Casio CZ-5000 Polyphonic Synthesizer (pre-owned)

Condition: Very good especially considering it’s nearly 40 years old! There are signs of use all consistent with normal usage. Some of the buttons are a little “sticky” but they are freeing up with use. Manuals, VP2 volume pedal and vinyl cover are included.

The casio CZ-500 was the third synth in Casio’s CZ range and offered some powerful updates over the CZ-1000, CZ-101 and CZ-3000.

The CZ-5000 offers 61 full sized keys in a full-sized cabinet and boasts an expanded synth engine. In single DCO mode you get 16 voices and 8 voices in Double DCO mode. The Tone Mix mode now offers 4 voice polyphony and there’s a keyboard split mode with a different voice each side. The 5000 also offers a powerful 8 track sequencer with real and step time input.

The Casio CZ range uses their Phase Distortion synthesis method which produces a wide range of sounds from digital, almost PPG-style, spiky sounds and some convincing psuedo-analogue tones. It’s particularly good at evolving pads and the built-in chorus helps to warm things up.

This is a great synth for those looking for vintage digital tones, it’s different to the current crop and offers a way to stand out with some original patches.