Yamaha Electone Site

Fred Lui dropped by to post a comment on my GX1 Site post. He included a link to his site dedicated to the Yamaha Electone line of instruments including the EX21, EX42, GX1, EX1, EX2, FX1, HX1, ELX1, and ELX1m. Click through title link for more including larger shots. Now if I cold only read the site. : )

Yamaha GX1

Unlocking Yamaha E70 organ into Yamaha CS80 synthesizer

YouTube Uploaded by allvek597 on Sep 5, 2011
Re-Published on Feb 12, 2016

Update via e man in the comments: "There is no CS style VCO, it's just the VCF's and VCA's - the VCO's in the electronic design are what's used to clock the waveform data from the basic waveforms in ROM. It's like the Korg DW series, only analog on the VCF/VCA side. It has very little pitch control other than minimal glide (semitone range) and same for the vibrato (if even)... the source oscillators are purely phase locked digital constructs."

And: "There is no analog VCO in this entire synth, certainly nothing resembling the CS80 or any other CS synth - zip, nada, zilch - anyone telling you otherwise is trying to sell you swamp water. This is a giant polyphonic that has much more in common with the Korg DW series (also having crude basic waveform in rom), but very much lacking in it's ability to do any pitch control - what little there is, is a an digital approximation of minimal range. The only place you could add modulation circuitry to any great effect is the VCF and VCA section of the Orchestra Voices - pitch modulation is either limited global vibrato or equally minimal vibrato on the upper manual via wiggling the keyboard that drives a photovoltaic shutter combo, again going to a digital interface having little effect - even the glide is minimal and digital. You will never get anything properly analog out of the the Wavetable oscillator end as it's a giant digital construct with loads of sample and holds to distribute the wavetable rom voltages that approximate the basic synth waveforms (ramp, pulse, square). It's basically 3 waveform samples in ROM with very little control over pitch other than basic notes (the speed that the sample is read out from the ROM)."


The following is the original post starting with the video description:

"Mystery is resolved. Chopped and completely electronically modified analog Yamaha E70 organ into Yamaha CS80 synthesizer. What You see now is 2 fully programmable polyphonic synths 2 OSC's per voice + fully programmable 2 OCS's per voice monophonic synth in a body of Yamaha E70. Same P.A.S.S sound technology, same analog filters and same sound, same offspring of legendary Yamaha GX1.
Any questions, please visit www.alvek.us"


via this auction

"Here's one more organ from my collection: Yamaha E70 . What You see in the pictures is completely modified Yamaha E70 in body and electronically. Organ after chop work went 327lbs down to 130-140lbs(Yamaha CS80 is 242lbs) and under the hood all electronic carts are located pretty close to like inside of CS80. It's been a while people talking about E70 which has same P.A.S.S technology like CS80 and electronic carts, all wiring are practically the same like CS80. Yes, E70 has absolutely the same analog filters like CS80, same sound synthes and it does sound like CS80. This particular E70 has beed modified from organ into 2 and half fully programmable CS80. All presets still have same functions except FUNNYII preset green buttons. Those 3 green buttons(1 for upper, 1 for lower keyboard, 1 for pedal board or extra keyboard) function now differently. When You push FUNNY II E70 starts to work as most powerful and expensive programmable synth-Yamaha CS80. On left top of organ You see control box. The box has 3 sections: 1st for upper keyboard, 2nd for lower keyboard, 3rd for footpedal/or extra keyboard you can hook up. You can see all signs under the switches(3 waves forms sawtooth and 2 square waveshapes) and pots, they have same function like on CS80. So after all this E70 has 2 polyphonic 7 voices 2 OCSs per voice CS80 synths and one monophonic 2 OCS per note synth (pedal or extra keyboard which can be connected to E70 is monophonic, it's perfect for bass lines and pretty good even for leads as far as You will move 2 OCS slider from 16' up to 4'). Oscilators can be detunes between each other and between keyboard. Does E70 sound like CS80?. Yes, it does. Main different between E70 and CS80: no velocity and aftertouch on E70. Big flaw. On another hand You have 2 and half CS80 under the hood. You can build sound on upper keyboard and MIX IT with sound you built on lower keyboard. Also you can add organ/orchestral section(they all can be saved in memory-see small control panel on a botton of organ to left-very much the same look like on CS80) from upper keyboard AND organ/orchestral section from lower keyboard. Same thing can be done between lower polyphonic and monophonic keyboard/pedals: monosynth also can be played on first 2 octave of lower keyboard. Now You realize CS80 is kind of kind of behind! PLUS very powerful arpeggiator! and even cheesy drum machine and 100 lbs less. From control box You can see 3 cables coming inside of E70, each cable has 25 pins . The connector 9 pins in a middle of a back of E70 serves expression pedal. 3 inputs 1/4 on back are not hooked up. Could be 1/4main output(original main output on a bottom of organ)or sustain pedals-it's easy to hook up. Same about 6 inputs on control panel-they are not hooked up. It's your choice how to use them. I didn't connected any inputs for 1/4 jack, coz basically all extra functions are on control panel of organ. I don't play on stage, so I can turn on sustain effect simply by hand. The organ is absolutely stable in tune and doen't have overheat problems like CS80 Anyway, if you are still skeptical about what You read here, please check some INFO on line about unlocking Yamaha E70 and Yamaha CS80 both children of Yamaha GX1. And don't forget how much money you will save not buying CS80. Please check, read and watch all links below and You will see it's not a dream anymore. You can get 2 and half CS80 more than 4 times cheaper... compare to ebay price for last month. "

