Looking for the user manual?


Check the heading on this page:

Product manual or files


Or search our  Samples/Files/Manuals  section!
We have hundreds of manuals added to the site!

You'll see this reminder one more time after which it will not appear.

Hide
skin: 1 2 3 4 |  Login | Join Dancetech |

Yamaha CS1X

19-Mar-2024

Info-line:   [synths]    [sampler]    [drumbox]    [effects]    [mixers]     [mics]     [monitors]    [pc-h/ware]    [pc-s/ware]    [plugins]    -    [links]    [tips]

Yamaha CS1X



Category:  Products / synthesisers / sample synthesisers

Added: 17-Dec-98  |  Author: admin

New price: discontinued (RRP £499)  |   S/H price: £350 - £400


Yamaha CS1X



The CS1x appeared in 1996 costing a reasonable £599 GBP and was aimed squarely at the dance music market which meant this was Yamaha's first synth since the old days which featured onboard controllers for adjusting things like filter cut-off. Generating it's sounds with digital Oscillators using Yamaha's next-generation AWM2 (Advanced Wave Memory) technology, it's got to be on the list as it sold by the truckload and gave many youngsters their first steps into making club tunes.



 



Although older synth purists generally mocked the CS1x at the time, it's actually way better than you think thanks to a big 32 note polyphony of quality Yamaha sample & wavetable synthesis, complimented by an onboard arpeggiator & all combined with 3 fairly comprehensive built-in effects processors.



 



The CS1x has two modes: Multiplay & Performance. In Multiplay it's essentially a GM/XG player sporting 480 AWM2 patches including 11 drum kits, all taken from the MU50 sound module.



 



In Performance mode its got 128 factory banks with a further 128 user slots & up to four patches can be layered or split across the keyboard.



 



Multiplay & performance can be mixed together allowing a multi-timbrel backing to be created over which you can play a Performance patch with realtime controllers available for tweaking.



 



The CS1x also hosts a computer port to connect to a host Mac or Windows pc. One thing to note with the Cs1x is that while the keyboard doesn't transmit aftertouch, it does respond to aftertouch over MIDI.



 



Check out some demos on Youtube and you might be surprised. An underrated classic frankly, as used by Dave Bowie, Underworld and many more.



 



 



 

Old dancetech listing txt



It seems that every new product released by the majors is now a "Dance" synth... and here comes another one from Yamaha. Dance music has now reached that terrible stage where it has now become the backing music for everything from car ad's to Saturday morning TV....So this new model from Yamaha can be considered as simply their latest mid-priced synth.



 



The CS1X utilises an XG format engine utilising 480 voices & 11 drum kits ....(The XG incidently drew on the TG33 for it's sounds)..  Yamaha have added an extra 1/2 Meg of rom waveforms to the original XG format to produce an extra 128 dance/performance specific presets.....These special presets can contain up to 4 sounds either layered, split, X-faded etc on seperate midi channels if desired, and will leave you with 12 other multitimbrel parts to play with in this mode....otherwise the CS1X is 16 part multitimbrel & 32 note poly.



 



As with all these "Dance" synths, the emphasis is on re-introducing dedicated control sources for things such as the Filter Control functions to compliment the already available Pitch & Mod' wheels & pedals........Yamaha follows suit here, with 6 dedicated knobs, and also 2 additional assignable hardware control sources, all built into the front panel.....So there's plenty of knobs to twiddle with.



 



As for the sounds, the pads and atmospheres are very nice, and there's saw & square waves to play with......So add to this plenty of control, and 150 extra custom sounds, including extra drum sounds such as a 909 kit to compliment the already available excellent DB50XG 808 stuff, and It sounds like a really good deal for the money.....depending on how you want to use it !



 



Now there seems to be some confusion about the capabilities of this synth when used in a multitimbrel mode, as part of a home studio set-up, with a sequencer doing the driving........Well, this is how it goes :



 



You go into multi-mode, and choose a "Special Performance" patch sound....That 1st special performance voice, can be played with it's multilayers, by one midi channel, but once assigned, it also blocks out the use of midi channels 1 to 4..... regardless of how many layers make up that patch...... If you then want to assign another layered "Special Performance" patch, you will have to find the individual voices that make up that patch, sequence your synthline, then duplicate it across to as many midi channels as there are layers that make up that patch....So if the sound has 3 layers, you must make a midi track, for each layer on a different channel !!



 



....In other words, if you set up a drum riddim, using channel 10...and then you want to sequence parts for 3 other special performance sounds, each with 4 layers, you will have to sequence a seperate midi channel for each layer !!!!...... Yamaha reckon this is an innovitive approach to programming....I reckon, it's a bit of a pain to have to sequence each layer, as if they were coming from seperate modules.....obviously, this also restricts your multitimbrelity, to only 4 sounds, if they are using even 3 layers each, If you want to get 16 part multi-mode with the "Special performance" sounds, then they will have to all be single oscillator voices....... Perhaps this should be borne in mind if you are looking for a studio synth to use with a sequencer, as opposed to a performance synth, to twiddle live over a backing sound.



