Yamaha CS-5

very easy. printed the manual out from online. smaller then other synths and once you get the hang of it it's real easy to use...

not much compared to the cs-60 or 40s and no midi capablilities (made in 1970 i believe). sometimes i wish it had more keys. you can run an instrument through it though. that is an awesome feature i havent seen on too many other synths.

the PWM sounds sweet with the square wave, nice vibrato, you can get some cooky sounds out of this thing, good for out there, free jazz or edgy rock and fusion. the reaction is good, feels comfortable playing fast. if you run it direct into a computer it doesnt sound as good, but when ran through the right amp it can sound amazing. no effect on velocity difference, can be a desirable thing but is limiting sometimes in terms of expression. the filter is cool though, bass is real deep and the leads can be somewhat piecing for a yamaha, but mostly pretty mellow sounding, depending on the filter knob...

when i got it it was busted, but now that i've that had it for about 6 months, i haven't had any problems since it was fixed...

terrible. yamaha is a japanese company and barely anybody in america/europe knoes how to fix them. i had to drive three hours to the nearest dealer to get mine fixed and payed more than half of what i bought the cs-5 for...

if you like a decent toned synth with lots of possibities as far as out there sounds, its pretty good. i use it with funky rock, fusion and hip-hop. i've been playing keys for over 12 years but this my for synth and i like it a lot.

pretty easy if u r familiar with anaol synthesis

read below

i can't believe that anybody is rating bad this synth's sound. it is wonderful pure analog! FAT bass. brilliant filter. fatter bass sound than korg ms. somewhat moog-ish. I had 2 moogs. and I like the CS-5! does it mean something?...
raw, ballsy, FAT analog!!!

so far so good

dunno

i can compare it only with the synths i used. korg ms-10, polysix, novation ks4, supernova, moog rogue, micromoog, juno 6, virus b.... the old yamaha cs is full of caracter-the novations are NOT-believe me!! try it if u don't believe and I am 100 percent sure that u will like it. unless u r dumb:)

easy to use, hard recall good sounds.

At first: I do not think, this synth sounds weedy or thin.
The saw is not very cool but SQUARE IS VERY FAT.
PWM is cool, and with high lfo-settings you get plenty of beating waves(?). For detuning u can use the ext inp.
Cool features:
The filter is unique, multimode is a usefull feature. Resonating strong or mild it sounds very cool especially for sweeps.
I can understand if u do not like it, cause it's 12db, but it's an advantage imo. It more seaaaow than bluurb, so basses and sweeps shine more or sound transparent in a cool way. Very gritty and good suited for distortion.

The chassis is very solid, but some keys don't work very well...

It is definately worth the money. Don't pick it up for evil sounds and really fat and brutal leads.
But it's cool for it's niceness and tiny sounds in some way.
Cool basses and everthing for backgrounds.
It has a huge developing and life-tweaking possibility especially combined with ext input.
As main or stand alone instrument very good minimal and expression abilities, just think minimal.

Maybe the easiest synth to use. Editing as easy as it can get. The manual is funny in a pleasant retro way, but only as a good read. Screw the pots and enjoy.

Monophonic, good keyboard. Pitch is set by a slider, that's a bit crap. Very stable tuning. Brought it out of the cold into a heated room, switched it on and it was tuned right. No sequencer, effects etc. Basic synth. But external input is a killer!

It is one of the most playable synths I've ever owned. Everytime I play it I forget the time and look up to find that it's already dark outside. Sounds are always a matter of personal taste: I absolutely love the sqare wave with pulse modulation. The sound sends shivers down my back. The saw wave is not very good, not usable for leadsounds, just some basic bass stuff. You can mix noise, saw and square, but saw+square doesn't sound good. Square alone is perfect for leads, maybe with some noise thrown in for grit. Two points deducted because of the weak saw. But again two up for the fact that you could route anything through the filter and amp. It's the best tremolo I ever heard and a guitar can drone beautifully with resonance high up. And it makes any input sound a lot warmer and fuller. Good for vocals, guitar, digital synths. I give it full marks, because for the price you get an extremely useful synth plus filterbank. It's no moog but that's a good thing. Moog sounds like Moog, this sounds fresh!

O.k., I'll use the old "built like a tank" formula. But it really is. Stable tuning, mine had crackly pots first but I didn't even need contact cleaner, I just tweaked them and now it's working like new. You can't find such built quality in today's instruments. These old synths were built to last. Top marks here, would gig with it without fear. Something I wouldn't say about Roland stuff.

Yamaha rule! They have a huge library of PDF manuals to download FOR FREE!!!! Roland wants silly amounts of money for their crappy manuals, Yamaha give give their extremely well-written ones away for nothing. Extraordinary!