Update: new video and description in this post.

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YAMAHA EX1 FOR SALE POLYSYNTH ELP VIDEO

YouTube Published on Jun 14, 2012 by MarkJenkinsMusic

Update: according to Wikipedia the EX-42 was the stage model of the GX1, not the EX1.

Update: for those pressed on time, don't miss the slide out programmer at 20:14, the inside with the front panel removed/hinged up at 22:22, and the horizontal vibrato at 13:00 for the small keyboard. 13:47 reminded me of Beastie Boys Intergalactic.

"YAMAHA EX1 POLYPHONIC SYNTHESIZER FOR SALE.

My Yamaha EX1 is now for sale. In extremely good playing order, it's located in central UK. Buyer will collect and will need a large van ideally with tail lift.

The Yamaha EX1 is the theatre version of the GX1 as played by Keith Emerson (with Emerson Lake & Palmer on 'Fanfare for the Common Man'), by Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, Abba, Ekseption and more recently by Hans Zimmer. It's thought that maybe a dozen GX1's and 40 EX1's were manufactured.

While the GX1 was fully programmable (with difficulty) and featured a pitch bend strip, the EX1 is easily programmed for three overall patches using a slide-out front panel, and has polyphonic glide and, on the solo keyboard, a unique side-to-side movement for modulation.

The EX1 features two fully polyphonic keyboards (with organ tabs and polyphonic analog synthesizer sounds) which can be slaved together, a top keyboard monophonic analog synthesizer which can be slaved to the upper organ manual, and a monophonic analog synthesizer bass played from the included pedals, or slaved to the lower keyboard. Also included is an analog drum machine, auto chord accompaniment section, and arpeggiator.

Included with this EX1 is the original double width pearl white matching bench, and the user manual. I never took delivery of the matching speakers which are enormous - there are various audio outputs to use Leslie-type rotary speakers, or such effects can simply be added by digital fx units.

Playing condition is exactly as shown in the video, shot in mid-June 2012, and while there are very very minor questions the instrument is basically in full working order. One or two keys are intermittent on some but not all sounds, but are by no means dead and probably just in need of a clean, a couple of panel light bulbs are dead, and it's possible one of the several modulation shapes on the solo synth is non-functional - but then again, it's possible I may have misunderstood some functions, and it's certain that most controls need to be DOWN rather than UP as you'd expect for full level.

To collect the synth you'll need a large and ideally tail-lift van able to reach central UK. The bass pedals, bench and bench legs are all separately boxed. Please do not ask me about shipping of any kind - it's not possible.

Substantial offers please including details of your arrangements for collection. Obviously no dubious payment methods such as Western Union or PayPal will even be considered.

Another good EX1 demo starts here [embed below]

www.markjenkins.co"

Yamaha EX-1 Mega synth / organ tutorial by Miguel Kertsman! (part 1)

Uploaded by MiguelKertsman on Nov 28, 2011

"Composer and Keyboardist Miguel Kertsman demonstrates / explains the legendary Yamaha EX-1 Electone Organ / Synth in this detailed three-part tutorial, including live performances and improvisations!"

More videos here: https://www.youtube.com/user/MiguelKertsman/videos

MOTM Madness - Featuring Yamaha GX1 Filter clone

The Yamaha GX1 was the great behemoth that led to the more affordable Yamaha CS80. The sweeping brass sounds in Blade Runner are the CS80 courtesy of Vangelis. One thing that absolutely makes the CS80 is the character of the filter. It is extremely distinct and offers a character to the CS series sound that is unmistakably unique. It's a gorgeous sounding filter and the MOTM-485 diode filter captures it. You can hear a bit of it in the demo. I asked Paul about the demo sounding a bit out of tune and he said that's just Dave Wright. Good enough for me. Enjoy. : )

Make sure to check out other MOTM demos via http://www.synthtech.com/news.html.

