Chas

I've always known them as 'Walfart' for their lack of ethics business practices...!

Does anyone know if Casio made a dust cover for the XW series? With their flat surfaces, all keyboards/ synths quickly attract dust when left exposed, so a simple dust cover would be great for when they're not in use. Somehow I managed to acquire a genuine Casio dust cover with one of my many Casios (I can't remember which though!) It fits a treat and you can see it pictured covering my G1, with the exposed P1 below. The model number of the cover is 'C-47'. I'd love to get a matching cover, or find another cover(s) at a reasonable price to keep my XW's dust free when I'm not using them. Anyone know where I can find such dust covers, or know if Casio offered covers for the XW's?

You and me both, except that still hasn't stopped me buying even more Casios... Today is going to be 'Casio Clearout' as I'm going to put one up for sale. Don't worry, it's a duplicate (Casiotone 403) so I'll be keeping the better condition example that still has all its white switch tips! I'm also going to try and sell a Korg i4S, which I only bought because it came paired with an HT6000 (rare beast!) and the buyer wouldn't split. Such dedication to my classic Casio cause that I even bought a Korg just to get a rare Casio! I have so lost count how many keyboards and guitars I now have...!

I like this! What sound/ patch were you using for the bass line?

Sounds expensive. In the UK, FZ1's can be picked up for around £50 - £75. I also saw one with flight case for around that price. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Classic-1980s-CASIO-FZ-1-Digital-Sampling-Synthesiser-Keyboard-Case-/181282787560?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Keyboard_RL&hash=item2a354bd0e8

Wasn't the VL1 partly based on the Melody 80?

I agree, and both can be picked up for bargain prices. I got my VZ1 for £75, including stand and ROM card. My FZ20M I got for £42. These are criminally bargain prices for what were once flagship professional synths! I would also add the HT6000 to the list of 'Casio's Finest', though it should've been developed more. Despite having four detunable PCM 'oscillators', they can only share the same selected PCM waveform. Imagine if they could each be assigned a different waveform, the sonic possibilities would be immense! And if Casio had added sysex and 'CC' control (it already had MIDI) it would be so much easier to edit sounds. Oh, and add a sub oscillator and/ or allow the range to drop another octave and it would've been a real monster. It's still an interesting synth capable of some distinctive sounds. Strangely though, the single PCM oscillator of lesser HT's sound more analogue, and my little HT700 is one of the synths that I have the most fun playing. Perhaps like the CZ101, it's mini size and great sounds is what makes it such an inspiring 'board to have. Pictures of biggest and smallest HT's below:

Loving these concepts! One thing I would question though is having both the CZ-1 and CZ 101 as the two onboard 'synth engines'. The sound generation for both is identical, the CZ-1 is in all essence just a more powerful CZ 101 (with extra features and double the polyphony). I'd like to see maybe the HT6000 as a second synth engine, or maybe even a whole bank of infamous retro Casios recreated. Imagine having all that at your fingertips

OK, ok. It's like a drug. I can't resist picking up old, bargain Casios! I was browsing through Ebay seeing what interesting Casios were on offer when I saw an MT750 that had been re-listed for about the 3rd time. It's not a model that I am familiar with, though with a five octave keyboard and plenty of sounds/ functions it looked to be quite well specified. It has 3 keys missing, along with the slider caps, otherwise it is complete and working. It also came with a hefty power supply that on its own was worth the price, including postage, of the MT750. I put in an amount matching the starting bid of £10, no-one else bid, and I become the owner of an MT750 It arrived yesterday and it is indeed an interesting little pre-set synth. It has 220 PCM 'tones', 110 'beats', a basic envelope function to mess around with the tones, a pitch bend wheel (very limited range), a 'multi accompaniment system' (buttons that give you variations/ fills for the drums/ rhythm section) and MIDI in/ out/ through. Some of the sounds are actually quite good, and it seems to have a number of similarities with my CTK1000, a Casio that claims to use the 'IXA sounds source', which I've never seen mentioned on any other Casio. Unlike the CTK1000, the keyboard isn't velocity sensitive. The construction is also similar to the 'HT' and later 'MT' series, even the switches and sliders look similar, and they all use PCM for sound generation. Also, like the HT series the MT 750's pitch bend wheel only has a limited range of approx. +/- 5 semi tones, not a full +/- octave like the CZ's. Unlike the HT range, the MT750 lacks the programmable drums and rhythm sections, though it does have a record function that allows you record and playback your playing. There also isn't extensive control over the amplifier (VCA) and no filter (VCF), which is a shame as with so many sounds that really would have made it fun. However, I am going to get some leads so I can feed it through my Korg Monotron's filter, which should make things very interesting indeed! I'm also going to see if I can find a broken MT to raid for its keys, as though the rubber contacts are there for the missing keys on my MT 750, it would be nice to have all keys there to play with. Oh, and the demonstration song is 'The way that you love me', by Paula Abdul. Very 80's sounding - bonus! :-p

With all the scare stories of firmware updates frying XW's, I'm extremely wary of doing this myself. I wonder if Casio could perhaps offer a service at their dealers, whereby for a small fee XW owners could take their 'boards in and have the firmware updated by official Casio dealers? Obviously I would expect the dealer/ Casio to take full responsibility if a fully working XW is fried during the update, though if they have a fail-safe/ tried and trusted system then there shouldn't be any concern. I know I would be happy to pay, say, £20 or so for this service knowing that whatever happened I wouldn't be left with a pooched XW...

