This synth has so much character, definitely an underrated classic

The CZ-101 was my first hardware synth. I originally got mine mainly for use as a MIDI controller for my Amiga 1000's soft synths way back in 1985. Casio was well known as "toy maker" of electronic keyboards, and in the 80s just about no one was going to take Casio seriously as a professional instrument brand. I couldn't afford a Yamaha DX7, which was maybe 5 or 6 times the price but the instrument always talked about in Electronic Musician magazine, which I had subscribe to in early 1985. I was delighted to learn the CZ's internal sound engine was unlike anything previously from Casio, and capable of great sounds. Just learning about synths in 1984-1985, I was unaware that the sounds used on famous records that I really loved weren't so much the DX7 as I assumed, but rather analog synths from Oberheim, Moog, ARP, etc. And I quickly learned the way the CZ engine sounds has a lot more in common with those synths than it does the DX7. The CZ was by no means a rip off in sound to the DX7. Before long I bought a Yamaha FB-01 to gain FM sounds, and eventually a TX7 module (DX7 in tabletop form). Anyone wanting a cheap DX7 was buying the wrong instrument if they bought a CZ. I grew up with a piano in the house and had little interest in it. In 1980, we got one of the first Casio electronic home keyboards. It could make a lot of different sounds, was very portable and battery operated with speakers. I took a lot more interest in that than our piano. The CZ's had a lot of other advantages besides giving an incredible value. Verses the analog synths typically used by professionals, the CZ's offered the new MIDI, and you could load sysex libraries into them from a home computer, which was a great thing. You didn't need to know how to program your own sounds. Thousands existed like the DX7. The CZ's were also far more reliable than more typical analog synths, and physically smaller and lighter, plus you could buy the extra small models like the CZ-101 & CZ-1000. The CZ's were my best known secrets in the 80s as I started playing in bands, covering famous rock from the 80s & late 70s. There is a great series on KZread demonstrating how the CZ's can sound like much more expensive, famous synths like the OB-X series, Moog, CS-80 and others. I also loved how you could start off with the least expensive model, the CZ-101, and upgrade to the most expensive and powerful model, the CZ-1, and everything in between and "retain" your sound collections! I sold my CZ-101 a year later to a friend as I upgraded to the identical CZ-1000, which had full size keys and didn't look so silly playing in live bands. A year later I bought a 2nd CZ-1000. In the early 90s, I was on a search to find a CZ-1. A year later a music store called me back whom I told I was looking for one. In the later 90s, I bought a 2nd CZ-1. This gave me a pair of CZ-1's and a pair of CZ-1000's, one set for home and to take to gigs, one set to leave at band rehearsal. I also did the same with a pair of Korg M1's. I used the CZ's for both their internal sounds, replacing famous analog synthesizers, and as MIDI controllers. I now use software synths of the original analog synths my bands covered mainly for my analog synth sounds, but the CZ's were great and very capable. And in their day, awesome. Had I bought those famous analog synths, they would have been less reliable, road worthy, expensive, and I'm not into using a cassette interface to try to load sounds! Way more patches were available for the CZ's already made, which was great. Plus I could buy sound cartridges that gave me 64 patches would I could also load whatever sounds on them I wanted. While the secret was well known to me, most mistakenly "assumed" the CZ's were toys, and instead bought very expensive analog synths with a lot of issues to deal with, not knowing the CZ's were capable of making many of the same sounds for a whole let less money, and much easier to transport and maintain. In more recent years, the CZ's were finally recognized by many as quality instruments and not toys. Many emulations are now available like Arturia's, and they don't usually both modeling uninteresting sounding synths. The CZ's were the bargain of the century for their time.

@Luthiart

Жыл бұрын

I owned a CZ-1 and played it in a band. Reactions to it were mixed. Some (like my bandmates) were amazed at how good it sounded, and the analog-ish type sounds it was capable of, while others jeered and asked: "Where's the rhythm patterns? Where's the speakers? Does it run on batteries?". I eventually sold it back in the oughts, because I just didn't play it anymore, and I was more into playing guitar than keys at that time. I can't say I miss it terribly. I've gone on to better synths since then, but I still have a warm spot in my heart for it. It was a great synth for its time, and I wish more people knew that back in the day.

