THIS ITEM ON HOLD
Tested and working classic 1980's Casio stereo keyboard. Made in Japan.
Works 100%. Shows some wear and is missing the cover that goes over the ROM pack. This does not come with any speakers so you either have to get some external speakers, plug into an amplifier/stereo system, or use headphones. Sound quality is good and has a lot of features. All keys good, all instruments good, drums are good, etc. Includes one ROM pack which I think is working correctly but didn't play with it long enough to figure out. It did play back some pre-programmed song that either was built into the keyboard or came from the ROM pack.
All keys work correctly. On key will "flip up" half an inch or so but isn't really noticeable unless you hold the keyboard upside down. Does not affect playbility at all. Battery compartment is clean- uses 6 "D" batteries or 9 volt AC adapter. The sliders have all been cleaned with electronic contact cleaner spray and work correctly. The keyboard has been cleaned but can use a little more cleaning.
This is a superior 80’s Casio keyboard. It is a member of the Casio MT-65 family, the MT-65 being the definitive Casio keyboard. Like others in this family it uses the sound generation chip of the 65 and lacks some features.. but adds some very cool ones…
The 800 displays a manufacturing principal that will turn us all into reverse engineers when civilization collapses – it sounds HEAPS better than the 65. How is this so? Well for various technical reasons, mainly to save the company money, although the sound chip is the same in various models what happens to the sound after it leaves the chip alters depending on what filters and amplifiers are in that keyboard. This is probably as true for ‘real’ keyboards as for Casios. These things have huge untapped potential in them.
Well the 800 has made the sound of the 65 family a lot clearer, and for those reverse engineers out there it would be a cinch to add all the 65 sounds and rhythm features, (erm when I get around to publishing the technical documentation for that – could take awhile)
The MT-800 is an ULTRAFAB Casio because it sounds great AND uses Casio ROM packs. It is rare for an MT series to take ROM packs, those little cartridges that you plug into a Casio and they play german folk tunes, the PT series is reserved for this task and though some of there drums are great the instrument sounds generally suck.
The ROM Pack I have in my MT-800 is the RO-201, “Fun With Your Casio Keyboardâ€.
Indeed.
Hell fun! It has 14 songs, of note are: #14 Brazil, #13 More, and… #5 StarWars – Humppa Style!!!
Personally I have been trying out #13 More, and I’m hooked. I am actually learning how to play it by following the LED’s that light up above the keys. I never thought I would be able to learn to play songs that aren’t mine (that’s REAL musician territory) but with the great sounding MT-800 that is a possibility!
You also have the facility to record your own tune into the machine.
Other features of this keyboard – it’s stereo, with a quite decent stereo chorus effect – giving the already good sounds another richer voicing. There is a mic input also, I will edit this post soon to assess the pre-amp of that. If you are a lucky one you might even find the MT-800 with speakers.
It is one of several models that had detachable speakers. Excellently designed units that can stand up by themselves or clip onto the back of the keyboard. I don’t have the speakers but the kind of speakers I’m interested in plugging this thing into are for servicing crowds of thousands so I’m too upset.
Summary: A better sounding stereo MT-65, minus the rythmic and instrument variations, with ROM pack.
Send your zip code for ship cost- should be between $8.95 and $15.95 if you are in the continental USA (Nov. 2012).