 



The CS1X has a built in XG FX processor section, offering 11 reverbs, 11 chorus's, and an extra 43 Variation FX's such as delays & rotating speaker cabs etc, which are tied in with the performance /control parameters for a particular preset....All these FX are editable, and you can mix these edited FX with edited sounds to create some excellent stuff.



 



On the subject of editing, the CS1X's edit parameters are all layed out on the front panel as a matrix with dedicated editing buttons, so there's no hunting through endless cryptic sub-menus to tweak or edit new patches.......Once you've created an edit, you can store it in one of the available 128 edit spaces, or save it as a sysex dump to your PC or Mac......Yamaha have built a serial port connector into the CS1X, so if you don't have a soundcard or midi port, you just hook it up with a standard connector cable.



 



Well, that's about it... it should be a winner for Yamaha, from a marketing point of view, .........You've got all that control.....909 & 808 kits & the extra sounds....(the 909 is a bonus I suppose, in that you don't have to find a drum box with them in, or a cheap sampler to play them).



 



You also get a comprehensive arpeggiator, dedicated edit buttons, a 61 note touch sensitive keyboard, and even an external stereo line in and a dedicated computer interface.....Sounds pretty cool ..... Just bear in mind, the multimode thing, and also that you only have 2 (stereo) outputs....



 



 













Product Manuals or Files





Product Resources










User Comments

Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: kilo
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 09-Jan-99

well it's all in the above really.....perhaps the manual is deliberately excluding this question, as does the demo

video....you can only use the one special sound....after that its single layer only....the drum channel is ok as normal.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Klas K
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 09-Jan-99

Buy one, i have one myself!!!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: David Bivins
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 09-Jan-99

I'd like to correct a misconception about this synth that Yamaha themselves originally propogated. In the above review, Kilo outlines having to set up a separate sequencer track for each layer of a single patch. This is absolutely unnecessary, and I can't fathom why Yamaha encouraged it and acted like it was a feature ("innovative approach to programming") and not a bug. Actually, you can assign multiple layers to single MIDI channels from the CS1x Utility->MIDI Rcv function. One sequencer track than controls multiple sounds from the synth. If anyone needs to learn more about this (or any feature of this synth) feel free to e-mail me privately.

Editorially, I think this is a great and powerful beginner's synth. You have tons of great sounding patches that can be modified up the wazoo; many drum kits that sound pretty good; and samples of basic waveforms. You also have all the XG and GM voices. For very little money (I've seen them for $450 USD s/h) you can put together a pretty dense mix (if you have a sequencer).

Drawbacks? It's a bit noisy; getting into all the features takes a great deal of effort. To remedy the latter, get the "Blue Book", available from Yamaha's web site, and get CS1xEdit, and absolutely fantastic shareware editor by Florian Bomers that makes programming sounds a breeze.


Sum-up: Great deal for the price.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: kilo
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 09-Jan-99

yup again....I must have made about 20 calls to yamaha in total...and they said it !!...... Ok so you dont have to use seperate channels....but still, bit of a pain in the arse to have to find the parts that make layer etc...then you've got the fx setups which dont carry over etc.....I suppose considering the price, it's ok....but I'd hate to be confronted with all that as a beginner.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Robert Tingelöf
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 09-Jan-99

This must be one of the coolest instruments

there is...

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Jerry R. Martin
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

Love this synth! How do I get Cakewalk to

import the instrument definition? I don't

have a standalone sequencer.

Have you read The Blue Book?



Thanks very much.



Jerry

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Michael Quinn
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

First impressions of the synth. were wow how is

something priced this low able to perform do well,

My first impressions have lasted.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: KC
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

I got this synth about 2 months ago and i must say it is great. I went through a lot to get it. But i only paid 350 bucks for it . . . very very good for the price. I don't know how anyone can bash it. It's like people expect to get a 1,500 dollars value out of the cs1x. Its a very good synth.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: BeckyDrink
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

OK, I've had this thing for 3 months now...

It's my first synth, time for a verdict:



If it's your first synth, you can't do any better.

Don't spend $1000s on an all in one machine, you

can get a lot of mileage out of this thing.



Before I heard about the CS1x, I was contemplating

having to buy a boring GM/XG synth like an X5

to use as a controller, and then buy modules

to get more dance oriented sounds after.



The CS1x is great cos it has a whole bunch of

'material' voices which sound nothing like

traditional instruments, and were exactly what

I was looking for...



Finally there are some great drum kits in there

too; and trust me, if you spend time on it you can

make this thing sound great...



