Vintage Synth Explorer

Yamaha • TG-500

The TG-500 is basically a box-o-sounds. It is based on Yamaha's SY-85 (1992) and doubles the polyphony but loses the sequencer and most of the buttons and controls for real-time and patch editing. You can go with just the stock sounds, their sound quality is excellent, using AWM2 (Advanced Wave Memory), Yamaha's synth-engine of choice since the days of FM-synthesis. You can also add external ROM cards for many more sounds in various styles. Despite the lack of controls, the TG-500 has edit capabilities as extensive as the SY-85, and is easiest to program using an external or software based editor.

But as we said, it's a box-o-sounds with four expansion card slots right on the front-panel (two slots for data cards & two slots for wave cards) and a big fat volume knob. Six individual audio outputs make tracking or live PA mixing possible. It has three basic modes of operation: Voice - allows access to one patch at a time. Multi - allows up to 16-part multitimbral patches for sequencing. Performance - split/layer up to 4 patches across keyboard. Like the SY-85 it's got multi-mode filters and a dual-effects processor with chorus, flange, reverb, delay, exciter, parametric EQ, echo, ring modulation, leslie, distortion, etc. The effects can be used in series or parallel, and there are 4 busses to route sounds through them. The TG-500 was a great and economical way to get Yamaha's AWM2 style sounds, but may seem limited today.

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aymat

Posted 242 days ago

Additional sound demos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn6 4K3pd4zQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G 5LUIqQb8cY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =2D0UCToa4Uo

aymat

Posted 242 days ago

The description above makes the TG500 sound so diminished. If you've ever took the time to seriously program this beauty, it really is one of the most gorgeous sounding synths you'll ever hear. It can sound extremely elegant and ethereal (which in my opinion it excels at), or equally raw and upfront.

Some of the drawbacks which users complain about are actually not quite as bad as they make out to be. Its not terribly difficult to program but it does require patience. Believe me, the sounds that can be created with this synth are well worth the effort:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn 64K3pd4zQ

If you're on a budget and looking for a rack module that will provide you with stunning sounds, you cant go wrong with the TG500. Its a wonderful alternative to anyone looking to make a switch from software synths and one that contains an incredible amount of character.

john

Posted 441 days ago

use soundiver and its a stunner - it can be very ppg like and these Are very beautifull sounding machines which no software can match - all tehse olf vintage digital synths will oneday be colectors items , right now they are peanuts.......many have unique waveforms only available to them and many have a unique character and sit in a mix in a certain way , Tg800 , Tx802 . Jv880 ( better than the 1080 and more organic sound) Wavestation sr , Fs1r , Korg m1 . D550.......( not the vsynth version which sounds crap !) - all these justy cant be emulated by software , you may ' think ' you can but trust me - ive released and produced music for 25 years and tried the software against the hardware and you cant get the same effect or character.The tg500 is a classic going for peanuts

Oneki Kai

Posted 451 days ago

Yamaha XG predecessor (the MU series.) Many of this box's waveforms ended up in the MU-80 too. Like the XG synths, I feel this sounds thin and tinny.

Pro5

Posted 460 days ago

I owned one of these in the mid/late 90's for a few years and used it as the centrepiece of my studio at the time. Very flexible and great for use with sequencers. However as did many romplers of it's time (even those with good filters and a genuine synthesizer 'edge') the sounds became overused or dated. It is still one of the better sounding modules but maybe the JV1080's popularity eclipsed it and was a better all round rack module. I don't really use stuff like this now as I prefer full keyboard/collectable synths that are inspiring to touch/play/own or software synths in place of modules.

PROS:
Basses, Pianos (for the time), Pads
Resonant Filters
4 Outputs
Polyphony
Build quality
Expansion

CONS:
Tiny screen
Not great for programming
Too new to be 'retro' yet but too old to sound 'modern'

Rating: 3/5 (now) 4.5/5 (at release)

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