His efforts would've been better spent on a different Casiotone model. The "Tone Bank" keyboards such as the MT-240 were possibly the least interesting and desirable ones Casio made. I wouldn't have bothered restoring this one.
@@diggydude5229 Just a note: not trying to make any assumptions, just speaking with your comment as context. It seems like you're missing the whole point, he's not restoring all of this stuff for interest, it's just for the sake of restoration as a means to preserve history as well to teach
Actually.. I wanted to try a nitromethane product. I had read about those on the internet. But I visited several stores such as home depot, hobby lobby, etc. I never could find it.
Conductive paint is a good way to make connection to those printed carbon tracks under the buttons that you can't really solder to! Also, there's a substance meant for repairing the heated tracks on automobile rear windshields that can work, too.
Conductive ink, I bought the cheap stuff from AliExpress and am doing test on my own. The problem I have encountered is that it doesn't 'grab' to the surface sufficient, so if you wipe the windshield 2 or 3 times the ink is gone. I'm going to test the 3M proper ink for windshield heater repair and report back the results
@Jojo Tully Music haven't got the proper 3M ink but by experimentation I think I found the trick to do it properly. You must use not the first "squirt" of the pen but let the ink flow and then start your trace (like painting with a spraypaint can). Also letting it cure for days before touching it helps a lot
I had that keyboard as a kid. One cool and surprising feature I found by mistake is that there are additional sounds that are only accessible via MIDI. Using a computer and a MIDI sequencer allowed me to discover the additional sounds. Yes, there is only 20 actual sound banks out of the box, but with the additional MIDI banks there are at least 20 additional sounds, (40 in total) with MIDI access.
I always remove super glue with - super glue :P This sounds stupid, but the solvents in the fresh super glue make the dry glue come off again most of the time. You just have to be quick at wiping it off before it hardens :)
You put the fresh super glue on the hard glue, wait until the solvents make the old one liquid again and wipe it off quick to make sure it doesn't harden again ^^ Note - This doesn't work with all glues.
your german is terrible.... you realize that most of the world doesnt speak english natively.... that maybe, just maybe you are the ignorant one here.... in real life....
I had the Casio MT-240 back in the early 90s and used it a LOT on my Atari ST/STe computers. I used to looooove the way they sounded and it was a pretty affordable way to get MIDI back then. I don't know what ever happened to it and I regret not still having that keyboard with me despite all the other things I've managed to keep. I recently picked up another one and I especially love that demo song ("Night Birds" by Shakatak, 1982). Excellent version of it! In any case, the new keyboard seems to be in generally good condition but that 9v power supply connector is loose on the new MT-240 and I seem to remember that it was ALWAYS loose even in my old one back in the day. GREAT keyboard--I remember wishing it had general MIDI back as a kid but it was still fantastic!
I can confirm, the MT-240's black keys were bonded to the white keys at the factory. I took one apart in the early 90s to repair some broken black keys and noted the same thing. The keyboard was a gift and I was only a teenager, so I couldn't afford anything that would work with the MIDI interface. I've always been curious about something: how many instruments is the keyboard capable of playing if you use it as a MIDI output device? I remember being able to access some instruments that weren't normally available from the front panel, by momentarily shorting pins together on the large, square IC on the logic board.
That corrosion was probably from the leaky battery. It would explain the mark on the rubber membrane and the eaten-through track on the PCB. I'm guessing the keyboard was stored upside down for some years in that state.
I have a 260 that I picked up at a junk store for $10. The piano sound is beautiful on it, whatever stereo chorus effect they use is great, and it makes a great MIDI controller for trying out VSTs.
thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've been able to clean a few old keyboards I've found on Craigslist because of your example, and it was you who turned me on to the Yamaha PSS series, which has become one of my favorites. You rock!
This keyboard actually has more tones than you think. The button that's labeled "210 SOUND TONE SOUND BANK" lets you pick two tones from the tone selection area and combine them. So, for instance, you can combine the chorus and the accordion to get a unique sound. But you can only combine a tone from the top with a tone on the bottom. That'll give you a very wide range of tones to pick from and play around with.
From Gwendoline Leong channel Hi do you know how to "on" the keyboards? My Casio CTK495 works fine the Tone/Rhythm/Song bank. Just the keyboards.have no sound whatsoever. Maybe just a wire loose? Plug? What possibilities can you think of?
I like how this channel started off being keyboards but turned into a showcase for all types of old electronic instruments from the 70s to mid 90s including drum machines, gaming tracker interfaces and tape decks now as well. 8-Bit Audio Tech a more fitting name now.
12:00 I learned that the hard way. Once, I accidentally spilled a little super glue on my laptop (which I'm using to type this comment). I used acetone to remove the super glue, but it also left a white spot on the screen bezel (that's where I spilled the super glue).
Gotta love these tear down videos. I really enjoy seeing how this old tech worked. I've always loved piano music and these videos are truly awesome to watch.
You offer a wealth of insight into the construction of Casio keyboards. about a year ago a friend donated a ctk-651 to me. The CTK series are probably a step up from the MT series. But they still don't offer the quality of sound that's inherent in the WK series. I have had issues recently with keys playing either softer or louder than others and also with the DC input jack. The friend who I mentioned earlier is willing to donate his WK series to me 4 loan. So I'm glad that I found your video when I did. I'll have to become used to doing my own maintenance to keep up what I have. Thx 4 posting
Hey i wanted to ask something: Can you put the song name of the samples that you play in the corner or somewhere like that in your next video? I really like the samples and i would love to know the names of them.
I would also appreciate this. Is the "request a song" still on? I'd love to hear your rendezvous of the Lotus Turbo Challenge II main theme (the Amiga version) in a keyboard of your choice. Very instructive and inspiring videos. Thank you!
Nice memories! I've got the MT-240 in my childhood. Now is in the hands of my brother, still working fine. One clarification, you say it has 20 instruments, and 210 "combinations". In reality it has not 20, but 30 real / direct instruments. The problem is that you can't access those instruments (21-30) via the buttons in the keyborad (AFAIK). How can you play with those instruments? programing via MIDI comands of course. Use a controler (or PC) via the midi IN port. In the controller, using bank 1, change the patch (1-20) to get que standart instruments. Use the patch 21-30 to get the extra included instruments. You can play the instrument via the controller or the piano keys!
