Countdown to Fat Beats.
January 18, 2010 – 10:11 pmTomorrow my ER-1 and EA-1 synthesizers arrive. I would have had them today but, it’s MLK’s Birthday so no deliveries. It’s not been so bad waiting as I had my Casio CZ-101 to play with.
Yeah, I got it after all. It was totally worth the wait. I met up with the seller in the driving rain. Because of a few loose keys the seller dropped the price. He was awesome. Turns out he does scores for student films and such. Slowly, but surely I’m getting in touch with the synth guys of Austin.
The CZ-101 is truly unique. The only way I can describe it is that it sounds like an FM synth, but is programmed more like an analog synth. It has two voices and each voice has an 8(!) stage envelope for each of the DCO, DCF (called DCW), and the DCA. They can be used separately, together or one can be doubled. One voice can ring modulate the other and there is a noise generator to add grit. It has MIDI (up to 4 parts monophonic/multi-timbral), vibrato, and portamento. It’s very versatile. I can’t wait to use it in a mix. Oh, yeah! I almost forgot, it has pegs for a strap to wear it like a keytar! sweet.
