Yamaha CS1x

I found the CS1x easy to get satarted with. The knobs did what they said on the tin and the number navigatonal buttons sent me from 1-128 of sounds. However you really do need to swat up to be able to edit and save sounds, add effects, and so on.
In fact, the mass of writing on the right hand side of it is very intimidating.

The six edit sound knobs are fantastic, and with the option of seting two of them with whatever ediiting you want, you can really change a sound completly in a matter of a twist.

Now this is were all the CS1x 's good points are at.
I LOVED THE SOUND OF THIS SYNTH.
It has so many diffrent patches built in - 128
Then the "classic" keyboard sounds (Piano - Tamberine - Wooden Block) - 128 of those as well
and then to cap it off you can have 128 of your own patches (from teh interwebs)
And the ways you could tweak the tounds slightly, or press a button and add effects that change it compleatly! =D

Built from Stone.
You may worry about the knobs at first but please, dont. The hole keyboard is sound and will not fail you.

Nothing to say here, brought it from ebay.

For my butget - ??100 - ??150
This was a good choice. Its not the cream of the synth world, neither is it from the early learning center. I would recomend this to anyone, but would also like them to considor the recent additions to the "cheaper synths".

The onboard sounds are circa 1990's, some memorable prodigy style lead noises. The usual array of analog emulation noises were onboard. As far as editing was concerned the interface was simple enough, you could assign effects or edits to knobs which helped when playing live. Didn't have quite the versatility of controls you'd want in a live instrument.

The keyboard action was good and this made an excellent midi controller. Onboard effects weren't to my liking, the sound was too digital for me. When you oversaturated the noise with effects it didn't hve the same kind of harmonic response as you could get from seperate effects/amplification.

One thing of note on the top right hand side a theres a ledge so you can rest something on the top of the instrument without it slipping onto the keyboard. I believe this was for the portable sampler yamaha had out at the time, but I made use of it for all sorts of things, 4 tracks, effects boxes, ashtrays, etc. It was a nice touch for live performing.

As I said this synth takes it main inspiration from 90's damce music, there were a couple of nice organ noises, ambient tones and a reasonable ammount of drum noises. To be honest it sounds a bit dated if you stick to the presets. When editing you can still find your own thing which won't sound dated.

It's a brick. toppled off its stand twice with no ill harm, also over 10 years old and still functioning perfectly.

I might as well give it a ten because I can't fault it in terms of durability, gigged with it for two years and its seen heavy studio use as a midi controller for over ten years.

I bought this synth of a friend of mine in the late 90's, I sold it back of him a few years later and then bought it back off him again a few years after that to use as a midi controller, then finally I sold it back to him because I didn't use it anymore, lol.

Nowadays I just play my organ, though I'm guitar player foremost. I don't really like digital synths anymore, and I'm not rich enough to buy an analog synth considering keyboards ain't my main instrument.

When I first bought it I would of given it a 10 because it provided a contempoary sound (back then). Nowadays any old computer can play these noises, that said it does still see a lot of playing albeit mostly as a midi controller. Still soldiering on. I'll give it an 8.

Editing is fairly straight-forward, with parameters such as Attack ,Decay, Sustain, LFO, etc., and on-board effects displayed on a grid that can be selected with a rotary switch and a series of toggling buttons. The editing interface is very reminiscent of Sequential Circuits synths, with two of the six knobs to the left (assign 1 and 2) dedicated to adjusting each parameter - since I also have an SC Six-Trak, I can very readily note the similarity. Would have made more sense to me, however, to place the assign knobs nearer to the parameter selection interface (they're nearly on opposite ends), but otherwise its fairly intuitive.

Presets vary depending upon the type of sound. Bear in mind this is NOT a VA synth...its a digital sample-playback machine that has analog-style controls. That said, the pads and synth leads/bass are pretty solid, and with a little tweaking you can approximate classic analog sounds decently. The acoustic GM sounds are *OK*, but nothing extraordinary. The Pianos are fair, and one nice aspect is that you can emulate a sustain pedal using the real-time attack/decay knobs. Broadly speaking for acoustic instrument emulation, I think Roland and Alesis do a slightly better job than Yamaha. Organs are decent, but really shine if you apply some of the on-board effects, particularly rotary and distortion. One thing I do not like is the application of DSP hall effects on nearly every acoustic preset, but this can be easily tweaked out.

Manual's OK to get started, but can be tedious if too much attention is paid to it. Best bet is to skim it first, then tinker with the controls to gain hands-on experience with the editing.

I believe there is an open source patch editor available online, but I've never used it, and frankly, the user-friendliness of the on-board editing is decent enough that I'm unsure as to how valuable the software editor would be.

Polyphony is 32, easily enough for my purposes, and since this is not a workstation/arranger (and therefore, no sequencer), I feel its sufficient. The lack of sequencing and expansion are what bring my rating down in this category.

Built-in effects are a strength of this synth - they're superb IMO. In conjunction with the organs and synth patches, you can produce some really marvelous sounds. I've been able to emulate John Lord-style distorted organs almost to a tee simply with the on-board effects. The sound engineer at one of my band's gigs (about 10 years ago) was floored by this patch.

Since this was primarily a board I used for live performance, I can't speak much for the MIDI capability. Judging only by the features and the few instances where I've used the MIDI functions, it seems like it would make a decent controller.

Keyboard action is adequate, neither excellent nor bad in my view as this is obviously not intended to simulate the weighted action of a piano.

Reacts to velocity.

Although the synth was designed for techno/electronica, and works ideally for this as I've dabbled with recording in the genre myself, I beg to differ with anyone who doesn't believe its good in a rock band setting. It is a really fantastic and versatile live instrument, and is useful in both genres. I would, however, look elsewhere if Classical is your specialty.

See 'ease of use' for acoustic instrument emulation.

See 'features' for my take on the built in effects.

Rock solid..had this board in long-term storage for over 5 years, and it powered right up with the original battery. Banged the crap out of it in a padded gig-bad for live shows for 2 years, and it never complained. My only two qualms are with the plastic knobs themselves (I've had to replace one that broke) and the power supply was junk, but remedied with a replacement from the 'Shack'. Otherwise extremely reliable, enough for live use without a backup.

Have never dealt with Yamaha, so I couldn't say.

If it did die on me, I would probably replace rather than repair it given how inexpensive they've become over the years.

This is a great board to get a comprehensive palette of sampled analog, ethereal synth sounds at a bargain-basement price (they seem to run about $1-200 now). If you're looking for pianos, clavichord and harpsichord, however, its adequate...but nothing out of this world.

Its a very useful machine overall. Certainly contributes, rather than inhibits, recording.

VA's were too expensive for my budget at the time (97...I was therefore looking at JP-8000 and Nord Lead), so I got this instead. Too bad the Alesis Ion wasn't around at that time.

Recently I found tape recordnings which I did with my ex CS1X back in 1997. Almost 10 years later I am writing a review from memory, simply because the blue box deserves it.
Of course this is simple to use and even simple to program. There are not so many options which consume your time. More or less play and enjoy. Program editing means layering up to 4 samples and add some effects.

Compared to the budget synths you can buy today, e.g. Alesis Micron, MicroKorg or Xiosynth the CS1X virtually has no features. But at least it has...
- a decent filter
- some basic effects
- extremely cool design and high fun factor

Some - but not many - very good sounds (maybe 20 of 128 presets). At that time I was in love with these. Unfortunately the ability to create your own sounds is very limited. The drums and GM instruments suck, too. When compared to a Waldorf Microwave which was also very popular at that time the CS1X wasn't much of a synth.

nothing to complain - its built to last 100 years.

Time and again I feel sorry for selling the CS1X after only 2 years but at that time I needed some cash for a bass guitar or drum machine. Now I know I should have kept it.
In the end I got bored by the CS1X mostly because it was not that piece of gear that I really needed.
Nevertheless the CS1X was a very cool and useful instrument which I've been missing ever since although I own a much better VA synth today.
Long live the CS1X.

OK so... the presets sound cool. Some are great, some not so. Plenty of classic sounds are emulated
Editing patches is very immediate with the 6 control knobs, then a button matix for other edits. This is ok I supose

I use this as a live synth. For this it is great. I have found using the CS1X in a MIDI setup a real hassle. Only one voice at a time you see

Fantastic... Ten years of problem free use. It has had drinks spilt on it, was kept in a softcase for the majority of the time, no trouble. The only thing i would suggest is to have a spare power adaptor, these break quite easily

Yamaha were rubbish when I first got this and wanted some advice on useing it in a MIDI environment.

If it was lost or stolen, I would get another for the price you can pay now. I love this synth to bits, I have outgrown it's functionality now but love it regardless

CS1x was Yamaha's early responce for market demands for "analog" synthesizers- followed by AN1x. Aimed a "budget synth" it scored Synth of the Year for Keyboard Magazine and Future Music.

In few words: You get what you pay for, and in this case, that wasn't much.

Presets are really ok, they demonstrate every aspect of this machine, however they tend sometimes to be a little "dreamy" and tend to emulate various other synths like Prophets, Wavestation, SY...

Editing is pretty straightforward, however several parameters aren't covered by "matrix" on the front panel and need to be set explicitly by external editor.

New units came with ordinary, well written manual which briefli described everything important, but also with Blue Book, a really neat tutorial, introducing to "hidden" features of this device.

The engine is, like on most low budget synths from Yamaha at that time, taken from MU-50, enchanced by additional waveforms. Therefore it has a CS1x performance section, but is also a full featured XG engine- which you can use simultaneously. The polyphony is 32, but drops down pretty fast as most XG sounds use two waveforms. The nice addition is in form of 6 multipurpose knobs (by default defined as attack, release, CC95, cutoff, resonance, and CC96- but that's freely definable), and ability to store two settings of those in so called "scenes"+ seamless switching between them with modulation wheel.
There's also an arpeggiator, which does excellent job.