Note to everyone: Be careful with the rubber domes for the buttons on keyboards of any kind as the are coated with a conductive coating that allows them to complete the circuit when making contact with the copper trace on the board allowing the circuit to be completed, over time that coating can where away making them not work at all, so be careful if you try to clean them.
I have this exact model of keyboard that I rescued from a flood a year ago. It was literally floating like a boat and it was completely covered in mud. Gallons of water and lots of scrubbing was required to get it clean. And after that, the thing turned on and was perfectly functional. Unfurtunately, a month after, it just stopped working! I think it was the moisture that damaged some chip or inductor...
The Casio MT 240 actually got 10 additional hidden sounds you can select using program change over MIDI. It is also 3 channel multi timbral over MIDI so you can hook it up to a sequencer and play different sounds simultaneously over different MIDI channels.
You can buy conductive coating remote key pad repair kit (check eBay) to get those non-working keys to work. It worked fine with my old Roland D-20 synth.
This video hit my nostalgia button. My sister got this exact model for Christmas one year. I learned to play piano on it. Great video, and it's too bad about the superglue.
Hohner had a licence to sell it in Europe. It's exactly the same except that: - The Hohner is white & more stylish - The panel is set differently (Power button not at the same place, etc.) - It doesn't say 210 Tone Bank but 210 Poly mix - On the panel the 210 "sounds" are listed. It's called Hohner PSK 15. I'll post a video one day. Excellent video as always, btw!
I personally own this keyboard and I love it because it's super cheesy but you can make some crazy sounds with it if you mix the instruments and mess with the midi, auto accomp., etc... My 210 sound bank thingy works perfectly with both the top and bottom sound banks and even though it's missing the F#0 and F#1 keys (0,1 i assume is the octave not sure if it goes as low as an 88 key).. Anyway I heard that through midi you can access "hidden" sounds like fantasy and some others but for the life of me every time I look for any information on these in depth features I can't find jack squat. The internet is flooded with circuit bending tutorials on this but I don't own a soldering Iron and I don't feel like spending a gajillion hours bending this thing. I checked the manual and it hints at these features but doesn't really explain how to use them. I was hoping that you or perhaps one of the other followers could shed some light on the more intricate operations of this keyboard. I've seen all your videos and it's inspired me to try making music by rigging up these vintage toy midi keys with my more professional Korg poly 800 (circa 80's) as well as modern synths like the Korg volca keys or VSTs in Ableton. Also THIS CHANNEL ROCKS! I've always loved these cheesy keys and it's nice to see that there is a community of people who do to. Keep it up!
I have this keyboard and I use it with maschine. I accessed those hidden sounds by going from midi out of maschine to the midi in on the keyboard. In the maschine software I set up a macro and added a page for midi program change. The extra sounds are on program numbers 20-29.
I'm guessing the glue was to keep the stickers from peeling, back when I was in school I had a keyboard and wrote the notes on the keys to tell me which was which.
Great job =D You could get that original button working with one of those conductive paint pens. I would be tempted to try novus or plast x on the glue marks.
I have a Casio MT400V, and I don't know what year it was made. Buying that keyboard though was what made me start watching more of your videos though, so thanks for the journey!
8-bit, I love your channel and the attention and care you show these instruments despite their humble origins and sometimes humdrum sounds. These aren't going to be around forever -- unless someone takes the care you do. Thanks. I think by treating them with respect you elevate "the game" (collecting, playing music, restoring instuments)!
That button bypass was pretty ingenious, specially if you're just going to use the output on the back to run it through a mixer or another recording device.
Ahh memories...Used two of these midi'd to my Amiga 500, endless fun throughout the 1980' and 90's ! great Casio sounds, especially when layered (you can layer two !). if i remember correctly, select the first tone, then select the mutli/split and then select the second tone.Eg strings and piano. This is where they get the 210 sounds claim from.
I don't even like these old computers (your other channel) and keyboards, but I enjoy your approach and ethic and knowledge and thoroughness in regard to repair.
yeah i am never sure why he doesn't use goo gone on any of his things. only negative i have ever dealt with is trying to mop up all the residue as it is a slight pain to clean up after
about the leftover glue residue, you can try sanding it off with automotive grade sand paper (1000 grit above, higher grits will bring back the sheen after a bit of buffing with cotton), 3M sanding pads of high grit numbers can also do the trick. if you're worried about the plastic shine being fogged over the surrounding area due to the sanding, try applying some pledge floor care with a Q-tip to bring back the shine a bit.
Hello Sir, I have just found your computer channel as well as this. I have very much enjoyed your presentations. Regarding the MT240 - many memories as it was my 1st midi keyboard. I used it with a program called Lyra on my Color Computer to create accompaniment tracks for students. While you can only play the sounds on available on the instrument, when hooked up to a midi composer one could access the full range of 210 sounds so much like the roland mt32 it could be used as a sound module. Thanks for all your excellent work!
Another great episode, I'm always impressed by how patient you are in cleaning and repairing these keyboards. And your little demo of the "Synth Reed" instrument just made me reinstall "Space Quest" on my computer ;-)
Loved it as always. Is it possible to "upgrade" a monophonic keyboard to a polyphonic one? Like some of the those early white Casio toy keyboards like PT-80?
By the time you were done, you might as well have built your own synthesizer from scratch! What you COULD do though, is use the keys and switches to trigger a polyphonic synth built around a suitably beefy microcontroller, and stuff it in the case! All the "magic" happens in the program code and the actual wiring side of things is pretty easy.
yeah, but lots of keyboards can do that.. where do you draw the line on the marketing? So my Yamaha keyboard with 128 sounds and dual-voice mode should be advertised as 16,384 sounds?
I work with model kits, which a lot of times use super glue to put them together. An unconventional way I found of removing super glue is by freezing the model. Stick it in a really cold freezer for a few days, and the glue gets brittle. Then using a blade, carefully try popping it off. Sometimes it leaves a residue, but I have been able to remove superglue by chunks using that method.
Love this. I have one that I bought new when they first came out. You definitely hit the best sounds on the thing. Having a decent piano made it a very useful and inexpensive module back then.
