Yamaha Instruments HQ - Museum Tour - Innovation road

We were lucky enough to travel to Hamamatsu - the home of Yamaha musical instruments in Japan, where they were celebrating 45 years of making synthesizers. They have a large exhibition hall called Innovation Road which tracks the beginnings of Yamaha from 1897 and their first reed organs, through their products (not all of which are instruments) upto the modern day.
Yamahasynth's Nate Tschetter took us through it.
#yamahasynths #innovationroad #synths1974
Frozen Reverbs Racks for Live: bit.ly/freezemachines
Subscribe to Sonicstate on KZbin for new content!
bit.ly/SonicYTSub
Watch Sonicstate's Exclusive Series:
Sonic LAB: bit.ly/SonicLab
Meet The Makers: bit.ly/SonicMakers
Sonicstate Performances: bit.ly/SonicPerformances
Sonic TALK Podcast: bit.ly/SonicTalk
NAMM 2018: bit.ly/namm18sonic
Website: www.sonicstate.com
Twitter: #!/sonicstate
Facebook: / wwwsonicstate
Instagram: / sonicstateuk
Podcast/iTunes: goo.gl/4uOFA5

[@Psychlist1972]

Oh! I thought those red hands said "do not touch" but they actually say "try playing for yourself". How awesome :)

[@annother3350]

It would be awesome if the video contained some playing!!!

[@MarkRigler]

@@annother3350 I think Nick would still be weeks later

[@tonycowin]

Some are please play and some are do not touch.

[@ahp8695]

@@tonycowin if its the hand with the music note its "play" and if its hand with cross over it it's "dont touch"

[@paulanderson7796]

@@annother3350 I agree. Can't see the point of simply talking about musical instruments. James Pavel Shawcross is another one who can't shut up. His YT channel is here: kzbin.infovideos

[@timragland1858]

I was doing a key replacement on a Yamaha Motif and while inside, I noticed the key assembly/technology was identical to the Yamaha DX7 !!! They haven’t changed much throughout the years and they’re still one of the best keyboard makers, hands down !!!

[@eiffe]

I love how Yamaha over the years has been pretty consistent with their simple design language.

[@PatrickRosenbalm]

I loved this!! Saw several of my vintage Yamaha synths in here. DX7 and CS01 to name a couple. Also at 6:10, Looks like an Electone E75 organ. I have a D85 which is its little brother. Very impressive for their vintage of late 70s to early 80s. I believe the D85 was introduced in 1980. Mine was made in 1982. They will do some very lush string sounds. Really nice when ran through a phaser.

[@lundsweden]

The GX1 was like a halo synth, a brilliant idea from Yamaha. The technology eventually filtered down to their more affordable CS synths that took them to 1983, when the DX7 changed everything!

[@musiqsoundsproductions]

As an official yamaha drums promotor, and instrument geek in general, I always found it a sham that I have never visited the factories and the custim centres. What an experience!!! Just sold the YC-45D. what a killer instrument that was.

[@localtechnique]

lol @ "That's quite jazzy" So much amazing stuff there.

[@R---66---R]

Let's sincerely hope these ultimate Yamaha buildings are built on solid ground/none of these technological miracles should ever fade away in time.

[@AbdiPianoChannel]

Mr. Yamaha I salute you. The Yamaha GX-1 is proud of his great great great grand son The MONTAGE

[@CommunityGuidelines]

Ah, so THAT'S what Heaven looks like!

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Best part is you don't have to die to go there :))))

[@ANTHONYBOOTH]

now I NEED a COLD SHOWER!!!

[@DavidLee07]

We're in the Good Place!

[@robertsyrett1992]

Great bit of reporting! Lovely to see all the various Yamaha instruments from throughout history.

[@danielpirone8028]

Thank you for sharing this!

[@Psychlist1972]

Great walkthrough. Looks like a super cool place to visit.

[@grproteus]

Thanks for the super-aweome video!

[@BertGrink]

Awesome tour! Thanks, Sonicstate, for sharing this! Greetings from Denmark :D

[@adam872]

Worth it just to see the GX-1 in the flesh (so to speak).

[@iixorb]

Strange how little interest Nick showed in the Yamaha DX7 ?! But his eyes lit up when he saw a TX7 !

