Volterock Review

Monday, June 13, 2022

NAMM 2022: Casio

CASIO UNVEILED POP ART-INSPIRED CT-S1 KEYBOARD, ‘MUSIC TAPESTRY’ TECHNOLOGY AT NAMM 2022

Creativity and Innovation Combine to Take Keyboards To An Entirely New Level of Enjoyment and Inspiration

DOVER, NJ, June 7, 2022 – Casio America, Inc., the world’s leading provider of powerful and affordable musical instruments, showcased several inspiring keyboards and artistic projects at the 2022 NAMM Show, held June 3-5 in Anaheim, California, USA.

On its main stage, Casio put the spotlight on two recently introduced instruments: the PRIVIA PX-S3100 digital piano and the CT-S1000V vocal synthesizer.

The PX-S3100 and its companion PX-S1100 are the latest additions to Casio’s award-winning family of PRIVIA keyboards. These musical instruments are defined by a simple yet elegant slim design that brings a certain sophistication to homes everywhere.

Faithfully delivering the sound and playability of a grand piano, these PRIVIA keyboards provide outstanding performance and continue to evolve with the times to match users’ lifestyles while featuring vibrant colors to complement the interior décor of today’s homes.

Sharing the spotlight was the new Casiotone CT-S1000V, the first vocal synthesizer that can literally turn any text — such as song lyrics — into a musical phrase and then “sing” it in full harmony based on any notes played on its keys.

Casio built 100 Lyric Tones (phrases inspired by familiar songs) into the CT-S1000V, which can be overwritten, and there’s space for 50 more brought in from the Lyric Creator app. The instrument supports both English and Japanese text. No keyboard instrument has ever been able to speak and sing with this degree of ease and musicality.

For musicians who simply want all the CT-S1000V’s great instrument sounds, accompaniment features, sampling, MIDI recording, and effects without vocal synthesis, Casio showcased the new CT-S500, which hits this sweet spot at an even more compelling price. Weighing just over 10 pounds and featuring the ability to run on six AA batteries, both keyboards are designed to make music on the go.

Music Tapestry

Casio unveiled “Music Tapestry,”a new technology that creates art out of musical performances during the NAMM Show. Triggered by the pitches of the musical piece and touch on the keyboard, Music Tapestry enables users to create evolving imagery in real-time that generates a single still image when the performer stops playing. As a result, even musicians who have never played the piano can create pleasing pictures, including bouquets, cherry blossoms, roses and geometric patterns.

Music Tapestry is the latest project of Casio Sound Developer Hiroko Okuda, who saw real value in offering people the emotionally engaging experience of creating visual artwork by playing music. This year, Ms. Okuda received worldwide notoriety when it was revealed that she created a particular “rock” preset for the original Casio MT-40 keyboard four decades ago. That preset inspired Jamaican singer Wayne Smith to write his 1985 hit song, “Under Mi Sleng Teng.” The famous “riddim” became so popular that more than 250 records featured it, starting a reggae revolution that has reverberated to this day.

Casio Collaborates with Renowned Pop Artist Britto

Casio also announced a collaboration with Romero Britto, a renowned Brazilian Pop Artist who has previously collaborated with Disney, Audi and Wilson Sporting Goods and has had his works exhibited in more than 100 countries.

Casio recently invited Britto to apply his unique style to the speaker fabric of a white Casio CT-S1, a 61-key keyboard with built-in speakers, multi-functional buttons and weighing only 9 lbs.—ideal for players of varying skill levels and convenient for casual play at any time. The result is “Flowers & Hearts,” an exciting and fun design that combines cubism, pop art, and graffiti painting elements. The Limited-Edition CT-S1 FH model will be available later this year in the U.S.

Rounding out the Casio display were several recently introduced keyboards, including the CT-S400, CT-S500 and LK-S450.