Casio CZ/ VZ/ FZ - Pro Series

Well, I've got a TG77, the rack version of the SY77.  I must say with all the cheesy lame sample playback "synthesizers" (if you can really call them that without grimacing) that get forced down our throats by the marketing departments, they still don't compare to the possibilities of something like the TG77 or any other "real" synthesizer.  A JV1080 sounds like a JV1080, whereas an FM or iPD synth sounds like just about whatever you want it to if you've got your skills in order.  I think people probably just don't want to be stuck with the sounds that their synth came with.  Not to mention, the action and quality of the keys on the SY boards is incredible.  Another thing that contributes to the longevity of Yamaha products, strangely enough, is the freely available manual library and vast amount of knowledge on the web regarding their products.

I also have a TX81Z, so I'm familiar with the "FM bite".  I must admit that it's probably the best deal on a synth that I've ever seen and am ever likely to see... I picked it up for 40 bucks used, and it's where I learned all the basics.  It does some really cool things, and the basses and strings on it are great IMHO.  I play around with Yamedit to randomize patches so I get really great freakazoid sounds.

But the TX81Z can't hold a candle to the incredible evolving pad sounds of the SY/TG77.   The 77 is far from weaker, having 6 operators instead of 4, 32 note poly instead of 8, and being 16 part multi.  I'll freely admit that the stock sounds of the 77 are weaker, thanks to piss-poor programming on the part of Yamaha.  It is a bit more complicated, so it takes longer to master, but once you know it, you can do anything on the 77 that you can do with the 81Z.  The two units are a nice compliment to each other.  If I had the cash lying around I'd jump at the chance to get an FS1R.  But if you get everything you want, then what have you to look forward to?  I think I can wait until I've mastered everything about my current gear though... and by then maybe people will have forgotten how cool the FS1R is and I can get one cheaper than dirt.

Now that my VZ-8M has arrived (today), and I've had a chance to browse the preset patches, I must say that it will be the perfect compliment to the sounds I already have.  I can't really put my describe where Yamaha FM is weak compared to Casio iPD (especially since it's all subjective based on the application), but they do fit together nicely.

Sure, the older digital synths don't have that depth of sound you can get with the DSP effect processors of the newer gear, but that's why you get an effects module... and then the playing ground is level.  You think the TG77 doesn't have enough "bite"?  Well, send it through an overdrive or light distortion, it'll bite your head off.

I just can't wait to mad scientist the heck out of this VZ8m....
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Summa 
  To: CZsynth@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Monday, June 11, 2001 7:34 PM
  Subject: RE: [CZsynth] Re: VZ8m Manual & FM Bit resolutions


  At 15:59 11.06.01 -0700, you wrote:
  >Summa wrote:
  >
  >"It's also known that for instance the 90s SY77/99 synth creates less
  >alising and sound less agressive then the older Yamaha FM synths..."
  >
  >Given that, why do you suppose that the SY99 has become something of a fad

  I don't know maybe because of it's sampling ability or they're possibly
  rare... as far as I remember they haven't been sold as well as the other FM
  synths...

  >collectors' item lately?  I was interested in purchasing one (chose the FS1R
  >instead), but was surprised to find them going for $900-$1000, and the local

  I know that you get a used TG77 for about 700-800DM over here... 

  >stores told me they never get used ones in.  At one point, I was negotiating
  >with one guy who probably wanted more than $1,000 for his as he had maxed
  >out the internal sample RAM, and had all the impossible-to-find cards for
  >it...
  >
  >All that for a synth with weaker FM than the norm?

  Less agressive don't necessarely means that they sound weaker...  just
  different... as I mentioned before, it's (at least for my ears) probably
  hard for a synth to sound as agressive/harsh as the old FM synths...

  Summa



                         


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