NYoung

In fact I found the original source of the files from the Vitual CZ creator himself Oli Larkin. http://www.olilarkin.co.uk/index.php?p=virtualcz You will find them, at the bottom of this page labelled under downloads...

While at home yesterday I compared the Virtual CZ Brass Ens 1 sound with that of my CZ-230s synth and aside from the decay missing (the sound just stops dry on the virtual vst preset) it is exactly the same sound as the Brass Ens 1 on my CZ-230s. No bottom octave at all, all the harmonics are present. Not even a slight change in sound. Note for note it is identical. Not sure what is going on with Pianokeyjoe's CZ. Did Casio ever make changes to sounds without notification? Could there be two version of the CZ230s out there? You do often see disclaimers in products stating changes can be made without notification... I could check my CZ manual to see if there is such a disclaimer... Could it need a reset? Power on while holding the orange C button? Other than that I am 100% sure that my CZ, which has been reset, is the same sound as the virtual version. The only differences I've spotted on other CZ-230s sounds and their Virtual equivalents is the decay. Most noticeable on the Miracle (98) sound, Magical Wind (13), but these can be easily tweaked to match. The bank of CZ230s sounds from the link I gave are not my own. I found them on another forum and assumed they were obtained through sysex from an original CZ230s.

I think I agree with you. Strange that the Sysex file from the CT6500 sounds the same as the CZ230s virtual sound. I've tried tweaking it again but it really doesn't sound the same. I suspect there is something more going on than just adding a lower octave... I shall compare the three again later...

And they are identical. So the sound on the CT6500 is identical to the sound I have here but it musn't be the same as the Brass Ens 1 (Sound 00) on the CZ230s, as the sound in Pianokeyjoe's video is not the same...

I think its the other way around top row in yours is rate and bottom row is level that corresponds..

Okay so am I right in thinking in Vitual CZ Pitch Env is DCO1, DCW Env is DCW1 and AMP Env is DCA1 in your Patch Editor. If so levels don't seem to correspond and if I change them to match then the sound alters significantly. Left alone it sounds the same...

Just imported the sysex file into virtual CZ and it sounds identical to the vstpreset I have. Played side by side. Curious. Comparing the data in your image to that of the virtual CZ some of it I can't work out... What do the white and green boxes represent in the DC01 DC02 DCW1 DCW2 DCA1 DCA2 boxes? The Virtual CZ has it as this... Can you you see any difference from the Virtual CZ images and yours?

I thought it was 00 that I used, but maybe the vst presets were named wrongly and mixed up. Or perhaps the settings were wrong when they were made. It's possible. I didn't create them. The link to the CZ230s presets has all 100 of them, though some are not quite right, close but not exact. A shame Pluginboutique says that the Virtual CZ dosen't support the CZ230s at the moment so extracting the sounds might not be possible. I will have a go and see if I can extract the sound from my CZ. Never done this before but I like a challenge... The alternative is that I tweak the 00 sound until it is right. I've only had this software less than a month and I'm still learning what it does. It's perhaps the most fun synth plugin I've used. Did you say the sound is on the CZ1 as well under a different name? I have presets for the CZ1, CZ101 and CZ1000 too... They are also listed in the link I posted...

Can't find a Synth Brass on the CZ-230s. I list all the sounds below, which one is it?

Tweaked it a bit on the AMP ENV section and got this... Will compare with the CZ-230s version when I get home... Brass Ens 1 tweak-VirtualCZ 10-VirtualCZ 10.mp3

I have a bank of all 100 CZ-230s sounds that I have imported into the Virtual CZ including the Brass Ens 1. To my ears and forgive me if I am wrong it does sound like the original but sadly without the decay. In Virtual CZ this can be tweaked... I have added a sound sample of the Brass Ensemble from the presets. I did notice that a handful of the CZ sounds were close but not completely accurate like no.98 Miracle for example. Its the same sound but the delay timing was wrong. I tweaked it in the Virtual CZ software and got it as close to the original as I could. The link to the presets I found are here... They include the CZ-1, CZ-101, CZ 230s, CZ-1000 sounds... https://geocities.restorativland.org/SunsetStrip/Frontrow/4877/cz101.html Is it the same Brass Ens sound on the CT6500 and CZ3000/5000 as on the CZ230s? I have never heard those before... Brass Ens 1-VirtualCZ 10.mp3

