The CASIO CZ Synthesizer from the year 1984 is a very interesting synth. Here can you find the full CASIO CZ playlist with single sound demos, sound tutorials and one synth demo tracks. Enjoy. The CASIO CZ playlist ----> kzread.info/head/PLe08Lbpy8pPbVOueQikTUmJ4mH_RvubhF

Found one of these in a junk store in Alabama. Had a gig in that town that night, and we were out goofing off before the show and I saw it. Somebody had lumped it in with the toy keyboards with built-in speakers. Since they couldn't hear the audio, they thought it was broken. Wrote the price on it in permanent marker (I think it was $9.98). HAD to take a chance on it. Took it to the gig and ran it through my rig. Worked PERFECTLY!

@retrosound72

6 жыл бұрын

:)

@rachelar

3 жыл бұрын

I love to hear these stories or urban myths. I won't bore you with my stories of how I found a DX7 ii and D50 on the street, actually true

@jamiebell2164

3 жыл бұрын

@@rachelar Mine is completely true. I have multiple witnesses.

@SalimSivaad

3 жыл бұрын

@@rachelar At the same time? You're lucky as Hell!

@MikeyLikey95

2 жыл бұрын

Dang! Nice one. In my home state too. How do people come across these types of magical finds I hear so much about?

My dad put one under the tree for Christmas 1984 when I was 9. One of the cooler things he did. I spent a year avidly programming patches from the book that came with it, having no idea what I was doing. WRITE!

@G8tr1522

5 ай бұрын

wait, what??? it's programmable??

I used to have one of this Synths back in the 80's. When i owed an Atari ST Computer with midi in and out. What fun it was to play with, trying new sounds and saving them. I made my own 32 voice bank cartridge from scratch worked great. Glad to see there still around

This Casio CZ-101 sounds surprisingly REALLY GOOD! Especially considering many people think it's just a "toy".

@retrosound72

3 жыл бұрын

Not a toy for sure :)

@TheMrzucker21

2 жыл бұрын

absolutely not a toy

@sumchi3690

Жыл бұрын

If I hadn’t have thought that I would have bought one. Just the name.🥲

This synth was used by so many bedroom musicians. It was all we could afford!

@Tredecimus

3 жыл бұрын

It was when I was 17 in 1986. The only synth out there that was affordable for me.

@rachelar

3 жыл бұрын

It's over priced now! Get a Cz1000 instead

@dianamiino7391

Жыл бұрын

I still own the 101, still play the 101

@JuanGuzman-op3hw

Жыл бұрын

@@Tredecimus how much was it b4

@Tredecimus

Жыл бұрын

@@JuanGuzman-op3hw 739 Deutsche Mark (roughly 380 Euro)

I had one back in the 80s along with my Juno 106. The CZ101 was a great little board, probably the best they ever created

I have one of these in my room! It's such a unique sounding synth. Even similar FM synths sound completely different

@retrosound72

Жыл бұрын

👍

Is this one of the best Synthesizer ever made? Let's find out

@waynesilverman3048

3 жыл бұрын

My first keyboard was a casio w/k1000 or something I've still got in stuck in back room wardrobe at my dad's ,it's electronic General midi keyboard 2 voices 2 sequencers and the saw tooth and organ rotary was what I got out of it most and casinos synth strings are unique but theres two powerful synth sounds on the r hythum part and play 1 note chords with out drums and 1 was called world pop my guitar teacher loved the sound it was a dreamy direct sound it might of been in early house music techno and enka was on the casio which they used the same on the rhythm part but combining it with the saw Casio calling it techno .Is enka ,world pop on the casio in your video

@harazharmr9885

2 жыл бұрын

@1:49

@mortiisweil6667

2 жыл бұрын

@@harazharmr9885 Yeah but i always wonder if this is the same synthesizer he used on the hlidskjalf Album?

