Yamaha CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80 – the GREAT Japanese IMPACT

Completely superflous: Praising the (vintage) polyphonic Yamaha CS series to the skies. The legendary CS sound has long since been written in gold in the logbooks of electronic music. That CS-80 is an icon of luxury vintage analog synthesis, and its little brothers have also attained special musical status and high market value. The price of a CS-60 (maybe even that of  a CS-50) these days is what you paid for a CS-80 just a few years ago …

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer / Yamaha SY-2 Synthesizer

Let’s leave aside, for the time being, the issue of over-pricing on the vintage market, and have a comprehensive look at the special Yamaha CS sound. The combination of two resonant Yamaha filters (LowPass / HighPass) with their dynamic aftertouch control not only defines CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80 as unique instruments among the poly-analog synthesizers, but inevitably brings Yamaha’s first mono synthesizers SY-1 and SY-2 into play.

SY-1 and SY-2, currently still receiving little attention, can be had relatively cheaply on the used market. The point is: With just some little knob tweaking (adjusting the presets), they deliver exactly the wonderful and distinctive CS filter sound. Monophonic only, but with all the expressive possibilities, the (occasionally) strange squeaking of the VCFs, the amazing dynamic range. In other words: The lively CS sound, albeit without ring modulator.

Typically Yamaha, typically illogical:
From polyphonic to monophonic and back again

With the two solo synthesizers SY-1 / SY-2 we are already smack dab in the middle of the history of that Japanese company. A history that – typically Yamaha – is not entirely logical.

Introduced in December 1959 (!), Yamaha presented the first organ whith exclusively transistor generated sound. That Electone D-1 was the beginning of a long line of electronic keyboard instruments for which Yamaha created the brand name “Electone”.

And this brings us to 1970. Yamaha’s Electone EX-42 was a monstrous organ with “5 manuals” (3 rows of keys, 1 pedal-row, 1 ribbon controller with its own sounds) and an associated rotary speaker system. This organ and the Electone GX-707 (prototype) from 1973 were the immediate forerunners of the Yamaha GX-1 from1975. To this day, the GX-1, the two-part 8-voice instrument with a separate solo synthesizer, pedals and PA system (with tube technology), represents the largest polyphonic analog synthesizer ever built.

“In 1973, Yamaha completed development work on a prototype codenamed the GX-707. Based on cluster voltage control, this instrument could be regarded as the predecessor of the Electone GX-1. Although it looked just like an Electone, the GX-707 was actually an eight-note polyphonic synthesizer — more specifically, the upper and lower keyboards supported eight-note polyphony, while the solo and pedal keyboards were both monophonic.”

(https://de.yamaha.com)

Following its excursion into the world of polyphonic synthesizers (none of which were on the market in the early 1970s), Yamaha set its sights on a first solo synthesizer, the SY-1, in 1974.

The SY-1 – most likely that “solo keyboard” from the GX-707 / GX-1 (thanks to Paul V. for the hint) – already bore distinctive elements of the later CS series: The typical, slightly nasal quality of Yamaha’s LowPass-HighPass filter combination (restricted to one frequency control from low to high, and including a common resonance slider), as well as a fixed aftertouch (Touch Control) to regulate the LFO modulation depth, the filter frequency and the volume. This Touch Control is often referred to as “Velocity” (even by Yamaha), although it is ultimately monophonic aftertouch.

Yamaha SY-1 Synthesizer

The SY-1 was followed in 1976 by another Combo Synthesizer of the CS series, the SY-2. This instrument came up with frequency- and resonance-faders for both the LowPass-VCF and the HighPass-VCF, as well as continous control of the aftertouch (Touch Control Sensitivity).

With its corresponding lid and removable legs, the SY-2 is astonishingly heavy (21 kg). In its black Tolex case (90 cm wide), it is clearly an early member of the Yamaha CS series.

Yamaha SY-2 Synthesizer

The CS-50, the first polyphonic instrument in the CS series, was also presented in 1976, wherby that 4-voice synthesizer impresses not only with its typical CS sound, but also with its manageable size (4-octave keyboard, total width: 98 cm) and with its “acceptable” weight of 36 kg. “Acceptable” from today’s perspective, of course.

“Never highly respected when it was in its prime, ignored by most players, and very much disliked even by many CS-80 lovers, this is still a desireable instrument. Buy one before prices start to become realistic. There’s just too much inside even a CS-50, let alone its bigger brothers, for it ever to be re-manufactured; and when you’ve heard what one can do on a good day, heard that power of that old unrepeatable technology, you might think that current prices are a bargain.”

