FIVE MINUTES WITH CASIO CZ-101

Chris from the band Battery Operated Orchestra takes a look at his trusty Casio CZ-101. An unusual 80s Casio synthesizer which introduced the Phase Distortion method of synthesis.
Chris also posted a longer look on our Patreon, head over for an additional 40 minutes or so of CZ-101 detail.
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[@ReginatorNet]

The CZ-101 has earned it's place in vintage synth history.

[@NiklasGustavsson]

My first synth! Sounds even more modern today than back then

[@StevenJamesBurks]

it truly does

[@andyhudsonsynthpop]

My first synth too and the only synth i've ever sold, but only to buy a CZ1

[@Gezira]

@@andyhudsonsynthpop Sounds different, the cz-101 and the cz-1000 are more raw, which I like.

[@wjec1970]

My first synth too...but sadly it was stolen 10 years later. :-(

[@andersanderson9121]

This little underdog deserves way more attention then it got. Learned about this thing today and instantly fell in love with it… I mean it combines the best of both worlds: Warm and dreamy but also with an experimental digital twist. Just beautiful

[@ZenMountain]

Than. THAN.

[@0not.an.it.guy0]

@@andersanderson9121 I was around "back in the day," and I remember it getting a fair amount of attention.

[@steinhalvorsen_]

Sounds incredible. Love the sound of phase distortion.

[@cresshead]

I think you're 100% right and if not Casio, then someone like Korg or Behringer could step up to the plate for a 2022 version.

[@comfy_21771]

I would love something like a tabletop module!!

[@henderthing]

...except the video says that Casio patented "phase distortion."

[@TooSlowTube]

@@henderthing I think patents only run for 25 years. The CZ-101 came out in 1984, so it should be up, by now.

[@erichtisnado1536]

Oh man, I wish somebody came up with a modern clone of the CZ101. There are VST plug ins that are pretty good, but actually cost money.

[@Fallingoverbackwards]

Why not buy the real thing, they go for 400 or so

[@nonchai]

First synth I owned driven by my first home computer - Atari 520 ST... followed same year by TX81Z

[@halcyondaystunes]

I'd say that's a bargain. What a fantastic little synth. Love this style of video too 😃

[@VektXakara]

bargain? theyre going for around 600 usd right now lmfao

[@tesseracht]

I have a CZ-1000 (basically a CZ-101 with full size keys and membrane buttons) and it's fantastic. I also have the VZ-10M which is the CZ's more complicated big brother. That whole era of Casio synths are very underrated. Many of them had large LCD screens for editing sounds long before any other synth manufacturer was doing the same.

[@fireking99]

Really nice demo! The CZ-101 was my first synth and I have fond memories of trying to emulate the synth sounds I was hearing on the radio in the 80's

[@noelcosgrave113]

My first synth was its bigger brother, the CZ-1000. I still have it.

[@VacancyOfDisco]

Love the CZ series! I got my CZ 5000 from a junk shop for $35

[@kiwimotion]

i love how they can sound both cheap and expensive, and digital and analog at the same time. truly an underrated synth that was so versatile, only ignored because of the casio name being associated with cheap keyboards.

[@ProckGnosis]

This video proves 2 things: 1) the Casio CZ was an underrated, rocking little synth (I own 2 CZ-1s and a CZ-5000) 2) Great reverb can make a good synth sound awesome And this video will likely help drive up the used sales price, which is cool because reluctantly I'll likely be selling 1 or 2 of my CZs in the next year or so (it's a space issue).

[@mmrva]

Hey Prog! Do you also hear the difference between Cz-1 and 5k? Owner of both here as well.

[@ProckGnosis]

@@mmrva Without any velocity modulating the phase distortion on the CZ-1, I can't tell any major differences from the CZ-5000. Only very subtle differences on certain patches.

[@mortenjorck]

Very similar to the DX7 in that regard; a good reverb makes it come alive. What was the pedal (or plugin) used here?

[@erichtisnado1536]

Needs a noise gate, too. Sounds like it has a pit full of snakes inside.

[@Rhezoloution]

Yep saw video and went to buy one on ebay. Total impulse buy lol.

