@Mario Is Arting I was trying to repair a Wii U Gamepad with a repair kit that I bought myself and I gave up once I had to reconnect the ribbon cables, and I started working on that around 2016-17, maybe even earlier than that.
Whoah! Don't put it away just yet as you got much more for your dollar on this one. You actually have 128 wavetable based sounds, split keyboard, 3 drum kits, genre specific sampled sound effects, sequencer and up to 16 note polyphony on this sorta-fantastic piece of plastic. I also believe there is a 5 track sequencer/composer feature in the keyboard hardware itself (not certain how it works). You must make a song with it regardless. They hid many features within the simple 8 embedded function keys. Press the "synthesizer" button and while holding it, press the volume up button to get started. Now try the different sound buttons again. You can also press two sound buttons together at the same time to make a split keyboard. There are sampled percussive sounds in there too as well as genre specific sampled sound effects like the record scratch sound used in hip hop/rap music. I believe the 3 larger custom mystery chips are actually the wavetable ROM library and make this instrument really unique. An introductory and affordably priced true wavetable based keyboard. I seem to remember them bragging about that in a magazine advert and me being wooed. The keyboard is flimsy construction, but the way the return springs are retained - admittedly pure genius.
GuvernorDave It's all ready to go in the hardware of the keyboard itself. You can access all sounds via the 6 buttons (and volume) to use it as a wavetable based stand alone keyboard. It does not rely on the NES for sounds or sound software to be uploaded into the keyboard. The entire library of sound was preprogrammed in the keyboard when it was made. Now I wouldn't be surprised if you could upload custom sounds into the RAM, but not aware of that being done. Ultimately, the NES was simply the user interface and the educational trainer. The NES was essentially a midi controller/graphical user interface for the keyboard. There were overlay sheet(s) you would place over the buttons to help guide you through the different modes to access all the embedded features when not linked to the NES. The ten volume LEDs do much more than just show volume level, they show what submenu you are in etc with the overlay cards to navigate all the functions.
There are actually 128 instruments for the Miracle. The six buttons are the default ones. To enter Library Select Mode, you hold down "Select" and press "Scroll Down". There was an overlay to relabel those buttons. I remember scrolling was done with the volume buttons, and I'm pretty sure "Synthesizer" corresponded to Select, but I'm not 100% sure. All the patches are listed in the manual. Would love to see you review the other instrument voices!
Wow thank you for this comment! I just got one of these for a great price and didn't even know it had all those sounds. Lots of neat sounding toy keyboard stuff to play around with in there!
If you did this on broadcast TV you would be a hit. Something about your voice and the way you present things is amazing. I could watch your videos all the time. Love it. Keep it going.
There is a bank of 128 more sounds on that keyboard! If I remember correctly you hold down the "Synthesizer" button while using the volume keys to scroll up and down the sounds, I think the other buttons selected banks while in that mode somehow. I know there was an overlay that I kept on top at all times to make that process easier since I never used the basic 6 other than "piano." I'm fuzzy on the details, I was an eighth grader and it was 25 years ago. :-) Give it a try or look into the manual if the info's there!
Yes! Just made me take this out of the recycle bin and try them out. There are some fun sounds, including percussion. Also, I discovered that pressing two of the instrument buttons down at once gives you a split keyboard.
+XBignudgeX I had already tried that based on another user's suggestion. The only thing that happens when I press two instruments at the same time is that it will split the keyboard, so half piano and half vibraphone. I wonder if there is more than one version of this thing.
+8-Bit Keys I think there must be multiple versions; I had the NES version, and there was a pretty wide variety of instruments attainable through... some arcane combo of buttons. I remember a generic voice synthesis and a load of sound effects and percussion, for one- they had to be there for the games to work, since all the sound came from the synthesizer itself, not the TV.
+8-Bit Keys I think there is. I don't know what version I have, but XBignudgeX's suggestion works on mine. That excessive row of lights isn't just for volume, They also indicate what preset you're on by blinking. All but the first preset appears to be split keyboard combinations, but holding two instruments at the same time splits the keyboard too, with the first button held going to the left side, and the second going to the right. If the first light is blinking, it's just one instrument for the whole keyboard. If the first light is blinking, it appears you can select "hidden" instruments by pressing each instrument button multiple times. I had to edit this post because none of this is obvious, and I misunderstood what was going on initially. It's a very weird synthesizer, but very cool!
As the Guys say. You have a lot more bang for your Buck. I got one at a car boot sale under a fiver. It needed cleaning and a modern footswitch socket fitted but is a dream of a keyboard for the money I paid. I used mine as a accompaniment to my Hammond. What you were missing with yours was the card that fits on the top next to select keys which shows you how to access the voice library. I still have mine and proudly use it as it has some voices used by famous bands in the eighties. Seriously the best few quid I ever spent.
The keyboard mechanism is the same as for example in Roland PC-200 MIDI keyboard that I have. About 20 years ago I bought a used Miracle Piano to replace a broken key in my Roland MIDI keyboard. The Miracle Port on this device is just an ordinary serial port. The original Miracle cable has a DB-9 connector at the other end. Baud rate is 9600, byte size 8 bits, no parity, one stop bit. You can write a simple app which reads MIDI bytes from a serial port and sends them to a virtual MIDI port to route MIDI events from the device into a DAW app. This way you can you can use this keyboard without an actual MIDI interface.