(Peter Forrest, The A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers,
Part Two, rev. 2003, page 346)

Yamaha CS-50 Synthesizer

The ergonomically designed CS-50 is particularly user-friendly. Its LFO –  located as a sort of performance module to the left of the keyboard – offers significantly longer faders than those LFO sliders of the CS-60 / CS-80, allowing for more precise and subtle LFO programming. In addition, the unique ring modulator is within easy reach during playing – also true of  the CS-60, but not of the CS-80 (due to its size).

Even more powerful is the 8-voice Yamaha CS-60 from 1977, with its increased number of voices and its 5-octave keyboard. Not to forget that one “generous” memory space and the musically enhancing ribbon controller.

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

The pictures give a sense of how enormous a Yamaha CS-60 is. 110 cm wide and 46 kg heavy, it demands a large and stable space in your studio.

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

Pic.: Bottom of the Yamaha CS-60

The bottom reveils not only the power cable compartment (left) and the ventilation slots of the 8-voice instrument, but also the hidden headphone socket, imperceptible from the front.

Presented side by side with the CS-60 (NAMM Show June 1977), the CS-80 impressed with its overall luxury: 16 voice boards (2×8 voices), a weighted keyboard with velocity and polyphonic aftertouch, 4 memory locations, illuminated preset buttons, additional chorus … no description is necessary, the CS-80 is a legend of its own.

Yamaha CS-80 Synthesizer

120 cm wide and nearly 100 kg heavy (including its legs), the CS-80 demands a very large and very stable space in your studio.

By the way: Interesting (if not surprising) that Yamaha advertised the – at that time new – integrated circuits of the CS series in 1977. This is what made the polyphonic CS series possible in its “compact design” (sic!). But ironically, it is precisely those components that are the Achilles heel of the Yamaha CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80 today. If one of the so important chips stops working, the instrument is maybe beyond repair. There is – so far – no replacement for those aforementioned Yamaha custom chips.

CS-Sound: The sum of the many

Anyone who has understood (heard!) the peculiarity of vintage CS sound architecture will understand why this sound is inseparably combined with the vintage hardware. In other words: Modern CS derivatives are sometimes useful, a good marketing gag and quite suitable for some musical purposes. But that’s about it – they don’t add up to the vintage CS sound.

Following the signal path of a CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80, the peculiarities of the original sound architecture are as follows:

Pulse width modulation – excellent in sound, comes with its own independent LFO …

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

HighPass filter / LowPass filter combination, both filters with separately adjustable frequency and resonance …

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

Plain sine wave that can be added (VCA) to the overall sound, for that certain “extra” in the bass, for more sonority – a must with the CS-50 and CS-60 …

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

Continuously (!) variable ring modulator – unique to this day – with its own Modulation-Oscillator and separate, small envelope (to control the oscillator’s frequency) …

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

Sub Oscillator – in fact an LFO – with various waveforms (e.g. ascending and descending sawtooth), noise modulation (white noise) and EXT IN (more on this later) …

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

Aftertouch (CS-50/CS-60: monophonic, CS-80: polyphonic) with optional control of the LFO, filter frequency, the VCA, the LFO speed (CS-80 only) …

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

Excellent keyboard (trademark of Yamaha), and – in addition – various performance functions such as ribbon controller, portamento and glissando …

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

The sum of all these features is the CS sound today: Silvery pulse width modulation with nuanced vibrati – live while playing (via aftertouch); Dynamic filter modulation (again via touch response) with a hint of ring modulation; Massive sine bass with slow PWM to the limits of audabilty; Beguiling ribbon and keyboard play (dynamics!), enhanced with portamento effects.

Be it as it be: Each of the above-mentioned performances is inevitably linked to the original hardware. In total they result in everything that connoisseurs, owners, players and listeners alike would call the CS sound. (CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80). The character of those instruments. All the special aspects that constitute the sound architecture and performance possibilities, making this polyphonic (vintage) CS series what it is: unique.

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

It is completely irrelevant that most of the on-board presets instantly conjure up a smile on your face. They are only partially usable. It is also completely irrelevant that the one memory location of the CS-60 and the four memory locations of the CS-80 are in the main obsolete. And it is irrelevant that there is no pitch bender in the classical sense, but rather a ribbon controller (which is a perfect substitution).

Not entirely insignificant, but from an artistic point of view possibly a real bonus: There is no auto-tuning of the voices. Few instruments – apart from an out-of-tune Prophet-5 or Memorymoog – sound as lively as a CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80. We do not wish to deny that there is a very narrow line between the Musically still Bearable (but aesthetically interesting) and the Musically Unacceptable. It’s an adventure.