The effect processor is again shared with MU series, and it has 3 separate sections (Reverb, Chorus, Variation). They sound neither bad, nor extraoridinary: just ok.

As this was a "budget" synth, most care has been taken of the guts, leaving the exterior "cheap": therefore, you have a cheap plastic keyboard (hell to play, but still works, doesn't jam or squeak), rubber switches and plastic knobs. But it doesn't mean it's not reliable- my was working since I bought it in 98- without even changing battery. There's no patch storage (user patches)- everything must be edited by MIDI, or within performances. You won't be given any expansion option either.

As for MIDI, it's XG- any questions about that (out-of-the-box it responds to 14 CCs)? Regardless of mode you'll get 16 part multitimbral MU-50 compatible section too (in performance mode limited to 12; switching it off is tricky- you will have to actually switch off the parts).

As XG machine, it covers all sorts of GM/XG related timbres, and adding some twist to it in performance mode. As CS1x, it's really capable little beast.
So:
A performance consists of 4 layers=standard synthesizer blocks.
While pretty minimalistic, it's pretty enough: sample based oscillator, with 5 stage pitch envelope and realtime panning (also has random pan),
put thru 12dB/oct digital filter with ADSR envelope (buggy, I might add). Then there's an ADSR amp envelope and fx (in performance mode variation effect is only switchable, and cannot be used in multitimbral section). You also have a single LFO section per layer/patch, with really good sync and ability to modulate pitch, amp and filter. There's S&H too.

It does respond very well, even too well, to velocity. Aftertouch is worse, there's a choice of velocity curve, but because of poor quality of keyboard, doesn't do any good.

Output quality is really good, noise level is low (S/N 85dB), it does tend to be a little to muddy in the middles but you can easily correct it with EQ. The quality of samples spreads from excellent to rather average- but still does much of a punch. The quality of playback is good, however you will notice aliasing noise pretty often here.

Looks fragile, but isn't. Went on vacation with me several times and still works great.

Hadn't had a problem, people at Yamaha were very helpful.

Definitely a musician's friend, it's cheap, it has that bang for the buck. I'd love to keep it for all times. It's still, the second being the Wavestation, the main engine in my music.

Very simple synth - that's both a good and bad thing. I got this one used without a manual but didn't really need one. I downloaded one from Yamaha eventually. If you ever used a real synthesizer before you can figure this one out. I like the real time controls. When it came out this was one of the only "analog" style synths with this many knobs at a bargain price.

Cheap, chinsy keyboard - action is non-weighted and springy. This keyboard is not very flexible as a controller. No expansion capabilities. No sequencer, basic arpeggiator presets.

This keyboard is only good for electronic synth sounds. The general MIDI sounds are not any better than a cheap sound card. The pianos, strings, brass, drums, etc. are all terrible. However the analog and electronics synths are great and you have some real-time control with the knobs. The electric pianos are good and you can get some great cheesy organ sounds. Effects are good for a unit of this caliber.

It's easy to loose knobs, and the pots for volume and control are starting to get scratchy and hard to move now after a few years. The whole thing is plastic and feels like a portasound keyboard, but I love it for the few synth sounds that are good. This is a cheap, semi-disposable board.

Yamaha is a very good company to deal with. They have many authorized service centers.

I had used this board before when it forst came out. When I needed a cheap synth for some fusion gigs I bought a used one, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if it died and I had to buy something else.

I own the Cs1x Editor , but I can use my Blue Baby blind. Got it since 3 Years...
The Matrix looks at first a little confusing , but after working with the Manual , it all becomes clear.
the Manual is worked out for me.....

32 voices , wich usually is okay , except you Layer up some bigger String sounds with long Release. But usually I can work with the 32 Voices.

The Effects are kinda the Synthesis of this Sample based Synthesizer.
Usually the Sounds suck without using the effects.
As example , I Layer 4 different Strings and put Chorus4 on it wich
makes it thicker. The Delays are actually not bad.
It got some more specialized Effects like Rotary Speaker , WahWah
and a very decent Phaser.
Like I say , the Effects should be seen as Synthesis.

No expansions like on the EMus or the new Yamahas.

The Keys are not hammer weighted , but for Techno/Trance Producers that should not be a big deal.
I think for starters the Cs1x is awesome for controlling Software Synths like Native Instruments Pro5 , the Waldorf PPG or whatever
VST Synth you got. Plus you get a a decent Samnple based Unit , so
when you get fed up using the Computerscreen you can go Nuts with your Synth...plus , it got some Drumkits wich are helpfull when nothing else is available...

Realistic ? This is not an Sampler , Korg Triton or Yamaha Motif...its an TECHNO-TRANCE-HOUSE Performance Sample Unit.

So , when your starting out making Electronic Music wich is more Happy then you should maybe get the Cs1x.
For Drum & Bass , Hardcore or 2Step you maybe should look for something different , becouse the Cs1x got a pretty Warm happy Sound
to it , its very hard to make the Cs1x sound Undergroundy.
When you own some good Outboard Effects or DX-PlugInns like Waves Gold Bundel ( wich I own. ) then you can make , with some work , the Cs1x even sound hard & experimental.
But like I say , its good for Trance or Housy Happy Techno stuff.
I will give it a six for stand alone , with some Outboard Effects I would give it a 8.

It has a nice look to it and it seems build very good...

I just EMailed Yamaha once , and they actually EMailed me back with the Info I needed.

I might would get a different Unit , the Yamaha Cs2x or the An1x.
I got very use to my Cs1x do , and I would miss it. I use it to play my VST Synths , my Yamaha DX 200 and the Roland SH 32 on the Cs1x Keys...so its kinda my Dance Masterkeyboard.
I still use it for some Stringsounds...
I rather do would like to have the Yamaha An1x since its an Virtual Analog and the Keys are better.

But still , for the Money you get an good deal. When you produce Trance Music , this Synth would be a good start for your Setup.
Add for example a Korg Electribes Model , a Yamnaha Dx200 and a Yamaha AN 200 and you got an good Trance/ Techno Setup.

Its an awesome starter Synth , and Expierenced Producer with good Outboard Effects CAN make the Cs1x Sound decent.
Its a good Extra to every Dancefloor based Project....

I bought this unit second hand. Two of my friends got one and I liked the synth for its simplicity and small size.

The synth is very easy to use. It has very few knobs. Also, editing does not go deep. I won't go into details on how easy it is. Just a brief description:

You can edit all parameters with just a few buttons. All editable parameters are written as text on the right side of the synth. You can select groups of parameters and edit them +1/-1 easily. You've also got a numeric keypad to enter values.

There's one user bank with 128 sounds, one preset bank with an equal numer of non-editable sounds. The arpeggiator can be switched on and off with a button press. This button is yellow and cannot be missed.

Still not convinced? Try it yourself.

Ployphony is 32 notes. Enough, because you won't use it as a soundgenerator attached to a sequencer. This is mainly a dance oriented machine. Use a sampler for the main song structure and this synth to play over it. Just leads and pads.

The keyboard is rather flimsy, but adequate. Not as good as a semi-weighted board, which I like more. It does have effects, but they are average. Good enough for the sounds though. You could always add an external effects processor.

This synth is not expandable. No ROM cards can be used and there's no way to save sounds on disc. It has MIDI in and out though. There are also three pedal inputs to use. The keyboard is touch sensitive, but not to after touch.

There are some great sounds in it. Most of them are unusable for me. So I use it more as a masterkeyboard with external modules. Great thing that it's just as expensive as a cheap MIDI controller but has its own sounds.

The arpeggiator tend to be boring. The one in, say an E-mu XL-1, is much better.

This synth appears to be great for dance music. I don't create that kind of music. I make rock, pop and metal. And this is not the machine for that kind of stuff.

I won't throw it off the stairs, as it is plastic. But so far no problems with it. No weak keys or crashes. Great unit.

Not dealt with them.

Great value when bought cheap. Still much cheaper than a second hand CS2X. Great when you need a portable masterkeyboard but won't use the features of a real one (like the new Evolution MK-461C). It's just as big and it has it's own sounds, which is always handy.

I'm a bass player myself and do synths to create compositions or add some extra depth to a gig (live). I use only a few sounds from the CS1X and the other sounds come from Korg Wavestation SR, Korg 03R/W, E-mu Proteus 2000 and E-mu XL-1 modules. So I do not need a fancy synth as a masterkeyboard. That's why I value the CS1X highly.

Pretty easy to use, a lot easier than some of the older Rolands and synths. The printed matrix is very nice.

It's got it all...I can make this thing do just about anything other synths out there can do. The real time cut-off,res,release... knobs are essential.

This thing sounds amazing. Effects processing built in can ussually do the job, altho I would use a reverb send on the mix. Even the GM sounds are awesome. Sound 100% more real than a lot of synths out there for this price.

Had ONE problem with it overheating. Never had the problem again, owned it 2 years.

Never dealt with

Buy it. It will amaze you, I would definately recomend this to a first time synth buyer. Its not expensive at all, and it will not hurt you to have one around. Might even become your main controller. I fell in love with mine.

When I first bought this keyboard back in '98, it took me only a few minutes to learn all that was needed to learn. Just a great keyboard all around.

For the price (esp. back when I first bought it), this thing was loaded. 32-note polyphony. Multiple tweak knobs that can send and respond to MIDI. It would be nice to have more features - such as expansion and more polyphony, but at this price, it might be asking too much.

I like the way the keys feel - not weighted. Also, the sounds are more than adequate. Despite their lack of realism, I like how the piano and string sounds have a bit of warmth to them.

The only problems that I have with it are the arpeggiator lacking modification and the distortion getting too "hot," but both problems can be easily worked around.
As you can tell, this keyboard was made for Electronica.

Let's see...my ex-wife took a baseball bat to it, and I was still able to use it as a tone generator/knob box.

