RAP-1
Rapman
The world's 1st rap keyboard
|
This is one little Casio keyboard that I remember fondly from the early '90s!! Rap was at the top of its popularity then, and this fun keyboard allowed anybody to become instant rappers :-) This 32-key keyboard offers 25 preset tones, including piano, horns, guitar and sound effects; 30 Rap patterns, including rap, rock, house and more; a scratch disk that gives you control of up to four different scratch sounds by turning it with your hand, and three effect pads - three buttons on the console that give you one-touch access to a selection of exciting sound effects. One of the best features of the Rapman is the Voice Effector function: this changes the pitch of the sound being input through the microphone. Yes, there's an extra-cool Casio EM-4131 mini-microphone included! The on board speaker is powerful enough for home use, but there's an 1/8" output too, for when you need to kick it up a notch.
|
Tones
| Tone name with audio demo | My comments |
| 11 BRASS ENS | Superb synth brass, very contemporary |
| 12 ECHO BRASS | With the classic Casio pseudo-reverb/echo |
| 13 FLUTE | Delightful tone |
| 14 SYNTH-REED | Classic early '90s Casio. |
| 15 SYNTH-LEAD | Nice hard lead. |
| 21 PIANO | Cool and laidback piano tone. |
| 22 VIBRAPHONE | Realistic! |
| 23 ELEC ORGAN | Another classic early '90s Casio sound. |
| 24 WAW VOICE | Superb tone with rising pitch on the attack |
| 25 WARM STRINGS | Curiously analog sounding. |
| 31 ELEC BASS | Awesome bass guitar sound! |
| 32 METAL GUITAR | The perfect techno lead!!! Sample this and you're set for classic early 90s techno |
| 33 SITAR | Vaguely eastern |
| 34 CHURCH BELLS | Very nice |
| 35 BELLS | Classic "ice attack" sound |
| 41 PERCUSSION | Casio percussion, that is... |
| 42 GAMELAN | Very new age |
| 43 AGOGO | Nicely sampled Brazilian classic |
| 44 BAND HIT-BRASS HIT | You can also find these on the three pads |
| 45 ORCHESTRA HIT | Classic techno orchestra hit |
| 51 VOCODER | Incredible!!! The best sound on the Rapman |
| 52 TWINKLE ECHO | Lovely echoed synth |
| 53 CAR HORN | Yep. |
| 54 AMBULANCE | Yes. |
| 55 EMERGENCY ALARM | sci-fi |
Rap Patterns
Stream all rap pattern demos below
| Pattern name with audio demo | My comments |
| 1 BEAT 1 | Solid rhythm, perfect for rapping over |
| 2 BEAT 2 | Variant of the above |
| 3 BEAT 3 | One more variation |
| 4 BEAT 4 | Nice and funky |
| 5 BEAT 5 | Superbly done shuffle, with the 808 style percussion |
| 6 BEAT 6 | Classic '80s pattern |
| 7 BEAT 7 | More TR-808 inspired goodness |
| 8 BEAT 8 | 808 in 16ths |
| 9 BEAT 9 | With huge fills |
| 10 BEAT 10 | Standard 8-beat |
| 11 BEAT 11 | Excellent break! |
| 12 BEAT 12 | Nice 16th pattern |
| 13 RAP 1 | Awesome - this also includes bass and horn stab |
| 14 RAP 2 | Superb - this is funky and features bass and Clavinet |
| 15 HEAVY RAP | Not so heavy though. |
| 16 HIP-HOP 1 | Very groovy |
| 17 HIP-HOP 2 | Typical rhythm in vogue back when. |
| 18 HIP-HOP 3 | Awesome percussion arrangement! |
| 19 HIP-HOP 4 | Lovely |
| 20 MELLOW RAP | Dreamy |
| 21 ROCK 1 | and roll |
| 22 ROCK 2 | Inspired by a famous song - right now I can't remember the title of it. |
| 23 FUNK 1 | More '70s funk for you |
| 24 FUNK 2 | Outstanding for break-dancing actually... |
| 25 FUNK 3 | James Brown'ish |
| 26 FUNK 4 | So cool! |
| 27 R & B | Complex and cool |
| 28 HOUSE 1 | Well... |
| 29 HOUSE 2 | Better. |
| 30 HOUSE 3 | Ok. |
In Real Video format
Casio_Rapman.rm
| Year of release: | |
| Polyphony: | |
| Sound generation method: | |
| Preset memories | |
| MIDI: | |
| Sound expansion capabilities: | |
| Sequencer | |
| Arpeggiator | |
| Effects |
available at Casio New Zealand
| SITE | Type of resource | DESCRIPTION |
| www.casio.com | home page | |
Casio RAP-1 Rapman review with audio demo