@tylenolpringle2040

Жыл бұрын

Anybody who looked at any board in the CZ series and thought it was a toy obviously knew nothing about musical instruments, the fact that they bought those more expensive boards tells me that someone just told them to because it would make them look cool on stage

@Luthiart

Жыл бұрын

@@tylenolpringle2040 True, there was a lot of "condemnation prior to investigation" around the CZ synths, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little self-conscious about the big Casio logo on the back of the keyboard for all the world to see. I sometimes thought of covering it with a band sticker or something, just so I wouldn't have to suffer the snide remarks at gigs. It gets tiring always having to defend your instrument after a while.

@chinossynthesizer705

3 ай бұрын

​​​​@@tylenolpringle2040Doesn't matter there's people who can make better music with one cheap keyboard, then someone with 50 analog synths in their studio.

The 101 will always be my favorite from the CZ series, that little guy holds a special place in my heart, I've done several full-blown concerts with those, oh, and $70 in 1979 was a lot of money so the VL one was not cheap by any means, in fact, I remember seeing quite a few of them on layaway back in the day

Cz 1000 was my first musical instrument....it shaped my brain! And how beautiful these CZs are!!!

I have bought one of these last year and expected a "toy" (I have a lot of expensive synths around) and it blew my mind. Definitely fat, warm and full of character, totally the opposite of what I'd envisioned. At best I thought it'd be a fun 80s toy... But I use it all the time now.

Excellent sounding synth. Awesome video and demo.

They do have a great sound which is quite unique too! The CZ-1 is the one to get if you can afford it. It is the only one with velocity and after touch. It also has the best unweighted key bed I've ever played on a vintage synth from this era. Plus, at around $600-$700, it's still relatively cheap for a solid vintage poly. The envelopes are great and the digital stereo chorus is also interesting. The sequencer on the 5000 is quite peculiar, but some may find that interesting. They all share the same sonic and tonal characteristics, but the 101/1000 only have 4 note polyphony when using both oscillators, whereas the 3000/5000/1 have double that amount. Casio also made a CZ-230S, as well as a CZ-2000S and CZ-2600S (S denotes an added speaker) that were not sold in the North American markets. Great video!

@peterkadarmusic9728

2 жыл бұрын

+1 Re: the CZ-1. For me, that's the crown jewel of the series; the one with the most professional features combined with that cool PD sound. Having velocity and aftertouch really opens things up musically.

Just got a CZ5000 down the street from you at a pawn shop for $120. Can't wait to put it through its paces. Is there a VZ-1 review coming?

Thank you Zak! What a synth mate! Will be purchasing as soon as possible. Thank you again.. Dan

The CZ series has become quite present on yt within the last few years.

@toomuchtoofast4533

3 жыл бұрын

So true!1 I think as some of the moogs, OBs and such get out of touch w price, it’s neat to hunt vintage that’s still affordable

@Am71919

3 жыл бұрын

And online

I really enjoy these demos so much the playing is so good too every time is a treat

Nice episode. The very first synth I ever purchased was Casio's VL-1 in 1982. I had a serious crush on the CZ-101, which I played every chance I got at the electronics showroom conveniently located at the end of my paper route. I think it was $350, which was astronomically out of reach. I've had a CZ-1 for about 20 years, but rarely play it due to the amount of space it takes up. Just a few weeks ago I picked up a CZ-1000 for cheap on a bet the audio output issue it has is just an oxidized "anti-thump" relay, which is super easy to fix. One correction on your observation about PD: it's on the Modal Argon8 as one of eight oscillator cross-modulation modes. So while not in as widespread of use as FM these days, it's still alive and kicking. For those with a Korg *logue family synth, I can't say enough good about the free custom oscillator CainCZ2, cain-synthesizer.com/cain-cz2. Sounds amazing.

The CZ-1000 was also my first synth. I spent hundreds of hours diving into it and creating great patches that were so much better than the stock ones. Once I paired it an Atari 520ST it could perform 4 part timbral sequences. Even my beloved Roland D50 that replaced it couldn’t do that!

Just bought one for 150 on Reverb. Really looking forward to seeing what I can do!