I just wanted to say this channel is -amazing-, you put so much effort and thought into these that it's actually really impressive! Sobering to see a channel with so much love ♥
My partner is from Flower Mound. We live in Dallas (Farmers Branch) now. I moved here from Florida 3 and a half years ago and absolutely love Texas. Thanks, as always, for the wonderful video.
Hi! Just to let you know, there are WAY more than 6 sounds in this keyboard. I think it's 128 wavetable-based sounds that aren't too bad considering the application. The UI is not great - I think you have to use the buttons in combinations on the front panel to switch modes and get to the rest of the sounds - check the manual for instructions. Has velocity sensitive keys and midi. Flimsy construction, though.
I can't remember, but holding the volume up or down and touching the instruments gave another six selections. Also, the plastic card with the instruments had a second side that listed the other instrument. I think I remember trumpets, guitar, drum kit, quacking ducks, voices (like angelic singers). I loved this system and it taught me to play years ago. I would love to have the software capable of running on a newer PC as well as a USB connection.
Not sure if you were already made aware of this but the keyboard actually has more instruments than you demoed. You have to hold a combination of the synth button and the volume buttons. The volume lights will blink and each light gives you 8 more instruments. I just did this to mine to confirm.
My mom had one of these. If you hold down one of the buttons (synth I think) you are able to access all the sounds instead of the 6. It came with a card that laid over the bezel listing all the different sounds.
As I'm sure others have stated, this thing has a ton more instruments, you use the volume keys in conjunction with the 6 instrument keys and can scroll through about 128 instruments if i remember correctly. had one when I was little.
David, I still have one of these things. I haven't touched it years because I'm a string player but if I remember right it makes way more than six sounds. Accessing them involves mulitple key press hold routines, and groping blindly through them all. If you can find a manual for it, i think it has instructions on how to do this. If I can find my manual I'll mail it to you if you'd like.
I too have one of these, but in my house move have lost the complete set of cables. I would be interested in doing a deal with you. you can contact me by email gordoncotter@hhotmail.com or my landline phone 01324 301572 or mobile 07710 757473
Hi, I have your same hobby of restoring casios and all kind of keyboards. I actually paint them different colors at times and my miracle piano too I have in the box... brand new.Good to see someone that does what I do... Running out of room. I also do guitars.
I had a fully boxed SNES copy of this keyboard (with the game, obviously) for a few days while I was a little kid. My keyboard ended up being a total dud and I took it back to the store. To this day I still want to try out the games that came with it. Now I'm curious if SNES/NES emulators can take MIDI input.
Some people like watching shows where vintage cars get restored. Some people like videos where vintage electronic devices get restored... I'm in the latter, really enjoying these type of videos.
Hey it worked, great investment, learned piano - it was great ! You need to look at it, in context, as a kid. The SOFTWARE was the value. The plastic construction made it afforable. The programs walked kids through all the basics, and in no time they are playing several songs, much to their parents enjoyment. It brought music to the masses... :-) I loved it, still do.
This is my first 8-Bit Keys video, I came here from your other channel! This is actually pretty cool! :D (Personally I'm a bit more of a guitar guy myself, but this is still interesting.)
I bought 2 of these from a thrift store while I was in college, and cut the end off each one. After eliminating one 'C', I had a 97 key keyboard! Of course, I had to deal with octave shifting up 2 octaves on the MIDI from the right keyboard, and down 2 octaves on the left keyboard. But hey, it got me through music theory!
Yeah, as other comments say, there are WAY more than 6 sounds. My favorite was a pure synth tone (sine or square) that came near the end. You could also get all kinds of circuit-bent-style noises out of some of the patches by using the sustain pedal. Esp. on that pure tone, I'd hit a low note on sustain, then keep hitting a high note until it started distorting like crazy. Fun things lurk in the Miracle.
Did you ever find out how to get the other voices? If not, here's the trick: Hold down the Synthesizer button and then press Volume Up or Volume Down. One of the volume indicator LEDs will begin to flash, indicating you are in another bank of voices. If memory serves, the bank accessed when the 10 LED is flashing has some brass sounds. Was hoping you would get your hands on one of these. I had it when I was a teenager and fell in love with synthesizers because of it.
For cleaning speaker grills and similar parts, I use a pastry brush with natural hair and masking tape around its head, so I won't sratch anything. If this doesn't help, I use window cleaner with one brush, one dry brush and paper towel to clean them. Or I disassamble the parts and use the brush with dish wash water.
I had a Miracle organ when I was a kid, along with the software for the NES and later the PC. Learning to play piano was a frustrating experience for me and I never became proficient even after I started taking lessons with an actual "piano lady," but I thought the software was pretty cool and I remember having a lot of fun mashing on the keys in the variety of mini games on the NES cart. In some ways I regret not putting more effort into my music, but on the other hand I'm glad that after I accepted my lack of musical talent I was able to find other things that I was good at.
It's not because you lack musical talent, you're just lazy and not motivated enough. Next time you try something, keep at it and never give up. To give up on something means you accept defeat and are a failure and you my friend are not a failure.
I used to live in Flowermound back when the world was young. In fact, in December of 2016 I stopped at the Walmart in Flower Mound on my way to a concert in Dallas.
Sweet, an SA-9. I had one of those as a kid, and just found it in a closet again. IIRC, last time I played it some keys didn't work. Gonna wait to see your video on it, then rip mine apart, clean it up, and retrobrite the keys. Hopefully it will come back to life. had a blast playing it all those years ago.