At this point I'm beginning to grow a little out of

it, mainly because the 2 outputs are a little

limiting for mixing (a midi track's volume will

sound lower when you add other tracks playing

at the same time). But I've learnt a lot, and

recommend it to any first time buyers...



Even if I buy a whole lot of other stuff, I'll

still be using this thing for it's pads and

superb SubBass.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Anders Claesson
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

this synth sure can produce som really fat

analouge sounds and it sounds great

pretty cheap also...

the leadsounds are great but the basses could

be better, the drums are also OK but not the best

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: BeckyDrink
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

You know, I think the drums are underrated, because

their volume level is pretty low...

The trick is to have the material voices at around

50 volume (control7), and the drums around 100-110...

then they come into their own...

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: BeckyDrink
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

I agree with the basses though... but the Subbasses

are pretty good (Sin, Subbass, Marianas...). If you layer

a Subbass with a regular bass on top (even an XG one)

the bass becomes more acceptable in a mix

Not quite good enough on its own though, or without

drums.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: KELVIN
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

The Cs1x is a new synth for a low price.

Don`t expect it to sound like a tb-303 just yet!

Its worth every penny, a good starting synth for

dance/Techno music.

Regarding the performance instruments you CAN use

several performance voices in your sequencer

without sending a single sysex!!!!!(1)

All your sequencer must have is controllers

for changing MSB and LSB, and then your on!

In your sequencer recieve the perfomance

sound you want to use and then locate the

"material voices" on the remaining channels.

The only thing that i want to see Yamaha to do

is to find a way to use EFFECT: VARIATION EFFECT

on the material voices....

When this is done this little small synth

will kick ass, i promise.

If anyone have any problem with the Cs1x you

can mail me.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Jerry R. Martin
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

Love this synth! How do I get Cakewalk to

import the instrument definition? I don't

have a standalone sequencer.

Have you read The Blue Book?



Thanks very much.



Jerry

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Michael Quinn
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

First impressions of the synth. were wow how is

something priced this low able to perform do well,

My first impressions have lasted.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: KC
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

I got this synth about 2 months ago and i must say it is great. I went through a lot to get it. But i only paid 350 bucks for it . . . very very good for the price. I don't know how anyone can bash it. It's like people expect to get a 1,500 dollars value out of the cs1x. Its a very good synth.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Nathan
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

I bought this synth to use in a live band.It's

my first synth too.

I was quite impressed with the sounds, although

the fx do really make it what it is and these

can only be used on one sound at a time.

For live use I think it's perfect - esp those

knobs :)

For a sound module I'd recomend something

else, for a live synth or a control keyboard

for a PC its great (controlling Rebirth's knobs

with it is worth 500 quid alone)

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: ALEX MENDIZABAL
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

MY NAME IS ALEX.I'M AN ARGENTINE USER OF CS1X, BUT I NEED THE MANUAL IN SPANISH LANGUAGE IN INTERNET.PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR THIS INFORMATION. THANKS,AND BYE BYE.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Auke van der Gaast
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

It's just great...

My first step from Trackers (like Scream- Fast- and Impulse-Tracker) to MIDI, and I've never regretted it...

Great synth for a nice price...

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Dj C & WennE, Trance Control
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

This is an EXELENT synth! Specialy for Dance, Techno, House... and so on. We're using the CS1x just about every day and it's vere comfortable to work with. It's very easy to use and one can get started composing music in notime. One of the graeat advantages of the CS1x is the price. There's no other synth in that range of price that brings so much musical pleasure.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Gary Thompson
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

THIS IS MY BLUE BABY! A COMPLETE DANCE MACHINE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!!!

COMBINE IT WITH A DECENT SAMPLER AND YOU CAN LACE SOME TOP QUALITY PUMPIN' TRACKS!! AWESOME !!!!

IF THERES ANYONE OUT THERE WHO WISHES TO SHARE THIER MUTUAL RESPECT FOR THIS BLUE GOD CONTACT ME AT : tash_22@technologist.com

Party On !!!!!

\\III//

oOOo (o) (o) oOOo

U

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: TwEEk
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

This is the greatest synth of all time. I have the absolutely awesome privelege of owning one, and i have to say that it kicks ass. First of all, for live application, u get your main cut off and rez filter right in front of u. U also have to attack and release, and two assignable knobs. Route the modulation wheel to switch between scenes, and u can create dramatic sound changes in seconds. U also have a real kick ass arpeggiator. It has 30 arpeggios, all perfect for application to any kind of electronica music. This thing has some killer skronky industrial sounds. It also has really nice leads and pads. It is easy to program whatever sound u need. If u get the editor "Tune em Up" u will be un stoppable in programming. It has quick access to every single parameter including the kick ass effects processor. The bottom line is that i bought mine for 700 us dollars, and ive seen them for 500 and my friend got his for 450. It is the greatest synth for its price in the history of man. Oh yeah, did i mention it's blue???????

