Back in 1988, this pocket-sized wonder arrived as a stripped-down take on Casio's groundbreaking VL-1, packing monophonic synth magic into a form factor that fit in your backpack—perfect for sparking creativity on the go.
At just 13.5 x 3.7 x 0.7 inches and 1 pound, it features 29 (or sometimes listed as 31) ultra-mini keys alongside a simple control panel: 10 buttons for selecting from 4 digital sounds (piano, fantasy, violin, flute) generated via pulse waves of varying widths and octaves, 3 switches, a master tuning trimmer, 10 rhythms, and a 100-note sequencer with internal memory. Power it with 4 AA batteries or a 6V external PSU (negative center), and you've got a built-in speaker plus 1.5mm headphone out and mono audio jack for portable jams. Those tiny keys demand a light touch, but they deliver raw, lo-fi charm straight from the NEC D1867G CPU.
Vintage hunters love its cult status in white, red, blue, or rare pink editions—often popping up on secondhand markets for under $200—praised for nostalgic tones that cut through mixes today, though some note the fiddly keys take practice. It's a time capsule of Casio's early mini-keyboard era, ideal for beatmakers chasing that authentic 80s grit.
