I love the string synthesizers of late 70s.. takes you to another realm altogether.. I think Yamaha should have included an SK in the Reface series .. and the Reface needs to come back with a 4 octave full sized keybed... bliss
The SK-30 is deceptively versatile for being a stringer, and has a beautiful and lush sound -- especially when all parts are mixed together. The section from 6:50 - 8:50 is very emotive... reminds me of the "whistling" sounds of legendary electronic composer Isao Tomita. Great demo.
@synth4ever your SK-20 video also shows how versatile that synth is. I went with the SK-30 as it just has a bit more than the SK-20 with features but it's not as big and heavy as the SK-50. I'm looking forward to running mine through a Zoom MS70 CDR pedal
I've been in quarantine away from my studio so I've not been able to play my SK30 for almost 3 months. Just listening to this performance and remembering why this video inspired me to get one is a joy for me. Of all your great videos of string synths I regard this one as one of your best. Two years on and I still feel the magic from your performance here. Respect to you Sir!!
Excellent video. You sold this synth to me. From split keyboard, mono on the left poly on the right at 0:40 I was hooked. I must have watched this video at least twenty times. You really make the strings sing from 1:16 to 2:00. I heard people say the strings weren't all that but you make them sound sweet. 2:57 Layer mono and poly synth sounds proper 70's. At 3:33 when you layer the organ and poly synth and it was over. I started searching for one to buy. Reserved it and I am looking forward to having a go myself. Thank you and keep up the great work.
I want to let you know, I still watch this one once a week. I consider it to be a gorgeous 10-minute mini album. I fantasize that you'll make another one sometime in the future. I love all of these old stringers, but the SK30 is my favorite(partly because of this video). I hope to own one someday. Which string machine is your favorite? Anyway, great videos, great playing=great channel. Cheers!
thanks! In few days a Yamaha SK20 demo follows, I guess you'll like it :-) My favorite string machines are Farfisa Polychrome, Syntorchestra, Soundmaker, Solina String-Ensemble, Crumar Performer and Siel Cruise. The Yamaha SK's are also nice, but they need clearly more time and experience until they sound as good as in the video.
Grreat stuff. I have a nostalgic fondness for 1970s stringers, and just acquired an SK20. I've been amazed at how good it sounds for a 40 year old instrument, far better than it has any right to. Careful setting of the polysynth filter resonance and EG controls will reward you with a sound very similar to the VP 330 choir. Layer or split this with the excellent ‘drawbar’ organ and it can sound pretty gothic. The organ alone stands up well, even by comparison with modern instruments. The SKs are different from, but the equal of more well known classics like the Roland RS505 and Solina IMHO. At the moment they’re also a lot cheaper :)
My gosh, you got vowels out of this thing! I'm very excited - I bought an SK-30 today, and it sounds incredible. It's seems full of infinite possibilities.
There was some kind of chime type sound that you could play with the strings on a real slow swell. With a little practice it could sound very beautiful.
@@KitsuneCentral I got to admit the Farfisa synths have the best string sounds. I prefer the organ on the Yamaha's though. The solo synth and the poly synths on the SK30 sound great too but I'm biased as an owner. Still the strings on the Farfisa Soundmaker are just glorious
Love this demo, Christian! SK-30 owner here -- If you jam the footage selector on the mono section between footages it will transpose up a major 5th, which is useful when layering with the other sections for some variety. The same trick works on the poly section but will combine the square and saw waveforms (sadly, it wont combine the LPF and BPF). The SK-30 really shines with an expression pedal on the polysynth, especially with the bandpass filter. Portamento can be controlled on the mono section with a foot pedal too. There's an 11-pin Leslie speaker output but ironically it's incompatible with the rotary cabinets Yamaha made in the '70s (RA series). Monosynth has Hz/V CV inputs which you can control with a sequencer (eg. SQ-1). That handle on the left cheek looks interesting, possibly a user mod as I don't think I've ever seen that before on any other SK-30.
@@AnalogAudio1 damn is it heavy. I had to carry mine up 2 flights of stairs to get it into my studio when I brought mine home from the shop three weeks ago. It's definitely a keeper as I'm not lifting it to take it out again lol.