It's worth the amount I paid and more. Would buy it again. Maybe would upgrade to CS-10 or higher. Btw.: avoid 15d, it's got no external input and somehow sounds different. The 15d is a collector's item, the 5 a workhorse synth. Basslines, Vangelis-like leads, effects you name it - the CS-5 plays it. Don't expect a Moog, expect something that's worse insofar as it doesn't sound as fat, has less control options etc. but also something that's better because its sound is just different and extremely good.

This was my first synth and I was surprised of how easy I could get sounds from it. The manual is thin, but absolutely adequate for starters.

No poly, no MIDI, no sequencer. Just plain old VCO. However, you can route just about any instrument thru the synth and modify the sound.

When the controls are set correctly it is very quick. However, the useable filter range (high/low/bandpass filter) is quite limited. The sound is usually thin - it can be made fat, but not quite easy.

Very reliable, but need to warm up at least 30 mins. before play (otherwise the tune drift). It's sensitive to temperature. It could be used at an outdoor session it put in a polystyrene case or so (but it get a bit hot).

I have been using it since 1988 so I would miss it deeply if it was stolen. The analogue buttons makes it intuitive to create music on and it definitely has its own sound. I'm now trying to move it into the moders world by fitting it with a MIDI-CV converter (as I only has two hands).

twist and play, easy as mud pies on the beach.

mono-synth. 1 osc (square and saw available at the same time), hard wired mod sources, not very flexible.

The lfo goes quite fast and makes for some interesting sounds.

External input for the filter

easy to use, but the osc. is boring, flat and stale. The only real fun is to be had with extreme mod settings, and I quite like the pwm feel.

THIS IS NOT A FAT SYNTH. It's thin and weedy without a great deal of character.

I do like the filter. It's not amazing, but has a certain feel that will work in a mix.

Tank like

na

It's kind of fun, get it if it's really cheap. Otherwise look for something with a little more depth. I think I'll use it on a few tunes then sell it on.

Logical layout, hands-on control, quality knobs - I can't complain. Like a reviewer before me mentioned it, the CS-5 is extremely suitable for learning subtractive synthesis, much more than all those parameter/value synths.

A nice little ole machine that it is, the CS-5 is severely limited in its features. When I bought it, I wasn't aware that monophony would be my biggest objection in the long run. The shared VCF/VCA envelope bothered me, as well.

On the other hand, the filter (which is nothing to write home about, in my opinon) has an audio-in jack which enables you to pass any signal through it. It looks better on paper than it really is, I never really used it much, but I can understand that some people are going to absolutely love it because of this feature.

The control section is very ample and Yamaha have to be congratulated on this. CV/gate and trigger control make the CS-5 easy to integrate into a vintage rig - just remember that unlike Roland and the American synth manufacturers, Yamaha uses a Hz/volt standard.

The more I played it, the less I liked the sound. No matter how much I modulated it, no matter what the filter setting way, it always sounded stale and boring to me. I know that it is a simple one-oscillator synth and I know that it just wasn't the right instrument for me, but I just don't like the sound. It's not the fact that the CS-5 is a Japanese synth which some people tend to reproach it for - I love my Jupiter 4 as much as my Matrix 1000 - I simply didn't like the sound of it anymore after a while.

I play synthpop music and the CS-5 contributed very little to our songs sonically. It did make it onto a few songs; to hear it in action, contact me at the following e-mail address: sartre@siol.net

I had no problems at all with my CS-5, though my friend's developed a key-retriggering problem. Fortunately enough, the synth is easy to work on and we cleaned the residue off the key contacts quickly.

I wouldn't gig it at all, its sound isn't interesting enough, but hypothetically speaking, I don't think I'd need a back-up.

I'm sorry to say, but Yamaha Slovenia are a bunch of arrogant know-alls. They are not very helpful, let alone nice.

I recently sold my CS-5 after realising my money would be better spent elsewhere. I lost some money on the sale, but I'm not too bitter about it - I should've been more careful when I was buying it almost a year ago.

I wouldn't really recommend the CS-5 to anyone who doesn't know exactly why they want one. The synth is...nothing special really. It doesn't have a "signature sound", any crazy quirks that would set it apart and it's not very useful overall.

If you like its sound, however, it will reward you with its accessibility, reliability and stable tuning. You gain some and lose some, I guess.

My first synth and therefore daunting initially - but ultimately very logical (VCO -> VCF -> VCA) and educational. With a bit of experimentation, it all become second nature.

Monophonic. Single oscillator. No way of recording your settings. I used to write them down - I could never recapture the same sound, but often came up with something even better. Non-returning slider pitchbend, optionally with a nice portamento effect. Keys very light but good quality.

Big uncompromising analogue sounds. Seriously deep speaker-murdering bass notes, but with a good midrange bite, where required. PWM gives a great "chorus-pedal" fattening effect. Passable piano sound available, if you can find a use for a monophonic piano.