I was gonna say petroleum jelly or vegetable oil. But, the lard makes a lot of sense!!! Pig fat dissolves strange hard to remove things easily. I spilled magenta inkjet liquid on my hands once, and tried everything to get the junk off. Rubbing alcohol, acetone, lighter fluid (naphthalene), but nothing worked. Then, while trimming fat off some pork for my sandwich the next day, much to my surprise the fat turned pink and faded the dye. Needless to say, I greased my hands, then used alcohol to degrease. Worked like a charm.
Andy Merrett LOL I cut off or discarded the bits of meat that turned pink. Only a tiny bit did though, as I discovered near immediately. I know that magenta ink isn't completely non toxic. But I did use most of the fat to finish cleaning my hands. XDDD
I have this exact same keyboard and I was able to remove similar lettering with a product called Goo Gone. It absolutely works and almost instantly! For the more difficult areas wipe it on and let it sit for 5 minutes then it should wipe away with ease. in case you are wondering, Go Gone is a citrus concentrate that removes these hard to remove things by using enzymes that eat away the residual residual leftover rom glue, gum, tar, marker etc.
Because everything in synths are either generated by basic waveform (older analogue) or samples (PCM) on newer gear. The complextities of analoge instruments, voices etc, are composed of many different components that needs to be either generated (poorly with older gear and with better luck these days Rolands COSM system for instance) or have to be multisampled on many levels to recreate as much as possible of all the nuances that create the sounds of for instance a vibraphone or a piano. When you hit a piano string with the hammer or a mallet instrument with different types of hammers, the sounds differ greatly. From soft, mellow sounds of the soft filt hammers to the crisp clunk of a wooden or plastic hammer. Then you have resonance within the instrument. The nearest strings will always resonate and create upper harmonies depending on how much they're dampened or open. Same thing with a vibraphone that's open, it will have a different sustained sound because the other mallet bars will resonate with it. Then you have ambience of the room and other instruments or just the room itself that plays a factor. You'll never be able to recreate 100% any analogue instrument synthetically, but we're getting pretty close. And nowadays instruments sound near perfect for most purposes. The older gear that David is showing will always be limited to their era in both sample memory, method of sound generation and such. Just the way it is. :)
I have this one and have circuit bent it many times. Same reproducable bend. The battery left inside the keyboard issue is always an issue with me too! Almost every board I have bought or found in flea markets and pawnshops,ebay and so on, had batteries left inside to leak or make the board too heavy for reasonable shipping costs. This keyboard was my FIRST ever keyboard purchase with my first ever paycheck at 14 years old back in 1989! It cost $142 in K-mart in Puerto Rico and was my first video recorded keyboard as well!
Hey man, I love your videos! I have a Casio PT-100 and a Yamaha PSS-270, bought em each for under $10, and cleaned em both up, they look like brand new! The only issues I had cleaning up the Yamaha, were the tiny tiny ball bearings in the sliders, and reassembling the keyboard (as i took the whole damn thing apart XD), Goo be gone was my best friend, as the original owner put large stickers on each key, even putting stickers on those stickers!? But 8 hours of reverse engineering later, I got both up and running in tip top shape, and funny enough I now use them for my tunes, I love the FM synthesis on the PSS-270. It's like a baby DX-7.
I had one of these too! I heard one in a music shop in Bath and liked the piano sound - a few months later I got one and used it connected to my Atari STFM (which had built-in MIDI ports). I still have it, though I haven’t used it in a while.
Nice work on the keyboard! I'm amazed at how good this keyboard sounds. Some really neat sounds in there. Nice job on the button hack. Next time, you could consider using conductive paint when solder won't stick. You can use an automotive defroster repair kit or there's several solvent and water-based conductive paints out there these days. I feel pretty certain this would have solved the corroded trace issue. Also, another thing to try on the super glue is mineral oil (available at pharmacies), or motor oil, etc. It shouldn't harm the plastic and just might soften up the super glue enough to scrape it off. Finally, I'm really liking the new intro :) Keep up the good work.
I like this keyboard so much just because of the Strings preset. If you're an adventurous musician, I suggest you plugging in it into a few guitar pedals like a Delay, Chorus and a Wah. You can instantly get a 70's 80's prog rock sound on a budget
Hi Dave, not sure if anyone has already mentioned this, but you can use conductive paint to repair circuit boards. It would be ideal in situations like yours where traces have corroded. I bought some years ago in a tiny bottle and applied it with a 000 brush. I'm in Australia, but I'm sure you could find it via Amazon or Mouser electronics. Thanks for the great videos, it's nice to see your restoration work on keyboards and I love your other channel on computers as well.
You could try removing the super glue with super fine sand paper. Many of the scale model kit tutorials remove imperfections with sand paper (take a look at some). If the sand paper is fine enough you are essentially polishing the imperfection away. Granted it would take a lot of effort. You could have run the broken-switch wires to a new miniature momentary switch on the back of the unit. That would mean drilling new holes, but it would keep the record buttons functional.
When I repaired my Roland e-66 and Yamaha (some small quaint 2.5 octave 70s brown thing) I made it easier on myself for future repair and modding by replacing hard terminated wires with plugs and sockets of various natures to make it faster to tear down.
PPG makes a product for automotive paint prep called DX-330 "Acryliclean" and markets it as a wax and grease remover to use as final prep before painting. However, I've found that it will remove just about anything that isn't paint or plastic, especially if you apply a little mechanical force from a plastic spatula or something. If you stop by your local body shop with a little glass jar or something you can probably talk them out of an ounce or two to give it a shot. Otherwise it's about $25 a gallon (which, if you don't paint cars, is a lifetime supply... I paint tons and tons of small stuff and am on my second gallon in about 20 years). I've also used good old regular _chlorinated_ (the carcinogenic kind) automotive brake cleaner to clean plastic parts and it did not harm the plastic. I believe the active ingredient in it is tetrachloroethlene, which commonly used as dry cleaning detergent and no one would want their clothes back with melted buttons. Spray a little on a rag, clean the area, and rinse well with water (although it will evaporate almost immediately). Avoid getting any on any silk screening as I'm pretty sure it would take that off as well. You'll also want to wear gloves and use it outside. I will also add the caution, that although it appears safe for plastics both by my experience and chemically, I have only used it on AUTOMOTIVE plastics, which may have stabilizers in them that a Casio keyboard might not. Try it inside the battery door or something first. Usually my order of operations for trying to remove nasty stuff is DX-330, then alcohol, then brake clean, then goof-off (which is usually not much more than kerosene, but I've never had it damage plastics), then acetone/MEK/etc that will absolutely damage the plastic. If push really came to shove and you find the residue super annoying, you could always take it back apart again, tape off the good areas, and have a sandblasting shop walnut shell blast the entire effected area. That will give it a textured effect and leave it with a uniform two-tone finish. I'd probably just find a donor keyboard to use the shell from at that point though. Good luck.
