Casio CZ-101

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

I'vw owned one of these little beasts since 1986 and am quite attached to it. It's certainly got lots of character!
The presets are pretty terrible, so move straight on to creating your own sounds. Everything sounds very synthetic, but some of us like that kind of thing!
I've always created patches manually, via the slightly tedious button controls. A stack of 80s music mags is quite useful as starting points - they used to print CZ101 patches every month at one stage.
The manual is pretty good - certainly compared to some more contemporary examples - and goes into a lot of explanation about the phase distortion synthesis system.

Polyphony is theoretically 8, but I always think of it as 4 for any reasonable patches when both oscillators are used. The ring mod effect is quite weird, and therefore to be recommended.
MIDI in seems to work OK - I never got on with the mini-keys, so always run it from a master keyboard. It won't respond to velocity information over MIDI, though.

As most people here have commented - things are very synthetic here, apart from some of the "strings"-type patches which you can get away with if buried in the mix.
I love this synth for bass patches, especially in the monophonic "solo" mode, when you can really cut up and down the keyboard. So, would be good for dance, funk, or anytime you want to get away from cliched "nice" keyboard sounds.

I gigged with this instrument for years and it never let me down, apart from one or two auto-switch-off horrors. It's been dropped, had batteries leak all over its insides (resulting in heiroglyphics appearing on the LCD display!) and one of the Bb keys is broken... but it still works!
I soldered in a PP3 connector to get around the wallet-draining 6 x D cells Casio intend you to use, and it's never suffered from amnesia yet.

Never used, but suspect they wouldn't be very interested after all these years.

It's very "eighties", which some of us think is a good thing. My reference point would be Peter Godwin, if anyone's heard his stuff; I'm sure his synth bass lines were recorded using a CZ-101! Incredibly flexible, in that you can get in and edit just about anything. Seems built to last, too - and it has! OK, it's not my main synth any longer, but I'd never ditch it because of those killer bass patches and the silky strings which ain't too bad at all.

Presets are nothing special, but there's lots of tweakability for such a low-budget synth. Altering presets is somewhat clumsy without a patch editor. Manual is basic but sufficient.

Polyphony is limited, keyboard keys are small and not touch-sensitive, no built-in effects, no on-board sequencer. However, a bargain at the price.

In general, I really like the sound capabilities. The envelopes can be quite complex.

I actually own two. One died mysteriously (an internal computer problem, I assume), and the other no longer gets power from the wall adapter, forcing me to use batteries. However, I got several years of fun from them, and the price was very reasonable, so overall I'm impressed.

N/A

This is a good starter synth if you're new to synthesizers and don't have much cash. It uses a unique synthesizer technology titled "phase distortion", which is somewhat similar to frequency modulation (FM) synthesis. My experience is that you can sometimes get thicker sounds with the Casio than a Yamaha FM synth, but my experience is subjective. I really wish that a software synthesizer like Native Instruments would create a phase distortion synthesizer.