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Yamaha CS80

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Re:Cheer up, Guys !

2009-06-01 by zaum

Fun and impressive from such a simple instrument.

Just to tease you a bit, the SX-150 is actually made in China, though  
it is a Japanese design that comes semi-assembled with a $30 "Science  
for Adults" magazine. (well it's not really an "Adult" magazine,  
ahem... it's just written on a layman's level rather than a kids level)

There are a bunch of higher end Japanese magazines that come with  
kits or collectables inside, though the one it comes in takes the  
prize with other issues containing things like a dollhouse sized  
working  Theremin or a mechanical Edison style recording phonograph  
that uses coffee cups, One good part is that the "gift" tends to be  
good enough that bookstores keep them until they sell unlike typical  
magazines.

  Tomita, a CS-80 user (but I fear he might have sold his to make  
room in his studio) is in the magazine.

The magazine has many neat rare synth pictures but conspicuously  
absent is the Paia Gnome. While not a direct copy I'd call the SX-150  
a "lite" version of the Paia Gnome since it is more a synth than the  
better known Stylophone, which it also resembles. Paia of course is  
still in business.

While I've not confirmed it, I suspect the SX-150 has the highest  
number manufactured of any analog synth in history.

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