VL-Tone Synth
Free App
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About VL-Tone Synth
Come on, just admit it! You are a little nostalgic and fondly remember the good old days when a man was a man, a mouse a mouse and a synth ... well, when a synth was a pocket calculator or the other way around.
Casio's strange VL-1 instrument sold 1,000,000 units between 1979 and 1984. Trio, the German band, used it to record their huge hit "DaDaDa", and bands like Human League, Devo, The Cars followed suit. And 30 years later it is still backing tracks by Moby and Fergie.
But you don't have to search Ebay to enjoy playing the "Fantasy" sound over a nice "Rock-2" blip. Now you can have the "Unterlanders Heimweh" demo tune right there when you need it, feeling a little lowlandish homesick. The VL-Tone app contain the factory presets and rhythm patterns in all their distorted and noisy glory, carefully sampled from an original Casio VL-1. Never have so few bits been sampled by so many for so little, to paraphrase Churchill.
So, download and enjoy! But note that this software is still a beta. It is tested on a few phones, so it should work quite well, but don't hesitate to contact me via software(at)skrivarna.com if something seems strange. I will do my best to fix bugs quickly!
Currently known limitations:
* ADSR. This version of the app is a sample player, not an emulator. This makes it more or less impossible to program your own sounds. Maybe emulation for ADSR programming will be included in a later version. Maybe not.
* The sustain and decay of the samples are currently a bit rough (to say the least). Will be fixed when I get the time.
* The sequencer is not included right now. If enough people encourage me to implement the step sequencer in the next version I will.
* The LCD display is not of much use.
* The samples contain all the noise and distorsion from my original instrument. And I suppose this is the way it will be, at least for the sounds. But maybe the demo and the rhythm pauses could be cleaned up a little by adding a noise gate. Also, the s/n ratio could be increased with some gentle compression.
* Would it be interesting to have a choice between the lined samples presented here, and some captured with the internal speaker and a mic? I suppose that would add more character to some of the sounds. Let me know!
Now go out and play!
Casio's strange VL-1 instrument sold 1,000,000 units between 1979 and 1984. Trio, the German band, used it to record their huge hit "DaDaDa", and bands like Human League, Devo, The Cars followed suit. And 30 years later it is still backing tracks by Moby and Fergie.
But you don't have to search Ebay to enjoy playing the "Fantasy" sound over a nice "Rock-2" blip. Now you can have the "Unterlanders Heimweh" demo tune right there when you need it, feeling a little lowlandish homesick. The VL-Tone app contain the factory presets and rhythm patterns in all their distorted and noisy glory, carefully sampled from an original Casio VL-1. Never have so few bits been sampled by so many for so little, to paraphrase Churchill.
So, download and enjoy! But note that this software is still a beta. It is tested on a few phones, so it should work quite well, but don't hesitate to contact me via software(at)skrivarna.com if something seems strange. I will do my best to fix bugs quickly!
Currently known limitations:
* ADSR. This version of the app is a sample player, not an emulator. This makes it more or less impossible to program your own sounds. Maybe emulation for ADSR programming will be included in a later version. Maybe not.
* The sustain and decay of the samples are currently a bit rough (to say the least). Will be fixed when I get the time.
* The sequencer is not included right now. If enough people encourage me to implement the step sequencer in the next version I will.
* The LCD display is not of much use.
* The samples contain all the noise and distorsion from my original instrument. And I suppose this is the way it will be, at least for the sounds. But maybe the demo and the rhythm pauses could be cleaned up a little by adding a noise gate. Also, the s/n ratio could be increased with some gentle compression.
* Would it be interesting to have a choice between the lined samples presented here, and some captured with the internal speaker and a mic? I suppose that would add more character to some of the sounds. Let me know!
Now go out and play!
All Application Badges
Free
downl.
downl.
Android
1.6+
1.6+
Bug
buster
buster
Android app
App History & Updates
What's Changed
* Bug fixed, reduced latency in some cases.
* Keyboard handling improved to allow sliding glissandos.
* ADSR presets added, some suggested in the original manual and a few from the Patch-a-day site at (http://http://reasonpatchaday.blogspot.com). Admittedly, this is not as good as real ADSR programming, but it shows my good will... Drop me a mail to suggest nice ADSR patches and I might include them in the next release.
* Bug fixed, reduced latency in some cases.
* Keyboard handling improved to allow sliding glissandos.
* ADSR presets added, some suggested in the original manual and a few from the Patch-a-day site at (http://http://reasonpatchaday.blogspot.com). Admittedly, this is not as good as real ADSR programming, but it shows my good will... Drop me a mail to suggest nice ADSR patches and I might include them in the next release.
More downloads VL-Tone Synth reached 100 000 - 500 000 downloads
More downloads VL-Tone Synth reached 50 000 - 250 000 downloads
Name changed Name changed! VL-Tone now is known as VL-Tone Synth.
More downloads VL-Tone Synth reached 10 000 - 50 000 downloads
What are users saying about VL-Tone Synth
T
by T####:
by T####:
Laffed me arse off. Sounds like the actual junky Casio. So, I say this is just as useless. Good work!