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Corey Appleby
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

My experience with the CS1x is limited to using it in the store, but I want to buy this nice machine. I am a beginner, and I like how easy it is to get to do what you want. I was wondering where is the cheapest place to buy it? I've seen guys claiming to have gotten it for $450 USD and would like to know where.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: jeroen arends
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

it looks like every synth today has to sound like some roland immitation (tb303 909 and so on. So everyone is always comparing it with the rolands.

I think that is not right. The cs1x can blow your brains out and it can make your speaker system tremble. So this system kicks ass!



The sounds are nice, the drums kicks. You have just balance the sounds in the right way. for people who say the sounds are to weak. Buy a good amplifier!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: 9000
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

ne one wanna trade noisey industrial patches? email me... i also have aol if u wanna IM me

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Captain NRG
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

I don't know if I think your review was very fair... I own and LOVE my CS1x. And incase you are thinking that I am some hack who owns one keyboard and only knows that "one unit" you would be surprised to know I own the following Gear...



* Yamaha CS1x (one of the most supported low cost

synths on the market, and HIGHLY CAPABLE)

* Yamaha AN1x (JUST DAMB INCREDIBLE)

* Digi Designs SampleCell

* (2)Turtle Beaches Pinnacle w/Kurweil Sampler

each with 48MB RAM

* Roland SH-01

* Rebirth 338 (of course)

* Mackie 24Channel 4Bus

* TASCAM DA-20

* ART Multiverb FX unit

* Alesis 3630 Compressor

* Alesis M-EQ230

* Alesis Monitor Ones

* All controled by a Clone

P200/128MB Ram/11 Gig HD/Zip Drive&Jaz Drive



Though I know the PC is not state of the art, it kicks but for music.



Getting back to the CS1x. I have produced COUNTLESS tracks on it in the past year and it has never let me down... I have created LARGE LIBRARYS of sounds and been able to emulate ANY SOUND IMAGINABLE with ease (very simple to create sounds). Definately BUY & REGISTER CS1x Edit by Florian Bomers!! WORTH EVERY CENT - and the CS1x is worth twice it's price!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: BF
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

cap10nrg, any chance of getting a hold of your patches?

are your songs posted on any of the CS1x pages?

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Pedro Gouveia
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

I love this keyboard, is bloody brilliant dut I'm having a few problems in using it, and I would really like you to help me (desperatly).

My biggest problem is that I can't use more than one performance sequenced (using Cakewalk pro audio 6 demo). I can use in XG mode but not in performance mode. The second, not so big but still, enormous is that I can't record or sequence it in cakewalk; I don't know if it's my SB16 or what but my PC can't recieve, it can only send.

I'd love to be helped by anyone, please, as I'm tearing my hear out because of this crap.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Sander Theihzen
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

I'm thinking of buying a CS1x, 'cause the possibilities are tremendous.

I've downloaded the 'YAMAHA Blue Book' and I'm reading it. The musical

interface is highly proffesional and so are the effects.

My knowlegde (I'm 15 years old) of synths is limited, but I guess the

CS1x provides enough possibilities to get a better understanding

of VCO, Waveforms etc.



Anyway, I think this keybord is really cool for permormancing Dance. Techno etc.



Gotta go!! Buy it !!!!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: DJ Fuchs
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

My comments on the CS1X are simple....If you are trying to BASE a system on the Cs1x, you might want to think again. The CS1x is awesome for single parts, and when using other instruments, suchs as an 8track recorder, and some other little things, you can really come up with some cool stuff! The Cs1x is a great keyboard, I recommend it for anyone who is just starting or a veteran!!! LOOK at the PRICE! You can't beat a synth at that price for what you get!!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Ben C
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

This machine has good dance patches, BUT YOU CAN ONLY PLAY 1 AT A TIME!!! If you want to play more, you can only play the GM / XG sounds.



It is possible too 'layer' up to 4 patches together, BUT this does not help if in a studion situation.



The knobs are safe for live work; I'd definatly use it as a live mono-phonic piece of kit, or as an addition 2 an accomplished studio, BUT NOT ON ITS OWN!!



I had 2 take mine back after i found this out the hard way, and now have an Alesis SR6 (safe)



The sounds on it are superb, especially the BASS! - just remember what I said!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Qburg
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

Dunno realy what my opinion on the little blue devil is. But if've got to configure my friends pc and I can't get the to host interface working.

And this annoy's the shit out of me! I installed the driver and everything seems fine, but when I start the editor or Cubase my system freezes.

Any help?

