The plucky Casio

For some reason I always liked the idea of owning one of the Casio CZ series of synthesizers from the 1908’s. So, a few years ago, I decided to buy one. But which one?

Whilst the CZ-101 is a classic synth beloved of many, its small keys and user interface made it look a bit like the ‘toy’ Yamaha keyboards of my childhood. The CZ-230S is also toy like and to add insult to injury it isn’t even programmable. The CZ1 is the daddy of the CZ range and is both rare and relatively expensive. Thus I began looking for a CZ1000 3000 or 5000.

After a few weeks I discovered a CZ3000 complete with RAM cartridge, manuals, programming guide and original dust cover for about £100 on eBay. When it arrived, the mail had not been kind to it and the casing was a little smashed up and cracked, some of the buttons didn’t work and it generally looked worse for the treatment of Parcel Force. Luckily Sound Service managed to resurrect the Casio and it began to function again. Yet, I never really got time to play it and after a few weeks languishing on a stand the CZ3000 and all the rest of my equipment went into storage as I had to move house.

During the house move, one of the keys on the CZ3000 was smashed, I lost track of the RAM cartridge and generally lost interest in the synth. When I finally unpacked my studio some months later, the Casio was consigned to storage and not seen for years.

However, a few weeks ago I decided to try eBay again with a view to acquiring a new key for the plucky old Casio and get it up and running. Remarkably I sourced a new key from an eBay seller and took it to Sound Service once again for some TLC.

Now the CZ3000 is enjoying some time out of storage and is fully operational. All I need now is a slider cap for the Stereo Chorus knob to make it complete. 

Now you must excuse me, I have to go into the attic to retrieve the programming guide for this thing as I have no idea how phase distortion synthesis works and every sound I make is crap. Hope it was worth repairing....