FYI VirtualCZ is incredibly affordable right now :-)

https://www.pluginboutique.com/produ...1158-VirtualCZ

Its a great emulation Oli.

I bought it rather than the Arturia CZV because I find it truer to the CZ in design & application & I dont want all the extra whistles & bells /fx etc of the Arturia , & graphics /cpu eater. Not saying the Arturia is inferior though, just Virtual CZ works better for me with my setup & is not cpu intensive.

The main reason I wanted Virtual CZ though is that it integrates beautifully with my CZ1000 , as a programmer & patch librarian etc. The CZV doesn't integrate with the CZ at all afaik.

If I didnt want the hardware CZ I would be happy with Virtual CZ, but I prefer working with & interacting hardware when recording/ composing.

Virtual CZ makes a great companion/ upgrade to any CZ synth or visa versa.

£9.95 / $13.26 / €11.14 !!!

Why no modern hardware CZ? This is much more desirable than the DX7 sound to me.

I thought about selling mine to free up some space but I can't, it's the best CZ. Nice and small.

don't do it
regret selling the mint one i had.
(false space-saving... nice'n'small)

Casio HAVE TO do a modern mini CZ re-issue.

Hehe - in the same boat.

I don't seem to be using my 101 much anymore but when I really think about it it would be a crime to sell. I've owned a CZ101 for probably 35 years - feels like a family heirloom at this point!

Talk to me about that beautiful blue LCD screen you have...

Whoops, I should have said, it's not my video. Mine has still got the original screen in. I've thought about changing it but it's all time and slight risk. I'd go for a green/yellow one to be authentically 80s, no car-mod blue for me!

Yes, it's worth holding onto. I think I've had mine for a mere 22 years. The 101 seems to be going up in value but at least the other models in the range are good substitutes for it. I've applied the same smallest-size original flavour logic with my DX stuff, I've got a TX7 and an FB01. The 101 isn't that big but Synth Tetris is still a challenging game to play.

I *loved* the CZ101, it was one of my first synths and I held onto it for years, expecting the (obvious) plugin version to come. For it's time, it was an incredibly important, and popular/affordable - and great sounding - synth.

The plugin never came, but I eventually somewhat reluctantly sold it for pennies as I needed to downsize.

I missed it, and eventually picked up a CZ-1, which is *by far* the best CZ of the range, and *way* nicer than the CZ-101, with perhaps the intention of doing an emulation (because no-one else seemed to be doing one).

(That the CZ-101 can command higher prices than the CZ-1 is absolutely crazy to me.)

A year or so later, Oli's VirtualCZ came out, and I regrettably offloaded the CZ-1 again (for less money than CZ-101's are going for), as what I really wanted was the sounds etc in my DAW, not a room full of hardware.

I'm still extremely fond of the CZ's to this day.

VirtualCZ is a *steal* at these bargain prices - it cost me 6 times what it's selling for now, so at least 6 of you should go pick up to balance that out...

If somebody can please do me a favor and post the sound data of the Trumpet sound of the CZ-101/1000. I have a CZ-1 now and that one has only the Trumpet 2/3. I could not find any data about that patch either.

I appreciate your efforts!

Why can't you just get the CZ-101 presets as SysEx?

https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=512861

Thanks guys, I will look into the Sysex data. Couldn't install the program though, not quite sure why, maybe because I am on a Mac? I will try other avenues.

Once you've unzipped that download, this is your Mac app to load it in. You might need to adjust the speed setting, RTFM:
https://www.snoize.com/SysExLibrarian/

so did i. absolutely no idea why i sold it. stupid contest test against a VZ8m (which i bought and sold again recently). i can't imagine that a virtual version would replace it.

Given most of my synth are pretty old & crappy, & I hardly have any VSTs I never thought Id be in a positon to ever compare hardware to software .....

I have a CZ101 & CZ1 and the virtual CZ
The virtual CZ is brilliant! - really it is
If there is a difference between it & the hardware I cant hear it.

That said, ironically, I mostly recomend it for any hardware CZ owner, its a work of genius that it act as a librarian and editor for hardware CZ's!!!

