Yamaha CS-80 (synthetic ode to Elektrish studios)

I have been in heaven, synth heaven... the Elektrish Vintage Synthesizer Studio & Museum. This is a place where in the future people in Sweden/Malmö can see/touch/play/record the synths and feel the vintage tolex smelling heat surge from a massive extremely well curated synthesizer and electronic instruments collection. Big hats off to Jörgen, the curator and owner of the museum.. i cant wait to see what the future holds for all the gear heads when they enter this holy ground.
About the piece, Yamaha CS-80, what can i say? The biggest and baddest of them all... the studio was so hot that i was literally fuming, lost track of time and managed to gain the signal a wee bit hot. But i dont care, this was so much fun and i want to share the joy with you all.
Top panel plays the main lead, bottom panel i am adding first an octave above, later a fifth, sort of organ style sound, poly AT controlling vibrato on VCO and VCF, adjusting and mixing them a bit and also adjusting the attack on both for the smoother sound.
Played live in one take, EHX 720 stereo looper playing in reverse a plucky CS80 sound in the background, el capistan for delay and bigsky modulated room reverb. Thats it... and yeah, a hot signal too, so you all know what to expect.
Big Thanks to Jörgen for having me, i will come back soon. ps, I now smell like a vintage synth.. and i am completely fine with it. No shower for me for a while :)
Elektrish Vintage Synthesizer Studio & Museum, Social:
-- / elektrish
-- / elektrishstudios
#vintagesynths #cs80

[@Bigyugo]

this sent me back to Blade Runner what a movie!!! and this music is wonderful !!!

[@BURG]

Thanks you for the kind words 🎹👏

[@VultureCulture]

Incredible sound!

[@autoy]

CS-80 is the synth that makes you rethink everything you know about synths. Great jam, love it.

[@BURG]

Couldn't agree with you more! cheers and thanks!

[@hughman8597]

Launched my spaceship and flying to endless places in my mind. Nothing but pure love from Germany. You and Mr. Bodzin are my role models ❤❤❤

[@BURG]

Thanks for the very kind words 🙏🎹

[@ace926781]

Really love how the CS-80 growing up and watching the movies with the Vangelis soundtracks the and soundtrack for Creepshow and any Carpenter movie got me into synthesizers and really putting into my head that I would like to do that . Wish I had one of theses babies , maybe one day I will strike it big and be able to afford it . Cool demo " Tears in rain " .

[@BURG]

Yeah, it is a wonderful instrument!! cheers and thanks! 🎹🙌

[@jjdekay6969]

Everything about this video made my day much more bearable.........THANK YOU!!!

[@BURG]

So happy to hear this, thanks and take care!!

[@Maikshifter]

Lovely. Simply lovely ☺

[@BURG]

Thank you! 😊 cheers!

[@offworldnetwork]

" i smell like a vintage synth" 😍😎 there is no finer odour

[@BURG]

It is the best there is!! 😅

[@Pulsarstunes]

Ahhhh the goosebumps at that low D at 1:06! Amazing! This track has your signature vibe all over it. Love it!

[@BURG]

Thanks mate for the kind words! Cheers

[@proxxima038]

Dang! 🥰 love it 😊

[@BURG]

Thanks a lot mate 🎹🙏

[@bashman59]

Stunning!!😀

[@BURG]

Thanks Barry 🎹🙏😎

[@rumo201]

What a majestic synth! Thx for sharing ❤

[@josesvintagekeys]

wonderfull!

[@BURG]

Thank you Jose!! 🎹🙌

[@piperfox74]

Gorgeous. Both the music and the synth. ❤

[@BURG]

Thanks a lot 🙏🎹

[@dankeplace]

I can see why an instrument like this would be intimidating, PAT and the fact it's an ancient relic. Your gold watch seems to be making your bass heavy handed (joke). Vangelis had 13 of these, 2 working at any given time and the others used as organ (pun in tended) donators. I hope that museum is temp controlled, I would hate to see these synths have to leave us prematurely. Thanks for the divine upload, sounds glorious.

[@BURG]

13 is just insane, but i can understand why if they wre constantly breaking due to gigs and what nots. It is a very complex design on the inside with miles of electrical wires. The watch is actually a metal Casio gshock.. so extra extra heavy! :) The museum when in the final destination will be properly ventilated and temp controlled... this is a temporary setup hence the slight heat problem. cheers and thanks for the kind words!

[@dankeplace]

@@BURG I am looking for the article, which showed his full time engineer which looked after his CS80s along side his tape machines with his trademarked insignia shorthand that he only knew. The article was all about how he did his workflow, foot pedals and all, I cannot find it but it was a historic piece, I won't give up till I show you. It's an extremely important insight to his endeavor to bring us the best. He was the one that made Blade Runner, he came on late in the project and was the one that made the movie as Douglas Trumbull did.

[@dr.feelicks2051]

Life is just an A-frame, filled with time vacuums. ✌️🎧

[@BURG]

hear hear! 🙌

[@dylanleroysynth]

Beauty! Sounds fantastic!!