Has such a crunchy and cool sound to it, Casio made some pretty cool synthesizers

thanks retrosound. the cz-101 was one of my first synths with mini keys. i still have it and never regretted buying it. and because of the 101, i started collecting small synths. (all because i have a small room) i also love listening to your projects. thanks for sharing all those synth sounds to us. :)

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

:))

I love CZ´s synths. I own a CZ-5000 and I am considering to purchase another one or a CZ-1000/3000. They are so cheap... Very usefull for post-punk, new/dark wave and synthpop music. This thing can make great dark and lush pads/strings for this kind of music.

I miss this, it was my first "real" synthesizer and I loved programming it after learning subtractive synthesis on the Commodore 64 (which had one less voice than this one's 4).

@retrosound72

6 жыл бұрын

:)

beautiful demo. i loved my cz-5000 really easy to program and play with it. lovely, and truly warm

@retrosound72

8 жыл бұрын

+Railster Music thank you :)

I learned synthesis on one of these. This was a nice addition to my keyboards back then. I still love this thing.

@retrosound72

6 жыл бұрын

:)

OK, not what I expected at all! It sounds amazing!

Casio seriously needs to make a comeback!

I still have my CZ-101 and will never get rid of it.

@susu-mi7kx

4 жыл бұрын

hey I have one, i don't know what sysex is. does the midi to usb cable have to sysex capable.??

amazing synth,amazing video,thanks

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

thank you!

I love the Casio CZ series, I found a cz5000 at a thrift store for $40 fully functional. That thing was a beast! In both sound and physical size. I need to pick up its little brother that you demoed here sometime. Much easier to lug around ;)

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

very cheap. too cheap I think. ;)

Scored one of these for $25 at a thrift store about 5 years ago, not really knowing what to expect. Absolutely LOVE this synth and have used it on many recordings.

@retrosound72

5 жыл бұрын

:)))

Had one. I later upgraded to the CZ 1000 which is the same keyboard, but not miniature. I have the CZ1000 in my studio now, but it quit working some years ago. Only four voices. I loved it for the time. Thought I was in heaven.

@t55a2

6 жыл бұрын

Joe Horizon It has 8- note polyphony on single patches

I like these sounds, they are so mellowlicious.

@retrosound72

3 жыл бұрын

thank you

Thank you so much for these posts. I got my CZ 1000 in the late 80's and used it to imitate about every synth on the radio then (well as close as it could then). Used that same unit recently for synth bass on one song on a album I'm currently working on.

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

***** :)

This synth proves that you can be tiny on the outside yet still be a giant inside. Or, as Action Hank would put it: "it's all about the inner beard"

@retrosound72

5 жыл бұрын

Agreed

A little plastic gem of a synth, i wanted one in the 90's. I am in shock! Retrosound doing Casio CZ demo!? Cooool thanks for sharing.

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

yes sure the CZ-101 is real retro bliss. :) thank you!

Anyone else remember getting very cool sounds out this as the batteries were running out?

@retrosound72

2 жыл бұрын

Yes. 🙌😁

My dad has this synthesizer when I was a boy I played it .He made a box for it put it in and it only has come out about 10 times looks like new still !its a mad world

Thanks for the video ! Based on this, I recently ordered my second - hand unit of the CZ-101.It will arrive tomorrow according to the parcel service... Can't wait to unbox it.

@retrosound72

Жыл бұрын

Have fun.

Funny that Casio used a lot of these sounds in their later keyboards in the 90s

A great synth. I played mine throughout high school.

These sound way better than people give them credit for, i remember them well, very warm sounding i think, shame that phase distortion wasnt taken further.

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

agree with you! big problem: the presets are most crap and show not the full potential of the PD synthesis

@ChasD

9 жыл бұрын

Casio did take PD a step further with the VZ-1, which used iPD (Interactive Phase Distortion). It was capable of some very complex sounds, but also added complexity in its programming with all the extra parameters. It wasn't as satisfying or as easy to program as a result.

