Yamaha CS80 - Dave Spiers' love letter

[BillB]

What an absolute treat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV3qDUTVsNo

55 minutes

Exquisite.

[muzines]

Yep, his vids are great (he did a nice Jupiter 8 one too in the same style which is worth a watch).

In general, it seems the more expensive, exclusive and rare a synth is, the worse the available videos are. Got a Yamaha GX1? The videos will be shaky phone cam in the dark with phone-recorded distorted audio.

But a Behringer mono synth? It will be perfect audio, beautifully shot and lit, sliders galore and dreamy bokeh...

Anyway, I'm not really a fan of the CS80 *sound* so much (or really, any of the Yamaha CS's, although I have a fondness for the little CS01 from mostly nostalgie reasons) but Dave certainly makes it sound pretty beautiful in his vid, and makes me warm to it more than previously.

[BillB]

Yep, his vids are great (he did a nice Jupiter 8 one too in the same style which is worth a watch).

Thanks for the pointer, Desmond. Just watched it - also lovely.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Nice video -- thanks for the link, I hadn't seen that before.

The CS80 is a very recognisable sound -- as is the sound of the Jupiter 8 and several other well known 'classics'. And different people love/hate the sound of different synths...

But the thing about the CS80 is how playable it is, how it responds to the musician's touch, and that doesnt really come across in a video of the sound it makes. You really have to play it to get it, and nothing else (mainstream) really matches it.

H

[muzines]

Nice video -- thanks for the link, I hadn't seen that before.

It's new, he only posted it a couple of days ago.

The CS80 is a very recognisable sound -- as is the sound of the Jupiter 8 and several other well known 'classics'. And different people love/hate the sound of different synths...

Indeed.

But the thing about the CS80 is how playable it is, how it responds to the musician's touch, and that doesnt really come across in a video of the sound it makes. You really have to play it to get it, and nothing else (mainstream) really matches it.

Yes, it's still right up there in the playability and expression stakes... Dave does a good job at demoing this I think, but yes, the experience is really about how it feels to play, yourself...

[Eddy Deegan]

I thought that was one of the best balances between demo/playing and explanation I've yet seen. Great stuff, and it conveys how special the CS80 was/is really well

[Hugh Robjohns]

Roll on Behringer's re-working of it.

[BillB]

Roll on Behringer's re-working of it.

Mmmm, couldn't help thinking the same, especially as Dave was explaining the nightmare of keeping it maintained and the 180W power consumption....
or is that what gives it the warm sound?

[The Elf]

I never had much time for the CS80 back in the day. It was overweight, overpriced and prone to overheating. Keeping it in tune was a constant exercise. I played one for a while, but I didn't take to it. I still find the architecture and front panel baffling! It just shows how personal some of this stuff is.

I think I must be the only synth player in the world who actually doesn't revere this synth and the Bladerunner soundtrack - in fact I didn't even enjoy the film. There must be something wrong with me!

But I also would love to see Behringer bring a new CS80 to the world. It definitely has a recognisable character, and that's a good thing in any synth.

[muzines]

I think I must be the only synth player in the world who actually doesn't revere this synth and the Bladerunner soundtrack - in fact I didn't even enjoy the film. There must be something wrong with me!

As I said above, I'm not super jazzed about the CS range in general. And, although I am a sci-fi fan in general, and appreciate Bladerunner for many things, as a film it's always left me cold, and I kind of feel like I'm a bad sci-fi fan for not liking it.

So no, you're not alone!

[n o i s e f l e ur]

I think I must be the only synth player in the world who actually doesn't revere this synth and the Bladerunner soundtrack - in fact I didn't even enjoy the film. There must be something wrong with me!

Nope, you're not. It's cheesy as f*ck . . . the soundtrack that is. Just awful, awful 70s progw*ank more suited to slow-motion moustache porn than decent sci-fi. It sounded old-fashioned in 1982, a fat sweaty hairy embarrasment.

That Rutger Hauer monologue though? Worth the price of admission just for that alone.

[n o i s e f l e ur]

Not that I'd describe myself as a synth-player mind you!

