Casio teased a retro gaming-inspired sampler
Casio showed up at NAMM (CES for music gear enthusiasts) this year with a prototype sampler called the SX-C1 that looks every bit like the love child of a Game Boy and an SP-404. The top features a directional pad and four buttons, like on a game controller, flanking a 1.3-inch OLED screen. But down below, there are 16 rubberized pads for triggering samples with crisp pixelated digital labels.
The device on display at the show was not fully finalized, so specifications are subject to change. Casio says the final version will have 16 vocal polyphonies and record samples at 16-bit/48kHz. It will also have 10 sample banks, for 160 sample slots in total, spread across 64 GB of internal storage. It will also be preloaded with samples collected on classic Casio hardware.
There are also two effects slots, as evidenced by the two wheels marked FX1 and FX2. It’s not yet clear what effects and how they will be implemented, although a bitcrusher and delay can be clearly heard in the demo clip below.
Likewise, there’s a grid-style step sequencer that gives the TR-707 some serious vibes. But again, there are no specifications for the sequencer at the moment. One thing we do know is that there will be proper sample slicing with a visible waveform like you get on the Roland SP-404MKII, the kind that isn’t available on more affordable and portable samplers like the PO-33 or PO-133 from Teenage Engineering.
The SX-C1 will have a built-in mic and speaker and can be powered by AAAs for truly standalone operation. But it also has 1/8-inch line-in and line-out jacks, a headphone jack, and two USB-C ports. These USB ports can be used for power and audio, so you can connect directly to your computer to listen to your favorite YouTube clip.
This marks Casio’s return to the world of samplers after a very long absence. Its 1980s models, including the FZ-1 and SK-1, were iconic, but things have been quiet since. It’s not yet clear when the Casio SX-C1 sampler will be available, how much it will cost, and if it will ever come to the United States, but we’ve reached out to Casio for more details.
