SPOTLIGHT: The inimitable YAMAHA CS80
Our friends at Tone Tweakers have just acquired another Yamaha CS80 and it’s available for pre-order. Released in 1977- the same year as Star Wars entered theaters, this ultra expressive beauty has achieved legendary status, thanks to Vangelis and other electronic music pioneers. The levers, ribbon controller, touch sensitivity and polyphonic aftertouch allow the user to achieve expression not found on other vintage synths – this is a skilled keyboardist/synthesist’s dream synth.
Don’t be fooled by the two carrying handles, the CS80 is a beastly machine weighing in at around 90 kg (200 lbs). With 8 voice polyphony, incredible after touch features and powerful analog sound, those with deep pockets and deep imaginations were not discouraged by its lack of transportability: there was no other synthesizer at the time (and arguably even today) that had its means of ultra expression combined with riveting impact and depth.
Wrongfully, many synthesists and keyboard players at the time scoffed at the price tag and one look at those repurposed colored yellow, white, red and teal flip keys- the same sort of keys found on your aunties organ- mislabeled the CS80 as yet another ‘home organ’. Nothing could be further from the truth.
It’s Most Famous User
The greek composer Vangelis used the Yamaha CS-80 extensively. He described it as “the most important synthesizer in [his] career — and the best analogue synthesizer design there has ever been … 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.”
Other famous CS80 users include Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney (Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime), Michael Jackson, Abba, ELO, Toto, Jay Wires and Jean-Michel Jarre (also famously associated with the Fairlight CMI) . Restoration of these is a long and painful process typically taking around 100 hours over the course of several months.
“Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime is a holiday track that divides opinions—it’s either a nostalgic festive staple or a polarising earworm. Recorded during the summer of 1979 for his McCartney II sessions, the song captures McCartney’s whimsical, experimental side, blending a minimalist synth-driven production with a playful festive charm. Every note, layer, and vocal overdub was performed by McCartney himself, making it a quintessential solo effort. The track’s defining sound is believed to come from the Yamaha CS-80. The CS-80 has a distinct 2-pole filter, unlike the more common 4-pole filters found in most synths, giving it a unique tonal quality. The sound can be recreated by starting with one of the CS-80’s presets and adding LFO modulation to the filter to achieve the rhythmic effect heard in the track.” reverbmachine.com
For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.