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Joseba Lonazo
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

The CS1x simply ROX! It´s the best synth ever available on the market, at a really good price! If you want to be in heaven, please BUY IT NOW! It´s...simply...FANTASTIC!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Jay Nass
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 20-Jan-99

The CS1x is the ultimate tool when constructed drum and bass tunes. Bass lines and hooks are plentiful, and when used with an A3000 there aint much stopping you....

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Roel
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

This is my first synth, and I don't think I could

have bought a better one .

Performances and material voices are really great!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Michael DeAngelis
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

I am the keyboardist for an all 80's show and needed to find an inexpensive replacement for my failing analog board. The CS1X was my answer! I was able to match 95% of my sounds from my old board and most of them sound more like the original 80's songs.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: sphere
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

The Yamaha CS-1x was my first synthesizer ever

(if you ignore the Casio-keyboard I got for

Christmas at the age of 8) and I thought it was

excellent at first,but then,I realised the major

bug with this synthesizer.The Performance mode.

Yamaha seems to be a smart synth-company,so why

didn't they just put all the dance-sounds into

Multi-Mode? You can't make techno using the fucked

up XG-sounds which are stuffed into the Multimode!

Well,a copy of XGEdit might improve the sounds,but

I doubt that you can get all of those beautifully

lush string-pads (the "Solina" preset) and those

wicked acid noodlings (the "303 Fish" preset)by

delving into the bowels of XG-programming.The

CS-1x is a synthesizer for the rack.You can't

really make music with just this one unit and a

sequenser...

The sampler is necessary if you want to use the

sounds in a MIDI-setup. I would much rather sell

my CS1x and buy all sorts of software for my PC.

The ReBirth 303-clone rocks big-time and if you

buy a Turtle Beach Tropez Plus soundcard with all

those lush Kurzweil wavetable-sounds,you have a

complete studio.That's a studio on a budget!

I like the CS1x though,but I wouldn't recomend it

for a dance-freak (as myself) on a tight budget

thinking it would solve all of your problems.

Use software synthesis instead,it's much more

cheaper.....

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: jem
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

I am a first time synth buyer and have found this machine to be very capable. I bought it second hand for 330 quid which I now know is a fat bargain. I have it running off my dad's crap office computer with a pants sequencer but even so I have managed to get some very good sounds from it. For those who are complaining about 1 performance and 12 other XG parts then don't - get the blue book, spend some time reading and all will become clear. After all, who would spend a fair amount of money on something that would mostly play XG/gen MIDI sounds? If you learn to use it properly with a good sequencer you won't be disappointed.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Tim van Poppel
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

Ik ben nog niet zo lang bezig met midi en ik heb een probleem met mijn Cs1x en mijn computer

software: Cakewalk



Hoe moet ik nou de instrumenten precies kiezen

Mij lukt het bijvoorbeeld niet om "Preset performance nr 10 Fly"

samen met "User performance nr 18 cofifilt" in mijn midi-nummer

te gebruiken.



Wil iemand mij dit uitleggen in het Nederlands aub?

Oh ja, ik heb cakewalk prof 7.0, cakewalk pro audi 6.0 en cakewalk prof 3.0



Tim van Poppel

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: steve
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

I've had a CS1X for 2 years, in this time I've

mastered mixers, computers, samplers etc. but this

synth is still a mistery to me ! I only use it in

multitimbral mode using XG sounds. However I would like to

use performance sounds with XG sounds, this is

apparently possible.

My question therefore is are there any alternative

manuals that can be downloaded ? One written for

a stupid musician and not a technical pedrson.

Regards, steve

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Dj Robin
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

CS1x is a pretty good machine, still you can make

songs with it, i use Cakewalk 8.0 now (jan 4th 1999)

If you have any questions, just ask me.



have fun with your CS1x also in 1999.... :)



Dj Robin



http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/galway/28

for MP3 files on CD hugh collection 4000 plus MP3!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Hartley
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-99

Okay it got some cool sounds,no doubt! But its a

fuckin piece of schijt when you wanna get down!

I heard that there are some new performance sounds

for sale (on floppy) does anybody know some more

about these sounds? Where can i download them and

how do they sound? FUCKIN HELL!!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: brett barnes
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 20-Jan-99

I love my cs1x' sounds,but I'm dissatisfied with the processor in it. Yammaha cheated to keep the price low, and we ended up with is a great sounding synth with some very prominant limitations in studio, and live perfomance prodution.

1. arpegiator does not transmit

2. not upgradable

3. only two audio outs, sound is muddy and colorized when using internal effects , and percussion can be drowned out by this.

