"Please allow me to introduce myself..."
2005-08-17 by Pianoman Tim
Greetings. (sorry this gets a little lengthy, I'm not usually so long-winded...) I just heard about this group from someone on the Rhodes Chroma list, so I had to come join in and check it out. I've been working my way through the message archives and finding some most interesting reading. It was 1979, I was fresh out of Berklee and trying to start up my own band when I saw the CS-80 on the floor of a local music shop. As you all know, it was love at first sight and I knew I had to have one. Never mind that I didn't have a steady job... and drove a VW. Anyway, the gods must have smiled upon me because it wasn't long before we were shoehorn-ing that 100kg beast into the back seat of the VW (it barely fit!!) and driving it home. We got my band going, playing for audiences mainly in Minnesota but also travelling as far north as Calgary, AB and west out to Salt Lake City and Billings, MT. We were writing our own originals of course, and our cover repertoire consisted of the music of ELP, Crimson, Jean-Luc Ponty, Gentle Giant, UK, Gary Numan, Rush, Pink Floyd, etc. We got fired from our first gig down in Mason City , Iowa... the owner said "I wanted a rock band. You guys are a f****** orchestra!" Fast forward 25 years... since we never bcame the international rock stars we all imagined, I ended up doing digital pre-press for a printing company and my CS-80 (Serial #1512) sat in it's Anvil case in the basement unused and neglected. Our drummer (and my Berklee roommate) had an idea a year ago to put together a one-night stand reunion gig for us all to play at his wife's surprise 50th b-day party. We were all up for it, but the CS-80 was not. Barely playable, four voices out completely. I took it in to have it calibrated and restored in April of this year, and just got it back barely in time for the surprise party in August. My local technician here did an AMAZING job of it... doing component-level replacement of the trim pots and replacing a few op-amps and spending what must have been a lot of time on it. When I finally got it back, I couldn't believe my ears. It's the absolute best it's ever sounded, even when it was new. The tuning is so sweet and even. Where I had once considered putting it out on eBay, now I can't even think of it. It's like falling in love all over again, and I'm reminded why I've always considered CS-80 the "King of Instruments" (no offense to pipe organ enthusiasts). Anyway, glad to be here, and join in the conversation and hopefully learn a few things. -Tim S. <Minneapolis>