It is a wonderful machine, but I think in some ways I am better off without it. For instance, Yamaha in the UK have now almost run out of parts and there are no plans to make new chips. I felt that there was a sword hanging over the CS80 and I didn't want to be there when it fell.

The sound of the beast is tremendous, BUT quite a few of the presets are possibly of limited use. Take the 'electric piano' sound. For a start, it is much quieter than some of the other presets, and is also similar to the guitar preset - a waste of circuit space.

There are a few other synths now that can recreate the CS80 sound. I know this because I've searched very hard for a replacement since I sold mine. What you have to do - and it's hard - is stop seeing the CS in terms of its external appearance and keyboard, and think about the chips inside. All synths ultimately are a collection of chips and ways to control them, and the CS had more chips and controllers than most. The point is, modern synths have better chips!

I think the Andromeda, Waldorf Q, Nord Lead 3 and new Virus KC are all fine substitutes for the CS80 - especially the Andromeda with its ribbon and CS80 presets.

I will always love the CS80, but you have to be careful, because the synth can turn into an enormous burden. The sheer weight of it is a sick joke, you have to be careful to ventilate it properly, and as for playing live... forget it.

The sad truth of this synth is that Yamaha could and should have built a successor to it. The DX1 was a successor, but it was unaffordable. However, here's an intriguing thought for CS80 fans: it was designed by Phil Nishimoto, who co-designed the DX7. The last synth he worked on for Yamaha was the FS1r, on which he worked for TEN YEARS! Now, if the man who designed the CS80 puts that much time and care into an instrument, you know it's got to be special. And it doesn't weigh 220 pounds!

Remember - the magic is in the chips.

First off, while the calibration trimmers on the sixteen 'M' (master) boards that are the synthesizer voice cards have their arc of rotation in the same plane as the floor when the machine is sitting vertically on its casters, this does not contribute to the (de)tuning problem as much as one might fear. The trimpots are 'skeletal' (uncased) single-turn rotary trimmer potentiometers and their plane of rotation is horizontal when the machine is sitting vertically. This is the best position for the trimmers to be in when moving the unit. What needs to be avoided is bumping or jarring the machine when it is sitting on its stand during normal use--this is when the arc of rotation is perpendicular to the floor, and more susceptible to vibration-induced movement.. The minor vibrations the machine would experience when playing the instrument aren't going to cause problems, however; it would take a shock of a few gravities to knock the trimmers out of alignment.

Also, contrary to what you may have heard or read, the weighted keys are not wooden. The plastic key shells are attached to 35cm steel 'ribs' that have counterweights at the far end to simulate the piano action.

I've repaired another CS-80 prior to purchasing mine, and I can say that Yamaha did an amazing job of making the circuit boards of the CS machines easy to get to and work on. Aside from opening the machine and extending the rack to the tuning position and unbolting and rotating the keyboard up so as to get at the circuit boards in the bottom of the case, there are no tricky connections to unsolder. All the circuit boards have 'service loops' in the wiring bundles that allow sufficient room to detach a circuit board from the case (or rack frame) and service it while still electrically attached to the rest of the system.

*Most* of the problems ailing the CS80 as it approachs 25+ years of age can be fixed without the need for any of the custom Yamaha chips are are used liberally throughout the machine. CS-series owners might wish to read the information I've written for my website in regards to synthesizer upkeep and repair:

http://www.oldcrows.net/~oldcrow/synth/yamaha/cs80/

I've only begun to explore the potential this venerable machine has to offer, but I can say that no other polyphonic machine in my collection, even the DX1, has the degree of control over sound expression this machine does.