First look: a premium 6-instrument suite preserving Casio’s pioneering digital synthesizers, officially approved by CASIO Computer Co., Ltd.
Paris, April 7th, 2026 - In the early 1980s, while much of the synthesizer world was focused on analog refinement and premium price tags, Casio took a different path. Through a series of bold, inventive digital instruments, the company brought electronic sound to a generation of musicians who might never have touched a synthesizer otherwise. Phase Distortion, Spectrum Dynamic synthesis, these were not imitations of existing technology, they were original architectures, born from a culture of engineering ambition and accessible design, and they helped shape the sound of an era.
Today, UVI announce Vintage Casio Legacy, a premium 6-instrument suite that preserves and modernizes six of Casio’s most distinctive synthesizers and drum machines through deep, real-hardware sampling. Developed in close collaboration with Casio and officially approved by CASIO Computer Co., Ltd., the collection represents one of the most thorough efforts ever undertaken to document these instruments in software form. Vintage Casio Legacy will be available April 9th, 2026 at UVI.
Built from the Source
Vintage Casio Legacy is the product of an extended collaboration between UVI and Casio, grounded in direct access to original hardware and a shared commitment to authenticity. Every instrument in the suite was recorded through meticulous, multi-sampled sessions designed to capture not just the sound of each machine, but their behavior; the tonal variations between chorus states, the unique voicing of each synthesis architecture, the subtle coloring of each machine’s signal path. The result is a level of detail that goes well beyond surface-level recreation, preserving the musical identity of instruments that defined a generation of digital synthesis.
Six Instruments, One Legacy
Vintage Casio Legacy brings together six instruments, each representing a distinct chapter of Casio’s synthesis history, alongside an exclusive Multi mode that unifies the collection into a single groove-oriented workstation. The suite includes the CZ, Phase Distortion pioneer based on the flagship CZ-1, FZ, the cult 16-bit sampler, VZ, Interactive Phase Distortion (iPD), HZ, Spectrum Dynamic synthesis via the HZ-600, CTK, Integrated Cross-Sound Architecture (iXA) from the rarely explored CTK-1000, and the RZ drum engine, inspired by the RZ-1, and expanded with additional Casio-sourced material.With modern sound-shaping tools, expressive performance controls, and hundreds of all-new presets, Vintage Casio Legacy delivers a uniquely Casio sound world with the flexibility today’s producers expect, ready for everything from retro production and modern pop to electronic genres and cinematic work.
AVAILABILITY
Vintage Casio Legacy will be available April 9th, 2026 at UVI.
