40 years after the SK-1, Casio is making waves with another fun-looking sampler - could it be another budget classic?

NAMM 2026: Casio has a bit of history in the budget sampler market, not least with the classic SK-1 keyboard, which was released way back in 1985.

Now it appears that it’s about to get involved in this world again, as a fun-looking handheld sampler prototype - it sort of looks like a beefed-up, more robust and approachable version of Teenage Engineering’s PO-33 - has been spotted on the NAMM Show floor.

With its D-pad and creamy grey case, there’s definitely a bit of a Game Boy vibe going on, and the old-school number styling on the 16 pads is another retro nod. Current specs - which we’re guessing are subject to change - include 16-bit/48kHz sampling (from the built-in mic, line input or transferred via the USB-C port) a sequencer, and hopefully some effects. A built-in speaker and internal rechargeable battery are on the agenda, too.

As things stand, you’ll be able to save up to 10 banks of 16 samples, and there will be 64GB of internal memory. Some of this will be filled with presets, some of which are expected to be sounds from Casio’s archives. There’s a dinky 1.3-inch OLED display that’s flanked by the aforementioned D-pad and four buttons, and a slightly unusual looking configuration of sliders and rotary dials below. How intuitive this setup will be for editing and programming remains to be seen.

For now, though, let’s enjoy the fact that, with a fair wind, this thing is going to exist. We should say that a release hasn’t yet been officially confirmed, but the fact that Casio is creating some buzz around the product by showing it at a trade show suggests that it’s serious about taking this thing into production.

In these days of smartphones and apps such as Koala Sampler, of course, there’s an argument that products such as this aren’t really necessary anymore, but if the workflow is good and it has some decent performance features, we reckon Casio could be onto something.