@@jordanheidendahl7698 Tuning with my SK30 (and also with my other CS serie synths) is absolutely rock solid (havent touched tuning knob for year), these instruments (and their components) are extremely high quality made.
I picked an SK20 up from a car boot sale about 15 years ago for £10, sat next to it was a Korg Minikorg which I also bought for £15 I sold them both years ago but always missed the SK20 as I used it a lot in my music. Imagine my joy when last week I walked in to another SK20 at the bootsale, had to pay £25 for it this time but worth every penny, I’ll take this one to my grave 👍🏻
Very Tangerine-Dreamish (the 1976-80 period), although they did not seem to use it (they used mellotron and solina, according to the reports in the web and in their instruments descriptions in the albums). Also considering this is from 1979...
The organ bit from 3:33 to 3:52 reminds me of Bob Marley and the Wailers' song, "No Woman No Cry" when they played it live in 1975. Also, I like the "strings" on this synthesizer. And I also can't help but say this, the way they set up the interface on this synthesizer reminds me of an old washing machine my mom used to own years ago. This is not meant to be an insult though, just a comment. Overall, I liked the musical demonstration in this video! Keep it up!
My God this things sounds so good. Why can't Yamaha make stuff like this anymore it's like they had a stroke and lost everything fun about their keyboards.
the truth is, almost nobody would buy it. Remember, a heavy, expensive, fully analogue multi instrument with a lot expensive analog circuitry without memories in 2018... Apart from that, the SK30 sounds great and the demand can be covered by the units left
@@brightstarlit This synth ain't for touring. Get it in the studio and make sure it stays there. I love it's sound. If I had to take the sound on the road I'd sample the sounds needed. Most crowds are drunk and drugged up so I would get away with it but for the studio I would need the real thing.
@@RoomAtTheTopStudio "Most crowds are drunk and drugged up" - Have you BEEN to a live gig in the last 10 years? Its all silver haired people and kids who hate alcohol, sex, drugs or anything that might ruin their puritanical veganism. They also don't wear ear plugs so they can live forever with tinnitus - karma! ;^)
Hey, now _that_ is an impressive instrument...this has bi-timbral ability that my CS-60 doesn't! Also far better interfacing, but that is a matter of vintage at this level. Some of the sounds are a clear heritage, but for the resonant high-pass, ribbon and ringmod.
i regret selling my SK-30, got it for 300, it had such a damn nice sound to it!! especially the filter on that monosynth too... sold it for 1100 so i guess its okay?
not as expensive as they should be. There are about 12-20 at any given time on eBay and reverb combined for $3000-$4500. Eventually they will creep up on Jupiter 8 money. Sold both of ours about 10 years ago and Im thinking about picking another one up. The State Variable Bandpass filter is like no other.
I bought SK30 in 1984 and sold it 2004. IMO best sounds were/are organ and monosynth. I used polysynth layered with organ to produce a little Hammond -like "distortion" to a bit too clean organ sound. Strings section was useless to me.
There's a trimmer on the organ board (OG1) that adjusts the master oscillator tuning. Check the service manual for details (if you find like the scans are a little too low-res to read properly, try the SK50D service manual pdf - it's the same OG1 board). Luckily Yamaha built these SKs with maintenance in mind so they're quite easy to open up and work on.
I don’t know if Tangerine Dream ever used this particular string machine, but some of the presets sounded like their classic late1970’s and early 80’s albums.
Hi, I don't have the Lexicon PCM series, so I can't compare it. Anyway, the MPX500 has a special, thick reverb sound, I like it very much with synths. I also like the reverbs of Dynacord DRP 20 (the German Lexicon) and Yamaha SPX900, (lighter reverb, on certain sounds the SPX fits better).
And i still want an SK30 after all these years... 😢 but the cost of repairing one and maintaning it must be crazy stupid. 😢 Sigh... c'mon Behringer... you know you want to clone it... 😅
Yes, the string quality of the Solna is unbeaten. But the SK30 has the power of combination of different sounds - even when the strings are a bit thin on this thing.
I love the string synthesizers of late 70s.. takes you to another realm altogether.. I think Yamaha should have included an SK in the Reface series .. and the Reface needs to come back with a 4 octave full sized keybed... bliss
The SK-30 is deceptively versatile for being a stringer, and has a beautiful and lush sound -- especially when all parts are mixed together. The section from 6:50 - 8:50 is very emotive... reminds me of the "whistling" sounds of legendary electronic composer Isao Tomita. Great demo.
