The Casiotone 405: Two Switches; Endless Variation Demo

The Casio CT-405 is one of my favorite Casio keyboards. It uses the Vowel-Consonant synthesis particularly effectively. VCS is basically two pulse waves mixed together with different volume envelopes. However, though simple, this synthesis technique allows for a lot of variation. In fact, this keyboards special feature is the ability to change the volume envelope of each layer independently. Casio called this feature, opaquely, "Cross Tone Modulation". Though it is hard to guess what will happen when using the modulation, it is very fun to experiment with. There is also the regular Casio fair of auto chords and bass. Though there is an interesting auto arpeggio feature that sounds a lot like an old arcade machine. The rhythm section is analog, with similar sounds to other Casio keyboards of that era.