Track module listing from the man behind MOTM himself:

http://www.carrionsound.com/485plasticworld.mp3

- five tracks in multitrack
- one track - bassline - vco-485vcf-mixer-soundcard (midi 2 cv controlled)
- one track - fast bassline - vco - 485vcf-mixer-soundcard (midi 2 cv w/ gate on burst generator to adsr to vcf)
- one track - drone - vco-time machine-490vcf(w/ lfo on it) -mixer-soundcard
- one track - drone - vco-infinet melody generator-phaser-mixer-soundcard
- one track - mpc1000 w/ beats - 485 vcf (w/ hand tweaking) - to soundcard - to mixer
- MOTM-485 diode filter based on the Yamaha GX-1 circuitry (mainly) + other MOTM goodness

Paul S.

Update:
I was trying to figure out a good way to describe the GX1/CS80 filter. I wanted to say nasal, but not quite. I just realized how much is sounds like processing sounds through a swarm of buzzing bees. I also was trying to think of what this particular track reminded me of and realized it's Ultravox. Like something that could have been on a b-side from the Rage in Eden days.

GForce String Machine to include the Yamaha GX1

Macaixa noticed this image and the following blurb after clicking through this post.

"?
A teaser of something that should appear in a VSM add-on pack. This instrument is a true rarity and something that we were truly privileged to play, let alone record."

If you look at the image of this post you will see that is the Yamaha GX1 programmer. For those that don't know what the GX1 is, it's the precursor to the Yamaha CS80. More massive, more coveted and much more expensive. Note the Virtual String Machine is sample based with some effects including filter:

The sounds from 17 classic and rare string machines
Over 2.5Gb of data
66 individual sample sets
49 notes, each individually sampled and looped
Dual Layer & Split Keyboard capability
Vintage style Ensemble & Phaser effects
Filter section with Lowpass, Bandpass & Highpass modes
Two Envelope Generators
Pitch LFO
Dynamic control including filter aftertouch
500+ Patch library

Yamaha CSY-1 ( SY-1 ) Analog Synth / Organ GX1 Filter

via this auction

"In 1974 Yamaha released their first ever synth, the SY-1 which was also available in the rare form of the CSY-1 which we have here, a funky 2 manual organ with the SY-1 built-in and playable from either the upper keyboard or the 13 note bass pedals.

The sound is amazing, organic, unique and very expressive too thanks to Yamaha's excellent pressure sensitive keyboard (aftertouch) which can be assigned to various parameters. The presets are pants as you'd expect but get tweaking and it really comes to life. It's something a bit different. The sound is in my opinion very similar to the mighty Yamaha GX-1's monosynth section and I have been told that they even share the same filter circuitry, if not more. (The GX-1 was made in 1975). If you can't find a GX-1 for sale or just don't have £100,000 or so to pay for one but simply must have that bubbly warm early Yamaha sound then here's your solution.

From the CSY-1 operation manual, "Do not be alarmed if sound rattling (sympathetic vibration) occurs. All materials have critical resonance frequencies at which they vibrate. Since the CSY-1 produces continuous tones, it is only normal that some will cause windows, shelves etc. to rattle."

The CSY-1 has it's own amplification/speakers built in and even has a real built in Leslie type 2 speed rotary speaker, the synth sounds great through this and the spring reverb is very sweet too.

Have a listen to Royksopp, see if you can spot it, it's one of their favourite synths. You can get an idea of the sounds on Youtube. Search for Yamaha SY1 / SY2, there are a few demos, also search for a Youtube video called Synth Barocco, the soundtrack is exclusively CSY-1. You can also download the whole CSY-1 manual if you go to the Yamaha online manual library."

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Oakley, MOTM and Blacet Modular Synthesiser

Title link takes you to shots pulled from this auction. Details saved below.



"Custom built “one off” large format Modular Synthesiser in Mint condition and perfect working order. It has been custom built from the very best of Oakley Sound, MOTM, Blacet, Encore and Tellun System modules, with custom engraved stunning looking electric blue front panels and a solid American Oak case. It has been designed and built to the highest standards, and has two separate power supplies, a Power One 1.7Amp PSU for analog modules and a Power One 800ma PSU for the “dirtier” digital modules. This arrangement keeps the soundpath noise free.