[@burprobrox9134]

Great video nick

[@muzikman2008]

Excellent video... Enjoyed that trip down Yamaha lane 😎👍

[@peterldelong]

My first keyboard besides an acoustic piano was a Yamaha CP-30 and my first dirt bike was a Yamaha YZ-100. Yamaha.

[@tarjiband9904]

wow! it was such journey into history and back! Thank you n I just added it to my "watch Laters".

[@TechGently]

Blake and Dom Sighting! Love the CFX on my MODX. My family had a Steinway built in 1863 and got to say, Yamaha has a competitive sound board.

[@patricksaxon3983]

My favorite Yamaha Electone is the FX-1. I sure wished that Yamaha would bring the Electone Stegea to America.

[@S06WSW9]

FX-1 is actually a pre-DX7 FM technology, FX-1 sounds far warmer and richer than DX7.

[@JamesMyddelton]

Awesome, I *have* to go and see this

[@ANTheWhizkid]

A really cool tour

[@JohnWellings-mz2ue]

Great video, a place I would love to visit. Nick Batt is slowly becoming a British national treasure. Very different enjoyable video. Thanks

[@avva3802]

Interesting! Thanks!

[@otherreality]

Amazing, simply.

[@mackadresse6095]

WOW This is intersecting! What a lesson in Yamaha Instrument History!

[@ElectoneGuy]

I've been playing Electone organs since 1980. Currently own a FX-20, HS-8 and EL-90.

[@psandvik]

I saw Brent Mydland of the Grateful Dead the GS1 live in the spring of 1983. The sound was stunning. I think he may have been the first to tour with one.

[@KeytarKris]

Totally awesome

[@10010011001100110101]

Okay this video had me melting

[@TopperMIDI]

Wow! The GX-1 looks like something that Darth Vader might have somewhere off in the corner of his living room...

[@SRDhain]

Ah..good to see their grooveboxes at the end, which i still love to this day. The RM1X AND RS2000 (which would always remind me of the rip snorting ford coupe) had fantastic sequencers; powerful, precise (480 ppqn if i remember correctly) and quick to set up and use. I think the time is right for an RM1X remix (ahem). Come on Yamaha, let's have some shiny new grooveboxes...you know it makes sense! 😎

[@sjcongo]

the master sequencer of the 90s was QY700 by Yamaha of course

[@AllTheTimeWasted]

Even though you're mostly doing keyboards, fantastic!

[@juhoojala2858]

There's a saying among musicians in my home country of Finland "Yamaha ei pamaha", meaning that Yamaha never breaks down. Cool to see this stuff.

[@Jamaicafunk]

This brought back a lot of memory’s...damn seeing a lot of gear that I didn’t realized I owned at some time...KX5..CS01...RX11...DX100...KX88...

[@user-mj8tx1or1v]

👍Amazing!👍

[@kiannikoobakht3937]

Great yamaha thanks for your inovations.............

[@ralphykeysartist]

Very cool, i have owned or played close to a majority of the synths they showed. Wish i could have got to play the GX but alas no luck. ELP used it on Fanfare for The Common Man, and Jon Paul Jones used it for Kashmir at Knebworth. And from what i understand it was the same exact unit used on both songs. I was a student at Berklee College of Music in 1985 at the beginning of midi, Mac and sampling. We had the Dx7, which i also owned. We also had the RX7, I think, an early digital drum machine. I also had the TX816 which was up on the wall. I created close to 1000 patches for the DX7, that i still have. We had an SY77 and EX5 here at Berklee to use, along with the VL01, we also had the 07. Some great memories. I always wanted a CP70 but couldn't afford it. We have Yamaha Pianos everywhere at Berklee as well (Acoustic). Definitely have to visit this place and play around.

[@Wagoo]

You may be better going to visit Riksmixningsverket studio in Stockholm if you want to play a GX-1 (ABBA's), as it seems, at least according to this video, Yamaha's GX-1 at this showroom isn't in working order (a bit disappointing!)

[@ralphykeysartist]

@@Wagoo Thanks for the info, i didn't notice but you are right they didn't play it. Yeah, the place in Stockholm and the place in NY are also on my list as places that have tons of synths to play around on

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

2:55 Yes, transistors, apparently, apart from the power amp. Remember, the Japanese were pioneers in using the transistor in electronic equipment, back when the US electronics giants were still firmly committed to their investments in vacuum tubes.

