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Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2026 2:02 am
by oliveoil22

Had this project on the backburner for a while but finally got on it this summer. Effects and EQ make a lot of the magic, but I have to imagine this is/was the secret weapon.

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2026 5:44 am
by Wildfire
Seriously amazing work, so much so you've convinced me to buy one. Are these presets or did you manually create all the patches? I understand there's a lot of FX going on too.

edit: Ignore I see you've kindly supplied all the patches for Virtual CZ, incredible, thank you!

Also, do you think this is what was used to get that Whitewater synth patch?

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2026 5:38 pm
by DFD21
Thanks so much for this. It answers the question for me on the Boards signature "electric piano" sound.

So, early BoC used the SH101 for wobbly synth sounds, and the CZ-101 for the tinkly synth sounds. Then the Akai S-1000 for sample sounds.

Now to go and get myself a CZ or one of the clones.

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2026 7:12 pm
by Manc
Brilliant video!

I really try to pick out BOC melodies on my gear, but many of them are frustrating for me. This is like a cheat sheet, especially the Twoism stuff.

I had a CZ101 when I was in my early teens, along with a basic Boss Dr. Rhythm drum machine, but my brother sold it. Seeing it here has convinced me to stop looking at a second hand SH-01a and dig a little deeper into my pockets.

Thanks for this

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2026 6:38 am
by Wildfire
DFD21 wrote:Thanks so much for this. It answers the question for me on the Boards signature "electric piano" sound.

So, early BoC used the SH101 for wobbly synth sounds, and the CZ-101 for the tinkly synth sounds. Then the Akai S-1000 for sample sounds.

Now to go and get myself a CZ or one of the clones.
The VirtualCZ is on sale just now at Plugin Boutique - From £80 to £20 and it sounds really damn good, the OP supplies presets for it....

https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/ ... -VirtualCZ

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2026 2:25 pm
by happy
this is incredible. I didn't know this little synth was responsible for their most iconic melodies. Doing God's work!

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2026 10:36 pm
by Goiter Sanchez
Mind blowing vid! Could this be 'The Secret Weapon'?

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2026 10:38 pm
by TorrentialTrain
Goiter Sanchez wrote:Mind blowing vid! Could this be 'The Secret Weapon'?
The timing, cost of these things back then, its usage all seems to add up.

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2026 6:05 am
by Wildfire
Goiter Sanchez wrote:Mind blowing vid! Could this be 'The Secret Weapon'?
It's always been a contender but I think after this amazing effort by Oliveoil22 it's cased closed.

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2026 10:45 pm
by Waterbagel
my jaw literally dropped when you got to Twoism

this is it lmao. good work. seriously. this is awesome. a joy to listen to in its own right

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2026 11:01 pm
by harpoon dodger
Well freaking done, sir! I'm in agreement...gotta be the secret weapon. Always had a soft spot for the CZ series, I sourced a CZ-1 for a friend a few years back and it has a unique tonal palette for sure. Always impressive to see so much music squeezed out of one synth! 8)

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2026 12:53 pm
by Redd Panderson
Gotta say that I enjoyed just listening to these tunes played with the other stuff stripped back. Kind of felt like "the music box christmas" version of these songs, or like "instrumentals?" I can't think of the right word, but it's nice and lovely to hear! BOC's melodies deserve the love.

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2026 7:33 pm
by Aesthetics
That really is something quite special! Do you have any plans to cover the songs in their entirety?

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2026 8:45 pm
by DFD21
Wildfire wrote:
DFD21 wrote:Thanks so much for this. It answers the question for me on the Boards signature "electric piano" sound.

So, early BoC used the SH101 for wobbly synth sounds, and the CZ-101 for the tinkly synth sounds. Then the Akai S-1000 for sample sounds.

Now to go and get myself a CZ or one of the clones.
The VirtualCZ is on sale just now at Plugin Boutique - From £80 to £20 and it sounds really damn good, the OP supplies presets for it....

https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/ ... -VirtualCZ
Bought a copy last week and have been having fun playing Turquoise Hexagon Sun!

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2026 12:24 am
by Waterbagel
i'm having fun recreating boqurant myself :D

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2026 8:46 am
by happy
Aesthetics wrote:That really is something quite special! Do you have any plans to cover the songs in their entirety?
I think i read in the comments that he’s working on another video with a different synth, can’t remember which synth?

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2026 2:33 pm
by Wildfire
happy wrote:
Aesthetics wrote:That really is something quite special! Do you have any plans to cover the songs in their entirety?
I think i read in the comments that he’s working on another video with a different synth, can’t remember which synth?
Amazing, no doubt either the Roland SH101, Ensoniq VFX or the Yamaha AN1X as they are only other real stand out synths I think.

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2026 8:17 am
by happy
Wildfire wrote:
happy wrote:
Aesthetics wrote:That really is something quite special! Do you have any plans to cover the songs in their entirety?
I think i read in the comments that he’s working on another video with a different synth, can’t remember which synth?
Amazing, no doubt either the Roland SH101, Ensoniq VFX or the Yamaha AN1X as they are only other real stand out synths I think.
The Ensoniq VFX - that’s the one. I know the SH-101 well, but I’ve no idea what the VFX sounds like or what BOC tracks it’s known for

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2026 9:08 am
by Wildfire
happy wrote:The Ensoniq VFX - that’s the one. I know the SH-101 well, but I’ve no idea what the VFX sounds like or what BOC tracks it’s known for
It's only the synth responsible for the strings in Everything You Do Is A Balloon!

Enjoy - https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic. ... nsoniq+VFX

Re: Casio CZ-101 - The OTHER 90's BOC Machine

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2026 10:43 am
by happy
Wildfire wrote:
happy wrote:The Ensoniq VFX - that’s the one. I know the SH-101 well, but I’ve no idea what the VFX sounds like or what BOC tracks it’s known for
It's only the synth responsible for the strings in Everything You Do Is A Balloon!

Enjoy - https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic. ... nsoniq+VFX
Okay, I’m partial to a bit of synth collecting, this is doing nothing for my gear addiction syndrome

I love that these things are digital too, after all the analogue hype in synth forums