Casio DH-100

Easy to use for basic things. Difficult to move beyond simple playing.

The Presets sound very average. Difficult to know what preset is selected prior to blowing since there is no indicator. Also difficult to determine what key it has been transposed to, again no indicators. Best solution is to turn off the instrument which resets presets and transposition.



Patches cannot be edited.

No polyphony. Only one note playable at a time.

Has an annoying vibrato that cannot be turned off and severly distracts from the sound. (now there is a fix to remove the vibrato if you are good at soldering).

Breath Control is quite good, and can be very expressive. Portamento effect is available, but difficult to use.

The only expansion capability is it's midi interface.

Breath control is quite sensitive and is tied to aftertouch. Capable of good expression using breath control.

Most of the sounds are very thin and sound unrealistic. More toylike. Connected to a good sound module or sythesizer, it can overcome this.

Without added midi gear, it is suitable for personal ammusement and possibly some sing along, folk type environment, but nothing of a professional nature. It also looks very hoaky.

Onboard effect is an obnoxious vibrato that cannot be turned off!

It reacts quite well to playing.

I have had mine for almost 30 years. I repaired the squeal problem a couble of years ago. http://www.btinternet.com/~dorian.rose/ has all the info on the fix for the squeal. (bad capacitor costs about $5 to repair yourself.)

It is not designed to withstand the rigors of professional playing where reliability is critical... but then the sound and functinality is not at that level either, so for just playing it for your own amusement, it is fine.

If I were going to use it for a gig, I would have a spare one or an alternate instrument handy to cover if it failed.

Haven't delt with Yamaha on it. They don't support it anymore, never really did as far as I can tell.

I repaired it myself and found lots of good websites with repair and modification info. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.fox4/casiofixes.htm

I would probably buy another just to have around if mine got broken.

I paid $25 for mine in 1986... a closeout special from Jafco.

I have played sax and woodwinds for 45 years... jazz, classical, contemorary christian and classic rock.

The Casio DH-100 has always been an amusing toy to me, nothing more.

Its best feature is that it is self contained, you don't need any other equipment to play it. Take it on a trip, play it around the campfire, Christmas carols with grandmaa on the piano, its fun, (and funny looking)!

Its a great alternative to a recorder or tin whistle to learn how to play a woodwind.

I could not think in any wind controller that could be easier to use. Its lack of professional features made for this. It even offers the possibility of playing without blowing in it. As it has a built-in speaker and internal sounds, you don't need any additional gear to play. This is not necessarily a good thing, because the sounds are horrible sounding and not much useful in fact. The manual is simple, as the horn itself.

This is not a professional wind controller, even less if compared with the most recent ones as the EWI4000s or the WX-5. The Keys are plastic and feels very fragile, in fact is not too difficult to break them.

Even if you don't break them, the keys does not offer resistence enought and even touching them lightly can change the notes.

It offers a very nice breath control, probably its strongest feature, and two fingering sistems: a normal, flute-like, and a Casio propietary sistem that allows you to play with just one hand but offers an extended range. You have a decent portamento effect, a reasonable range to play, and almost nothing more.

MIDI implementation is rough and not very well done, there is a noticeable delay if you play fast (it is not a module fault, as it happens no matter which synt or sampler you are using).

The internal sounds are terrible and, to make things worse, there is the well known squealing problem, which is easy to fix but annoying at least. I did't bother much for the internal sounds as I didn't use them at all, I wanted the horn just as a MIDI controller but obiuosly one of the few appealing features it has (aside of the easy of use) is that it is self contained, so you can play anywhere at anytime.

Aside from the squealing issue, it is not very well built. It looks and feels cheap, and the keys are too fragile.

Casio no longer supports the DH-100, but it is not hard to find suport from third party people.

I am a professional keyboard and wind player, so coming to wind controllers was somehow natural for me. I bought the DH-100 because I found it cheap (it was a second hand unit), and I wanted a midi controller to play the other sampler and sinths I already have.

I currently have an EWI4000s and, obviously, I would not replace the DH-100 if it got lost. Nevertheless, I think is a reasonable horn for a newcomer to the wind controllers, easy to use and with some nice features. On the other side, it is too limited and sounds horrible. It looks ugly too, by the way.

