Vintage Synth Explorer

Casio • CZ-1

The CZ-1 competes with the CZ-5000 for the best all around Phase Distortion digital synth. The CZ-1 has the most advanced keyboard of all the CZ series synths. It has a full 61-note 5-octave keyboard with velocity and aftertouch sensitivity. Very professional features from a Casio synth! Otherwise it is essentially a CZ-3000 (which is essentially two CZ-1000s or CZ-101s). With the CZ-1 you get 8-stage envelopes, 2 oscillators per voice and a whole lot more with relatively easy programming. Whereas the CZ-5000 may not have had as good a keyboard, it had the benefit of an on-board 8-track real-time sequencer which the CZ-1 lacked.

If you're looking for low-cost Yamaha DX-like sounds, the Casio CZ line of Phase Distortion synths are a good buy. For performance, the CZ-1 may be the best of the CS-series. Its dynamic keyboard and enhanced memory abilities make it ideal for live situations. Memory, MIDI and multitimbrality have all been upgraded in the CZ-1 making it one of the nicest budget synths ever to grow out of a consumer market.

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Neven Dayvid

Posted 24 days ago

"If you're looking for low-cost Yamaha DX-like sounds, the Casio CZ line of Phase Distortion synths are a good buy."...
sorry , this is quite uninformed... they sound quite different despite certain procedural similarities in sound generation.
it´s like saying, if you want low-cost Roland Jupiter sounds, get a Korg Polysix...well yes, and NO...

Layer Man

Posted 132 days ago

The biggest secret never known is this. Take a good sounding specific sound like metal bass on a sample based synthesizer. Sounds good? Yep. Now add a similar sounding sound from the slightly weedy thin CZ (any one will do), layer the two sounds together and EARTH SHATTERING!!! The secret being, take a targeted sound and layer two or more DIFFERENT synthesis methods of the same sound and it'll sound organic, cutting, present and killa! but the cz method was the best when mixed with others. Make sense?!

Miss Information Age

Posted 161 days ago

It's very unique. what I don't understand is why the higher-end synths dont have the easy recall and user-friendliness of casio's? I like it a great deal; you can get some very different sounds using the noise generator, and surprisingly the ring mod isn't that obtrusive. the presets are good for tweaking too. And I like the re-trigger solo mode. It's definitely something different.

John Jansen

Posted 187 days ago

Compared to Ex-7, Z1, Micro Q, etc. this sounds delightfully thin and doesn't hog the sonic landscape. Not the synth to buy if you only own one synth, but a very useful "flava". I bought mine for $69, used. I love the solo switch, knocking it down to mono.

aaron

Posted 369 days ago

Now that it's 20 years later and everyone is wiser, we all know the comparison of PD synthesis to FM synthesis is a thin one, only because they are capable of reaching similar timbres and that it uses some cross modulation (totally different from the mod/op method of FM) -- but PD is capable of more than that. PD stands alone as a unique and fun type of synthesis. For the most robust and most featured of PD synths, this is where you want to look and its a great price.

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