Casio confirmed as much as NAMM (CES for music gear nerds) this yr with a prototype sampler known as the SX-C1 that appears each bit the lovechild of a Game Boy and an SP-404. The highest has a directional pad and 4 buttons similar to you’d discover on a recreation controller, flanking a 1.3-inch OLED display. However on the backside, there are 16 rubberized pads for triggering samples with crunchy pixelated quantity labels on them.
The device on display on the present flooring was not totally finalized, so the specs are topic to vary. Casio says that the ultimate model could have 16 voice polyphony and document samples at 16-bit / 48kHz. It can even have 10 banks of samples, for 160 pattern slots in complete, unfold over 64GB of inside storage. It can additionally come preloaded with samples harvested from basic Casio gear.
There are additionally two results slots, as evidenced by the 2 thumbwheels labeled FX1 and FX2. What results and precisely how they’ll be carried out is unknown proper now, although a bitcrusher and a delay can clearly be heard within the demo clip beneath.
Equally, there’s a grid-style step sequencer that’s giving severe TR-707 vibes. However once more, there are not any specs for the sequencer at the moment. One factor we do know is that there might be correct pattern trimming with a visual waveform such as you get on the Roland SP-404MKII, the sort that isn’t accessible on extra inexpensive and moveable samplers like Teenage Engineering’s PO-33 or PO-133.
The SX-C1 could have a built-in mic and speaker and might be powered by AAAs for actually standalone operation. Nevertheless it additionally has 1/8-inch line-in and line-out jacks, a headphone jack, and two USB-C ports. These USB ports can be utilized for energy and audio, so you would plug straight into your pc to pattern your favourite YouTube clip.
This marks Casio’s return to the world of samplers after a really lengthy absence. Its ‘80s fashions, together with the FZ-1 and SK-1, have been iconic, however issues have been quiet since then. When the Casio SX-C1 sampler is perhaps accessible, how a lot it’s going to price, and if it’s going to ever even come to the US are all unknown at the moment, however we’ve reached out to Casio for extra particulars.