[@lundsweden]

I was born in 1973, I remember our first Australian made TV, maybe made in the late 60s/early 70s, all vacuum tube. The tubes regularly went out, and there was a whole bunch of them in there, I Guess for both audio and video functions. T.V repairmen were a common sight then, and they made lots of money! We then got a transistorized Sanyo colour TV in 1976 or '77, it proudly had "Solid state" badges on the front, most audio/video gear did back then. Funny enough the Sanyo was Australian made too, due to high import taxes. People back then were jealous of our "huge" 63cm (24") TV and said it was too big for our living room, lol.

[@rodneyjweltham150]

What a row! I have a mid-70's red and black combo organ (purchased new!) and the design language is consistant on many later instruments...paddle switches etc...fascinating

[@timothyverbist5795]

What a collection, i'm jealous!

[@melonenstrauch1306]

Yamaha feels like the Nintendo of instrument companies.

[@isomuf707]

Wonderful Yamaha music world 🥰

[@tonymason6686]

That GX-1.......drool.

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Knee modulation and levels on the seat... that makes any current MIDI controller look like a toy ;)

[@peterkadarmusic9728]

This was really cool. Thanks to Nick and the SS crew!

[@5argetech56]

the GX-1 was a ton of fun :)

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

Yes, the Reface DX is a very intuitive programmable FM synth. Anyone who wishes to dive into FM sound design should own one....I do.

[@SPAZZOID100]

Digitone

[@SynthsandSounds]

Great video! Looking at this I wish yamaha would pick up some of their earlier analog technology. Though you guys made me check my speakers since you inverted left and right audio channel :)

[@sonicstate]

How do you know? Not sure there was any stereo imaging in this video....

[@SynthsandSounds]

@@sonicstate Whenever i see nick on the left, he talks on my right speaker and vice-versa. in the head to head conversations it was always opposite of what i've seen

[@ulfsoderlund7100]

For those of you wondering how the Yamaha GX-1 actually sounds like, here is a recent recording straight from the outputs using various factory tone presets: soundcloud.com/ulf-soderlund/yamaha-gx-1-5041-upper-and-lower-rank-test/s-1WI90

[@chaosme1ster]

@8:35 That's a Yamaha E70 organ behind them. Bought one in near mint condition for 130 euro's 2 years ago. Same filters and envelopes as the GX1 and CS80. And with the knee lever everyone seems to drool about in the comments :).

[@synthshoot1026]

Very interesting.

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

What a fine tour de Force, from the always relevant Nick Batt!

[@muppetpaster]

GX-1....My dad had one...Until we moved house and he decided not to lug it around anymore...sadly...(we tended to move a lot those days) At the time it was the only one in Europe in private possesion...

[@kfirtsairi3986]

wow amazing heaven

[@Synthesizer_attic]

Yamaha should show the photos of the engineers and innovators that invented these instruments

[@ReubenSound]

I like the triangle under the GX1. Ting!

[@chloedevereaux1801]

IT'S A MODULATION CONTROLLER NOT A TRIANGLE

[@ReubenSound]

@@chloedevereaux1801 If you don't get the joke, you shouldn't shout about it 🤦

[@SkiCoach1]

Shit. Keyboards and Drum machines that I used to own are now in a museum.

[@bairahrecordings]

Interesting. 🔥👍🏿😎

[@Kablehead]

If i would be the boss of yamaha museum and i knew Nick Batt's coming to shoot a video i'd get every synth hooked up and ready to play. I'd have the best presets loaded on them and a guy who's a great keys player just in case Nick's tired of noodling himself. But here it's more like: "Oh right, Nick's here. Let's give him the standard tour. We don't need to let him play the synths. He'll leave after a few minutes anyway. Let's show him our Refaces again!" Seems a bit lazy to me. :)

[@pizzagogo6151]

Hamamatsu- home base for Japan synth history amazing that one place has Yamaha, Korg, Roland and Kawai! Shame the general synth- public don’t have access to this but glad Nick was able to show us anyway.

