Yamaha CX5M music computer "The world's first music computer now has a broader repertoire" ad, Keyboard 1986

Yamaha CX5M music computer "The world's first music computer now has a broader repertoire" two-page full colour advertisement from pages 84 and 85 in the April 1986 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

Over a year after CX5M's 1985 "You've always had an ear for music..." introductory advertisement started running, Yamaha finally came out with an encore in another two-pager.

This time around, Yamaha had two messages to get across

1. Show readers how much the music software and hardware had grown for the platform.
2. Push the business side of the machine.

On the music software/hardware front, there really has been some good developments. In the original ad, Yamaha promoted four pieces of software with the CX5M - their FM Voicing program, FM Composer program, the FM Music Macro program and the DX7 Voicing program. By the time this ad came around, that list had grown to also include, listed in the order they appear in the ad:

• MIDI Recorder program - compose, edit and arrange music in step-time or real-time
• RX editing program - for editing Yamaha's RX11, RX15 and EX21 digital rhythm machines
• DX21 Voicing program
• Keyboard Chord Master
• Keyboard Guitar  Chord Master
• Graphic Artist Program
• Second generation FM Music Composer
• Second generation FM Music Macro program

Did you catch that in the middle of this list? They threw a graphics program in there! And they even thought it was such a great addition to the system that they let a screen shot take up some valuable real-estate in the ad.

Hardware for the CX5M also got some good coverage in the ad. And not just in the ad-copy. That big photo of the computer itself has a lot more things attached to it in this advertisement when compared to the original ad. And Yamaha included a whole subsection on the topic of hardware, including the oh-so-description:

• SFG05 - FM tone generator module with 46 of its own preset voices, an 1800-note sequencer and room for 48 user-programmed voices.
• YK01 and YK10 keyboards
• FD05 and FD03 Micro Floppy 3.5" disk drives (with MSX-DISK BASIC language "built into the disk drive interface cartridge" - what ever that means?!?!
• PN101 dot-impact printer
• MU01 mouse

Again - Yamaha has made an interesting choice to use up precious page real estate to include a photo of that Yamaha printer, and although that printer is printing out music notation, its clear that Yamaha is also positioning this thing as a business machine.

If that big photo of the printer isn't enough evidence of the business side of things, you only have to look at that ad-copy. Before Yamaha even begins to give readers insight into the new MUSIC hardware and software available, Yamaha spends **two paragraph**s talking about TeleWord - CX5M's word processor.

Teleword featured "advanced" (my air-quotes) word processing functionality such as global search and change, cut-and-paste text transfer and on-screen page layout. On the communications front, it included an auto-dialer with redial, 50-entry digital phone book and complete adaptability with 300 and 1200-baud operations.

Remember - this was 1986. Telecommunications among pleebs like us was still occurring mostly through services like Compu$erve at dial-up speeds and huge connection costs.

Still, I love this line from the ad.

"So whatever you create with TeleWord's word process (or other CX5M programs), you can send to computers anywhere in the world."

And I'm still waiting for a good one to pop up on eBay.

Yamaha CX5M music computer "You've always had an ear for music..." ad, Keyboard 1985

Yamaha CX5M computer "You've always had an ear for music..." three page colour advertisement from pages 63, 64 and 65 in the February 1985 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

This advertisement first ran in the February 1985 issue of Keyboard Magazine as a three-pager. The teaser page - "You've always had an ear for music." - appears on the previous page and although there is absolutely no Yamaha logo to be found anywhere on that page, that large recognizable font has been around long enough in the company's ads that the whole page already oozes "Yamaha".

The bottom photo found on that teaser page is a great one too - a dark room, an empty chair and an instrument known to require a fabulous ear (as well as extreme talent) to play. The best part of the photo is the lighting, and in particular that the darkness of the room is broken by two light sources. The first light source is a lamp that subtly directs the readers attention towards the right. And the second is the natural light seeping in from the right side of the page again drawing the readers' eyes in the direction of the next page. You have no choice but to flip the page.

