David recording the Yamaha SY-1 for Necromonkey

Published on Apr 4, 2015 RothHandle

This video gives you an idea of the size of the SY-1.

"Things are really falling into place at Roth Händle V in Sollentuna.

This last Saturday we had our sort of opening party with three live bands playing...Pentapolar birds, Gösta Berlings saga and Switch opens. It was truly an amazing night.

Today we continued working on the new Necromonkey album. The song we are working has the working title Plane. We are very well aware that this is a pretty crappy name but its what we are working on. Today we started off by recording and double tracking a Mini Moog bass line. The Mini Moog sounded great of course but we wanted to add a different texture so we overdubbed a Yamaha DX-100 with an almost Seinfeld sounding bass."

Multivox/Solton Pulser M75 DualVoice Analog Synth with Aftertouch

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via this auction

Googlish: "The M75 sounds better in my opinion than a Korg M500 or Roland SH2000 or Yamaha SY-1, yes I have owned all times and can probably allow me this opinion. Features that are stand him second OSC can be against 1 detune particularly interesting with the Ringmod preset, sync and gate inputs and outputs, filter CV input, simply times the panel study.

NFOS von sequencer.de!
Built 1980
2 Voice Synthesis: subtractive
OSC Features presets sync ring
Wave Shapes presets set the waveform noise saw pulse
2 OSCs
1 Filter lpf selfself reso 4 Pole
1 LFOs tri
1 Envelope Generators 1x R
Sync + GATE Control in+out
Filter CV in
37 Keys with aftertouch"

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Yamaha CSY -1 Synth Organ

via this auction

"Yamaha CSY-1 synth organ in good working order. Interesting instrument, basically an organ with the Yamaha SY-1 monosynth built in, capable of some pretty unique sounds."

SN 2810

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YAMAHA SY-1 Analog Synthesizer 1974 | HD DEMO

AnalogAudio1

"(c) 2020 by AnalogAudio1

I played the YAHAMA SY1 with reverb effects from the Lexicon MPX-500 and delay effects from the Korg SDD-3000.

The Yamaha SY is a synth with presets, which can be altered: Filter settings, waveforms, envelope... it's similar to the Roland SH-2000, but it has the sound characteristics of the early CS series, which is great."

Synthesized - Event at The Centre for Computing History in Cambridge 23 & 24 July 2016

via computinghistory.org:

"A weekend of retro synthesizers, drum machines and samplers ...

Come and try the synthesizers, samplers and drum machines that changed the way music is created. This weekend will explore how computers and digital equipment changed the music industry. With classic keyboards, Raspberry Pi computers running Sonic Pi, BBC Micros with sound programming guides, and Apple Macs that let you remix music with bananas… there’s something for all!

Free drop-in event included as part of your admission fee. Bring your own headphones!

Come and experience some classic machines of the 80s and 90s including :

Roland D-50
Roland S-750
Roland MC-202
Roland TB-303
Roland SH-101
Roland Alpha Juno-1
Yamaha SY-85
Yamaha CS5
Akai S1000
Casio FZ-1
Casio CZ-101
Casio VZ-1
Akai AX-80

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Yamaha SY-2

via this auction
"The big star here is the filter; it is the same filter that was put in the mighty Yamaha GX-1 (One could debate as to it being Yamaha biggest, most wonderful synth ever; the only contender being the CS-80 but even then, the GX-1 was much more elaborate and expensive). Personally I'd describe this filter as sitting somewhere between the larger Yamaha CS units' filter and that of the MS-20 (But much more musical than the MS20's). It can get extremely resonate (it has both a low-pass AND high-pass filter, both featuring separate resonance controllers) making it great for squelchy basslines. There are lots of control options for this synth, it just takes a little time to wrap your head around what Yamaha thought was a good thing to name a control function and what it actually does. One could liken it to a 1 (maybe 2) VCO synth with 2 envelopes, a LFO, slide, VCF in, touch modulation, Pulsewidth control, etc. The unit also come with the original foot expression pedal for sweeping the filter, volune, etc, the metal stand legs (two poles are missing the plastic parts on the feet but I'm sure you can find those off an old desk or at Home Depot or something. I've never needed them), and the top of the case which latches on, protecting the synth for transport (as you can see the synth is built like a flight case). There is a section inside the top to store the legs as well."

The Yamaha HX1

Click here for a site dedicated to the Yamaha HX1, including samples, sent my way via Loscha. The site also includes the following modules: CVS-10, AVS-10, MDR-2/3/4/10, FVX-1, AVX-1, VEX-1/VEX-10, MBS-10 and more.

