Yamaha S03 Demo

Yamaha S03 Demo. I bought this synth on a whim - I needed a third keyboard to supplement my Nord Stage and Korg M3 when playing live, just to fill in with the odd brass and string fills. I was surprised at the sounds that this budget synth was capable of, without any tweaking or editing - some great electric pianos and organs in particular.
0:00 Pianos, 2:26 Harpsi/Clavi, 3:10 Piano Pads, 3:43 Organs, 6:16 Guitars/Plucked, 8:23 Basses, 8:54 Strings, 10:46 Sax, Brass and Woodwind, 14:27 Solo Synths, 15:58 Synth Pads, 18:12 Percussion and Drum Kits, 19:08 Textures, 19:40 Sound Effects - uploaded via www.mp32u.net/

[@MikeyLovesLife]

I just got one on ebay. This will be the 3rd one I've had in the past 20 years. It's a great synth!

[@karylgaehring4257]

This is the best demo of all on this Yamaha synth! Thank you.

[@billyruss]

Thank you! 🙂

[@xandemassa]

0:00 Pianos, 2:26 Harpsi/Clavi, 3:10 Piano Pads, 3:43 Organs, 6:16 Guitars/Plucked, 8:23 Basses, 8:54 Strings, 10:46 Sax, Brass and Woodwind, 14:27 Solo Synths, 15:58 Synth Pads, 18:12 Percussion and Drum Kits, 19:08 Textures, 19:40 Sound Effects

[@billyruss]

Thanks for the quick links!

[@xandemassa]

Bill Blair OK !!!

[@MigUeLC00L]

Exelente!! Gracias brother...

[@kevtgerbil3583]

I bought one of these new in 2005 as a (yet again) 3rd synth for my band setup. I spent quite a bit of time setting up a number of sounds for the music my band was playing at the time and, for the price, was quite impressed with the capabilities of this very cheap synth (even then). Over the years I have replaced and added to my keyboard collection, but this still remains on a keyboard stand in my studio as there are certain sounds that I seem to be incapable of reproducing on some much newer, more capable (and far more expensive) synths that I now own. The keys are now almost yellow with age, but it still plays without any issues (ignoring the pitch bend which does now sound very notchy) and gives me what I want. If only all synths aged this well.

[@NicolaiCzempin]

Which are the specific sounds that are difficult to get on other synths?

[@cleifeitosa9529]

Essa é a verdadeira Demo, mostra o maior número de timbres possíveis. Parabéns !!

[@philfisher8962]

Great way of presenting the video....

[@MrStarfire63]

I use this synth in my studio. The string sounds are awesome.

[@EgoShredder]

Heard some classic Bruford and Yes amongst that lot..............I approve!

[@tomblaze2]

I love this demo

[@billyruss]

Thanks! :-)

[@gritsnsand]

Thanks for the upload! Very helpful for folks seeing this board on Ebay, Craigslist, etc. who have no idea about the sound. I've always been a Korg man, but this has nice and useful sounds.

[@billyruss]

Thanks! I was impressed by it too when I played it in a second-hand music shop. I'd had my eye on a Roland (for the electric piano sounds), but I loved the electric piano at 1:30 - very usable! I picked it up for next to nothing, too. You can't do much in the way of editing the sounds, but the basic soundset is pretty good for its age, I think.

[@thebreathalyzer]

Very utilitarian. Thing with romplers like the Sound Canvas and XG stuff, you find what works for you and just use those sounds. While I like the Roland drums a little better I like the Yamaha best overall. The Yamaha keyboard and instrument sounds are pretty solid and I like their programmability. I have an MU50 module and use a lot of plugins for the synthier stuff.

[@billyruss]

Agreed. At the time I bought it, I just wanted a simple rompler to complement the other keys. It did the job. In a utilitarian way :-)

[@thebreathalyzer]

@@billyruss Keyboard has no aftertouch though, right?

[@billyruss]

@@thebreathalyzer No aftertouch, no. It's pretty basic, but it had some really quite passable pianos and organs.

[@adriandavidchiapin7141]

Amazing!, there are a lot of sounds that surprised me. I have a Korg Kross but your synth sounds much better in some sounds. I want these machine!

[@bobcatt2294]

Would like to complement you on your presentation. A contribution to this vintage synth workstation.

[@billyruss]

+ Thanks! :)

[@thebreathalyzer]

Yes, bravo. So tired of demos saying how instruments suck and people don’t know how to “ play the sounds”...

[@hectorestrada5751]

I just bought it don’t know how to use but I like the sound on min 3.10

[@danielortizdecaracas]

suena muy bien

[@dylannoalan615]

Whats the song from 12:50? I remember hearing it somewhere but I'm drawing a blank.

[@billyruss]

Hi there - it's "Hell's Bells" from the album "One of a Kind" by Bill Bruford :-)

[@psr3.130]

Hi I think of buying one of these. Can I split and layer sounds on the keyboard? Nice playing by the way :)

[@billyruss]

Thanks for the compliment! Yes, you can. I had the piano layered with strings for live performance.

[@Nastyaa18]

@@billyruss Is it a good keyboard? Can i bought and dont regret😅

[@billyruss]

I got it for a pretty good price and didn't regret it! It has some good sounds, good value for money I think.