@synth4ever your SK-20 video also shows how versatile that synth is. I went with the SK-30 as it just has a bit more than the SK-20 with features but it's not as big and heavy as the SK-50. I'm looking forward to running mine through a Zoom MS70 CDR pedal
Great stuff. Such a great board. Love my sk-30. It will never be sold.
I've been in quarantine away from my studio so I've not been able to play my SK30 for almost 3 months. Just listening to this performance and remembering why this video inspired me to get one is a joy for me. Of all your great videos of string synths I regard this one as one of your best. Two years on and I still feel the magic from your performance here. Respect to you Sir!!
Excellent video. You sold this synth to me. From split keyboard, mono on the left poly on the right at 0:40 I was hooked. I must have watched this video at least twenty times. You really make the strings sing from 1:16 to 2:00. I heard people say the strings weren't all that but you make them sound sweet. 2:57 Layer mono and poly synth sounds proper 70's. At 3:33 when you layer the organ and poly synth and it was over. I started searching for one to buy. Reserved it and I am looking forward to having a go myself. Thank you and keep up the great work.
I want to let you know, I still watch this one once a week. I consider it to be a gorgeous 10-minute mini album. I fantasize that you'll make another one sometime in the future. I love all of these old stringers, but the SK30 is my favorite(partly because of this video). I hope to own one someday. Which string machine is your favorite? Anyway, great videos, great playing=great channel. Cheers!
thanks! In few days a Yamaha SK20 demo follows, I guess you'll like it :-) My favorite string machines are Farfisa Polychrome, Syntorchestra, Soundmaker, Solina String-Ensemble, Crumar Performer and Siel Cruise. The Yamaha SK's are also nice, but they need clearly more time and experience until they sound as good as in the video.
@@AnalogAudio1 Have you composed some album or song that i can buy?
@@AnalogAudio1 but SK’s sound by you more deep and soul, more fantastic then your’s Crumar Perfomer 1979 🤷♂️
@@nstv_crimea Yes, it's also more complex with more sections. What the Crumar doesn't have, you can play with other synths in addition.
@@AnalogAudio1 What about the Sisme Godwin String ? by any chance, did you try it?
Grreat stuff. I have a nostalgic fondness for 1970s stringers, and just acquired an SK20. I've been amazed at how good it sounds for a 40 year old instrument, far better than it has any right to. Careful setting of the polysynth filter resonance and EG controls will reward you with a sound very similar to the VP 330 choir. Layer or split this with the excellent ‘drawbar’ organ and it can sound pretty gothic. The organ alone stands up well, even by comparison with modern instruments.
The SKs are different from, but the equal of more well known classics like the Roland RS505 and Solina IMHO. At the moment they’re also a lot cheaper :)
My story also. Just got an SK20 a few weeks ago
My gosh, you got vowels out of this thing!
I'm very excited - I bought an SK-30 today, and it sounds incredible. It's seems full of infinite possibilities.
Not infinite, but quite decent sound :-)
Beautiful instrument, beautifully played 👍
Thank you very much!
I just bought an Sk 20 in EXCELLENT condition, and I have to say it sounds phenomenal!
The SK20 is nice too. The SK30 here obviously has more going on for it but the SK20 isn't a slouch by any means.
There was some kind of chime type sound that you could play with the strings on a real slow swell. With a little practice it could sound very beautiful.
@@benvoiles3505 I can't wait to get mine. Counting the hours (under 15 left lol)
@@RoomAtTheTopStudio I never owned one but was keyboard manager at Guitar Center San Jose and we had one there. I tinkered on it a lot!
Hello I created a group for SK series synths. You might want to join us... we are very few at the moment. facebook.com/groups/388714235019745/
OMG this just surpassed my favorite string machine the farfisa sound maker , always look forward to what you post. Thanks so much
thank you! In my opinion the Farfisas have a bit more soul, more magic in there. But the Yamahas are more reliable and they sound fantastic as well.