The two-page ad that follows is, at first glance, a mouthful. There are *a lot* of words on that page to take in. But, if you are like me at all, that first image catches your attention. A computer? A colour monitor with music on it? Yamaha? Yeah - that makes sense... (thinking it over more) yeah... kinda... hmmm... curious...

I'm sure that hook got a lot of people to start reading. I know I read it all. Every word. :)

The ad tells us a little bit about the CX5M itself

•  FM digital tone generator
•  built-in polyphonic synthesizer program with 46 preset voices and 6 rhythm patterns including drums, bass and synchronized chords
• 2000-note sequencer
• Optional FM Voicing Program to extensively edit the presets and create new ones
• Cartridge and cassette tape ports
• Printer port
• and most importantly MIDI!

The ad also touches on some of the music software that is available for the CX5M, including

• FM Music Composer - eight part musical compositions
• FM Music Macro Program - for some type of programming access with MSX basic
• DX7 Voicing Program

And that last piece of software is interesting because the ad doesn't actually say anything more about it, but actually uses it as a teaser by saying "More on this in another ad".  

The photo on this page is excellent too. It spans the bottom of both pages, and you can see how that natural light coming in from the right side of the page draws the eyes towards the small, well organized studio space and that nicely-coiffed gentleman. He kinda sits like I do at work all day. I wonder if he also has back problems?!?

Anyways, after this February advertisement ran as a three-pager, it was merged down to two pages. But, in order to do so, the designer had to somehow squeeze that first part of the ad-title (the teaser text) above second part found on the second page -  the "Now you have a mind for it". And the only way that was going to happen was by shrinking the text down a few point sizes. And that's exactly what the designer. This two page version ran in March and September 1985, as well as February and March 1986. 

This CX5M ad came out before the QX1 ad I blogged about previously started running, but there was some overlap between them near the end of 1985. And you can see the overlap it their designs too. The QX1 definitelly got its keyboard look from the CX5M.

Both units resemble computers - eeeeer... actually, the CX5M *is* a computer.

The ad states that it is an "MSX computer". Looking at the fine print and you will see that MSX was a Microsoft computer platform.

I'd never heard of this operating system, but according to the MSX Wikipedia page, the American-based Microsoft first announced MSX in June 1983 as part of an attempt to standardize hardware between manufactures, but surprisingly MSX-based machines didn't really get popular in it's home country. Apparently due to a Commodore-led price war going on there. But, elsewhere the MSX hardware was the bees knees. Places like Japan, the Middle East, Brazil, the Soviet Union and Netherlands. Even more surprisingly, it was a popular choice as a video game platform. Check out this fact - the Metal Gear series was first written for MSX hardware. Bam!

If you live in North America, it might have been hard to look back at this ad and think of Yamaha as a home computer manufacturer - but in fact they made a few different MSX models. Some were marketed as personal computers like the YIS503II that could be found in Soviet schools, while others like the CX5M were marketed as machines strictly for making music (although even in this Yamaha CX5M ad they do mention near the end that you can also do your finances, write letters, and "rack up a score on a different type of video game". Get it... "score"... like music score... hee hee.

Looking at that Wiki page, some of those MSX computers look really damn retro-cool.

Yoiks - I'm getting that "collector" feeling in my loins.

Gak!

Yamaha Computer Assisted Music System (YCAMS) "This is the second most powerful tool for making music." ad, Keyboard 1985

Yamaha Computer Assisted Music System (YCAMS) "This is the second most powerful tool for making music." two-page colour advertisement including the QX1 digital sequencer/recorder, TX816 FM voice generator system and RX11 (or RX15) digital rhythm programmer from pages 48 and 49 in the July 1985 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

Yamaha was advertising *a lot* in Keyboard magazine around this time period. It wouldn't be uncommon to see two or three pages worth of Yamaha ads in any given issue. This advertisement for the Yamaha Computer Assisted Music System began to appear around the summer of 1985, including the July, October and December issues. It also appeared in the January 1986 "MIDI Mania" issue on the back of the "MIDI sequencers: computer based and dedicated hardware" fold-out page. Nice placement! When this ad wasn't running, Yamaha's other two-page ad featuring it's CX5M computer and software system would make an appearance.