I purchased that MT240 from ebay with the intention of replacing the keyboards. I had never done this before. The MT240 was not so difficult to dismantle to remove the keys, only one small circuit board to move out the way carefully. Casio, it appears loves screws judging by the quantity I removed. 16 screws to open the keyboard itself, at least 6 for the circuit board then more (I lost count at this stage) to free up the metal frame the keys were fixed to and then even more to remove the keys from the frame. This went really smooth. Then to the CZ-230s which was another matter. Same principle of course, but when you are faced with two large circuit boards sitting side by side attached by a small data cable you do get a bit of a lump in your throat. After carefully lifting these up at right angles out of the way, I then had to remove a smaller circuit board underneath with more screws, one quite awkwardly placed behind one of the several data cables there. To move this circuit board out the way I had to unscrew another very small circuit board on the (upside down) right side (only two screws this time) as it was cable tied and was otherwise too tight. This allowed it to be moved away enough so I could then get to the frame and the keys. There was a point where I thought, if this still works when I put together it'll be a miracle. You really do need a lot of patience doing this. One thing I found helpful was that the key strips were in two halves split from the Tenor B - Middle C part. I annoyingly noticed at this stage that the top A# on the MT240 was a bit weak and wobbly, so I had a brainwave to use the top three sharps from my original keyboard which were intact. The middle octave on mine had a couple of wobbly sharps lower down so I couldn't just switch the whole top half. I spliced them at the point where the E and the F met on the keyboard, so that the screw holes were not compromised. This worked perfectly and so in the end I had a complete set of perfectly solid keys. The Middle C - Top C strip is now made up of one white strip (Two octaves) and two black strips split between D# and F# in the top octave, but with so many screws holding it all together they are perfectly solid. After a slow process of putting everything back. I wondered if it would still work. Powering up and hearing the 00 Brass sound play on every key, I heaved a sigh of relief and thought job done. I tested it thoroughly over the next few days and I can say I am the proud owner of a fully functional CZ-230s which I have owned since 1986. Even my old MT lead still works. It's a nice feeling of achievement. Thanks Robby and Pianokeyjoe for the advice. I only wish I had thought to replace the keys sooner. I didn't take any photos as I was really focused on what I was doing, so I hope my description is helpful and not confusing... A week later, I discovered a software version by pluginboutique called Virtual CZ. If you like CZ sounds particularly the CZ-1, 101, 230s and 1000 then this software is worth a look. The sound banks included are not the originals even though they are good, but I found a link to original CZ101 and CZ230s sounds which can be imported into it. What is really weird is that they all play at 32 note poly and are all editable. Just thought I'd let you know in case you didn't...

Brilliant thanks for confirming. I have my eye on a couple (MT240 and MT500) on ebay at the moment that look and sound like they are in pretty good condition. I hadn't used my CZ230s for a while, but got it out to listen to the sounds played through a studiologic midi keyboard I have. The sounds might be low fi but they are really really good. Brings back a lot of happy memories. It'll be nice to have a fully playable CZ again soon... Its not something I would ever part with...

Can anyone absolutely confirm that the Casio MT240 keys are compatible with the CZ230s. I have a CZ230s which works perfectly except for 6 broken keys and am looking to replace it with a MT240 just for the set of keys. Looking at photos of the MT240 black notes they are squarer and flat on top unlike the CZ230s which have a slight dip on them. I'm sure this is just cosmetic, but wanted final clarity that the MT240 keys strip will fit, before I commit to buying one. Looking at the pics above, the black keys on the CZ are the original as they have the dip. It is unclear that the other model in the photo is indeed a MT240. Can anyone confirm this...