SlashGear

Years ago, like with many small children, my parents encouraged me to go to piano lessons.  At the time it was a frustrating and occasionally annoying addition to my pre-teen schedule; it's only now that I look back and think "thank goodness".  Because if I didn't have those basic keyboard skills then I would have to work even harder to appreciate these battery-powered synths by Casio, who have been making them since the days when they cost $30,000 and came as part of an entire music-making computer system. Tomás Mulcahy has put together a fantastic piece on the history and development of the Casio range, which is well worth a read if you're turned on by any of today's portable marvels like the Korg MicroKorg and Novation K-Station. Casio CZ Series [via Music Thing]