Nostalgia demo 1

Nostalgia demo 2

Released in 1996, the CS1X was a success for Yamaha offering S+S (samples+synth) technology in an affordable and controllable package. With six real-time controls for attack, release, cutoff and resonance and two controls assignable to any function, it allowed a level of editing and manipulation that even novices could get to grips with (plus, of course, being ideal for live work). It had 32-voice polyphony and was multi-timbral (with limitations) and also came with on-board effects to flesh out the wealth of highly usable presets. The sounds were made up of layering anything from the 900 or so 'material voices' (waveforms in other words) and pretty much aimed at the dance market.

That said, the CS1X was equally capable of creating good sounds for other musical genres. The CS1X also sported an arpeggiator and a 'morphing' feature where real-time controllers could be used to morph from one patch to another to further expand its sonic capability. It was a popular analogue sound-alike that was superceded by the CS2X. Roberto Puricelli has donated a bunch of CS1X sounds to Hollow Sun. As well as doing lots of testing for me, he also runs the S5/6000 forum (http://akaipro5k6kuser.proboards30.com). All the sounds have been meticulously multi-sampled on his trusty S6000 and they arrived here seamlessly looped and all ready to go (which makes my life much easier!). They feature long samples for maximum detail and authenticity. I hope you enjoy the broad range of sounds that Rob has assembled - my thanks to him for his generous donation.