of any outboard sweetening you have - the drum sounds as well as the 'Fantasy' and 'Violin' voices can really become something through a dirty filter - a chorus or slapback echo will give you a whole new dimension of sound. The only real voice technique available on the VL-1 is the ADSR voice feature. Read about that in the next section.
Thou shall hack thy VL-1 . . .
ADSR is the one feature that truly sets the VL-1 apart from other calculators- by setting values in an 8-digit field, you can define a voice by attack, decay, sustain and resonance - you get several waveforms to start with and you can even add play with pitch modulation and tremelo! No I am not kidding. Now you know why the VL-1 is the hippest, baddest caculator keyboard toy thingee on earth - if you don't believe it, check-out my custom VL-1 Patches! Disclaimer : My information on the ADSR mode is VERY sketchy - it's compiled from hearsay, obscure chat postings and just plain hacking - as I've said I've never seen a manual. Some of the information here may be inaccurate, but it still beats a total mystery! Setting the Voice
7 9 9 5 9 6 5 3The digits are mapped-out as follows (my info here is very sketchy). 1st digit defines the waveform of the voice 2nd digit is the envelope attack timeBasic ADSR Voice Demonstrations 10900000 Louder, harsher piano
Go where no calculator dare tread . . .
These are a few select ADSR voices I've made-up for your VL-1 ! Program them in and you'll never look at your Casio the same. If you mess with your calculator enough, you can get some pretty bizarre sounds out of it, triple-A's be damned! Enjoy!
If you have anything to add about the Casio VL-1, please eMail me right-away! I'd love to integrate your tips, ADSR codes, pictures and of course tunes that demonstrate the VL-1 at its absolute finest. metalshop@yahoo.com  yawns
since Oct 9, 2000 |
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