Yamaha support was found lacking. Luckily for the public, they are rarely needed.

I put my money where my mouth is - I bought another one when my ex-wife put a baseball bat to it. And, I've been happy with that investment ever since. For the small price that I've paid for it, it works wonders. All the problems that I run into with it can be easily worked around.

After a day or two most functions are easy to find without the manual!

Enough polyphony for me. Effects within the synth is enough for my needs.

Some sounds could be better. But I think most sounds have a very nice feeling to it anyway! They fit my needs.

I think the synth is made of too much fragile plastic, but I've dropped it accidently a few times and it still works fine like an atomic clock.

I owned this synth for about a month now and now I'm deeply in love with my blue box and I will NOT sell it soon.

Very easy to use... but you have to spend some time alone with it.
The matrix is a very smart idea. The editors are an added value but they are not a must. Again everithing is in the matrix.

Short of polyphony (32 voices), the key action is average. It is the MU 50 plus 0.5 meg of tecno sounds, so the midi capabilities are huge. The arpegiator is lovely and extremely addictive.
I just love those knobs!.

The performance sounds are what make this synth a must... the Xg ones are just... there. (you could use some of them ). The leads cut the drums have all the punch I need and the pads hold. What more can I say... It is not an Jp or an Juno.

It is the core of my studio. I Never had a problem with it (owned for 2 years)

N/A

I won't be selling my blue demon any time soon! I just love it. I own a korg NX5R and used to own a Roland XP 10... The CS1X is soooo different... it has a personality. I will buy another synth in te next months but I will keep this one of course!

Like anything, once you've got the feel for it, a piece of cake. Realtime effects are irreplaceable!

Everything I need for performing, studio use = n/a

I guess the performance presets are great for dance etc. but some of the basic keyboard instruments suffer in quality, especially piano, rhodes, etc.

No problems at all, fell/dropped a few times, no dramas

Showing its age (in 2002), but otherwise an excellent synth. Great feel to the keys, easy to play fast and steady, some great sounds and effects.

Won't repeat the info already here, just add a different insight:

I simply wanted something to input MIDI data into my DAW/Project Studio setup. My first choice was a Yamaha DX7, ancient technology nowadays
but built very well and all I really needed. Despite their age they still fetch up to AUD $500 secondhand. USB MIDI keyboards aren't cheap either, especially larger 61/79 key versions. At AUD $350 in the local Trade-O-Rama my CS1x was a rather tasty bargain, given its mint condition and that they cost about AUD $1400 in 1997.

So ease of use? As a knuckle dragging guitarist more at home twiddling a few knobs on an amp than a million buttons on some keyboard, but this guy isn't at all hard to work. I've skimmed the manual and blue book (found online - http://www.yamahasynth.com/classic/cs1x/cs1x.htm) quicky have got the basic jist of how it works. The big 6 knobs do cool stuff and the multi-function button matrix isn't as scary as it first seems. Switching between Performance (modelling synth stuff) and Multi (synth/GM-XG tone stuff) is simple and it hasn't taken me long (got it yesterday) to edit my own tones, add effects, and play sequences out through it via MIDI. I downloaded CS1xEdit, which some people say is vital to editting the thing properly, though, even though the LCD isn't huge, it isn't particularly hard to do on the unit itself.

See above/below for the feature list.

One of the things that really sold me about it, other than the fact it had a MIDI Out and keys, was the internal GM/XG tone generator. Yes, okay, the sounds aren't totally amazing, don't throw away your Akai S-series (or drummer!) but for composing your own stuff they're quite usable. XG sounds add some flexibility, and the effects are easy to add and aid things to sound a bit better. Having the tone generator is a big plus as far as I'm concerned.

Keyboard action is typical low-end synth - better than a toy, I used the asbeforementioned DX7 and an SY85 and they had a similar feel. Weighted keys? Be nice, perhaps not what the dance/techno guys want. Unlikely for the price, too. My only gripe here is that my sounds don't seem to be very pressue sensitive - i might have wrong setting somewhere though.

Preset #108 - Jump

Oh yes baby. Maybe it's the EVH/guitar connection, but when I heard this tone I specifically went out to learn the first few riffs of Jump... and it sounds brilliant!

The unit is capable of some right nasty noises, there's lots to play around. Creating a sound from scratch would take a lot of work, cuz there's a lot to play with, I don't pretend to unit all the LFO stuff fully, just crank the resonance knob, hit the arpeggio button and move the cutoff knob around the "sweet spot" - add a "thump thump" beat, and we have instant techno, kids.

Well, it's plastic shelled, though the chassis is metal and it isn't that light (about 7kgs). Mine will spend its foreseeable life on a desk and probably won't get moved around much. If you were to gig with it you'd want to treat it with some respect and care. Knobs are okay but wouldn't resist hitting something side on too well. Low profile buttons should fare better.

Honestly don't know. I own a heap of Yamaha stuff, guitar, home theatre DSP unit, speakers, sub. Everything's made to a very good level of quality despite their affordable prices so that's reassuring. Their Australian office is up the road so if worst comes to worst I can hunt their arses down!

The CS1x is a good buy, even better I got it so cheap. I probably won't use half its features but it's a solid, good looking piece of equipment by a reputable company and makes some great noises. Can't really say I'd buy again, unless it was going cheap... would probably look at something more upmarket, a full on sampler or high end tone generator and a weighted MIDI keyboard. But for the moment, it does an awful lot of stuff I need my gear to do. If you need a MIDI keyboard capable of making some bitchin' analogue noises and doing duties as a sound module for some moderate sequencing too, and the price is right, your ship has arrived.

Very easy with a matrix built in edition. The software editor is a good alternative for PC users.
Manual has been made by Fischer Price I think!!!

The CS1x has everything you can dream for a 300 $ second hand synth...
Effect are good even if filters definition is too limited and some effects are too noisy

The dance/techno sounds are incredible for this price !!!
If you want to make techno patterns or killer solo synth, you have everything you need and more...Piano are quite good even if I prefer Roland sounds, organ are better but you will not find any Hammond B3 here...

the weight is very light but I had no problem with it...be carefull with the power AD which is fragile

I think I would buy a CS2x or AN1x instead now but for the price it's a real present...I have a Roland RD 600 and a Clavia Micro Modular and I can say that the CS1x has its place in my set... Clavia sounds more analog (it sounds great) but there's no polyphony so that you can forget pads (or buy a Nordlead). I use the Cs1x with my Cubase and never experienced any problem...I think it's the best way to enter techno music programming...

This was my second synth, my first was a Yamaha DJX. I therefore had a steep learning curve, trying to get this thing to midi sync with Cakewalk, but that was because I just didn't know what was up. But I looked at the Net Resources, Got the Cakewalk Studioware panels, read the Blue Book, Studied the manual, and finally got it all together. I have to see everything seems really easy to use once you know your way around.

It's especially easy to modify the factory preset sounds to match the music you're making. I just lay down a beat (using Fruityloops) and just play with Local ON over it to adjust the sound to what I want it to be, save it, and then export the fruity loop to Cakewalk as an audio loop, and then just record the CS1X sound over it. Easy as Pie (or cake).

I've now looked at loads of other synths, and the CS1X doesn't have a lot of the features that some of them do, like sequencers and autoaccomp, etc. But that's not what it's for. Yamaha calls it a 'Control Synthesizer' and that's what it's good at.

I NEVER use the XG or GM sounds, they suck. I just tweak the Presets until they're what I want, and it has all the tools to do just that. It also has great effects built right in. They're easy to access. I also like that you can edit each layer of the performance just by turning that knob.

So, the features that count are the Samples, the effects, and the tools you use to edit them. Oh, and the arpeggiator. Easy enough I think. I wish Yamaha had included a dedicated software editor/librarian but CS1X edit is fine.

I find this thing gives me great control over the sounds it has included. I find I ALWAYS have to play around with them to get the exact sound I want, but hey, that's fine. I WANT them to be my sounds, not straight off the box. You set the sound up the way you want with the menus on the right, then use the knobs to tweak it as you record or jam, very nice.

I find the filter cutoff is especially good for building up to a drop. It is perfect for dance/trance/house stuff. I couldn't believe the sound you can get from this thing for $300. The sounds are straight off Ministry of Sound/Gatecrasher CD's. They sound great, clear, clean, strong.

I wish you could program the arpeggiator more, though. And it's really hard to sync the arp. with Cakewalk's midi clock. I find I have to just make sure the arp tempo matches the beat, and trigger it with the sequencer at just the right time. But that's OK, I can now get it to syncopate by delaying the trigger slightly off the beat. Cool.

I haven't had any problems, so I don't know. Sometimes notes stick using fruityloops as a sequencer, so I just don't do it. I want to try it with a hardware sequencer before i gig with it, see how it works.

I got the manuals free online, but I wish the Blue Book had been more accessible. I have not had to contact Yamaha, but I hate dealing with big companies. I'd take it to a dealer first.

As my studio expands to match my drive to play music, I will be adding more gear. I'm getting an electribe em-1, I use fruityloops and all the dxi plugins. I will also eventually get another synth. But I will keep this one. And I would replace it if it got ripped off.

I think for what it is, it's great. It produces great sounds if you tweak it, and that's the point, isn't it? Use it as a tool with other tools, and it does it's job. It works great with Cakewalk (V9). If you do use it with Cakewalk, just make sure you know the sysex commands, makes it much easier.

As long as you get cs1edit, and link it up to a pc / or mac

Features are limited, dodgy midi linking, nice twiddly nobs to the left, complicated wierdness to the right.

