Possible to exploit 'hidden' capabilities of Casio Keyboard?

[Doc]

I've got this Casio keyboard of the $99 Walmart variety that I got to study
chord progressions, since it's got a 100 song bank and a display that gives
info on the chord type and voicing, even shows the notes on a keyboard
display.

When it plays the songs, it uses some fairly elaborately sequenced
arrangements with the midi file data burned onto a chip. However, it occurs
to me that you couldn't duplicate the multi-instrumentation and polyphony of
the arrangements by actually playing the keyboard.

This leads me to think the keyboard has more capability than they've
included buttons for, sort of like stories I've always heard that certain
calculators of varying cost all used the same chipset but the more expensive
ones just had more buttons. Anyone ever heard of someone "hacking" one of
these inexpensive keyboards to exploit these hidden capabilities?

 

[Tim Shoppa]

However, it occurs to me that you couldn't duplicate

the multi-instrumentation and polyphony of
the arrangements by actually playing the keyboard.

It's possible/likely that the keyboard (keyboard = the keys and
electronics that sense them, not the whole unit) decoder cannot handle
more than "n" keys depressed simultaneously, where "n" is what you need
to get the polyphony.

Keyboard multiplexing/decoding has always been a limiting factor in
low-end synths.

Don't most cheap ones allow you to record in one voice/instrument, then
switch to a different voice while playing back the original so that you
can "accompany" yourself?

Tim.

 

[Don Pearce]

I've got this Casio keyboard of the $99 Walmart variety that I got to study
chord progressions, since it's got a 100 song bank and a display that gives
info on the chord type and voicing, even shows the notes on a keyboard
display.

When it plays the songs, it uses some fairly elaborately sequenced
arrangements with the midi file data burned onto a chip. However, it occurs
to me that you couldn't duplicate the multi-instrumentation and polyphony of
the arrangements by actually playing the keyboard.

This leads me to think the keyboard has more capability than they've
included buttons for, sort of like stories I've always heard that certain
calculators of varying cost all used the same chipset but the more expensive
ones just had more buttons. Anyone ever heard of someone "hacking" one of
these inexpensive keyboards to exploit these hidden capabilities?

Does it have a MIDI connector? If it does you should be able to get at
all the goodies that way.

d

Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

 

[philicorda]

I've got this Casio keyboard of the $99 Walmart variety that I got to study
chord progressions, since it's got a 100 song bank and a display that gives
info on the chord type and voicing, even shows the notes on a keyboard
display.

When it plays the songs, it uses some fairly elaborately sequenced
arrangements with the midi file data burned onto a chip. However, it occurs
to me that you couldn't duplicate the multi-instrumentation and polyphony of
the arrangements by actually playing the keyboard.

This leads me to think the keyboard has more capability than they've
included buttons for, sort of like stories I've always heard that certain
calculators of varying cost all used the same chipset but the more expensive
ones just had more buttons. Anyone ever heard of someone "hacking" one of
these inexpensive keyboards to exploit these hidden capabilities?

"Tablehooters" is a great site by a guy dedicated to doing this kind of
thing:
http://users.informatik.haw-hamburg.de/~windle_c/TableHooters/instruments.html

He confirms that often the same keyboard sound electronics appear in many
different models, just inaccessible from the front panel.

I've wondered how they get the demos sounding so good on these little
keyboards too. Nowadays, they probably use the same 256 voice GM sound
chip in everything, but on older keyboards I've heard some clever
workarounds to get round polyphony/multitimbral limitations. Often things
like changing timbre quickly between notes, or, if the sound engine allows
it, holding one bass note, changing the timbre with it still sustaining,
playing the melody notes, and then changing timbre back for the next bass
note. This leads to some wacky arrangements!

 

[Doc]

Does it have a MIDI connector? If it does you should be able to get at
all the goodies that way.

This model doesn't but the next model up did.

 

[Laurence Payne]

This model doesn't but the next model up did.

In that case, I think you're out of luck.