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

Sound-Aspect “Hardware”

The GREAT Japanese IMPACT that took place within the hallowed halls of Hamamatsu from 1974 (SY-1) to 1976 (SY-2 / CS-50) and 1977 (CS-60 / CS-80), is a clear indication of the enormously high standards that Yamaha had set at that early stage.

Going by appearances, the claim would seem to be a farce. Pfff – those cheesy organs … high standard? Oh yes – indeed! There are hardly any synthesizers that could hold a candle to a CS-50 or a CS-60 in terms of hardware – luxurious construction and high technical reliability. Admittedly, the CS-80 is slightly less reliable due to its exceedingly complex internal wiring.

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

The small (rocker) faders with plastic pots, for example, look unspectacular, even cheap (but they are excellent to use and convey a feeling of luxury, of tactile elegance), the ribbon controller is covered with velvet (!), the metallic dark-silver looking panel is made of finely processed wood (!), etc.

Be that as it may: The high-quality hardware is an integral part of the vintage CS series. It has a significant influence on the musical performances and on the sounds that are possible on these instruments.

EXT IN – that particular source of inspiration

There is very little information about the EXT input of the CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80. No wonder, since few musicians would have a clue as to its function. And Yamaha’s explanations are no big help either …

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

“SUB OSCILLATOR – FUNCTION selects a waveform: sine, sawtooth, inverted sawtooth, square wave, whte noise, or an external input. A line level signal connected to the Ext In jack on the rear panel will modulate the Sub Oscillator in EXT mode.”

(CS-60 user manual, page 39)

The key to a better understanding of EXT IN lies in the word function (it does not say “Waveform”). And the function of the external signal brings us a little closer to the crux of the matter. According to the manual, the EXT IN supposedly modulates the LFO, but this is not the case! Way, way back in the user manual, the APPENDIX holds the secret …

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

“The synthesizer’s External input can afford some interesting effects. To obtain strange “vocal” effects, plug in a source of a pure, high-frequency sound, such as a 10kHz or higher frequency sine wave. Then engage the VCF (filter) on the Sub Oscillator and add a lot of Resonance.”

(CS-60 user manual, page 49)

Logical. Use an external VCO as a modulation source for filter modulation (filter FM), and – at high resonance settings – you get classy ​​vocal sounds. Perfect. But it gets even better …

“You might try connecting a sequencer to the External input and engaging the Sub Oscillator’s VCO lever, thus creating a sequence of different notes when you hold down just one key.”

(CS-60 user manual, page 49)

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

Simpler: Controlling the CS-Oscillator(s) via an analog sequencer is possible. This pertains to monophonic movements only, but there you are! The principle of CV control also applies to the filters, which can be modulated in parallel to the oscillators via that analog sequencer – or by any other external CV source, such as LFO, envelope, whatever …

To sum it up: Don’t underestimate EXT IN. It’s highly useful.

Sound-Aspect “Expression”

The EXT IN function and the volume pedal provided by Yamaha were a first indication of the expressive possibilities inherent in the CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80. Keyboard dynamics and the ribbon controller completed the image. These possibilities (variablities of pitch, volume, dynamics and liveliness) have become a synonym for the CS character par excellence.

Yamaha CS-60

Or, to put it in Yamaha’s words:

“Yamaha polyphonic synthesizers enable you to get a very wide range of keyboard dynamics, plus further dynamic control via the expression pedal. Thus the playing level can change quite dramatically depending on which voices you have programmed and how you play them.”

(CS-60 user manual, page 48)

The above-mentioned simple quote from 1976/77 is all the more astonishing considering that the remarkable performance orientation and liveliness of that early SY / CS series (first introduced in 1968 with the Electone EX-21) has remained a laudable exception to this very day. Well, maybe a Moog Polymoog with Polypedal-board (from 1975) comes close. Anyhow, most polyphonic analog synthesizers since then have offered significantly fewer expressive possibilities – apart from such proverbial exeptions as the Sequential Prophet T8 (1983).

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

In terms of musical expression, there are hardly any synthesizers that can keep up with the character and charm of a CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80. They offer heaps of performance options and create a unique sound universe that is still looking for its equal. 3 (!) LFOs (sub-oscillator, PWM, ring-modulator), 3 (!) envelopes (VCF, VCA, ring modulator), the parallel dual filter, the ring modulator, the ribbon controller and the touch / pressure dynamics: These all guarantee that vivid sound that is still out of reach of modern technology.

Black Corporation Deckard’s Dream?

