PD1000 is a highly detailed library of sounds sampled from the Casio CZ1000, developed for Native Instruments Kontakt 4 and higher. In total, there are 108 patches (including all of the original ROM sounds), made from 1,349 individual samples. All samples were recorded in 24 bit at 44.1 kHz through an Inward Connections Vac Rac 4000 pre-amp, into an RME Fireface 800.
Originally manufactured in 1985, the CZ1000 was a full-size version of the CZ101. Notable users included The Human League, Moby, The Orb, Eat Static and was perhaps most famously used by Vince Clarke, who at one time had a rack of eight of them.
Casio’s keyboards in the 1980s used a type of synthesis called Phase Distortion (where our product gets its name from), which creates similar timbres to FM synthesis, which was pioneered by Yamaha around the same time. Instead of traditional filters, a Digitally Controlled Waveform (DCW) distorts the phase of the oscillators and can produce some surprisingly analogue textures. Although having a well specified eight stage envelope, the CZ1000 was lacking in polyphony – in the two oscillator per voice mode, polyphony was reduced to four notes – not a problem with the sampled version! Another problem with the hardware was that although the tuning was stable, (as you’d expect with a digital synth) it was very difficult to tune to concert pitch and we’ve taken care to make sure that all the patches are tuned accurately.