All in all, I see it is an acceptable amateur electric horn with some additiona features (as the MIDI impelmentation), but not a professional controller.

It's easy! I've been a recorder player all my life, but opted to learn the Casio fingering for the extra range. It didn't take long. My wife picked it up pretty quick too. I might mention that the transpose button is nice for going UP in half-steps, but if you want to go down, it's easier to cycle power and start again than going all the way up then around to get where you want. (But I have a fix for this).

Not a lot of features, makes it easy.

I'm not a wind controller synth guy, but been around traditional wind instruments all my life.
I think the breath-control counts for a lot. In fact, this would be a mere toy without it.
At first I was bugged by the vibrato, but you get used to it. I may try a hack to disable it just for a lark, when I get around to it.
It sounds cool with echo. If you play it unamplified, you can stick one of those little plastic reverb-spring-type (toy) echo mics on it and that sounds cool too. I rigged one up with a coat-hanger clip device. Looks funny, but I don't care!

There have been documented problems with these things, but fortunately there is a fan base. Even more fortunately, these are fans are technical AND willing to share their help.
Be sure to visit their sites: (I hope these get posted)
www.tedkeys.com/
www.btinternet.com/~dorian.rose/index.htm
homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.fox4/casiofixes.htm
www.electri-fire.com/casiodh100.htm
home.earthlink.net/~kerrybradley/id1.html
I do use it in performance. I play bass in a band but pick up the Casio during a spacey interlude. It's a bit of a hassle picking the key and voice I like, then having it time out before I'm ready - but I have a fix for that now! I do have a spare but it doesn't have my modifications so if my main one doesn't work I just don't use it.

No clue here.

I love this thing. We bought a bunch of them for the family when they were readily available. I'd buy more if they didn't cost too much.

I've been playing the DH-100 since the mid-80's and absolutely love it. I often play for Sunday morning Church services and the congregation always comments on how beautiful the instrument sounds and how it adds to the devotional music. I bought one for my Mother and she learned to play it quickly. It brought her much peace and comfort in her last months.

The instrument has an on-board MIDI interface and I have connected it to a Yamaha Clavinova a time or two. Wowwwzzzerrr! What a sound!

Most of the voices are "accurate" enough to the average musician's ear to be pleasant even to the most critical. Some a a bit on the "synthetic" side of the house. Overall, it sounds really good.

Up until recently I have had no trouble at all with the instrument. The most common problem for me has been running out of battery power in the middle of a piece of music. Lately mine has developed the infamous "squeal"... I will have it fixed in a couple of days. It is a simple replacement of capacitor C39... most anyone who can do a fair soldering job on electronic circuits can do it. The capacitor is available at Radio Shack for about $5.00 and the repair job will take less than 30 minutes.

Casio does not support this instrument any more at all. It's too bad... they have a wonderful product and could sell tons more if they would produce it again (and support it, too).

I would definitely replace this instrument if it were destroyed or lost. It's more fun to play than anything I own (Yamaha Clavinova and an autoharp).

If you play a recorder you can play this

Not a lot, but hey, it's cheap.

Very expressive. Best breath controller you can get.

Ok, here's the squeal fix. open it up. on the lower of the two stacked boards, locate C39 capacitor. (you have to remove three screws to take off the upper board, revealing the lower) gently wiggle it (C39) until it breaks off, (don't rip the traces out). it is a 33uf surface mount. it can be replaced with a 47uf (10v or more). the are two holes on the board next to it that will accept leads of the replacement. pay attention to polarity (+ near the +). good luck!

fuggetaboudit...

cool.

The simple recorder-style fingering made it very easy to learn.

The lower register voices for Sax and Clarinet are very good, as is the flute voice. Oboe voice is fair. Others just sound like standard synthesizer voices...poor imitations of the instruments they are named for. Voice control is very good.

I've owned my DH-100 since the 80's, and have spent countless hours playing it, and it still works beautifully. The only problem I've encountered involves the AC adapter input, but I just run it on batteries and all functions still work. Luckily, mine never developed the "squeak" problem that I've heard about.

Luckily, I've never had to deal with the company.

