Vintage Synth Explorer

Casio • CZ-5000

The CZ-5000 expands the Casio CZ series further into the professional arena. Based on the CZ-101 and CZ-1000 synths, the CZ-5000 adds many new features while retaining the same sound and programming methods as the latter. The keyboard is expanded to a full 61 note or 5-octave length and is capable of being split for bass and treble sounds. There is a built-in 8 track sequencer which is great for storing ideas or creating patterns and sequences to edit in real-time. And finally 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 at once!

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-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-5000 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. It has been used by The Orb and Jean-Michel Jarre.

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Jacqueline

Posted 24 days ago

my first polysynth, well when i first got it i turned it on and had a flick through the presets i was dissapointed as they are dire save for a few brasses, massively put off of programming by the complexity of the envelopes and the irritating little screen and buttons that never seem to work so decided to programme in some patches from the cz book to get into it and after alot of trying i managed to get some really great sounds out of this...it can sound digital or analoguey with some chorus and detuning. still dislike programming it and i feel like i have only scratched the surface of what this thing can do and one day i will sit down with it and make it sing but until then it remains an enigma to me!

christover

Posted 40 days ago

just got one of these to see what the sequencer was worth, and besides being a bit confusing, the 8-note polyphony is nice, albeit limited. It is massive for a casio. I love how easy it is to program, within 15 minutes i had some meaty patches saved. As for the presets, 32 is a decent amount and this thing is great for analogish bass, ambient and sci-fi sounds. the vibrato's not bad either. perfect for anyone looking for a cheap, unique analog sounding synth, unless you care about things like after-touch and velocity.

Magnus

Posted 64 days ago

It is also used by Norwegian Black-metal-artist Burzum on his albums made in prison. Don't know which CZ, but one of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpF3YtNoLJw

Listen for the sound Fairy Tale.

Joe don baker 9000

Posted 74 days ago

Just got one for 40 bucks the sequencer is broke but still very surprising sounds for a Casio and it's very fun to play. Kind of wish Casio would have stayed in the performance synth market a little longer at least. On another note does anybody know where I could get some patches for this thing ?

DrSiak

Posted 79 days ago

just got one and scared the [beep] out of my self after 10 minutes of programing. this thing makes creepy sounds. for real.

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