I built this modular without regard to cost and for my own personal use, it has a wide variety of filters so that as well as making all of the usual (and unusual J )modular sounds, it will also mimic a lot of old school Analog synths – the Oakley VCO’s are based on the Minimoog core, so in conjunction with the Oakley Superladder moog filter you can get perfect Minimoog and Moog Modular sounds, or use the MOTM 440 for Pro 5 sounds, the MOTM420 for Korg MS20 sounds, The MOTM410 for Korg PS3200 sounds, the MOTM480 for Yamaha CS80, the MOTM485 for Yamaha GX1 etc. BUT it also includes 2 Blacet Miniwaves with optional PPG wavetable ROMS, so wire in a couple of the Miniwaves and use them with the MOTM440 filter and you have instant PPG Waveterm 2.3 sounds!

But there is more, it also includes some very rare modules including the Oakley Octal Resonator (Only 20 ever built!), the very highly regarded ENCORE thru zero Bode style frequency shifter and the extremely wacky Neural Agoniser, which uses two huge (and very expensive) Accutronics spring line reverb tanks to make sounds you have never heard before! The Blacet MiniWaves both have the Hylander Rom expansion boards, so each MiniWave has TEN selectable Roms instead of one or two, and there are 256 waves and 256 banks in each rom - that is a LOT of waveforms. One of the ROMs even allows the MiniWaves to act as a fully featured Quantizers!.

Here is a list of all modules:

TOP ROW
OAKLEY MidiDac Midi to CV Convertor
1 of Custom Built Noise source - produces White Noise, Pink Noise and two of three oscillator 808 type “Chime” Noise sources – great for bell tones
2 of OAKLEY VCO Modded with Switchable Octaves and Fine tune (like minimoog)
1 of Oakley VCO with standard Coarse and Fine Tune controls
2 of BLACET Mini Waves – Modded with Rom expansions, each miniwave has TEN selectable roms, instead of usual 1 or 2. Includes PPG Roms and many others.
2 of Oakley ADSR / VCA’s latest issue with extra fast envelopes and status leds
1 of MOTM 440 Voltage Controlled Filter
1 of OAKLEY SuperLadder Moog filter 1P, 4P and bandpass
1 of OAKLEY Octal Resonator resonant filter bank

BOTTOM ROW
1 of OAKLEY VC-LFO
1 of OAKLEY Sample & Hold and Slew Module
1 of OAKLEY Wavefolder
1 of ENCORE Electronics Thru Zero Frequency Shifter
1 of OAKLEY Little EG – AD and AR envelope shaper
1 of OAKLEY Triple VCA
2 of OAKLEY MultiMix – With full “Stooge” mod front panels, allow addition or subtraction of voltages
1 of MOTM 485 – Yamaha GX1 LP and HP Voltage Controlled Filter
1 of MOTM 410 – Korg PS3200 style Triple Bandpass Voltage Controlled Filters
1 of OAKLEY OMS410 Expander for MOTM410, allows external use of 3 LFO’s, extra CV’s etc
1 of MOTM 420 – Korg MS20 style LP/HP/BP Voltage Controlled Filter
1 of MOTM 480 – Yamaha CS80 type LP/HP Voltage Controlled Filter
1 of TELLUN TLN-156 Neural Agoniser – With Dual Accutronics spring reverb tanks and full front panel design.

I will include a useful selection of patch cables. Also included is a huge ring binder with operation notes, building instructions, parts schedules and circuit diagrams for all of the modules. The whole system has been recently calibrated and fully tested and is 100% working. It has had very little use and should provide years of faithful service.

This is advertised elsewhere (SOS) so I reserve the right to end the auction early. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, not just the best sounding Modular synth available but the best looking one too! You could easily pay more for a piano and that just has one sound and doesn't look as nice either :-)

For further information the links below should be useful:
Oakley homepage: http://www.oakleysound.com/projects.htm
MOTM Homepage: http://www.synthtech.com/motm.html
Blacet Homepage: http://www.blacet.com/MW.html
Expansion board for Miniwave: http://www.hylander.com/miniwave.html
Encore Electronics: http://www.encoreelectronics.com/cont_fs1.html
Tellun Corporation: http://www.tellun.com/motm/diy/tln156/TLN-156.html"

Yamaha GX1

click here for an amazing flickr set of a Yamaha GX1 up for auction on VEMIA. Yamaha tone board pictured below. In the flickr set, click on any image followed by the All Sizes link to see it full size.

Yamaha GX1 site

This just in via AH. The Yamaha GX1 was the precursor to the Yamaha CS80. Check out this link for more including some video! Make sure to check out the bass pedal video. Sick.

Stevie Wonder and the Yamaha GX-1 at Madame Tussaud's Rock Circus London

video upload by Preview London

"Madame Tussaud's Rock Circus (August 1989 – September 2001), was a walk-through exhibition celebrating the history of rock and pop music, featuring its major figures recreated in wax."

Update: video added. Stevie with the GX-1 comes in at 1:34.

