Casio CZ-101

Difficult for the uninitiated in the programming of new sounds, but I am learning. I tend to use preset sounds 4, and 12. The other sounds don't always have what I need to make music now. However, I am still learning this keyboard. I have a printed manual from off the internet, so just getting into it. I have already played with making my own sounds from many of the presets but haven't saved any just yet. Keep in mind that I don't have a cartridge. So I don't want to save over the internal sounds at this time. This is my second CZ-101. I bought the first one used in 90-91, when I was hard core into Ministry, NIN, Skinny Puppy, This Mortal Coil, Revco, Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, and so on. I left the protect off and lost a bunch of sounds(at least it seemed that way). So I ended up boxing it away during my 5 year stint in the Marines. After that I sold it along with some other music gear to meet my needs in the hunting department. Anyway, I got back into music playing again and began to miss the CZ-101. I bought another used one recently, I just couldn't wait to save up for an Alesis Ion(used). I knew I would buy a CZ again anyway so saved the trouble.

With 1+1, I only get four keys pressed at any one time, and that is not making me happy. But I do use an ancient ART Processor to make the notes last or echo so I can get around this. It takes a cartridge but I haven't seen any anywhere, so good luck in that department. I like the bend wheel alot and use it to make notes come alive like bending a guitar string which gives alot of expressiveness to your playing. The noise button can turn a sound into something like a jet flying around and is cool up to a point because the original note is also kinda in the background too( and takes away from the coolness of the sound). The ring modulator button has a purpose that I am still learning to make use of, but I know if Moog has it then it must some use. Keep in mind, I have had this keyboard again for about a week. There are midi in/out and I haven't delved into this yet, though I bought some cables to link to either the ART Multiverb processor or Yamaha PSR-83, I don't think my Casio MT-500 has midi. I adjust the vibrato and bend range to match the song I am playing. I haven't gotten serious with the programming yet as I am still trying to wrap my head around it( it's not a book I can put under my pillow and wake up the next morning with all the information to). This keyboard has alot of features that take some serious exploring. Try to understand that Casio made some very good instruments, but ended up with a bad reputation for just making toys. They lost the synth war, but won battles just the same. Their MT series keyboards had good sounds too. Casio, nowadays, has its own underground following. They could even make a comeback if they knew the needs of the casio enthusiast. The features on this CZ are adequate for anyone wanting to learn to make their own sounds. Besides who wants to play the same thing everyone plays to get the same sound? BBBoring. I'll just say a great number of bands use/used Casio products and made it big. Moneybags, Bigger is Better, Attitude Bully need not apply, this is the underground sound.

The sounds on this synth are up to you. You want a workstation and every sound already dreamed up for you, then get a different synth. No velocity/aftertouch but you probably have enough keyboards with this to get by.

Reliable for a gig or a bus ride

yeah right

I don't like the polyphony but I will adjust. I keep D cell batteries in it, and the protect switch on. I also have the switch turned so it doesn't turn off after 5+ minutes. I would recommend this to anyone who has come to realise that Casio has something to offer, and anyone who can't afford a more expensive synth.

Presets are typical for a mid 80's digital synthisizer: Cheesey, occasionally to the point of being obnoxious. You don't buy this synth, or any other synth for that matter, for the presets. You buy them becuase they are sonically expressive and easy to use if you own half a brain cell. Bringing me to my second point. Creating patches on this synth is extremely intuitive if you are willing to invest the time and effort into your sounds and into studying phase distortion synthisis. Learning how to nagivate through the menus and shape sounds to your liking may be difficult at first, particularly if you are used to analoge style synthisis. Stick with it, you will thank yourself later. The manual is very helpful if you need help with the transition into digital synthisis. Example, it identifies what funtions on the CZ correspond to the voltage controlled sections on an analoge synth. 10 in a walk.

Polyphony: Slim at 8 for single line [casios term for an oscillator] and 4 for a double line voice. But it is capable of some fat sounds, so in alot of cases you dont even need 4 voices. Switch to mono (solo) or tone mix (also monophonic but its still anawesome feature) and turn on the portamento. If you do your homework, you can flawlessly emulate the harsher sounds of a minimoog, the electric piano sounds of the dx7 (flawlessly)and even a pad sound or two, but becuase of the limited polyphony, pad sounds sound better on the DX7 or a workstation (in a practical setting).