[@sonicstate]

The Innovation Road is open to the public. If you are passing

[@pizzagogo6151]

sonicstate , cool! Didn’t know that, tried to get into the Roland museum but unfortunately not possible without press credentials

[@davidryle]

If Yamaha ever makes an airplane then I'll get a pilots license. Everything they make is plus good.

[@MiamiVisor]

Yamaha rules. Love all the Mario Bellini designed products, Yamaha was killing it in the mid to late 80's.

[@DarkSideofSynth]

As Warren Huart would say.... Marvellous!

[@mikestckl6939]

yamaha is the best instrument/motorcycle comapny ever ! change my mind ! xD

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

I’ve often wondered whether or not the touch sensitivity technology in the CS-80 synthesizer (not including the polyphonic aftertouch) was of the same type which made its way into the GS1 and DX1 models during the 80s (ultimately evolving into the garden-variety digital piano touch). The way it was written that piano players found it a joy to play would suggest that it bolstered proto hammer action.

[@pianokeyjoe]

Now I remember the ORIGINAL reason for wanting to visit Japan lol! To think, I have amassed a collection of Yamaha electronic musical instruments worthy of small limited Museum I can/will build soon. Sadly, my stuff is NOT new and pristine so it is a Yamaha pauper Museum lol. Oh how I do love Yamaha pianokey baby!!

[@AndreasLindholm]

John Paul Jones actually used Bennys GX1 when they recorded Led Zeppelin

[@ulfsoderlund7100]

John Paul Jones used his Yamaha GX-1 #5076 during the recording sessions of "In Through the Out Door" (November/December 1978) at the then newly opened Polar Studios. Benny Andersson caught wind of Johns GX-1 and when ABBA went on a promo tour to Japan later that year, he visited Yamaha HQ and requested a demo of the GX-1 and the rest, as they say, is history. Benny's GX-1 #5088 was the last one to be delivered from Yamaha (in early 1979) and it was subsequently first used on "Does Your Mother Know" (recorded February 1979). Here is a picture of the GX-1 #5076 from november 1978 at Polar Studios: minfil.com/k2f9T789n3/Yamaha_GX-1_5076_1978_jpg. Note the absence of the P BRI, L BRI, U BRI, S BRI, L RAN and U RAN switches found on the GX-1 #5088: minfil.com/s7i1T98fn1/Yamaha_GX-1_5088_2017_jpg

[@ANTHONYBOOTH]

I have currently got a TG-55 and a PSR E-323... looking forward to getting hold of ANY classics - especially RACK MOUNT!!!

[@EgoShredder]

TG55 is great and I also have a SY55 which can be connected with the TG55 in a special mode, to give double polyphony.

[@LavLab]

Wow!!! 👽👍

[@NeptuneReturnz]

I have three Yamaha keyboards but only cheap ones. The DJX and PSS 680 are great fun 👍

[@tomschaffner9704]

Heaven.

[@grahammarsh4652]

Nate has the best job in the world. I work in a factory that make control units for valves ffs.

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

I'm dying to play that CS-80!!!!

[@goodboid]

I don't know why Yamaha abandoned their grooveboxes. I managed to get my hands on a RS7000, and it's midi controls are better (more expressive) compared to my Digitakt, Akai Force, TR8s, Pioneer SP16, etc. A smaller lighter RS7000 with better build quality and I'd be all over it. With Roland releasing their new grooveboxes, I hope Yamaha launches one with a modern workflow and with an FM drum engine and sampler.

[@subconscious.com_usa6691]

I still use mine rs 7000 as a midi controller with my d.a.w, its absolutely fantastic for it, i use the step record function on the rs to input note data etc etc, both the rs sequencer and my d.a.w's sequencer work great together, the step record function on the rs has all the musical time signatures and note value's, so its so easy to copy sheet music into it, it also has some weird note value's of 1ms and other strange classical music note values that no daw has. it also has that fantastic midi delay that you can change the notes of the delay to any note you desire, so you can come up with some musical delay effects etc etc. The sequencer on the rs and the record function can do stuff that no DAW on the market can, its so handy and makes editing on a DAW fast and easy

[@SPAZZOID100]

good boid Digitone

[@asdifasi5379]

22:23 legends qx3 sequencer rx ...drum machine on the left and qy 70 and qy100 on the right

[@ivanyokhna]

Looking forward to listen that promised Yamaha VP1 cause there is nothing on net and information about it at all . Cheers!!!

