In the latest episode of Yamaha’s Behind The Synth podcast, hosts Blake Angelos and Nate Tschetter take a look at the vintage CS-15.
The Yamaha CS-15, produced 1979-1982, is an analog monophonic/duophonic synthesizer. It features two VCOs, two mulitmode filters, LFO, a noise generator and more.
You can listen to the podcast via the embed below, or via the YamahaSynth site.
Image via Steve Castellano
My first analog synthesizer bought at Manny’s in NYC in the 80s by my dad. Miss mine…haven’t even seen one since the 90s.
Wow! I haven’t thought about Manny’s in a long while. Thanks for triggering some memories!
These guys sound like they’re really personable. I’d love to chat about synths with them. I just wish they had done a bit more research, and maybe planned out what they were going to do, before they started recording. That CS15 can really sing, and it should have been the star of the show… but the stuff they do with it is kinda lame.
Over the years I have owned a CS-01, CS-10, 2 x CS-15’s, CS-15D and a CS-30. The CS-15 is still my favorite monophonic synthesizer.
Lucky! CS15 over a 30? Interesting.
Seems weird, but I had the same experience, maybe for different reasons than james. The -30 sounded awesome in isolation yet never seemed to gel with other instruments whereas the -15 was an easy fit. Never did try setting the -30 the same as the -15 and A/B them, though.
If Yamaha was smart, they would reissue an updated analog CS-15.
I had been thinking of selling mine, but this reminded me of how great it is. Built like a tank too.
A friend of mine was a monosynth collector where I was keen on a pair of early ROMplers and tabletop modules. He had a CS-15 and it took a while for a pair of Moog/Korg guys like us to appreciate it, but we did. It didn’t have a very beefy sound, but the filters in particular made it intriguing. Its a nicer instrument than some realize. Bamidon is right, its tank-tough. That was helpful back when our “flight cases” were blankets inside the original boxes. 🙂
Every Yamaha synth I’ve ever played has been built like a tank, from the 70’s CS synths to the Montage. Their pro keyboards have always been built like tanks, great to play and, yes, HEAVY. I’d like to get my hands on one of these!
I had a CS-15 and a CS-30 for a few years. The CS-15 looks great and has a cool dual voice architecture. It would be great to see a reissue with a few upgrades: osc sync, sub osc (choice of -1 or -2 octaves), selectable filter slope, hotter circuit in mixer to allow for overdrive, more LFO waveforms, LFO delay, option in VCA sections for a simple on/off envelope instead of just EG1 and EG2.
Also, adsr control for pitch! I love this synth, but with all it’s routing flexibility, it’s incredible there’s no eg modulation in the pitch section.
There is a dedicated decay envelope for pitch. I mean, sure, the full adsr control would be nice, but you can’t say there’s no eg modulation for the pitch because there is!
Does one glide ramp count as an envelope generator? I was referring to the Adsr mod sections throughout the synth. I also trigger the cs as a duophonic synth via CV, and the glide section gets disabled this way.
Sure there is, the GLIDE section, glide up or down and the time it takes to get on pitch. Right above the pitch bend.
This synth always sits right by my side in the studio. It’s especially great with the serial filter mod and the oscillator sync mod!
I loved the way it made the CR-78 sound when being run through the CS-15 filter, back then unusual but a mainstay sound today.