Yamaha CS-80 Article Page
Introduction
Date: 1977
Type: 8-note polyphonic (2 voices per note) / Subtractive / Analogue
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One of the earliest of the true polyphonic analogue synthesizers and one of the most revered for both its sound and playability as a performance synthesizer. It's eight-note polyphonic, with two layers of voices per note and true polyphonic aftertouch. A rudimentary patch memory was included, but based on setting a 'mini' set of knobs and sliders, and not a true recallable memory such as that featured on the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 (1977).
It is also famously large and heavy - at over 100kg and costing the equivalent of £30,000, it was never going to be huge commercial success. However, artists like Vangelis have since given it a singular reputation.
Full Song table here: Yamaha CS-80 Song List
Archetypal Track
Vangelis, 'Blade Runner' Opening titles
Vangelis is probably the closest associated artist of the CS-80
Associated artists
There are several artists closely associated with the CS-80 or have used one to create prominent works
Vangelis
"The most important synthesizer in my career — and for me the best analogue synthesizer design there has ever been. It was a brilliant instrument, though unfortunately not a very successful one. It needs a lot of practice if you want to be able to play it properly, but that’s because it’s the only synthesizer I could describe as being a real instrument, mainly because of the keyboard — the way it’s built and what you can do with it.
Today (1984), the only thing that matters to synth makers and synth players is the supply of different sounds — nothing else. I think the manufacturers have a responsibility to fit synthesizers with better keyboards so that people get some encouragement to play better, because if all you do is use synths as a source of sounds, you’ll never be a complete performer. You’ll never be a player in the practical sense, you won’t acquire fast reactions.
The DX7 is a nice, commercial little toy, at a reasonable price. But it’s a little bit noisy, and I think the main reason so many people have bought it is that it has such a clever library of sounds. I don’t want to criticise it too much — it’s good for studio work and nice to have around. It is to the synth world what the Renault 5 is to cars. The Renault 5 was a hit because it was very versatile and you could park it anywhere… What I really don’t like about it is that, for Yamaha, it’s a step back from the CS-80.
When Yamaha created the CS-80, I expected them to refine it and improve it, make it lighter, put new sounds on it, but they didn’t.
Nothing since the CS-80 that I’ve used can act as a natural extension of a player’s ability. Nothing can be as immediate. The situation is even worse now with the arrival of computers."
Electronics & Music Maker 1984
Table of a few notable CS-80 tracks
Full table here: Yamaha CS-80 Song List
Notable tracks
| Artist | Track | Part | Source/link |
|---|---|---|---|