Casio brought out the casiotone CT201 in 1980 I got a CT301 for Christmas that year my parents paid £199 new. The DX7 was released in 1983 and Every synth manufacturer had a suddern headache because the DX7 could make sounds that were way beyond what their analogue synths could do. Yamaha had tied up the patent of FM synthesis and the other big synth manufacturers of the day Roland Korg Moog ARP sequencialCircuits and Oberhiem were all left reeling because keyboard players "I want synth" suddenly became the DX7. Most of the other manufactures tried to then offer analogue synths under a digital guise no knobs and a push button edit menu as an attempt to keep customers which did the opposite. And it was the beginning of the end for the Analogue synth. Casio then appeared with the CZ series as a realistic alternative to a DX7 for those wanting a Digital synth. In reality it wasn't anywhere close but it could still do some interesting things that your expensive analogue polysynth couldn't. The reason it failed is the same reason the Poly61 the JX3 and JX10 failed they weren't as Good as the DX7. (Pro musicians could easily buy a DX7 to compliment their other keyboards. Why would you buy a JX10 or a CZ1000 if you've got a jupiter 6 or 8 a prophet5 or an OB8 to go with your minimoog) and nothing really challanged the DX7 until Roland brought out the D50 followed by the Korg M1 and that was that for the Dx7 The casio was a great little synth if you were on a budget but there was simply too many alternatives that sounded better for the money if you considered most people at the tme were giving away their analogue gear.

The second "keyboard" my dad ever bought for me was one of those Casiotones in 1986 (previously I had an itty-bitty Yamaha keyboard). Doesn't sound like much of an upgrade, but it was a bit of a step forward nonetheless. Regardless, at the time I was obsessed with looking at our Sears catalog, because in the electronics section there was a CZ-101! I just couldn't take my eyes off that thing. It looked so interesting. And I tried understanding the description, but I had no idea what the terminology meant. Fast forward 30+ years, now I have a used CZ-5000 in great condition. You just got to keep waiting, you'll never know what will land on your doorstep.

@rachelar

Жыл бұрын

It was actually delivered to your doorstep? I actually found one outside mine

Hey Zach, Michael Silverman here. This keyboard was my first synth, and this video is an excellent breakdown of its capabilities. If it had a bit of reverb, I would have continued to use it!

I’m impressed with the warmth of this digital synth. I want it!

Thx One of my favorite (cz 1) Perfekt digital plastik 80s sound ! 👍🏻🎹🎶

12:45 // tone is rich and alive !! Thnx, cz-230s was my affordable entry in the CZ series

CZ5000 My first synth back in 1985 because I couldn't afford a DX7 too, partnered with a porta studio 4 track, an Akai S612 and Atari 520st. Poor Man's Rig. Good times. My sounds were very industrial.

@rachelar

Жыл бұрын

Better choice as you get multimbrality and the sequencer. The DX7 is limited that way

Lovely playing from 8:35-9:00. Love this synth!

My first synth was a CZ101 brand new and then a CZ1 again brand new, I still have the CZ1

The CZ synths just sound so good. They would have given Yamaha a serious run for their money if they had dynamics.

This synth was used in a staple in latin american rock from the 90s, Tren al Sur by Los Prisioneros. Found out the other day about this synth, thought it was a SQ-80

That intro lit-rallly made me choke on my waffles. Funniest and most informative content out here

This synthetic really did sound like it belonged in the future, ahead of its time.

I run my cz5000 through an analog filter. Amazing

Love the CZ .. only issue is polyphony drops to 4 keys when certain modes are layered .. keep this in mind.

I had a VL Tone... First ever synth. Brilliant. Da Da Da....

Nice video review. Seems to me that the cz range has been overlooked because too many keyboard players are pretentious snobs who cant get past the fact it has casio written on it. The fact of the matter is that they are amazing synthsisers.

This was my first synthetic, bought in 1980's, I remember the strings were my favourite sound.

Hehe you hit the nail on the head for me. It was my first synth. My parents refused a request for a DX7 haha. On the basis that it was too expensive of course. I was 7 years old I think.

Chee-zy 101 strikes again! I had 2 new in box; so glad theyre sold

I loved my Casio calculators. The time functions got me using yyyy-mm-dd date format years before it really caught on. It was especially handy when I started working with people both sides of the Atlantic because it was neither the US date format nor the UK date format and thereby got round date confusions.

