Casio VL-10 VL-Tone Pretty Rare Vintage Cult Machine 29-Key Synthesizer Keyboard - Silver

Probably the smallest fully functional synth in existence. (and it's a calculator too lol)

Would be listed as mint condition except, as the battery covers are notoriously a pain to open, it looks like the previous owner didn't have the patience to find the correct size / shape to stick into the hole to pull the compartment open as well as for the "P" button hole, which needs to be depressed after whenever the batteries are replaced.

Even still has the protective plastic film on the face of the synth keypad.

Includes original silver sleeve case.

Fully tested, in perfect working order.

Pretty rare unique collector's vintage synthesizer.

Battery powered only, 3V Lithium Button Cell battery (included).

(Upgradeable to have the ADSR synth feature as well as octave switch buttons; if interested in upgrading see TableHooters site for upgrade details.)

Polynominal:

VL-10 is a cult machine derived from classic Casio VL-1.

Matrix Synth:

The Casio VL-10 VL-Tone synthesizer is one of those bizarre frankensynths of the 80′s, part calculator, part synthesizer, part drum machine. This keyboard is one of the smallest if not the smallest fully working synthesizers every created.

TableHooters:

This quite rare ultra mini keyboard is just a downsized Casio VL-1 in a silver, very slim pocket calculator case. Together with the ultra- rare PT-7 it belongs to most bizarre small Casio instruments. Like with the latter, also here you can glide very well with the fingers over the extremely responsive keyboard since the tiny button keys are very flat and smooth, which is great for special play techniques.

E.g. you can produce fast arpeggio- like structures by holding  2 or more fingers in a distance unequal to the button key width and glide along the keys like strumming a harp. Unlike an OmniChord this is not a dedicated electronic feature but simply the result of the mechanical key arrangement. The Casio VL-10 is smaller than a chocolate bar and contains 2 separate piezo loudspeakers for main voice and rhythm.

The CPU has no type printed on (or is the label hidden on its solder side?) and the unused pins differ from the VL-1, but by a quick test the ADSR mode (blip sound) and octave switch functions seem to be still present as matrix eastereggs. Because the battery backed- up sequencer, calculator mode and LCD is all there, it is certainly easy to upgrade this thing with the ADSR synth feature; on the case rims is enough space to mount tiny slide switches for this. By the lack of analogue filters many timbres sound here identical those on a normal VL-1 would strongly differ, which is very noticeable during the demo melody. But otherwise the upgraded specimen certainly constitutes one of the world smallest self- contained synthesizers, and it is quite exciting to find out what happens when the different envelopes and timbres are squeezed out through its internal piezo yellcoin. Astonishing is that it holds the memory contents for at least an hour with battery removed.