Synthfind

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I bought this brand new back in the mid 1970′s and has given me years of dependable use. It comes with the original instruction book in vg condition. It does not have the legs, volume pedal (volume is also controlled on the unit itself) or music stand. But this is how I always used it because I would stack it with other keyboards when I played. This unit functions well and the sound is absolutely like new. The keys all work as do all the controls. Three of the slider controls are missing the caps but the sliders are fully intact and all move easily. It was also opened up recently (1/13/12) and the power supply module was found to be slightly loose. It was re-secured as was one loose wire (re-soldered). All interior electronic components are intact and in very good condition. This synth overall is in good, used condition. There are some scratches on the opened face of the unit but it is presentable. Because this is over 30 years old and used I cannot warranty against possible future problems but unlike most if not all of today’s keyboards, this unit keyboard and control panel is hinged and the components are all easily accessible . Also the case is made of wood, not plastic and has weight to it (70 lbs with case closed). The case also has some scratches and wear and the vinyl covering over the wood on the case cover has separated slightly at one seam.” Link

“Der Yamaha CS 50 ist die kleine Ausgabe der größeren Brüder, des Yamaha CS 80. Wer den Sound sucht,kommt nicht um ihn herum,es sei den er würde 10000 euro für den CS 80 ausgeben,sofern er überhaupt einen findet!

Durch den Aftertouch,der gleichzeitig 4 Ziele modulieren kann,ist absolut emotionales Spielen möglich !!!Der CS 50 klingt wie ein richtiges Instrument!

Durch die Schwebung der voll analogen Oszillatoren entsteht ein warmer einzigartiger Klang,der mit keinem anderen Synthesizer außer den CS50-60-80 zu erzeugen ist!!!

Der CS 50 sieht aus als wäre er gerade 1 Jahr alt, TopZustand…Ein Musseumsstück,was so nicht mehr zu fnden sein dürfte…

Die Verarbeitung des Synthesizers ist über jeden Zweifel erhaben! Ein richtiges Instrument….

Der Koffer sowie die 4 Standfüssen sind dabei!!” Link

“This CS-50 is in excellent condition, save for some light marks on the front panel. The synth received a recent voice calibration service at Switched On Music Electronics. It works 100% and sounds fantastic. The lid is included.” Link

“I am selling an incomplete Yamaha CS50 synthesizer. All components are in good working condtion and the synth is in excellent cosmetic condition, including the tolex. If you need to make your CS-50 sexier, this one is sexy. It does not come with the voice cards, the KAS or PRA board, the touch response or keybed, the legs, the six way LFO selector switch, one lid latch, the tuning pot, four of the chrome corner protectors, or the battery door. Thats all thats missing out of this once working synthesizer. Yes, the auction does include the lid, all of the keys, a rebuilt Sample and Hold board, the power supply, ALL of the sliders except for 3, ALL of the slider caps except for 4 or 5, and a whole lot more. This is a very good deal for all these parts. ” Link

“This unit has been in storage and not used for the past 13 years. I powered the unit up and all keys work. The unit is in beautiful cosmetic condition. This particular synth is serial #2423, making it a later model with the factory tuning stability modification that came after #1500 or so. ” Link

“I am selling an incomplete Yamaha CS50 synthesizer. All components are in good working condtion. It does not come with the voice cards, the KAS or PRA board, the touch response or keybed, the legs, the six way LFO selector switch, the tuning pot, four of the chrome corner protectors, or the battery door. Thats all thats missing out of this once working synthesizer. Yes, the auction does include the lid for the case, all of the keys, a rebuilt Sample and Hold board, the power supply, ALL of the sliders except for 3, ALL of the slider caps except for 4 or 5, and a whole lot more. This is a very good deal for all these parts.” Link

“I am selling my Yamaha CS-50 keyboard. I am going to regret this because it was extremely hard for me to find one. I bought this one and it needed to be calibrated. I attempted to calibrate it aaaand I made it worse. Way worse. I didnt have a poly synth in my setup so I bought one of these because Page McConnell, of Phish, uses one but this wasn’t actually the sound that I was looking for. I already have a Clavinet and a minimoog soooo, I kind of gave up prematurely on trying to calibrate it. I ended up buying a prophet 08 instead. Its awesome.

