YAMAHA CS-50 - Analog Synthesizer Review, Sounds & Demo

video upload by synth4ever

"Yamaha CS-50 analog synthesizer review, sounds and demo. In this Yamaha CS50 review & demo I provide an overview of this legendary analog synthesizer, go through each of its sounds & features, and conclude with final thoughts and a synth jam.

All sounds direct from Yamaha CS-50 with no additional processing. MXR analog stereo chorus used for stereo width.

Timecodes
------------------
00:00 - Intro
00:58 - Overview
04:55 - VCO / PWM
07:44 - Filter
09:37 - VCA
10:38 - Ring Mod
12:35 - LFO
17:59 - Sustain / Portamento
19:08 - Noise Generator
22:37 - Final Thoughts
31:46 - Outro Jam

Released in 1977, the Yamaha CS-50 is the little 4-voice brother of the 8-voice Yamaha CS-60 and Yamaha CS-80. Even with half the voices, the Yamaha CS-50 still sounds fantastic as it comes from the same analog lineage as its legendary synth big brothers.

The Yamaha CS-50 features 13 presets, a single oscillator (square, PW/PWM and sawtooth waveforms), high-pass and lowpass filters (each with resonance, for BP shaping), sine wave, VCA and envelopes, ring modulation, white noise generator, LFO with multiple waveshapes, sustain & portamento, and aftertouch across the 49-key keyboard.

The Yamaha CS-50 is great for leads but can also do great drones, pads and textures. It is a pleasure to play and is very organic thanks to the 4 independent voice cards. Both the LFO and PWM go into audio rate which provide additional sub-osc sounds, and the LFO section provides independent modulation of VCO, VCF and VCA at varying levels. The famous ring modulator sound is also on-board, and can act as a 2nd LFO for tremolo, polyrhythms or additional texture.

The Yamaha CS-50 filters are not self oscillating, but if you push the HPF/LPF resonance + the overall synth resonance & brilliance controls to max, you can get some amazing distortion, grit and overdriven sounds. Gain staging is important with the Yamaha CS-50/60/80 and allows for subtle and extreme changes in sound.

The Yamaha CS-50 build quality is incredible -- it is heavy (70-100 lbs), the faceplate is made of metal, and it comes build-in to its own wooden tolex case w/ lid and legs. It is a performance synthesizer and designed for tweaking on the fly with its many levers and sliders. As part of the Yamaha CS-60/80 family, the Yamaha CS-50 shares the same unique sound qualities and tonal characteristics of its bigger brothers.

If you can get your hands on a Yamaha CS-50, do not hesitate. They are becoming more rare on the 2nd hand market and prices are steadily rising. It is a triumph of Yamaha's synthesizer engineering at the time, and is capable of many different analog sounds. It is a beautiful organic instrument, and full of emotion.

Thanks for watching this Yamaha CS-50 review and demo, and hope you enjoy the walkthrough and sounds along the way."