[@wphmusic]

CZ was my first synth. I used to use it "live" in multitimbral mode giving me 4 monophonic sequenced sounds at once. It was amazing for it's price and size.

[@RJJNY]

Was going to say something similar, did gigs where the band consisted of two CZ-101s, one being sequenced in mutitimbral mode by a QX21 and the other being played. RX21 providing drums.

[@margospring4964]

This is a great synth and I'm using it in all of my work. Simple, strong, funny. And really easy to use.

[@LewisRowe-id6kr]

Nice demo! I loved my CZ101 back in 1985. Powerful beautiful dreamy sounds. Plus the excitement of making extraordinary, crisp, unusual sounds you just couldn't get from analog.. almost like having your very own little budget PPG Wave 2 at the time. Ha! (but a different beast under the bonnet I know). I bought it second hand for £130 to sit along side my Korg Monopoly. They complimented each other really well.

[@sonicstate]

Still worth hanging on to.

[@samecoff2788]

Actually dug mine out a couple of weeks ago and used it on a couple of tunes. I’d forgotten what a great little synth it is!

[@peterkadarmusic9728]

I’m so glad to have a CZ-1. Love the PD synths.

[@nobel11]

I want that one so bad,

[@teddym2808]

That was DEFINITELY worth it my friend. Killer buy. That sounds fantastic, it has such a timbre to it that is identifiable, I am being serious. I want one now.

[@alankelly1001]

My first synth! Bought one at a pawn shop back in 1990, loved it ever since (a friend had the larger CZ-5000, with the built in 8 track sequencer). Unfortunately, since they were essentially a pocked calculator company, Casio felt that "only" 80,000 units was a failure.

[@trannusaran6164]

Wish there were more synths with this form factor. Loved this skinny little thing

[@a_nick_t]

When I was a hardware guy my system always had 2 CZ-101’s. One for low-end sounds and one for high-end. Also always had a patch librarian with a patch randomizer. Got a lot out of it all. Nice job with the video! 😎👍🏼

[@anonymous_friend]

I'm new to synths. Can you elaborate on what the patch librarian/randomizer is?

[@JRosevelt]

Um.....I'm absolutely speechless. This sounds amazing!!!! I mean you could blindfold 1,000 people who are "experts" on Roland Juno/JX/Jupiter synths and I am willing to bet that at least 990 of them wouldn't be able to tell the difference between those and this!

[@africkinamerican]

It's all the same thing ... sound waves

[@karn3094]

Wow, thank you for this! I bought my CZ-101 in the late 80s and still have it. It is underutilized - you inspire me to get it out again.

[@hoagy_ytfc]

I had the Cz1000, same but with normal keys. I loved it. PD is basically FM, but way more accessible.

[@Slammo]

The first thing I did when these came out back in the 80s was go up to 48th St, NYC buy one , bring it back downtown and mount it on my bass guitar. The Swiss Army Bass was born. It was truly an awesome little digital synth. There's still a few DX7ish/Rhodesy sounds I stumbled into with it that were really usable. The only problem I had with the thing was the keys were a bit small. Later, they made a jumbo version with regular sized keys.

[@HyperionSynth]

First synth I got into sound design with - borrowed from school back in the day. I think the equivalent modern day portable has to be Hydrasynth explorer. I think the only issue with it was patch memory was dependent on batteries.

[@NicholasBryantBonzaiSequoias]

Happy CZ-1000 (and CZ-1!) owner here, who enjoys the unlikely pitch bend range you get if you leave it unplugged (without batteries of course) for a few months. The Organ preset features on the Dubstar track Anywhere .

[@NicholasBryantBonzaiSequoias]

I suspect Tomita may have 'discovered' PD synthesis via the Roland System-700. The phaser can be audio rate modulated.. one of those happy patching accidents. I emulated this in a Reaktor 4 instrument (PD not system-700!), many moons ago.

[@LewisRowe-id6kr]

@@NicholasBryantBonzaiSequoias Thats interesting.

[@RonCavagnaro]

Whoa this is a pretty synth!