This rack synthesizer caused quite a stir a few years ago: the quasi-rack version of a Yamaha CS-80 called Deckard’s Dream. What is to be credited to the company Black Corporation: In terms of sound architecture and optics, they stuck to the original as much as possible. Their instrument delivers a CS-like replacement for the modern synthesizer studio. Good sounds, compact, relatively affordable.

Of course Deckard’s Dream is not a CS-80, it’s not a CS-60, not even a CS-50. What would one might expect? The elaborate (and expensive) hardware of a vintage Poly-CS-Synthesizer shrunk in the smallest of spaces … how should the modern sound have that much desired vintage character without the appropriate massive vintage hardware?

Black Corporation Deckard's Dream - Yamaha CS-80 Clone

Nevertheless, Deckard’s Dream is a serious musical instrument. And since only few people are prepared (or able) to raise the required 20,000 USD / Euros for an original Yamaha CS-80 today, the modern rack version, even if it may sound different to the original, is not a bad alternative, not at all.

It’s a bit surprising that the all-important CS ring-modulator can only be found in Deckard’s Dream Effects Expander. Calculating the costs for the modern 8-voice rack synth plus its effect expander, you’ll realize that you get close to what needs to be paid for a Yamaha CS-50 nowadays. However, if you’re looking for the decisive original CS sound character, we’d decide for the CS-50.

Black Corporation Deckard's Dream - Yamaha CS-80 Clone

Finally, however, there’s Deckard’s Voice – a single voice of Deckard’s Dream in Eurorack format. What makes this Eurorack module so appealing: Deckard’s Voice is a CS-like synth that has modular options. This opens up new musical possibilities no original Yamaha CS synthesizer can offer.

SY-1 / SY-2 and CS-50 / CS-60 /  CS-80 synthesizers today

If you like the inimitable – not necessarily beautiful, but special – sound character of the early SY and CS series, you are currently facing a blinking red light symbolizing the possibility of an empty second hand market.

Yamaha CS-60

The CS-80 has practically disappeared from the market (ending up in large and small studios, and – sometimes – with speculators). Its current value can hardly be estimated, it is worth at least 25,000 Euros …

Yamaha CS-80 Synthesizer Reverb Auction

… or maybe 100,000 Euros / USD. Some of those over-priced auctions appeared early 2022, reflecting the current “Vintage Synthesizer Speculative Boom”.

Yamaha CS-80 Synthesizer

In the meantime, the CS-60 has also become a rarity, its price climbing into the price range of  10,000 – 20,000 Euros (and above) …

Yamaha CS-60 Auction November 2021

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer

And even the small CS-50 has begun to increase in value. While several units of the 4-voice synthesizer were still available for approximately 1,500 Euros in Italy in the summer of 2020, its market value in Central and Northern Europe peaked out at over 5,000 Euros and more.

Yamaha CS-50 Auction November 2021

These estimations may or may not be relevant, but they indicate that CS-50 and CS-60 are – with some luck – still available right now. Buyers would be well advised to purchase one if the opportunity arises. Those instruments will be gone completely in just a few years.

And now – having come full circle – we’re back at the SY-1 and SY-2, which can bring significant aspects of the glorious vintage CS sound into your studio at a fraction of the cost of an expensive CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80.


x
Thanks to Richard Lawson (RL Music) and Tony Miln (Soundgas) for additional photo material. And many thanks to Stefan Herr and LesIndes for additional sound material.

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer


x
50 minutes of audio files are attached. It’s a broad mixture of Yamaha SY-2, CS-50, CS-60 and CS-80 samples, which should make it clear how strongly the typical CS character is reflected in all instruments. Some of the CS-60 sound files are (c) by Stefan Herr. These demos were recorded in one take only, with stereo-delay and equalizing. All CS-50 sound files are (c) by LesIndes.

Yamaha SY-1 / SY-2

Monophonic Analog Synthesizers
with Dual-VCF and Aftertouch

Yamaha CS-50 / CS-60 / CS-80

Polyphonic Analog-Synthesizers
with Dual-VCF and Aftertouch

CS-50: 4 Voices (monoph. AT)
CS-60: 8 Voices (monoph. AT), Ribbon Controller
CS-80: 2×8 Voices (polyph. AT and Velocity), Ribbon Controller

Links:
Origins of the Yamaha Synthesizer
Yamaha Electone Time Line

Vintage Synth Explorer – Yamaha CS-50
Vintage Synth Explorer – Yamaha CS-60
Vintage Synth Explorer – Yamaha CS-80

Yama-huh? Esoteric design aspects of Yamaha CS synths (part 1)
Yama-huh? Esoteric design aspects of Yamaha CS synths (part 2)