There are 20 presets plus 190 combinations of those using the TONE BANK feature. That gives you 210 total possible "TONE BANK" tones. There are also 10 additional tones that the manual says are only accessible through MIDI. They are available as MIDI programs 20 through 29. At least one site mentions that there is an easy mod to access the additional 10 tones without MIDI. If that's true, you could potentially used the TONE BANK feature to combine those with the original 20 presets and get a lot more than 210 TONE BANK tones.
I use brake fluid to remove super glue and paint from old plastic models and it works like a charm. Just use protective gloves and be careful not to hurt yourself. Yes, actual red brake fluid bought in car supplies alley in a supermarket. They contain something that removes contamination from actual car brakes without damaging the car's brake fluid container, pipes and stuff.
I'll second the support for the smaller keys. I went through several full sized keyboards and always had a problem with carpal tunnel and other hand pain. I picked up a Arturia Microbute synth that has the small keys and didn't have any issues! So I then got a Korg Mircrostation (small keys also). Now I can play keys all the time without any issues - Not sure why switching to the smaller keys would matter - but it works for me!
Just wanted you to know that these videos are mint even though I don't even know how to play the keyboard or any other instrument. Oh and I just became a patreon!
You missed this keyboard's place in history. Pretty much it was THE lowest cost way to get into MIDI keyboards at the time. Because of that, it was everywhere!
Still have my MT 240. Best piano ever. Has Voice coil rub due to case damage, I use the headphone jack into a mixer. but now I'm inspired to strip the case down and repair. Also extended octives available through midi
when i was an itty-bitty thing in the early nineties there was a keyboard that used colours and letters on the keys to help kids play the piano(it did not work you'd just learn to find the letters quickly) but you'd pick your sheet of music and instead of notes it would just have a colour/letter and you'd play by matching the two up
"Alcohol is my number one, first line treatment for stuff like this." Same here, I just drink until I forget about having to clean it.
haha good answer alcohol is good to much ;D
While alcohol is an organic solvent, it has proven NOT to work well on problems... ;)
rolling rock fixes everything
As Homer Simpson says, "Alcohol is the cause & solution to all life's problems"
@BadStuff Especially if you're reviewing shitty NES games ;-)
3:40 "But, others were just more stubborn, so I came back with a knife"
- 8-Bit Keys 2016
it's a crime there is no comments on this.
😂😂😂💀
this video was made in 2016 not 2017 sorry to ruin your fun :(
@@babbyblueytoldchannel9180 spoil sport
No-context 8-Bit Guy always makes me laugh
The patience of this guy is as big as his talent and taste for music.
His efforts would've been better spent on a different Casiotone model. The "Tone Bank" keyboards such as the MT-240 were possibly the least interesting and desirable ones Casio made. I wouldn't have bothered restoring this one.
@@diggydude5229 Just a note: not trying to make any assumptions, just speaking with your comment as context.
It seems like you're missing the whole point, he's not restoring all of this stuff for interest, it's just for the sake of restoration as a means to preserve history as well to teach
I do adhesives for a living. Sicomet D-BOND is the product of choice
Active ingredient is nitromethane
Actually.. I wanted to try a nitromethane product. I had read about those on the internet. But I visited several stores such as home depot, hobby lobby, etc. I never could find it.
That sounds better then the product I was going to suggest. It's called Goof-off and it's at Lowes and Home Depot.
Aaron Lopez
isnt the fuel used for RC cars Nitromethane and methanol?
Buy nitromethane fuel, It's used for rc cars, and it's nearly 100% nitromethane, I use it to remove old stickers from old bikes
Conductive paint is a good way to make connection to those printed carbon tracks under the buttons that you can't really solder to! Also, there's a substance meant for repairing the heated tracks on automobile rear windshields that can work, too.
Conductive ink, I bought the cheap stuff from AliExpress and am doing test on my own. The problem I have encountered is that it doesn't 'grab' to the surface sufficient, so if you wipe the windshield 2 or 3 times the ink is gone. I'm going to test the 3M proper ink for windshield heater repair and report back the results
@Jojo Tully Music haven't got the proper 3M ink but by experimentation I think I found the trick to do it properly. You must use not the first "squirt" of the pen but let the ink flow and then start your trace (like painting with a spraypaint can). Also letting it cure for days before touching it helps a lot
I had that keyboard as a kid. One cool and surprising feature I found by mistake is that there are additional sounds that are only accessible via MIDI. Using a computer and a MIDI sequencer allowed me to discover the additional sounds. Yes, there is only 20 actual sound banks out of the box, but with the additional MIDI banks there are at least 20 additional sounds, (40 in total) with MIDI access.
I always remove super glue with - super glue :P This sounds stupid, but the solvents in the fresh super glue make the dry glue come off again most of the time. You just have to be quick at wiping it off before it hardens :)
I use blu-tac to remove blu-tac so this makes sense.
"Wiping it off... _again_," Emeraldy? When did you wipe it off the first time?
You put the fresh super glue on the hard glue, wait until the solvents make the old one liquid again and wipe it off quick to make sure it doesn't harden again ^^ Note - This doesn't work with all glues.
Well then see, Emeraldy, you're not wiping it off again; just the _first time_.
your german is terrible.... you realize that most of the world doesnt speak english natively.... that maybe, just maybe you are the ignorant one here.... in real life....
The MT-240 was my first keyboard, you just gave me a serious nostalgia trip. Thank you.