[@BURG]

Thanks a lot! cheers

[@Лёшатархун]

спасибо вам большое за всю вашу музыку!😊

[@BURG]

Thanks!!

[@vagnretur]

Beautiful. Love it!

[@BURG]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@vladimirkhvostichenko3997]

Thank you, it was beautiful. ❤

[@BURG]

Glad you enjoyed it! cheers!

[@WalterSchwarzElectronicMusic]

Wonderful sound , i like it !

[@BURG]

Many thanks!! Cheers!

[@MarcWeertsMusic]

Beautiful track! And the cs80 is epic sounding…

[@BURG]

Thank you, yes the CS80 is as magical as i thought it would be... no wonder that Vangelis loved it so much.

[@prometheusuk9845]

This sounds so beautiful 😍

[@BURG]

thank you!! cheers

[@Dirk.Jacobs]

Love it!

[@BURG]

thank you! ❤

[@Strages_Powers]

The cs80 is made for your style Olli!

[@BURG]

Thanks a lot mate!! cheers

[@dustinevans]

Your MS2O is jealous ❤🔥

[@BURG]

Just a little bit 😅😂

[@jeffkent6886]

Did you by any chance walk out with an oddly shaped lump under your tshirt??

[@BURG]

I tried my best but could not get past the security guys, lol :D

[@chrisjohnmorse3892]

How does it feel to play it? You have so many more advanced machines.

[@BURG]

It was quite lovely, the keybed was one of the best i have ever played. Perfect mix between fast action and weighted for that nice feel. Also, extremely nice oversight of all controls, easy to see what was going on. Overall, a very nice instrument. 🎹🙌

[@massebassepearpung]

Låter lite träsk på det där sköna och skeva sättet. Kan den låta som en 303:a? 🙂

[@BURG]

Ska prova o kasta lite syra i den så får vi se! :D haha, tack å bock

[@KNHSynths]

Vangelis killed the CS80. This may sound heretical, but I assume it is, and I'll explain. Vangelis got so much out of this synthesizer that all the sounds you can get are of two kinds: good synth sounds without knowing which machine it is, and sounds that sound like Vangelis. And this is so pronounced that any demo or composition at CS 80 inevitably sounds or wants to sound like Vangelis, even unconsciously. And yet, I know of very few contemporary composers who can match the genius of Vangelis. Moral: even if someone offered me a CS80, I wouldn't want it. Even if tomorrow Behringer makes a clone for a derisory price (which is expected) I won't buy it. I don't pretend to compete with Vangelis. And if it's to make good synth sounds, I've got my prophets, OBX or others. I understand the temptation, and of course I'm not blaming anyone. Because if people were aware of this problem, nobody would want a CS 80 and nobody would dare to have the audacity to give the impression of wanting to compete with the Master. That's why I say that Vangelis made the CS 80 shine so brightly and, at the same time, consumed it completely. He killed CS 80... Thanks for the video, of course, beautiful demo.

[@autoy]

I disagree with this. It's like saying Jimi Hendrix killed the electric guitar. There's a million ways the CS-80 can be played in different contexts. Take for example what Squarepusher did on 4001 (and the whole Ufabulum album) or more recently the utterly brilliant Detroit People Mover, for a totally different take on the CS-80 sound. It's not the instrument, it's how you use it.

[@BURG]

I think i agree with you both on a couple notes, the CS-80 being so extremely coloured as an instrument due to the extent Vangelis used it could feel intimidating at first by the sheer looks of it.. you tend to gravitate to those sounds since it is really where you have seen/heard it the most. For me being so lucky having played on it a couple sessions, once you see past that barrier it becomes a natural synth with its own identity that is just begging to be explored in all the other sonical territories it has dorment. The problem too, i think is with a video like mine as an example, you instantly associate it with Vangelis work just because of they way the instrument looks.. but if you do like Squarepusher ( i love Ufabulum too ) .. and put it in another context, it will live a completely different life.

[@KNHSynths]

@@BURG What I think, but I could be wrong, is that it's not the instrument that's intimidating, it's Vangelis! And when you play a CS80 you tend to recreate "Vangelis sounds" and compete with that genius, which is futile and arrogant in the end (even unconsciously and involuntarily). But I totally agree that you can use the CS80 in other sonic registers and let it shine without making "Vangelis sounds". But I still have a problem with it... First of all, the best sounds of the CS80 were used by Vangelis, which means that you have to deny yourself the best sounds of the CS80, which is a shame... And secondly, this will result in sounds that are certainly very beautiful (the CS80 sounds very good) but that won't remind anyone of anything, and that's the point. But in such a case, since nobody will know that it's a CS80 that's being used, why not use a Prophet, an Oberheim etc.? By denying ourselves the best sounds used by Vangelis, we force ourselves to play sounds that could be made with another synth. So either you're being arrogant (even if unintentionally), or you're limiting yourself to sounds that are beautiful but unidentifiable (except by ultra-specialized keyboardists). And that's the alternative that Vangelis left us, and that's why I think he killed the instrument. The CS80 is "his thing", and he leaves us the bad bits or forces us to ape him...

[@piperfox74]

Gorgeous. Both the music and the synth. ❤