I have a CT7000 in my Casio collection. It's an interesting, if limited, old school Casio. I believe it uses the the old 'Consonant Vowel' synthesis method of many early Casios. The sounds and drums are very similar to the MT65/ 68, MT400V/ CT410V series of synths. It lacks the analogue filter of the 400/ 410V, though for the 7000 Casio added a sequencer function and a handful of stereo effects (including panning). The sequencer data can be saved to and loaded from tape (if anyone still has one!) It lacks MIDI though, which limits its usefulness, though with some good playing and multi-tracking it can still add to a studio rig. If you aren't worried about the onboard sequencer and stereo effects, I'd say go for the MT65/ 68, or better still the MT400V/ CT410V (the real time analogue filter really makes these 'boards interesting and great fun). If the 7000 is cheap enough, and you have the space, then go for it as it's a nice development of the earlier Casio consonant vowel synth engine. Good demo of the CT7000's capabilities: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0DPBwiY8Mo Short review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9W03GiMhfo

Good thing you haven't seen the rest of my house...!

I *think* the opening keyboard sound to Rush's 'Tom Sawyer' was played on an Oberheim OB8 or OBX. Geddy Lee was a big fan of Oberheims, though he also used used Moogs (MiniMoog along with Taurus pedals, as also used by Alex Lifeson). Geddy also used Roland Jupiter 8's later on, so I guess it would be one of the synths I just mentioned. EDIT: Just done a wiki search: "The unique growling sound heard in the song came from Lee's fiddling with his Oberheim OB-X synthesizer" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Sawyer_(song) Maybe try one of the onboard XW 'OB' solo synth sounds, increase the resonance and then sweep the filter from high to low. That should start getting you into the right ballpark

My love of synths was most likely instigated by two artists initially - Jean-Michel Jarre and Gary Numan. I heard Jarre first, when Oxygene was a huge hit in the mid to late 70's, and was played everywhere including all over the TV too. I loved these strange other World sounds and rhythms, it just sounded so exciting. Then along came Numan in 1979, with his striking image and powerful synth sound merged with a traditional band (I later found out that he 'borrowed' a lot of his sound from the John Foxx Ultravox album 'Systems of Romance'). Even so, Numan just looked like a God to me, I was awestruck by him and his music and I just wanted to make strange alien sounds via a synthesizer like he appeared to do so. Shortly after this, synthpop exploded in the UK, and the reformed Midge Ure Ultravox along with The Human League became massive influences. I also loved the early Vince Clarke Depeche Mode and even A Flock of Seagulls. As for my own first synth, that came in Xmas 1982 when I convinced my parents to buy me a second hand Casio VL1. I had hours of fun playing that using an old valve radio as an 'amp' (wired though the 'gramophone' input at the back!), plus punching random numbers into the calculator memory and seeing what strange sounds I'd created in the synth section. Sadly, synths were still all too expensive back then and I ended taking up bass guitar. Mainly because it was the only 'proper', instrument I could afford and also because it was the only instrument that no-one else I knew was playing at the time. I had this dream that I would form a band with all of my school mates, which like most schoolboy dreams never did materialise. I did, however, end up playing bass in numerous bands, some professionally, for over a quarter of a century. In 1990 I got interested in synths again, and had no idea what to get within my meagre budget. A boss where I worked (who was also a musician) recommended a Casio CZ101. I told him that I thought Casios were only toys, to which he quite rightly informed me that the CZ's were proper synths, albeit digital. As a result I bought one and had loads of fun messing around with sound creation and recording my own songs on a four track tape recorder. I'd hardly scratched the surface of the little CZ's capabilities though, and when in the mid 90's I joined a semi-pro indie/ rock band as a bassist the 101 got pushed into the back of a cupboard and forgotten about. Fast forward about 15 years and my love of electronic based music was rekindled again when I re-discovered an album from my past - Adrian Wagner's 'The Last Inca'. This inspired me to dig out my old 101, which then got me thinking of getting hold of a bigger CZ. I found a CZ3000, then a CZ-1, then I kept reading about all these cult Casios and the collection just kept growing. Before I knew it, my collection included most of the 80's/ 90's Casio flagship models, including a number of rare 'boards such as the HT6000, CT410V, MZ2000 etc. And then to my delight, Casio released the XW P1/ G1 and now I have both of those too. I have two non Casio 'classic' poly synths, a Korg DW8000 and a Roland JX3P. Though these are both great synths, there's something about the oddball and unusual Casios that I find immensely appealing, that and flying in the face of the snobby attitude from some keyboardists who look down on them as 'just Casios'. Therefore, one day I will write an album only consisting of music written and played on Casios. Certainly with the XW's within my arsenal of Casios, I will have all the sounds and power needed to blow their socks off

Neither did mine. Right, that's done it. After Xmas I'm going to set up EVERY Casio I own (which is approaching something like 18 'boards!) for a photo-shoot. If that's not Casio enough, nothing will be!

