Yamaha CS80

Speaking about pedals, I like the way I can control vibrato-depth on
my Oberheims with a footpedal. I know, the CS80 has aftertouch to act
as a source for vibrato-depth but I find it difficult to use this on
chords.

I was thinking, there is an external input for the sub oscillator.
What if I take a sine-wave and use a cv-pedal to control the
amplitude of that wave (using a modular synth's oscillator and vca)
and feed it to the sub-osc ? Can I control vibrato-depth ? Does
anybody know what the maximum voltage is that may be fed into this
input ?

Why did Yamaha implement this external source ? Did they have a foot-
pedal available that provided a controllable sine-wave ? I never use
any pedals with the CS80 but if it could control vibrato-depth I
would use all the time ;-)

And I have another question concerning the portamento: when I set the
portamento-time to long I notice this has effect the ribbon too. When
you slide your finger across the ribbon and let go, the pitch goes
back to it's origin in portamento-style. Is this normal

Concerning the detune slider. My CS80's are tuned extremely tight.
When I set the slider at zero, there's allmost no beating between the
channels (I like that). To set a usable detune, I have to adjust the
slider just a little bit. I can't understand why Yamaha gave this
slider this wide range.

Well, all those questions. Still, the CS80 is my favorite synth. I
discover new sounds all the time. I'm now into the 2 channels detuned
sawwaves, the CS80 can compete with the Oberheims on these sounds.

Just tried to feed a sine-wave from an ARP2600 into the sub-osc-external-in on the back of the CS80. I controlled the amplitude of the sinewave by controlling the APR's VCA with a cv-pedal. That works very good for Oberheim-type of vibrato's.
I tried 2 settings:
+/- 40mV
+/- 400mV
and both work great by adjusting the external-in-knob on the back.

It would be nice to replace my 2600 for a foot-pedal with that function ;-) It would require an active (battery-power) pedal with adjustable speed. Does such a pedal exist ?

--- In yamahacs80@yahoogroups.com, "erikfromhere" <moogsynthex@...> wrote:
>
> Speaking about pedals, I like the way I can control vibrato-depth on
> my Oberheims with a footpedal. I know, the CS80 has aftertouch to act
> as a source for vibrato-depth but I find it difficult to use this on
> chords.
>
> I was thinking, there is an external input for the sub oscillator.
> What if I take a sine-wave and use a cv-pedal to control the
> amplitude of that wave (using a modular synth's oscillator and vca)
> and feed it to the sub-osc ? Can I control vibrato-depth ? Does
> anybody know what the maximum voltage is that may be fed into this
> input ?
>
> Why did Yamaha implement this external source ? Did they have a foot-
> pedal available that provided a controllable sine-wave ? I never use
> any pedals with the CS80 but if it could control vibrato-depth I
> would use all the time ;-)
>

The Korg MS-04 pedal might be what you are looking for. It works with a 9V
DC or battery and belongs to the vintage MS-02/10/20/50 family. It is
amazingly solid and very flexible.
If you really want to replace your 2600, send it to me and I`ll send you
my MS-04 in exchange... (c:

Regards,
Paul.

> Just tried to feed a sine-wave from an ARP2600 into the
> sub-osc-external-in on the back of the CS80. I controlled the amplitude of
> the sinewave by controlling the APR's VCA with a cv-pedal. That works very
> good for Oberheim-type of vibrato's.
> I tried 2 settings:
> +/- 40mV
> +/- 400mV
> and both work great by adjusting the external-in-knob on the back.
>
> It would be nice to replace my 2600 for a foot-pedal with that function
> ;-) It would require an active (battery-power) pedal with adjustable
> speed. Does such a pedal exist ?
>
>

Thanks. However, the korg MS-04 seems to be an expensive solution I'm afraid.
Maybe it makes sense to install a modification on the CS80:
Changing the external-in jack from an input to a situation that it sends out a copy of the sine-subosc-wave. Connecting a cheap, passive pedal (Tip-Sleeve, just with a resistor in it) makes it possible to control the depth of this signal by feet while changing speed by applying aftertouch. I guess this is a simple mod for those who practice electronics.

Or am I thinking to simple. Maybe you'll have to install an opamp that is fed by the sine-wave to achieve this and control the amplification of this opamp with the pedal ?

--- In yamahacs80@yahoogroups.com, "Vorderwinkler Karl" <karl.vorderwinkler@...> wrote:
>
> The Korg MS-04 pedal might be what you are looking for. It works with a 9V
> DC or battery and belongs to the vintage MS-02/10/20/50 family. It is
> amazingly solid and very flexible.
> If you really want to replace your 2600, send it to me and I`ll send you
> my MS-04 in exchange... (c:
>
> Regards,
> Paul.
>
>
> > Just tried to feed a sine-wave from an ARP2600 into the
> > sub-osc-external-in on the back of the CS80. I controlled the amplitude of
> > the sinewave by controlling the APR's VCA with a cv-pedal. That works very
> > good for Oberheim-type of vibrato's.
> > I tried 2 settings:
> > +/- 40mV
> > +/- 400mV
> > and both work great by adjusting the external-in-knob on the back.
> >
> > It would be nice to replace my 2600 for a foot-pedal with that function
> > ;-) It would require an active (battery-power) pedal with adjustable
> > speed. Does such a pedal exist ?
> >
> >
>

Hi all,

Quite some time ago, I discussed the idea of doing something useful with the external input of the CS80. So I came with an idea to build me an LFO module. With help from a friend I designed the module and I made one myself and ordered / manufactured some extra parts to build some more of these units. I invite you to have a look at my website www.lfo-expander.com
I'm planning to build some more units and sell them to people interested. I have parts for max 20 units to give you an idea. It's not ready for sale yet (have to do some work and have to find time).
I'm very curious about what you think about the idea.

--- In yamahacs80@yahoogroups.com, "erikfromhere" <moogsynthex@...> wrote:
> >
> > Speaking about pedals, I like the way I can control vibrato-depth on
> > my Oberheims with a footpedal. I know, the CS80 has aftertouch to act
> > as a source for vibrato-depth but I find it difficult to use this on
> > chords.
> >
> > I was thinking, there is an external input for the sub oscillator.
> > What if I take a sine-wave and use a cv-pedal to control the
> > amplitude of that wave (using a modular synth's oscillator and vca)
> > and feed it to the sub-osc ? Can I control vibrato-depth ? Does
> > anybody know what the maximum voltage is that may be fed into this
> > input ?
> >
> > Why did Yamaha implement this external source ? Did they have a foot-
> > pedal available that provided a controllable sine-wave ? I never use
> > any pedals with the CS80 but if it could control vibrato-depth I
> > would use all the time ;-)
> >
>

Great job!

I couldn't find one very uninteresting and not at all important
information: the price :-)

Daniel Forro

On 27 Jul 2010, at 7:37 PM, erikfromhere wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Quite some time ago, I discussed the idea of doing something useful
> with the external input of the CS80. So I came with an idea to
> build me an LFO module. With help from a friend I designed the
> module and I made one myself and ordered / manufactured some extra
> parts to build some more of these units. I invite you to have a
> look at my website www.lfo-expander.com
> I'm planning to build some more units and sell them to people
> interested. I have parts for max 20 units to give you an idea. It's
> not ready for sale yet (have to do some work and have to find time).
> I'm very curious about what you think about the idea.