After their huge succes with the blue CS1x yamaha have decided to cash in for a second time on the same formula with an updated version of the 'Big Blue'. On the outside the machine looks the same as the CS1x or the AN1x except for two extra controller buttons and a new purple-ish silver shade, which actually looks kinda cool.
The knobs are fluorescent dark blue or something. I heard this was only the first series and that the later versions have regular coloured blue knobs. The keyboard has been given extra weight I think with a metal plate in the bottom so this must be yamaha's idea of weighted keys. (I think they do that to make it 'feel' more durable, more high-quality). The keys etc. do not look nor feel that sturdy but are comfortabe to play. In the middle of all the buttons and controls there's a nice little backlit (!) LCD screen, which is very clear. Unfortunately the viewing angle is rather limited. But looks aren't everything that's new of course. Yamaha have used the AWM 2 technology at the heart of this synth. Which means digital sample play back of voices and lots of parameters to tweak. Lets first look into some of the stats and compare them to the CS1x whenever they're different, otherwise it's not stated.
| | CS2x | CS1x |
| Synthesis Type | AWM 2 | |
| Number of Keys | 61 Keys full size, velocity sensitive. | |
| Knobs | 8 rotary knobs (2 assign-able) | 6 Rotary Knobs (2 assignable) |
| Display | LCD (backlit) | |
| Controls | Pitch & mod. + 2 scene buttons | |
| Editing | Rotary knob + matrix Buttons | |
| MIDI | In, out, thru + pc/mac connection | |
| Audio etc. | Stereo in mini jack, L(mono)&R 1/4 jack out, headphones | |
| Polyphony | 64 | 32 |
| Multitimbrality | 16 XG or 1 Performance + 12 XG | |
| Performance Patches | 256 Preset , 256 User | 128 Preset , 128 User |
| XG Voices | 779 + 30 drum kits | 480 + 11 drum kits |
| Material Voices | Approx 1500 | 960 |
| Total Sample Rom | 16 Meg | 4,5 Meg |
| FX | 3 blocks, 24 bit editable reverb, chorus, variation | |
| FX number | 88 | 64 |
| Filter | Low Pass, High Pass 24d/o + Resonance | Low Pass 24d/o + Resonance |
| Arpeggiator | 40, types MIDI out(!) | 30 types, no MIDI out |
| EQ | 2 band eq per voice! (that's 4 for the Performance) | |
Yamaha have considerably improved the sound of the machine, more multitimbrality which is especially good when you have this machine at the basis of you set-up or even as you only synth (sound source) they have also seriously improved the number of samples and their quality a bit. Besides the regular XG crap which I think takes about 4 Meg they have included some 12 Meg of dance sounds. This includes many of today' s sounds (mostly dance oriented, which I think is a good thing) and also a 909 drum kit, short vocal phrases and many short drum loops etc. The sounds are all very good and clear (yamaha synths always seem to sound a bit brighter then Roland, maybe a bit more up front) especially the performance patches. The drums are maybe not the best I've ever heard, but there are plenty of em and with a bit of tweaking they're okay I guess.
Also included are 3-fx which really let you sound come alive, the only drawback is that the variation sound can only be used on the performance patch when you're in performance mode. Unfortunately this also means that you can use only one performance at a time, this was a major drawback on the CS1X and still is one on the CS2X. When you use this synth as a lead synth, or as a 'supporting' synth within a bigger set-up this doesn't really matter. But when you want to use it as a multitimbral instrument this limits you a bit. You can use the material voices though when it's in performance mode, using midi LSB & MSB command, just like on the CS1X. Performances use 1-4 material voices so you need as many channels accordingly to emulate them. The performance ALLWAYS uses up midi-channels 1-4 even when only one material voice is needed. In the end this means that you do have multitimbral dance sounds, you just can't use the variation effect on the channel 5-16, only on the real performance patch. There does seem to be a bit of strange voice stealing going when you play a lot of drums (still way less then 64) using the distortion effect. Some notes 'hang' or when you play a bass and a snare together they don't sound the same as when you play em seperately. This has probably to do with the fx-algoritm used or with the processing capabilities. First sounds are "mixed" and then they are distorted or something.
The controls are very easy to get into, although editing with a dedicated patch editor/librarian is of cource even easier. The controls are pretty good for live (on the fly) twiddling and tweaking. One very cool thing is the ability to save to setting configurations in 2 scenes which can be 'recalled' at the touch of a button or even morphed in between using the modulation wheel. Totally awesome! I've even found out that you can use the controls for other synths as well, since all the controls send out midi-data and are fully programmable (assignable to any control change nr.) This is very, very handy. I could control my EWS64-XL's filter cut off and resonance by turning the buttons on my yammy. It's like having a mini-phat-boy. (slim-boy?, fat-baby?)
So who needs this keyboard? Well if you're on a very tight budget I'd recommend you a second hand CS1X or maybe even yamaha's DJX, which supposedly boosts a lot of sounds from the CS1X and even some of the CS2X and even lets you sample. I think if you already own a CS1X or something simular this is not that much of an improvement. But still this synth kicks as, if you are looking for a good midrange-synth this is the choice for you. Either as a master keyboard and multitimbral sound source or as a great lead-synth within a larger set-up. You could us this keyboard with a sampler or a sound card and make complete productions on it, I guess. The EQ function certainly aids you in mixing you different sounds together. The sounds are great, fresh and really up to date and you can edit all the parameters extensively either on the synth itself or using CS2X or XG editing software on your computer. It's sounds can always be used in any dance project and the thing is just sooo much fun to play around with. This is really the synth to play and experiment with. Don't forget, it looks good too, either in you bed-room or in your own studio.
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