Mine came with a broken power jack. Turns out the power jack used in the NES is an almost direct replacement, if you cut off the screw tabs. Cleaned it while it was apart and works perfectly now.
My husband and I messed around with the NES Miracle Piano software, but we didn't have an actual Miracle Piano. The interface cable is the same one for the Fairlight CMI's keyboard.
I got the Miracle Piano from eBay for $25 (+ shipping) as an auction when I was the only bidder (the same price David Murray got on sale)! I can show you how 8-Bit Keys Intro Music sounds like in the Miracle via MIDI USB. Hint: Press Volume Up while holding Synthesizer then press Piano to get more instruments.
2:45 Pro-tip: get yourself a can of printed circuit cleaner. It cleans printed circuits and is alcohol based, so it just evaporates. I usually just put the PCB on its side on some paper towels and just hose it down with the stuff. Works great when the previous owner was a heavy smoker to shift the tar and the smell from boards as well.
First: The keyboard mechanism is pretty common in lots of synthesizers (Quasimidi Quasar ie.) Second: The creaks and moans of the keyboard is only from yours. Mine is silent as hell Third: There are about 200 sounds not only six. Check the manual, because you have to press multiple buttons (synthesizer and vol down i guess) to step through different banks. Thank me later
+8-Bit Keys Power on, hold the Synthesizer Key and press Vol. down until the first LED flashes. Now step trough the sounds by pressing the instrument keys. Each key represents a bank and each press steps one sound forward. "Synthesizer" exits this mode.
Hope you found all the sounds by now. If not, drop me a line. I have two of these and have used them with PC's as well as an old Nintendo. I've probably played them in public at one time or other or used them on recordings. They were really great utility keyboards, far ahead of their time and one of the inventors of the system interviewed with me when I was at Cakewalk. Nothing came of it but I was really impressed with both their hardware and software. And I do enjoy your music and other videos! Bruce (of ARP, Kurzweil, Cakewalk, Sonation/Cadenza and now PlayAlongKeys for IOS and Android)
If you hold the synthesizer button while pressing volume up or down, you can access several additional sound banks. It's explained in the manual and there's supposed to be some overlays you put over the buttons, but you can figure it out pretty easily. One of the sound banks is actually "library mode", where the different instrument buttons act as up and down buttons for browsing through all 128 different instruments (the list is in the manual somewhere). In addition, there are several sound effects that the keyboard can play, but can only be triggered through MIDI, because they're assigned to keys on octaves not physically present on the keyboard. All of the sound in the Miracle software (aside from the metronome) came from the keyboard itself, which is why there are so many sound effects. Although the keyboard uses MIDI communication, the instrument set itself is not GM compatible.
I remember selling these back in about 1992-93. Relative to the keyboard market, they were not very expensive at the time, since touch sensitive keyboards like the Yamaha YPP-15 was about $600. Those models only had 6 or so sounds as well. Yamaha's build quality was quite a bit better for that price, though, as 8-Bit Guy suggests, with metal key frames and sturdy chassis. The action you see here was made by Fatar in Italy.
I wish I knew about your channel 6 years ago. Around that time I bought a ensoniq esq keyboard from my local music store for 200. Worked awesome for a while but had a hard time trying to program it as i didn't know what i was doing. After hooking up my PC sound system to it it would tend to crash every now and then and that was all i had to use for it. Later on after i sold it i found out that i needed a specific amp for it as they said the sound systems would back feed into the keyboard causing it to glitch and keep crashing it. I didn't know i could restore it using the in and out tape jacks for it so someone in Maryland drove up to NJ to buy it, ATM my relatives kept getting on to me for always being on my PC and keyboard and not being outside so that was the main reason why i sold it. Anyways I wish I knew about your channel because i would of donated it to you instead... I regret selling it now just for that reason. :(
Because it's not readily apparent unless you read the manual? I had one of these when they came out and had zero clue there were 122 other instruments. Probably because I didn't RTM lol.
I know its a little late by now, but there are 10 voices on the Miracle. It looks like you missing the button template that can be put atop the buttons that includes Melody 1, Melody 2, Accompany, Bass, and 1 Percussion. Well, at least for NES versions.
That Casio reminds me of when I was a child and my grandparents got me a Casio SA-5. I spent hours playing with it and later in life I wanted to learn to play the piano for real! Nowadays I've got a piano teaching degree after studying for 8 years so that kind of gifts to a child can have a deep effect if they feed their curiosity!
+Tomás Jarsun Yikes.. Now i feel embarrassed to play anything knowing a piano teacher is watching my videos. I have zero formal training. I don't even know how to read sheet music.
Don't be embarrased! You have talent, not everyone can keep a rhythm, have hands independence and memorize the notes like you do: those are the hard things to learn. You are only missing the boring part ("proper" hands technique and musical theory) So enjoy your playing, you are doing it great!!!
not sure if it's the same (keyboard) .. but I'm pretty sure AVGN once did a video on NES acssessories and there was a keyboard.. maybe he can help you on figuring out how to use the one you have with an NES
I found one of these at a local thrift store today, includes power cord and the NES cartridge, unfortunately, no NES cable or foot pedal. It's funny, when I found it I first thought, I wonder if the 8 Bit guy would be interested in this? And here I find you've already done a video! There are a bunch more features within the board though, research just today shows me you can access many more sounds by holding the synthesizer button, and pressing the volume key. Pretty neat!
