Casio teased a retro gaming-inspired sampler

Casio showed up to NAMM (CES for music gear nerds) this year with a prototype sampler called the SX-C1 that looks every bit the lovechild of a Game Boy and an SP-404. The top has a directional pad and four buttons just like you’d find on a game controller, flanking a 1.3-inch OLED screen. But at the bottom, there are 16 rubberized pads for triggering samples with crunchy pixelated number labels on them.

The device on display on the show floor was not fully finalized, so the specs are subject to change. Casio says that the final version will have 16 voice polyphony and record samples at 16-bit / 48kHz. It will also have 10 banks of samples, for 160 sample slots in total, spread over 64GB of internal storage. It will also come preloaded with samples harvested from classic Casio gear.

There are also two effects slots, as evidenced by the two thumbwheels labeled FX1 and FX2. What effects and exactly how they’ll be implemented is unknown right now, though a bitcrusher and a delay can clearly be heard in the demo clip below.

Similarly, there’s a grid-style step sequencer that’s giving serious TR-707 vibes. But again, there are no specs for the sequencer at this time. One thing we do know is that there will be proper sample trimming with a visible waveform like you get on the Roland SP-404MKII, the kind that isn’t available on more affordable and portable samplers like Teenage Engineering’s PO-33 or PO-133.

The SX-C1 will have a built-in mic and speaker and can be powered by AAAs for truly standalone operation. But it also has 1/8-inch line-in and line-out jacks, a headphone jack, and two USB-C ports. Those USB ports can be used for power and audio, so you could plug straight into your computer to sample your favorite YouTube clip.

This marks Casio’s return to the world of samplers after a very long absence. Its ‘80s models, including the FZ-1 and SK-1, were iconic, but things have been quiet since then. When the Casio SX-C1 sampler might be available, how much it will cost, and if it will ever even come to the US are all unknown at this time, but we’ve reached out to Casio for more details.