Alot of people critize the CZ series for being toyish and lacking features. These synths look toyish, but the sophmoric nature stops there. It is a wolf in sheeps clothing. Of course its features dont compare to later synths, even in the same decade (the 80s were obveously a golden age of synthisizer breakthroughs and development) but it was revolutionary in its day.

Unfortunately for Casio, thier invention was overshadowed entirely by the monster that was the Yamaha DX7. Shame, becuase the CZ matches the DX7 feature for feature with a few exceptions. The MIDI was good in its day (I suppose, I was not born when it came out [I am 20]) but is obselete now. The only synth in the series that offered a sequencer was the CZ-5000, but it was downright archaic.

8/10 in the features, the CZ-1 would probobly get a 10 in this department.

Realistic is not this synth's stong suit but expressiveness is. The parameter section includes six (three on the first line and three on the second) incredibily flexible eight step envelopes. You can define any of these (except the eighth, being the ending step obveously) as the sustain point for the envelope and define the rate and cutoff to your liking. Seemingly Infinate tweakability, at your fingertips. The 2 waveform generators are incredibily expressive, and include three waveforms that very roughly emulate a resonant analoge filter. The square waveform is sonically crystaline, and supoerbly clear. The DCO section alters the pitch of the oscillator over time. This can perfectly recreate the crazy oscillator drift effects of an analoge synth. The DCW section corresponds to the filter envelopes on an analoge synth but are even more tweakable with 8 stages and a key follow funtion. Note that the resonance of your sounds comes not from the filter (or the DCW in the CZs case) but from the two waveform generators. The DCA section controlls amplitude over time (obveously). The detune feature is wild, especially if combined with the already sick ring and noise modulators. The Ring mod in particular distorts your sounds in a manner that you can control with your waveforms, DCO, DCW and DCA settings. If you combine the ringmod with a resonant waveform, you get a very staic, resonanting "buzz" that is quite impressive.

Would want a backup if gigging, its a delicate machine but not painstakingly so. Considering how old mine is, performs fine. A couple keys don't work, but its such an expressive synth that its a minor limitation in practice. I plan to get those fixed eventually if I can find someone that I trust with such an old piece of equipment. The CZ-101 is incredibly portable but I would hesitate to gig with it. I just love it too much for anything to happen to it.

If I called Casio asking for support on this item, somewhere in Japan, an entire PR office will have a day long laughing fit.

In addition to my CZ I own a Yamaha DX7, a Korg Trinity, a Minimoog voyager and an ensoniq ESQ-1. I have been playing piano since childhood (7) and synthisizers for the past three years. The Casio CZ 101 was my first synthisisizer so I must admit a little bias towards it, but it deseves such. Its an incredible little beast.

Very simple to use; hardly any parameters to change, apart from envelope settings. Manual is adequate and I don't use software at all.
All that lets it down is poor MIDI spec. and lack of memory, although I have a card.

Polyphony, at four voices, is limited if doing chord changes with slow release pad sounds. Keyboard is OK. Features are spartan - no effects (even chorus) or touch sensitivity. Plenty of other synths have these, and you can get round it with the help of a sampler.

Certain sounds from Boards of Canada and Brian Eno sum up this synth's sound - mournful drones with slightly piano-y attacks. Squelchy basses and synthy leads are another strong point. I can't see it doing realistic sounds very well, even strings, and the presets show just how bad it is at that.
The sounds are made of a choice of eight different wave shapes; saw and square, a pulse which doesn't look or sound like a pulse, then two consecutive wave shapes - saw-sine and pulse-sine or something, and then three resonant wave shapes which sound more like synced waves than resonance. Weirdly you choose two per "line", and they play consecutively, giving a rich sub-harmonic, and use the DCW waveshaper envelope to squash the wave back to a sine wave. People talk about the CZ's filter but it doesn't have one, and this is why it doesn't sound exactly like one. You don't always need one.

