16 thoughts on “Rediscovering The ‘Lost’ Yamaha CS-80

  1. I’ve played a CS-80 in good shape, so I can easily relate to its famous rep. He’s right about it drawing from their (Electone) organ history. I played one of those, too and it included its own version of the pitch strip. The CS-80 isn’t a serious sound-design synth; its a mutant best suited to live playing. You turn the presets into the nearest form of what you like best about them. You really have to engage it like a piano or pipe organ, which requires hands-on skills few people develop these days. Its pretty far from a table bristling with Volcas and Minibrutes. It was a maintenance monster, too. Rumor has it that the repair bills put a few tech’s kids through school. Don’t hold your breath for anything near a physical recreation. It’d cost the GNP of a small country! The real world fix: invest in a good controller and go for a software option. The physical experience isn’t the same, but the sounds are pretty close to ‘true.’ I love the voice of the beast, for sure.

  2. Wow! This might just be the only fully functioning CS-80 in the world. I wonder how this one compares to the one Arturia based their emulation on. I heard the CS-80V is not 100% accurate because they couldn’t find one in perfect working condition and had to make some guesses.

  3. I wonder what the two extra knobs next to the foot pedal selector switches are for.

    It may be what Nate mentioned early in the video regarding a modification.

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