Over all, it sounds great when I record all the tracks out seperately,but this synth is advertised as a studio control synth and a performance synth. I wound not use it live,except non-polyphoniclyi, because of the limited audio outs, and it is no longer my control synth because the arpegiator does not transmit: a shortcoming I found out about after my purchase that hindered my dance music production.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: BONES
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://www.ar.com.au/~novakill
Activity: Professional
Date: 15-Apr-99

Awesome! The CS1x has a huge sound, is a breeze
to program, has really useful f/x and a way-cool arpeggiator. I only use mine in performance mode and I think it would be great value even without the XG stuff.
I have a CS2x on order!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: ToM
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 08-May-99

I own mine from about 2 years, and I finally use it only in performance mode, with one big sound (the performance) and another "cheap" sound. Making a perf by layering sound won't permit to have the same sound than the perf bacause of the lack of the variation effect.
The sound is good but this wont be THE SOUND fron a song (my Micro Modular is better for that! ;) ). At last I find it is hard to make the CS1X fit in a mix (it sound thin and you need to work a lot on the sound for the mixing). My only big complains about it is that it sound "dance" and not "techno". Good to make commercial stuff, but for mental and deep techno nothing to do with it : (

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: wojtek jakobczyk
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 15-Jun-99

i've owned this synth for about 6 months. i didn't like the sounds too much, found only few interesting. limited editing posibilities, weak filter, limited multitimbrality in performance mode (yes i know, there are well known tricks to solve the problem but then using this machine can be really frustrating).
i think there are better machines in the same price range (for example those korgs or new roland jv1010).
for sounds: basses may be fine, the same for pads and leads, drums are simply crap. they sound dull and flat. all the sounds are so 'common', nothing original. it can be advantage, but for me - it's big disadvantage.
effects are editable but it doesn't bite the fact that they are poor, especially reverbs.
it's really easy to edit, maybe even to easy ;), in few hours you can explore all the sonic possibilities of the machine.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: l0ckx
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 02-Aug-99

I love the sample...I think I might try and find one of these as a starting synth....if anyone has a better starting synth...then please email me!!! thanks

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Matt
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://dancemusic.iwarp.com
Activity: part-timer
Date: 17-Aug-99

Listening to this thing, I realize where Yamaha got all the shit they tossed in the DJX from.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: DJ-MOG
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 07-Sep-99

I HAD ONE FOR A YEAR THEN I SOLD IT.BIG MISTAKE I MISS IT LOADS.IM GOING TO GET ANOTHER THERE FUCKIN GORGEOUS!!!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Digiphallus
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 12-Oct-99

I've had this thing over two years...just when I think I've existed every possibility for it, it completely suprises me. Don't believe the miscoceptions, you CAN get some great sounds out of this, nothing that'll blow away the latest-greatest techno monsters, but they WILL impress you if you take the time to experiment with parameters. I think most people who dis it see about 10% of what is possible with it...I dunno, maybe they play with the presets a bit, tweak a few knobs, then figure that's all there is to it. There's not a whole lot of mod options, but you can get some dense sounds, and you can get every sound you want with a little work. *tip- when tweaking the AEG parameter on a layer, don't just go to the FEG parameters, tweak em, and figure that's all you can do...after FEG, go back to AEG, and on most sounds, you'll be suprised that it very noticeably keeps changing things if you keep going back and forth. For the used price you can get em at, they're a very good deal.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Nikola Baran
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://www.kovachich.com
Activity: Professional
Date: 01-May-00

U can here make some good stuff like
Analogue TB303 , AWESOME KICKS , this synth is so FAT you can feel the BASE in Your stomach.
U see , i make songs witm midi (actually it does not work) ,but i make all those great trance remixes like ATB - Till I come and KOSMONOVA - Celebrate .
Cool ... eh? The ultimate GOA MaChiNe!!!!!
Lick this synth!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: lunarwynd
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 01-May-00

Digiphallus is right on the money. Everyone talks down on this synth because it's not a VA and they're afraid of PCM. Packs a lot of power into one board at a cheap price... just no one bothers to program it. I love it for atmospheric stuff and FX. Sometimes bass. The most underated synth I've ever seen. I wouldn't try to use it multitimbrally with a sequncer. Too messy. Great board to play, though.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Jusu
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://www.jyu.fi/~juvalkon
Activity: part-timer
Date: 02-May-00

Sure, it's messy to use with an external sequencer, but if it's your only synth, it's worth it. And you get used to it. I've made lots of trance tracks with my CS1x and a SoundBlaster soundcard (I also have a Nova nowadays..). I don't really like the xg sounds, but the material voices are much more usable. The filter is simple but I like it and I use it a lot. There should be more flexibility considering the fx and the basedrums suck. Still, it's the best starter synth you can get and it offers some great performance sounds for the "pros" too.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Mike L Angelo
Email: Email supplied but hidden
~
Activity: part-timer
Date: 03-Jun-00

I use the Cs1x with an Rm1x sequencer,
and find that they're very under-rated
with my fellow musicians- even though the Rm1x has pro-seq spec-
Should I trade them in for a Yamaha
EX7: or should I stick with what I've got???