I had this keyboard a long time ago and remember it having a lot more than just six instrument sounds. Like say a hundred or more. There was another overlay you could put on that showed you how to select them. I think there are online manuals you can read that will show you how to select the additional sounds.
Hi, I had one of these growing up. It is possible that I had a different version, but they look identical as far as I can tell. Assuming we have the same one, there are actually many more than 6 patches. There is an incredibly unintuitive library select mode. If you hit an instrument key, plus the up or down volume button you will be able to cycle through the various patches. Try different button combinations and explore the surprisingly vast library of sounds. The manuals that came with the piano are actually pretty substantial. I would browse through them if you haven't already! If you have an incomplete manual set (there were multiple booklets in the box), some have been uploaded around the net. I found a pretty neat scan on digitpress. Anyway, great videos!
Thanks for the demo! I saw one of these in Goodwill the other day. I passed on it and wondered if I missed a good deal. Outside of its midi connections I would have no use for this.
The Software Toolworks! They also did a very neat Star Wars chess game with unique animations for every piece on the board. It chugged a bit when you played it but it was pretty to look at.
You can reduce rumble with a strip of felt for next to nothing. I had Casio CDP130 that rumbled quite a bit, so I hit a fabric store for a $0.39 strip of red felt, and that made a tremendous difference. I'd also look into maybe swapping out the springs. Yeah, it's plastic, but it sounds quite pretty and looks rather handsome, and because EVERYthing uses a 12VDC 1A adapter, you'll never need a proprietary power supply. Those speakers certainly look large enough to give a good sound, too. I'd pay $30 for it and be happy...
There is also a noise setting. My brother had one for super nintendo and you held the synthesizer and press the volume to a certain setting. It has ducks and car horns and such.
Aside from having some of the metal frame you (rightly) prefer, the construction is quite similar to the Quickshot MIDI Composer. Its springs hang from small hooks on the ends of the keys, but otherwise it's very familiar. Knowing now how velocity sensitivity works, it's almost inexcusable not to have it, even in older keyboards. It's just a matter of putting two contacts on each key instead of one. One presses partway down the key travel, and the other near the bottom. The time difference between the two is inversely related to velocity.
Pretty sure the 8500536 is a UART for the MIDI interface - It looks like it is connected to the 6N138 opto-coupler below it (almost certainly part of the MIDI input circuitry).
When you said 'A piece of junk' I found it a bit harsh, it has good sounding instruments, pressure/speed sensitive keys, polyphonic sound generation and full sized keys ... but after you demonstrated the unstable case and told the price you may be right.
You mean this is a keyboard that has ribbon cables you can unplug instead of desoldering?
It really is a miracle.
Ha Ha good one
I like those ribbon cables. The ones that are really tiny (like in the Nintendo 3DS) are a nightmare to put back >.
@Mario Is Arting I was trying to repair a Wii U Gamepad with a repair kit that I bought myself and I gave up once I had to reconnect the ribbon cables, and I started working on that around 2016-17, maybe even earlier than that.
Yeah, I'm shooting ducks with a piano!
+JackNet Productions They should have made a zombie killing game - similar than Typing of the Dead but for the keyboard. :)
+JackNet Productions Someone watched AVGN.
+JackNet Productions It's a miracle if I could figure this sh** out.
AVGN* Reference
#AVGN
Whoah! Don't put it away just yet as you got much more for your dollar on this one. You actually have 128 wavetable based sounds, split keyboard, 3 drum kits, genre specific sampled sound effects, sequencer and up to 16 note polyphony on this sorta-fantastic piece of plastic. I also believe there is a 5 track sequencer/composer feature in the keyboard hardware itself (not certain how it works). You must make a song with it regardless. They hid many features within the simple 8 embedded function keys. Press the "synthesizer" button and while holding it, press the volume up button to get started. Now try the different sound buttons again. You can also press two sound buttons together at the same time to make a split keyboard. There are sampled percussive sounds in there too as well as genre specific sampled sound effects like the record scratch sound used in hip hop/rap music. I believe the 3 larger custom mystery chips are actually the wavetable ROM library and make this instrument really unique. An introductory and affordably priced true wavetable based keyboard. I seem to remember them bragging about that in a magazine advert and me being wooed. The keyboard is flimsy construction, but the way the return springs are retained - admittedly pure genius.
Yes yes yes!! Surprisingly functional!!
Curious. How is any of that accessed? Surely there's capable chips on board but does the rest of it require software?
GuvernorDave
It's all ready to go in the hardware of the keyboard itself. You can access all sounds via the 6 buttons (and volume) to use it as a wavetable based stand alone keyboard. It does not rely on the NES for sounds or sound software to be uploaded into the keyboard. The entire library of sound was preprogrammed in the keyboard when it was made. Now I wouldn't be surprised if you could upload custom sounds into the RAM, but not aware of that being done. Ultimately, the NES was simply the user interface and the educational trainer. The NES was essentially a midi controller/graphical user interface for the keyboard. There were overlay sheet(s) you would place over the buttons to help guide you through the different modes to access all the embedded features when not linked to the NES. The ten volume LEDs do much more than just show volume level, they show what submenu you are in etc with the overlay cards to navigate all the functions.
the dos software is way better then the Nintendo version plus he already has an additional 40 pop music songs on the blue disk.
Yeah, in disguise it's really a professional keyboard. Foot pedal, MIDI, velocity sensitive keys...I'd say this could very well be played on stage.
"Alcohol can remove stuff like this"
Yep, when you get drunk enough you just stop noticing.
