Decent Samples has released a new free Casio VL-1 library for the free Decent Sampler.
Casio VL-1 is a peculiar device. It’s a monophonic synthesizer, sequencer, and calculator all in one.
Made in 1979, it is claimed to be “the first mass produced digital synthesizer ever”, with its warm and fuzzy sound that became iconic in the world of electronic music.
David Hilowitz of Decent Samples, whom many of you are familiar with, has sampled one of these units that he says he hadn’t touched in decades.
With his developing skills, he has created a sample library from it so you can enjoy the classic tones of the VL-1 from the comfort of your DAW.
Even though the VL-1 has a built-in calculator, you can rest assured that you do not need to do any math to use this library.
In fact, it is very user-friendly, which we usually come to expect from Decent Sampler libraries.
As for controls, you get a simple ADSR module and an effects module, which includes controls for Cutoff, Q, Chorus, and Reverb.
The cutoff is a low-pass filter control, and Q adjusts its resonance amount. The other two controls are self-explanatory and can add some depth to the otherwise dry sound of the presets.
There are 12 patches in total in the library. The first 5 are the sampled presets of the original VL-1, including Fantasy, Flute, Guitar, Piano, and Violin.
I personally love the piano patch; it has a smooth attack and crispy sound. The flute and violin patches are very nice as well for playing chords.
The other 7 patches are the raw waveforms that the VL-1 offers: Piano, Fantasy, Violin, Flute, Guitar 1, Guitar 2, and English Horn.
These have infinite sustain, so you can further tweak them to your liking in the ADSR section.
It is worth noting that David Hilowitz has also made a more experimental version of this instrument called “VL-1 & Friends”, available for his Patreon subscribers.
Casio VL-1 runs in Decent Sampler, which is available for Windows (32 & 64-bit), Mac (Intel & M1), Linux (Intel 64-bit), and even iOS devices, in formats VST2, VST3, AU, AAX, and Standalone.
Download: Casio VL-1 (FREE – Requires Decent Sampler)
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