Getting reaquainted with an old friend

In 2006 I bought a second hand Casio CZ3000 from eBay for the princely sum of £100. However, I didn't really get chance to use the synth before life changes forced me to put it into storage. 

Fast forward to 2011 and I resurrected my plucky old Casio CZ3000 and put it back into my new studio set up. Whilst I had every intention of finally digging into this thing, life got in the way once again and this board was stacked up in my garage for another twelve years.

A couple of weeks ago I was walking past my unused gear when I noticed there was a battery compartment on the bottom of this synth. "That's weird," I thought. "I have never noticed that before." 

At this point the penny dropped. 

When the CZ3000 was in my set up I used to find it frustrating that it couldn't hold any of my patches. A quick Google search confirmed the battery for the SRAM of the CZ3000 is not a CR3032 buried in the innards like most synths, but three AAs in a compartment underneath the board. I looked through the user manuals but found no mention of a battery compartment in any of them.

Having pulled the Casio out I plugged it in and prayed it still worked. Happily the LCD screen flickered into life and all of the lights were illuminated. As Jean Michel Jarre used the first preset "BRASS ENS.1" on his track "Fourth Rendez-Vous" (albeit from a CZ5000) it was compulsory to play it at this point.

Duly set up I decided to read the manual and give this synth the attention it deserves. The first thing I noticed in the manual is that this unit is described as a "CosmoSynthesizer". Casio tell us the synth is "totally digital" and is, "designed using the same principles that apply to analog synthesizers, thus eliminating the frequently heard complaint about digital synthesizers that they are too complex." I wonder which contemporary digital synthesizer they could be talking about? I'm sure there will be a 7 in there somewhere.

Personally, I'm still trying to get my head around phase distortion synthesis and despite what the manual might say, I don't find it as intuitive as analogue subtractive methods. Yet as I jab at the various buttons on the synth, I can't help but think that it is the interface that is the issue rather than the approach to sound creation.

Another revelation came as I read through the operation manual. On the penultimate page there is a box titled, "Use as a multi-timbral expander". Reading this flawed me. I have owned this synth since 2006 and had no idea it was multi-timbral (I know right). Once I rigged it up to MIDI it would indeed sound multiple presets simultaneously (all be it monophonically). Bizarrely the manual tells users to connect the MIDI out directly to the MIDI In and manually assign patches to channels rather than sending program change data.

So what of the patch memory? Well, once I placed the required batteries in the compartment the Casio did indeed retain my changes and I was free to edit sounds with confidence. Strangely, the only memory the manuals seem to mention is the RA-3 RAM cartridge and I used to use one of these to store patches when the keyboard was in use. It turns out that these cartridges are relatively hard to find now so I was determined to find mine. After an hour of rooting around in the loft I found the cartridge complete with box. I changed the battery on this a few years ago so it still had some old sounds on it (be careful when replacing the battery in one of these, the screws that hold it together are very soft). Storage in the synth is limited to 32 presets and 32 user sounds. The RA-3 RAM can also store 32 sounds but they need to be imported into the user memory before they can be accessed.

As for the sound, you'll be unsurprised to hear it is reminiscent of FM synthesis and remains quite thin (there's even a built in stereo chorus effect to help combat this). Like most synths of the time, it can sound a bit dull when dry, but some outboard effects add some sparkle. The Digital Controlled Wave (DCW) function is a direct attempt to mimic the filter of subtractive synthesis but it takes some getting used to. When it comes to creating patches I find I'm mainly creating bass sounds or weird effects. The noise and ring modulators can add some new ingredients that take sounds in a whole new direction. One of the manuals included with the synth is a "Sound data book" that lists the parameters for all of the presets along with another 50 sounds. There's even blank charts to record your own creations; how very 1980's.

The keyboard action is quite light and is not velocity sensitive. Judging by my own experience and the listings for these synths on eBay, the keys are very prone to breakage too.

There are eccentric touches such as a button to turn the modulation wheel on or off and the write protection for the memory is engaged using a switch on the back of the keyboard. I have always found it strange that the power button for this unit is on the right of the keys too - I've put my hand down to rest and turned the synth off more than once. The MIDI implementation on this thing is pretty basic as it only seems to respond to programme change data and some SysEx commands - it ignores velocity, aftertouch and volume commands.

My recent Google searches have also made me grateful that the cover for the battery compartment was present on my keyboard as these seem to go missing quite a lot. As part of this mini-overhaul I have also bought a 3D printed cap for the volume slider as this had been missing since I bought it. One surprise survivor is the original dust cover which I will endeavour to use going forward.

Today the Casio sits in splendid isolation as the only hardware in my set up which should mean it finally gets some attention, seventeen years after I bought it. The fact that I do not plan on moving house or enduring any other traumatic life events also counts in its favour.