You get some amazing spacey sounds from this, as well as some killer dance sounds, and its crystal clean

Seems to be very dependable, as others have said, I would prefer it
if the case had more absorbtion of shock so that if it gets dropped the case bounces and not the internals

Not great, couldnt get what I needed without a lot of searching on the internet, for the blue book, cs1xedit and lots of patches / sounds. When I get some time I'll upload all the above to ...
www.aquaphonics.freeserve.co.uk (/gear/cs1x.htm)

If you can pick up one of these second hand and cheap get it, it really can lift the originality of sounds in a dance track (IMHO).
Check out what it can do with some electribes at.
www.garageband.com/damxes303 (track2 cs1tribe
www.aquaphonics.freeserve.co.uk (/gear/cs1x.htm)

Using this synth is easy enough, but editing and working your way around the operating system for the first time proved, for myself, tricky. The manual teaches the basics, but doesn't help much otherwise. The GM sounds are not nice, but the performance sounds are good considering the price you pay. Although you can only use one performance sound, which is disapointing.

The synth in action is good, there are 6 control knobs that you can use to model each sound in real-time, 4 of them are user asignable. The other two control the resonance and cut off frequencies, which are generaly good, except a few sounds dont seem to sound much different. It also has the usual pitch-bend and Mod wheels, and 2 foot-pedal controlers and an audio in function.

Dont get this synth if you hate dance / trance style music. The performance sounds are good if tweeked abit, I particulary like the string patches, very good for trance / trip hop music. GM sounds dont sound realistic, get a korg for that. The anolog modeling is very good though and reacts straight away when you tweek it, it also transmits midi when you adjust any knob, which is good.

Nothing has gone wrong with it yet, I have had it 2 years, I mainly use it in the studio but have gigged with it. Yep, its reliable!

I have called customer support a few occassions, and they where very helpfull, they even taught me a few hacks to get an extra 4 performance sounds.

If it were lost or stolen, I would buy the CS2x or maybe the CS6x, or maybe something different altogether! Who knows?
What I love about it is its anolog modeling, and the ability to control the sounds via midi, I know most synths do that, but if your on a budget (like me) and wanna make techno (like me) then you cant go wrong.

Ok this was my first synthesizer and in the beginning i was quite unfamiliar to edit the sounds. After a while i learned it's possibilities and a useful software helped me.

There should be more polyphony, 32 is too little when it's a really good MIDI-synth. The effects are reasonably good, but the chorus and reverb effects aren't powerful enough and they sound quite the same.

There are a lot of sounds, and to build a performance from 4 sounds it's really good. Good basslines and pads, even though the Preset sounds aren't that impressive, you can make your own that sounds much cooler. I play in a rock/heavy band and the organ and piano sounds are reasonably good. But this synth is more to techno and dance. You can also make a lot of weird sounds and tweak the sounds which makes this a good live-instrument. I wasn't that impressed in the beginning with the sounds but if you're motivated enough to make sounds of your own with it, it's fun. The XG sounds aren't that good though, there are a lot of them too choose from, but they are better to be edited.

Caution: It's very sensitive to temperature-differencies!! The LCD-screen goes nuts after it was about 1 minute in the cold and it stays for that condition for a long time. Otherwise it shows a lot of numbers or it's completely blank! The keys feel quite numb when played a while. You have to be careful with it and it's best in the studio or at home.

Not yet.

I really love this synth. It gets better with the time actually, if you're motivated enough.

this thing is so easy to use and its fun.
very easy to edit the patches .

has many built in effects. reverb, delay, ect. all the basics
no expansion that i know of.
full xg midi capabilities over 500 xg sounds
no sequencer just user and performance banks plus general midi.
you can edit all 128 performance presets
and you can just play the 128 user presets and the 128 general midi sounds

most of the sounds are decent for a synth that was made in 97.
works well for dance and techno.
on-board effects are pretty good not as best as yamaha could provide but still decent.
pretty good velocity and aftertouch

never had to call customer support

if it were lost or stolen i'd defenitly buy a new one
right now i want another
i only own yamaha cs1x and yamaha an1x
the cs2x is much better because it has twice as much presets that you can edit
trent reznor is the king of synth playing!

I use cs1x as a midi keyboard at sometime,it is good! I use cs1x as stand along piano keyboard is enough for me, with all of its Preset and muilt voice!

worse of its key touch(except its price_its is the cheapest one),fewer of it 32 note voice, and fewer of its 4.5M rom.
but if you have a computer with SB-live, it is not mind!

cs1x's voice is not best but afordable!
it's better for Dance and video post-production,very suitable!
it's effect is good also with a mic/line in,but difficult to adjust!
keytouch is not feel good!

I only depend on my CS1x, and I trust it!
I think that its knob is not easy to transport.It seems weak in hard roading!
Also, the blue body is prety on stage, and it is full of artist felling--the cs1x not only a instrucment!

on the www, there are many site about it!

I love my CS1x, I realy do not need other for my use! Either on performance and computer base production! It's full of Yamaha felling,better control than all of other syth!
it is suit for music beginner or fan, not face to an musician can play piano well! What is the type of you?
Important!!! It is the cheapest syth, What you can say any more of the feather?

overall, to use CS1x is not difficult. just tweaking 6 knobs and 2 pedals, you can edit many things. but it's 6-rotary switch-interface is little difficult to use before you familiar with it. but i think it's faster than other synth. manual is little humble. but Blue Book is great! some Performance presets is very good.

it has 6 Knobs! all 6 knobs is assignable for MIDI !! it can connect with 2 foot controllers. i made custom-knob-box and connect to foot-volume and foot controller connector. i get 2-more knobs!
wow! 8-assignable knobs!! wow, it's great!! i can control some soft-synth with these knobs.

i also own a JUNO-60. yea- that's right. JUNO has great warm voice. CS1x never can do that. but CS1x is NOT worser than JUNO. CS1x has his own voice between analog and digital soundscape. very good for experimental/ambient music.
if you find a 303-clone, CS1x is very poor. (hey, it's a CS! not a TB)
but it has 8-assignable real-time controllers. you can use these with Rebirth and emulating 303. Rebirth has fine voice, if you have a good soundcard.

case is weak. oh no... but other things are fine.

i dont' know -.-;;

i'll buy it or upgraded model(CS2x, CS6x, EX5..) again.
i play CS1x about 6 months. i also own JUNO-60, Kuzweil K2000, KORG X5DR.
i love CS1x. pretty blue-case, 6-knobs, SCENE-morphing, good sound...
it cost very cheap! i can't hate anything about CS1x
i compared it with MC303. MC303 has good drum, but... hey do you have a computer with soundcard? there is plenty of drum samples and sample based sequencer. use Fruity Loops or other pattern-based wave-sequencer. it sounds better than MC303!
i wish it has jog-shuttle, after-touch, multi-performance mode.

Samples goes along the gear maker not user.
I used randomize software to make presets,
because I had not overwiev of the vioces.

Much computing features, many controls,
Horrible possibilities
but I wish I had some good sound out of it!
I had not.

Not good - samples are tricky and dirty.

Somtimes some samples were not available

The knob I used was not reliable, but guarantee was firm an fast.

Sorry, I don' like CS1x. I feel like in a too small clothes. I want to go one way, but.. it's impossible. I want to find another... it is hard to find.
It is at most simple sample based with preprocessing of these, before the user can tweak them. So f.ex. it is sinus then internally modulated, but you can't change this modulation. You can add second one of yourself, many times there hindrances from many ways.
People read about so much knobs, controllers, filters, envelopes... but if you have bad basis you can't make a huge improvement.

Obviouslly, the operations are complex, and there need MUCH computing power, and many of them are fairly well implemented ( while oters are not). Yamaha made great computing job. Not musical, but computing. Consider a PC speaker, while it whistles it is great computing job. It is not great music. BTW CS1x whistles nearly in most of the samples. It is good in fast decaying notes, in fast rythm pieces. But i am not a thechno fan.

The complexity MAKES IMPRESSION for the first time synth user 'it's good one, modern, maybe i should buy this'. This impression is what Yamaha made correctly. But it's marketing, not music.

To this - much of the samples, which 4 make 1 performance are made for THE performance, not bothering if it could be used otherwise, possibly programing a beast. So are the samples architecture made. It is made for gear maker not for gear user. It is not fair. As with black Ford model T. It is convenient for manufacturerer. Usage of chaoticly spread voices is nightmare for me. (Scan several hundred to choose one suitable.)

The other marketing harsh and disgusting movement I don't like:
demo samples, which are not available from the face swithes. They are covered from public, but they are mostly much better than normal samples. Is it fair to feed the gear memory with trash?

So the CS1x is - it is NOT an improvement for me. Although I learned a lot what a synth can impress me in a wrong way.

I resign this gear.

It's very easy to use and i like it. This is myt first synth and it's good enough to me.

Only one performance-sound and 12 xg-sounds at once. It's not a good thing.

I don't know about the instruments. I think they're good enough.

So far no problems occured. (i have had it 2 weeks now)

I bought this as a used one, so i don't know about the Yamaha.

It's good enough for me. Ofcourse i'm a beginner but i think it's good one.

Had this Blue Baby, since it was released.
It is cheap, feels cheap and sounds cheap(the presets do).
But if you tweak the presets, you can get some allmost-killer sounds.
It is easy to use, never tried something that is more user-friendly.

The effects are good for the price. Allthougt use it ONLY in the PERFORMANCE MODE. I haven't even switched to the other mode in years.
IN PERFORMANCE MODE,you get ONE FAT sound with GOOD FX, and 12 not so fat sounds with only reverb & chorus.

The sounds are NOT realistic.
Piano sucks, the strings too, and the other "real" GM instruments are even worse. BUT! This sucker gives you good synth sounds!
So if you want some cheap techno gear, this is the cheapest and blue-est.It is sample based, so you can only select the sounds within the machine and change them a bit. It is FAR from Nordlead, ROLAND JP-8000, Korg MS2000, and all the other high end machines, where you can make your sounds from scratch.

No problem here.

The blue book & manual are good.

