Cassettone, ‘The Poor Man’s Mellotron’, At Knobcon 2026
At Knobcon 2026, Mike from SISKworks was showing the Cassettone, described as a “poor man’s Mellotron”, and the Modified Tape Player Prototype, a motor-controlled cassette instrument.
Video Summary:
“Five buttons trigger playback, and each button has a knob that tunes motor speed for a different pitch. The newer prototype keeps that five-key approach and adds a Daisy microprocessor for delay, reverb, filter, harmonizer and reverse grain effects.
The control knobs adjust the last effect engaged, and the filter can self-oscillate slightly. The unit also includes a step sequencer with normal, reverse, bounce and random directions. Steps can be switched on or off, and tempo, length, glide and swing are adjustable. A hold mode latches the last key for drone use.
The prototype includes gate, CV and clock inputs, and it is planned for 1V/oct tuning. It can use tape loops or full-length cassettes, but it does not record to tape. Pricing is not set, and the final version is likely to be desktop rather than Eurorack.”
Visit the Sisworks site for details.
via Sonic State
