Yamaha CS-15

Software? Ummm This is 100% FAT Analog mono synth powered. It has 2 oscliator's( or 2 voices, if you like)and a noise generator for making sweeping wind fx's. It also has 2 A.D.S.R.'s which can be set up totally different and has a X's 5 switch to extend the values of the ADSR well... 5 times as long. Im not sure what measure of time is used, but you get the feel for it after a while.


There are no presets.. what you hear is the live value of each knob or fader. Editing is super easy if you can turn a knob or slide a fader. This synth is very much like a mini-moog at a fraction of the cost... if you can find one. :o)

I never got the manual, got this baby by chance at a great price. $100.00 USD in about 1984. I wouldn't even consider selling it. It is in my keep-it-till you die collection along with my Moog Taurus pedals.

If you like Progessive Rock or getting cool sound FX's, fat Bass tones and Killer Square and Saw-tooth leads... this is for you. If you like that tinty, tiny, antiseptic digital 80's sounds.. this is not for you. This is a real synth and reqiures some imagination. so if you have been spoon fed your whole life with other making desicions for you, skip it. :O) Just kiddin..

No Poly...only mono with 2 oscilators
No FX's per say, but can get some cool effects out it.
Expansion? Yeah.. get another keyboard..That will expand your sound.. NO Expansion
Midi? Just what IS midi??? Midi wasn't even a thought at that point in time.. speking of time, this Dinosaur was built in the 70's. Enuff said.
No sequencer (Those are like training wheels anyway)

The sky is the limit.. just use your imagination and tweak those knobs till things start sounding good. The olny thing I don't like about it is if you are doing trill's, the keyboard will only play notes higher than the stationary note. Forgive my lack of better terminology. It has a portamento (glide) slider, which is a cool feature IMOA. The action is a bit funny to me, but I got used to it.

Rock solid reliability. There is variance on tuning being it is all solid state. It is also housed in a very sturdy metal chasis. I have used it several times live with no problem, providing that you have desent lighting to see the knobs. I couldn't use it with out a back-up being it is a mono synth, but as far as with a back-up mono synth... Yes, I am confident in it's ability to work every time for me.

Never needed it... so I think that if you don't need support or that the company provided pre-emptive support by building a machine that last.'s (30 years now) and needs no support, that is the best support of all.

If it got lost or stolen, I'd hunt down the perpetraitors and have them shot, hung and then sent to the Russian Front.. Really though, I like this thing alot and I know it would be hard to replace. But, it is just a material possesion and some just as good, if not better, would step in to take it's place.
I've been playing Guitar for about 27 years now and Keys/Synths for a abour 21 years. I currenty own a Korg O1w/fd, A Korg Triton, Moog Taurus Pedals, the Yamaha CS-15, a Seqeuntial Circuits 6-track (junk)and I recently got a couple of Yamaha PSR series knock-around synths that aren't too bad really, for what they are. Oh yeah, and somewhere I got a Casio S-1 sampler (toy) and an old ass Ensoniq Mirage.. eeck!

Familiarity with analog synthesis is the key to ease of operations with this synth. Fortunately, though it has 30 or so knobs, it is layed out better than any synth I've used before. No memory, so bring a notepad to this campfire! Everything is easy to interpret, and understand.

Features on an analog synth are relative to your creativity. There are many modulation routing options. The 2 filters are controlled independantly, and they can both have 3 different modes. (band pass, high pass, and low pass.) The external input is a plus, especially if you play guitar/bass. No guitar effect compares to the sweet sound of the filters & the lfo available to the ext. in. The performance controllers are excellent as well.

Ok, I think we all know you won't be immitating a piano on this one, but it truly has its own sound. It is razor sharp and silky smooth at the same time. It sounds better in my opinion than any moog you could have for <1000$... Performance wise, the keys trigger nicely, though the envelopes take some adjustment (esp. if you are used to a pro-one as I am...)

It is built like a brick sh*te house! I have not owned this long, but would trust it more than any digital pile of junk on the market. It is rock solid. Tuning even seems more stable than most it's age.

I don't let anyone else touch my babies! It is very basic equipment. If you can't fix it yourself, you probably know someone who can.

I got an extremely good deal on this, so I am not sure if I could find or afford another one if it were lost. But I would sure as hell try! More products should be made like this one - solid, ergonomic, clean-cut. Yamaha knew what they were up to when this was created. Only thing that would be nice would be slightly faster envelopes.. But otherwise it is it's own synth, and a master of it's art.

This unit is very easy to use, as it is like most other analog synths of the era. No presets or operating systems to worry about. About 30 or so knobs and sliders.

MIDI? Are you crazy? 100% analog pre-MIDI mono synth. It does have CV gate, so you could buy a Kenton box or something to MIDI it if you need. It also has an audio in that you can use to run other things through the filters.

You won't find better bass sounds...well, maybe you could, but you probably couldn't afford them if you found them. This synth has the sound that you are looking for if you want and old Moog or the likes.

It's about 20+ years old and still rockin...whatta you think?

I think the warranty has been out for a while.

I highly recomend this synth to anyone looking for early Moog sounds or someone wanting to learn about synthesis, as this unit really helps you determine what knobs do what to a sound. This synth is so underpriced, I'd buy up all that I see and hang on to them. Someday they will skyrocket. Also, check out the other similar ones...CS-5, CS-30L, are two that I have played as well.