@kretzschMusic

2 жыл бұрын

Its the Japanese date format.

@unclemick-synths

2 жыл бұрын

@@kretzschMusic and it is the only logical date format 😎

I had a 1000, new; I was thinking it was more around '86 or '87 cause I remember my daughter was still really little. I augmented that thing 19 ways to Sunday. I'd never had any synth before, but I got everything I needed out of it for what I was doing at the time. I have lots of recording on TAPE! ... that I can't get to any more! Waahh! Anyway, after time the 9v connector quit, and then I let batteries erupt in the chamber... :( - so then I hard wired the 9v wire into the pcb and got another bunch of years out of it; the buttons were almost worn through in some spots, and then it just wouldn't boot up any more. It was great for me! Nice video and review. I thought there was a fairly decent piano sound? Cheers!

I am not particularly a fan of the sound of this synth in particular, but having looked into it phase distortion is genuine computer magic, and I'm amazed it works. It's a novel synthesis idea but I find it pairs better with another paradigm (like when used with wavetables, or to generate complex waves/modulations in FM) than strictly on its own like it is here.

The Pitchwheel! 😎😎

Just scored one. New old stock with original case brochures manuals and protective cover Original power supply Demoed in basement Pumping at 7 speakers through old maranta gyro tuner receiver . Freaked out and taking it home for 200 now stoked. Brand new cosmetics both it and case Manuals in mint. Going next to the korg semi modular ms mini and stop the Hammond organ livketty split

Gosh, I had the 101 back in the day... Vince Clarke used them alot

@kiskadar69

2 жыл бұрын

Vince Clark used eight Casio CZ-101s at the same time. He controlled them with a UMI-2B.

This keyboard is used on every track on Johnny Hates Jazz 1988 album, "Turn Back the Clock".

I found a CZ-1000 at the local thrift for $5 a few years back. All dings aside, it's still a nice sounding synth that has a nostalgic tone to it. One thing that makes this synth a bit hard to deal with is they usually won't come with the RAM card so this means any sounds you program will get wiped off as soon as the machine is powered off.

@kiskadar69

2 жыл бұрын

@OccupyMars: if you want to retain your CZ-1000 memory for more than 1/2 hour or so after the unit is turned off, you must keep the 6 "D" cells for battery operation in the unit. These same cells actually provide the battery backup. There is a capacitor in the unit which will support the low current drain of the memory chips for 10 to 30 minutes which will allow you to change the "D" cells when they go bad with out losing the memory of the CZ.

At the time, this was an affordable and easier to program synth for DX pianos and metallic FM sounds. And it didn't wreak of the DX when producing standard synth sounds. Also, being multi-timbral, when sequencing with my JX-3P and TR-606, I could add a bass sound, lead sound, alternate electronic tom and a 3-5 note DX Rhodes sound!

Interesting. My CZ1000 developed the same bend range problem (bending to infinity) as yours. I think it might be the internal battery causing the bend range memory to become corrupted every time the synth is turned off.

Nice little board. Very underrated. Are their effects built in or do you need to use an external processor?

Do you have a video showing how to properly set up the CZ 101? Thank you 🤓

Nice demo. What presets are you playing in the video?

I have the 101 twice! Roland and Casio. I sometimes don't understand why I have the CASIO! Not exactly hands on. A UDO Super sex would be nice

They make nice watches too

Is there anything that's keeping modern synth manufacturers from creating a phase distortion synth with a sound similar to the CZ line? Such a great sound.

Phase distortion ran into copyright issues with Yamaha/Stanford for overlaps that infringed on FM technology and hence was quickly killed off to avoid massive lawsuits

@asoundlab

2 жыл бұрын

Did not know that! Do you have any articles reference this? Would love to read up on it

So a casio CZ -1000 or a Korg M1 which one would be the best for my first ever synth?

Can you use a sustain pedal with it?

Somebody send me some smokes and a cuz-1k and I’ll send you some dank dungeon synth in return.

The CZ recreation in Arturia's V Collection, is on my top 3. I tend to like it better than DX7. I know the recreation is not the same as the hardware, but the type of sounds you can do with P.D. is super good.

@The_Invisible_Man

2 жыл бұрын

You should buy a real one, they aren’t cheap now unfortunately but still a good buy… just.