Thanks so much for the info. Brad. I was hoping that maybe the MZ would be able to transfer data/ SYSEX if connected to a computer, as I do like to have my computer as an archive with all files and data easily accessible/ transferable. Hard to believe that back when the MZ2000 was released, the only way to store data was via a 3.5 inch floppy disc. How things have changed with USB and SD card memory sticks becoming the norm, and making it so easy to transfer and store data. With regards to the drives that replace the 3.5" disc drive with a USB/ SD card, I've heard a lot of good things about them. One memory stick can hold the equivalent of literally hundreds of floppies, so the benefits are very obvious. Plus in the case of some synths like the FZ1/ 10M/ 20M that were notorious for failing disc drives that are hard to find due to their non standard architecture, an SD card floppy emulator eradicates any potential reliability problems with the benefit or greater storage capacity. I'm certainly considering getting one for my FZ20M. Concerning the registrations (and saving them), I had sussed out how to save a registration, though what wasn't clear (to my simple head) was what exactly a registration actually was. Also, the saved registration appeared to do stuff to a patch differently when the drum pattern was running. For instance, I made this nice fat Moog'ish bass sound by pairing two oscillators and using the synth function, and then saved it to a user tone pre-set. If I then played this user preset, I had the sound but it would stop the moment I released a key. Now, if I then started the drums within the registration that had this user preset, the same sound now had sustain upon releasing a key. Weird? And one of the registrations has a nice electro sounding drum kit, yet I can't find this same kit within the rhythm sections. Hence I'm not sure why 'registrations' seem to do different things to the user tones and have different drum kits not available elsewhere on the synth. Or maybe I'm just not understanding exactly what a 'registration' actually does! Lastly, it's great to see the number of MZ members in this section have tripled in almost as many days!

That's kind of what happened to me...!

Brad, this is great to have an MZ2000 thread. I'd heard a lot of good things about this rare, flagship Casio though I'd never seen one for real. Whilst browsing Casio keyboards on Ebay recently one came up, it was collection only and about 80 miles from London (a good thing as it's rare to get a 'pick up only' bargain in London). In short, I got it for £106, which is an absolute steal considering they were over £1000 new. I've only had it a couple of months so have yet to fully get to grips with it (plus I have my XW's to play with also). However, pairing oscillators together and mixing sounds, and using the synth section it has come up with some surprisingly powerful patches. Even the filter seems a little sweeter than that on the XW to my ears. Need to get my head round storing 'registrations' and fully understanding how to save sounds will all parameters intact, plus whether there is any way of transferring information via a computer rather than floppies. It seems to be a massively underrated board that has huge potential. Hopefully a few more MZ owners will join in here!

I'm certainly up for that Brad. The MZ2000 has so little support online, a shame as it appears to have immense potential. A knowledge base would be good as I'm often struggling to get my head round some of its features and capabilities. Plus the synth section has already given some amazing sounds. I somehow paired two oscillators together with Moog style sounds and ended up with a fat monster patch, with the filter velocity sensitive and with after touch! I'd love to be able to share knowledge with other owners and unlock the potential of this hugely underrated board.

That would be a fantastic idea Scott! There are already emulators for the CZ's, the HT's and even the VL1. Most classic Casios could be emulated pretty well via software, so even though not perfect they'd give a good representation of those old Casio classics. Imagine having VL1, CZ1, VZ1, FZ1, HT6000, MZ2000, SK1, MT400V, CT403, CT202, CT1000P etc. all in one board, all able to accept data for respective patches, all capable of MIDI etc. I'd buy one of those in an instant!

I definitely second that Gary. I have something like 15 Casios, from the little VL1 right up to the big boy XWs, CZ, VZ, MZ etc. Space is now seriously compromised as I simply do not have the room to keep them all in one place, plus it's a pain to have to literally lug some of them around just so I can change around my set up. To have them all in rack form, all midi'd up, would be a massive bonus.

Thanks again Scott! 2 x cables ordered now

Latest pic of my 'set up'. The MZ2000 has had to be temporarily moved so that I can get fiddling with the G1. So now the twins are together - P1 and G1!

Just before we go back to speculating on Casio's next monster synth, here's a picture of my genuine Casio vinyl dust cover (moved onto my G1 for clarity). It's very slightly too big, though it fits well. I wish I knew what it was from and how I got it! The size it is suggests it would fit my CZ-1, CZ 3000 and VZ-1 though I don't remember it coming with any of those when I bought them. Anyway, BEHOLD, the Casio C-47 dust cover in all its glory, and a perfect fit for the XW series!

Scott, thanks so much! I had a feeling I'd seen one before with the 'B' end, and most likely it's the one in the back of my printer! Just to double check, is this the type I need? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-Metre-USB-2-0-A-to-B-Printer-Cable-Lead-High-Speed-Black-Epson-HP-Kodak-/320996752454?pt=UK_Computing_USB_Cables&hash=item4abce5bc46