Synth Wizards Episode 9: Holy Grail: The Yamaha CS-80

The Synth Wizards located the holy grail of polyphonic keyboards: a Yamaha CS-80. But the last time it was turned on, it smoked instead of made music. Did we pay thousands of dollars for a pile of parts, or will we end up with a magical music machine?

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[microsci]

Hi - In 1977 and 78 I was Stevie Wonders electronics engineer. I had the privilege of working with the Yamaha GX-1. Stevie had seven CS-80's. When I left Stevie and went to work at David Abel's piano store in Beverly Hills, I was tasked to make mods to CS-80's. Abel's was a premier dealer for Yamaha. Many musicians and composers came to Abel's to buy their instruments. I designed an interface for a Imsai Z80 computer as a CS-80 programmable controller. Clark Spangler was a salesman and studio musician. The CS-80 was his go to machine for many movie/television/commercial soundtracks. Brian Banks used the CS-80 on many movie scores. Seeing your video brought back many memories. The CS-80 did have an issue with staying in tune, so I designed a fan box that would blow air through the bottom vents to keep all of the voice cards at a stable temperature particularly during live performances in clubs . Richard Lubbing was our keyboard tech and would rework the keyboard of the CS-80 for better touch and action.

[ChrisDN]

"I'm even more excited than Cody is"
Cody's excitement: -14/100

[jameswilson]

This video was more entertaining than 90% of modern day T.V. Such a pleasure to see your enthusiasm and skill at work. From a pinball enthusiast who collects and restores machines (with help of course) I'm very happy to see you looking after these easily forgotten treasures.

[mikalrain]

"Attack ships on fire off the sholder of Orion."
That's how to describe the magic of CS-80.

[phxfunfly]

I am not a musician and don't own a synthesizer, I just like watching craftsmen at work. Cool stuff!

[Michael_Geyre]

Hi, Cs80 owner here
thanks for saving one of these beasts
they're definitely fantastic and unique instruments
they need to survive and keep being played!!

[Acid]

I have a deep and healthy respect for hardware but don't own any (anymore) since focusing on software synths, so to sit and watch a 43-minute long video on repairing the CS-80 seemed a particularly strange thing to do on Christmas morning. But, man, I found myself gasping at the gunk and broken parts and wondering if it would ever make a sound, and rooting for Syntaur, and marveling at the synth's rich history. Fantastic job, gentlemen. Well worth the hundreds of miles and thousands of dollars in time and manpower it must've taken to repair. Good luck on selling that gem! I'm sure you'll have a lot of takers.

[bxtrc]

This is the synthesizer reality tv show I never knew I wanted! Gerald is the man!!!

[marcosantacruz]

Whoever directed this (not sure if it's just you or your team of 3), did such a great job, as it draws you into the story.

[HambertHM]

This is golden content. All the rareness in one place, from rare synths to the most important people linked to them, all in one episode!

[retsmej]

OMG ! this must be the longest repair video i've watched and it feels like a movie with a happy ending ! you're level of script writing and editing is superb ! it has drama, comedy, action, musical, etc...

[RudySlute]

This is like watching actual tv. It's incredible

[buckrogez]

This has got to be one of the greatest videos I've ever watched. I'm a gear head and besides being a lead guitarist I'm also a massive synth head. I'm also a blade runner fanatic so this is right up my alley!

[keyboardmusician]

This is the greatest synth channel ever. I’m sharing with everyone!!

[davidl]

You really do deserve an award for this video imo. What an amazing synth the cs80 must be to play with. Your shop and crew and your approach to your work make me feel a tad bit better about humanity.

[lovelysweetdream]

Your videos always save me, when i'm feeling down and depressed. Something about the pure passion, radiating from your work makes me so happy and at peace. I would love to visit some day, but i live on the other side of the planet... I'm currently in school to become an electronics engineer, and i have to find an apprenticeship soon. I wish my country had businesses like Syntaur... Or anything synth-related at all.

[jameshulskamp]

I have been playing keys for upwards of 20 years and have owned a few synths along the way but I never really understood what was going on under the hood. The content in this video was so accessible for non-tech folk like me I learnt a lot. Thank you Guys.

[Songwirer]

OMG you reminded me of my child days. An SK30 synth and CP30 piano were my best friends as a child!! Loved the video

[alveydoug]

What an education in being methodical when doing repairs, of anything!

[encomeslack]

I enjoyed this episode! Good stuff! YouTube needs more content like this popping up in people's algorithms. Thank you for the time you spent on the videos!