"Yea, i dont use a knife cause im afraid of the plastic getting torn up" as he proceeds to cut TOWARDS HIMSELF.
"What's more valuable to me: this 35-year-old keyboard surface, or my 35-year-old hand...."
I had the Casio MT-240 back in the early 90s and used it a LOT on my Atari ST/STe computers. I used to looooove the way they sounded and it was a pretty affordable way to get MIDI back then. I don't know what ever happened to it and I regret not still having that keyboard with me despite all the other things I've managed to keep. I recently picked up another one and I especially love that demo song ("Night Birds" by Shakatak, 1982). Excellent version of it! In any case, the new keyboard seems to be in generally good condition but that 9v power supply connector is loose on the new MT-240 and I seem to remember that it was ALWAYS loose even in my old one back in the day. GREAT keyboard--I remember wishing it had general MIDI back as a kid but it was still fantastic!
I love your restoration videos on both this channel and your main channel. They are therapeutic!
I can confirm, the MT-240's black keys were bonded to the white keys at the factory. I took one apart in the early 90s to repair some broken black keys and noted the same thing.
The keyboard was a gift and I was only a teenager, so I couldn't afford anything that would work with the MIDI interface. I've always been curious about something: how many instruments is the keyboard capable of playing if you use it as a MIDI output device? I remember being able to access some instruments that weren't normally available from the front panel, by momentarily shorting pins together on the large, square IC on the logic board.
That corrosion was probably from the leaky battery. It would explain the mark on the rubber membrane and the eaten-through track on the PCB. I'm guessing the keyboard was stored upside down for some years in that state.
Yeah that was what I was going to blame as well.
Yep you can always tell because copper dissolves into a green residue.
@@EternityofNight - copper oxide. In the olden days they called that green residue "verdigris".
I have a 260 that I picked up at a junk store for $10. The piano sound is beautiful on it, whatever stereo chorus effect they use is great, and it makes a great MIDI controller for trying out VSTs.
I'd try heating the glue up with a hair blower and scraping the top residue off then alcohol again?
thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've been able to clean a few old keyboards I've found on Craigslist because of your example, and it was you who turned me on to the Yamaha PSS series, which has become one of my favorites. You rock!
This keyboard actually has more tones than you think. The button that's labeled "210 SOUND TONE SOUND BANK" lets you pick two tones from the tone selection area and combine them. So, for instance, you can combine the chorus and the accordion to get a unique sound. But you can only combine a tone from the top with a tone on the bottom. That'll give you a very wide range of tones to pick from and play around with.
I'm familiar with how the tone mixing works.. but I still think it is a cheating way to claim more sounds than it really has.
I think you meant Yamaha PSS-380 ;)
Scarecrow Scarves Studios the same thing works with e.g. the CT-637 (which I have).
From Gwendoline Leong channel
Hi do you know how to "on" the keyboards? My Casio CTK495 works fine the Tone/Rhythm/Song bank. Just the keyboards.have no sound whatsoever. Maybe just a wire loose? Plug? What possibilities can you think of?
I like how this channel started off being keyboards but turned into a showcase for all types of old electronic instruments from the 70s to mid 90s including drum machines, gaming tracker interfaces and tape decks now as well.
8-Bit Audio Tech a more fitting name now.
12:00 I learned that the hard way. Once, I accidentally spilled a little super glue on my laptop (which I'm using to type this comment). I used acetone to remove the super glue, but it also left a white spot on the screen bezel (that's where I spilled the super glue).
Gotta love these tear down videos. I really enjoy seeing how this old tech worked. I've always loved piano music and these videos are truly awesome to watch.
"Alcohol is my number one first line treatment for stuff like this." That's what I always think! ;)
You offer a wealth of insight into the construction of Casio keyboards. about a year ago a friend donated a ctk-651 to me. The CTK series are probably a step up from the MT series. But they still don't offer the quality of sound that's inherent in the WK series. I have had issues recently with keys playing either softer or louder than others and also with the DC input jack. The friend who I mentioned earlier is willing to donate his WK series to me 4 loan. So I'm glad that I found your video when I did. I'll have to become used to doing my own maintenance to keep up what I have. Thx 4 posting
Hey i wanted to ask something: Can you put the song name of the samples that you play in the corner or somewhere like that in your next video? I really like the samples and i would love to know the names of them.
I would also appreciate this.
Is the "request a song" still on? I'd love to hear your rendezvous of the Lotus Turbo Challenge II main theme (the Amiga version) in a keyboard of your choice.
Very instructive and inspiring videos. Thank you!
The song I hear you play the most is Spelunker on NES that song is pretty inspiring I love it
The first was Fur Elise, Then Harry Potter Theme, And two others
Corvin u
Third one is title music from Space Quest III.
I have a soft spot for this keyboard. I had one as a kid and had hours of fun mixing the tones. Great little keyboard for the money at the time.
I don't know what it is but that Synth Reed Sounded Amazing.
Nice memories! I've got the MT-240 in my childhood. Now is in the hands of my brother, still working fine. One clarification, you say it has 20 instruments, and 210 "combinations". In reality it has not 20, but 30 real / direct instruments. The problem is that you can't access those instruments (21-30) via the buttons in the keyborad (AFAIK).
How can you play with those instruments? programing via MIDI comands of course. Use a controler (or PC) via the midi IN port. In the controller, using bank 1, change the patch (1-20) to get que standart instruments. Use the patch 21-30 to get the extra included instruments. You can play the instrument via the controller or the piano keys!
Note to everyone: Be careful with the rubber domes for the buttons on keyboards of any kind as the are coated with a conductive coating that allows them to complete the circuit when making contact with the copper trace on the board allowing the circuit to be completed, over time that coating can where away making them not work at all, so be careful if you try to clean them.
I have this exact model of keyboard that I rescued from a flood a year ago. It was literally floating like a boat and it was completely covered in mud. Gallons of water and lots of scrubbing was required to get it clean. And after that, the thing turned on and was perfectly functional. Unfurtunately, a month after, it just stopped working! I think it was the moisture that damaged some chip or inductor...
The Casio MT 240 actually got 10 additional hidden sounds you can select using program change over MIDI. It is also 3 channel multi timbral over MIDI so you can hook it up to a sequencer and play different sounds simultaneously over different MIDI channels.