I LOVE it! It has a special feeling to it. BUT i am very uncertian about using it in my music. It simply sounds a bit too corny if not tweaked enough.

Fairly OK. Performance sounds are quite good but predictable and digital-sounding. Editing is quite easy once you are familiar with the matrix thingy. Manual is fine.

Polyphony is difficult to manage cos its 2 modes (performance and multi) are intertwined in an odd manner. Effects are varied but average. Midi-wise is OK (except for the performance vs multi thing). Enough knobs for some people but not for me. Keys are slightly too light for my liking. Good value for money for these feature though.

Sounds too predictable and boring. should forget about emulating 303 and analog stuff. Makes it sound like a toy. Needs time to synthesise and build up decent sounds. Not very analog-sounding. Filters are thin and do not give the extra squeal with resonance. In fact, for some patches, the filter only work for 50% of its range. Can't expect too much for its low price though. But again, I can get a Novation Basstation for the same price with much more expressiveness and fatter sounds and filters. Like the idea of the scene storage using the modwheel. OK for adding in bits and pieces for dance music but would suggest a higher range synth instead of this for the extra punch and fatness.

So far, no problem. But knobs and wheels have a toy-like fragile feel. Plastic case is cool but I wouldn't drop it from higher than half a metre. Since it's digital, gigging would be fine provided that you handle it with care and don't get violent with it on stage.

Haven't tried yet.

If it were lost, I would not buy it. In fact, I might celebrate over the space I save in my studio and would save up to buy a Nord Rack 3 (coming soon!). Bought the CS1x when I was poorer and could not afford higher end gear. Used to own a Juno 106 which detuned and died. Currently own an MPC 2000XL, a Novation Basstation,a Prophecy and recently a JP8000 to replace the Juno. Am bored with the CS1x though I still like its colour. Sounds wise, I'll give it a miss cos it loses out compared to my other gear.

Yamaha made the right decision to stop its production because it is way down the bottom of the virtual analog synth market now. It has served its purpose when it was first released and became a top-seller(many top bands bought one; e.g. Underworld). For the moment, musicians who are less particular about sounds and want to make mediocre-sounding dance music can get one.

I needed a synth for techno-ish stuff, not that I'm a keyboardplayer, I play guitar and sing gothic music. Thus, I needed something for inspiration. Although, I wanted the KS2000 by Korg my budget didn't allow this to happen. As I bought my CS1x used, the owner before me smoked the manual. However, it's rather straightforward when just fooling around with the sounds. For being a guitarist I kinda consider this synth ok in my book.

I don't know any tech stuff about the CS1x, except its limitations when i comes to using the multilayered sounds with MIDI. What was it, just 2 at a time? Ok, I've seen there's ways to work around this limitation. However, I'm not using it for MIDI.. *shrug*.. The presets is rather dull and 90-ish, but with a little tweaking you can get something useful out it the CS1x. I like it. But only due to the fact that is was sooo cheap!

As mentioned the sound is kindof 90-ish, but if you're into tweaking you can get around it, creating new interresting soundscapes. I'm considering it more useful when playing ambient music than techno, as almost each pattern is familiar... You've kind of heard it before. But then again, for the price it's a knockout! However, the bread and butter sounds are lame. But that's not what I bought it for. It's nice to have them there anyhow. ;)

Yeah sure.. no probs.

No manual yet and I do not think that Yamaha will send me one either. ;(

If it was stolen, I would buy something else. I see the CS1x as somehting very disposable. Its fun, it looks nice and its tweak-friendly. If you get it cheap buy it.

The CS1x is pretty easy to use right off the bat, although getting familiar with it helps a lot. it's definitely a synth that "grows with you", so as you get better at using it, it opens up more and shows more options. I found the program CS1x-Edit, which allows you to interface with the CS1x via midi on a PC (it's on the yamaha UK website), and it opens up a lot of possibilities as well. The editor isn't necessary, but it makes learning the menus on the CS1x's lcd screen easier, since you have more viewing space on a computer (and most people are better with mice than with lcd menus and buttons).
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Editing patches is simply moving the knob to the right line and changing the values; piece o' cake (although it takes a while to understand exactly what the values you're changing do :) ).
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The manual isn't the best, but it gives you info about the synth, beginner info, and has another user guide with the patch banks in lists. The *REAL* useful book is the CS1x BlueBook, also available (for free) from the Yamaha UK website, as it contains every little bit of information you'll ever need to know about the CS1x. It even includes all the basic info about the different effects, different analog modeling and waveforms, and basically everything. It's even worthwhile if you don't own a CS1x =)

There is at least 4 voice polyphony. I'm tempted to say 16, but i don't have that many fingers on one hand, and it's hard to test using just speakers (since it expresses sounds pretty well). Some other reviewers claim that it only has monophony, which is wrong. There is a switch in a menu (and it's labeled right on the CS1x "poly/mono") for switching back and forth between mono and poly. Why would you want to switch? Well you can't use the arpeggiator if you're using poly! =) You can save the mono/poly settings for each patch, so you don't have to switch back and forth (which is nice), and can keep each setting individualized for each patch.
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The CX1x has a ton of effects; I could list them all out, but i'm pretty sure there's info on a Yamaha site somewhere. Plus most of it can be done real-time, which is definitely a plus. It reminds me of a mix between the LCD knob synths and the LED menu synths, mainly because all of the effects can be seen just by looking at the synth, and by turning a selector knob to the appropriate menu-line, and punching a button selects the effect. Easy as pie, but enough variety to keep the keyboard fresh.
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There's plenty of midi action, and I often interface with my keyboard using my PC via midi, since it's kinda fun =). There's velocity, knob stuff, menu stuff, basically everything you can alter on the CS1x can be sent via midi. Of course, you have to have something else that can interpret the same data, but that's not the CS1x's problem ;). There's no aftertouch, but I don't mind (can't miss what you don't have!). There is an onboard sequencer, and I know it's pretty flexible because of the demo songs. There are a lot of instructions on how to use it in the BlueBook and the regular manual, but I've never had the need to, as I do all of my sequencing externally.

Depending on the patch, the CS1x can sound really good. or it can sound really cheesy. Like most analog synths, it really depends on what YOU want out of it. There are a couple fun patches that sound really.. well.. fun! There are also some patches that mix a couple voices together for interesting effects (like I have a patch loaded right now called "children" that has a sustained piano sound followed by delayed strings, and it's very nice). But there are also the typical "cheese analog" sounds too. Low square and sine basses, high squeaky things, it really sort of depends on what you want.
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It's made for electronic music, although the bass sounds could easily be used for any type of music that just needs more bass. I doubt a purist would like using it, or someone who thinks that a guitar is the best instrument, but someone with a little creativity and an open mind can find a lot of uses for it. It's not a keyboard you'd use to look cool; it's a keyboard you'd use to make cool sounds =).
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As I said before, the velocity control is pretty strong, although the keys aren't weighted so it feels like a keyboard (good/bad, depending on opinion). It likes being played, and expresses itself well. Just using the presets makes this synth seem like a fun li'l synth, although it's not a piano.

Well I bought it used, from consignment, and it looks like the person(s) who owned it previously took good care of it. it's hard plastic, which is bouncy (i'd rather have it be plastic and flexible, which saves the insides, than sheet metal that allows the inside to bounce around while keeping the outside nice), and it's blue! I haven't played live, but I would be very comfortable using it live without a replacement or back-up synth. It's never crashed and never gone schizo on me, and it's been on quite frequently for the past 3 months.

I've dealt with Yamaha a little bit, and they've been very quick and friendly, even though the synth is discontinued now. They still supply free (in print even) bluebooks, and know about the CS1x pretty well. Plus I'm a Yamaha fan anyways ;)

If I lost this li'l guy, I'd look to get another one. It's a great price and I'd hate to spend more on a synth that does basically the same things (but looks different.. bleh!). I definitely got a lot more bang for my buck. I've had it for 3 months now, and I'm still in love with it. I also own an electribe-a and use a significant amount of software, but I mainly use the synth directly for its own sounds (recording the synth instead of using it for midi control). I had a choice between this and a roland something, and a yamaha dx7, and i'm very happy I chose the CS1x. It's attractive, it's easy, and it really does a lot. Some people are convinced that there's no good hardware available under 1000 dollars, but there are also people who realize that you can make amazing things on a small budget. I'm one of the latter :) The CS1x is pretty inspirational, although almost too much so; I tend to play around making little songs using different patches than sequencing a whole song, but that's mainly because my computer is slow. The arpeggiator is fun, especially at very high speeds and very low speeds (low speeds makes nice random melodies hehe), and is quite inspirational if used correctly.
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In the right hands, the CS1x is really a great synth, especially for the price. can't be beat for under 500 bucks!

It is quite easy to use, no probs at all. If You download an edotor from the net you get an excellent editing possibilities.

Nice effects, easy to use, excellent patch making possibilities.

Very, very many sounds - can access the material voices as well. All together over 1000 sounds. Great.
You can also download loads of nice sounds from the net.

Never ever had any problems.

It is definitely the best synth for this money, I have it for 6 months now and think it is great. I use it together with some software synthesizers and then it just leaves averything in the smoke.
Could have in-built sampler, but nowadays, if you own a good sound card and a good computer with appropriate software it is not important for a synth, you can do everything on the PC.

Good, with the blue book. I am desperatly trying to figure out
if you can apply more than the two knobs to a softsynth such
as reaktor.. Should be possible, somehow.. I hope...

Good little synth for its price. Would make a nice controller if the midi didnt try and take over, it had aftertouch, and the knobs
weree more assignable (to softsynths such as reality/reaktor :)

Very nice for the price

Life in plastic can be fantastic

Hmm blue book ? What blue book?

If lost or stolen I would probably go for a more controller orientated synth, something that was easy to assign knobs to
soft synths such as reaktor reality, and VST2 ones..

