Casio CZ/ VZ/ FZ - Pro Series

Hi all,
New to the group but does anyone have any idea where to get a low cost editor for a CZ-101? I recently purchased a second with the 64 voice MR3 memory module and pushing all these buttons is a pain. I've tried CZEdit and similar freeware but I'm getting nowhere. Do I need to buy a Win95 computer, hehehe.

There MIGHT be an Atari CZ editor that works with Steem [or is it Steam?]. The synth engine is rather simple and should be easy to program from the front panel. Are the buttons sticking or something? Or is just that its not comfortable for you? Anyhow, check the internet for an Atari based CZ editor and try that in Steem. (Hopefully it will work in Win 7.)

Steve

--- In CZsynth@yahoogroups.com, "kingls2011" <kingls2011@...> wrote:

>
> Hi all,
> New to the group but does anyone have any idea where to get a low cost editor for a CZ-101? I recently purchased a second with the 64 voice MR3 memory module and pushing all these buttons is a pain. I've tried CZEdit and similar freeware but I'm getting nowhere. Do I need to buy a Win95 computer, hehehe.
>

Hi All,
 
I have a CZ101 which simply refuses to talk with any PC program,
including MidiQuest. Apparently some will and some won't. I suggest you
download and try the free demo version of MidiQuest. If it doesn't work,
then my experience is that nothing else will either.
 
If it does work, I'd buy MidiQuest. It's a very useful program. 
 
If you don't want to do that, try Midi Ox. There have been many
discussions here on how to use it. 
 
Good luck, Karl May  
________________________________

From: CZsynth@yahoogroups.com [mailto:CZsynth@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of steve_the_composer
Sent: Friday, 3 February 2012 10:38 AM
To: CZsynth@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CZsynth] Re: Patch editor for windows XP or Windows 7


  

There MIGHT be an Atari CZ editor that works with Steem [or is it
Steam?]. The synth engine is rather simple and should be easy to program
from the front panel. Are the buttons sticking or something? Or is just
that its not comfortable for you? Anyhow, check the internet for an
Atari based CZ editor and try that in Steem. (Hopefully it will work in
Win 7.)

Steve

--- In CZsynth@yahoogroups.com <mailto:CZsynth%40yahoogroups.com> ,
"kingls2011" <kingls2011@...> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> New to the group but does anyone have any idea where to get a low cost
editor for a CZ-101? I recently purchased a second with the 64 voice MR3
memory module and pushing all these buttons is a pain. I've tried CZEdit
and similar freeware but I'm getting nowhere. Do I need to buy a Win95
computer, hehehe.
>






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I had a bunch of CZ patches stored on a C-64, and needed to move them to my Win XP machine. The C-64 program, CZPL, was simple, elegant, and performed bulk data transfers easily. Every Windows app I tried on Win XP, not so much. See if any of this helps you in your quest.

First, sllloooow doooowwnn. The Casio chokes when it receives commands at WinXP speeds. So, you need to give the CZ a little slack from your PC. Install a CPU slowdown app (CPUKiller worked for me), set things slow, and do transfers then. MIDI-OX allows you to configure rates--don't recall the numbers offhand.

MIDI-OX: There's a way of pulling down one patch at a time. It's slow and a nuisance, but at least it works. Here's the link for a tutorial:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/czseries/message/1025

(You'll need to join czseries group to view this. If you can't or won't, let me know and I'll FWD or cross-post the message here.)

SendSX: I could send sysex patches to the CZ with no trouble using SendSX. I didn't experiment with receiving...my guess is the MIDI-OX tutorial can be adapted.

SoundLib: This was the most frustrating app, because it worked beautifully on Win98, and did bulk dumps of the internal bank. On WinXP, it would work pretty much when it felt like it. I eventually got it working once in a while. You may be able to get SoundLib working by doing the following:

a) Register SoundLib (get that code from the download website!)
b) Install a CPU slowdown app (I used CPUKiller)
c) Make your WinXP machine think it's a Win98 machine (set compatibility levels low (Win95 or Win98))
d) Be prepared to get one bank intact at a time, turning off and on the CZ, and perhaps restarting Windows after each download.

Hope this helps.

Re the MIDI-OX buffer settings...in version 7.0.2.372, go to Options/Configure Buffers... and use the following settings:

Low Level Input Buffers
Size: 16
Num: 64

Low Level Output Buffers
Size: 16
Num: 64

I can't take credit for discovering this. I found this somewhere on the web, and haven't been able to find the website since.