Anyway, everything is in working order on the CS-50. In the pictures, the gray slider cap on the far right is missing (the slider and stem is still present). I bought a replacement gray slider cap and am waiting for it in the mail. I will put it on before I ship the keyboard. The CS-50 comes with the lid and music stand, but no legs. It is in very very very very nice cosmetic condition. There are just a few small nicks in the tolex case, but besides that the keyboard doesnt have a scratch on it

I know one day when I have more money to put towards keyboards I am going to want a CS-50 again and I’m going to hate myself for selling this one because they are so hard to find. SO if you are reading this and are a CS-50 tech that lives near me, I am interested in seeing if I could pay you to calibrate this thing for me. Im pretty sure I could sell a few organs then to keep the CS-50 and my prophet 08. ” Link

“You are bidding on one (1) YAMAHA CS-50 VINTAGE ANALOG SYNTHESIZER BABY CS-80

This is the CS-10 on a budget. It features the same VCO’s as the CS-80 and produces the same sound.

This item is previously used. It is cosmetically in fair condition. There are some small dings on the edges; a few buttons/knobs have more wear than others. There is a missing knob on one of the sliders (the lower left-most slider), and we also noticed some hairline cracks in that general area (see photos).

In addition, one screw (underneath) won’t stay in place (see photo); we think this screw is the one that anchors down the near right side corner of the synthesizer (so as a result, that particular corner is slightly loose)” Link

“I PURCHASED THIS ITEM AT A LOCAL ESTATE AUCTION.
I AM NOT A MUSICIAN AND DO NOT HAVE A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THIS ITEM.

THE COSMETIC CONDITION IS GOOD WITH A FEW MINOR DINGS.
THE TOLEX IS IN NICE SHAPE WITH NO TEARS OR HOLES.
ALL THE SWITCHES/SLIDERS/CONTROLS ARE INTACT AND TIGHT.
ALL THE KEYS FEEL GOOD AND RETURN PROMPTLY.
IT DOES POWER-ON AND DOES PRODUCE SOUND.
HOWEVER, THE SOUND TO ME SEEMS TO BE A BIT GARBLED.
THERE ARE NO LEGS OR PEDAL.
I TOOK PICTURES OF THE INSIDE – TOP IS HINGED AND EASILY OPENED.
INSIDE IS VERY CLEAN AND APPEARS ALL ORIGINAL.
NOTE MISSING HINGE ON CASE (see last picture).
THIS ITEM IS SELLING “AS IS” AS I FOUND IT.” Link

“Highly sought after Yamaha CS50 in superb condition and 100% perfect working order, complete with original legs, case top and music stand.

These are undoubtably one of the most amazing sounding synths that money can buy, if you’ve ever played one you’ll know that. They just have such a unique sound, highly expressive and responsive thanks to the superb keyboard with aftertouch which can control many functions. It’s just so hard to get bored of this synth. The only reason I can bear to sell this is that I also own a CS60, I need to re-claim so space so I can’t justify having both any longer.

I have owned the CS50 for the last 16 years and in that time it’s only been used occassionally in my home studio. I bought it from the original owner who had himself only used the synth in his living room from new, so it’s never been gigged or abused in anyway whatsoever. When I bought the synth I had it serviced just out of courtesy to the beast. I can honestly say it’s never missed a beat and the tuning is and always has been rock solid and stable, a testament to the fact that it’s been treasured all it’s life.” Link

”

Rare and unusual (working) Yamaha CS 50 four note polyphonic analogue synth from the mid 1970s. This comes complete with it’s own 4 legged stand which unscrews and fits neatly into the hard case lid. A younger sibling of the classic CS 80, this synth definitely has some magical qualities of it’s own. The ring modulator is capable of producing some of the most lusciously weird and wonderful sound effects you could hope for. There is also an external input although the gain control seems to be broken/ stuck – I had some success with a drum machine but I think you have to press a note down to make it work and not every sound source has worked well. As I don’t have a manual for this I’m not sure exactly how to get the most out of it.