Seems fine. Solid build.

If lost etc, I'd buy another one, or a VZ10m perhaps as the MIDI and memories are better. It starts off lots of good loops and ideas and has sounds I always come back to, although on finished mixes I sample it so I can change volume etc during the track and because its MIDI is primitive. The drones and the squelches are brilliant, and it layers really nicely with my Kawai K1r, which also has no filter. I don't feel the need for effects with it (have to keep some things dry), and those who say it sounds like the DX7 must have a real knack of DX7-programming. Great sounds for little cash or effort.

presets are aweful! sounds like a casio tonebank!

editing sucks, all banks and nooooo knobs.

poly? i dont know but its bad.
no effects
no expansion
bad midi, early midi, tiny keys.
no sequencer

ok here we go
take all the downsides to each 80's digital synth and wrap it up into one synth
bad digital sound.
not interface friendly
no velocity
no aftertouch
slow editing AND MUCH MUCH MORE!
and then try to cover that up with a so so filter and you have the cz101. yeah i got mine for 30. and it proves that people will buy anything if you make it cheap enough.
the keys are tiny but it doesnt matter cause the sound is soooo thin it wont work in the mix with anything else. it litterally sounds like a casio tonebank toy keyboard. wow awesome i can edit a casio tonebank keyboard! lame.

as dependable as a casiotonebank. doesnt seem like theres anything that exciting going on underneath the panel why would it be fragile?

if you no nothing about synths then im sure its great. you have nothing to use as comparison. but like i said its a casio tonebank in disguise. i threw it away after i took a bat to it. but i guess that was worth 30 bucks. its a really expensive stress realiever. a juno 106 gets a lower score then this piece of junk? yeah something seems inacurrate about that. i think its cause most musicions who have owned one of these doesnt like to mention it. so i figured id be one of the few to leave a honest deal on this 30 dollar stress reliever. i wouldnt pay 5 bucks for another one unles i needed something to hold my table up.

The owner's manual is VERY complete , but it has 3 parts : the manual itself (how to use it basically) , a "synthesizer theory" booklet and some patch examples . If you have everything , i don't understand the guys who say it is difficult to program . Ther are few hidden items or menus and an editing software is not necessary . However you can find one easily on the Net , with tons of patches ....

This is the "pocket version" of the CZ synth series . So don't expect a good keyboard , it is noisy , with little keys . The polyphony is 8 voices but only in "single" mode . It is 4 part multitimbral . There is a socket for an additional memory card which doubles the memory size . Good luck to find one ! No effects , no on board sequencer , mono audio out . But remember : it is a 20 years old design .... But if you stack the 4 parts you can get huge mono synth sounds !

This is where the things go better . Of course the factory presets are ... But you can get easily very good sounds , the 7 segments envelope generators are terrific , the (only) 8 waveforms are enough and there are some interesting things to find with the ring mod. , the "1+1' " mode (the same oscillator gives 2 slightly detuned waveforms) and the pitch envelope . It has a sound of its own , neither "analog" nor "digital" . But it is an "old school" synth , not a samples based workstation ! If you like "natural acoustic sounds" , the CZ is not for you , but if you want to experiment with the sound it can be a lot of fun .... totally inexpensive !

I've fixed mine once , but the chips are ordinary logic or analog ICs , that you can find anywhere . The only exception is a custom Casio IC . Nothing awful for a 20 years old instrument ! Be careful with the keys and the plastic housing ....

Very interesting little machine that could enjoy both "analog" and "digital" fans . Inexpensive now and reliable . I've bought mine second hand 10 years ago and it is still working .....

Its a bit of a pain to program with the buttons, as they start to stick after a while. When I try to program it with sounddiver, it takes 15 second to register EVERY change, making it a hassle. Still you can make your own voices pretty easily once you figure out the interface.

The polyphony is 4 in dual oscilator mode which your in most of the time. you can do 4 multi-timbral so giving you 4 monosynths, which is a nice plus. Keyboard kinda sucks, but i like playing it for some reason. The small keys aren't that big of a deal. The MIDI is not that great, as mentioned in the sounddiver problem above. The fact that it has 8 stage envelopes is pretty cool, and rare in a synth in this price range.