I love these cleanup videos.Very satisfying and giving old keys a bit of the respect they long lost.
You can buy conductive coating remote key pad repair kit (check eBay) to get those non-working keys to work. It worked fine with my old Roland D-20 synth.
At your local auto parts store, rear-window defrost repair paint. I've seen it used to repair an Atari 130XE keyboard.
This video hit my nostalgia button. My sister got this exact model for Christmas one year. I learned to play piano on it.
Great video, and it's too bad about the superglue.
FYI, the plastic 'stalk' you refer to is called a _boss_. M-W defines boss as 'a protuberant part or body'.
Thanks, I always love to learn the technical terms for little things like those.
Maybe Imid's _boss_ told him to say that, Sean.
I guess it broke like a boss.
@@SMAAAASHTV xD
Hohner had a licence to sell it in Europe. It's exactly the same except that:
- The Hohner is white & more stylish
- The panel is set differently (Power button not at the same place, etc.)
- It doesn't say 210 Tone Bank but 210 Poly mix
- On the panel the 210 "sounds" are listed.
It's called Hohner PSK 15. I'll post a video one day.
Excellent video as always, btw!
I personally own this keyboard and I love it because it's super cheesy but you can make some crazy sounds with it if you mix the instruments and mess with the midi, auto accomp., etc... My 210 sound bank thingy works perfectly with both the top and bottom sound banks and even though it's missing the F#0 and F#1 keys (0,1 i assume is the octave not sure if it goes as low as an 88 key).. Anyway I heard that through midi you can access "hidden" sounds like fantasy and some others but for the life of me every time I look for any information on these in depth features I can't find jack squat. The internet is flooded with circuit bending tutorials on this but I don't own a soldering Iron and I don't feel like spending a gajillion hours bending this thing. I checked the manual and it hints at these features but doesn't really explain how to use them. I was hoping that you or perhaps one of the other followers could shed some light on the more intricate operations of this keyboard. I've seen all your videos and it's inspired me to try making music by rigging up these vintage toy midi keys with my more professional Korg poly 800 (circa 80's) as well as modern synths like the Korg volca keys or VSTs in Ableton. Also THIS CHANNEL ROCKS! I've always loved these cheesy keys and it's nice to see that there is a community of people who do to. Keep it up!
I have this keyboard and I use it with maschine. I accessed those hidden sounds by going from midi out of maschine to the midi in on the keyboard. In the maschine software I set up a macro and added a page for midi program change. The extra sounds are on program numbers 20-29.
Awesome repair job. It's really cool how you were able to get all those buttons functioning again! :D
I'm guessing the glue was to keep the stickers from peeling, back when I was in school I had a keyboard and wrote the notes on the keys to tell me which was which.
I can't say how delighted I was when I heard the Space Quest theme as your synth reed sample.
Great job =D You could get that original button working with one of those conductive paint pens. I would be tempted to try novus or plast x on the glue marks.
I have a Casio MT400V, and I don't know what year it was made. Buying that keyboard though was what made me start watching more of your videos though, so thanks for the journey!
10:20 space quest ftw
My Favorite: Also on Use your Gameboy as a MIDI Istrument
8-bit, I love your channel and the attention and care you show these instruments despite their humble origins and sometimes humdrum sounds. These aren't going to be around forever -- unless someone takes the care you do. Thanks. I think by treating them with respect you elevate "the game" (collecting, playing music, restoring instuments)!
The new theme song is awesome!
That button bypass was pretty ingenious, specially if you're just going to use the output on the back to run it through a mixer or another recording device.
What about a "Space Quest III" Intro song cover with the MT 240?
I'd really like to hear that!
Ahh memories...Used two of these midi'd to my Amiga 500, endless fun throughout the 1980' and 90's ! great Casio sounds, especially when layered (you can layer two !). if i remember correctly, select the first tone, then select the mutli/split and then select the second tone.Eg strings and piano. This is where they get the 210 sounds claim from.
10:22 What song is this? I've heard it practically everywhere in your videos and I haven't figured out what it was.
Toadlover404 same question :/
Toadlover404 Spelunker!
@@draketungsten74 Thanks a lot :)
I don't even like these old computers (your other channel) and keyboards, but I enjoy your approach and ethic and knowledge and thoroughness in regard to repair.
Brilliant series. Are you planning on making anything on CZ models?
I featured a CZ-1000 in a recent episode. I'm planning to show it again.
Oooh ok my bad.
i like the new intro music.
Huhh... All it is, Gabe, is just a heightened version of the original. Not really new except that change in octave.
I can't find the CZ-1000 video.
Is it weird that I enjoy just watching him clean things....
goo off and superglue remover, you need these
yeah i am never sure why he doesn't use goo gone on any of his things. only negative i have ever dealt with is trying to mop up all the residue as it is a slight pain to clean up after
about the leftover glue residue, you can try sanding it off with automotive grade sand paper (1000 grit above, higher grits will bring back the sheen after a bit of buffing with cotton), 3M sanding pads of high grit numbers can also do the trick. if you're worried about the plastic shine being fogged over the surrounding area due to the sanding, try applying some pledge floor care with a Q-tip to bring back the shine a bit.
10:23 song name?
Hello Sir, I have just found your computer channel as well as this. I have very much enjoyed your presentations.
Regarding the MT240 - many memories as it was my 1st midi keyboard. I used it with a program called Lyra on my Color Computer to create accompaniment tracks for students.
While you can only play the sounds on available on the instrument, when hooked up to a midi composer one could access the full range of 210 sounds so much like the roland mt32 it could be used as a sound module.
Thanks for all your excellent work!
you should try a flame thrower! ;)
I was thinking dynamite but your idea is better
What about it, John?
I suggest we nuke the site from orbit - only way to be sure.
when all of these fail, i prefer thermonuclear bomb
yea but that would also melt the plastic :(
Another great episode, I'm always impressed by how patient you are in cleaning and repairing these keyboards.
And your little demo of the "Synth Reed" instrument just made me reinstall "Space Quest" on my computer ;-)
Loved it as always.
Is it possible to "upgrade" a monophonic keyboard to a polyphonic one? Like some of the those early white Casio toy keyboards like PT-80?