+Farticus Maximus It was a joke. like... Your Mom. Oooooo got you there.
+madden8021 No. His name is Slay. I just but "your wife" there so it would say "Slay your wife"
ADIS UR EVERYWHERE ;-;
3:21
Isopropyl alcohol
There are actually 128 instruments for the Miracle. The six buttons are the default ones. To enter Library Select Mode, you hold down "Select" and press "Scroll Down". There was an overlay to relabel those buttons. I remember scrolling was done with the volume buttons, and I'm pretty sure "Synthesizer" corresponded to Select, but I'm not 100% sure. All the patches are listed in the manual. Would love to see you review the other instrument voices!
yeah and on ebay you can get one complete for about $247.49.
Wow thank you for this comment! I just got one of these for a great price and didn't even know it had all those sounds. Lots of neat sounding toy keyboard stuff to play around with in there!
If you did this on broadcast TV you would be a hit. Something about your voice and the way you present things is amazing. I could watch your videos all the time. Love it. Keep it going.
I love these dude- and I know nothing about music - but every time you post one of these I have to watch it because they're so awesome :D
+Juticar thanks.
Ok
8-Bit Keys what was the song on electric piano setting
they are so interesting i have learned so much from these videos
@@8BitKeys 🚫
There is a bank of 128 more sounds on that keyboard! If I remember correctly you hold down the "Synthesizer" button while using the volume keys to scroll up and down the sounds, I think the other buttons selected banks while in that mode somehow. I know there was an overlay that I kept on top at all times to make that process easier since I never used the basic 6 other than "piano." I'm fuzzy on the details, I was an eighth grader and it was 25 years ago. :-) Give it a try or look into the manual if the info's there!
+Duane Yaiser you are correct
Yes! Just made me take this out of the recycle bin and try them out. There are some fun sounds, including percussion. Also, I discovered that pressing two of the instrument buttons down at once gives you a split keyboard.
Nice find! Hope you put together the interface cable for that NES and demo how it functions with it!
+The Obsolete Geek I think I'm going to have to build my own interface cable.
+8-Bit Keys oh my gosh I watch all your vids all the time your like my favorite TH-camr I love your vids thank you for the cool content
+XBignudgeX I had already tried that based on another user's suggestion. The only thing that happens when I press two instruments at the same time is that it will split the keyboard, so half piano and half vibraphone. I wonder if there is more than one version of this thing.
+8-Bit Keys I think there must be multiple versions; I had the NES version, and there was a pretty wide variety of instruments attainable through... some arcane combo of buttons. I remember a generic voice synthesis and a load of sound effects and percussion, for one- they had to be there for the games to work, since all the sound came from the synthesizer itself, not the TV.
+8-Bit Keys I think there is. I don't know what version I have, but XBignudgeX's suggestion works on mine. That excessive row of lights isn't just for volume, They also indicate what preset you're on by blinking. All but the first preset appears to be split keyboard combinations, but holding two instruments at the same time splits the keyboard too, with the first button held going to the left side, and the second going to the right. If the first light is blinking, it's just one instrument for the whole keyboard. If the first light is blinking, it appears you can select "hidden" instruments by pressing each instrument button multiple times.
I had to edit this post because none of this is obvious, and I misunderstood what was going on initially. It's a very weird synthesizer, but very cool!
As the Guys say. You have a lot more bang for your Buck. I got one at a car boot sale under a fiver. It needed cleaning and a modern footswitch socket fitted but is a dream of a keyboard for the money I paid. I used mine as a accompaniment to my Hammond. What you were missing with yours was the card that fits on the top next to select keys which shows you how to access the voice library. I still have mine and proudly use it as it has some voices used by famous bands in the eighties. Seriously the best few quid I ever spent.
Can we just have a 30 minute video of you playing music on a keyboard?
Lol no
CoolCat y
The keyboard mechanism is the same as for example in Roland PC-200 MIDI keyboard that I have. About 20 years ago I bought a used Miracle Piano to replace a broken key in my Roland MIDI keyboard.
The Miracle Port on this device is just an ordinary serial port. The original Miracle cable has a DB-9 connector at the other end. Baud rate is 9600, byte size 8 bits, no parity, one stop bit. You can write a simple app which reads MIDI bytes from a serial port and sends them to a virtual MIDI port to route MIDI events from the device into a DAW app. This way you can you can use this keyboard without an actual MIDI interface.
Follow up video when? The Miracle Keyboard has so much more to offer!
I just wanted to say this channel is -amazing-, you put so much effort and thought into these that it's actually really impressive! Sobering to see a channel with so much love ♥
This is truly amazing. Congrats man. Great channel, great video and great review.
My partner is from Flower Mound. We live in Dallas (Farmers Branch) now. I moved here from Florida 3 and a half years ago and absolutely love Texas. Thanks, as always, for the wonderful video.
heeeey, where is my 6 instrument song?
oops hang in there the 8-bit guy is working on it.
Your videos are so satisfying to watch. Thank you.
I ended up being addicted to your contents
i follow both of your channels
keep the amazing work and effort you put in those videos !
Hi! Just to let you know, there are WAY more than 6 sounds in this keyboard. I think it's 128 wavetable-based sounds that aren't too bad considering the application. The UI is not great - I think you have to use the buttons in combinations on the front panel to switch modes and get to the rest of the sounds - check the manual for instructions. Has velocity sensitive keys and midi. Flimsy construction, though.
