Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer Noodling Part II - Knife Jogger Azures (Super Duper Audio Quality)

Published on Oct 31, 2016 raycastile

Part 1 here.

"Hello again! Here is another video of me improvising on my Yamaha CS-60 vintage analog synthesizer. Unlike the last one, which had risible audio recorded on an iPhone, this video has crisp, clear, beautiful audio recorded on a computer using Logic Pro X. This is the first time I've ever recorded anything using Logic Pro. I think it turned out pretty good, considering I had no idea what I was doing.

Obviously, this improvisation was inspired by Vangelis' "Blade Runner Blues." It's not a cover of that piece, just something in a similar vein. I wanted to demonstrate how a CS-60 can produce sounds usually associated with its big brother, the CS-80. It really has less to do with the synth and more to do with the way you play it.

There are no overdubs. The background tracks are looped patterns sequenced with the Alesis MMT8 (that gray box hovering to the left of my head), and arpeggiated rhythms coming from the Novation MoroderNova and Roland XP-30. The MMT8 is playing some electric piano noodling on the Yamaha Reface CP, a noodly doodly bass line on the Ensoniq ESQ-1, a vibe/string pad on the Korg M1, and a string pad on the Roland D-50. I'm playing the leads live on the CS-60.

The CS is going back to the tech soon, so I won't be able to play it for awhile. You can hear that the aftertouch is a little wonky, plus there are other issues. I edited out the most egregious hiccups. I'm looking forward to playing a fully-functional, problem-free synth! Though I suppose CS synths are never really problem free.

I hope this video satisfies people who wanted to hear a higher quality recording of the CS-60. You have almost a half hour of spacey blues noodling. So pig out!"