Not without some serious engineering.
By the time you were done, you might as well have built your own synthesizer from scratch! What you COULD do though, is use the keys and switches to trigger a polyphonic synth built around a suitably beefy microcontroller, and stuff it in the case! All the "magic" happens in the program code and the actual wiring side of things is pretty easy.
Yes, put the motherboard on the polyphonic keyboard in the monophonic's case et voilà 😂😂
I listened to the Synth Reed portion about 20 times. That tone is the best!
You can stack two sounds so there really is 210 sounds possible.
yeah, but lots of keyboards can do that.. where do you draw the line on the marketing? So my Yamaha keyboard with 128 sounds and dual-voice mode should be advertised as 16,384 sounds?
Now it doesn't mean much. At the time this came out, when I bought mine, it was a big deal.
Many of the dual-layer sounds work very well. :)
People were probably more gullible and easier to fool back then.
8-Bit Keys Actually, it's 8,256 (to eliminate duplicates).
I work with model kits, which a lot of times use super glue to put them together. An unconventional way I found of removing super glue is by freezing the model. Stick it in a really cold freezer for a few days, and the glue gets brittle. Then using a blade, carefully try popping it off. Sometimes it leaves a residue, but I have been able to remove superglue by chunks using that method.
I'd use a super fine grit sandpaper to remover the Uber glue.
Dave has graced us with _another_ keyboard teardown video? Oh, god be praised!
use WD-40 for the super glue.
i doubt it works
@@antihumor2231 it DOES work :)
Love this. I have one that I bought new when they first came out. You definitely hit the best sounds on the thing. Having a decent piano made it a very useful and inexpensive module back then.
Try lard (pig fat) on that superglue. Can't damage plastic and it's really cheap but need hour or two to work it's magic.
I was gonna say petroleum jelly or vegetable oil. But, the lard makes a lot of sense!!!
Pig fat dissolves strange hard to remove things easily. I spilled magenta inkjet liquid on my hands once, and tried everything to get the junk off. Rubbing alcohol, acetone, lighter fluid (naphthalene), but nothing worked. Then, while trimming fat off some pork for my sandwich the next day, much to my surprise the fat turned pink and faded the dye. Needless to say, I greased my hands, then used alcohol to degrease. Worked like a charm.
Andy Merrett
LOL I cut off or discarded the bits of meat that turned pink. Only a tiny bit did though, as I discovered near immediately. I know that magenta ink isn't completely non toxic.
But I did use most of the fat to finish cleaning my hands. XDDD
*P i G F a T*
I have this exact same keyboard and I was able to remove similar lettering with a product called Goo Gone. It absolutely works and almost instantly! For the more difficult areas wipe it on and let it sit for 5 minutes then it should wipe away with ease. in case you are wondering, Go Gone is a citrus concentrate that removes these hard to remove things by using enzymes that eat away the residual residual leftover rom glue, gum, tar, marker etc.
invent a super glue removal lazer
preferably an 8-bit one
& Knuckles
I dont even care for keyboards but just love repairing videos like this one and the ones you did on your other channel :D
Y don't keyboard vibraphones ever sound like real vibraphones?
Max Kellen they can't make a real vibraphone sound. Newer keyboards use samples of real vibraphones.
Because everything in synths are either generated by basic waveform (older analogue) or samples (PCM) on newer gear. The complextities of analoge instruments, voices etc, are composed of many different components that needs to be either generated (poorly with older gear and with better luck these days Rolands COSM system for instance) or have to be multisampled on many levels to recreate as much as possible of all the nuances that create the sounds of for instance a vibraphone or a piano.
When you hit a piano string with the hammer or a mallet instrument with different types of hammers, the sounds differ greatly. From soft, mellow sounds of the soft filt hammers to the crisp clunk of a wooden or plastic hammer. Then you have resonance within the instrument. The nearest strings will always resonate and create upper harmonies depending on how much they're dampened or open. Same thing with a vibraphone that's open, it will have a different sustained sound because the other mallet bars will resonate with it. Then you have ambience of the room and other instruments or just the room itself that plays a factor.
You'll never be able to recreate 100% any analogue instrument synthetically, but we're getting pretty close. And nowadays instruments sound near perfect for most purposes. The older gear that David is showing will always be limited to their era in both sample memory, method of sound generation and such. Just the way it is. :)
lol thanks for putting so much effort into the answer
I have this one and have circuit bent it many times. Same reproducable bend. The battery left inside the keyboard issue is always an issue with me too! Almost every board I have bought or found in flea markets and pawnshops,ebay and so on, had batteries left inside to leak or make the board too heavy for reasonable shipping costs. This keyboard was my FIRST ever keyboard purchase with my first ever paycheck at 14 years old back in 1989! It cost $142 in K-mart in Puerto Rico and was my first video recorded keyboard as well!
I hate to be "that guy" but you're not playing the Harry Potter theme correctly. The last few notes are all wrong.
Isn't it Tchaikovsky who composed the original music on which Harry Potter's theme is based?
GaryKildall It's an original theme by John Williams, so... no? Maybe you're thinking of the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy?
Sporkaganza I know the sugar plum fairy. Didn't know Harry Potter was not from Tchaikovsky.
Lol shut up
I don't think he was playing Harry Potter in Synth Ensemble.
Hey man, I love your videos! I have a Casio PT-100 and a Yamaha PSS-270, bought em each for under $10, and cleaned em both up, they look like brand new! The only issues I had cleaning up the Yamaha, were the tiny tiny ball bearings in the sliders, and reassembling the keyboard (as i took the whole damn thing apart XD), Goo be gone was my best friend, as the original owner put large stickers on each key, even putting stickers on those stickers!? But 8 hours of reverse engineering later, I got both up and running in tip top shape, and funny enough I now use them for my tunes, I love the FM synthesis on the PSS-270. It's like a baby DX-7.
Damn, this thing sounds better than I thought it would. Especially that piano.
I had one of these too! I heard one in a music shop in Bath and liked the piano sound - a few months later I got one and used it connected to my Atari STFM (which had built-in MIDI ports).
I still have it, though I haven’t used it in a while.