I keep going back to this video. Watching it be cleaned is so mesmerizing
Who remembers this keyboard from the Angry Video Game Nerd?
+Tommy Dee I'M SHOOTING DUCKS WITH A PIANO *amazed face*
I never got the chance to learn music, but I love all these reviews about all this retro stuff! Keep up the good work man!
Nice job, you did a miracle on this one :)
*It's a miracle if I can figure this shit out* - AVGN
I can't remember, but holding the volume up or down and touching the instruments gave another six selections. Also, the plastic card with the instruments had a second side that listed the other instrument. I think I remember trumpets, guitar, drum kit, quacking ducks, voices (like angelic singers). I loved this system and it taught me to play years ago. I would love to have the software capable of running on a newer PC as well as a USB connection.
I'm simply upvoting for your intro. Badass!
This needs another review after all the relevant missing parts have been found and functions explored.
Not sure if you were already made aware of this but the keyboard actually has more instruments than you demoed. You have to hold a combination of the synth button and the volume buttons. The volume lights will blink and each light gives you 8 more instruments. I just did this to mine to confirm.
My mom had one of these. If you hold down one of the buttons (synth I think) you are able to access all the sounds instead of the 6. It came with a card that laid over the bezel listing all the different sounds.
weltenschule.de/TableHooters/picts/Mindscape_MiraclePiano.jpeg Hard to make them out, but you get the idea.
pianoeducation.org/pnompfaq.html#manuals
As I'm sure others have stated, this thing has a ton more instruments, you use the volume keys in conjunction with the 6 instrument keys and can scroll through about 128 instruments if i remember correctly. had one when I was little.
David, I still have one of these things. I haven't touched it years because I'm a string player but if I remember right it makes way more than six sounds. Accessing them involves mulitple key press hold routines, and groping blindly through them all. If you can find a manual for it, i think it has instructions on how to do this. If I can find my manual I'll mail it to you if you'd like.
I too have one of these, but in my house move have lost the complete set of cables. I would be interested in doing a deal with you. you can contact me by email gordoncotter@hhotmail.com or my landline phone 01324 301572 or mobile 07710 757473
Gordon Cotter you just doxxed yourself.
Hi, I have your same hobby of restoring casios and all kind of keyboards. I actually paint them different colors at times and my miracle piano too I have in the box... brand new.Good to see someone that does what I do... Running out of room. I also do guitars.
I had a fully boxed SNES copy of this keyboard (with the game, obviously) for a few days while I was a little kid. My keyboard ended up being a total dud and I took it back to the store. To this day I still want to try out the games that came with it. Now I'm curious if SNES/NES emulators can take MIDI input.
Restoration looks awesome! As some others have stated, there are voices/patches not covered in this. I enjoyed remembering this keyboard.
Those Ultima tones
Some people like watching shows where vintage cars get restored. Some people like videos where vintage electronic devices get restored... I'm in the latter, really enjoying these type of videos.
Thanks for this vid. I have this for the NES and it hasn't been treated particularly well. This will help me with restoration.
this videos are so good, love your work
Hey it worked, great investment, learned piano - it was great ! You need to look at it, in context, as a kid. The SOFTWARE was the value. The plastic construction made it afforable.
The programs walked kids through all the basics, and in no time they are playing several songs, much to their parents enjoyment. It brought music to the masses... :-) I loved it, still do.
Finally! An 8bit keys video recommendation that I haven't already upvoted!
This is my first 8-Bit Keys video, I came here from your other channel! This is actually pretty cool! :D (Personally I'm a bit more of a guitar guy myself, but this is still interesting.)
Your videos are great, I subbed straight away. You're making me want to review some of my retro gear!
I actually really dig the sounds out of this keyboard. That organ is really pretty cool! And the synth sound is interesting!
I bought 2 of these from a thrift store while I was in college, and cut the end off each one. After eliminating one 'C', I had a 97 key keyboard! Of course, I had to deal with octave shifting up 2 octaves on the MIDI from the right keyboard, and down 2 octaves on the left keyboard. But hey, it got me through music theory!
Yeah, as other comments say, there are WAY more than 6 sounds. My favorite was a pure synth tone (sine or square) that came near the end. You could also get all kinds of circuit-bent-style noises out of some of the patches by using the sustain pedal. Esp. on that pure tone, I'd hit a low note on sustain, then keep hitting a high note until it started distorting like crazy. Fun things lurk in the Miracle.
I think the piano sound is pretty good.
Thanks for this . My key was dead and I felt confident taking it apart
Did you ever find out how to get the other voices? If not, here's the trick:
Hold down the Synthesizer button and then press Volume Up or Volume Down. One of the volume indicator LEDs will begin to flash, indicating you are in another bank of voices. If memory serves, the bank accessed when the 10 LED is flashing has some brass sounds.
Was hoping you would get your hands on one of these. I had it when I was a teenager and fell in love with synthesizers because of it.
For cleaning speaker grills and similar parts, I use a pastry brush with natural hair and masking tape around its head, so I won't sratch anything. If this doesn't help, I use window cleaner with one brush, one dry brush and paper towel to clean them. Or I disassamble the parts and use the brush with dish wash water.
Hold the Synthesizer button and press the volume buttons to access more sounds!