@@KitsuneCentral I got to admit the Farfisa synths have the best string sounds. I prefer the organ on the Yamaha's though. The solo synth and the poly synths on the SK30 sound great too but I'm biased as an owner. Still the strings on the Farfisa Soundmaker are just glorious
so nostalgic... unbeatable sound. i can only compare the feel like when you hear the old oberheims ...
Love this demo, Christian! SK-30 owner here -- If you jam the footage selector on the mono section between footages it will transpose up a major 5th, which is useful when layering with the other sections for some variety. The same trick works on the poly section but will combine the square and saw waveforms (sadly, it wont combine the LPF and BPF). The SK-30 really shines with an expression pedal on the polysynth, especially with the bandpass filter. Portamento can be controlled on the mono section with a foot pedal too. There's an 11-pin Leslie speaker output but ironically it's incompatible with the rotary cabinets Yamaha made in the '70s (RA series). Monosynth has Hz/V CV inputs which you can control with a sequencer (eg. SQ-1). That handle on the left cheek looks interesting, possibly a user mod as I don't think I've ever seen that before on any other SK-30.
exactly! The handles are on both sides, it's easier to carry around by two, it's quite heavy. Applied by the previous owner, though
Amazing how it stands through the years, it looks very sturdy and heavy. It must have been a great synth at that time. Very nice sounds
A majestic beast. Awesome stuff.
Just purchased one of this. Is amazing
Congrats! Great sounds & huge weight
@@AnalogAudio1 damn is it heavy. I had to carry mine up 2 flights of stairs to get it into my studio when I brought mine home from the shop three weeks ago. It's definitely a keeper as I'm not lifting it to take it out again lol.
Does it stay in tune?
@@jordanheidendahl7698 Tuning with my SK30 (and also with my other CS serie synths) is absolutely rock solid (havent touched tuning knob for year), these instruments (and their components) are extremely high quality made.
@@jordanheidendahl7698 the tuning never drifts, rock stable
This is such a beautiful instrument ♡ 🎹
I feel conquering deep space and discovering worlds.
I picked an SK20 up from a car boot sale about 15 years ago for £10, sat next to it was a Korg Minikorg which I also bought for £15 I sold them both years ago but always missed the SK20 as I used it a lot in my music. Imagine my joy when last week I walked in to another SK20 at the bootsale, had to pay £25 for it this time but worth every penny, I’ll take this one to my grave 👍🏻
What is a boot sale?
@@Fallingoverbackwards It’s a place where people all meet in a field or car park and sell things out of the back of their cars 😃
I have one too, such an underrated beast!
most favorite design for me with 70`s syths .
Polygon side shape, woody panel, mat black panel, gold nob, red LED, not so sober not so flashy
The SKs always sound fantastic in demos. I want one :-)
LOVE THE GREAT SOUNDS OF 70S 😍😍😍😍😍😍💜🤗💜🤗💜😍💜😍💜😍💜😍😍💜😍💜😍💜😍💜😍💜😍💜😍💜
These me back to Dr Who in the 70s. Cherished childhood memories. Love the organ sound just like a Hammond. Beautiful old analogue sound.
Very Tangerine-Dreamish (the 1976-80 period), although they did not seem to use it (they used mellotron and solina, according to the reports in the web and in their instruments descriptions in the albums). Also considering this is from 1979...
Had a Mellotron in 1975. No string machine could get that haunting sound. ARP String Ensemble came closest for me.
Two radically different beasts, to be fair.
Mind-blowingly amazing. I want one now!
Great sounds. I love sequencing mine. Aftertouch is really great too!
Great sound! Sounds good with a tape delay
The organ bit from 3:33 to 3:52 reminds me of Bob Marley and the Wailers' song, "No Woman No Cry" when they played it live in 1975. Also, I like the "strings" on this synthesizer.
And I also can't help but say this, the way they set up the interface on this synthesizer reminds me of an old washing machine my mom used to own years ago. This is not meant to be an insult though, just a comment. Overall, I liked the musical demonstration in this video! Keep it up!
Nice playing!! Well done lad!! This is the perfect keyboard for that synth breakdown in a song or a piece of music.
Sounds like Eloy background keys.
Love the sound
I listening this Sound and i can a littel Bit forget the lookdown time please stay Safe .