I love my digital horn. I'm considering getting another, just to have a back-up in case it ever dies. I really wish Casio was still manufacturing it or something very similar.

Expressivity is limited to volume. I play it through an envelope follwer (Auto-Wah) which can similate reed clamping and forcing. I then mix in midi sounds from three sound modules and then send the whole mix through my effects rack. Presto! I'm like Paul Horn at the Taj Mahal! I also Send the midi through a percussion module and can use sharp attack to trigger drum sounds. Through velocity filtering I use the DH-100 to control 6 midi modules. (the modules are set to respond differently to a range of velocities.

It is unreliable. I need to know the fix for the prototypical "squeal"

They are done dealing with it

I would deffinately replace it.
I wish it had a more robust circuit.
All in all. It's a cool looking item with alot of performance appeal. Folks assume that I can play a sax. A real Babe Magnet. (unfortunately wasted on me)

I have been playing the CASIO DH-100 MIDI horn for over 13yrs. I find it very easy to use.

If you have a categorized list of people who play this instrument (casio dh-100), I would love to get in contact with them. I think a concerted effort on our part may carry more weight in trying to persuade casio to start production again.

Eventhough it doesn't have a lot of features (pitch bend, modulation, polyphonic), it is still the best "tracking" breath controller I've played. Being a drummer by nature, this was the biggest attraction. Other functions like, pithch bend, harmony, etc., can be supplemented to add more "color" to the expressions.

The good tracking makes it very easy to let my emotions shine through. I hardly ever use the preset sounds. I primarilly use it to controll my sound module.

Ultimately...no!

I always have a spare...but you just never know. Once again I primarily use the midi out function. The problem with that is sometimes the diaphram or something wears down causing the midi notes to "stick". However, over the many horns I have had (approx. 8) there is one that has stood the test of time.

Not very good.

From the manufacturer or the repair shop I have used over the years.

In conclusion, this horn has become my life. In my circle I have been identified with it over the years like Famous Amos has been know for cookies! I have had the honor of playing at some very prestigious venues with some very high profile musicians (www.4pnut.com) None of the breath controllers can compare to the DH-100 for tracking, expression, and just all out coolness!

Just wish it was more durable.

A digital Horn with Midi.A better breath controler but not as
versatile as the WX series of Yamaha.
6 Preset sounds.
You can turn on and off the breath controller.From fingering it works
like a recorder or the Casio own schematic.
Well I prefer the recorder mode.

Monophonic,this is a standalone device with MIDI.No editing.

I was surprised how good this "toy" sounds for Sax,also Oboe and
clarinet are nice.Trumpet and the rest are not so realistic.
I wished,the automatic vibrato could be switched off.But the vibrato is
"polite" so I can accept it.
The real interesting thing is its MIDI capability.I own a Yamaha VL1m
and hey,it makes fun to play this with the DH100.The DH is a much
better breath controler as the BC2 of Yamaha.If compared with the
WX series of Yamaha,the DH100 lacks a little bit,but look at the price
difference.
For me as Non Windplayer,the DH100 lets me do some impressive work
with the VL1m.A perfect team.Easy for me to play.I lovethis combination.

Until now no trouble,but I have heard that most of the DHs are defect
with the onboardsounds.
Maybe I am lucky that I got one,wich still works very well.

Oh, sorry, I'm just playing this as a stand-alone instrument. I haven't tried patching it into anything. I'm just hoping to find somebody who can turn off the default vibrato.

The key action is responsive. The octave key is a bit too ultra-sensitive. I'd love to find someone who can "tighten it down" a little so that it doesn't jump octaves at the near approach of a thumb.

The saxophone mode sounds pretty good. The clarinet and oboe modes are also pleasant. The trumpet and flute modes aren't really. The synth-reed setting is probably okay, but I don't use it.

Again, I'd be more comfortable if I could get that octave key to be less jumpy.
I consider this my back-up insturment for my C-melody sax.

Non-existent, from what I've heard.

I've really had fun with this "sophisticated toy." My musician friends look at it askance at first, but then when they hear it and try to play it, they come around. I actually get more positve feedback from this than from my real sax. I espeically appreciated its eas of use while I was learning to play the real sax.