I had a Miracle organ when I was a kid, along with the software for the NES and later the PC. Learning to play piano was a frustrating experience for me and I never became proficient even after I started taking lessons with an actual "piano lady," but I thought the software was pretty cool and I remember having a lot of fun mashing on the keys in the variety of mini games on the NES cart. In some ways I regret not putting more effort into my music, but on the other hand I'm glad that after I accepted my lack of musical talent I was able to find other things that I was good at.
It's not because you lack musical talent, you're just lazy and not motivated enough. Next time you try something, keep at it and never give up. To give up on something means you accept defeat and are a failure and you my friend are not a failure.
Your videos are so addictive!
I used to live in Flowermound back when the world was young.
In fact, in December of 2016 I stopped at the Walmart in Flower Mound on my way to a concert in Dallas.
Sweet, an SA-9. I had one of those as a kid, and just found it in a closet again. IIRC, last time I played it some keys didn't work. Gonna wait to see your video on it, then rip mine apart, clean it up, and retrobrite the keys. Hopefully it will come back to life. had a blast playing it all those years ago.
This actually had about 100 different sounds if I remember. You had to push the volume and something else to get it to play the other sounds.
Mine came with a broken power jack. Turns out the power jack used in the NES is an almost direct replacement, if you cut off the screw tabs. Cleaned it while it was apart and works perfectly now.
My husband and I messed around with the NES Miracle Piano software, but we didn't have an actual Miracle Piano. The interface cable is the same one for the Fairlight CMI's keyboard.
You are like crack to my cleaning electronics OCD. I love watching you tear down a board and restoring it. XD
Your videos are awesome bro!
I got the Miracle Piano from eBay for $25 (+ shipping) as an auction when I was the only bidder (the same price David Murray got on sale)! I can show you how 8-Bit Keys Intro Music sounds like in the Miracle via MIDI USB.
Hint: Press Volume Up while holding Synthesizer then press Piano to get more instruments.
2:45 Pro-tip: get yourself a can of printed circuit cleaner. It cleans printed circuits and is alcohol based, so it just evaporates.
I usually just put the PCB on its side on some paper towels and just hose it down with the stuff. Works great when the previous owner was a heavy smoker to shift the tar and the smell from boards as well.
4:30 Presses the piano button even though it's already selected.
I just got one of these today at a thrift store, I’m SHOCKED it works Perf!
When you started playing the electric piano I just got the vibe of Break on Through- The Doors, atleast the first key.
First: The keyboard mechanism is pretty common in lots of synthesizers (Quasimidi Quasar ie.)
Second: The creaks and moans of the keyboard is only from yours. Mine is silent as hell
Third: There are about 200 sounds not only six. Check the manual, because you have to press multiple buttons (synthesizer and vol down i guess) to step through different banks.
Thank me later
+Stephan S I had already tried that based on other's suggestions. Didn't work. Nothing in the manual either. Perhaps there was more than one version?
+8-Bit Keys Probably was a different model.
+8-Bit Keys Power on, hold the Synthesizer Key and press Vol. down until the first LED flashes. Now step trough the sounds by pressing the instrument keys. Each key represents a bank and each press steps one sound forward. "Synthesizer" exits this mode.
dude your music is amazing !!
Dude, this stuff is awesome!!! The Whole thing!
Thanks 👍🏻
Wow! What is amazing sounds!
Hope you found all the sounds by now. If not, drop me a line. I have two of these and have used them with PC's as well as an old Nintendo. I've probably played them in public at one time or other or used them on recordings. They were really great utility keyboards, far ahead of their time and one of the inventors of the system interviewed with me when I was at Cakewalk. Nothing came of it but I was really impressed with both their hardware and software. And I do enjoy your music and other videos! Bruce (of ARP, Kurzweil, Cakewalk, Sonation/Cadenza and now PlayAlongKeys for IOS and Android)
If you hold the synthesizer button while pressing volume up or down, you can access several additional sound banks. It's explained in the manual and there's supposed to be some overlays you put over the buttons, but you can figure it out pretty easily. One of the sound banks is actually "library mode", where the different instrument buttons act as up and down buttons for browsing through all 128 different instruments (the list is in the manual somewhere). In addition, there are several sound effects that the keyboard can play, but can only be triggered through MIDI, because they're assigned to keys on octaves not physically present on the keyboard. All of the sound in the Miracle software (aside from the metronome) came from the keyboard itself, which is why there are so many sound effects. Although the keyboard uses MIDI communication, the instrument set itself is not GM compatible.
There's also a very awful sustain pedal that comes with it, made of squishy foam wrapped around a button. :D
YAAAAAAS THE FIRST ROCKSMITH/GUITAR HERO
This was a nice report. Fair and detailed.
I remember selling these back in about 1992-93. Relative to the keyboard market, they were not very expensive at the time, since touch sensitive keyboards like the Yamaha YPP-15 was about $600. Those models only had 6 or so sounds as well. Yamaha's build quality was quite a bit better for that price, though, as 8-Bit Guy suggests, with metal key frames and sturdy chassis. The action you see here was made by Fatar in Italy.
“Alcohol can remove stuff like this”
*James Rolfe wants to know your location*
I wish I knew about your channel 6 years ago. Around that time I bought a ensoniq esq keyboard from my local music store for 200. Worked awesome for a while but had a hard time trying to program it as i didn't know what i was doing. After hooking up my PC sound system to it it would tend to crash every now and then and that was all i had to use for it. Later on after i sold it i found out that i needed a specific amp for it as they said the sound systems would back feed into the keyboard causing it to glitch and keep crashing it. I didn't know i could restore it using the in and out tape jacks for it so someone in Maryland drove up to NJ to buy it, ATM my relatives kept getting on to me for always being on my PC and keyboard and not being outside so that was the main reason why i sold it. Anyways I wish I knew about your channel because i would of donated it to you instead... I regret selling it now just for that reason. :(
The Miracle Piano keyboard has 128 preset instruments. Not sure how you missed that.