"The Yamaha HX is an electronic organ (musical instrument with keyboards) usually refered as an Electone - electronic tone (sound) generator. It is used not only for playing church pieces as with traditional organ or harmonium, but also for contemporary music such as jazz, rock etc. along with auto accompaniment and rhythm patterns. The first HX was introduced in 1987 and was the first electone equiped with Yamaha's new AWM tone generator (sampeled acoustinc sound). (EL and AR series are almost entirely AWM based).

The HX has warm sounds and beutiful figure (as can be seen in the Modular page). The tone generators of that series supported FM (Frequant Modulation),WM (Wave Memory - sampled organ sounds) and AWM (Advenced Wave Memory - sampled acoustinc sounds). As far as I know, only the HX (and FVX-1) series had 8/16 operatores for each FM sound, the famouse Yamaha DX-7 and SY-77 had only 6 operatores for each FM/AFM element. The HX has:
- 90 presets + 8 user (programmable) FM polyphonic voices (8 op. each),
- 54 presets + 6 user (programmable) FM monophonic voices (16 (!!) op. each),
- 16 presets + 16 user (programmable) WM polyphonic voices (Sampeled Drawbars),
- 5 presets AWM polyphonic voices (U/L keyboard),
- 5 presets AWM monophonic voices (bass),
- 60 Percussion AWM sounds."

Failed repair attempt on the SY-1

Published on Jun 6, 2016 organfairy

Thought this was interesting. I always thought circuit board encapsulation was just an outer case. Apparently not.

"Last year I bought a Yamaha SY-1 that unfortunately turned out to be defective - and to add insult to misery the defective circuit board is potted with some black unknown substance.
This video shows my failed attempt to remove this material using acetone.

The music is "June Night" written by Abel Baer and I play it on a selection of toy keyboards from the brand MusicTime."

Yamaha SY-1 Images and Sample

Title link takes you to a track featuring nothing but the SY-1 via Lasse Viklund in the comments of this post by LDT on Synthwire. You can find more images and info in the post.

Yamaha SY-1 demo

Published on Jun 20, 2016 organfairy

"I bought this synthesizer more than a year ago and normally it doesn't take this long to make an instrument playable again. But because I had to make an entire new circuit board after having been forced to give up on the old one it became a quite long process.

But now it is finished and therefore I have made a short demo where I play one of Ronald Erle Grainer's most well known melodies: The theme from Dr Who (in case anyone haven't heard it before). Everything is played on the SY-1 and only echo is added in the final mix."

Yamaha CSY-1 Vintage Analogue Synth Organ

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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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YAMAHA SK30 String Machine 1979 | HD DEMO

Published on Apr 2, 2018 AnalogAudio1

"(c) 2018 by AnalogAudio1

Synthesizer Demo of the analog synthesizer/string machine YAMAHA SK-30. I played it along with Lexicon MPX500 (reverb) and Korg SDD-3000 (delay).

Yamaha's SK-series are string machines with additional sections (poly-synth, mono-synth, brass, organ, depending on the model). The SK30 was the flagship (the SK50 was just a double manual version of the SK30). It has "ORGAN", "STRING", "POLY-SYNTH" and "MONO-SYNTH" sections, they all are mixable. The Poly-Synth section has a nice analog filter (but only one for all voices - finally it's a string synth, not 100% a synthesizer). In a certain footage/waveform, it even has a highpass filter engaged. The keyboard has aftertouch, which is assignable to LFO intensity or filter cutoff (similar to Yamaha SY-1/2 or Roland SH-2000).

A nice layer-string machine! It's a big beast, it competed with ARP Quadra, Korg Trident, Crumar Multiman, Farfisa Soundmaker and Farfisa Polychrome."

Yamaha Celebrates 40th Year Anniversary with Synth Timeline & Special Edition White MOTIF XF

"The first Yamaha synthesizer was released in 1974, at a time when synthesizers were only just beginning to be accepted into the musical mainstream. Yamaha has been at the forefront ever since, with instruments that have defined musical styles and propelled countless artists to stardom. 40 years on, Yamaha synthesizers and music workstations are still the instruments of choice for acclaimed professionals and discerning amateurs worldwide.
40 years is a milestone worth commemorating. To mark this auspicious occasion and reaffirm our commitment to empowering artists everywhere with the finest tools available, we have created the limited edition 40th Anniversary MOTIF XF Music Production Synthesizer. The commemorative MOTIF XF is pure white, symbolizing both our dedication for the past 40 years and a new beginning from which an even brighter future for musical creativity and expression will arise. Celebrate with us, and the pure-white 40th Anniversary MOTIF XF."