@cubdukat

7 жыл бұрын

Allegedly Yamaha had a hand in PD's demise. They sued Casio, claiming that PD was too close to their method of FM synthesis, although supposedly John Chowning, the guy who created Yamaha's technique said that it was the other way around. Of course, by then it was too late. Casio got out the synth market altogether until a couple years ago.

@Tazmanian_Ninja

6 жыл бұрын

Look into Bitwig Studio 2.3 (in beta as I'm writing this): it has a new synth called Phase-4 - based on phase-distortion:)

I used to have one of these keyboard/synths. I also had a Casio CZ 3000, a full size keyboard. I am a drummer. But in my band I used to set this 101 and my 3000 up behind me to the side of my floor toms. I layered them one on top of the other. On the 101 and the 3000, I played the intro to Mr. Crowley by Ozzy Osbourne. The 1010 played the lower bass notes and the 3000 played the chords. Then at the end, I turned around and picked up my sticks and clicked in the song and we rocked baby, we rocked! I wish I had both of Casios back.

Cool demo!!! I am thinking to buy this synth and your demos helps me!!

@retrosound72

8 жыл бұрын

+Óscar Yuste Romero cool! :)

@inanesilence

8 жыл бұрын

Definitely It was a great adquisition! :-)

I miss my CZ 101 damn it still sounds just as rich and full as todays synths...Ty for the share

@retrosound72

6 жыл бұрын

thank you

I bought a CZ-101 in 1984 and still have it. Even I don't use it nowadays, I have it as long as I'm alive.

@retrosound72

6 жыл бұрын

:)

I really enjoy this retro-sound! It reminds me a lot the FM synthesis...

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

thank you! :) the sound is between FM and analog

Beautiful!! Great to play old school dungeon sinth. I love it 😊

@retrosound72

5 жыл бұрын

:))

Nearly landed myself one of these by chance, recently. It fell through, but now I can't leave it be; I need one!

@retrosound72

3 жыл бұрын

Very cool

Excellent performance and a fantastic old synth

@retrosound72

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

Very happy yo hear again this sinth !!!

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

:) thanks!

This was my first synth :-) And you got the cartridge!!. I remember i got drawings to build one cartridge of my own.. never did that.. But this is an underrated synth imho. and you managed to show how it sounded exactly!, nice =)

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

:) thank you!

Keyboards from the 80s were the best because they were made with love and they were taken seriously when they were built

@vlissblisskiss

4 жыл бұрын

tf does this even mean lmao

@vlissblisskiss

4 жыл бұрын

@tinylilmatt you must not touch many professional synths lol they are incredibly tedious to keep alive

@HipixOFFICIAL

4 жыл бұрын

@@vlissblisskiss it's boomerposting

@mantrabeeg

4 жыл бұрын

@tinylilmatt any actual synthesizer user would tell you that modern synths are easier to keep alive. even people like kraftwerk doesn't use their old synths as often anymore

@benoitlefevre9565

4 жыл бұрын

For me 70's synths are the best, but I still love some of 80's keyboards like this Casio or the Roland D-50.

Makes me want to have another. Thor in Reason has PD OSC but they don't sound like this. This sound was all over my old albums in the 90's. What a synth.

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

yes a great synth with fresh sound.

Just beautiful sounds ...

@retrosound72

5 жыл бұрын

Dankeschön

Around the time of this synth, the Grandfather of analogue synths, Isao Tomita was being sponsored by Casio in a big way.

@retrosound72

8 жыл бұрын

+baward yes :)

@alanbnmramirez393

7 жыл бұрын

baward nsnjnksjsnksksmokk

@tsitracommunications2884

6 жыл бұрын

RIP, Tomita san. We'll miss you. We'll take it from here......

@lew5142

3 жыл бұрын

Ah I didn’t know that! In the days I had a CZ 101 I also loved listening to Tomita.

This is bringing back memories of a toy Casio that we had growing up. This is a lot nicer, but some of the sounds and patches sound JUST like that old toy Casio.

@retrosound72

5 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching

I finally got my first CZ-1000 today!! These patches are amazing!