If anyone knows how to do this, please email me psi@musician.org
Specifically is ther a way, and a softsyth that will allow you to assign more than two of the knobs to a continuous controller.. How
about breath and foot ?

For the money it is one of the best keyboards you can purchase if you are into electronic music

Has a killer performance section. All parameters have to be assigned.

It is very expressive and the filters sound great!!

Has not given me any problems other than not being able to save edited parameters successfully. I still haven't read the manual.(It was in French?)

Never had to deal with them

I am very happy with the presets as well as the editing parameters!

editing is a breeze. if you have any trouble, there's the blue book, though i didn't see much need for it. manual explains pretty much everything you can't figure out from 30 minutes playing around.

knobs. knobs are what make the keyboard. this thing would be worth about half as much w/o the knobs. midi... had no trouble sequencing with a 707, haven't tried anything more in-depth. built in arpeggiator is fun, wish it was programmable though.

it's a piece of gear made for electronic music, it does bleeps, chirps, rises, whatever.
don't buy it expecting a 303 emulator. if i was born deaf and blind, and was sitting in another room down the hall from where this was being played, it still wouldn't sound like a 303.

no idea. it hasn't done anything evil yet.

it's a good entry level synth for those looking to make any kind of electronic music. if it was lost or stolen, i'd be sad, then i'd save my $$$ and buy a waldorf q.

Had lots of problems getting it to work properly with the rest of my stuff. (Could be just my unit, or the fact that my manual was in french ..que??) So you should't weigh this comment in to heavily..

BAH...

Some sounds were ok. You will NOT get any wicked 303 basslines or Fat basses though.

Fear the plastic. Knobs feel like they are going to come off. Very unsolid feel over it all in all. Handle it with care.

Never dealt with them..

It has been a while since i sold mine, and NOT considering the fact that it's as plastic as lego I just felt I REALLY had to comment on some of the previews. What ticks me off is that people comment it with things like "nordlead killer"..&#/&" NO WAY DUDE.
Its an average synth with average sounds, and there is no way in hell it can compete with the "virtual-anologue-monsters". Unless you find it REALLY cheap, stay the hell away from it. Buy something else.. Cant think of any genre where you cant find a better solution for the price..Piece of plastic virtual-analogue-wannabee synth, made in the same spirit as the MC-303. Point is, if it is not obvious, DO NOT buy this for its "Nordlead-killer" qualities, it has none. I like the color though.. :)

Its is VERY easy to make sounds on the synth, but not as easy from the computer.

It has got what i needs! But the midi sucks!

The sounds are really GREAT!
GREAT pads
GREAT leads

Evolving sounds!

It is not always predictable! Sometimes it does stuff that it was not supposed to do.

Its a very good synth! The best for the money! Nice color! Nice sounds! COOL SYNTH!

ive had mine for a year now, its not too shabby, but i know for a fact that yamaha can do a lot better. most presets suck, but i never use presets anyways. you can get cool sounds if you tweak the originals, though, but you cant create sounds, you have to base them upon the presets, and you cant save sounds in multi mode. it does serve a decent purpose, i play industrial, so its good for it. its based on dance, techno, and rappish shit, but i have gotten some fucking sick sounds out of it. nothing spectacular about the effects, but theyre useable. for the money, its a decent piece of gear, and i can get really warm sounds out of it, but thats because i make my own. its good to start off with, but ive played better. its annoying to sample (i dont sequence shit, sample it all), but youll have that. i also use a roland jp-8000, and im buying a nord lead 2 really soon, they both put the cs1x to shame, but its still a decent synth, and i dont think i would sell it unless i got a real good deal.

I think it's pretty easy to use...the cushiony rubbber buttons to change parameters could have been a knob...but I'm pretty sure you can Assign one to it. The 2 Assign knobs are great...I have Assign 1 as Arpeggiator tempo and it sounds pretty spiffy at gigs. Its really easy to use and even a complete moron could probably figure it out in a couple days...and that's if they have only 2 brain cells and one is lost and the other went to find it.

Manual was good. Didn't need it much. Just to find out how to restore factory settings. Did it once...my method of learning is to open it, mess around with anything I can and then restore. Complicated, but it gets the job done.

I didn't like it's nasty little one-performance-at-a-time secret...bad, Yamaha, bad.

No expansion that I could see...the effects were pretty good though...lots of distortion, flange, etc...a whole mess...really easy.

Velocity...I don't think aftertouch though.

In/Out/Thru. No sequencer. Decent Arpeggiator.

The synth sounds are great. I love the pads and strings. Definately a techno/trance/alternative board. STAY AWAY FROM PIANO! I really don't like it. It's icky. I like the onboard effects and knobs, but stay away from the Multi bank....*Shudder*

I have gigged without a backup...it's sturdy...but I baby it...I've dropped it twice...once on carpet, the other on concrete...and all I got was minor scratches on the bottom panel. It's solid. I can feel the edit knob loosening...not bad for a year and half though...don't drop it on the blue part...it's sturdy, but it's still just hard plastic.

I'd probably buy a newer version if lost or stolen, unless I could find a cheap (key word) used one. I also have an RM1x and it's great and I recently got a Roland JX-305. Love 'em all. It's a great board and the pads rule. If you don't agree...well...I like them.

Ok ease of use is amazing, it takes no time to learn. The main four knobs (attack, release, cutoff, resounce) can utomaticly make some major difforences in the voices, and with a few seconds you can compleatly distroy the sound with the actual filters and bypass.

Shhhh dont ask about polyphony... Its pretty bad, you can use 11 standerd midi voices and one cool synth sound. Defenatly a lead synth only. Plus dont try to add it to a midi chain, it picks up and plays all channels, and they cant be turned off...NOW THAT SUX. Its not expandeble, but it doesnt need to be, you can almost emmulate anything you want with it if you take the time. The only thing it could realy use is a noise filter then it could rival almost any true anolog. The arpeggiator is great, but then again thats what the board was designed for. If your an underbudget, creative synth player this is a grat sound matchine, and hay if you need more polyphony buy a dat and sample the hell outa the sounds in soundforge and drop them as wave files into cakewalk..right?

As I said befor...the sounds are phat and intence, unfortunatly its a little quieter then normal synths so you'll have to turn it up higher on the mixing board. Its a trance, happy hardcore synth but I use it for EBM/Industrial and experamental noize. Its very good at following your playing style and its volocity is great.

I can fully depend on it, and would easly gig with ot a back up. Even a huge tour.

Who knows, Yamahas always busy

If it was lost or stolen I dont know if I would replace it, for the money it really cant be touched at all, but now I need something polyphonicIf i could afford to replace it I would in a heart beat. I have been programming for about 4 years, I have access to a Nord lead 2 a JP8000, a Dance Planet, Juno 106 and a Korg Prophacy. I think it does well in combat against any of thieses boards. I love my little blue box so I rate it high.

Dead easy. It's a digital synth but there are knobs on the front for filter resonance/freq, attack, release, and two patch-specific knobs, so you can do a lot in realtime (nice touch). Front-panel patch editing is very easy, thanks to lots of info on the front of the case and a nicely intuitive interface. Presets are pretty okay, they give you a good idea of the range of things this little guy is capable of. Manual is nice, certainly better than a damn Roland manual. I didn't find a patch editor to be necessary at all.

Keyboard action is about what you'd expect for $350 -- servicable, but not great. Built-in effects are not that useful; delay and reverb are good, chorus and flange seem weak. They're patch-specific, too.
No expansion possibilities that I can see.
MIDI implementation is fairly standard; velocity and aftertouch. Unfortunately when it's in GM mode it responds to EVERY MIDI CHANNEL ALL THE TIME and I have found no way to turn that off! In "Performance" mode (the real patches) there's no multitimbrality that I can see, but that doesn't really affect me for what I use it for.
No sequencer, but come on, doesn't everyone use these things with computers these days? However the on-board arpeggiator is pretty okay -- it'll lock to MIDI clock. You can't define your own arpeggio pattern but the built-in ones are pretty servicable for techno applications.

GM instruments are so-so. The "performance" patches are built from the basic waveforms of the GM instruments, modified with filters, ADSR envelope, LFOs and so forth.
What you end up with is some very nice evolving pad sounds, good analog simulations, some good leads, really nice vox-type patches. You can do a lot with patch editing just by fooling around -- this eats up hours of my time. :)
Sound-wise this is a GREAT choice for someone who wants to get into electronica on a low budget, much better than the other possibilities I looked at in this price range (the DJX, MC303, etc). This is a real synth.

Well, I already broke a knob off the thing. It seems pretty flimsy. I'd gig without a backup but only because I'm poor. I've had it about 6 months and have had to powercycle it a couple times because sound just stopped coming out for no obvious reason.

Dunno. I've not heard good things about Yamaha support.

Overall this is a GREAT board for what I wanted it for -- experimentation with electronica/trance/techno. You have the opportunity to play around with an easy interface and get the sounds you like. However, unless you're using a computer workstation with this, I wouldn't make it your only keyboard, due to the (apparent) lack of multitimbrality.

What I love: the wide variety of sounds, the easy tinkering-style editing, the realtime control knobs!
What I hate: lack of multitimbrality, the knob I broke off.