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Do not Trade,
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 03-Jun-00

NOOOOOOOO. I used to have the EX5 (for about a year). The Sequencer on the RM1x buy far blows the EX series out of the frig'n water. The snythesis on the EX is sloppy and annoyingly tricky to implement. It would be a better idea to get a midi split box and keep adding on. The only redeeming feature to the EX series is the synth action keys (really good feel). If I were you I'd save your $ and get Access Virus or a Waldorf XT or whatever tickles your fancy.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Roman Konieczny
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 17-Jul-00

I do short frases. Some patches are ideal.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Stanny P.
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://www.mp3.com/tsdp
Activity: part-timer
Date: 31-Jul-00

Agree with DG-Phallus.

Here is the story. We have had this synth for a couple of years in our studio alongside with K2K, Korg Triton ProX and EMU2K. For two years we never managed to really sequence with it and program it. It was mainly used just for strait to the track recording. Well, this way we squised some sounds outta it, but were facing limitations all over the place.

Two weeks ago, just for fun, I have taken this blue baby home to play with, hooked it to a sequencer, dowloaded the manual and fifured what all the parameters do. And guess what? After a week of hackig I was praised with the sounds that people buy Nnord Lead for (BTW I admire NL's). Fuck the XG (not literally), start tweaking the "Material Voices", hardcode with the sequencer filter moves, and you get your dream bass and leads sounds in quick and convenient way. Even with only 4 symoultaneous voices you are getting very hard and dence (dance) texture. Now pretend it is red (not blue as it is) and you got your NL1. 909 samples are really good 2.

P.S> I do not mean that anything what can be done with NL can be done with Yamaha. Of course NL allowas more control over the sound waves etc., but
if all you want are good dance bass drums and lead, CS1x is a competent instrument. When my track will be ready, I wil show you what I mean.

10x Stanny P.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Michael
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 24-Sep-00

Great synth!
I love it! It is so cute!
Only problem is 32 polyphony, but that shouldn't be a problem after I get a MC-505.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: nesrin
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://www.maxpages.com/funpokemon
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 05-Nov-00

EMERGENCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT MULTITIMBREL MEANS AND NOW FAST IF YOU TELL ME NOW YOU WILL SAVE MY LIFE THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: woodya blome
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 05-Nov-00

Its how many voices can be played simultaneously, like a piano, bass,a pad,strings etc...on separate channels.
Not to be confused with polyphony which is how many notes can be played at once,
for chords for instance, or really lush pads.
Now that I saved your life...
Read more:
http://www.borg.com/~jglatt/tutr/multi.htm

http://www.midiweb.com/info/library/whats-multitimbral.shtml
Good luck

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Tomáš Náprstek
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 25-Feb-01

Quite powerfull machine!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: maa
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 26-Feb-01

I've had my cs1x for about a year now, and I'm very satisfied with it. I don't think the sounds are as good as alot of the other "virtual analog" synths on the market, but neither is the price ;) I use it mainly as a controller for my softsynths, and consider it to be cheap even for that use. Add on to that desent sounds, and you've really got a winner!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: olafmol
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity:
Date: 26-Feb-01

the CS1x is NOT a virtual analogue..but a ROM based synth..

Olaf

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: damxes303
Email: Email supplied but hidden
www.garageband.com/damxes303
Activity: Professional
Date: 10-Jul-01

Just got hold of one these machines
secondhand 150 quid, thought it was ok ,a bit complex...
until i used cs1xedit, 100 instant random interesting sounds, choose the best 1 then randomise again. Its really cool. The sounds from the three oscillators are clean.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Oboulys
Email: Email supplied but hidden
listen.to/oboulys
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 11-Jul-01

Like, this was my first synth 3 years ago and I love it. I am so glad I bought it back then! Believe you me. I would do that deal over and over and over and over cause it has made me so happy! BEST BEGINNERS SYNTH EVER!!! (IMHO) ((Maby cept the Cs2X, he he)

Well, well. It`s featured in all my tracks so go make me sum money son:D

luv from Obo

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Philippe Landry
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 01-Dec-01

this thing sucks. sure it sounds professional, but it's just a boring dance/techno keyboard. the voices are hardly editable. it's so useless, i've lost interest in using it to it's full potential(if really has any). i've owned it for a little over a year, and in all that time i've used only one...ONE...patch on it: the Angel Strings--that's it! everything else is way too generic and commercial. my Alpha Juno 1 beats this thing anyday. DO get the CS1X if you are a fringe DJ or are making music for commercial reasons. DON'T get the CS1X if you want to experiment and tweak out crazy stuff. i'm selling this thing on Ebay real soon!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: jocke
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 05-Nov-02

hi how i get my preformers bank to cubase sx from my cs1x pleas help

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: TORRALVO
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity:
Date: 25-Nov-02

bonjour ,avez vous des midi files pour cs1x? merci. philippe.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Pils
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity:
Date: 05-Mar-03

Please help - I can't get my RS7000 sequencer to play back the MIDI info I enter into it (with the CS1x) whilst in 'Performance' mode EVEN THOUGH I can hear the 'Performance' voice while I am recording.
The Receive channel is 8 and the RS7000 is playing-back on MIDI channel 8 (I've checked and re-checked the settings !)