I came here for some Blade-Runner-soundin-pads, and I was not disappointed.
I just 👍🏼clicked this from 999 to 1000. How very satisfying. Now to take a long bath in luxurious sawtooth and pulse waves.
Yeah :-)
My God this things sounds so good. Why can't Yamaha make stuff like this anymore it's like they had a stroke and lost everything fun about their keyboards.
Now that's funny "stroke"
the truth is, almost nobody would buy it. Remember, a heavy, expensive, fully analogue multi instrument with a lot expensive analog circuitry without memories in 2018... Apart from that, the SK30 sounds great and the demand can be covered by the units left
@@AnalogAudio1 well thanks to you I am going to buy one as soon as I can lol
@@brightstarlit This synth ain't for touring. Get it in the studio and make sure it stays there. I love it's sound. If I had to take the sound on the road I'd sample the sounds needed. Most crowds are drunk and drugged up so I would get away with it but for the studio I would need the real thing.
@@RoomAtTheTopStudio "Most crowds are drunk and drugged up" - Have you BEEN to a live gig in the last 10 years? Its all silver haired people and kids who hate alcohol, sex, drugs or anything that might ruin their puritanical veganism. They also don't wear ear plugs so they can live forever with tinnitus - karma! ;^)
BEAUTIFUL, subscribed
Jean Michele Jarre in the house.
I don't think Rick Wright fans would hate the first 3 minutes of this video ;)
Your opening chord is straight off Jarre's Oxygene (or was it Magnetic Fields?)
mellow and vintagy,,,,thanx
So beautiful.. yamaha have made some beautiful synths I have 4. 90's ones. Would love this, and my favorite synth. Cs 80. thak you for sharing.
.
Let us all hope that Mr Uli Behringer with make the miracle and release his CS much promising beast!
Very apropriate execution, thanks!
wow !! beautifull sounds !!
thanks!
Thank u very much to let us know.about this technology
I recall the Sk20. I drooled over in my magazine. but this must be very rare. great sound.Not far off Gary Numan and his Moog at times..
Great Demo!!
Hey, now _that_ is an impressive instrument...this has bi-timbral ability that my CS-60 doesn't! Also far better interfacing, but that is a matter of vintage at this level.
Some of the sounds are a clear heritage, but for the resonant high-pass, ribbon and ringmod.
Well hello tasty video !!❤ this is everything i want in a sound.
Great sounds
man i wish these were cheaper / easier to find. Need a time machine.
wow
Can you guys do some demo on Yamaha SY-1?
YES ! Now I got one and the restoration is done
Amazing sounds! The fx do help here a lot, I believe. I have CS20M. This thing would be great on top of that. Or vice versa.
i regret selling my SK-30, got it for 300, it had such a damn nice sound to it!! especially the filter on that monosynth too... sold it for 1100 so i guess its okay?
Just fantastic ❤ I LOVE your channel ❤😁🙏
thanks! :-)
sounds so good. does anyone know of any modern equivalent synths?
There are none... that's why this thing is so special, they don't make them like this anymore.
Sounds 99% like CS70m
1:15 very reminiscent of Rick Wright on "Dogs"
Sound of heaven? I think so.
Love the demo! I have been looking for an SK-30 for two years now and I still have not found one. Any ideas where I could buy one??
At places, where you can find used musical instruments. There is no "secret supplier" who has all that stuff...
Just how hard have you been looking mate?
The sound of some albums of Yellow Magic Orchestra and the soundtrack of Mobile Suit Gundam 0079.
Sounds something afx would use in his analord series or old tracks
So Perfect ! Is the sk20 sound the same ? Big question ! CS Style early Yam feeling here ... Thanks
The SK-30 and SK-20 have the same basic sound, but both have a different sound architecture and so the possibilities and results are different.
I can hear a little bit of Pink Floyd here and there! Nice sounds!
whats the difference between this one and sk20? thanks.i mean this sound at 8:23 pure Klaus. with sk 20 can i create this patch ?
The SK20 is not able to create this sound. The SK20 does not have the mono-synth, the polysynth is very basic and other things...
