"Deckards Dream": CS-80 Rackmount Clone

[Theo Verelst]

turning the spaghetti into little traces on a PCB might well make a sound difference. Just like with moog adding programmability to the analog electronics may do so and more.

 

Still an interesting project which hopefully Yamaha won't mind about.

 

Believe it or not I was juat a few hours ago getting acceptable CS solo and poly sounds out of a CP4...

 

T.

[Devnor]

You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig.

[hardware]

I really never quite understood whoopty do about the sound of the CS-80.

I dumped mine for an OBX without thinking twice.

PAT the Ribbon and the Kick ass BPF were fantastic but live in a group with a B3 and 2 Guitars it wouldn't cut through as good as the Prophet V or OBX.

The Chorus section was lame and buried the sound even further.

 

I'm sure the DIY builder will hook lots of people with his Brass Rack..

[Marzzz]

I really never quite understood whoopty do about the sound of the CS-80

 

Well, I really hated the Fender Rhodes when I tried to gig with it back in the day...

[DulceLabs.com]

I really never quite understood whoopty do about the sound of the CS-80.

I dumped mine for an OBX without thinking twice.

PAT the Ribbon and the Kick ass BPF were fantastic but live in a group with a B3 and 2 Guitars it wouldn't cut through as good as the Prophet V or OBX.

The Chorus section was lame and buried the sound even further.

 

Due to its size & weight, I've always thought of more as a studio board, but then I realized you old dudes were used to schlepping huge 200lb+ instruments.

 

 

 

 

[Legatoboy]

I have an old A-50 that I wouldn't let go of because of Poly AT....I tried it with my CS-80V 2...not bad but I need to spend more time with it and that software..

[AnotherScott]

I really never quite understood whoopty do about the sound of the CS-80.

In part, it may depend on the music you're into. Also, it's not entirely about the sound, it was also about the expressivity (i.e. poly AT).

 

As for preferring a Prophet V or OBX, neither of those existed when the CS-80 came out. (Actually, relatively few other poly synths existed, which also probably contributed to its popularity and subsequent reputation.)

 

As for competing in a live group with a B3 and 2 guitars, well, that also gets into what music you're into. When I think CS80, I think Eddie Jobson, Vangelis, Keith Emerson's GX1 which was sonically similar... and here's a more complete list...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Yamaha_CS-80_notable_users

 

Few (if any) of these folk were playing in bands with two guitarists (or often, even one), and no separate B3 player. (If there was B3, the same guy was probably playing it, so competing with would not really be an issue.)

 

Really, I doubt many CS80 owners ever used it as their only keyboard. Like everything else, you could use it where its sound worked, and use something else where it didn't. Anyway who had a CS80 probably had a stack of stuff. And anyone who is interested in a CS80 emulation today is likewise unlikely to be using it as their only sound source. It simply adds to the palette, with some characteristics that are unlike other things you probably have.

 

The funny thing is, personally, I've never had a longing for a Sequential or Oberheim, except from a purely practical point of view (sometimes comparing favorably to other boards in their day from the perspective of things like price, travel weight, user preset memory). For whatever reason, I didn't find them particularly appealing. I preferred Moog, Roland, Korg.

[mate stubb]

An expressive poly can do a lot. For several years my entire rig consisted of a Rhodes Chroma and an analog Korg CX-3.

 

I emulated acoustic piano, rhodes, clav, combo organ, and wurli on the Chroma. While they would not fool anybody today, the sounds were evocative on their own and would do the job.

 

The key was velocity sensitivity, which the Chroma had and none of the others did.

[hardware]

Yep, stacks of keyboards.

2 Keyboard players, Helpenstill and Yamaha Grands, MiniMoog ARP String Ensemble, Hammond B3, Rhodes, Horner D6, Mini Moog, etc.

The CS-80 had a certain sound and of course PAT Voice lead chords was great but the sound was better suited for the 11 Piece Horn Band I bought it for originally.

 

The sound was only half of the equation. Portamento was thin compared to the separate Osc. Glide Moog had.

Great polysynth, everyone called it the Saturday Night Fever synth back then.

 

So if the Rack can have all of the performance treats of the original beast that would be great.

If it's just the sound, any synth with 2 filters can get that.

 

In my Horn group I built a wooden angled shelf so the CS-80 could sit on top of the Rhodes. Poor bastard was crushed by the sheer weight.

 

We did some Weather Report arrangements where I wished I had The Chroma, but the CS-80 was well suited for that type of music.

 

free pic