Vintage Synth Explorer

Casio • FZ-1

The Casio FZ-1 is an impressive sampler/synthesizer keyboard from 1987. Its offerings at the time were very professional features. In an 8-voice polyphonic full 61-note keyboard synthesizer you get a 16-bit digital sampler with variable 9kHz to 36kHz sampling rates. 1MB of memory expandable to 2MB could provide a maximum time of almost 2 minutes sample time at 9kHz. Up to 64 samples can be held in memory and placed across the keyboard. Graphic editing on the big LCD screen provides intuitive and easier editing of your samples with tuning, truncating, looping and much more. It also has eight outputs and analog-like 8-stage filters (DCF) and envelopes (DCA).

Surprisingly the FZ-1 also has a built-in synthesizer section. It uses digital synthesis employing both harmonic additive synthesis and waveform drawing. Basic waveforms available include sawtooth, square, pulse, double sine, saw/pulse, random waves and 48 harmonics. The FZ-10M (pictured above) is the rack-module version of the FZ-1 with 2MB internal memory and XLR inputs and outputs. Dated by today's standards, the FZ-1 is a neat piece of Casio history to own but could never replace your current sampler. With the look and features you'd expect from a vintage pro-sampler, this Casio has been used by Underworld, Kronos Quartet, Dee Lite, 2 Live Crew, and Kitaro.

The Hohner HS-1 is a German version of the Casio FZ-1. Only its case is light in color. This version has been used by Coldcut.

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Posting Rules: Please keep your comments relevant! Do not post requests for help, do not use for sales, do not post unless you have something interesting to say about this instrument, or we may delete your post.

 

Justin B-H

Posted 14 days ago

I've had mine since 1993-just pulled it out of storage and fired it up for the first time in years. It's a surprisingly capable synth-you can sample, use standard preset waves (saw, pulse etc), generate waveforms via additive synthesis tables or draw waveforms directly on the display. The 4-pole filter is fantastically meaty for a really early resonant DCF-only 16 bit resolution so loud samples will distort if resonance is cranked up, which you can use to your advantage... The interface was really good for the time also-graphical waveform and envelope display and loop editing. Be prepared to replace the backlight if you find one though.

Solstice

Posted 89 days ago

It was used by Vince CLARKE (Erasure)

Troub

Posted 101 days ago

...the demo tune is really nice ;)
i'm hip hop, but its really nice

Nick Esposito

Posted 113 days ago

Did the FZ-1 use Phase Distortion synthesis like the CZ series?

Vudu12

Posted 134 days ago

I got an FZ-1 in 1990 as I had figured out a sampler was essential to making hip-hop records. I found it a pain to navigate from sampling to editing to assigning keyboard range and outputs (that's all I ever really did), but I got fast, memorizing the number of "up arrow, left arrow, down arrow" etc. to get where I needed fast. I ended up doing about 7 rap and dance records with it, an Alesis MMT-8 sequencer and a Fostex R-8 reel-to-reel and a few other synths and drum machines before moving on. The good old days!

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