[sdiy] Yamaha CS-60 issues

[Mattias Rickardsson]

On Tue, 6 Oct 2020 at 16:13, Michael E Caloroso <mec.forumreader at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Not planned obsolescence?
>
> When's the last time anyone has contacted Yamaha for data sheets on
> the custom ICs, with the hope to replicate them using modern
> technology?
>
> They don't have them.  They're gone.
>
> Why?  Back in the 1990s, Yamaha destroyed their spare stock of custom
> ICs and their data sheets. They could had auctioned them off, could
> have digitally scanned the data sheets for perpetuity.
>
> But no, they DESTROYED them.  Gone forever.
>

That's terrible. :'-(


> I respect intellectual property, but as a consumer this disposition
> makes me very reluctant to buy Yamaha products with the very real
> concern that they will have a short life and spare parts will not be
> available for repair.
>
> Yes I am well aware that custom parts are all over in modern devices
> and that warehousing spare parts is expensive.  But destroying crucial
> info on the technology of the custom parts crosses the line.
>
> PMI destroyed crucial info on the SSM parts.  The much-loved SSM2040
> was hailed as the best sounding VCF-on-a-chip.  Are they gone forever?
>  Not while the original designer - Dave Rossum - is still around, and
> he was part of the design group for the new SSI2140 VCF.
>
> There is a big demand to keep old gear running.  Rossum shares this
> passion.  Yamaha doesn't.  Sure, Yamaha has been teasing about a CS-80
> reissue... for YEARS.  Maybe their disposal of crucial tech info on
> those custom parts is hindering their efforts?
>
> Still dispute the planned obsolescence label?
>

Sorry, I don't want a debate around this, but... yes?

The discussion was about Yamaha using proprietary chips, and Roland & Korg
too. If Yamaha destroys crucial info on their outdated ICs in the 1990s,
after their success with digital synths, I don't see how this proves that
their *introduction* of the analog ICs in the 1970s was planned
obsolescence. And even less how it proves Roland's and Korg's planned
obsolescence.

Btw, the Wikipedia article about Yamaha mentions "semiconductors" as a
product range starting in 1971. Was this for the musical instruments, or
did they start by making semiconductors for something else? If they already
had in-house semiconductor manufacturing, perhaps that explains why they
made their own chips even for some almost trivial tasks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_Corporation

Open up an early Yamaha analog synth and inspect the electrolytic
> bypass caps.  The original caps on the 15 volt rails were rated at >16
> volts<.  Anyone who has been in EE classes knows that the decades old
> design convention is to spec maximum voltage ratings at DOUBLE the
> supply rail.
>
> Any design that underspecs the components is destined to fail.  This
> doesn't fall under intellectual property.  This is planned
> obsolescence and it was intentional.  When I see that kind of poor
> quality in a product, I refuse to patronize that company.
>
> Yamaha is hardly alone... I see inferior designs from many countries,
> including the US.
>

I'm sorry to hear of your bad experience with Yamaha. I have just had some
occasional experiences with their products from various categories, and
generally my feeling has been that they stand out by including more
professional features in their CS synths (connectivity, live-friendliness,
superior keybeds), and by diving into fascinating new concepts that end up
in commercial flagship products (GX1, GS1, DX1, VL1, FS1 (I wish)). In
retrospect their synths and drummachines often haven't been the coolest and
most influential, but overall their products within hifi and musical
instruments often have quite odd design and unexpected features giving me
the feeling that they haven't been cost-optimizing like most competitors,
giving me a more serious impression.

In the late '90s when my CS-50 needed some hard love, I contacted Yamaha's
Swedish service office, and they were very helpful and supplied knobs,
slider caps of different colors, and a wonderful original service manual.
Btw, their documentation is extremely nice compared to all other 50+ synth
makers I've ever seen schematics and service manuals from!

But what do I know? Maybe Torakusu-san has been tricking us since 1887. :-)

/mr
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