Medeli MC-11
(monophonic squarewave toy keyboard)
This small, white tablehooter is nothing really spectacular, but unusual
is that it uses extremely pure and basic plain squarewave tones, those
in their simplicity don't exist on many other keyboards (not even on 1980th
ones).
There is no brand name on the case, but I found out the manufacturer
Medeli
through Asian Sources; on
the instrument stands only "MC-11 ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD". It has a white
case with a green speaker grill centered above the keyboard. Although it
is basically a stupid little thing, I like this one and chink around on
it quite often. Also a red version with yellow speaker was made.
main features:
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32 mini keys
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monophonic
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4 OBS preset sounds {piano, oboe, guitar, violin}:
| oboe |
=pure plain squarewave tone |
| violin |
=pure squarewave tone with unequal pulse pause ratio (timbre is rather
bagpipes- like) |
| piano |
=like oboe + envelope (ignores key press duration) |
| guitar |
=like violin + envelope (ignores key press duration) |
|
|
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keys have extraordinary precise note timing response
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no rhythm
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sound generator produces only pure plain squarewave tones of 2 pulse pause
ratios and with or without a fixed, capacitor- based falling- volume envelope
that is truncated with a click after about 0.5s. The tones without envelope
have a sharp on/ off click.
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CPU "MC1100, KS57C0002-56, 441" (30 pins) is a real SMD IC (no COB black
blob) and is crystal clocked (i. e. no howling), which is unusual for such
a simple instrument.
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simple sequencer (record & playback)
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13 monophonic demo melodies
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no sound output nor AC- adapter jack
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batteries (4x mignon) last quite long
eastereggs:
-
button for "one key play" of demo melodies addable
notes:
This instrument has an extraordinary precise key timing response which
permits (with some skill) to play extremely short, blipping notes those
most modern keyboards would rather ignore or play too long.
The 13 monophonic demo melodies are (note all these Engrish misspellings):
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Night In Moscow Suburn
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Mary Had a Little Lamb
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Red River Valley
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Happy Birthday To You
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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
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500 Miles
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Ode To Joy
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Row The Boat Ashore
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Jingle Bells
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Frere Jaques Brother John
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Hickory Dickory Dock
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London Bridge Is Falling Down
-
Jambmlaya
Regarding the CPU type label, also a variant called "MC1100" may exist,
which appears to be the genuine name of this hardware class. A possible
predecessor of this instrument was the similar Fujitone
I.
| removal
of these screws voids warranty... |
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