Nice work on the keyboard! I'm amazed at how good this keyboard sounds. Some really neat sounds in there. Nice job on the button hack. Next time, you could consider using conductive paint when solder won't stick. You can use an automotive defroster repair kit or there's several solvent and water-based conductive paints out there these days. I feel pretty certain this would have solved the corroded trace issue. Also, another thing to try on the super glue is mineral oil (available at pharmacies), or motor oil, etc. It shouldn't harm the plastic and just might soften up the super glue enough to scrape it off.
Finally, I'm really liking the new intro :) Keep up the good work.
I like this keyboard so much just because of the Strings preset. If you're an adventurous musician, I suggest you plugging in it into a few guitar pedals like a Delay, Chorus and a Wah. You can instantly get a 70's 80's prog rock sound on a budget
Hi Dave, not sure if anyone has already mentioned this, but you can use conductive paint to repair circuit boards. It would be ideal in situations like yours where traces have corroded. I bought some years ago in a tiny bottle and applied it with a 000 brush. I'm in Australia, but I'm sure you could find it via Amazon or Mouser electronics. Thanks for the great videos, it's nice to see your restoration work on keyboards and I love your other channel on computers as well.
Just wanted to say that I love your videos! They are informative and fun to watch all at the same time! Keep up the great work!
8:44 All parts together (mens DAYS of hard and detailed work!). Cheers from Argentina David!
Battery corrosion happens because you’re the god to fix these things up
You could try removing the super glue with super fine sand paper. Many of the scale model kit tutorials remove imperfections with sand paper (take a look at some). If the sand paper is fine enough you are essentially polishing the imperfection away. Granted it would take a lot of effort. You could have run the broken-switch wires to a new miniature momentary switch on the back of the unit. That would mean drilling new holes, but it would keep the record buttons functional.
When I repaired my Roland e-66 and Yamaha (some small quaint 2.5 octave 70s brown thing) I made it easier on myself for future repair and modding by replacing hard terminated wires with plugs and sockets of various natures to make it faster to tear down.
PPG makes a product for automotive paint prep called DX-330 "Acryliclean" and markets it as a wax and grease remover to use as final prep before painting. However, I've found that it will remove just about anything that isn't paint or plastic, especially if you apply a little mechanical force from a plastic spatula or something. If you stop by your local body shop with a little glass jar or something you can probably talk them out of an ounce or two to give it a shot. Otherwise it's about $25 a gallon (which, if you don't paint cars, is a lifetime supply... I paint tons and tons of small stuff and am on my second gallon in about 20 years).
I've also used good old regular _chlorinated_ (the carcinogenic kind) automotive brake cleaner to clean plastic parts and it did not harm the plastic. I believe the active ingredient in it is tetrachloroethlene, which commonly used as dry cleaning detergent and no one would want their clothes back with melted buttons. Spray a little on a rag, clean the area, and rinse well with water (although it will evaporate almost immediately). Avoid getting any on any silk screening as I'm pretty sure it would take that off as well. You'll also want to wear gloves and use it outside. I will also add the caution, that although it appears safe for plastics both by my experience and chemically, I have only used it on AUTOMOTIVE plastics, which may have stabilizers in them that a Casio keyboard might not. Try it inside the battery door or something first.
Usually my order of operations for trying to remove nasty stuff is DX-330, then alcohol, then brake clean, then goof-off (which is usually not much more than kerosene, but I've never had it damage plastics), then acetone/MEK/etc that will absolutely damage the plastic.
If push really came to shove and you find the residue super annoying, you could always take it back apart again, tape off the good areas, and have a sandblasting shop walnut shell blast the entire effected area. That will give it a textured effect and leave it with a uniform two-tone finish. I'd probably just find a donor keyboard to use the shell from at that point though.
Good luck.
"Here's the Synth Reed."
Lovely SQ3 rendition.
There are 20 presets plus 190 combinations of those using the TONE BANK feature. That gives you 210 total possible "TONE BANK" tones. There are also 10 additional tones that the manual says are only accessible through MIDI. They are available as MIDI programs 20 through 29. At least one site mentions that there is an easy mod to access the additional 10 tones without MIDI. If that's true, you could potentially used the TONE BANK feature to combine those with the original 20 presets and get a lot more than 210 TONE BANK tones.
I have no interest in keyboards yet I still happily watch these as I love the restoration side of things
Genius move to reassign those buttons.
I use brake fluid to remove super glue and paint from old plastic models and it works like a charm. Just use protective gloves and be careful not to hurt yourself. Yes, actual red brake fluid bought in car supplies alley in a supermarket. They contain something that removes contamination from actual car brakes without damaging the car's brake fluid container, pipes and stuff.
I HAVE THIS KEYBOARD! fully working and still in its Case too.
8-Bit Keys Congratz on 320 Patreon supporters!
I'll second the support for the smaller keys. I went through several full sized keyboards and always had a problem with carpal tunnel and other hand pain. I picked up a Arturia Microbute synth that has the small keys and didn't have any issues! So I then got a Korg Mircrostation (small keys also). Now I can play keys all the time without any issues - Not sure why switching to the smaller keys would matter - but it works for me!
Just wanted you to know that these videos are mint even though I don't even know how to play the keyboard or any other instrument. Oh and I just became a patreon!
I really feel sorry for this Keyboard. But it was fixed in the end and has a new life. 10/10
You missed this keyboard's place in history. Pretty much it was THE lowest cost way to get into MIDI keyboards at the time. Because of that, it was everywhere!
Still have my MT 240. Best piano ever. Has Voice coil rub due to case damage, I use the headphone jack into a mixer. but now I'm inspired to strip the case down and repair. Also extended octives available through midi
Whoa, the piano sounds super awesome.
i always see ur video to only see u play (and sometimes see how u restore it) 😂
the songs u play are very enjoyable and quite hypnotizing
These videos are so unbelievably satisfying
when i was an itty-bitty thing in the early nineties there was a keyboard that used colours and letters on the keys to help kids play the piano(it did not work you'd just learn to find the letters quickly) but you'd pick your sheet of music and instead of notes it would just have a colour/letter and you'd play by matching the two up
Might be easier to just look for another one of those keyboards for $5 at a garage sale. Love your videos.