The main problem with this, and one that I understand is the case with these synths in general, is in the instability of the tuning. It is possible (I have had some success) to sample sounds then play them back digitally. It seems variable – on a good day it will hold it’s tune better than others, although it always seems to wobble off key randomly eventually – it then tends to go back into pitch, so a momentary wobble of pitch seems the best description! It works better when left switched on for a while first to warm up.

The instrument is in remarkably good condition for it’s age. There is one fader which seems slightly bent/scratched and odd bits of the fake wood veneer are starting to get a little worn at the edges but as you can see from the photos it isn’t too bad at all. I have owned this for 8 years and have found it very useful for special effects – it is very reminiscent of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop output from the 1970s (Dr Who etc) and the slight wobbles in pitch can sometimes be charming. The filters have an amazing smoothness to them which you don’t seem to get on many later analogue synths. It is however fairly big (email for precise dimensions) and heavyish (100 pounds or 40kg) so local pick up from near Norwich is the only option.” Link

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime auction. I have TWO Yamaha CS-50 Analog synthesizers! Vintage 1979 awesomeness. The serial numbers are #2650, and #2655. These synths are rare enough on their own, but to have 2 of them together, I’ve never seen it. I had the one and on tour found the 2nd in a pawn shop… I snatched it up. Between the two you should have all the parts needed to keep a synth running for years and years. The possibilities are endless, and the security of having parts for a rare synth like this is pretty much priceless. (however I HAVE set a price, LOL.)

I also have a PDF of the manual for these and will gladly email it to the winner of this auction.

Synth 1. Is fully-working. It sounds amazing. This synth has been on the road a bit and shows lots of scuffs on the case. The synth has some duct tape residue on the fake wood paneling, and a ding on the filter control panel. Neither of these affect the playability or function of this synth. The output section on the back has loose screws, and the knob for adjusting the external level is missing (still works, just no plastic cap). Cosmetically this thing is probably a 6.5-7 out of 10… Sound-wise it’s a 10.

Synth 2. This one powers on, but does not play as such. Holding a key down produces a tone, but a weak one, and it’s the same tone for any key pushed. There are very few cosmetic flaws on this one. Cosmetically I’d go 9.5. out of 10. Sound-wise I’d say 2 out of 10. (the fact that it powers up and produces tones must count for something).

I have held on to these for years and never thought I would part with them. I’ve got a young family, and will be moving cross-country next Spring. It’s just time to let them go.

These things are heavy and large. Most specs you find online say 110lbs EACH. I am not offering shipping on these. I will work with you if you want to arrange shipping on your own. I will also consider delivering them within a 500 mile radius for gas and a hotel room. ” Link

“Up for sale, Yamaha CS-50 analog synthesizer. Very clean, tuned, no scratchy sliders, its one of the best examples I have seen. Beside a very minor scratch on the bottom left hand side (under sub-oscillator writing) the faceplate is in excellent condition. All functions working 100%, awesome ring modulator, like the one found on the legendary CS-80, beautiful filters, great action keyboard with velocity and aftertouch. Comes with stand-legs, and cover.” Link

“Up for auction is my old Yamaha CS-50, which I bought second-hand about 12 years ago in Denmark Street. I’m a guitarist/songwriter who has occasionally dabbled with old analogue synths (I have a few, some of which may also need to be sold soon so keep watching…) so for all those years it has only been used (rarely) in the studio, and never gigged. I plugged it in recently and went through the controls and all seems in order. Generally it is in great condition. The case has a few marks as you’d expect for an instrument of this age, but nothing serious. I’m not sure, but maybe someone before me painted the case black (it’s a bit glossy, not the matt kind of tolex you’d expect to see on a instrument case..) whether this is original finish or not I’m not really sure but it does not look bad.