Open / Download:
Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer (4000 x 2400 px)

Compare / Test Report:
Sequential Prophet-T8 – pure analog LUXURY

Video / Yamaha CS-50 (Explanation & Demo / Doctor Mix):

Video / Yamaha CS-60 (Blade Runner Demo / Raymond Castile):

Video / Yamaha CS-60 (Douglas Romanow):

Video / Yamaha CS-80 (Demo / synth4ever):

Filed under 2020, Featured, Reviews

“Es genügt, einen Ton schön zu spielen” sagte der Komponist Arvo Pärt im Jahre 2005. Diese Aussage ist ebenso einfach wie ich auch exzellent: Es braucht kein Meer an Tönen, denn entscheidend ist der Klang. Dass so mancher Vintage-Synthesizer der 70er und 80er Jahre teils unerreicht hochwertige Klänge liefert, steht außer Frage. Doch tatsächlich leben wir “heute” in einer nahezu perfekten Zeit. Einerseits hat man – mehr oder weniger – noch Zugriff auf die Vintage Analogen, andererseits wird auch bei Neugeräten die wichtige Komponente des hochwertigen Klanges wieder zunehmend berücksichtigt. Doepfer, Cwejman, Synthesizers.com, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Studio Electronics, COTK, John Bowen und andere Hersteller bauen hervorragende Synthesizer, die den “Klassikern” in nichts nachstehen. All diesen (alten wie neuen) “großartigen” Instrumenten ist Great Synthesizers gewidmet. _________________________________________________________ In 2005 composer Arvo Pärt said: “Playing one tone really well is enough”. In other words, it is sufficient to play one tone 'beautifully'. I agree with that. All musical efforts are focused on the sound itself. Although I studied classical music (piano and drums), it’s the electronic sound that inspires me. Synthesizers are the epitome of new sounds and exciting tonal spheres. Today, many companies produce high-quality - excellent! - synthesizers: Doepfer, Cwejman, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Synthesizers.com, COTK, Studio Electronics, John Bowen and others. It's their products I'm really interested in ... apart from Vintage Synthesizers, which I have been collecting for 20 years. Subsequent to our former websites Bluesynths and Blogasys, Peter Mahr and I have now created GreatSynthesizers. We hope you like it.

8 Comments

  1. Some great demo tracks there! By the way, I know what you mean about the heaviness of the SY-2. I wonder if that’s why examples without legs seem to be common? People presumably just used the SY on top of another instrument or on a stand. The SY-2 is a beautiful instrument though, I can hear it on your demo tracks of it’s big brothers.

  2. Francois

    Fantastic demos as usual! I would love to hear a Moog One in your hands. Thanks for the great site.

  3. Excellent article, and you have taught me quite a few things about my CS 50, which is now for sale by the way. Excellent condition, one owner (1980) and rarely moved. One problem though. It seems that one oscillator needs to be tuned, as every fourth note is detuned. Who knows how to do this?

  4. Theo Bloderer

    … there are 4 voice-boards inside the CS-50, installed upside down, with a dozen of trim-pots on each. One or maybe two of the pots (on each board) are for tuning, I can’t tell which ones in detail. I’d carefully adjust the pots with a screwdriver and figur out where the VCO tuning happens. Then carefully adjust that specific pot on each board to figur out where the faulty voice is. Then you can finally tune that board.

  5. Daniel

    Absolutely fantastic analog synths, a great Yamaha success story, unbelievable sounds created from the CS series…
    I could unfortunately only afford one in the 80’s…none of these superb 3…just a little 4th one, from Yamaha also but forgotten….a CS70M…and I worked a whole year to pay for it…Now in 2022, I look for CS80 just to see if I could afford one…Oh…not really at $148k…..So, I’m just rejuvenating mine and am very happy….I guess

  6. Theo Bloderer

    … those who own one swear on the mighty CS-70M – keep it, it’s an absolute rarity. Sorry we left the instrument out in the review – guess we should add a comment at least, pointing to Yamaha’s (so far) last analog-polyphonic mega-synth …

  7. José Armando

    Marvelous written piece!

    Just to add. The pricing shold be taken from the sold part of reverb (when you select option, there is an “sold” option, or add &showsold=true ad the end of a the url after a regilar search) not the for sale part as that is only what people want to have for them (getting it is another thing 😬)

  8. Theo Bloderer

    … hello José! You’re right! I’ll try to use “sold” items as examples in the future … many of those “official” vintage synth prices listed in the auctions are in no way realistic. Thanks for the note – very important! Cheers …

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