Xils Lab today shared a teaser for a new virtual instrument, The Eighty, that promises to capture the iconic Blade Runner sound of the Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer.
In 1982, composer and synthesist Vangelis created what is arguably the quintessential synth soundtrack, prominently featuring the Yamaha CS-80. The Xils Lab teaser video, embedded below, features a modern recreation of Blade Runner’s goosebump-inducing Main Titles:
The Eighty joins several other software takes on the Yamaha CS-80, Arturia CS-80V & Cherry GX-80.
Pricing and Availability:
Details on Xils Lab The Eighty are still to be announced.
nope, doesn’t nail it
The synth sound nails it, but the effects they’ve used sound a little different.
It’s close enough, though, that I found myself thinking this was just the soundtrack, until I heard them play the melody slightly different than the original.
Well, since we already have CS80V, ME80, GS80, Model 77 and Arminator for VST and AU, what we really need is a CS80 for iPhone/iPad.
“time to die” then!
I think its a given that every company that can will release its own take on every classic name synth there is. I’ve got the GX-80 and it sounds properly rich. I got to fiddle with a CS-80 in a friendly music store. As far as I can recall, the plug-ins sound quite good. My advice: you’ll most likely never encounter a real one and you’re getting a fair deal with the reimagined versions. Just pick one and play.
My take on the whole CS-80 thing is that, without poly aftertouch, you’re lacking the key ingredient of the CS-80 experience. Poly aftertouch had so much to do with what we love about the sounds it made. Yeah, there are some clever workarounds you can use to feign poly aftertouch, but they aren’t so convincing to me. Also, if you watch old footage of Vangelis playing the CS-80, the dude was all over that synth, tweaking controls in real time with great finesse. And that’s not something you can just program into a softsynth. The control surface had a LOT to do with what could be done with it.
you can create very easly a dedicated midi controller for your virtual CS80 using an Ipad and TouchOSC and then manipulate controls of your virtual synth in real time exactlly as a real synth.