Blog category: Yamaha

Return To Forever & The Headhunters

 

The stuff I dig out for you sometimes... Got an hour to spare? If not, make room for it. In this awsome concert from 1974 we see Herbie Hancock and The Headhunters + Chick Corea and Return To Forever. I think its crazy cool, I mean these guys really know their stuff. And the stuff, they've got some awsome gear. Moogs, ARPs and Mellotron. 60 minutes of joy. The best ensamble of the 70's!

 

 

Pt2

 

Pt3

 

Pt4

 

Pt5

 

Pt6

 

Chick Corea & Return to ForeverHerbie Hancock & The Headhunters1974Chicago, IL @ PBS Soundstage---------------------------------------Participants:Chick Corea & Return to ForeverStanley Clarke ... Electric BassChick Corea ........ Fender Rhodes Stage 73 Mark I Electric Piano,Hohner D6 Clavinet, Mini-Moog, Yamaha Organ,Moog 15 Sample & Hold, IntroductionsAl DiMeola .......... Electric GuitarLenny White ....... DrumsHerbie Hancock & The HeadhuntersMike Clarke .......... DrumsHerbie Hancock .... Fender Rhodes Suitcase 88 Mark I Electric Piano,Hohner D6 Clavinet, ARP Odyssey, Mellotron,ARP String Ensemble, Vocals, Handclaps,IntroductionsPaul Jackson ........ Electric BassBennie Maupin ..... Tenor Saxophone, Vocals, HandclapsBill Summers ........ Percussion, VocalsChick Corea & Herbie HancockChick Corea ......... Acoustic Piano,Fender Rhodes Stage 73 Mark I Electric Piano,Hohner D6 Clavinet, Mini-Moog, Yama Organ,Moog 15 Sample & Hold, ConversationHerbie Hancock ... Acoustic Piano,Fender Rhodes Suitcase 88 Mark I Electric Piano,Hohner D6 Clavinet, ARP Odyssey, Mellotron,ARP String Ensemble, Conversation---------------------------------------Track List:Chick Corea & Return to Forever1. Beyond the Seventh Galaxy [Take 1]2. Vulcan Worlds3. Rumble in the Beginning (a.k.a. Space Circus, Part 2)4. Beyond the Seventh Galaxy [Take 2]Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters1. Butterfly2. Interlude3. ChameleonChick Corea & Herbie Hancock1. Someday My Prince Will ComeCategory: Music

The joy of presets

One important reason to why the 80s (and a part of the 90s) sounded like it did, was the presets on synthesizers like the Yamaha DX7 and Roland D-50. Basically, as synthesizers became more and more difficult to program, musicians turned to presets instead of making their own sounds, like people did on the older analog synths.

 

The result was that a lot of the music in the 80s sounded pretty much alike. I’m not saying that it was bad music, since the 80s was awesome, but I guess everyone can agree that the DX7, for example, was a bit over-used.

But then came the 90s, and a reaction against the ”one button and a tiny LCD screen” trend. One of the best, earliest and probably BIGGEST example of this was the Roland JD-800, which was released in 1991. A huge synth with a huge amount of sliders. And later came the Yamaha CS-1x, Yamaha AN-1x, Roland JP-8000 etc. Everybody had knobs and sliders again, and the neo-tweaking could begin.

What I felt when knobs came back bigtime in the late 90s was ”I’m never gonna degrade myself by using a preset ever again”. So I, like the rest of the world, started making analog filter sweeps 24/7, and I loved it.

But in the last couple of years, I have started to like presets again, and when I buy an old synth from the 80’s or 90s, it is its presets I choose by. One of the things I like best is to listen to the tons of presets on the excellent www.synthmania.com, and then decide what synth I’m gonna go hunt for.

Actually, nowadays, I feel that it is a kind of an obligation to use presets as much as I can. That way, I feel that the synth ITSELF plays a bigger role in the music I make. And the Japanese engineer who programmed the preset, of course. When I’m using my Korg Wavestation for example, I never change a preset, even if it’s pretty easy to do it with editing software. 

20 years from now, when people listen to today’s electronica and its self-tweaked sounds, will they be able to hear what synth was used, or will they say ”probably some VA synth or one of those millions of VST synths those idiots used back then”?

Some presets the world will never forget (from the AWESOME synthmania.com)

E.Piano 1 (Yamaha DX7)

Digital Native Dance (Roland D-50)

Soundtrack (Roland D-50)

Organ2 (THE house-bass from Korg M1)

Pizza Hutt (The Roland JD-800 also had some famous presets, despite its sliders)

 

2 questions : Do you agree with me on this and whats your all time favourite synth presets?

The Yamaha GX-1 - Galactic Emperor of Synthesizers

The Yamaha GX-1 was Yamahas first polyphonic synthesizer and what a beast they made! It has a triple tiered keyboard, pedal board, ribbon controller, pedestals in chrome and eight polyphonic voices. At 250 kilos it's not designed for the average home studio musician to put it mildly. The $50 000+ price tag indicates this aswell. Less than 10 where made and they have all been owned by legendary musicians like John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), ABBA, Keith Emerson, George Fleury, Stevie Wonder and my own favourite  Richard James (Aphex Twin).

