Saving the Yamaha CS-80 (6) SH Sample and Hold Module

A series of videos showing the ground up restoration of my ailing CS-80. Working CS-80's are playing music on borrowed time as their 70's era MOS, armadda's of deteriorating digital ICs and leaky electrolytic capacitors take their toll on these grand machines. This video covers restoration of the SH (sample and hold) control board. Parts used in each video are available in kits on ebay. Each kit covers a particular module in the CS-80 so other people can restore their vintage synth. Music is a CS-80 is from the great animated "Starchaser" movie soundtrack.

Somebody doesn't like these videos? Am I doing something incorrect? Need to produce more technical detail? Let me know and will try to make them better. My own tired monotonic voice expresses a wafer thin reality of audio frustration. But I still try to repair important things. CS-80 is the best synthesizer. ARP + Jupiter can stay too.

When I am long gone..... best sounding apparatus shall prove victory.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Yamaha
• CS-80
• CS80
• Vintage
• Synthesizer
• Repair
• Rebuild
• Sample
• Hold
• Gavin
• Curtis

[luciangabriel95]

Hi.I want more vids...do you have more?

You are great

[gavincurtis]

@luciangabriel95 Someday soon! Keyboard pressure transducers video soon.

[fourbarposer]

Uhmm... Have these mods (dif type of caps and even values) been approved by golden ears synthesist to not change the "soul" of the instrument? More stability could translate into "more static and boring". If it was any other synth I wouldn't care as much to come and comment on your repairs but this really is special synth and who knows what exactly makes it special - since the people making synths since haven't been able to get the qualities of this one into theirs!

[gavincurtis]

@fourbarposer And just in case, all removed parts are organized/saved in order to put everything back to before.

[ezquimal]

when can see a video with you playing this instruments?

[gavincurtis]

@ezquimal video of me playing is now on youtube.

[gavincurtis]

Stability should be a working synth. I am replacing rotted capacitors in the power supply and in all digital timing and pulse generator circuits which need to be stable (as intended). The etheric magic of this machine is from the 16 independent oscillators that will NOT be modified. But temperature and transport stability will be improved. My CS80 will not become a digital brick as some seem to think.

[backindauk]

@hartleytransform

Hey there,

I'm working on a CS60 at the moment and it intermittently has the same problem. I'll debug and if you send me a message i will reply with the detail.

[hartleytransform]

@gavincurtis Hi Gavin, I've a CS60 which is working pretty well except for one problem. It's stuck on Sustain II mode even when the switch is moved to sustain I. (ie, the note stealing is permanently on). Apart from the switch itself which I think is fine, could you suggest what else can be checked to see why it's stuck in Sustain II mode?

[gavincurtis]

@ezquimal Next video where I rebuild the KAS board I get the lower 2 octaves working and I play.

Editing that video but editing computer failed. Video will be here soon.

[jonathan401]

@gavincurtis ..otherwise known as a 'solder sucker'