Yamaha CS-50
The CS-50 was released just ahead of its famous big brothers, the CS-60 and CS-80. The CS-50 looks like a scaled-down version of the monstrous CS-80, and it is! This will benefit those who crave the famous classic Yamaha synth sound without the struggle of lugging around the 215 pound CS-80! The CS-50 weighs in at about 100 pounds. The CS-50 is also just 4-voice polyphonic, and lacks the quality weighted 61-note keyboard of the CS-80. The CS-50 has just a 49-note standard keyboard. It does feature pressure (aftertouch) sensitivity route-able to several destinations, however.
The CS-50's sound is unmistakably related to other classic CS-series synthesizers. At just four voices with one osc. per voice and lacking warm filters (at just 12dB/oct) the CS-50's sound can be thin. There are 13 preset sounds of various instruments and synth sounds but, unfortunately, no on-board memory storage for your edited presets. At its low street price, the CS-50 makes a great way to get your hands on these classic sounds without going broke! It's too bad their tuning is just as unstable as the other CS-series synths. It's housed in a built-in travel-case like the other (big) CS-synths. It's been used by Men Without Hats and Herbie Hancock.
- Specifications
- Polyphony - 4 voices, monotimbral
- Oscillators - Four (1 VCO per voice)
- LFO - One
- Filter - 12 dB/oct lowpass and highpass filtering
- Effects - None
- Keyboard - 49 keys (pressure sensitive, route to various destinations)
- Memory - 13 preset, 1on panel
- Control - None
- Date Produced - 1977
- Websites of Interest
- Resources & Credits
Images from Perfect Circuit Audio.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wExnI0y008&feature=plcp&contex t=C360a42dUDOEgsToPDskKsOzIRbgp8DKm8xhJsprEA
It is also deceptively simple. A variety of different timbres can be made by simply tweaking the brilliance and resonance slider. I've never played a synth were the resonance has had such an impact on the total sound. I'd roll my eyes if I read that statement too, but it really needs to be experienced to be understood.
Chorus can help ease the warmth out and reverb is a must!
Otherwise I shall kick myself for selling it!