ProckGnosis shared this video, which offers an in-depth look at a vintage analog monosynth, the Yamaha CS-5.

Here’s his video summary:

This is sort of like a review, only 30-40 years after the product was released. For being a single oscillator, mono synth, this thing really has some punch for bass, especially with the square wave undergoing some pulse width modulation from the single LFO.

As I explain in the video, this is the first analog, mono synth I ever bought, and it was playing with this synth a few years ago that piqued my interest in analog mono synths again (the OLD kind that don’t require menu diving, and you can’t save the patches).

• Oscillators – 1 VCO with pulse or sawtooth waveforms and noise-gen
• LFO – Yes, with sine, sawtooth, sample and hold
• Filter – 1 filter: 12dB/oct High pass or Low pass; 6dB/oct band-pass
• Effects – None
• Keyboard – 37 keys
• Memory – None
• Control – CV / Gate
• Date Produced – 1978-83

Here’s his musical demo of the CS-5:

If you’ve used the Yamaha CS-5, leave a comment and let us know what you think of it!