[@matrixmirage2699]

I love these! I got my CZ101 from a pawn shop in the late ‘80s for about $80. Then I found a CZ1 years later for $70 still have them both. I also got the iPad app version and the VST. They are great.

[@maydaygoingdown5602]

This deserves to remade full size with full size keys, full midi, etc. Such a nice sounding synth.

[@benanderson89]

They did... in 1985 and 1986 with the CZ3000, CZ5000 and CZ1.

[@6581punk]

CZ1000 is a CZ101 will full size keys.

[@Taylor370z]

I loved how educational this was. I always found studying easier with music. So listening to the demo while learning about this synth was captivating to me. Thank you!

[@apislapis]

Great lttle synthesiser. The CZ1000 was my first synth. I got it because it sounded like FM synthesis without the difficulty of programming a DX. £99 is a bargain! Still have it, plus a CZ101 & CZ5000. Fantastic demo by Chris.

[@octoberrust9483]

I need to buy one. I know Varg used one to record a lot of the ambient Burzum stuff, and I’m obsessed with the sound.

[@juxty3102]

This was my first synth I brought as a teenager back in the 1980s. Ended up selling it at car boot sale as was strap for cash at the time.

[@paulcharlesworth9114]

Absolutely needs a comeback: so characterful. (And 4 part multi-timbral, too, which was uncommon at the time. )

[@infindebula]

Arturia has a pretty damn good software emulation.

[@cyberoptixs]

I really wish I could find a CZ-101 cheap enough, I love it

[@SharpblueCreative]

I had one of those along with a CZ1000 and CZ5000 - I really liked the old Casios

[@meatrace]

The only Casio I’m likely to ever own apart from my sk-1

[@rommix0]

Oh for sure. the CZ series was really Casio's line of keyboard for the professionals. That along with some Ensoniq keyboards.

[@althejazzman]

This really opened my ears to the capabilities of my CZ-101. It's tremendous value for the sounds possible. The biggest problem is that the RA-3 memory cartridges are worth almost as much as the entire synth!

[@stonail665]

I use VirtualCZ for save and recall presets, works pretty good.

[@exmachinema]

VERY nice patches, and one of the better CZ demos I've seen -- I've just brought mine out of retirement and am relearning how to program them using Patch Base. The first I bought brand new and the second I picked up for $25 along the line, intending to link them together for more polyphony but never got around to it. Well done, sir!

[@tomfenn7149]

Two things about the 101 (or 1000, its identical albeit full-sized keys bigger brother) not mentioned here, were that the CZ was also multitimbral, meaning that 8 separate voices could be played at once (think Waldorf Blofeld), and that the CZ apart from being incredibly 'warm sounding compared to the DX, the Casio was also one heck of a lot less 'hissy' than the DX. ie, the CZ had a very low noise floor. I really miss mine.

[@exmachinema]

The CZ-101/1000 hardware is a four-part multimbral synth, mono in this mode, and depending on the patch, capable of either 8 or 4 voice polyphony.

[@DetroitMicroSound]

My first professional synth, in 1989. Used.

[@Nightowl427272]

I never gave the ol’ CZ-101 much respect. I see/hear now that was a mistake. I had no idea how cleverly innovative it was. Excellent video!

[@benmckinney2941]

I've had a couple of these, can't remember if it was 2 or 3, as well as the CZ1000. The can do really cool effects, bass drums and synth basses for sure. I need to get one again!

[@tenfootvoyager]

Found mine in a junk shop as well. £50 some time in the 90's. Bloke didn't have a clue. Said it hasn't got speakers and doesn't do much! LOL. 🤣

[@Bangbangbigelow]

Miss this little synth, I owned it WAY back when I was 14. Used to plug it into my mom’s stereo and play “jump” by Van Halen, as well as Motley’s Crue and Europe songs lol. I don’t remember how the hell I did it, but I remember entering some sort of a button code sequence into it (similar to what you would do with a video game) that would unlock some sort of a cool computerized sound (think Kraftwerk)

[@ShitStaindGod]

The ambient pads and plucks sound gorgeous. Would grab one just for those alone.

[@SynthOSphere]

Most of it is the reverb in this video, but hey, we all have reverbs, right? But yeah, the raw sound isn't as "sexy" (if I can use that word for sound...)

