Model Differences

2012-09-21

CZSYSEXY should work for all different models of CZ synthesizers, except the CZ-230S. The only time you have to worry about which model you have, is when you assemble an export. The export needs to be tailored for a particular model and CZSYSEXY knows how to do that.

Historical Note

Most of the CZ synthesizers use the exact same sysex format. The CZ-1 has some extra features, and so it has extra data squirreled away in its sysex.

The CZ-1 was big, expensive, and came out later than all the other models. In contrast, the CZ-101 was small, affordable, the first to arrive, and sold thousands of units. The natural consequence of one model being affordable and common, while another is expensive and rare, is that the vast majority of software written is based on the features of the affordable model.

To a CZ-1 owner, the existing software is not adequate, because it can’t deal with all features. And it would be quite a hack to add support for a CZ-1 to code that was not aware of the differences.

CZSYSEXY Approach To Models

My approach is that the CZ-1 sysex format is normal, and you can create sysex for the other models by removing parts they don’t understand.

To CZSYSEXY, internally, every patch is a CZ-1 patch. It always saves, opens, and loads using a CZ-1 format. When it comes time to create some sysex for a different model, it is a simple matter of leaving out the parts they don’t understand.

The consequence of this is that, in the GUI, and in the library files, you will see features that don't apply to your machine, if your machine is not a CZ-1. These features are things like patch name, velocity, and so on. You don’t need to worry that these are going to pollute your machine; they are effectively filtered out at export time.

Key Differences Between Sysex Formats

Here is a list of things the CZ-1 sysex format has, that the other models do not. These are the things that are visible to a user.

• VELOCITY—The CZ-1 keyboard is velocity sensitive, and you can set how much velocity effect you want via sysex. This data is squeezed in with the envelope end step for each section.
• DCA LINE LEVEL—Line level allows you to make one line quieter than the other, rather than just combining them at full volume. This data is squeezed in with the DCA key follow.
• PATCH NAME—On the CZ-1, patches can have a name that is displayed on the LCD. This data is tacked on to the end of the message, which means a CZ-1 sysex message is longer than a CZ-101 message.

There are a few other differences in how you formulate the sysex, but these aren't visible to the user.