 

I've gathered some clips of the GX-1. the last one is a favourite coming back. Mattias or Roth Händle studios giving us a closer look.

 

 

 

Benny Andersson of ABBA plays a majestic Yamaha GX-1 intro to "Summer Night City"

Videoclip recorded in 1979 at Wembley. The song's "Summer night city"; one version very strong and awesome!

 

More Benny and ABBA - Me and I

Abba performing "me and i" in the show Dick cavett mets ABBA in april 1981

 

 

Stevie Wonder - Pastime Paradise with the GX-1 strings all over it.

Stevie Wonder released this soul classic in the year 1976 from the album "songs in the key of life"

 

GX-1 solo by Aphex Twin

This is GX1 Solo by The Tuss (aphex twin), from Confederation Trough. Random aphex pics in video.

 

Fanfare for the common man - GX-1's amazing trumpet sound.

Promotional video of ELP doing "Fanfare for the Common Man," Olympic Stadium, Montreal.

 

A closer look on the Yamaha GX-1 by Mattias Olsson of Roth Händle studios in Stockholm.

 

 

 

The giant Yamaha GX-1 is considered the predecessor of the Yamaha CS-80 which was made for a bigger market. OK, the CS-80 is clearly a smaller synthesizer than the GX-1 but still at 100 kilos it was eventually hard to find its audience. The CS80 dominated the keyboard world for almost two years. When, in 1978, the Prophet 5 and Oberheim OBX took over the analogue scene, due to their lighter weight and their cheaper price. Soundwise I'd say the CS-80 is definately the winner there. Never forget that the GX-1 is the ruler of them all though...

Yamaha CS-80 - The king of synthesizers

In my last post I presented some demos of the Yamaha CS-70M in a tribute post. Now it's time for the big brother, the Yamaha CS-80, synthesizer of synthesizers. This legendary piece of gear is almost mythical. I'm not even sure that it exists!

Here are some great clips/demos of the Yamaha CS-80 in action. It's nice to see that a lot of people care about their CS-80s so this piece of music history is kept alive. And from what I've heard the CS-80 requires almost constant repairs and service.

Enjoy...

 

From CountLovE Yamaha CS80 using patches flute/ brass 2. Slight modulation added to VCOs. Signal chain: CS80--Eventide 2016 reverb--Siemens 295b EQ--Prism Sound Orpheus (Ihavesynth: some really nice detuned oscillators here...)

 

From Wutierson Test session with Sergio Koval playing his Yamaha CS-80 at Synthoma studio. The test is a chorus comparison with the CS-80 built-in chorus, a Digitech multieffect chorus, and the élkorus analog bbd chorus. Now the CS-80 can do a very nice strings, not only brasses!! More info about élkorus and synthoma in general, at www.synthoma.net

 

 

Pt 1 from Galaxiesmerge My Yamaha CS80 synthesizer. The string sounds on this are amazing. Look at Blade Runner that was scored with a CS80 keyboard by Vangelis. This is recorded using my home video camera and its built in microphone. 

 

Pt 2 from Galaxiesmerge Poly Pressure, Poly Velocity and expression pedal Arpeggio sequence. Fat thick Brass sounds. Deep sweeping Funky crazy sounds. Thanks to ingsoc_1979 for some comments and discussion - so the classic brass is for you! Next time I'll do PWM Strings. Very wide range of tonal modulation in this video.

 

 

3 Vangelis clips. It is impossible to have a post about the Yamaha CS-80 without mentioning Vangelis.

 

From analoghell Vangelis demonstrating a Yamaha CS80.

 

From Carellister Vangelis improvising on the famous Yamaha CS80...

 

 

From Mart138 A chance to pay tribute to this great Ridley Scott film on its 25th Anniversary using the main titles and end credits from Vangelis brilliant score.

 

 

 

A warning though. Placed in front of the wrong set of hands the Yamaha CS-80 can be a horrifying weapon of mass destruction. It should be handled with love, skill and never ever like this. Take note, this clip is not suited for younger musicians or sensitive adults.

From Tx816 Yamaha CS80 Demonstration by Mert Topel

 

Is there someone out there who likes my work and feels like sponsoring Ihavesynth.com by buying me a CS-80? Anyone :-) ?

A tribute to the Yamaha CS-70M

The Yamaha CS-70M is a monster of a synthesizer. It is standing in the shadows of its big brother, the Yamaha CS-80 and doesn't get as much spot light. A shame. I found some great demos that I would like to share with you. Fat!

 

From  noddyspuncture Just messin' on my Yammy CS-70M. It's not a CS-80 by any means, but it is still a damn fine and inspiring keyboard all the same. A "different beast" from the same stable...!

 

 

Pt 1 from meastempo Some Vangelis sounds from the CS70M, lots of people complain about this synth, that it not sounds like the big brother CS80, i think it does a little...

 

Pt 2 from meastempo More Vangelis (Blade Runner Blues) 

 

 

From meastempo CS70M with FC7 and FC4 pedals, Volume and sustain control 

 

 

From meastempo CS70M VCF filter demo

 

 

And finally this wonderful piece :-)

The ever so cool gang from the classic Fame TV show starts jammin' it out in a music store with the Yamaha CS-70M as the lead instrument. Oh, as a bonus all the talk is dubbed to french.