The rest of the keyboard is in excellent, no-scratches, condition. See photos… One thing is, at some point I took the screw fixings off the bottom, the bits of metal where the legs screw in… I put them somewhere safe, and now I can’t find them! But I will keep looking and replace them if I find them. Or, if they turn up at a later date, I will forward them at no extra cost. The legs are there, stored in the top of the case.” Link

“Up for sale, Yamaha CS-50 analog synthesizer. Very clean, tuned, no scratchy sliders, its one of the best examples I have seen. Beside a very minor scratch on the bottom left hand side (under sub-oscillator writing) the faceplate is in great condition. All functions working 100%, awesome ring modulator same one found on the legendary CS-80, beautiful filters, great action keyboard with velocity and aftertouch. Comes with stand-legs, and cover.” Link

“Vintage Yamaha CS-50 Synth in good condition with original owners manual. Everything works and no modifications have been done to my knowledge. Sounds great. I don’t believe it has ever been in the shop, so it may need a tune up, but I’m not a synth expert so it sounds good enough for me. I’ve owned this for 10 years or more and haven’t had a problem.”
Link

“Excellent condition !! Comes with the original legs and the original music book stand BACK EXTERNAL VOLUME KNOB IS A LITTLE CROOKED NO PROBLEM STILL WORKS PERFECT. This baby sounds and looks great !!
THE CONDITION IS PRISTINE CONDITION AS FAR AS THE SYNTHESIZER ITSELF.On the other hand as far as the outside suit case has normal wear,but what one would expect for a suitcase.
Has been in climate control storage with no problems at all. ” Link

“A fantastic vintage 1976 Yamaha CS-50 polyphonic Synthesizer.

I have played a few synths in my time. Jen, Korg, Roland, Casio, Oberheimer. I was very surprised how easy the CS-50 is to play. It has a great keyboard action, just like the modern Yamaha
’s. Nice warm presets with big switches for fast sound changes. Great real-time tweaking with waveform, envelopes etc. it has a very funky touch response. Easy octave changer, portamento, modulation, everything you need for pads and especially solos. It’s a proper synth for serious musos, looks and sounds great. Comes complete with stand which is fitted into the lid of it’s flight case. All the controls are in perfect working order.

There are a few minor faults.

1. One of the slider tops is missing but the slider works as normal.

2. The catch on the cable box underneath is not locking I think it
’s stuck in.

3. No user manual but this can be found online.

4. The foot controller was not included in the case when I got it, but my yamaha sustain pedal works with it. These are easy to buy.

Apart from these things it is in good condition for a synth of it
’s age. Pick-up only or you can arrange your own courier.” Link

“You are bidding one (1) BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE YAMAHA CS-50 POLYPHONIC SYNTHESIZER. This is an estate find, and when I got to the house, this unit was set up and someone was playing it, it sounded good, and was connected to a large amp. I asked the seller if everything worked, and he said “yup”, so I bought it (paid a fair chunk of change for it), thinking it was an electric keyboard or organ. I came home and began to research it, and found that I was close in my thinking, though I found out it was actually a synthesizer. Had I known this, I would have spent a lot more time asking for a demonstration, and asked a lot more questions. I don’t have an amp, so when I got home I set it up and plugged my headphones in to it, and began to experiment. Please be clear, I am not a musician, and I have absolutely no experience with musical instruments. I was able to effect the change in the sound, adjust dials and push keys to get the effects that were indicated, though I really did not understand what I was doing, nor how this unit is truly supposed to operate. I will tell you that cosmetically it is in very nice shape with all keys and knobs in tact, the piano keys are in nice shape, the case is in nice shape with the normal scuffs you would expect from a heavy item being carted around. The legs are in good shape as well. I downloaded the manual for this (included in this auction), and found that I am missing the foot controller (expression pedal), and the leg braces (which by the way the legs store nicely and securely in to the lid).” Link

“This beast is a classic, but be warned, while it does make some astonishing sounds, i don’t believe it is working correctly, some of the voices seem ok but some don’t work.

When switched to synth (or panel) things get very strange, none of the classic results of ADSR etc seem to work as you would expect.

As you see in the photos, it’s cosmetically in excellent conditon, as it has a built in flight case.

buyer collects (100 lb) i’m afraid, unless you want to sort collection etc.” Link

“Yamaha CS-50 Vintage Analog Synthesizer. This is the second cs50 i have listed recently on ebay. This unit DOES turn on and DOES produce sounds, but will still probably need to see a tech to be 100%. ALL 4 VOICES WORK, but on most presets 2 voices are a good nice volume, one is slightly lower volume, and the last is very faint, but still there. On further testing the electric piano, guitar 2, funky 1 & funky 2 presets did not seem to have that problem and all voices sounded nice. It may be a quick adjustment or may be something more, i am really not sure. This thing has a great full analog sound and would make a great addition to a studio or some of its parts can possibly be used to keep a cs 60 or cs 80 going. Includes the sheet music stand, pedal, and original manuals.” Link

