Casio FZ1 Sampler User reviews -Page 11

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Average rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Wich a professional user from LA/USA writes:

I think I paid $325 for mine back in 1991. Came with 2MB Ram (preferred) and a ton of disks. I'd always wanted one because of the screen editing!! You can ZOOM in on a waveform and find exactly where you want to edit. Way ahead of its time. PLUS it has 8 loop points, meaning you can REALLY MESS with a groove, creating odd meter phrases and the like.

Another important feature - you can velocity switch 4 sounds (maybe more??) - not the poxy "2" that some modern samplers offer. That means you can sample pp, p, f and ff and switch between them according to how hard you hit the keys! Or just sample completely different sounds and switch between them according to how hard you hit the keys.

Multiple outs are nice but only monophonic. But you can create a stereo effect on single note lines or percussion hits.

I used it on a track needing carrots being crunched (played as a groove) Man!! The "Crunchhhhhh" was so powerful, made my ESI 4000 look silly (DON'T EVER buy an ESI 4000 or similar - they have NO character whatsover, samples simply dissapear in a mix ("did I turn that thing off or what??") Plus EMU has no f*cking idea how to write an operating system!! Anyway, so the FZ really can capture transients and boy can they cut through a mix.

The filter cut off can be assigned to the mod wheel - useful. And it can sample at 9 kHz for very lo-fi effects. You can NOT monitor the source as you are sampling!!! Make sure you can hear the source material independently of the FZ1 sampling input. There are no built-in effects, but the waveform zoom-in, 8 loop points and multiple velocity-switching ensure that it can still hold its own.

Finally, they are HEAVY (almost 40 lbs.) so be sure to bare that in mind as you deal with the seller. If your short on space pick up a rackmount.

Dunno what the current price is, but for $200-275 (with memory expansion) you won't regret buying one.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Oct-04-011 at 03:47

sjmojo a professional user writes:

i have both the fz1(1mb) and fz10m(2mb) back to 89,costed me total $1300. 16bit but 36khz,better than korg dsm1 i felt.but not as clear as akais,not as fat as emu/roland/ensoniq/kurzweil. the function which u can draw a waveform is a joke such as the built in syntnh waves of the dsm1=useless.i think casio wannabe a cheap-clone of the influential fairlight??failure as the roland s50 imo,of course,roland sounds more better.1 mark for the big lcd it its time,1 mark for the sound better than dsm1.

Rating: 2 out of 5 posted Wednesday-Jun-06-011 at 04:43

Tony York a part-time user from USA writes:

I have the FZ-10m which is the rack version with 2mb of memory instead of one.This sampler is dope!The filters are warm and the envelope generators are 8 stage, not your typical 4 stage ADSR's!The highest sample rate is 36k and mine gives you 30 seconds of that.Good for making loops.The backlite on my lcd is out but I still can read it-just not in the dark.Ive been trying to sell it over the net for cheap but people dont know whats up with this thing!It doesnt have an internal sequencer and Im gonna buy a cheesier sampler that has a sequencer because my FZ isnt accurate when I try to MIDI up a sequencer!But for great tweaking of samples the FZ-10m is the best in the $400 range!It also has an LFO you can put on samples too.It also has a waveform drawer-You can draw a waveform and then tweak it out using filters and envelopes and LFOs.You can even tweak preset waveforms.Make loops for days.Has MIDI in/out/through too.Later,Im gonna buy another,but right now Im gonna get a ES-1.I know,I know,cheesy toy right?...Not if Im programing it!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Tuesday-May-08-011 at 04:04

a professional user writes:

Earthy,warm, crunchy, compressed sound that will sit perfectly in the mix. For you out there who see sampling as a creative process involving sound design, it´s still the thing to own. Tried to imitate its sound with an Akai plus external FX and couldn´t. Very musical plus it´s got BALLS!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Sunday-Feb-04-011 at 19:56

Bryan a hobbyist user from US writes:

I gave it a 5 because I paid $300 for it at a pawn shop two years ago and the FZ-1 has been well worth it. Alot of features here, I intended to get it as a MIDI controller but I use it for everything. Has a gritty sound at times, but that's just "character". The display function is great and you have quite a few parameters available to manipulate sounds. Layer, layer, layer. Stack sounds on top of each other and you can get some nice things going.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Friday-Nov-10-000 at 13:54

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