This thing makes killer sounds. Very digital but also warm. I've had it for a few months and i'm selling my tx7 now, because the sounds on this are much better. The digital filter actually sounds very good. it's also very good for bass. I'm giving it a 9 because you have to live with the 16 (mostly)terrible presets, giving you only 16 user.

no problems so far, sticky buttons on mine means i couldn't reprogram voices live, but this isn't really that kind of synth anyway

I doubt you'd get much help, these things are pretty old, and it is CASIO that you'd have to deal with after all

If it were lost or stollen i would be pissed, but then just buy another as they are dirt cheap. It's slowly been creeping in to more and more tracks and playing a more and more prominent role. It's also really small, which i find to be a bonus as I need my studio to be kind of portable.

small keys a big minus, small buttons also big minus, I prefer dials and slider as opposed to cursors.

Has decent features, just laid out poorly and not ergonomic. Yeah, forget about finding the RAM cartridges.

Does get decent sounds-effects, with work.

Mine is out-of tune. I have to use the transpose feature to C# to tune with my other instruments, power source (adapter) a pain due to loose fitting jack.

Internet sources

Also own Hammond t-443, series 10 tone cabinet, Wurlitzer electric piano, I got the Casio so cheap I can't complain. Been a while since I owned a synth. Last one was a Roland Juno 106, which was awesome! Also used to own an Electro-comp 101, which I regret selling. Also owned a Seiko DS 100? which I ran through an Electro-harminix micro-synth and ADA flanger for some wicked sounds.

No software...Creating patches manually...Not a big fan of the presets but they are fun to modify...The manual is very good and the sound synthesis manual and I also have a patch booklet...

Mostly using 4-note polyphony...The key action is great and I prefer the small keys(small hands)...I use an alesis effects box with it...trying to find a cartridge to no avail...No on board sequencer but I don't really like sequencers anyway...

Some realistic sounds but i prefer the unrealistic...Good for synthpop...the vibrato is fun...static...velocity/aftertouch(NOPE)

Very dependable...especially since i don't gig!

NOPE

This is my first real synth besides the sk-1 and an old casiotone mt-70... Very worth the money and after 6 months of use i'm attached to it... I love the sounds/design/size...hate the menu driven editing as opposed to analog knobs/switches...but with some patience the results are great!... Chose the cz-101 because I like casio and the small size and design... A big help in making music as an addition to a track or a whole track... If you want a small cheap fun retro synth this is the best place to start!

Very similar to analog synthesis, but through the use of cursors, so more time consuming to program. Not recommended for learning purposes because of the lack of immediacy, would be difficult to understand the interelations of the parameters so easily seen on an analog synth, but easy if a little slow once the fundamentals are understood, and definitely faster than programing an FM synth.

Impressive given the size and prices; lacks variable modulation though, and only 4-voice polyphony, but still..

Has a hard, somewhat plastic but weighty sound, with the warmest digital sounds i've heard, thus quite analog in various ways if still different. Probably best for bass and effects, and heard on too many house records to list; strings and organ a little too synthetic unless processed or programmed properly. For bass it's between analog and digital, though closer to analog if not quite the same-warm, hard sounds allow it to excel at solid, fairly punchy acoustic bass type sounds.

Very reliable Japanese quality.

Casio service still available but not much need due to their reliability.

Not quite enough to be THE main synth though it could be done - programming and skill are the most important factors-best as a supplement of sounds to something else. Given the price and compactness, there's something rewarding about getting very good sounds out of this 'lil bugger; analog type programming but a little more time consuming given the data entry method..

this is my first sunth and im haveing dificulty programing it it would probably help if the master tun, detune, and inicalize buttons worked.

so far it seems to be able to do a lot

Once i learn how to program it it seems ill be able to make it do wahtever i want from all the patches iv seen

for being 20 years old and only having 4 buttons that dont work (i think its my fult because they worked befor i took it appart) its very dependable

its the only synth i have but i have fun useing it definetly worth the $5 i payed for it. but taking it appart was a nightmair it has 4 diferent layrs of electronic boards