This one is in via swissdoc

The following is a cut and paste from the text in the image. Not sure how well the text parsing is. Below is the text Google translated.

"Rock 'n' Roll war nun DIE Musik des westlichen Kultur und verkaufte nicht nur sich selbst, sondern auch alle möglichen anderen Produktel Einige der größten Geldsummen in den 'Cola Kriegen alkoholfreier Getränke gingen an Madonna, George Michael und Michael Jackson, die an den gefilmten Werbekampagnen teilnahmen. Große Tourneen wurden von Herstellern von Bier, Sportkleidung und Jeans finanziert. Klassische Rocksongs aus den sechziger Jahren wie beispielsweise '1 Heard It Through The Grapevine', 'I Feel Free' und "When A Man Loves A Woman' wurden als Soundtracks für Fernsehreklamen benutzt.

1988 ergriff George Bush, der neue Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten, auf einer Party zu seinem Amtsantritt eine elektrische Gitarre und gab zusammen mit einer Rock 'n' Roll Band eine Bühnenvorstellung. 1989 nahm ein russisches Astronautenteam auf seiner Reise in das Weltall Bander mit Pink Floyd Musik mit. Wie es schon in dem alten Lied hieß: Rock 'n' Roll is here to stay!"

Googlish:

"Rock 'n' roll was now THE music of western culture and not only sold itself but all sorts of other products too Participated in advertising campaigns. Major tours were sponsored by manufacturers of beer, sportswear, and denim. Classic 1960s rock songs such as '1 Heard It Through The Grapevine', 'I Feel Free' and 'When A Man Loves A Woman' were used as soundtracks for television commercials.

In 1988, at an inauguration party, George Bush, the new President of the United States, grabbed an electric guitar and gave a stage performance along with a rock 'n' roll band. In 1989, a Russian astronaut team took bands with Pink Floyd music on their journey into space. As the old song said: Rock 'n' Roll is here to stay!"

Some info on Rock Circus via Wikipedia:

"Madame Tussaud's Rock Circus (August 1989 – September 2001), was a walk-through exhibition celebrating the history of rock and pop music, featuring its major figures recreated in wax. It was located at the top four floors of the then-newly refurbished London Pavilion building at Piccadilly Circus, London. Predominantly British artists featured, but many American artists were also included. The attraction told the story of rock and pop from the 1950s to the then-present day by using videos, music, narration and audio-animatronic figures."

And a list of GS1 owners via gearspace

GX-1 #5088 - SWE - Benny Andersson.

GX-1 #5080 - JPN - Private owner - Previously owned by committee members of a temple JPN.

GX-1 #5076 - ITA - Riccardo Grotto - Previously owned by John Paul Jones, Keith Emerson, Hans Zimmer et al.

GX-1 #5074 - ENG - Richard D James - Previously owned by Mickie Most.

GX-1 #5073 - ENG - Gordon Reid - Previously owned by Yamaha HQ AUS, private owner AUS.

GX-1 #5046 - ITA - Riccardo Grotto - Previously owned by Keith Emerson, painted black.

GX-1 #5041 - ENG - Pete Townshend - Previously owned by private owners AUS.

GX-1 #5040 - USA - Vintage Key Gear - Previously owned by Yamaha Dealers Association AUS, private owners AUS.

GX-1 #5023 - JPN - Private owner - Previously owned by private owner JPN.

GX-1 #5019 - USA - Merlin Entertainment (Madame Tussauds) - Previously owned by Rock Circus ENG.

GX-1 #50nn - JPN - Yamaha Corporation

Still waiting to hear from someone who knows the actual whereabouts of Stevie Wonders two GX-1s though...

You can find additional posts featuring the Yamaha GX1 here.

Yamaha SY-1 Solo Synth SN 1740

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated. Yamaha SY-1 | Yamaha’s First Portable Analog Synth | Part of the GX1 and CS80 Lineage
video upload by Alamo Music Audio Lab

"Today, Zach is taking a look at the Yamaha SY-1, a unique synthesizer straight out of the 70's Yamaha organ craze. From the lineage that brought you the all-time great CS-80, the SY-1 is a preset-heavy analog synthesizer that was created and used for lead lines and all kinds of nostalgic tones. Take a look and a listen and tell us what you think!

Sounds start at 6:54"

via this auction

"The first portable synth that Yamaha ever made!
Features the same sound engine as the legendary flagship CS-80 and GX-1 synths, albeit a monophonic primitive version. Also features aftertouch (probably also a first) that can be switched to control vibrato, pitch bend, filter, and volume. The presets are really amazing and go from Vangelis to 70s porn film soundtracks to Toto to Parliament Funkadelic to Close Encounters of the Third Kind at the flick of a switch! (John Williams used its successor, the SY-2, for the famous "Ba Di Da Buh Da"- the SY-2 apparently only had more envelope and filter controls and was otherwise sonically identical.)
Please see the Youtube link for an in-depth sound demo."