Because it's not readily apparent unless you read the manual? I had one of these when they came out and had zero clue there were 122 other instruments. Probably because I didn't RTM lol.
I know its a little late by now, but there are 10 voices on the Miracle. It looks like you missing the button template that can be put atop the buttons that includes Melody 1, Melody 2, Accompany, Bass, and 1 Percussion. Well, at least for NES versions.
That Casio reminds me of when I was a child and my grandparents got me a Casio SA-5. I spent hours playing with it and later in life I wanted to learn to play the piano for real! Nowadays I've got a piano teaching degree after studying for 8 years so that kind of gifts to a child can have a deep effect if they feed their curiosity!
+Tomás Jarsun Yikes.. Now i feel embarrassed to play anything knowing a piano teacher is watching my videos. I have zero formal training. I don't even know how to read sheet music.
Don't be embarrased! You have talent, not everyone can keep a rhythm, have hands independence and memorize the notes like you do: those are the hard things to learn. You are only missing the boring part ("proper" hands technique and musical theory) So enjoy your playing, you are doing it great!!!
not sure if it's the same (keyboard) .. but I'm pretty sure AVGN once did a video on NES acssessories and there was a keyboard.. maybe he can help you on figuring out how to use the one you have with an NES
its the same as the AVGN one, all you need is the cable to hook it up, it's quite simple
I found one in a shopping cart covered in snow years ago. Never tried turning it on, but I still have it, so maybe I'll give it a go
Seriously impressive restoration. The white keys look a hundred times better.
I found one of these at a local thrift store today, includes power cord and the NES cartridge, unfortunately, no NES cable or foot pedal. It's funny, when I found it I first thought, I wonder if the 8 Bit guy would be interested in this? And here I find you've already done a video! There are a bunch more features within the board though, research just today shows me you can access many more sounds by holding the synthesizer button, and pressing the volume key. Pretty neat!
This was fun to watch. I got one of these keyboards at Goodwill for $2.99 and use it as a midi keyboard to control soft synths.
I had this keyboard a long time ago and remember it having a lot more than just six instrument sounds. Like say a hundred or more. There was another overlay you could put on that showed you how to select them. I think there are online manuals you can read that will show you how to select the additional sounds.
Hi, I had one of these growing up. It is possible that I had a different version, but they look identical as far as I can tell. Assuming we have the same one, there are actually many more than 6 patches. There is an incredibly unintuitive library select mode. If you hit an instrument key, plus the up or down volume button you will be able to cycle through the various patches. Try different button combinations and explore the surprisingly vast library of sounds.
The manuals that came with the piano are actually pretty substantial. I would browse through them if you haven't already! If you have an incomplete manual set (there were multiple booklets in the box), some have been uploaded around the net. I found a pretty neat scan on digitpress. Anyway, great videos!
the casio SA series were great. Try putting some almost-dead batteries in and you will get some really weird noises out of the thing
Or if you know how to put Knobs and such to Circuit Bend it then it will sound even more weird noises.
Yes, we had the Amiga version and there were 128 . . . Full general midi map. They are even listed in the documentation.
This is basically Sight & Sound's Incredible Musical Keyboard on steroids.
What song was being played on the Electric Piano? Would love to listen to the rest of it.
You have to respect this man's care and appreciation for old technology.
Thanks for the demo! I saw one of these in Goodwill the other day. I passed on it and wondered if I missed a good deal. Outside of its midi connections I would have no use for this.
The Software Toolworks! They also did a very neat Star Wars chess game with unique animations for every piece on the board. It chugged a bit when you played it but it was pretty to look at.
AMAZING RESTORE! I've never seen someone so that to yellowed keys before!
You can reduce rumble with a strip of felt for next to nothing. I had Casio CDP130 that rumbled quite a bit, so I hit a fabric store for a $0.39 strip of red felt, and that made a tremendous difference. I'd also look into maybe swapping out the springs. Yeah, it's plastic, but it sounds quite pretty and looks rather handsome, and because EVERYthing uses a 12VDC 1A adapter, you'll never need a proprietary power supply. Those speakers certainly look large enough to give a good sound, too. I'd pay $30 for it and be happy...
There is also a noise setting. My brother had one for super nintendo and you held the synthesizer and press the volume to a certain setting. It has ducks and car horns and such.
Aside from having some of the metal frame you (rightly) prefer, the construction is quite similar to the Quickshot MIDI Composer. Its springs hang from small hooks on the ends of the keys, but otherwise it's very familiar.
Knowing now how velocity sensitivity works, it's almost inexcusable not to have it, even in older keyboards. It's just a matter of putting two contacts on each key instead of one. One presses partway down the key travel, and the other near the bottom. The time difference between the two is inversely related to velocity.
Pretty sure the 8500536 is a UART for the MIDI interface - It looks like it is connected to the 6N138 opto-coupler below it (almost certainly part of the MIDI input circuitry).
When you said 'A piece of junk' I found it a bit harsh, it has good sounding instruments, pressure/speed sensitive keys, polyphonic sound generation and full sized keys ... but after you demonstrated the unstable case and told the price you may be right.