T
by T####:
by T####:
Good sounds... Beware though: If you play a rhythm and them hit one of the tempo keys, everything will freeze up and then force close.
N
by N####:
by N####:
Oh man, so many memories of my brother and I parading around the house with the VL Tones when we were kids! This is a fun nostalgic walk down memory lane haha
T
by T####:
by T####:
This is awesome, fun and nostalgic, yet lovable! I think I wanna use it in my next song. Definitely implement the step sequencer, that would be epic!
T
by T####:
by T####:
It's very fun, it would be nice if the VL1 could be made longer so you can play more keys
R
by R####:
by R####:
A bland, shrunken version of the Casio V-L Tone keyboard. Too limited to be useful and nothing like the real thing.
G
by G####:
by G####:
I had a real one of these back in the day. This is a pretty good simulation going by memory. Sounds a little better than the original I think. And no boring ads!
R
by R####:
by R####:
Surprised to see this app. I have the casio VL-1 at home and I now I use it to entertain my 3 1/2 year old little niece. Going strong generation after generation. Good stuffs never age. Kudos to the developer. Also one suggestion, only a part of the instrument is visible in the app. Can you make it full?
R
by R####:
by R####:
On my Galaxy S II this is fabulous. No lag as reported by others and great for bashing out a tune. Excellent! keep up the good work.
Y
by Y####:
by Y####:
I had one of these from way back yonder. This is awesome. Can't wait to play...." Ada da da"
Y
by Y####:
by Y####:
I had the original and this is spot on. Just wish I had bent it
R
by R####:
by R####:
Had loads of fun with this thanks. Can only get better with the sequencer :-)
R
by R####:
by R####:
DA DA DA excellent app just like the real thing.
R
by R####:
by R####:
Pure nostalgia. My patents wouldn't buy me one of these when I was a kid. At last I got one :-)
R
by R####:
by R####:
Blast from the past, great like app to play when bored.
Z
by Z####:
by Z####:
I wanted one if these back in about 1981 and eventually got a real one in 2006 - only 25 years later. Now, thanks to this app, I have two.... HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Z
by Z####:
by Z####:
T
by T####:
by T####:
Excellent app brush up on your your keyboard skills while on the go. Da..da...da..
Z
by Z####:
by Z####:
But I would like to see the sequencer implemented.
Q
by Q####:
by Q####:
I love this program. I play a bass line on it and then play melody on my real VL-TONE. It's a blast!
Q
by Q####:
by Q####:
I'm no musician, but it's really fun to just bang out some cool noises with this thing. Love it!
A
by A####:
by A####:
Shame about the calculator but still, a nice emulator :)
Q
by Q####:
by Q####:
I had one of these from way back yonder. This is awesome. Can't wait to play...." Ada da da"
Q
by Q####:
by Q####:
A bland, shrunken version of the Casio V-L Tone keyboard. Too limited to be useful and nothing like the real thing.
Q
by Q####:
by Q####:
Takes me back to the mid 80s learned to play Axel F theme on this.
Q
by Q####:
by Q####:
I have a real one (hardware) :) thanks.
R
by R####:
by R####:
The Rock-1 rhythm ♡♡♡ Just wish there is more key tones. It's hard to play one complete song if you have to choose "Octave" during playing.
R
by R####:
by R####:
I'm no musician, but it's really fun to just bang out some cool noises with this thing. Love it!
R
by R####:
by R####:
this is perfect synth on android so far. but why i cant record my song? please..
R
by R####:
by R####:
It's the early 80's again! Lot's off fun to play with!
O
by O####:
by O####:
I think that a sequencer would be a great addition! Also, on the subject of sampling from the internal speaker, why not add a faded between the two sample types? I'm sure it could result in some interesting sounds
R
by R####:
by R####:
Very good stab at keeping the VL magic alive. But what's with the dropdowns? Should have proper graphic controls (switches that work) not dropdowns.
R
by R####:
by R####:
Needs record , export and a sequencer. sounds close to the real deal. Some type of visual verification of what button you pressed would also be good
R
by R####:
by R####:
Thanks for this. An uncle of mine had one in the early 80's. This retro-app works good! Gonna use it in my home studio, no lagging, plays like the real deal. Sounds true to the original. Highly recommended!
R
by R####:
by R####:
The most effective keyboard I recommend it to all users. Thanks to the developers for making such an app
Z
by Z####:
by Z####:
Don't even need the real thing...
R
by R####:
by R####:
Its a perfect reproduction of the casio vl-tone sound gonna have lots of fun to play with this
R
by R####:
by R####:
Works perfectly on my nexus 4. Not only that, but you can actually make MUSIC with this app. Looks great too. Very highly recommended by me, and I have used A LOT of music apps for android.
Q
by Q####:
by Q####:
Awesome.. Can't wait for the next version
by H####:
'What you do, and what you don't (uh huh)/What you will and what you won't (uh huh)/What you can and what you can't (uh huh)/This is what you've got to know: loved you though it didn't show. . . .Da Da Da'- the song and instrument (and band) that took the early 80s Germany by storm. 'Da Da Da'. Cool app!