Synthesizers

In a rare interview, legendary composer Vangelis shares his thoughts on the role of synthesizers in music — including his beloved Yamaha CS80.

Yamaha's seriously capable MODX is a Montage for the masses.

As its name implies, the Montage combines multiple technologies within a single, powerful instrument. But does it have what it takes to be the market leader Yamaha want it to be?

Yamaha’s Reface range recreates four of their classic instruments in miniature form.

Yamaha’s MOX range offers unusually tight integration with your DAW. Is this the way forward for synthesizer workstations?

Yamaha's long-lived Motif range continues to go from strength to strength. Could the latest model be the best Motif yet?

Yamaha's Motif range has proved to be both popular and enduring — so is the latest incarnation, the Rack XS, your cue to join the Motif party?

The new Motif XS range is top of the pile when it comes to Yamaha synth workstation technology, and thus will be going head-to-head with flagship contenders from other big-name manufacturers. Does the XS have what it takes?

Looking to create a more affordable keyboard version of their Motif range of workstations, Yamaha have pared back the spec of the Motif ES a little — though not much — to create the M06 and M08.

Yamaha's original Motif Rack was a fine-sounding, well-specified synth module, but it suffered from MIDI timing problems when reviewed in SOS. Two years on, we put the follow-up Motif Rack ES to the test...

Two and a half years after the launch of Yamaha's impressive Motif workstation synth, the range has been further enhanced and upgraded. How much better can it get? We find out...

Yamaha have taken a weighted keyboard from their latest digital pianos, added high-quality piano samples and Motif sounds, and thrown in a playback sequencer and arpeggiator, and master-keyboard facilities. Left to simmer, the S90 is the result...

It seems simple enough — take the successful Motif workstation, remove the keyboard, and release it as a more affordable rack unit. But there's lots more to the Motif Rack than meets the eye...

Finding an affordable keyboard with a good weighted action and a healthy selection of sounds suitable for studio and live use isn't as easy as you might think. Could Yamaha's S08 be the Holy Grail?

In the second instalment of this two-part retro, Gordon Reid recalls FM's finest hour, and describes the heyday of what was perhaps the most successful family of synthesizers ever developed.

In these days of virtual instruments and fully featured software sequencers, why should you even consider spending £2000 on a cumbersome hardware synth workstation? If the workstation is as well thought-out as Yamaha's new Motif, perhaps you should.

Rumours of a new Yamaha synth were circulating at January's NAMM show, but nothing was confirmed until a few weeks later, when SOS were invited to Yamaha's London R&D Centre. Matt Bell meets the Motif...

The CS6X has more features than any previous Yamaha Control Synth, with plenty of polyphony, real-time controllers, onboard effects, and basic sampling. You can even fit PLG expansion cards, giving you access not only to fresh sounds, but also other forms of synthesis.

FM synthesis was the success story of the mid-'80s, and synth based on its principles, like Yamaha's DX7, sold by the bucketload — until affordable sample-based synths arrived at the end of the decade. Now, with their new FS1R, Yamaha have updated the technology for the late '90s.

Two of Yamaha's most recent products, the MU50 synth module and the CBX-K1 mini keyboard, are designed to compliment each other as the nucleus of a budget, GM-compatible music-making setup.. Paul Nagle evaluates the pair, and considers the potentially confusing role of Yamaha's XG MIDI format...

Is 'physical modelling' set to become the buzz-phrase of '90s synthesis? Martin Russ exclusively tests out Yamaha's innovative new synth and reveals all...