” Up for auction is a non working yamaha cs50 that may possibly be used for parts or repair. Synth appears to be about complete, but is missing the legs, and sheet music stand, and no manual is included. Item is NOT WORKING and is sold AS IS.” Link

“Yamaha CS-50 synthesizer in fantastic condition for sale. With original manual and pedal, but no legs. Asking $1600 This is a fairly heavy and bulky item so local pickup would be preferable, but the buyer can pay for shipping if it’s too far for pickup.” Link

“Wow, this synthesizer looks and sounds killer! A great way to get that classic Vangelis Bladerunner sound without dropping $10,000 on a CS-80, all in a much more manageable 80 lb. package!

High Serial Number with Tuning Stability Mod, complete with Extra Voice Card, Top Lid, Chrome Legs, Braces, and Music Stand!

Here is a very clean example of the rare and hard to find Yamaha CS-50 Analog 4-voice Polyphonic Synthesizer from circa 1978. As you can see from the photographs, it’s in great overall cosmetic shape with a super-clean face and all keys, switches, presets, knobs, and sliders are 100% functional, even the aftertouch works great! The sound is so versatile and otherworldly, and that famous Ring Modulator– it’s beyond fantastic!

This particular synth is serial #1941, making it a later model with the factory tuning stability modification that came after #1500 or so, and it does indeed stay in tune great! I believe it uses the same ‘M’ voice cards found in the venerable CS-80, and it sounds so thick and alive and full of rich analog character– it’s such a joy to play with superb keyboard action and it’s a real collector’s item as well!

The sale also includes a spare voice card, which will provide hard-to-find spare parts for the future if need be to keep this baby running smooth well into the 21st Century! Also included are the chrome legs and braces, as well as the music stand, all tucked away in the lid…

Please note, one of the voices sounds like it is slightly out of tune, which is not uncommon for a 30 years old synth, and also that same voice’s ADSR trimpots could use some adjustment too, as the attack and decay portions of that filter’s envelope go too fast compared to the other three voices. I can’t get it to a qualified tech to make the adjustments, and I don’t feel comfortable doing the job myself as it’s beyond my expertise, so please plan on doing a little tune-up to get this board sounding absolutely perfect.” Link

“Great condition 100% fully functional

One scratch on front panel but does not effect sound at all, just cosmetic” Link

“Vintage late 70s Yamaha CS-50 synth. In very good condition for it‘s age. Perfect working order only issue it’s missing three plastic lever covers but it works great. The CS-50 has a lot of the great features Yamaha pioneered such as the unique Ring Mod effect and aftertouch (monophonic in the case of the CS-50). An absolutely wonderful keyboard action – I actually prefer it to the CS-80s, or the Pratt-Read certainly. VERY cool analog sounds. I’m not an expert, but this synth seems to do everything it supposed to do to my knowledge. Add some sustain, portamento, and you can get some very big sounds out of it. I have no use for this synth, it sits in the studio taking up space hopefully somebody can put it to good use there are not very many of these around so don’t let this one get away.” Link

“Up for auction I have a Yamaha cs-50. This is one amazing synth. It is a 4 voice polyphonic analog synth. The little brother to the cs-80. I had it professionally serviced last year, it was cleaned and is fully in tune. I have owned it since 2001 and have never had any tuning or electronic issues with it. Cosmetically it has scratches and dents. The power switch is cracked (you can see in the close up pictures) but it does not affect turning the power on and off. All the sounds and switches work perfectly.