Phase Distortion = FM, actually closer to the Chowning concept than Yamaha's take on it. But couldn't use the FM name as Yamaha bought the rights

Does anyone repair these? My CZ has 4 black keys (C#,D#,F#&G#) stuck in the down position. Cost to fix VS $ value

The cz line was great. Not as versatile as the dx7, but so much easier to program. It wasn't really the same as Yamaha's FM though. It works quite differently.

@rachelar

Жыл бұрын

Ironically PD is closer to the original FM Concept than yamaha

Haha, I can't help but think of a chain smoking keyboard player wearing that cigarette on his finger while jamming on the CZ...

I have a CZ-3000, and it has some very nice sounds, especially the organs and brass. But I almost never use it now, as the Arturia CZ-V VST and iPad CZ app (sold by Casio) both sound as good or better than the original. I wouldn't say that it isn't worth getting one, especially if it's cheap. But most people would be better off with one of the software versions instead.

People in the know been using these for years

I have one with the original case

Need a clone of it

1:50 it's not the late 70s or the early 80s. the CZ synths came out around 1985 and were produced for a few years. so, mid- to late-80s.

14:05 Frogs

I mostly prefer CZ1 by its key pressure and vel. sens. and doubled voice number but YAMAHA indeed sued CASIO either in the late 80s or ealy 90s. CASIO lost. I don't know the exact reason anymore. I guess it had to do something with VZ series' iPD( interactive Phase Modulation) and the CTK1000. I got those Infos from a Japanese synth enthusiast that had an impressive synth site some years ago named Sealed's Deep Synthesis Page. Besides even some styles we're exactly the same as YAMAHA PSR series around that time.

I'ma have to look up that ring bc I gotta see that 😂

I prefer CZ1 by Iits key pressure, vel, sens. & higher voice number BUT in the late 80s or ealy 90s CAISO was sued by YAMAHA. CASIO lost. I don't remember exactly If it was because of iiPD used in the VZ 1 or

Really excellent video - thanks for sharing. I had a Casio CZ1000 as a teen and recorded loads of my improvisations compositions. I really loved it but just didn't have any other recording equipment to fully take advantage of all it offered. My school recordings are on this channel, including this short clip of an intro to me playing it live at a school variety show: kzread.info/dash/bejne/nXZ508SRncnFqtY.html

yazoo

Lack of real time manipulation is the only weak spot

can i sell this keyboard

this keyboard is garbage. took me years to sell it. it sounds like poop. you can talk it up as much as you want, but it's literally useless. there's better casio keyboards from oldschool toys r' us, best buy, or target that are toy level keyboards that sound better than this thing. it's awful.

@africkinamerican

Жыл бұрын

So you didn't learn how to program it then

@damienwarlock

Жыл бұрын

@@africkinamerican i did, i had the book that came with it. even had the expansion card. original everything. it was just a terrible sounding synth that was unusable overall. that's it.

@chinossynthesizer705

3 ай бұрын

​​@@damienwarlock.how about the Dx7 try programing it now?

I can't stand the cheesy sound of them. sure, they do one or two cool sounds, but on the whole, they sound like the organ your parents bought you one Christmas. Mine sits in the attic, and will never come down, unless i sell it.

@danielfuller2202

3 жыл бұрын

If you only play the presets or never touch the PD synthesis engine - sure, it sounds "cheesy." But what a waste ...

@chinossynthesizer705

3 ай бұрын

​@@danielfuller2202typical subtractive synthesis users just hate other stuff.

The CZ-1000 was my first synth… I still miss it sometimes, but I have an Ensoniq SQ-80 now

@chinossynthesizer705

3 ай бұрын

I sold my sq-80 it to many problems battery would get really warm. Midi problems when transferring patches and keyboard problems and then crashed. Check for these problems

@helio1055

3 ай бұрын

@@chinossynthesizer705 I think thats normal for the battery, but mine wasn’t receiving sysex through midi anymore also and the mod & pitch wheel stopped working… so i sold it as well my time with synths is done, im sticking to my one true love, guitar 🔥

@chinossynthesizer705

3 ай бұрын

@@helio1055 I use a modern synth now. Vintage synths came with a lot of problems since those parts are probably expensive and not made anymore.

Its was huge contrast from cz101 and other ...testature is to big like piano...