"Beginning with our release of the SY-1 in 1974, Yamaha's rich history of development and production of synthesizers has now reached the 40-year milestone. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Yamaha synthesizer—which has remained consistently at the forefront of the music industry—we explore this innovative history, looking back on the products, technologies, and developments unique to each period."

Check out the time line here.

Yamaha Yamaha SY-1 analog synthesizer 1974

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via this auction

Man, all those vintage synths gone to fluff... And yes, there are two Yamaha's in the listing title. Made me wonder if a Behringer Yamaha will eventually come...

That's the Moog couch & synth pillows.

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Synthesizer von Gestern II

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via this auction

"A brand-new sealed example of the most beautiful book ever produced about synthesisers.

Hardback, top quality paper and reproduction, full colour printing on most pages, great photos by Dieter Stork, and authoritative, well-researched text by Matthias Becker.
In German, but still a huge amount of info and synth porn for a non-German-speaker.
146 pp, A4 size (nearly 12 x 8.5"). 750g (1lb 10oz) - a really solidly-made and well-bound book.

First edition, published 1995. This is the second (and bigger) of two volumes of the book, and covers a huge range of classic synthesisers.

Instruments featured:-
Oskar Sala's Trautonium and Mixtur-Trautonium (cf the whole soundtrack of Hitchcock's Birds)
Joergensen Clavioline
ARP 2500
EMS Synthi 100
Moog Sonic Six
E-mu Modular
EMS Synthi Hi-Fli
ARP Pro-Soloist
Steiner-Parker Synthacon
RMI Harmonic Synthesizer
EMS Synthi E
Birotron
PPG 1002
Moog Taurus
Moog Liberation
Roland System 700
Synlab Modular (incredible!)
Yamaha SY-1
Oberheim OB-1
Roland SH-7
Steiner EVI
Crumar DS2
Yamaha CS-30
Korg Sigma
Korg VC-10
ARP Quadra
Roalnd RS-505
Roland VP-330+
Fairlight CMI
Realton Variophon
Oberheim OB-Xa
Oberheim OB-SX
Roland SPV-355
Moog Prodigy
Gleeman Pentaphonic
RSF Kobol
E-mu Emulator I
DK Synergy
RSF Blackbox
Roland SH-101
Roland TB-303
Roland TR-606
Roland MC-202
SCI Prophet 600
Roland Jupiter 6
Korg Poly 61
Yamaha DX7
Syntec Banana
SCI Prophet T8
Boehm Soundlab
OSC OSCar
Korg Poly 800
Oberheim Xpander"

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Yamaha Service Manuals

Title link takes you to shots pulled via these auction. Note there are quite a few more manuals listed in the auction. I just grabbed the keyboard shots. Yamaha SY-1 and CS01 "Combo Synthesizer" pictured. Note how Yamaha goes back and forth between the use of the "-" between alphanumeric characters.

1974 Yamaha SY-1 w/ Dust Cover & Manuals

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via this auction

"First synthesizer Yamaha ever produced in early seventies. Fantastic sounding VCO preset monophonic with 12dB analogue filter and controls of cutoff, resonance, PWM and aftertouch. These filters are early types used in mythical GX series unlike later, CS series. This synth is in nearly mint condition with original dust cover and manuals. All switches, keys and pots are smooth and working flawless. There are chips above the preset tab and on the right side to remind you that this is 40+years old synth despite the fact it looks amazing. And that's about it. The best example of first Yamaha's synth you can come across. 220V version."

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Yamaha SY-1 SN 2150

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via this auction

"Yamaha synth manufactured in 1974. Single-voiced monophonic synth(no chords). This is extremely rare and the first synthesizer Yamaha manufactured.

Filters and Resonance controls have very unique quality probably due to the hardware's age.

It is in 7/10 physical condition and still works flawlessly. Connect it to a modern DAW and it can sound massive and weird (particularly lower frequency sounds). Signal chain and sounds altered by lever switches (portamento, envelope, pitch,instruments, etc)."

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Yamaha SY-2

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via this auction

"This a rare Yamaha SY-2 monophonic analog synthesizer. Related to the famous Yamaha CS-80 and GX-1. Manufactured circa 1977. Sounds beautiful with classic tone."

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Yamaha SY-2 Synthesizer

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via this auction

"The Yamaha SY-2 of 1975 or so
An outstanding sounding and playing instrument.
One of the most responsive aftertouch systems known to mankind. Excessively playable and 'expressive', as they say.
Uses the same discrete VCO VCF VCA modules as in the Yamaha GX-1
Precursor to the CS IC based stuff.
Massively underrated by most, highly prized anyplace people have working hearts and ears."

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