With a name like Retro Cazio, it probably won’t come as any great surprise to learn that SampleScience’s new free plugin emulates an old-school Casio keyboard. Specifically, we’re talking about the MT-100, a 1983 model that generated its sounds using the NEC D931 chip. This was very much an entry-level home keyboard, which explains the 20 toy-like sounds that Retro Cazio includes. There’s also a single drum kit, along with a multi-LFO, high-pass/low-pass filter, reverb, glide, an ADSR envelope and a choice of three voice modes (polyphonic, legato and mono).

CASiO RZ-1 KONTAKT

DiSCOVER | 22 March 2015 | 4 MB

Continuing our obsession with 80s low-bit-rate sampling gear, let’s introduce the big grey slab that is the RZ-1. Casio’s built-like-a-brick RZ-1 was one of the early brigade of sampling drum machines, offering twelve onboard PCM sounds plus the opportunity for the user to sample their own sounds to four assignable pads. Admittedly, these pads only offered 0.2 seconds of sampling each, but there was the cool option of chaining all that sample memory together to get one, single, massive 0.8-second burst of sound. Bitchin’! All right, the sampling time was pretty limited. But the sonic specs were better: 20kHz sampling frequency, which at least let some top end through, plus a fader-bank to allow you to balance the sounds, and a decent onboard sequencer to chain patterns together. The RZ-1 has a sonic signature all of its own: very brisk and crisp, with enough grit to slam through a mix but an undeniably lo-fi tone to its kit which has made it something of a cult hit among Hip Hop and House producers.

Plastique v2.1 VSTi WiN

P2P |☻ 16 August 2008 |  2.24 MB

Lo-Fi Synth Based on Casio HT 700

plastique is a 2 oscillator subtractive synth, using the 31 waveforms from the Casio HT-700 synth and some enhancements to the originals feature set. It does lofi 80s sounds but also so much more, with a configurable filter (up to 16 poles), a pitch envelope for percussion, an arp, tempo sync delay & LFO, chorus and some lofi instability. Some top sound designers have contributed to the presets, so whether it’s chiptune, lofi, trance, hiphop or breakbeat, everyone needs a bit of plastique in their life.

Casio VL1 v2.1 VSTi WiN

Polyvalens | 22 December 2006 | 421 KB

.:Casio VL-Tone Emulator:.

VL1 is a freeware emulator of the world famous classic calculator annex mini-synthesizer from the eighties made by Casio. VL1 is not a sample player, it is a real emulator that emulates the original hardware. All sounds are generated by software equivalents of the original circuits and the calculator actually works. This also means that ADSR sound programming is fully functional! VL1 was written in honour of Casio’s little VL-TONE that has given me many hours of pleasure and fun.

CZ V v1.3.2.1320 WiN MAC

MORiA | 23 April 2021 | WiN: 197 MB | MAC: 248.18 MB

APP/AU/VSTi/VST3/AAX/x64

Phase Distortion Cult Classic

The CZ V models the Casio CZ-101 and CZ-1000, two cult synthesizers behind many ‘80s pop hits. It adds a ton of new features that make it an instrument for the ages. Casio’s mid-‘80s digital synths were light on price and big on sound. One listen and you’ll be really big on the new, improved CZ V. Like you, we love synths of every flavor. That’s why we just had to recreate the true essence of Casio’s patented phase distortion synthesis that made their CZ series so popular. You don’t need to understand how phase distortion works—just let your ears tell you how cool and unique it would sound in your music. As you’ve come to expect from all of Arturia’s V Collection, our enhancements transform CZ into an even more formidable sonic force that can transform your music.

Casio VL-1 KONTAKT

FREE | 14.12.2016 | 5.7 MB

Casio VL-1 Sampled for Kontakt, original sounds and rhythms…

HT-6000 KONTAKT

P2P | 12.05.2020 | 523 MB

Casio’s uniquely powerful early-digital synthesiser • 3 digiwave oscillators with complex, involving waveforms, each with its own modulation and envelope controls • 80 factory patches plus instant patch creation with the Glitch button • Truly unusual sound palette – grainier and airier than FM or LA • Shifting, morphing soundscapes a speciality! Released in 1987, the HT-6000 came just as Casio was making a determined effort to carve out a swathe of the pro audio market. Machines like the CZ-1 phase distortion synth had already staked a claim, suggesting that Casio needn’t just be known for home keyboards; the follow-up FZ-1 sampler was a real eye-opener, offering 16-bit sampling at a shocking low price. Clearly Casio had serious designs on studio space – which makes the arrival of the HT-6000 all the more confusing. On the one hand, it boasted some truly impressive on-paper spec: four digital oscillators each capable of generating 32 different waveforms, plus analogue filters and decent modulation capabilities. On the other hand, it had built-in speakers and an overall vibe that uncertainly straddled the line between studio synth and home keyboard. Probably as a direct result of this, it failed to make a significant mark in either arena, and now remains something of a cult keyboard – largely forgotten, and all but buried under a landslide of DX7s and D50s.