Yamaha FS1R Legendary FM Rack Mount Synthesizer SN QN01010

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"The Yamaha FS1R is a rare bird. This is the successor to the old DX/TX FM synths. It uses 8 operators instead of 4 or 6 like those classics. Yet it can accept a DX7 patch via MIDI. It has Formant Shaping Synthesis to simulate vocal timbres. It sounds like nothing else, from huge evolving pads, to shimmering EPianos, fantastic organs, screaming leads and booming basses.

In 1998, after several years without producing a single FM synthesizer, Yamaha released a new FM powerhouse...the FS1R. These days, more people have discovered what this synth is capable of and it has seen a resurgence in popularity and has reached an almost cult-like status. It is rare to find one for sale these days. It was only produced for one year.

This little beast is far from your average FM synthesizer. Not only is it an eight-Operator variant, as opposed to the six- and four-Operator FM of the DX/TX lines, but it also features a new technology called Formant Shaping Synthesis. Formants are the spectral patterns making up the sounds of human speech. This allows for the creation of vocal like timbres but can also be applied in many different ways to create incredibly unique sounds that you won't find on any other synths.

DX7 aficionados will like the fact that the FS1R has almost complete compatibility with 6-Operator FM synths: you can send, via MIDI, a patch from a DX7, for example, and the FS1R will convert it to an identical-sounding patch in the new synth. A lot of the preset Voices actually come from the DX7's library. It's also possible to program sounds from DX7 sound charts, finding an algorithm that has an equivalent layout to the DX algorithm and turning off the unwanted Operators.

It truly sounds like nothing else out there. From huge evolving pads, to shimmering EPs, fantastic organs, screaming leads and booming basses.. this synth can sound industrial and cold one minute, and then warm and almost analogue the next. With some time dedicated to learning how to edit the patches, or create your own from scratch, there's really no sound that this synth isn't capable of making..."