[@InkyDaCaT]

Good stuff! Literally rooms full of good stuff...pitty you havent got bigger pockets😕

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

03:18 that synth with accessories is 7kg heavier than my first car.

[@Marius-vw9hp]

...and probably 100 times more expensive :p

[@chaosme1ster]

@@Marius-vw9hp ... and more fun....

[@ulfsoderlund7100]

The Yamaha GX-1 main unit is 300kg, the normal bench is 60kg and the motorized "music school" bench featured in this video is even heavier, the pedal board is 27kg and the TX-II speakers are 140kg each - up to 6 of those can be connected at once.

[@mikebowlesmusic4515]

Lovely. If I could make one comment......cameraman, please don't be afraid to not have the presenters in the shot. Thank you.

[@braincoral9866]

this was fun..the first piano I ever played on was a Yammy..at school in the 70s..I was like "don't they make motorcycles?" then I picked up a Yamaha guitar...next Yamaha product I owned was a DX100 15 years later!

[@belguitars7102]

Fanstastic, location booked for after Xmas trip to Japan!!!

[@dadautube]

according to some other resources, the first Yamaha (possibly not an Electone) organ made in 1959 was a B1 not a D1 ... B1 had two tiers of keyboards but only 1 single voice ... and not much more controls and other stuff on it either ... have seen its picture online but couldn't find it right now ...

[@fburton8]

The GX-1 knee trembler technology looks really interesting!

[@ulfsoderlund7100]

The Yamaha GX-1 knee controller: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqOyaWOsoaejh7s

[@BertGrink]

Sorry to be a party-pooper, but that idea goes back to (at least) "pump" organs; you know the kind that are powered by bellows and pedals where you pump air with your feet. The local priest, whose son i went to school with, had one of those.

[@thaexception3406]

Niice

[@thedomitabletraveler7198]

I own a lot of gear but nothing Yamaha. This video makes me want to start looking! Also was the VP-1 never released? I mean it seems rare r than the GX-1 (if that's possible)

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Only a handful were ever made. It was built to order...except for the demo unit and possibly a prototype unit. I think they sold 3.....so the demo unit would be a fourth and maybe a hand-built prototype (if one exists) would be a fifth.

[@decimal1815]

Really wanted to spend just a little longer on each synth here

[@dxutube]

Mind-blowing. Was there a PS-6100 or wss it the PSR6300?

[@JDSoundsets]

I would get thrown out of there 'Hands off' yeah righhhhhhhhhhhht ha :) Great place nice Vid

[@sonicstate]

Actually a lot of the stuff (not all) you are encouraged to play the red hand sign means - please do touch in this case.

[@JDSoundsets]

@@sonicstate That is great, I will be visiting soon :)

[@horacioduek]

I could spend the rest of my life in there

[@marcelmaes5275]

Oh chips.... I'm getting old, I know almost all the stuff from the time when it came out. Should I thank you for this reminder? Yeah I guess should. Anyway :-)

[@globalvarks1413]

I have an older Yamaha PSR 5700. Would you know any facility that can take care of servicing this model?

[@EgoShredder]

16:33 - The keyboard on the top of this stand is the Japanese version of the excellent QS300 workstation released in 1995. Exactly the same just different looks and should really have been named W300 as it is part of the W range technology-wise and in case design.

[@dougbrowning82]

No reed organs? Back in junior high, our music room was filled with Yamaha DS-49C's, one for every student, while the teacher had an Electone.

[@meatrace]

Wow absolutely fascinating! Is this museum open to the public?

[@sonicstate]

yes apparently so, if you can get to Hamamastu, I think you need to book though

[@BertGrink]

@@sonicstate That booking requirement seems quite prudent; otherwise they might have hordes of uncontrollable people all over the place.

[@migueluyaguarijuela7839]

Buenas noches sr asesor desde que lugar del mundo están exhibiendo estos instrumentos musicales?

[@migueluyaguarijuela7839]

Buenas noches srs asesores, ud son fabricantes de estos instrumentos musicales?? De que lugar del mundo están exhibiendo estos instrumentos musicales maravillosos?

[@KiR_3d]

Nick, will you play on CS80 there?