Now this one really struck a crudely sampled 8-bit piano chord with me! The first sampling device I ever owned is now available as a virtual instrument plugin. Enter the DB1 – a Free Casio SK-1 Emulation from the lovely people over at Dixon Beats.

Casio bring sampling to the masses

Picture the scene. A young impressionable 12-year-old fascinated by the emerging Electro and Hip Hop sound catches a news segment describing the process of sampling. This report was centred around Thomas Dolby and the small bungalow-priced Fairlight CMI 1. I instantly grasped the significance of sampling as the holy grail of sound design and seriously craved such a device. Alas, as I was only twelve with £1 a week pocket money this was nothing but a pipe-shaped dream. So, Imagine my utter joy when a year later, just before Christmas, I find myself standing at the much-frequented home keyboard section of Dixons, and there, staring unassumingly back at me are the words – Sampling Keyboard.

1985 was the year Casio launched the SK-1 and bought sampling to the masses. All be it 1.4 seconds of sampling at an extremely lofi rate of 9.38 kHz. With an original retail price of just over £100, the SK-1 was a hit. And as for my Christmas circa 1985, let’s just say Santa came through.

Fast forward almost 40 years and sampling has arguably had as much influence over the sound and direction of music as the Electric Guitar that went before it. And while Casio didn’t invent sampling they were certainly the first to offer this revolutionary new technology to the masses.

Enter the DB1

The Casio SK-1 may seem rather dated and obsolete in this era of all-powerful DAWs but surprisingly its popularity has seen a resurgence. Genres such as Lo-Fi are rediscovering the inherent 8-bit charm that the SK has to offer. It has also become a target for those wanting to mod old keyboards. While not exactly eye-watering, the prices on used working SK-1s are on the up with many fetching more than their original RRP.

So with the popularity of this little beauty on the rise Dixon Beats* thought it was about time the SK-1 got introduced to the exciting world of Digital Audio! At first glance, the DB1’s GUI looks ace and very much in keeping with its predecessor! The original layout is faithfully reproduced and everything is clear and easy to access. For someone like me who grew up with the original, just seeing this familiar old friend in virtual form gives me warm fuzzy music feels.

*Ironically the electrical retailer Dixons was the place I first clapped eyes on a Casio SK-1

DB1 Features

So let’s look at what the DB1 has to offer. Well, first up we should address the elephant in the room. Despite visually representing the sexy silver inbuilt mic and having Sampling Keyboard emblazoned on the GUI there is no sampling function on the DB1. I guess we all have the facility to sample now and use bit crushers to reduce the quality to dirt. It would however have been neat to hear Dixon Beats take on the ultra lo-fi Casio SK-1 sample sound. Fingers crossed for an update at some point as I think people would be happy to pay a small amount extra for a sampling add-on.

It also doesn’t go anywhere near the rhythm section of the SK1. But for anyone familiar with the original this is somewhat of a blessing. What the DS1 does offer though is the iconic and unique presets of the original keyboard along with a host of original new SK-inspired voices.

The Presets

Although very much a domestic, almost ‘toy’ keyboard, the sampled voices on the SK-1 were a significant departure and step up from the plinky plonky sounds associated with similarly priced home keyboards. And it’s these folksy-sounding nostalgia-tinged voices that have been modelled on the DB1. The DB1 features all of the original 8 voices – Piano, Brass Ensemble, trumpet, Flute, Human Voice, Synth Drums, pipe organ and Jazz organ. It’s fair to say that some of these sounds have aged better than others. The Piano has a unique lofi charm and is possibly the most convincing on offer. You are also no longer limited by the original 4 note polyphony. Perfect if you fancy playing a spot of Chopan, Casio Piano stylee.

As well as the original 8 voices the DB1 offers up 24 new SK-1 inspired presets. The new presets are well-considered. What I would have given for a Rhodes voice back in the day! I suspect these new presets have been created using the original SK-1’s rudimentary additive synth mode. This mode enabled basic sine wave stacking and envelope shaping.

Sound shaping

Where the DB1 differs considerably from the original Casio SK-1 unit is in the realm of sound sculpting. The original SK-1 did offer several pre-determined envelopes which was pretty impressive for the time. The DB1 however blows this out of the water, offering you a plethora of editing options. These can be accessed by pressing the FX button. here you get the following editable FX parameters:

• ADSR Envelope
• EQ
• Convolution Reverb
• Saturation
• Width
• Hi and Low-pass filters

These processing effects provide quick and easy manipulation of the 32 preset sounds. They all do a fantastic job and really enable you to take these sounds into another dimension. If I was to be picky a dedicated Delay would have been the cherry on the cake but let’s not forget – This VST is totally FREE!

Another cool little addition is that of Vinyl Crackle and that infamous lofi wobble effect. These effects can be accessed to the left of the main volume slider where function and mode used to reside on the original SK-1.

Summary

What the DB1 lacks in a rich diverse sound pallet it certainly makes up for in terms of charm and unique reminiscence value. Especially for an old codger like me that got an original under the Tree on that fateful Christmas in 1985! Saying that, with a bit of tweaking and some complimentary drums and accompaniments, the DB1 offers some unique melodic opportunities. Certainly in the realm of Lo-Fi and downtempo music.

I applaud Dixon Beats for taking on the SK-1 and creating an ace little free VST. It certainly had me all misty with nostalgic feels and determined to get some of these sounds weaved into my beats.

You can download the DB1 here and if you are not yet convinced check out the video below for a full walk through and demonstration.

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