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Yamaha CSY-1 Vintage Analogue Synth Organ

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"These are a very interesting and unique sounding instrument. You've basically got a Yamaha SY-1 synth built into an organ. The synth and organ sounds can be layered, synth sound can be played by the upper keyboard or pedals.

Sounds can be routed to stationary or the built in rotary (Leslie) speakers. Lush spring reverb and what in my opinion makes these so special, the touch sensitive upper keyboard, routable to modulation, filter and volume. Amazing for 1974!

Beautiful to play, it's a very expressive synth and has that bubbly, organic early Yamaha analogue synth sound as you would expect. It does in fact use several of the same component modules as the mighty Yamaha GX1 synth and the sound, though monophonic is unmistakably similar."

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Jimmy and the Yamaha FX1

You are looking at the Yamaha FX1. The FX1 was a three manual FM based synthesizer under the Electone organ moniker, similar in look but not synthesis as the coveted analog GX1. GX1, FX1, get it? I have searched for images of the FX1 on the net and have come up empty.

Well.... Jimmy managed to run accross my site and informed me that he actually has one. To give you an idea of how rare the FX1 is, according to this Sound on Sound article there is only one in existence in the UK. The SOS article does not have an image of one. Think about that. This is about as rare as it gets folks. From the SOS article: "Lest you think that (other than the DX1) all FM synthesizers were small, neat affairs, let me tell you about the FX1. This was a huge three-manual beast very much in the mould of the GX1, but based entirely on FM synthesis. If you've never heard of it, I'm not surprised. Costing £36,000 in 1986, there's only one working example in the UK, and not many more elsewhere." Well, we now know there is at least one more working sample out there. Title link takes you to more shots sent my way via Jimmy. I need to stress how thankful I am that Jimmy took the time out to take pictures and share some of his story with me (during our conversations he stated that he would takes some shots and send them to when he had time. To my surprise that ended up being much sooner than later). I decided to include a bit of his story as well, as I found it fascinating. It also gives you a bit of this particular synthesizers' history and gives it context.

The following are excerpts from an email exchange I had with Jimmy:

"I do a single - organ, piano, sing, comedy, etc. One of the last night club entertainers left, I guess. I've been doing essentially the same type of show for the last forty-five years. I'm 65, but I'm going on 30. I definitely don't act my age, on or off stage. I still play a B-3 Hammond with two Leslie speakers. The B-3 I'm playing is the one I started playing in 1960, when I started in the night club business. I only play three nights a week. I really don't want to work more than that. I'm married and have raised two sons. I've met most of the musical stars through the years and have maintained a friendship with most of them."

"Back to the FX1, I tried to get it fixed one time (I spilled a coke into a small section to the left of the lower keyboard). Yamaha company said that they could replace the boards if I sent them to them one at a time. I really didn't know what was wrong with the organ at the time, so I sent one circuit board at a time and Yamaha replaced them, one at a time. Yamaha didn't even have a prototype of the FX1 in their repair facility so that they could compare the one I had with one in their shop. Sending parts to them really didn't solve the problem, because they didn't have a prototype in which to insert my parts to note a problem. I hadn't realized that the spilled drink was the problem. I brought the organ here from Florida and within a week, the repairman had diagnosed the problem and repaired it like new. It really is a workhorse piece of equipment. It will probably be around long after I'm gone."

"I wonder how many of these FX1s are left. I was told that there weren't too many of them to begin with. I'm not sure, but I had been told that there were twelve of them in the USA. I was told that Stevie Wonder owned one when they first came out. He has to have used it in studio. There was a train wreck (I believe) where all but a couple of them were destroyed. It was going from California to New York. Mine was one which survived the wreck. There is a corner of the keyboard where the edge is slightly bent. This supposedly happened in the accident. I don't know if this is true, Matrix, but that is what I was told (after I bought the organ!)"

"You asked how the FX1 plays, etc. It is a wild piece of history. It is the most powerful sound because of the huge external speakers. The speakers can be turned up so loud, that the sound can be deafening. I never really turned it up to max, but it is scary. The speakers are on wheels and they match the organ, which is an off-white. The organ as well as the speakers and the bench are extremely heavy - extremely. I thought that the B-3 Hammond was heavy. The organ itself weighs probably 300 pounds. The bench, alone, has to weigh 80 pounds. In order to get to the guts of the organ, you have to unscrew aload of screws and the whole front lifts up in two sections. The inside looks like the most complicated thing you've ever seen. It has six (I think) large circuit boards which pop out. It was way ahead of its time! When you change registrations, all of the sliders automatically move to the desired preset settings. It is quite amazing."

