Freebie Friday: Casio SA-5

Again, I am super grateful to our friends Elizabeth and Craig for taking me and the cat while potential buyers paraded through our staged house. While I was in the relocation programme, I was cheered to learn that sidewalk finds also abound in midtown Toronto. I tried very hard not to partake of the goods on offer but I could not resist this vintage Casio SA-5 mini keyboard that I found in the above pile of free stuff.

The SA-5 is a funny little instrument. It was introduced in the early 1990s. When these mini keyboards came out, they were considered toy synthesizers because you could shape the preset sounds using the tone edit button or by altering pattern speed and timbre. Considering how massive and expensive synthesizers were at the time, a lot of folks like to goof around on these things. An industry eventually grew up around modifying these gadgets for professionals.

How do I know this stuff? I have a few mini keyboards, including the Casio SK-1 sampler. I’m not any good on the keyboards, but it’s fun to goof around. I’m also working on a show that involves mixing music with comedy. And one of the goals of our new abode is to have a more open concept space where we can enjoy listening to and making music.