Vintage Synth Explorer

Casio • CZ-3000

The CZ-3000 is very much like the CZ-5000, minus the on-board sequencer. Yet the CZ-3000 expands the Casio CZ series further into the professional arena. Based on the CZ-101 and CZ-1000 synths, the CZ-3000 adds many new features while retaining much the same sound and programming methods as the latter. The keyboard has been expanded to a full 61 note or 5-octave length and is capable of being split. As a side note, the CZ-5000 has an expanded waveform memory for even more sounds and thicker sounds. It's like having two stacked CZ-1000 synths all in one!

Casio's CZ series of phase-distortion digital synths make for a unique sound. After all, there are 8-stage envelopes and 2 oscillators per voice for a thicker tone. Their sound is similar to the Yamaha DX synths but is much easier to program. The CZ-3000 and CZ-5000 may be at the pinnacle of Casio's synthesizer line, and it is still a great low-cost means of getting into vintage digital synth sounds today. The CZ-3000 is not analog and has no filters. But many still find it useful where strange synth sounds are needed such as industrial and electro types of music.

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mothman

Posted 134 days ago

I don't care if that thing says 3 stars, this synth deserves 5. I got one of these by chance, and at first glance it seems limited, but if you read the manual, you'll unlock its insane progammability. You can make some awesomely weird sounds with this thing, very cosmic and spacey. Its really unique and different than almost any synth I've played with. Programming is a bit tedious, but not Oberheim 6 tedious.

Mike

Posted 135 days ago

Got one from a friend a few months ago. Initially confused as hell by the thing, but after reading the manual for about 30 minutes, a light went on and everything clicked. Different than most synths, but definately not too hard to get the hang of. I run mine through a micro POG pedal to beef up for an organ sound, then through a dL4 for some rediculous sounds.

Francis

Posted 189 days ago

Great little synth, had 2 of them at one point. Great for 'nasty' buzzy sounds and organs. Think farfisa meets a filter and portamento. Good for some pad work, but main strengths are in digital sounds or buzzy near-analogesque noises. The chorus also helps fatten it up a little.

Dave

Posted 212 days ago

I bought one on ebay a little over a year ago and Love the machine , I quicky made my own patch sound and I play it almost every day !
I'm so use to it that i use the midi wire from it to play my other keyboards. It's a great machine

Ben Anderson

Posted 280 days ago

I have a Juno106, a YamahaDX and an FZ-1 but the CZ3000 is by far my favourite synthesizer. The majority of my sound library is from my CZ3000: bass, pads, leads and sound effects galore come from this thing! Even though it's described as having DX7-like sounds it can do so much more! WAY MORE. DX7 saounds, analogue sounds plus it's own flavour of gritty. Despite the casio name it's a highly versitile and user friendly synthesizer once you get used to reading from an LCD rather than twisting dials. I hope one day Casio will get some common sense and make the "Casio CZ-2". I'd be one of the first to buy it. If you find a programable CZ for cheap, GET IT.

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