"You [Matrix] are a pretty crazy person [indeed ; )]. Very interesting that you have that site! I am really a collector of everything, so I guess I just never got rid of keyboards when I used them through the years. I also have a mini-moog that I've had for twenty five years. I'm not a great synthesizer player - I used the mini-moog for effects in my show. I should really use it for effects today. I'm trying to get informed enough to sample it down to my Kurzweil sampler. You see, on the job, there isn't a lot of time to play synthesizers, changing stops to be interesting, plus keep everyone's interest as a singer and comic. I'm a very busy guy on the stage. It's a very little one-man show that relies on personality as well as technical ability. I'm sort of the entertainer's entertainer. Andy Williams, Ray Stevens, Pet Clark, and the like, come out and watch me after their shows. Not much use for them with the type of shows here. They are playing pretty straight stuff. The town used to be known for country, but it is changing by the year. There are Beatles shows and good old Rock and Roll shows. Synthesizers are quite scarce in the shows. A bunch of my friends are into them, though, and have them at home. I am from the school of Earl Grant, Shay Torrent, Buddy Cole, Lenny Dee, Ethel Smith, Jimmy Smith, and the like. Most of them were personal friends. Petula Clark came in to see me on Saturday night. She sat in with me and sang a couple of old standards. It's a gas, because, I'm sort of a retro act. Although I have had some of these keyboards throughout the years, I am really not proficient in using them with any great knowledge of wave lengths, etc. I've been friends with a lot of the great players, and they think I'm a monster in my own way, but I've always been crazed with the way they play. I probably have thirty old keyboards - none of them are the ones mentioned in your blog - they are simple, usable keyboards that I've picked up in pawn shops, etc. I don't know if you knew who they were, but years ago, Joe Mooney, Del Statton, and Jocko Pastorius (and his dad, Jack) were good friends. Jocko was a mega monster on keyboards, as well as the bass. We were friends from the time he was 13. His dad was a good buddy. Jocko was the freak of all freaks. He would sit, as a kid, and watch me kick footpedals, without even looking up at the keyboards. I'm rattling on. I just wanted to fill you in."

Rattle on. : ) Again, I want to thank Jimmy immensely for taking the time out to share this with us. Folks, if you have any questions for Jimmy please feel free to post a comment and I'll make sure he gets it. Thank you more than words can say Jimmy. Wow!

Update: link to the manuals via hugo:
FX1E_1.pdf
FX1E_2.pdf
FX1E_3.pdf
FX1E_4.pdf
FX1E_5.pdf

Update via Jimmy in the comments: "The FX1 I have has a mini-disc recorder/playback unit attached to the underside near the right knee which can replay as though it were live. I think you can see it in the picture. Not bad for the time! I also have a second recorder. - J"

Update via the comments: More shots and info here

Update: be sure to check out the comments for more. The following via Jason:
"Add another FX1 to the list of found. This one was purchased new to be, of all things, a church organ! My father was a Yamaha dealer at the time and he was offered the chance to "test" a new model of the Electone series. It was actually purchased in 1982 (yep, before it was released). The serial number on it was "XXX" and there was nothing on the organ indicating it was an FX1. I always thought it was kind of strange Yamaha would send something like this to such a small town to be tested. Anyway, the organ is now gone after being struck by lightning in 1989. It sat out in an alley exposed to the elements for 7 years before it was finally hauled off to the dump. I tried to stop that, but I was only 15 when it was drug off, so I didn't have a choice.
I'll always remember that organ as being the "Star Trek" organ. The kids of the church would just sit at it and change the settings to make the sliders move on their own. Anyone else think it looked like a console out of Star Trek TNG? haha
btw, here's a link to an MP3 file of a demonstration of the organ playing."

Update via Andrew in the comments: "Yamaha made a promotional album for the FX-1 in 1983, you can grab it here"

Update via Rockstardave in the comments: "I did a write up on my FS-500, very similar to the FX-1, with some pictures and such:

http://freeorgansusa.blogspot.com/2010/03/yamaha-electone-fs-500.html

Come have a look at my "new" baby."

Yamaha E70 In Ivory White

via this auction

"Simply stunning and incredibly rare Yamaha E70 in a high gloss white (original factory finish), in excellent condition and perfect working order, having only had home use from new. Comes complete with it's matching bench and pedalboard, original user manuals and even 2 keys for the fall-board lock! It looks like it recently left the showroom and sounds amazing.

I've no idea how many of these exist but there can't be many, I've certainly never seen another one like it. This is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to own this beautiful instrument.