Right now the CS1x is the main controller in my setup (I now have an Orbit and an old TX81z to go with it, whee) and it makes a great cheap controller, as well as a good sound module in its own right. If it was multitimbral I'd be giving it a 10 for the price/performance ratio. But this guy makes me want to make music, and that's what counts at the end of the day.

i think the presets sound pretty good. you can make a great techno/trance album with the presets alone. the drums are a little weak but are usable for the most part. editing is pretty easy. it's pretty straight forward, but the cs1x edit program(shareware) will take the sounds to new heights.

it has a great effects unit. everything's there: flanger, phaser, delay, reverbs, etc. the built in effects came a o.k. sound great. you only get 128 user patches, but i think there is a way to dump them to your computer. i don't know, never tried it. it has an appegiator wich isn't programable at all so i find it mostly useless. no sequencer to speak of. it has six knobs wich are midi contrllable which is terrific for controlling my softsynths.

doesn't really concentrate on acoustic sounds(mostly analogish), but i personaly like the organs and pianos included. i find them very useful, but then again, i am not a piano player. it's primaraly meant for techno,trance, but i've used it for ambient mostly. it has an okay touch, but i wish the keyboard was springier. i do think the sounds can get old after a while. it's fairly programmable, but there is still only so much you can do.

it has been extremely reliable. never once had a problem, but i wish it didn't have a wallwart power supply. yeah, i would use it on a gig without a backup. i have.

never dealt with yamaha. i wouldn't know what to expect.

i mainly use it as a controller keyboard now, but for the price, it competes even with dedicated controller keyboards, plus you get the knobs! if it did get stolen, i would check my options first. i would look int getting a an1x. it has been a really good instrument.

This should be damned easy to use with 6 big knobs on it.It isn't unless you stick to the presets. Presets are very good and very varied, there 250 of them and they can be tweaked for rez etc with the aforementioned knobs. Editing, tho, is crap. Parameters are varied using hideous little +/- buttons...1 more knob would have meant the world, jumping between menus is a big drag. There are, however some very good shareware editors if you have a PC.

Well on the one hand, the sounds available to you are very good with a huge XG arsenal plus loads more "basic" waveforms,on the other hand the MIDI implementation is awful. Using 4 midi channels to produce 1 performance sound is just out of order. You can cheat and get 4 performances from the beast, but that will take up all 16 channels.....hope this doesn't catch on. Good arpeggiator with built in rez sweeps etc. Also those knobs send midi so not a bad controller if you don't need aftertouch.....

Surprisingly, this is where this keyboard scores big. For a budget/starter/whatever synth this actually sounds excellent.Great pads,leads, basses, organs. Crap pianos tho (wonder why?). Loads of user patches on the web, too.

Bullet-proof, sturdy, never fails. Remembers everything you set on the last session.

Haven't needed any.

If it were lost, I'd buy something else, but maybe that's because I've grown a bit as a synth user. I like the CS1x and use it a lot in my music, but there are a few minuses (polyphony, editing) and I've outgrown it. Still, for the money there are few things to beat it as a utility synth and/or control keyboard, and it does make some wicked sounds.

This synth is a very nice equipment to start. The preset sounds are very well modelled. The patch editing is a little complex process, but once you have mastered it, is very easy. The manual is nice, but if you want a full featured book, download the Blue Book from Yamaha, and this is a very helpful add-on.

The polyphony is well, 16 keys I think, could be more. The effects are nice, the most useful feature is the arpeggiator, that can lead you out of a bored afternoon. The synth has the standard MIDI connectors and the To Host feature, that allows you to connect the synth to a computer using a special cable from Yamaha without using the Joystick port in your computer. This keyboard doesn't have a built-in sequencer. You have to sequence using an external source.

The instruments are awesome realistic, this because the AWM synthesis. The manual says that this baby is designed for making dance, trance, etc. but it works well with all types of music. The onboard effects are good. It has initial aftertouch and PB and Modulation capabilities.

It's a very reliable machine. It has never let me down!

Never need it. (until now). I have owned this keyb. for 4 months.

I think I'd buy it again. The only thing that disappoints me is the lack of an onboard sequencer. I use this synth with a Yamaha SU-10 Sampler, and I'm planning to buy a Yamaha QY-300 or QY-70 hardware external sequencer. I currently sequencing using my PC and Digital Orchestrator Pro. It is a good deal for the price, it is easy to use and fun to play. I wish It had an extra octave of keys. But is a very good piece of equipment!!!

The CS1x is a pretty straightforward synth at first, until you try to use its use material voices in a song... So if you just want one fat sound it's really easy to use, but if you want to go one step further, you should get the "blue book", a complement to the manual. It describes more complex features of the synth.

Its a 32-voice 16 part synth, so that wont limit you, even if 64 voices seem to have become the standard nowadays. It's three different effect-units: one for chorus, one for reverb and one for variation. The latter comprises a few "standard" effects, nothing spectacular though. The synth isnt expandable, so you're stuck with what you have.

This synth does best what its built for: dance/techno music. The material voices (which make up the elements of the performance sounds) are fair. I tend to use it not so often in my music, maybe because I've got bored with the limitations of this sample/synthesis keyboard. You'll also find an XG compatible synthengine, whose sounds are really cheesy and will hardly fit into a pro arrangement.

The case looks to be able to withstand a hit or two, but not more I guess. Mine is still ok after approximately one year.

I've ordered the bluebook from Yamaha in Sweden, and I got it after a week. So I've nothing to complain about.

Ive played dozens of contemporary and vintage synths, and judging from that I would place the CS1x somewhere in the lower regions. Sure, you could make a "techno"-tune with it, but its "cheesy"-ness and basic features (e.g. only 2 outs) only make it a good beginners synth, nothing more. (even if David Bowie used one on Earthling!)

This is a wicked sytnh and very easy to use. The presets are fine, there are 256 of them. There is a patch editor called CS1X Edit which is excellent! The manual is pretty good.

It has 32-note polyphony and 16-part multitimbral. It has three effects processors: Reverb, Chorus, and Various. There are many different types of effects in each category. For example in Various there are several types of Flnager, Distortion, Phasers, 3-Band EQ, 2-Band EQ... You may use one effect from one of the three categories simoltaneously. Midi capabalities are excellent with SySex support for saving patches on disk. There is no onboard sequencer. There is also a large pannel of switches to tweak the sound. Drawback is that only 1 performance sound per song. But it doesn't matter if you plan on sampling your melody off the CS1x. It also has an awsome arpeggiator with many different styles. Finally you can store 128 of your own patches.

Great for any kind of dance music. I use it for Progressive House, Goa, and Jungle. There are 512 dancy type sounds and 480 XG sounds. You can layer up to four of these sounds to make a performance. With the resonant filter, the effects processors, and the matrix of features you can create more sounds than you'll ever probably use. Sounds can be tweaked a lot!

Very reliably and great for live performances due to its filter knobs.

Havn't needed to deal with Yamaha before.

This is such an awsome synth. The resonant filter is fabulous. There are just too many things that you can do to your sounds with the CS1X. It's very overwhelming at first, but you get used to it. I've been able to get some really nice bass sounds. You can make excellent strings and a whole bunch of other strange sounds. Drumsets are not great. If you have the money, get it! You won't be dissapointed!

This is a very easy synth to get started with. The first time I found this from a local music store I kept fiddling around with it for a couple of hours; needless to say it's almost as good toy as a MC-303 (but the MC is _just_ a toy). Editing patches is very intuitive, only thing I had to look up at first was how to apply changes to all possible four layers at the same time. The manual is well written and mostly rather useless; the only complain here is the difficulties at first at using MIDI channels from 5-16 without GM/XG-sounds. But this is a fairly easy synth, really.

The usual, 32-voice polyphony, 16-part multitimbral. Inboard effects are actually surprisingly good. The reverbs aren't that cool, the overdrive is too thin to my taste, but I really like the guitar amp simulation. Can really make a decent Hammondish-retro-70's-proge-organ sound with enough modulation, plus it's great for those acidish basslines. Expansions, none as far as I'm concerned. No aftertouch-sensitive keyboard, a minus. (this is supposed to be a control synth but Ob Matrix-1000 really needs aftertouch). No inboard sequencer. An arpeggiator, syncable to midi clock. But unfortunately the arpeggios aren't editable so you're stuck with presets here. But for this price, it's understandable.

Welp. I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but... I think the filter is somewhat dry sounding. No Minimoogs here, and this isn't a 303 substitute either (but heck, it's too used anyway ;) The presets samples are fair. Good drums, some good general synth foo. The effects can make nice Hague-electro or trip-hop drumkits and spacey synths. As a lead/bass synth I think this won't do. Get a Prophecy. On the non-performance channels you get to adjust chorus/reverb/cutoff/rez/attack/sustain. No special fx. Some of the samples itself are very usable. As said, 808+909 can be found, and one sample is a terrifict sub-bass. But after the complusory playstate, tweaking isn't that satisfying with this cutie.

So far only few minor problems. I'd gig with it. Sometimes getting it to understand that you don't want GM is hard, but nothing more serious.

no opinion

It's well worth the money, granted. Then again, if you have some multi-fx+a bass synth+a few pad synths, just get a Drumstation. I dig the drums with the fx. As said before, the fx really apply only to the "performance" sounds. What I find myself always doing is using some edited drum kit with some twisted fx and perhaps that lovely sub-bass sample, quite nothing else. It's cheap. For a first synth, definetly. But for tweaking, get a Prophecy. Or a TB, they're about the same price ;) And the arpeggios aren't editable, a shame. And it's samples. I don't really care, but it limits to some extent. And I'm definetly not an analogue purist; but the filter is a bit cheesy. (So is the one in JP-8000 as well ;) (please, this is my opinion, spare your flames)

Very simple interface. The patches on this thing are killer. The manual is small but covers most things. It could be more in depth but the machine is really easy to learn without the manual. You have great control on over your patches. You can also layer patches to make distinct sounds. Cutoff and Resonance knobs are great.

61 keys 32 note polyphony Unweighted keys. The keys feel really great. easy to get into your playing. A decent amount of effects. No expansion, but there is not much need for expansion. Has MIDI IN/OUT/THRU. Keys are sensitive, and the knob movements are also sent out via midi. Real easy to sequence to computer. No on board sequencer. Has one awesome arpegiator. can create very cool acidy/trance tracks with it when using the arpegiator with the cutoff/resonance/attack/release knobs.

The tones are awesome, mostly for techno/dance music though. The sensetivity of teh keys rock, you can really put groove into your songs.

I definatly rely on it. You probably would want a sequencer though. If you like to play live then you dont have a problem. If you already have some equipment this thing is great because of its tones. Extremly dependable, however it is not an all in one machine. I like to use it for pad sounds and bass lines and I use other stuff for drums. Has good tones for melodies too. The drum sounds on it are just ok. I mean it has the 909 and 808 sounds on it but I rather use my roland MC-303 for drums.

I would defiantly buy it again. Totally worth the money! None of its competitors come even close to the price. The Nord Lead is awesome but this is almost a thousand dollars cheaper which makes it a better price. I think it defiantly beats rolands JP-8000. Its the best accompanyment to existing dance equipment.

I LOVE THIS KEYBOARD!!!!!!!!!!! Editing is time-consuming but easy.....manual? I don't need no stinking manual!!!!

Only 32 voice but who cares...those voices kick serious booty! killer effects...no, not Lexicon but easy to use and sound great. Expansion? Not really but who cares, it is what it is. Yeah midi but that's not what makes it a killer. No sequencer but one heck of an arpeggiator!!!!

Realistic? Nope Bad? To the bone! Easy to use? For me,yes. Go hear this thing and decide for yourself.....

How reliable was your best friend? He ate all of your food and drank all of your drinks and he even tried to put the move on your squeeze but you'd kill for him and he you.Reliable? So far so good and if it goes down this instant I'll forgive it and remember what a thrill it gave me for awhile.

KILLER!!!!!

If you can't tell by now that I love this keyboard(I also own other synths eg;QS7 etc.)then you aren't too perceptive.

One word: Knobs! Finally, a digital synth that doesn't require a degree to search through menus. 2 of the knobs are user assignable to a slew of sound editing options. As for those, there's an array listing of all the sound editing options on the face of the box itself with a pointer knob so you always know exactly where you are. The presets sound exactly like what this synth is geared toward: dance music afficionados, like me. It also functions as an GM/XG sound source, but I mostly ignore that part of it. The manual is good for explaining most of its features, but the MIDI stuff is a bit cryptic. Get the Blue Book from Yamaha.

6 realtime control knobs (amp attack and delay, filter cutoff and rez, 2 user-assignable), lots of chorus and reverb styles along with a "variable" effect that can be chosen from a list of things like 2 and 3-band EQ, delay, etc., 3 foot control inputs, PC or Mac hookup port (driver and cable come seperately), low-pass filter, lots of editing options like LFO, pitch envelope, filter envelope, port time etc., all editable via MIDI control messages, VERY cool arpegiator syncable to MIDI (does not out to MIDI, though). Minuses: this is a sample-playback synth, so the waveforms can't be edited. No disk drive or card slot basically means you're stuck with them. You can change just about everything else about the sounds, though. No sequencer, either, so if you want to use those cool 808 and 909 samples, you have to hook it up to something else. For the price, though, it's very acceptable.

This machine was made for techno/jungle/trance/ambient. If you're looking for a machine to back your rock band with 10 billion string sounds, this is not for you. If you're looking for artificial sounds that wreak havoc in a club, this is the machine to get. The keyboard is nice for velocity sensing, but don't hit it too hard (see below). Knobs and an arpeggiator add a new dimension to expressiveness previously thought dead with analogue machines.

It hasn't totally screwed up on me yet. The keys are a bit flimsy (I can already feel a few black keys weakening). The knobs also feel a bit fragile (I'd rather have sliders). The left wheels are pretty solid, though. So far, it's done everything my computer sequencer has told it to do.

I ordered the blue book from Yamaha and to my surprise, it was free! No toll free number, but they didn't keep me on the phone long. I haven't ordered any upgrades, though it doesn't seem to need one. Given the company's history, I feel pretty secure about my purchase.

This is my first real professional-sounding box (before this, I had a couple of the kind you see at Radio Shack and Circuit City). For me, it was a choice between this and the Roland MC-303. There is no comparison. The only advantage the MC seems to have is a built-in sequencer which is really only useful for playing its own sounds. The Yamaha has a heck of a lot more sound editing options (the Roland doesn't even let you edit the filter envelope), and when it comes to MIDI implementation, the MC-303 is downright xenophobic. Even if I get tired of the sounds on the CS1x, it still makes a great controller. With a list price that's a hundred dollars less, my choice was very easy to make. Even after getting the CS1x, I still wouldn't get an MC-303 because the sequencer is pretty much useless for controlling my CS1x, and I'm spoiled by the sound editing options the CS1x has to offer. The only thing it's lacking is an expansion utility and a sequencer. Once I get me an Emax2, I'll be all set for gigs. Basically, it's a poor man's Nord Lead... a swell imitation of analogue (though not as good) with all the advantages of digital. Well reccomended!

This is an add on too my earlier review: I want to add the following information concerning using the performance sounds multitimbrally. Since writing the review, I have learned some new things as follows. First, call Yamaha Literature and order the, so far, free "Blue Book" which is a tutorial style book put out by Yamaha in Germany. This book shows you how to totally access any sounds you want. And it comes with two disks with new patches etc.
Each Performance is made up of up to 4 voices. If you look at your Voice Data List, you will see that the Preset Performance patches use the sounds in banks Pre 00, Pre 01, Pre 02 and Pre 03. The names of the sounds in Pre 00 are identicle to the names of the patches in the Preset Performance set. If one of those patches happens to use 3 voices, the other two voices (sounds) will be in the corresponding patch numbers of banks Pre 01 and Pre 02. Now, the voices making up the User Performances are exist in banks Pre 04, Pre 05, Pre 06 and Pre 07. Pre 04, just like Pre 00, holds all the voices that make up the first (of up to 4) voices of the User Performance set. They also have the same names. For example, check out page 12 of your Data List. You will see that User Performance #47 is Seminl. This patch uses 3 voices and voice one is called Seminl A and is in bank Pre04, #47; the second voice making up User perfomance #47 is called Seminl B and located in Pre05, #47; finally, the third voice is called Seminl C and is in Pre05, #47. Get it?
In fact if you check out the Data List, you will see a set of voices called "Additions" which reside in Pre08, Pre09, Pre10 and Pre11. In fact, these voices represent a whole third set of Performances! BUT, the patches are not included with the synth even though the voices are there. There is just the PRESET and USER sets, not the third one. Crap, right? Well sort of. The sounds ARE there for your use. A midi file containing sysex data comes with the Blue Book and contains all an "Xtra" patch bank, to use it you load the file into a sequencer and play it with your CS1x connected by midi. The CS1x USER performances should then be a whole new set of patches reflecting the voices in Pre08-Pre11. By the way, Pre12 holds the great performance drum voices like the 808 etc.
OKAY NOW HERE IT IS!! Even though midi channels 1-4 are used up by the performance voice chosen, you can actually assign channels 5 through 16 to any sound in any bank anywhere in the synth as long as you are in the correct mode. SO FOR INSTANCE, User Performance Preset #29 is called Xrayz. You will see upon inspection, either via the synth itself, or by looking on page 12 of the data list, that Xrayz is made up of only one voice which is located in bank Pre04, #29. So, you can, if you want to, assign Pre04, #29 (called Xrayz A) to, say, midi channel 11. And so on. So you see, you are not limited to only using the XG sounds as I, based on the manual, indicated earlier.

The Performance presets are FAT!! and extremely versatile and controllable. The XG soundset of 480 voices plus is very good if not stellar. Programming is very easy with all parameters accessable from the front controls, not through menus and submenus etc. The programming feature are basic to those who are familiar with analog style subtractive synthesis. The manual is pretty good compared to others. But that may not be saying much. There are a few areas which required a second or third read only to find that it is sometimes what is NOT said than what is that defines the issue. For instance, for multitimbral midi playback, it appears from the manual that you may only use the 480 multi xg voices but not the very cool performance voices for which you will by this synth in the first place. Obviously you can sequence a single performance, but, not multitimbral performance sounds? NO, and yes, sort of. What the manual only hints at but doesn't say really is that you can have a performance patch play on one of channels 1 through 4 and have 12 xg voices play on channels 5 through 16. This could have and should be better explained in the future by Yamaha. Ah, but it is hard to be too critical when this synth is so sweet sounding and is so inexpensive.

32 notes polyphony, 16 multitimbral with the caveats stated above, 3 effects units with 65 different settings. The reverb unit and the chorus unit are applied globally while the variation effect unit (which is 43 different very adjustable effects) is available as an insertion effect into only one of up to four voices which make up a performance preset. The effects sound pretty good and the variation effect's insertion features allow for lots of excellent effects. No real expansion capabilities. But none needed really. No aftertouch. No sequencer.

The analog sounds are great and the control knobs for cutoff, resonance, attack, release are great not to mention that there are 2 assignable knobs for anything else you wish, i.e., volume, pan, pitch, lfo, etc. In fact, one of the assignable knobs can control 4 of any of the parameters in varying amounts for each of the up to 4 voices making up a performance patch. This feature equals fat and crazy effects sounds to your hearts content. In addition to the six control knobs, for each performance patch, you can store 2 "scenes" each scene is a snapshot of the 6 control knobs. In addition to the "scene" making up the patch, this can make for 3 very different sounds for each patch. When you choose both scenes simultaneously, the mod wheel morphs between them! While playing, at any given time, you can temporarily save a scene to one of the scene buttons. Later you can hard save it if you wich. Music that this synth is good for is everything! The 32 style arpeggiator makes for hot dance/techno stuff. THis is a very capable techno machine.

Light flimsy case. Just don't drop it. I will definately gig with it. It can probably take more than my minimoog.

Excellent overall! Highly recommended I wish it had full multitimbrality for the great lush performance patches I wish the knobs were of better quality (I will remedy this soon) The price is too right! This is the equalizer. Yamaha's Nord Lead Killer! Watch for copycats soon to follow.