Product: Yamaha CS-01
Price Paid: US $250/1988
Submitted
02/03/2000
at
04:30pm
by
Steve Kennedy
Email: skennedy<at>sirius dot com
Ease of Use
:
9
Simple monophonic analog single oscillator synth with minikeys and
strap on pegs if you want. Very easy to learn. One hour fooling around will get you there. The real power of the synth is in the breath controll. Get a breath controller and contro filter and amplitude and you will see what it is good for...very expressive.
Features
:
4
no nothing....just breath control and a cool portamento. Great octave control from low low bass to very high pitched sounds. Has 5 wave settings and panel control. no patch memory. Closer to a SH101 or
SC Pro-1 without the seqencer/arpegiator but add breath control.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
7
Great analog sound for such a itty bitty synth. The breath controller
lets you bring the volume and filtering up and down...very expressive and unique sonding.
Reliability
:
8
Had it for over 10 yrs. Still working.
Customer Support
:
7
Yamaha is a big company but I don't expect any support for this little guy.
Overall Rating
:
8
I would miss this little guy. The ability to play a lead line with
breath control is unique. Excellent capability for low price. If you
need a lead synth and have $100 bucks...pick one up and don't forget
to get the yamaha breath controller. You won't regret it.
Product: Yamaha CS-01
Price Paid: US $60 used
Submitted
12/27/1996
at
10:57pm
by
John Woods
Ease of Use
:
9
Very easy to get sounds quickly. Great for live playing. I've never seen the manual, but I don't think anyone would really need one.
Features
:
8
It's a little monophonic analog keyboard. Very easy to play because it's got mini-keys. The best part, though, is that you can strap it on for super cool mobility. The pitch and mod wheels are very easy to use from a standing position, as well. It's a sort of one-trick pony, because it has no sequencer, effects, MIDI, or anything fancy like that. However, it's the best at making those hard to find Atari 2600 sounds. It's even got a built in speaker!
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
7
For such a small keyboard, it has an impressive range of sounds. There are five different wave forms, each with its own personality. You can get everything from mellow sounds, to in your face 80's analog lead tones. Surprisingly, the bassy sounds you can get with this board are pretty good. I use it for pop-rock music, but I could see it working in dance.
Reliability
:
9
This is probably the most reliable analog board I've ever played. It's so simple to set the sounds, and since there are few sliders, you can find your sounds easily. I would definitely play with it live!
Overall Rating
:
10
I would buy five of these if given the money to do so! I love it because when I play with my band, people come up to me afterwards and say "what was that little thing you were swinging around?" It looks cool, it's light, it sounds great, and it's just so easy to get great sounds! The only thing I could wish for it was that the pitch wheel was a little less extreme. It's a small wheel, and it goes an octave range. It's tough to get it to go to the right note. Other than that, it's perfect for that wicked keyboard solo! Just imagine how cool you'll look with one of these babies strapped around your neck! Best of all, they're totally underated, so you can get them for $60 or so. If you see one, pick it up, and you won't regret it.