Lovely videos. "Liked and Subscribed". DO you have an Oberheim Xpander in your reach that you could demo?
no, I just have the Matrix-6. The Xpander is quite expensive and rare.
not as expensive as they should be. There are about 12-20 at any given time on eBay and reverb combined for $3000-$4500. Eventually they will creep up on Jupiter 8 money. Sold both of ours about 10 years ago and Im thinking about picking another one up. The State Variable Bandpass filter is like no other.
sure, that's a fine synth, but 3000-4500 are still a lot of money in my book :-)
Sounds a little like Tomita. Nice!
very lush...very 70's!
Beauthiful beauthiful loved. Sounds wow
Lust for Analog 1 demos🧲🦻
Hooooo yeaaaah.... *More string machines!*
yeah, they will follow :-) In two days I will get a real rarity :-)
I bought SK30 in 1984 and sold it 2004. IMO best sounds were/are organ and monosynth. I used polysynth layered with organ to produce a little Hammond -like "distortion" to a bit too clean organ sound. Strings section was useless to me.
the string section alone is not the greatest. But the combination of all sections is great
Beautiful demo. I just found one of these with a wheeled case for $200!
thanks! Congratulations, I hope that the seller didn't see my video :-D
Do you have an Instagram page by any chance? Or the best way to contact you for business?
the organ section on mine has gone way out of tune with the organ/synth section... any suggestions on where to start looking?
There's a trimmer on the organ board (OG1) that adjusts the master oscillator tuning. Check the service manual for details (if you find like the scans are a little too low-res to read properly, try the SK50D service manual pdf - it's the same OG1 board). Luckily Yamaha built these SKs with maintenance in mind so they're quite easy to open up and work on.
Lead section sings!!!
I don’t know if Tangerine Dream ever used this particular string machine, but some of the presets sounded like their classic late1970’s and early 80’s albums.
Tangerine Dream used Solina String Ensemble and Elka Rhapsody, but not the SK series
Awesome
How do you like the Lexicon MPX500? Is it on par with the higher end rack reverbs?
Hi, I don't have the Lexicon PCM series, so I can't compare it. Anyway, the MPX500 has a special, thick reverb sound, I like it very much with synths. I also like the reverbs of Dynacord DRP 20 (the German Lexicon) and Yamaha SPX900, (lighter reverb, on certain sounds the SPX fits better).
Thanks!
It also sounds like early Kitaro, back before he started writing Muzak
Kitaro? And sounds from opening theme of an old german radioplay named Antares 8
it's coincidence..
Just seen one in a store for about $400
It's a good price! I paid the half or so
Nice Sound this Remeber me on my childhood in the 80s sorry my Englisch is Not good .
How do you manage to get hands on so many vintage beauties all the time?
because I have many around my studio
wipes the floor with the SS30 any day
regarding the string tone alone, yes. The magic of the SK-30 are the layers of different sounds.
1:57, instant Vangelis
Looks like a smaller version of the CS70.
Alguien lo tiene para kontakt???
And i still want an SK30 after all these years... 😢 but the cost of repairing one and maintaning it must be crazy stupid. 😢
Sigh... c'mon Behringer... you know you want to clone it... 😅
Yamaha keyboards are very reliable and built very well, so maintaining / repairing is not a problem.
freaking hell .....wow
this is better than sex
This is the reason i got into synths 40 years ago as a kid
LOVE THE GREAT SOUNDS OF 70S 😍😍😍😍😍😍💜🤗💜🤗💜😍💜😍💜😍💜😍😍💜😍💜😍💜😍💜😍💜😍💜😍💜
Sounds like Jean-Michel Jarre could have had one
It was Eminent 310s electric organ, with ARP Solina module on board.
ARP Solina is not the string section of the Eminent 310, they just sound similar. The 310 sounds much richer with 6 BBDs instead of 3.
The ARP SOLINA is still the no. String Machine!
Yes, the string quality of the Solna is unbeaten. But the SK30 has the power of combination of different sounds - even when the strings are a bit thin on this thing.
SK20.ｓｋ10,持ってます、これは、さらに、上級機種で魅力的なサウンドですな。でも、価格30万クソ重い重量考えると欲しくない
Voice JMJarre;-)
Sounds so very haunted
Vangelis
Decades later and I feel I dodged a bullet here. It was either buy a CS-40m or wait another month for the SK30. Still have the CS40M.