[@macronencer]

I got one of these in my third year at university (1985/86). Its compact size made it easier to cart around when returning home for the holidays, and it was amazing to play with - an under-appreciated technological milestone. Sadly, I no longer have mine.

[@HowlingUlf]

Get VirtualCZ and you have all that and more in 64 bit format in your DAW! The CZ-101 was my first synth and I learned so much on it. And the sounds are far beyond what you expect from a synth from 1984 built by a calculator company. BUT ... there was no FX, no reverb or delay in the original as there is added in this video. Just a FYI! :D

[@71collective]

Had one nearly 30 years ago and my brother had the cz1000 😁👏👏👏👏 If I remember right they took cartridges at the back

[@poorboybmx2511]

Memories, thank you 👍

[@djpuzzleofficial]

I love my CZs! Great video here mates.

[@mikeb2575]

If Casio do not make an updated version, then Behringer will !!! 😁😁😁 *Behringer - take note, the world needs another CZ synth* There, my work here is done... 😁

[@resofactor]

I had a hand-me-down CZ-5000 from my Dad in high school. Wish I had understood more about Phase Distortion Synthesis and programming PD synthesizers back then.

[@michaelbove3973]

When I was about 11, I actually used to sleep with my wine red Fender Strat by my side. Then this came out and I slept with a CZ-101. When there were more affordable MIDI keyboards, this sent all MIDI touch sensitivity at 64, exactly HALF of the possible 128, so limited use as a controller. As for being controlled, I had a Roland S-10 send MIDI data to an Alesis MMT-8 then used the Thru port to control the CZ. The S-10 was a 12-bit sampler of very good quality but with tiny memory, but I still used the CZ more often.

[@crybo]

Such a great little synth!

[@michaelkeefer4293]

I still have my CZ101, although mine needs some restoration as the sound is distorted. I've had a lot of fun with this little synth over the years.

[@sqwop]

it's just so aesthetically beautiful you can smell the 80's just looking at it

[@GaitaPonto]

So glad I found one for sale here in my country. these are pretty rare down here.

[@CKT1138]

I had no idea Yukihiro Takahashi was involved in this thing's development, that's too cool!

[@mortenjorck]

Same for Tomita!

[@hundovir]

I had a CZ-3000 for a year or so back in the late 90s. Got it dirt cheap because the music department of the school I worked in didn't want it any more. I really didn't have a clue how to program it and merely noodled with it plugged into a small practice amp at home (and had no other music equipment.). Did create some amazing sounds by accident. Somehow managed to lose it in a house move after lending it to a friend. Rather wish I'd been a bit more careful. Also had a Yamaha CS-01 acquired and lost in the same circumstances.

[@xinnor2790]

Thank you

[@alwysgreen1781]

The cz is actually one of my all time favourite synths, can you imagine how powerful it'd be if the value buttons were replaced with a single slider? Doesn't bear thinking about

[@JDSoundsets]

Nice demo I loved mine back then :)

[@Huehn3rmann]

I have a CZ 5000 and this video just made 100 times more glad that I did buy it!

[@JodyDWard]

I had one of these sitting in a closet for years. I eventually gave it away about 15 years ago. Damn, 3:47 I wish I had of kept it

[@bradchervel5202]

This is kind of amazing.

[@Behnam_Moghaddam]

Couldn't agree more! My absolut favorit Synth Sounds! (FM is close but a pain - as You mentioned). Where on earth is the remake we all would buy immediately (if the character is not lost then of course )? just a 1to1 remake of the CZ 101

[@blastofo]

Might be the most useful synth for that price.

[@RealNonsonic]

Love mine, first synth I bought last year. Managed to pick one up for under $100 at a thrift store. One of those being at the right place at the right time moments:)

[@hadeseye2297]

1:45 Gives me Pulp's Common People vibes.

[@haroldkarl6708]

Still got mine after 20 + years. It still works.

[@dougie6897]

I bought the cz1000 in 1985 , and thought at the time if only if only 6 note poly in dual mode not 4 An analog phaser button when the Juno s we’re adding chorus buttons ( small stone or similar) Possibly velocity sensitivity & don’t write Casio on the rear panel Im sure it would have given the DX 7 a run for it’s money.

