45 years on from its release, Yamaha CS-80 synth seems more popular than ever. Ownership of the original hardware, though, is the preserve of the lucky few, so the market for software emulations is potentially huge.
Now Softube has joined the likes of Arturia and Cherry Audio in releasing its own version of the CS-80. In fact, the Model 77 (the number denoting the year in which the CS-80 was released) actually emulates a couple of other CS synths, as well: the CS-50 and CS-60.
Softube claims to have “component modelled and accurately articulated every detail” of the three instruments, but up on the surface, it has also simplified the interface to make it easier to tweak your sound. While the Model 77 is dual-layer, the focus stays on one layer at a time, and the various sections are laid out to reflect the signal flow.
There is also an additional ageing slider that you can adjust to dial in oscillator drift and variations in filter cutoff, pulse width and envelope time. So you can go for a stable, modern sound or a wobbly, vintage one (or something in between).
If you want those classic CS sounds – they’re all over Vangelis’s Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire soundtracks and ‘80s classics such as Billie Jean, Africa and Human Nature – you’ll be delighted to know that all the factory presets from the three original synths are here, as is support for polyphonic aftertouch.
Stereo processing, DAW sync and a reverb are onboard, too, and you also get seven modules from Softube’s Modular and two from its Amp Room guitar and bass software.
Model 77 Dual Layer Synth Walkthrough:
The Model 77 is available now for the introductory price of $99 (regular price $159) and runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats. Find out more and download a demo on the Softube website.
German synthesist Hainbach – in his latest video – takes a look at a rare modular synthesizer system from behind the iron curtain.
What he has to say about it:
“Synthesizers had it hard in Socialist East-Germany – Socialist Realism was for a long time the prevailing art form. An instrument that creates unreal sounds was not endorsed by the SED leadership. Only in the waning years of the GDR (or DDR as it is called in German) that changed, with the Vermona Synthesizer coming out in 1982.
The first officially sanctioned modular synthesizer, the Audiotronic AMS3 featured in this video was built between 1986 and 1988 for the Electro-Acoustic Studio of the Akademie der Künste.”