@retrosound72

4 жыл бұрын

thank you. much fun

@valley_robot

4 жыл бұрын

I really want one , I have a ht700 , very interesting synth engine but t has no patch storage, I have more modern gear but these old phase distortion synths are just cool

I picked up a Virtual CZ VST just for this. Had a CZ-5000 I had as a teen.

This thing is amazing - I still have mine from the early 80's. It could do so much, way more than I can imagine. You should have demonstrated other sounds, like ocean waves, machine gun rattles and loud crashing snares. It was a true wave shaper.

this video made me bought a cz 101 .. best investment !!! Thanks a lot !

@retrosound72

7 жыл бұрын

cool! thank you for the feedback. :)

Its so beautiful

@retrosound72

8 жыл бұрын

+Kʌno :))

Hi RetroSounds - thats great Retro Synthi Sounds of the 80 ziger - very warm Sounds - great - nice time

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

thank you!

I used to have one. Man I miss that thing now

I've owned the CZ-1, CZ-101, and the CZ-3000. Out of all of them, the 3000 was my favorite. It seemed to have the best crystal clear sound out of all of them. The CZ-101 was cool too because of it's size, and the CZ-1 was ridiculous, huge and weighed a ton. It also was much noisier than the other two.

Holy shit. I NEED ONE. Straight up dungeon synth for days.

@retrosound72

4 жыл бұрын

:)

Wow....this thing sounds incredible.

@retrosound72

6 жыл бұрын

:)

I love the phase distortion sounds of the CZ series. In some ways, it's even better than the more famous Yamaha FM sound. I have a CZ-2000 myself. But I rarely play it now, since Casio has released a perfect CZ emulation for iPad.

@retrosound72

5 жыл бұрын

And easy to program

Someone through one of those out near me! Definitely a good find!

Love this little beast!

@retrosound72

6 жыл бұрын

:)

Fantastic little machines

@retrosound72

7 жыл бұрын

:)

Woah just like my mininova- this was a ahead of its time....

I loved this device! This was my first synthesizer. Bad: It was stolen one day from stage! The next one was the HT3000!

@retrosound72

7 жыл бұрын

stolen is really bad.

Los prisioneros, pateando piedras 1986

Ahhhh that phase modulation goodness

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

yes phase distortion madness :)

A much-overlooked synth classic. never knew they sounded this good but in the hands of a master.

The cartridges on these required new batteries after a while but the screws were always welded on there was a great PC utility for copying sounds on and off them called virtual cz

My first synth. I bought mine in 1990 and I still have it. They are starting to gain in value now too! :-)

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

a good synth!

@ChasD

9 жыл бұрын

I bought mine in 1990 also! Still have it, still love it, and about 5 years back I also bought a CZ-1 as well - the Big Daddy of the CZ's! (y)

Ah! .. my 1st synth! I see you have the RA-3 cart that is almost fetching more money than the CZ-101 today! ... Great to hear those old internal presets again! thank you! (I must bring mine down from the attic!) :)

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

thank you!

Great demo.

@retrosound72

7 жыл бұрын

thank you

This thing sounds SICK. I've had a Casio MT-40 for some time and I'm really looking to expand my Casio collection. I have to find one of these!

@TransistorBased

7 жыл бұрын

Luckyhat66 Go for the 3000. It's full size, double the polyphony, and has much-needed chorus

Bought mine in '96, sold it to a friend '01, bought it back from said friend in '21 - ! Adore it. Very warm, easy to navigate - the sounds are timeless (not "retro").

@retrosound72

5 ай бұрын

Thank you for your feedback

Lovely sound for a synth that old.

@retrosound72

6 жыл бұрын

:)

I just found one in the alley behind my house taking out the trash . Abandoned by a tweeker who didn't know how tweaked this can get

Everything you touch becomes "gold", ah ah ah.

@retrosound72

8 жыл бұрын

+preis205 unfortunatety not ;)

Sounds really similar to Casio's later budget keyboards. Makes me wonder how much of their technology from this era ended up in the later models.

ive wanted one of these for too long!!