Consider you are buying a bunch of awesomely programmed presets... that happen to come with a stand alone soft-synth synth thrown in

I did find the Virtual CZ was a bit fussy as far as drivers go in windows 7 (I had to filddle around a bit probalby due to my interface/soundcard combo - I think i had to use MME not ASIO, unlike my other VSTs)

Casio need to get back on the CZ vibe and release a whole line of synths in various form factors, mini boutique CZ boxes, mid size CZ keyboards, rack mount modules, full size. Love the CZ sound and it’s ripe for a come back. Come on do it Casio!

Difference is not huge but hardware sounds little bit more "solid" (yes I know its highly subjective term but cant put it other way). Im comparing with cz1000 here. One which is almost impossible to tell is dexed vs dx7

I downloaded the files and the sounds are there, but in different formats than .syx

Here is the 101 A-2 Trumpet SysEx file, zipped. Use SysExLibrarian to send it to the CZ-1 per the documentation for both.

Thanks!

what's the difference between CZ1000 and CZ1? (off to look it up..)

CZ1 has double the voices, a larger velocity and aftertouch sensitive keyboard and chorus...

To be more granular:

• CZ101 is the base model with four voices (eight with a single oscillator) and miniature keys and can be run off of batteries.
• CZ1000 is the 101 but with full sized keys.
• CZ3000 is the 1000 but with five octaves, a more sturdy case, chorus and cannot be run on batteries. Voice count doubles to 8/16. Memory is backed up using AA batteries in the bottom of the unit.
• CZ5000 is the 3000 with an onboard sequencer
• CZ1 is the 3000 with double the memory locations (you can overwrite the presets), two assignable outputs (or one stereo output), a backlit LCD display, line volume, assignable monophonic aftertouch and velocity sensitivity, has the ability to name your patches and uses an internal lithium coin cell battery for memory backup.
• CZ230 is the 101 but limited to 99 presets unless you connect it to a contemporary computer (like an original Apple Macintosh or Commodore 64) whilst also containing the entire programmable RZ1 drum machine sans it's sampler.

The 230 and 5000 are the only CZ's I've not owned.

As for someone mentioning Virtual CZ -- I cannot get any VST, including VCZ, to sound like my CZ1 because Casio mislabelled the "Ring Modulation" button: it's actually FM, with line 1 becoming the carrier and line 2 being the modulator.

It's how I get super chunky bass lines like this


"FM" E-Piano with external Chorus and Reverb

Kraftwerk's Man Machine: abuse of it's envelopes and Ring Mod to get super chunky drums and very analogue sounding bass and synth sounds

I love italo disco and CZs so that is right up my street, however I think you're wrong about the RM, and you might be confusing it with something about the noise modulation, which is FM with noise.*

Casio presets converted for VirtualCZ can be downloaded here:

http://olilarkin.co.uk/downloads/Vir...io_Presets.zip

* edit not to say I think VirtualCZ is 100% perfect. I have a CZ-1 and CZ-101 and still prefer the sound, esp. some bass sounds

what interface do you have?

It's FM. Set the line type to 1+2 and then alter the pitch of line 2 either via it's envelope or detune section and it'll alter the harmonics of line 1. Line 2 in this scenario is also completely inaudible since it's purely used as a modulator for line 1; Muting line 1 will result in no audio at all.

I'm not sure why they called it Ring Modulation when it isn't. I suspect it's to not get sued by Yamaha because Phase Distortion and Phase Modulation (which is what the DX line actually uses) are very similar to begin with.

Mackie DL32S.

Video demo of the FM effect -- it's certainly not Ring Mod because it doesn't behave like any I've come across. Probably said some dumb stuff since it was adlibbed on the fly, but hopefully it is actually demonstrated effectively.



In essence, rather than just taking the frequency and doing a simple addition like a proper ring mod circuit would, the shape of the waveform is instead changed dramatically when looked at over the scope, with the amplitude and pitch of line 2 altering the amount of modulation exactly like you would with two operators on a DX7. It's why in that bass patch, line 2 is completely out of tune, and why "ring" on the two sine waves is not simply an addition of the two frequencies but a different tone entirely with altered phase angles when looked at over a scope.

Ring modulation doesn't simply add. That's what a mixer does. Ring mod multiplys, giving sum and difference frequencies. Maybe you forgot about the difference bit?

Hence muting line 1 will result in no sound because Line 1 x 0= 0

http://synthesizeracademy.com/ring-m...econd%20signal.