If you're not familiar with the Yamaha E70 then just do a Google search, there's lots of information and discussion regarding this instrument. The E70 basically uses the same PASS technology and circuitry as the mighty Yamaha CS80 synth from the same era and consequently sounds very similar. The E70 and CS synths evolved from the earlier legendary GX1 Electone Synth. It seems that a few people have now successfully modified their Yamaha E70's by adding an extra control panel, usually in place of the music stand, making it fully programmable and opening up most of the CS80 functionality and sound capabilities." See this post and this post.

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THE RIVER Analog Polyphonic Synthesizer & More Handmade Miniature Synths

Published on Mar 30, 2019 Ronaldo Lopes Teixeira ROLT

And more: (I believe I've posted some of these in the past - here's the full set - see the miniature label at the bottom of this post for others)



Update: the list:
MINI KORG 2 - HANDMADE MINIATURE
HANDMADE CLASSIC KEYBOARDS COLLECTION MINIATURES by Rolt
Making a Mellotron M400 Miniature
MINI MOOG MODEL D - HANDMADE MINIATURE
ARP ODYSSEY HANDMADE MINIATURE
HAMMOND B3 ORGAN HANDMADE MINIATURE
FENDER RHODES SUITCASE PIANO - HANDMADE MINIATURE
PROPHET 5 - HANDMADE MINIATURE
WURLITZER ELECTRA PIANO (BEIGE) - HANDMADE MINIATURE
HOHNER CLAVINET D6 - HANDMADE MINIATURE
MOOG LIBERATION - HANDMADE MINIATURE
Celeste - CLASSIC HANDMADE PROG KEYBOARDS

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Fanfare: Yamaha DX7 II, Moog Sub 37 & Korg Gadget for iPad

Published on Nov 23, 2015 Marcus Padrini

"Analog, digital and virtual :) A synth jam with Yamaha DX7II, Moog Sub 37 and Korg Gadget for iPad [iTunes].

Fx: TC-Helicon Voice Live GTX (chorus and reverb for the DX7 II) and Zoom MS70 CDR (chorus, reverb and delay for the Sub 37)."

Funny, I don't think I ever thought the intro is reminiscent of Dr. Who until now. Was it on purpose or just coincidence?

And the original with the mighty Yamaha GX1 (the Dr. Who riff is less obvious with everything else going on but it's there):

ELP Fanfare For The Common Man - Emerson Lake and Palmer

Uploaded on Feb 7, 2010 Igorravasi

Doctor Who Themes (All of Them)

Uploaded on Aug 29, 2011 bhssinger3

"Here are all of the the themes from Doctor Who, from 1963-2010. That is every single official theme song for the series!"

Rick van der Linden - GX1

via swissdoc:

"today I found a very nice and rare synthesizer LP at a local flea market: Rick van der Linden - GX1. As the name suggest, the whole record is done with the Yamaha GX1 synthesizer.

It is dated 1977.

Here's the cover of the LP. (pictured)

Some information about Rick van der Linden: link

There seems to be a torrent available for downloading the music"

Yamaha GX1 on Sequentix.com

Sequentix.com has a page up on the GX1. You can find it here. Currently there are only images including some of the inside and the separate programming interface. Note that Sequentix makes the P3 Sequencer and the MIDIBass 303 retrofit.


Note the bottom shot is one individual voice board with encased modules for each filter, VCA and VCO. I'm not sure how many cards are in the GX1, but if you click through you will see an image showing them lined up. I counted 50 cards, but some appear to be different than others.

Famous Synth Sounds - (19) ABBA Summer Night - Wembley Intro

video upload by SonicProjects

"https://www.sonicprojects.ch/opxpro2/...

Famous Synth Sounds 19: ABBA Summer Night City Wembley Intro synth sound vst

Check the presented sound by yourself with the demo version linked above

Click on the BANK - LOAD button in the synth's grey top-bar
Load this bank: PROII_FAMOUS
Preset 33 Abba Polymoog Brass

This is the intro sound played by Benny Andersson at the legendary gig in Wembley Arena, London, November 1979:"

ABBA - Summer Night City - Live 1979 (with alternate audio mix)

video upload by mozpiano2

Yamaha GX1.

Screenshot from the video.
Two pics from Wikipedia:

"The GX-1 served as a test bed for the development of the Yamaha CS-80 polyphonic synthesizer, which turned out much smaller and more portable (although still considered mighty hefty compared to contemporary synthesizers for live performance)."

Synth CDs

See the Synth CDs label for more.

Vintage MOOG Albums - Free downloads. Check this one out. This is not an ad.


Amin Bhatia Virtuality
Post on MATRIXSYNTH


Switched on Bach (MOOG)

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