Casio MT-40
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The Casio Casiotone MT-40 is an electronic keyboard, formerly produced by Casio and originally developed for the consumer market. It was released in 1981, with the MT-41 gray version releasing in 1983.[1]
Description
The keyboard has 37 main keys and 15 smaller bass keys. Its 9-voice polyphony means that eight notes may be played on the main keys, plus one note on the bass for a total of nine simultaneous voices. The bass section has one timbre, and the main section has 22, assignable to one of four presets. Like most small Casio keyboards the MT-40 has a drum section with 6 different beats, a tempo knob, and a "fill" button. The fill button plays sixteenth note pulses of either the "snare" or "kick" as long as it is held down.
All tones and presets are recordings held on "voice chips"[2] triggered by user input. This consumer-grade feature distinguishes the MT-40 from the technical definition of synthesizer, a machine in which sounds are generated by manipulating the output of audio frequency generators rather than recordings of those manipulations. The successor of the MT-40 was an otherwise identical machine that came in a gray case, sold as the MT-41 beginning in 1983.[2]
Under Me Sleng Teng
The MT-40 has a built-in bassline (internally referred to as the "rock" preset) that, along with the keyboard's suggested 1/16 note fill for that preset, formed the basis of a seminal reggae track, 1985's "Under Me Sleng Teng". The track's riddim went on to spawn nearly 500 cover versions.[3] This song's success is widely credited with single-handedly transitioning reggae from analog to computerized production. This transition to a music production that depended on digital instruments and sequencers is also seen as catalyzing the computerization of hip-hop music, which was, like reggae, an analog musical tradition until the mid-1980s.[4] Given the lasting consequences of the Sleng Teng riddim, the MT-40's "rock" preset has been the subject of considerable speculation.
The famous preset was composed for Casio in 1980 by a then newly-hired music engineer,
Reaction to MT-40 "rock" preset
After the worldwide success of Sleng Teng many speculated as to the ultimate source of the "rock" preset. At first
According to Okuda, there was some talk at the Casio corporation of attempting to defend their intellectual property from its free use in "Under Me Sleng Teng" with lawsuits.[8][9] However, other voices at Casio (among them the head of the Musical Instrument division, co-founder of the company, and second-eldest Kashio brother, Toshio Kashio) prevailed. Toshio Kashio in particular felt strongly that the company's mission ought to be “bringing the pleasure of playing a musical instrument to everyone.”[8][9] Despite the minute size and financial importance of the Musical Instrument division compared to the company's calculator division, then its main breadwinner, Toshio Kashio's defence of free use set a decisive corporate precedent. To the present day Casio's response to clearance requests for the "rock" preset has been an acknowledgement that the song “uses a sound file taken from a Casio MT-40”, and no fee.[9]
The preset is accessed by pressing the "synchro" button and then the "D" bass button (second from left) while the MT-40 rhythm slider is in the "rock" position.[2]
Subsequent Influence
The MT-40 has also secured a niche in indie music, frequently used by
References
- ^ "HISTORY|Casiotone - music.casio.com - CASIO". HISTORY|Casiotone - music.casio.com - CASIO. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
- ^ a b c Casio MT-40/41 - The Sleng Teng Review, retrieved 2022-02-02
- ^ "Sleng Teng Riddim | Riddim-ID". riddim-id.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
- ^ "Wayne Smith's Under Mi Sleng Teng – the song that revolutionised reggae". the Guardian. 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
- ^ a b c d "Okuda Hiroko: The Casio Employee Behind the "Sleng Teng" Riddim that Revolutionized Reggae". nippon.com. 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
- ^ a b peter (2016-01-11). "David Bowie: Father Of The Sleng Teng Riddim". Axis Chemicals. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
- ^ "How Casio accidentally started reggae's digital revolution". Engadget. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
- ^ a b Yukinori, Hashino (1 February 2022). "Okuda Hiroko: The Casio Employee Behind the "Sleng Teng" Riddim that Revolutionized Reggae". Your Doorway to Japan. Nippon.com. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ a b c "Okuda Hiroko: The Casio Employee Behind the "Sleng Teng" Riddim that Revolutionized Reggae". nippon.com. 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
- ^ "Kleos | Picture Atlantic". Pictureatlantic.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- ^ s://www.facebook.com/casyandbrian
- ^ "What Meaning / DW022 | Standing Ovation | Dead Wax Records". Deadwaxrecords.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2022-05-04.