SK-1
Casio SK-1
Manufacturer	Casio
Dates	1985–?
Technical specifications
Polyphony	4
Timbrality	Monotimbral
Synthesis type	Sampling,additive
Attenuator	ADSR, 13 preset envelopes
Storage memory	5 preset PCM tones 3 preset additive tones 1 user additive tone 1 sample 400-step sequencer
Effects	Portamento Vibrato Sample looping
Input/output
Keyboard	32 mini-keys
Left-hand control	none
External control	none

TheCasio SK-1 is a smallsampling keyboard made byCasio in 1985.^[1][2] It has 32 small sized piano keys, four-notepolyphony, with a sampling bit depth of 8 bitPCM and asample rate of 9.38kHz for 1.4 seconds, a built-in microphone andline level and microphone inputs for sampling, and an internal speaker and line out. It also features a small number of four-notepolyphonic presetanalog anddigital instrument voices, and a simpleadditive voice.

All voices may be shaped by 13 presetenvelopes,portamento, andvibrato. It also includes a rudimentary sequence recorder, preset rhythms and chord accompaniment. The SK-1 was thus an unusually full-featured synth in the sub-US$100 (equivalent to $290 today) home keyboard market of the time.

The SK-1 includes one pre-arranged piece of music, theToy Symphony, which is played when the "Demo" button is pressed.^[3]

TheRadio Shack version of the Casio SK-1 is called theRealistic Concertmate 500.^[4]

The SK line continued throughout the late 1980s, including the SK-2, SK-5, SK-8 and 8A, SK-10, SK-60, SK-100, SK-200, and SK-2100.

The SK-1 has been used by a few major recording artists for its simplicity andlo-fi sound. It became very popular in the late 1990s among thecircuit bending crowd after the first guide to bending it was published byReed Ghazala inExperimental Musical Instruments magazine, though the SK-1 was being modified as early as 1987 whenKeyboard Magazine published an article on addingMIDI support.^[5]

• The synthesizer was one of the first pieces of equipment thatAutechre had when they began recording music.^[6]
• Musician and score composerMichael Andrews featured a circuit bent SK-1 heavily in theMe and You and Everyone We Know musical score.
• The "Realistic Concertmate" version of the SK-1 is the primary synth used in the no wave / industrial band Special Interest.
• It was used by notablejungle artistDJ Hype for his seminal productions,^[7] and rapper and producerLarge Professor used it in his early years of beat-making.
• Australian band Turnstyle used the keyboard's sample function on various songs as both repetitive motifs (Happier Than Metallica) and melodic passages (Sad Rambo).
• Owen Ashworth used and recorded with one forCasiotone for the Painfully Alone's second live albumIn Sydney.
• Graham Lewis ofWire used it frequently during their late-80s period.
• Mount Eerie'sEleven Old Songs of Mount Eerie consisted solely ofPhil Elverum's vocals and an SK-1, making use of its various effects and built-in rhythm machine.It is also featured on the cover of the Soccer Mommy album "Collection".
• ComposerSamuel Andreyev has written demanding parts for the SK-1 in several of his chamber compositions, including Vérifications, Iridescent Notation and Sextet in Two Parts.^[8]
• Damon Albarn of the British bandBlur uses the SK-1 in the song Advert, on the album "Modern Life Is Rubbish"

• Casio SK-1 specifications and user reviews atSonic State
• Casio SK-1 atVintage Synth Explorer
• Casio Sk-1 Polynominal.com [info, manual, mp3 demo and pictures]

• Casio synthesizers
• Products introduced in 1985

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata