Yamaha CS2x

Presets are pretty easy to use; I still have problems selecting some of the other banks though. This is probably just me, but the manual didn't help much. In the end I usually manage to get to where I want.

The biggest problem with the CS-2X is the fact you can usually only play one Performance sound at a time. If you're just using GM, then obviously that's no problem - but this synth shines in its Performance voices. I get around this by using SF Acid and recording each part as a WAV before trying to set up my keyboard for the next part. According to Yamaha's site, I seem to remember, channels 1-4 are set aside for Performance mode and the rest can be GM. Since four channels are set aside and since not all Performance sounds have a full 4 part layer, it is theoretically possible to combine more than one Performance patch - but in practice I can't be bothered to work out how many parts a performance uses and see if I could pick a different one with less parts just to accommodate more than one Performance voice. I have to stress this point since you will get your fingers burned if you expect to be able to choose a set of Performance voices from this box and have your sequencer play 16 parts together - it won't happen! If you use a MIDI sequencer like Cubase or Cakewalk rather than a purely WAV-based sequencer, then don't buy this keyboard unless you want a cheap way to produce GM (or - as I did - buy it as a first keyboard).

Other posts have mentioned the filters - yes, they are great, especially for real time effects. They can completely alter the sound of an instrument and work particularly well on sequenced percussive sounds (eg. the "Roulette" Performance patch). As regards the inbuilt effects - most Performance sounds have both an "arpeggiated" and a "non-arpeggiated" version - there's around two dozen arpeggiations you can choose from for each, although the defaults are usually fine. Various echo/chorus effects which I haven't really used, so can't comment. No expansion available, but then it's not the kind of keyboard you would really want to expand - it's very much an all-in-one solution and if you want anything beyond that you would get another keyboard, or another in addition. Keyboard action is actually okay - I could find no faults with it as my first keyboard, and since buying a few others I still quite like its feel - it's certainly not a "natural" touch, but the weighting is about right if you're a pianist, and the 5 levels or so of velocity sensitivity are fine for everything I've thrown at it.

GM sounds are unremarkable. The CS-2X is usually promoted as a "dance/techno keyboard" - which is true. However, I must second the opinion of one of the earlier reviews - it can also make some great rock sounds. After the first few months I used it almost exclusively for rock, including rock leads, which, when synthesised out of multiple lead patches, give some convincing 80's rock lead sounds. To be fair, it's quite easy to get rather cheesy effects and Pet Shop Boys styling, and my only real complaint is that all the sounds are a bit thin. Working with this keyboard you find yourself layering a lot of sounds to try to produce something resonant - which is enormous fun and a useful education in itself. But for less money you could have these sounds "out the box", with after-touch to boot if you bought, say, a second-hand Korg 01/W. Having bought other keyboard and modules since though, there are still sounds I like to use on the CS-2X - particularly some of the string pads.

I've also experienced the odd problem with the thing "hanging", and failing to respond to MIDI input. You can generate this programmatically by forcing it to try to process too many MIDI messages, but it hasn't been a significant problem, and I can't compare it fairly with my other equipment to say if it's any worse in this respect. The construction is cheap and cheerful but the thing seems fairly sturdy. Easy to scratch, but I don't imagine having any problems with sticking keys, etc.

Never dealt with Yamaha.

If it were lost, I wouldn't buy another, but only because I've moved on and learned a lot having owned it. It has paid for itself in terms of experience. Since buying it I bought a Korg 01/W and just last week a Roland XV-3080 and Alesis DM Pro, along with a decent electric guitar. I started making music in June 2000 and the main reason I forked out for other equipment was because the drums simply weren't professional enough and I wanted "real" orchestral sounds. However, the Yamaha's still my "master" keyboard, until I can afford a 76-key GEM or something similar. As many have said, if you're on a budget and new to this, then it might well be the best first buy.

CS2x sounds good right out of the box, the presets are impressive. It
is very easy to use, though the editing system is maybe a bit awkward
and for some reason you can't adjust the layer EQ on the synth, you
have to do that via sequencer or Yamaha's Tune'em Up editor (which is
very good and freeware, but sadly Windows only). The manual doesn't
even bother to mention that CS2x has an EQ! Otherwise the manual is
ok, but Yamaha's Silver Book is a must download if you are serious
about CS2x.

64-note polyphony is good enough. I think the keyboard action is good
but I'm just a beginner, maybe I just don't know about anything
better. It lacks aftertouch, though. The effects are versatile and
easy to use. No expansion capabilities or sequencer but I don't
really miss them. MIDI implementation is good. The real-time knobs
are a really nice feature that make CS2x also a pretty good master
keyboard.

Decent pianos and drums, good basses, strings and organs and very good
synth sounds, especially the analog leads are excellent. CS2x is
obviously oriented to dance music but it has usable sounds for every
genre, I find it works well for progressive rock. The onboard effects
sound good to me.

Well, it is quite light and plastic but I'm sure it won't let you
down under normal circumstances. I have had it for six months and
haven't had any problems so far. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on a
gig.

I am happy with my CS2x, it is definitely worth the money. However,
if it was lost or stolen (though I would never let that happen :)), I
would maybe consider getting a Yamaha S30 instead since I have heard
it is more all-around but it is also much more expensive. Anyway, for
a beginner like me CS2x is a very good choice for the first synth. It
is a very inspiring instrument and also looks very nice, I love the
silver case and the blue knobs. :) I just wish it had aftertouch and
the EQ was editable on the synth.

Pretty easy to used, The presets sound great at first but then when u come to use them they dont sit in the mix well.
The MIDI arpegiato does not sync to the HOST port. If yours does please tell me and Ill take this one back.

POLY is ok, FX are ok, No expansions but it is just a lead synth.

Sounds sound great, Until u try to use them in a mix, then they sound over bright and thin, the XG sounds are thinner...

Mine crashes all the time, goes quite, a few times Ive had to do a system reset and lost all my presets..

Yamaha are ok , but could not help me with the arpegio sync to midi HOST problem.

If it where stolen I dont think I would replace it, I'd probably get a second hand cs1x and something else.

PLEASE IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO SORT OUT MY PROBLEMS PLEASE EMAIL ME..
DIVYKECKS@HOTMAIL.COM

The CS-2X is about the simplest most intuative synth I have ever owned. Editing is a breeze, and it is very easy to come up with some of the most delightfull sounds imaginable. Never even had to look at the manual. It would be nice to have dedicated control knobs for all of the paramiters, but hey for the money, even I would have to admit that that would be asking too much.

For what this synth was designed to do it has a great selection of features. Finally Manufacturers are understanding the fact that few people use on board sequencers and multimode sucks. If you want a keyboard that does one thing well, then this is the keyboard.

Sounds are fabulous. Even some of the presets are good, but the ease of creating new and inspirational sounds is where this baby shines. It doesn't take long to come up with some mind blowing pads that are totally unique.

Hasn't failed yet

Never needed it, but have owned tons of Yamaha stuff and not had any issues

I love this keyboard. Yes it does feel cheap and I would love to see individual editing parameters and aftertouch etc, etc, but hey for the money it rocks. Plus every minute on the thing is fun and inspirational. I would be very upset not to have it.

Editing is a breeze with all the controls right on top of the synth, no scrolling through menus. One of the most intuitive synths that I have ever seen. Here, you have the best of both the digital and analog worlds.

The coolest features that make this board stand out from the others are the eight real-time controllers and the ability to morph between two sounds with the mod wheel. You can also save two different edits of a patch that are quickly accessible through the "scene" buttons. There is also an impressive appegiator with "hold".

The two features sadly lacking in this unit are aftertouch and expandability. If you want these, then you will have to go with the CS6x.

The keyboard feel is very mushy, cheap, but I wouldn't let this stop me from buying this board if I liked the sounds and needed the features. One can always adapt to the feel.

Get this straight, this is a DANCE keyboard, if you do dance music, you will love it, if you don't do dance, look elsewhere. The patches are very inspirational to creating dance music.

I am not a professional musician but if I were, I don't think that I would rely on any one piece of equipment for a gig but I think Yamaha makes a decent product and it should be as reliable as any.

I owned this synth for three weeks and took it back to trade it for a Yamaha S30 which is much more suited to my needs. Initially, I was trying to buy a synth as close to $500 as possible and I was very impressed with the dance sounds and real-time controllers of the CS2x. After three weeks I felt this unit was just too specialized (I like to do jazz, classical and other assorted styles too). I didn't even look at the S30 before I bought the CS2x because the S30 was $1000. It turns out that the S30 is a great synth for me. I am VERY happy with it and it was worth the extra cash. Still, if you do dance music, you will definitely want to check out the CS2x.

No other synth that I know of in this price range has the dance sounds, features, and polyphony of this unit.

I love this since! It's very easy to use. The manual is written in such a way that it explains not only the synth, but the concept behind making a sound. An example would be how they compare modeling a sound from the old Analog synths from the 80s to the DX7 to the CSx and how things have evolved.

The features are great! I give it a 10 because for the price I paid ($599 U.S.) you cannot get any better. The keyboard isn't weighted like a Waldorf, but it feels much better than the Nord Lead 2 I played with. I also give a 10 on features because this synth has Midi Thru and 61 keys, both of which the Nord does not have. As a control synth the CS2x simply kicks ass. The Arpeggiator has 40 patterns, there are 3 Programmable DSP Effects (12 Reverbs!!), and 8 real time controls!

I have to mention that this deserves a 10 because for the money where are you going to find such a kick ass synth with a free Windows editor to edit sounds, and better yet for Windows/Mac you can use Sound Diver from Emagic! Also, there is a great CS1x/CS2x user community on the web..tons of sites!

I wouldn't use every single sound in this synth, but for anyone who writes music from Trance to Hard House, this synth is in! It has an awesome Piano too.

On a side note, I was on the hunt for the Pizzacoto sound from the JV-1080. It's used by Faithless in the song Insomnia, but it's the ever so popular "Plucking" stringy techno sound. A guy on the Yamaha A3000 list samples it and uploaded it to samplelibrary.net. When I was flipping through Performance sounds on my CS2x I saw a sound called "Pizzsyn" and the next sound was "Insomnia" - and both are duplicated of the JV-1080 and Faithless/Insomnia sounds

I trust this synth! It's built well and doesn't weigh a ton like the Waldorf Q. I would trust this synth to be thrown out the window if the building cought on fire.

Yamaha not only has a product page, but they make the customer feel more welcomed into the dance community. I like that. I have never had any issues when I've called Yamaha in the past.

I will never trash this synth. For the money it is simply amazing! Right out of the box you can start making great music. If I had only two synths in the whole world I could buy, I would make it the CS2x and the EMU Xtreme Lead-1 with the Techno Synth Contruction Yard add on.. With these two, you can write soungs forever and make them sound top quality.

easy to use!
presets average
easy to edit
manual- great- not needed though

fine- 64 polyphony is plenty
effects-great
no expansion!!!!
MIDI- average
SEQUENCER-NO-SEQUENCER CAPABILITY-LIMITED!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE NOTE- yah, this is a great performance synth- the performances are incredible- everything else suxs!!!!!!!!!!!!
USE THIS FOR THE STAGE ONLY!!!!!
OTHERWISE_ FORGET IT
ONLY GOOD SOUNDS ARE THE DAMN SYNTH LEADS WHICH ARE AMAZING

SOUNDS SUCK< EXCEPT< AS I ALREADY SAID_ THE LEADS

YEP- no problems

TERRIBLE!

I sent it back- It is great for one synth lead part but for nothing else- don't try to get around this- or you'll accomplish what you want but it won't be satisfying

This axe caught me by surprise. A little (almost ugly ) keyboard mounted on the back wall of a music store. Started to play it...got caught up. FUN!!!!! Easy to edit in real time (although I wish more parameters were available), fairly easy to tweak thru the menus. Manual was discriptive.....

The polyphony is adequet. The keyboard action is a bit toy-like and spongy for my taste , however; for what this synth was designed for..the action is very serviceable. The effects work well with the preset sounds ( albiet sometimes they're a bit overdone and could use some tweaking). They are Yamaha effects...bright. The unit worked well with my MIDI rig. No sequencer...no big deal.

The electronic and analogish synth sounds are outstanding! Punch city.....Thats what this axe is all about! Arpeggiated mountains of filtered motion and heart beating rhythms are abundant. Adrenaline rush!!! yes... this is the shining moment for this synth. And the pianos and GM instruments are not bad.
However, the sounds are great in performance mode. You loose alot if you use it multitimbral.

So far..so good... haven't had it long enough to really determine.

Its a one of kind type synth. I own many synths/samplers and modules from Korg, Roland, Kurzweil, ect...I find this a very powerful sonic mate for my rig. I'd buy one again if it were lost or stolen.
I love the sounds, although I would never use it multitimbral..the performance sounds are what makes this thing so useful.
If you want to produce burning techno or dance medium and are looking for some inspiration to add to your existing set-up...check this baby out!

It is very straight forward... you can do pretty much everything without even touching the manual... Course I have been messing with Synths since the 80's. There is a free patch editor for Windows. Doesn't help us Mac users though.... Manual is easy to understand. More so than some of the Roland ones that I have used. Editing patches is a little limited in my opinion but very easy except for selecting voices in the performance layers. You have to scroll through over 20 banks and not every patch in the bank has a voice assigned to it.. so it can be a little tedious to find your way around.

I find the effects fairly usable. The filters sound great.. I love having a low and high pass filter available for performances. Way cool. The midi capabilities are good. No sequencer and I prefer it that way.. On board sequencers are limiting and if you use a computer you are just paying for features that you don't need, so I am glad it doesn't have one. My only real complaint is the limited layer/voice editing ability, unless there is something that I am missing. Perhapse due to the goal of making it easy to use, things like filter envelopes are part of the voices that you select... you can only edit them to a limite degree and you can't reroute modulation sources/destinations... I guess you can compensate with the RT controller knobs, but I find it very limiting compared to other synths such as my Proteus 2000 or Roland 1080. The preset voices are very usable, so it isn't a disaster. But due to the limited editing features I have to give this a lower score, otherwise the features are grade A, like the very usable arpegigator and RT knobs... almost worth the price of the board!

For me, this is where it shines. Compared to my Proteus 2000, the presets seem much more inspiring. Most of them seem very usable. I am especial impressed with the string and lead sounds... smooth or gritty, any way you like 'em... The basses are pretty usable, but it seems a shame to waste your one performance patch on a bass, the individual voiced sounds are ok, but the performance channel is what this machine is all about... I think that if you need an all around synth, this one is a little lacking, but if you need to add some inspiring sounds to an existing midi setup, you can't get much better for the price.

Just use it in my studio and haven't had any trouble... Does feel a little plasticky, but I think I would risk gigging it.. I have never had OS problems or had it lock up on me...

I sent an email question to the Yamaha people and they sent me back this registation form.. kind of a pain, but I guess I will get around to filling it out.. if I want to have my questions answered.. I don't think the Yamaha site is very helpful for owners of this board though...

Overall, I am very pleased. If it were lost, I would be very mad. Probably most over the fact that I would still have a 700dollar debt on my credit card and no toy! If I could, I would buy it again, or maybe hold out and buy something a little more pricy and customisable, like a Nord lead 2, then again, for the price of a Nord, I could get a CS2x and a Juno106, now that is an idea... In my great-synth-aquiring-strategy, this was the second board I bought.... First bought my Proteus 2000 which is very versitile and can handle 32 channels of midi, but to me is a little gray on the personality side,the CS2x is much more spicy right out of the box... added a whole bunch of software and virtual samplers/synths, but I prefer real boxes/boards.. latest gear I got was the cheezy but suprisingly useful Sequential Max, now for some vintage stuff!

this synth is very easy to use, edit and store patches. tweaking your own sounds is as easy as turning a few knobs and saving them. i have never found a synth that was easier to use and edit.

specs can be found at: www.yamaha.com.
the keyboard action is decent, it is not weighted and it does feel a little "cheap." this keyboard is stacked with features if you are interested in producing electronica, but you might find that it is not very good for any other musical style. the keys are velocity sensitive, but there is no aftertouch. a great feature is that the arpeggiator is translated via midi.

-this synth is the perfect tool for trance, techno, ambient, breakbeat, house and other various subgenres of electronica. in fact, i can't think of a better synth for trance music regardless of price! the only drawback this keyboard has, is that it is a little thin sounding compared to analog synths. the cs2x contains amazing 909 and 808 kits, great analog synth sounds and even decent 303 lines. i love the expressiveness of the pads, the warmth of the lead sounds and the "concert piano" sounds especially good.

i would buy the cs2x over and over again, it is the best instrument that i have ever bought! it helps inspire me with ideas, and motivate me to write music. if you wanna listen to a demo of the cs2x, listen to my trance songs: "the morning after," "whispering," "12.31.99" at: http://www.mp3.com/hypnotik