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The VirtualCZ Black Friday deal puts the Plugin Boutique phase distortion synth at $19, 75% off, until Nov 29, 2026.
VirtualCZ is a synth plugin inspired by the Casio CZ line of digital synthesizers from the 1980s. The maker says it carries the sound quality of the hardware and adds features to bring it up to date.
You could hear the CZ line across dance and pop releases from roughly 1988 through 1992, in genres such as techno, house, rave and synth-pop. The maker lists pads, synth strings, screaming leads, big basses, weird FX, metallic percussion and rave organs as its signature sounds.
Like the hardware, it uses phase distortion, which the maker describes as similar to FM synthesis but easier to program.
Each voice has 2 CZ-style phase distortion oscillators. Each oscillator has 8 wave shapes, and the shape can differ on alternate cycles.
There are 6 loop-able envelope generators per voice. You can switch them between plain ADSR and an 8-stage MSEG, and both come with graphical displays.
The synthesis architecture mirrors the original, and every key function sits on the front panel. The maker says that means no menu diving.
The new features are aimed at a modern workflow:
Voice handling covers 32-voice polyphonic, mono and legato modes.
VirtualCZ ships with over 200 presets covering both retro and modern sounds, designed by Oli Larkin, Don Solaris and Scott AbstractCats. Presets come as fxp, aupreset, vstpreset and tfx files, and you can import or export them across plugin formats. An optional cross-format preset browser is included.
It also works as a SysEx editor and librarian. It models the flagship CZ-1 and is compatible with the CZ-101, CZ-1000, CZ-3000 and CZ-5000, so it can load and transmit patches to that hardware. Thousands of CZ patches are available to load online.
Expansion packs for VirtualCZ are sold separately.
On Mac, you get VST2, VST3, AU and AAX plus a standalone app. It needs macOS 10.9 or higher and a 64-bit host, and the maker recommends an Intel i5 or better with 4GB of RAM. AU and VST run natively on Apple Silicon M1, but the AAX version is not Silicon compatible.
On Windows, it runs on Windows 7 or newer, 32 and 64-bit, in VST2.4, VST3 and AAX. The same i5 and 4GB recommendation applies. AAX needs Pro Tools 10.36 or later, or 11.02 or later.
Yes. The VirtualCZ Black Friday deal takes 75% off, bringing the synth plugin to $19 until Nov 29, 2026. You get the full instrument, including the 200+ preset library and the SysEx editor and librarian function for CZ hardware.
It runs as VST2, VST3, AU and AAX plus a standalone app on Mac, and as VST2.4, VST3 and AAX on Windows. The Mac AAX version is not Apple Silicon compatible, while AU and VST support M1.
Yes. It doubles as a SysEx editor and librarian for CZ hardware. It models the flagship CZ-1 and is compatible with the CZ-101, CZ-1000, CZ-3000 and CZ-5000, loading and transmitting patches to those units.
The plugin has 2 phase distortion oscillators per voice, 6 loop-able envelope generators, a 7-shape LFO, up to 8-voice unison and 2 vintage chorus algorithms. It ships with over 200 presets, with expansion packs sold separately.
Prices and end dates are checked at publishing time and can change, so confirm them at the store before you buy.