History of Casio's Musical Instrument Business

In 1980 Casio released the Casiotone 201, its first electronic keyboard. As a compact and attractively priced unit that could play sounds from various instruments, this new product drew acclaim from music lovers around the world. Casio subsequently developed numerous features that were only possible using digital instrument technology, including one-touch auto-accompaniment, memory capacity to record and playback songs, auto-play, a melody guide function that guides users through a song by lighting up the keys, and sampling technology for recording any sound for use as a sound source. Casio also broadened into other instruments for people who enjoy creating music, releasing digital drum kits, digital guitars and digital wind instruments. In addition to electronic keyboards, in recent years Casio has been stepping up efforts to expand the popularity of digital pianos.

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Release
Model
Feature
1980
CT-201
First electronic keyboard
1981
CT-401
Electronic keyboard with one-touch auto-accompaniment
1981
VL-1
Electronic keyboard equipped with memory capacity and an auto-play function
1981
CT-701
Electronic keyboard featuring a melody-guide function
1983
PT-50
Mini keyboard with ROM pack
CZ-101
First synthesizer with Phase-Distortion synthesis technology
1986
CPS-201
First digital piano
1986
SK-1
Mini sampling keyboard
1986
DZ Syatem
Digital drum kit for playing sounds via MIDI
1987
FZ-1
16-bit sampling synthesizer
1987
DG-10
Digital guitar featuring various tones
1988
DH-100
Easy-to-play digital wind instrument
1988
CT-640
Casio's first keyboard with a sampled sound source
1988
CDP-3000
Digital piano that sounds and plays like a real piano
1991
AP-7
First CELVIANO digital piano with AP sound source
1991
RAP-1
Keyboard with the feel of a DJ setup
1994
ML-1
Mini keyboard with light-up keys
CTK-520L
Electronic keyboard with standard-size light-up keys
2000
MZ-2000
Electronic keyboard featuring Zygotech Polynomial Interpolation (ZPI) sound source with drawbar function
2002
PS-20
Stylish, slim compact digital piano
2003
PX-100
First Privia stylish digital piano
2008
CTK-4000
Electronic keyboard with AHL sound source
2009
PX-730
Digital piano with Linear Morphing AIF Sound Source