@retrosound72

8 жыл бұрын

+Chris Nova777 ;)

Wow. That's a very distinctly 80s sound right there. Casio made a good sounding keyboard? Some of those pads sound fantastic.

@retrosound72

6 жыл бұрын

yes Casio made professional synthesizers in the 80s. CZ and VZ series. And FZ sampler series.

@ratking9577

2 жыл бұрын

I wish they still did :(

Seems like a wonder of a synth I hope there are still enough out there to pick one up on the cheap

@retrosound72

2 жыл бұрын

fantastic synth

My dream synth in 1986 :)

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

:)

My first synth... bought it in 1985. Haven't used it for a VERY long time (needs some serious dusting off)

@v00n2000

5 жыл бұрын

I bought mine in '85 too... I loved messing about programming attack, sustain and decay but couldn't learn how to play any tunes. It ended up being bought by Simon House out of Hawkwind.

I love my 101!!!

@retrosound72

2 жыл бұрын

:)

Still have a CZ1000 and SZ1 Sequencer.Also owned the CZ3000 and CZ5000 ..

@retrosound72

7 ай бұрын

great

I NEED THIS.

@retrosound72

5 жыл бұрын

;)

fuckin a' Burzum @1:55!!! killer

@frankieseverin1157

8 жыл бұрын

haha touring around the transcendal pillars of singularity

@odaxne

7 жыл бұрын

I was about to comment that !!!

@katten838

7 жыл бұрын

I wonder if its the very same synth he used on his early releases.

1:54 This effect is used on the Burzum song "Rundgang Um Die Transzendentale"..

@retrosound72

Жыл бұрын

Ja stimmt

this was my first Synth

Nice sound ;-)

@retrosound72

8 жыл бұрын

+Dj OIXEL :)

Always dreamed of owning one of these as a kid but could never afford to

Wow, you're really good at programming sounds on this, as these sounds are mostly quite good. I'm used to the factory sounds, which are unfortunately rather toy-like and sound like an old Nintendo game. If I knew you could get this kind of sound out of one, I would have taken it a lot more seriously back then.

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

yes the presets are really crap and show not the full potential of this fantastic synth.

Strong Depeche Mode Violator vibes from this budget keyboard

@retrosound72

3 жыл бұрын

🎹💫

I still have mine!

Wow it's beautiful, The sounds so cute, this is melody for my ears😍💕❤

@retrosound72

5 жыл бұрын

:)) thanks

One of the coolest little synths ever made!

CASIO war auf diesem Gebiet seinerzeit sehr innovativ. 😎

@retrosound72

Жыл бұрын

Absolut.🙌

bought one of these for $60 in the year 2001 from a pawn shop ... (could have paid only $20 and the shop owner would still have sold it to me!) :) didn't know what a great instrument it was at first until started using it and then reading about it online! still have it and am not going to part with it really ... one of CASIO's best indeed!

Meraviglioso !!!!!!!!!!

So klein und doch so Mächtig :-).....schönes Teil und Video.

@retrosound72

9 жыл бұрын

Der kleine Brüllwürfel... :D dankeschön! :)

Sounds pretty grown up for that size.

@chicoandtheman7599

8 жыл бұрын

+kilésengati I swear it sounds thicker, warmer, & fatter than my CZ-1, even though the CZ-1 is twice the synth the CZ-101 is. (although I guess it could be on account of the effects processing that's used in this video)

@donallfinn

7 жыл бұрын

This is pretty much what my CZ101 sounds like...the drawback will always be the boring, method of programming, but as far as sound goes, this is pretty accurate

@donallfinn

5 жыл бұрын

@@spaggtrait1608 Yes...he is. I too have access to this "Reverb" technology, (though I chose not to use it as I hate artificial reverb, record it in a space if you want reverb) So I guess your point is....Mine sounds BETTER?

Hmmm is actually a very nice one. Good sounds.

@retrosound72

7 жыл бұрын

thank you