Never had any problems. Obviously well built. Tuning always faultless.

No experience.

I don't have it any more and I wouldn't know where to find another. But yes, I'd like another CS-5. Comparisons - a Moog Rogue is different, not necessarily better. All of these old monos had character and their own strengths and weaknesses. Since then, it's all poly synths and there isn't really any comparison.

Being a fan of Depeche Mode and Ultravox, I decided to buy a synth to make my own electro style music. I find this synth very easy for beginners like myself.

Everyone knows about the Features of this synth and I am very happy with it, the other day I was messing about with the LFO and got a great Sigue Sigue Sputnik 'Love Missile F1-11' style sound.

This synth sounds so futuristic and electronic and if you like '80s music - you will love this synth

Only had it for a few days no problems

Like I said before

This synth sounds and looks are so cool - very impressive!

This is a synch to use, just watch out for the initial level knob. It's a standard analog synth with no special tricks.

monophonic, goof LFO options (sine, saw, S&H), filter does not self-osc, but great growly VCF in general, NO seperate EG for the filter VCF & VCA (serious, serious bummer), keyboard action not fantastic (kind of plastic!!!), ONE osc with two waveshapes, so no detuning, good PWM for fattening sound, noise and external input (very good for drums etc), In general, good features for a small mono. Great octave switching knob, which you can really bang around the frequencies with. It's getting a six 'cause of the lack of seperate VCF and VCA EGs - which I think is vital.

Well it's a fine mono in it's own right. But it's no mini or anything. the sound is growly, twangy, and total analog. But it not's like the more dance orientated roland synths, and it's no Moog. It's a Yamaha filter, and for that Yamaha filter sound I do love it. It can also pour out a great selection of FX, with it's reasonably fast LFO. If you're going to buy one, make sure you have a listen to see if it's a filter sound you like. If you have the same taste as me though, you'll go for it as soon as you turn the Cutoff knob once. This was my first analog synth, and it is, in it's own right, a serious ballbreaker. Great Square, Great Saw, both waves mix well together for combined shapes. PWM fats it up nicely. Nice portamento too....

Tank....... The Cutoff knob froze once, and my local TV shop fixed it for about $5. And I had used the living hell out of that knob......Tuning's solid too.

Never really needed it...........

I'd buy another, but I don't think I'd pay the $200 $250 I've seen them for. I got mine for $40 (found in attic story). I reckon it's a nice synth, but other machines I have do a lot more stuff. And here's something important: I bought myself an AN1X a while back. These machines are going for SFA these days, mainly 'cause they look like crap and the preset guy should have been shot. But the AN1X can mimic the filter section on my Yamaha CS-5 and on my Roland Juno 6 PERFECTLY!!!!!!! I mean side by side on the bed setting up of sounds (there are other synths I have it can't do though). If you're thinking about paying A LOT for a CS-5, look at how much an AN1X will set you back. Now it won't do fast modulation changes and all that true analog stuff, but for EG based sounds and fixed LFO speeds it's the Dog. I've also used JP-8000's in the studio side by side with the AN1X and the Yamaha wipes the floor with it. But anyway......CS-5, get it cheap 'cause it's growly and about twenty years old. I do love the little rascal.

What else do I run?? :Minimoog, Micromoog, Juno 6, JX3P, AN1X, S3000XL, Jen SX-1000, Sequential Circuits SixTrac, Vox Continental, Roland SC-50 (yawn), Yamaha TX-81Z, Roland D-110 (cheese), Alesis DM-5, G4, Pod, etc etc

I had only worked with an analog one time before buying this thing. I figured it out in about two hours. There isn't too much to it, you just have to fool around a bit.

I was extremely happy to have a analog of my own, but I was kind of displeased with the fact that it is monophonic. The foundation sound is kind of Nintendo-ish.

Fooling around with the cutoff freq and eg depth prooved to be most fun. I'd like to use it in a build for some house or trance. However, I do believe tooling with the LFO and LFO speed could provide some more Drum and Bass sounds. Of course this item would be fun for any electronic music.

I thought that it might be a bit banged up because i found it in a flea market, but I found a set of head phones there and it seemed to be in perfect working order... a bit dusty, but after I clean it up(and got high on Pledge) ever thing was fine.

Never dealt with them.

This is a great instrument for a beginner in the analog world. I'm also sure it's fun for veterans too. Everything is pretty plan and simple. This analog has proven to be a great buy for the price. I think I'd probably be willing to pay more, I'm just glad I got a deal.

Just loads of knobs and a very simple and easy to use layout. (VCO to MIXER to VCF to VCA) all clear and legible and a doddle to use. It makes on the fly sound creation very enjoyable.