It comes with all 4 legs and lid. One of the legs has problems staying in place. I think it is just stripped. I’m sure it is an easy fix, but I always preferred to use a keyboard stand anyways. It is much easier to set up on a keyboard stand.” Link

“Vintage late 70s Yamaha CS-50 synth. A solid 8.5 or 9 out of 10 cosmetically. Perfect working order except one of the presets (Brass 2) makes no sound. These are hardwired networks of resistors or something, so there’s a bad connection in there I think. But for sure – works perfectly except one preset produces no audio output. The CS-50 has a lot of the great features Yamaha pioneered such as the unique Ring Mod effect and aftertouch (monophonic in the case of the CS-50). An absolutely wonderful keyboard action – I actually prefer it to the CS-80s, or the Pratt-Read certainly. VERY cool analog sounds. I’m not an expert, but this synth seems to do a thing where it will play up to four notes with one oscillator each, or if you only play one note it’ll assign all the oscillators to it (or two OSCs each for two notes, etc.). Add some sustain, portamento, and you can get some very big sounds out of it. As you can see, the synth comes with the original legs, lid, and music stand, with the legs and stand attaching into the top lid. One caveat is that one of the legs I couldn’t get to thread into the socket well – it slides into the hold OK, but does not thread in tightly, it just kind of sits in there so is less stable that way than I’m 100% happy with. You might be able to get it, or swap it around – I didn’t spend a lot of time on it, but wanted to make you aware of the issue. This synth is being offered for pickup in the Chicago area. I know that limits the market of potential buyers, but it is a pretty big synth. If you want to discuss alternate options to take delivery, please email. ” Link

“Voll funktionsfähiger CS-50 (der kleine CS-80)
4-stimmig polyphoner, vollanaloger Synthesizer

4 VCO’s, Suboszillator, Aftertouch, Ringmodulator u.a.

Nur 1 Vorbesitzer – ist immer gut behandelt worden.
Das Gerät wurde vor der Auktion extra noch einmal von einer Fachfirma gewartet und gestimmt – ist also 100% funktionsfähig!

Einzig ein kleiner optischer Mangel: ein kleines Stück Vinyl fehlte auf der rechten Seite des Gehäuses und wurde ersetzt. Und die Beine fehlen.
Ich verkaufe diesen Synth nur, weil ich einen CS-60 erwerben konnte.

Die abgebildeten Fotos sind vom CS-50 aus dieser Auktion.

Weitere Infos auf den bekannten Vintage-Synth-Seiten.

Selbstabholung wegen des Gewichts sinnvoll (32kg), aber wenn Versand nötig – auch kein Problem. Wird super verpackt!

Das Übliche zum Schluß: ebay-Gebühren übernehme ich, Versandkosten der Käufer.
Da es sich um einen Privatverkauf handelt, schließe ich jegliche Garantie oder Gewährleistung sowie eine Rücknahme aus.

Das Gerät kann nach Rücksprache hier vor Ort getestet werden.” Link

“First it’s the one on the bottom. In VG cosmetic condition with some scratches to tolex on sides and bottom. Front panel cosmetics excellent. No lid or “music stand” attachment. The plastic key on top of the toggle switch on the “ring mod speed” control looks to be a replacement. We have owned it for about 20 years and it has been used on many records. The only reason why we are selling is we no longer have room for some of our larger synths, and this one certainly qualifies in that department. Recently serviced by Advanced Musical Electronics, a leading Los Angeles repair shop. Local pick-up only, this weighs a TON and would be impossible to ship without crating it, we lack the facilities to do so.” Link

“This a vintage Yamaha CS-50 synth.

If you are looking at this then you know how cool it is. I have had it for over 20 years. It spent most of the time with the lid on. Has some scuffs. It works as it should. Sound is clean with sliders and knobs. Seems to have stable tuning. Has legs, lid, pdf copy of user manual. No foot pedal. Some light pitting on legs.

It is heavy. No shipping. Pick up only. I am in central jersey. Not to bad from NYC or Philly” Link

Condition not listed, just a listing on specs. Link

“International Voltage Model (220V,240V,110v) in excellent cosmetic and working condition–This CS-50 has no noisy pots or sliders and sounds great If you’re looking for the Vangelis filter sound, In some ways the CS-50 has an advantage over the CS-80 –tuning stability and note attack and size
Don’t miss out -you will never find another CS-50 in as nice cosmetic and working condition. (Im only selling this because I wish to fund another purchase I have the opportunity to buy-if the CS-50 does not sell I will happily keep it and will not be re-listing again)
*Original lid included–see pic
*Original music standard included–see pic attached to lid
I do not have original legs sorry -they were misplaced by original owner” Link