The Casio CZ-1 was the top of the Casio’s CZ synthesizer line. The CZ series were a family of low-cost phase distortion synthesizers produced by Casio mid-1980s.
The CZ-1 synthesizer offered the classic CZ sound, but also featured stored splits and layers , velocity and aftertouch sensitivity. The CZ-1 also featured a backlit display – an improvement over the rest of the series.
There were eight models of CZ synthesizers released:
- CZ-101
- CZ-230S
- CZ-1000
- CZ-2000S
- CZ-2600S
- CZ-3000
- CZ-5000
- CZ-1
Additionally the home-keyboard model CT-6500 used 48 phase-distortion presets from the CZ line.
The CZ series were flexible synthesizers, and their price made programmable synthesizers affordable.
If you’ve used the Casio CZ-1, leave a comment with your thoughts!
Casio CZ-1 Resources
- Wikipedia entry for the Casio CZ series
- Casio CZ-1 at SonicState
- The Casio CZ-1 at RetroSound
- Cosmo’s Casio World
- Deep Synthesis on the Casio CZ-1
- Casio CZ-1 Banks for Kontakt3, Wav
- Casio CZ-1 Editor/Librarian and Virtualizer for Windows and Macintosh OS X
- Patchman offers patches for the Casio CZ-101, CZ-1000, CZ-3000, CZ-5000, CZ-1
Video via AnjelicasBaby:
Hi Paul Leishman from British new wave, dance, electronic synthpop and pop music artist Anjelicas Baby here.
Just been experimenting with a now very rare Casio CZ-1 Phase Distortion synthesizer in cubase. All sounds are off the Casio CZ-1 with the addition of modern computer FX and a house drum loop for added effect.
Angelicas Baby music now can be downloaded or listened to from the following sites: iTunes U.S., iTunes Australia/N.Z., iTunes Canada, iTunes UK/European Union, iTunes Japan, Rhapsody, Napster, eMusic, IMVU, Amazon MP3, Lala, Shockhound, Amie Street, last.fm, indiestore.com. In the near future there will be many more.
Many thanks for your ongoing support
Still using an old Casio CZ-1 as my primary MIDI keyboard controller for my PC (Sound Blaster Live, with numerous retail and custom soundfonts) 🙂
this synth is the backbone of most of my songs, though it is digital it has the capability of sounding immensely fat and heavy. it's not an easy one to edit but experimenting with it can lead to astounding results. It's keyboard if of a very high quality and plays better than modern new midi controllers
Hi,
I have a CZ-1 and I am trying to find a librarian program that works, can anybody help?
Thanks in advance.
Arthur
Not for free I’m afraid. You’re looking at $49 – $549. (hard to tell,…there are many versions)
http://www.squest.com/Windows/Instruments/CasioCZ-1/
I’ve been using a CZ-1 as my top keyboard MIDI controller for 19 years. The light action
is great for fast synth runs and organ slides. I use the internal sounds on occasion, which
were excellent until software synths become more developed. Some of the sounds I still
have not found a VST replacement for. I use it as a controller for my Roland Vintage Synth
module and MOTIF ES rack. I play in an 80s rock band.
I started with a CZ-101 in the mid 80s, and also purchased a CZ-1000 a year or two
later. I still gig with a CZ-1000 also. I purchased a spare CZ-1 & CZ-1000 that I can
leave at band practice. Most of the internal sounds I use on the CZs I collected over
25 years ago and download via my Amiga computer with a librarian program going through
sysex files. All these years later, I still use some of those sounds. I have them saved in the
internal memory of all of my CZs, and also on ram cartridges. Haven’t connected it to
a Librian program in decades.
I was using a 1989 CZ-1 – (purchased used in 1993) – for my home studio controller keyboard until fairly recently (finally, I got fed up with the 61 key limitation and bought an 88 key controller!)…The ace in the hole for the CZ-1 was the ‘aftertouch’…hard to find in a reasonable priced controller / synth…Anyway, still have the (HEAVY) beast…drag it out on occasion, to remember the ‘good old days’…Never had any problems with it…MIDI implementation was fairly up-to-date, for its era…but, sometimes notes would drop out…If you find one – BUY IT!