Monophonic. It's analogue so no, no effects as we know today!! There is no onboard sequencer. There is a pitch bend slider. No wheel. So when you implement pitch bend you have to put the slider back to 0 (or the middle) again for the sound to go back to its original pitch! Primitive but different!! The keyboard, well mine anyway, is 100% meant for 1000 mile an hour synth solos. Extremely light but with a very positive sprung feedback (if that makes any sense!). Pulse wave modulation and LFO knobs help distort and fatten the single oscillator sound. External signals can be filtered as well.

Portamento is superb! Absolutely rock solid. Because it is single oscillator the sound can generally sound weedy compared to Moogs etc. BUT, with the level of digital signal processing today you can get it to produce lovely organic basses and whistling square tooth solos. In fact the square tooth doesn't need any processing really! I see no reason why the CS-5 can't be used in dance or techno music. It is able to create most of the standard mixed modulation sounds that we are used to hearing with analogue it just doesn't have the depth of sound on it's own, but as I said, put it through a signal processor and you really don't need a moog.....really!! Now for #50 (in 1989) that can't be bad! If you listen to many digital sound generators today, you'll notice that 80% of the sounds produced are relatively thin and weedy when the signal processing is turned off. Need I say more?

100% dependable. 11 years I've had mine and it's like a solid rock!! No problems moving it or changes in temperature. It's a real workhorse!

Never needed customer support so I cannot comment

Music is ultimately a personal thing. For synth lovers the CS-5 offers instant sound expression. Realtime, raw, analogue control which when harnessed correctly can produce some fantastic results! A basic sequencer would have been nice but there is the CS-10 for that. You pay your money..........If you want to create an instant bass or lead sound yourself then the CS-5 delivers satisfaction. You can get the synthy sound you want or close approximation in a real short space of time without messing around with multi-LFO oscillators and 3 million filter permutations. Combine this with what today's audio technology has to offer and you can have lovely analogue sounds in your mix at a lovely price, not a ridiculous used Moog price!! It's not too big and not too heavy and for the price you can get one today for around #100, don't pay anymore!

knobs knobs knobs...

for a mono synth, it is exactly what it is.
with a little play you can get many aesome sounds.

great expressions.
It is very cool mono synth with its own personality sound.
It is not a moog...so what ?
I've got a mini and it is a different sound machine than this one.
However, You can get this one for around 250-350 these days.

like anything else from Yamaha
this synth was built like a tank.

Yamaha always were the best in support.
I never had a problem with my CS-5.

If you find one in good condition - grab it
they sound great and you can use a midi to CV etc.

Very easy to use as all controls are analogue knobs. No presets or memories are available and I don't have a manual.

Single oscillator (square or sawtooth + noise), monophonic.
No MIDI but GateCV and Trigger in/out.
Sine/sawtooth/sample+hold modulation applicable to cutoff, pitch and/or amplitude. Modulation speeds upto around 40cps which can give an interesting ersatz ring modulation effect.
This synth does feature an external source input which can be routed through the filter (which has high/band/lowpass capabilities). The relative amplitude of the input signal can also be used to trigger the envelope. With a little experimentation this can be used for gating effects, eq-ing the input signal as well as more dramatic filtering and modulating effects.

No onboard effects, velocity or aftertouch.
For realistic instrument sounds or fat techno sounds don't bother. If however you want to broaden your musical horizons a bit I'd strongly recommend the CS-5. The filter when applied to the internal oscillator does have a sweetly weedy sound which appeals in an unassuming way. A noise source is also available for mixing with the oscillator output. Very smooth portamento which always ends up where you want it (unlike korg's analogues).
Output not at all noisy.

Considering age etc very reliable.

Not applicable.

This synth is worth at least twice what I paid for it, I've used it constantly for years for filtering drum machines, treating samples, generally messing up other sounds. With a bit of imagination and experimentation the capabilities of this instrument are enormous. I wouldn't be without it.
Useful note for buying secondhand: If a knob on the top right of the control panel marked "initial level" is turned full-on the synth will not stop making a noise. Try doing this to make it appear broken and get a reduced price. Don't try this on someone who is familiar with the instrument though:).

No patch memories, just some knobs, which makes programming fast and easy.

CS-5 is an analog monophonic synth with only one oscillator. There is a multimode-filter, one envelope, an LFO and a VCA. The modulation routings are limited. Is has a three-octave keyboard and no MIDI, but CV-connectors.

The sound is a typical one oscillator analog sound, but not so good as in Moogs. The sound is thin and doesn't seem to have a character at all. However, as the filter has also a band-pass and a high-pass modes with a resonance, this expands otherwise limited possibilities.

No problems so far.

There is nothing special in this synth. It makes some nice effects, but I wouldn't pay much more than 150USD for it. One oscillator Moogs and Arps are much better sounding, so look for them unless you want special effects the multi-mode filter provides.