The CS1x is an amazing-sounding synth - there are loads of possibilities using the 'Performance' mode.
As it makes-up part of my setup, the 'limitation' of only being able to use a SINGLE performance is not applicable to me - especially when the sounds are of such a high-standard.

Many many thanks in advance for any reponses with my sequencer problem - I'm hoping that it's something easy to sort (even though it may make me look like a plank !)

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: christopher evett
Email: Email supplied but hidden
meanief
Activity: Professional
Date: 21-Mar-03

trying to get a record deal

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: jermaine
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 11-Jul-03

how do u load the patches to a program on the computer such as sonar and where do u look to find patches

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: bastiaan
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity:
Date: 12-Jul-03

Why? Why would you want to 'load' patches to Sonar? What do you mean by that. Ask it again in the synth section...this is a review section.

Patches? Start up google.

p.s. Get the tune-em-up editor from yahama...it's free...it lets you edit, save and organize patches.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Joel
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 25-Jul-09

Does anyone know how this would go out of tune, and how to fix it? recently bought one used and all notes have moved down 1/2 step. When I use the note shift or detuner to change it, chords are still out of tune. HELP!

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: hannah massey
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Jan-11

[quote] Joel wrote: Does anyone know how this would go out of
tune, and how to fix it? recently bought one used and all notes have
moved down 1/2 step. When I use the note shift or detuner to change it,
chords are still out of tune. HELP! [/quote][quote] Joel wrote:
Does anyone know how this would go out of tune, and how to fix it?
recently bought one used and all notes have moved down 1/2 step. When I
use the note shift or detuner to change it, chords are still out of
tune. HELP! [/quote]

Same thing happened to me. Have you heard back from anyone on how to fix
this?

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Last added comment

Product:  Yamaha - CS1X
Name: Jerry
Email: Email supplied but hidden
jerryrmartin.com
Activity: Professional
Date: 24-Mar-11

[quote] hannah massey wrote: [quote] Joel wrote: Does anyone know how this would go out of tune, and how to fix it? recently bought one used and all notes have moved down 1/2 step. When I use the note shift or detuner to change it, chords are still out of tune. HELP! [/quote][quote] Joel wrote: Does anyone know how this would go out of tune, and how to fix it? recently bought one used and all notes have moved down 1/2 step. When I use the note shift or detuner to change it, chords are still out of tune. HELP! [/quote]Same thing happened to me. Have you heard back from anyone on how to fix this? [/quote]

HERE'S WHAT I'D DO (SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS): TURN OFF THE SYNTH, HOLD BUTTONS 7,8 AND 9 AT THE SAME TIME, THEN WHILE HOLDING THEM, TURN THE SYNTH BACK ON. RESETS EVERYTHING TO FACTORY SETTING. HOPE THIS HELPS.

Product rating out of 5: 

Reply |  Add review/comment



Add your comments here for the product:

'Yamaha CS1X'

Looking for the manual? - Check this page above under the heading: 'Product manual or files' - We might have it!


Your Name   * required field!

Your Email   * required field! (will not be displayed)

Add your email if you want replies to any question you post - You will receive an email if someone replies!
To receive automated replies be sure to add a valid email address!

Comments   * required field! - NO weblinks allowed in this feild!

My user type is:    * required field!

Professional   Part Time   Hobbyist




Rate this product out of five:   * optional

   5 - TOTALY AWESOME POWER !!!!!...

   4 - TOTALY 'AUSTIN POWERS' !!!!....

   3 - HOT HATCHBACK POWER !!!.....

   2 - PIZZA-MOPED POWER !!......

   1 - HAMSTER/TRUNDLE-WHEEL POWER !.......

Please copy the displayed number into the box to post:

86627  

     

Note: To cut down on spammers, cookies must be enabled to post comments to this page.



Looking for the manual? - Check this page above under the heading: 'Product manual or files' - We might have it!



 [back to top]

1: No good!
2: Average!
3: Great stuff!
4: Excellent!
5: Awesome!
Rate this product!
  • Currently 3.9 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Currently: 3.9/5 | 77%

Total stars: 298  |  Total votes: 77

Read 76 comments
Add review/comment 

161 other
products from
Yamaha








Thomann deals

Help support the site & the users music space - Buy via our affiliate store. One fixed price delivery for most items!