[@MattWhitehead80]

This reminds me I need to get mine serviced

[@ConstantinPhillipou]

Mind blowing little synth!

[@VektXakara]

perfect for dungeon synth

[@tonalaxis]

That is in great condition!!

[@neergcorp6320]

amazing my friend just gave me one 3 weeks ago

[@fizmo303]

It sounds amazing!

[@Griuofficial]

Thanks for the video , synth sounds great

[@Ozrictentacles87]

Damn this is an ambient lofi powerhouse

[@matrix12x]

great patches!!!

[@Chungusisdantheman]

2:31 Immediately thought of s8v1 [brooklyn] by Aphex Twin

[@urwholefamilydied]

Man, I miss messing around with this thing. I still have it but think I got bored or jaded with going into all the menus. I keep synth chasing, looking for what behringer might come out with, or thinking maybe I want a DX-7. But this thing is so cool. Thanks for reminding me. (never was able to come up with a lot of the weird and cool shit you're getting out of it. Maybe I didn't learn it well enough?)

[@RogerHeathers]

Lovely unique keyboard. Great demo, thanks

[@kyoshu12]

wow, didn’t except ryuichi to be mentioned. that’s rucking wild

[@michaeldiaz5473]

I agree.. a reissue would be awesome

[@hexfxtriks]

Still have my CZ-101. Just could never part with it. My first ' real' synth...

[@sulate1]

Had one back in the day which I used with the Casio SZ sequencer and a Yamaha RX21 drum machine... Loved the synth but the power supply connector was dodgy, which raised the tension playing live. I think I eventually traded it in on a second hand TX81Z...

[@chiefbucknell]

Check out CAIN CZ for Korg logue SDK multi-engine oscillator!

[@texacomann]

Waiting for Behringers CZ machine 😊but in the meantime my cz1 does the job❤

[@meneerjansen00]

What a hidden gem!

[@elvissanchez8985]

Fantastic demo!!

[@MENTIONED_YOU]

Vince Clark used this on my tracks

[@delscoville]

Had a love/hate relationship with mine. It was fun to play with, but getting the results I wanted when playing music live was really hit and miss. Since it was the only MIDI capable device I had with a keyboard, I often wonder now how it is with a MIDI controller with velocity. Also having a mod wheel would have been nice too. Buttons to control things like filters isn't very intuitive if wou want to change them while playing live. But for the time it was an amazing little synthesizer.

[@qlyde]

I have a CZ-1, the big 61 key - 16 voice - velocity and aftertouch model with stereo chorus. They aren’t cheap, especially mint, but heck yeah it’s worth it! PD can sound analog, truly like an OB-Xa or Prophet, but it can also do DX7 or Digital style sounds, and the thing is, nothing can really sound like PD. CZ’s are their own thing that can get you a huge variety of sounds and programming is super easy. Plus the Vibrato is my favorite vibrato on the planet, so slinky and simple, but still a lofi masterpiece. I would part with mine for the right replacement synth, Prophet 10? Super 6? But those are 4x the price of a good CZ-1 and I imagine I’d still miss my CZ.. Analog is great, I have others, but it’s not as ‘one of a kind’ as the CZ. Get one if you can find one, you won’t regret it, and use the Arturia plugin in the meantime! I take my sysex patches that I’ve built from my CZ and import them into the Arturia plugin for less noisy recordings and being able to bring them with me. That plugin is SPOT ON. You just need to lower the velocities in the plugin to get it to sound the same as the hardware since the CZ midi values only went to 100 iirc, and modern midi is 127, so the scaling is off. Same with their DX7!

[@RedBird7]

Casio just made everything

[@FLH3official]

I remember I was considering buying it when it was relased. I was broke, young, and it offered a lot for its price.

[@CraigRodmellMusic]

Now this was interesting. I have absolute pitch, and I noticed that nowhere in the video did the keys being pressed correspond to the pitch of the notes that we heard. I assume the "transpose" function was on.

[@Radar23]

FD sounds great