 

You can see a great vintage ad of the Yamaha CS-70M here

Dr Who Theme - Sounds by Delia Derbyshire

This is the original theme from Dr Who produced Delia Derbyshire. Fantastic stuf, this was made in 1963.

 

Here is a clip from BBCs radiophonic workshop shows us how they created this famous soundtrack. Ron Grainer composed it and then BBC with Delia Derbyshire leading the way gave it the fantastic sounds. This was never credited to her at the time though. Seems like the sexist culture of the sixties that we see in Mad Men got in the way of her glory. So, better late than never - great work Delia!

 

 

 

 

Yamaha DX-100 synthesizer commercial

I found this commercial for Yamaha DX-100 on youtube. I must get myself some black gloves like that, amazing stuff!

"Anything's possible"

The Shape Of Things That Hum - great synthesizer documentary

The shape of things that hum is a series of short documentaries about electronic instruments with every episode focusing on a specific instrument. These videos have been around for a while and a lot of you have definitely seen them already. If you haven't, its a must see. A lot of classic vintage gear and some cool people talking about them (some, definitely not all of them). This was broadcasted in England back in 2001. I found these nuggets on Google Video and I thinks its the perfect time killer for the Christmas Holidays. Though the narrator is a bit boring...

OK, here goes. 6 clips, all of them 11 minutes long. It was seven clips, but the Yamaha DX7 episode is not available unfortunately.

Minimoog

Roland TB-808

Roland TB-303

Simmons

Vocoder

Fairlight

The Akai Sampler

 

Blade Runner Theme on Roland Juno 60

This is quite impressive. The theme Vangelis made for Bladerunner with his Yamaha CS-80 is here played on a vintage Roland Juno 60. All the sounds you hear in the clip is from a Juno 60.

Omar Ragnarsson - Gay Pride and Yamaha

Icelandic politician/comedian/journalist/environmentalist Omar Ragnarsson sings and plays a yamaha keyboard for gay pride. Quite an entertainer the icelandics have there. Good to know, its not only Bjork...

Sunshine and gay pride!

A closer look at the Yamaha GX-1

Roth Händle (Mattias Olsson) shows us the fantastic Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer in the Roth Händle studio in Stockholm. This rare synth was only in production for a short time and there are probably fewer than 100 of them ever made. The one in Roth Händles studio used to belong to Benny Andersson of ABBA. Others who have used this synth are Paul Jones of Led Zepellin, Aphex Twin and Stevie Wonder. This beast of a synthesizer weighs about 300 kg and offers some serious knobporn. Enjoy the clip!

 

Vangelis and Neuronium

Fantastic dreamy piece of work. Perfect for a soft sathurday night.

 

Vangelis shows his Yamaha CS-80

This clip where Vangelis shows what he can do with his Yamaha CS-80 really gets me going. This rare mythical vintage synthesizer is something I would love to get my hands on. Just listen to this beast or beauty, I cant make up my mind on what it should be. Both, probably.

via @WaldoKanto on twitter

Japanese girlbot - future pop star?

Here comes more scary stuff . And like so many many many times before - it comes from Japan. The HRP-4C girlbot with Yamaha's Vocaloid voice synth software - is this the pop star of the future? Will it be the programmers competing in American Idolbot?

 

 

Found this on Gizmodo

CS-80 sounds with Yamaha SY-2

"This synth features the same filter as the legendary GX-1 which was the pre-cursor to the mighty CS-80. You'll hear the similarity instantly.This keyboard also features aftertouch."

 

Youtube via Stephenteller

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Blade Runner sounds

How to make the perfect Blade Runner sound on a Yamaha CS-70m is a good thing to know. Great ice-breaker at parties!

Youtube via meastempo

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Poor man's CS-80

I would like to get my hands on a Yamaha Electone E-75, E-70 or E-50 organ, in that order, since E-75 had the most sounds. They all shared a lot of the circuitry from the Yamaha CS-80, which is almost impossible to get hold of now. But prices on the Electones can be pretty high as well, since a lot of people want the CS-80/GX-1 sounds. But if you're in luck, maybe you can scam some old lady who uses her E-75 for playing religious hymns on sundays. I've also heard that the Yamaha D-85 Electone can do CS-80 style sounds as well.

Sounds pretty analog to me, Youtube via FlametopFred

This is the coolest guy I have ever seen, Youtube via gioverone

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I Have Synth, Links
Author: 

I Have Synth

Biography: 

Been into synthesizers for 15 years, but never a technical geek. I'm a member of the band Velours Perfect, and have had electronic music as a hobby since I stopped playing with G.I Joe Figures. I buy and sell synths all the time, sometimes manically, and my favourite synth varies, right now it is the Alesis Ion. On this blog you can read about whatever comes out of my mind, mostly synthesizer-related stuff though. Bzzt! Oh...my name is Ulf Dufwenberg. It's Swedish.

 

I'm also on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and off course Ihavesynth.

 

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