[@lrk1975]

Hey! I have a S03 too but my acoustic piano does not sound like the first one you played. What patch is that?

[@billyruss]

Hi there - it *is* the original S03 sound, but I was playing with the octave transpose button to give the whole 88 note range, so maybe that's why it sounds different! Like I said, I was impressed by the piano and organ sounds on this.

[@gustavoolguin3533]

alguien en DF que sea capaz de editar los efectos del demo de este teclado ,xfavor respuesta...?!!

[@joshcrowe88]

Thanks for the demo! I was thinking about buying one of these off of Craigslist, and was just wondering: Did you add any external reverb to these sounds, or do they have that nice ambient settings built in?? Thanks very much!

[@billyruss]

+Josh Crowe Sorry it's taken so long to reply! All internal effects, no extra reverb!

[@helio1055]

10:10 Halo CE soundtrack

[@billyruss]

Not intentionally!

[@bigbadbillb]

What year did the SO-3 come out?

[@billyruss]

According to what I can find online, it came out in 2002. Original RRP was £400. I bought mine in 2005 for £150, and sold it 8 years later for the same!

[@Therealguymins]

6:16 TO BE CONTINUED

[@billyruss]

I'd alomst forgotten that tiktok meme! Back in 2013, when I made this demo, it was still just the intro to "Roundabout" by Yes 🙂

[@sirkimboard6707]

Old post I know but, does anyone know how this SO3 compares to the "bread & butter" Korg N5??

[@joeambly6807]

buy an arp2600 instead of this shit

[@thebreathalyzer]

Joe Ambly apples and oranges

[@SergioDF10]

Poderia mandar as músicas tocadas?

[@fracchius]

what do you think about using this synth as the main keyboard in a band?

[@billyruss]

I suppose it's a bit dated now, though a lot of the sounds still stand the test of time, IMHO. I've said elsewhere that each new workstation that the major companies come out with just has updated versions of the same stock sounds - pianos, organs, etc. Listening back to this, I still find it pretty good, really. When I had this board, I used it as the secondary keyboard in the rig, just to fill in with the "extras" when needed. What it does lack is any real control over the sounds you're playing: whatever sound you pull up, you're pretty much stuck with - there's not much in the way of a control surface to change the sounds dynamically. That's OK for the painos and EPnos (which are still really good, I think), though the organs may be a bit more limiting. Having said that, I used to travel to Spain once a year to play in a band with some old mates of mine, and I'm sure I took this once or twice (it's lightweight on the plane!) and it was just fine for doing rock covers. It's got all the basic sounds you need, and they are still pretty passable, especially in the mix. The price point is a big bonus, too. It's also quite interesting (to me, at least) that this demo is one of the most watched on my channel, so I guess there's still an interest in it. In short, I reckon you could get away with using it as main keyboard for most cover band situations :-)

[@fracchius]

@@billyruss thank you very very much :)

[@marvinantoine7515]

I own a S03 but I'm totally clueless as to its capabilities

[@billyruss]

I sold this a few years ago but, from what I remember, it's not too easy to do more than basic editing to the presets. But they're pretty good presets, right? :-) I seem to remember that it wasn't that easy to navigate, either - just need to spend some time fiddling!

[@Therealguymins]

@@billyruss I have a 1992 SY85 and my brother has a DX7s; Yamaha menus are notorious for being impossible to navigate haha

[@hectorestrada5751]

But they are on the piano stock or do I get them from somewhere else?

[@billyruss]

It's definitely in there somewhere!! I only used preset sounds, no custom or downloaded ones, just the programs that come with the machine. As I said, it's been a while since I had the keyboard but it might be in Multi Mode.

[@TheLineofEpicHeroes]

How is the feel of the keys? Is it better than the one on yamaha psr keyboards or the same? Is it close to MM6 maybe or better than MM6? Im thinking on buying this but i never touched it. Great demo by the way.

[@billyruss]

+Games, Music & Greek Souvlaki Thanks for the compliment! The keys are pretty lightweight really - I had the MM6 and that was probably a little bit better. Bit I've sold them both now, so it's difficult to be sure from memory which was better :)

[@hectorestrada5751]

What # is piano on minute 3.10? Thanks

[@billyruss]

I've just downloaded the sound list from the Yamaha website, and I think it was the patch called PianoStr. It's been a while since I made this video, and I sold the synth a long time ago, so I can't remember exactly, but I do remember that there were a lot of sounds that were kinda hidden from view - you had to go through all the variations to find them, and not all variations worked on all sounds. It's a layer of the piano sample with strings behind it. It's definitely in there somewhere, because I didn't make any of my own sounds for this video. Best of luck finding it! :)

[@halyoung7150]

Does it have midi in and out.

[@billyruss]

In, out and thru, yes.

[@Hwral]

These presets all sound super slick. I could buy this somewhere for only 50 EU, but after hearing this, I think I’ll pass.

[@shaitanus]

Хороший звук....бюджетный инструмент....проф.музыкант поймет где синтетика....а обывателю далеко насрать где настоящий аккордеон играет...а где псевдо...

[@billyruss]

I had to use Google to translate... apparently this says: "A good sound ... a budget instrument ... a professional musician will understand where synthetics are ... and the layman is far from giving a s*** where a real accordion plays ... and where is a pseudo ..." ... Agreed!!