[BillB]

Nope, you're not. It's cheesy as f*ck . . . the soundtrack that is. Just awful, awful 70s progw*ank more suited to slow-motion moustache porn than decent sci-fi. It sounded old-fashioned in 1982, a fat sweaty hairy embarrasment.

Well, that makes two of you...
I agree that ‘the love theme’ - the one with that sordid saxophone - precisely fits your porn description.
But as to the the rest, yes, you will probably find yourself at odds with most of the sci-if and synth fans of the world.

[Eddy Deegan]

Blade Runner is my second favourite film of all time and I love the soundtrack, as well as the bits and pieces on the other 2 CDs in the 25th Anniversary edition.

I thought the CS80 sounded gorgeous in the video, though as the chap said, reverb does make a lot of difference.

Mind you, some (odd) people don't mind external power supplies. I also very much like the entire Top Gun soundtrack and I'm not really a fan of The Beatles. I respect their impact, performance and songwriting but don't like 'the sound' much so I suppose it takes all sorts

Dear Uli,

I am writing on behalf of a friend who would very much like a 1 octave mini CS80 with an external power supply ...

Oops, wrong tab, sorry.

[Rich Hanson]

Dear Uli,

I am writing on behalf of a friend who would very much like a 1 octave mini CS80 with an external power supply ...

Oops, wrong tab, sorry.

Was that the sound of The Elf exploding I just heard?

[The Elf]

Dear Uli,

I am writing on behalf of a friend who would very much like a 1 octave mini CS80 with an external power supply ...

I have a reface CS. Does that almost count?!

[Hugh Robjohns]

I still find the architecture and front panel baffling!

I always found it quite logical and straightforward. More like Roland than ARP (which still baffle me to this day!)

The thing with the CS80 is to separate which controls relate to performance, and which to sound creation -- there's a lot of the former and that's where much of the apparent complexity and confusion comes from.

But aside from the Initial and Attack level controls in the filter's ADR envelope, everything else is pretty standard. And the IL and AL controls make complete sense after a little thought -- and allow sounds that other synths can't do.

[The Elf]

I know what you mean, Hugh. I can appreciate it for what it is, but I never got many of the controls, most of which worked backwards, to my way of thinking - and there always seemed to be one filter too many!

It's certainly a beautifully expressive synth. One thing is for sure - play a keyboard with poly aftertouch and you never want to go back!

[Hugh Robjohns]

Quite..l'm so excited to see what Uli can do with his new bespoke poly-AT keyboard.

[Martin Walker]

Nice video -- thanks for the link, I hadn't seen that before.

It's new, he only posted it a couple of days ago.

And as I write this five days after it was first posted, it's already had 53,000 views

Wonderful video for the aficionado

Martin

[n o i s e f l e ur]

Spiers is always a worthwhile guest when he makes an appearance on the Sonic Talk weekly show too, in case any of you *don't* watch it.

[KJX]

fantastic video that pangs the heart by inspires sound design on other keyboards as well.

all those wonderfully quirky design elements, features that came in part from the Electone side of Yamaha. The organ console interface appealed to early players that came from organ playing backgrounds: Garth Hudson, Seth Justman to name a couple.

this is one of the best in-depth videos

[BillB]

inspires sound design on other keyboards as well.

Hi KJX. first of all, welcome to the SOS Forum

Secondly, I really agree with your point above. I could not possibly afford a CS80, but the video certainly made me think more about layered sounds and pitch bend! Layering is something we can all do easily, although the CS80 format obviously makes it an inherent part of the sound design.

As to pitch bend, I have been wondering if I could press an old iPad or android phone into service as a ‘ribbon controller’... investigation ongoing, but if anyone has any ideas, please pass them on.

[The Elf]

As to pitch bend, I have been wondering if I could press an old iPad or android phone into service as a ‘ribbon controller’... investigation ongoing, but if anyone has any ideas, please pass them on.

TouchOSC, or maybe MIDI Designer Pro?

I've been spending quite a lot of time with MDP, and it is capable of complex tasks. Creating a ribbon controller is trivial.

As a quick test I just now created four ribbons, all of which can be used simultaneously.

[The Elf]

I created an example of some sprung and unsprung ribbon controllers in MDP here:
https://www.soundonsound.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=70435&p=650834#p650834