To me, just the fact a company decides to go with a two-page ad says something about the product as much as the content of the ad itself. Its a signal by the company to the reader that they are investing heavily in whatever is being promoted. And the QX1 looked impressive enough to be worth a two-pager. No doubt!

That's really all I can say about the QX1 though - that it looks impressive. Ever since I saw this ad years and years ago I have wanted one. But it was way out of my price range at the time (over $3000 in Canada), and I already had an Apple IIe, so replaced my first sequencer - the one on my Casio CZ5000 - with Master Tracks Pro software instead. But that QX1 with its awesome customized computer-like keyboard has never left my mind in the 30 years that have followed.

And before I go further - YCAMS? There was no better, more memorable acronym?

[...ten minutes goes by....]

Okay - I can't think of anything better. YCAMS it is. Nevermind.

Even as I type this, there is a QX1 sitting on eBay that I've been watching. But the only clue to its condition is that they've turned it on, and 'most times' it goes to Disk Imitation (whatever that is). So, I just watch it sit a zero bids. Do I chance it and bid? Gah. 

Ever since choosing Master Tracks Pro over the QX1, I've stuck with software sequencers for serious recording, picking up the odd hardware sequencer such as an MMT8, Roland MSQ100 and 700 only when opportunity, price and curiosity have intersected. Actually, my band mate and I took that MMT8 on stage a couple of times - never failed us. That track mute feature was awesome.

Now that I've been persuaded to think about playing live again, the topic of a hardware sequencer has been stuck in my head. So, I started doing my research looking into a lot of old and new hardware sequencers including the Linn Electronics LinnSequencer that I blogged about last week, and the Yamaha QX1. And again, opportunity, price and curiosity collided to the extent that I fell into an Akai MPC2000XL, MPC1000 and 500 in rather short order.

I think hardware sequencers are attractive to me because they are table-top oriented.  The Yamaha QX1, Alesis MMT8, Roland MSQ700... all of them tabletop. It just makes sense. Similarly, as much as I like the space-savings provided by rack synths, I think tabletop synths like the Kawai K1m, Waldorf Microwave XT and Access Virus modules have equal charm for this reason.

And I think that is why I am now gravitating towards the Akai MPC1000. Hardware. Tabletop. No computer required. And until Akai comes out with a new non-controller MPC, the 1000 seems to be the way to go. Plus you get some killer sampling to boot.  

But if I ever come across a QX1 guaranteed to work - well then... that MPC1000 may begin playing back-up duties.

Time to check eBay again... and again...

Yamaha Portasound Retailers "Here's your chance..." ad, Keyboard 1982

Yamaha Portasound Retailers "Here's your chance..." full page colour advertisement from page 41 in the February 1982 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

Yamaha were always a little unusual in those early days. Almost as unusual as the Keyboard Magazine that this advertisement first appeared in.  I've blogged about it before, but will always take the opportunity to point it out again whenever I get the chance.

The February 1982 issue of Keyboard was incorrectly dated February 1981 on the cover. It's a rare thing when a magazine makes this mistake, and I think it makes this issue of Keyboard just that much more interesting and rare.

Where was I ... oh yeah - Yamaha. Unusual.

Like when the company suddenly cut into their famous DX-line of advertising with this warning for DX-7 and DX-9 purchasers on the dangers of buying grey-market synths from Japan rather than from authorized US retailers.

And here we have Yamaha doing it just a little bit differently again.

Back in the 70s and 80s, it wasn't unusual for smaller companies to use their generally small advertising space to also try and scope out new distributors. Smaller companies generally didn't already have distribution networks already in place.

And so when Yamaha spends some good full-page colour advertising dollars to find Portasound retailers, I tend to get curious. This wasn't just a one-time shot like that grey-market advertisement - this ad appeared in the February, March, April, July and October issues of Keyboard in 1982.

The advertisement actually contains some good historical information on the company. The ad-copy clearly states that Yamaha had created a new "Specialty Products Division"  for their new Protasound line of keyboards. At the time, this included the PS-1, PS-2 and PS-3 - all visible in the ad. It's a good historical marker that I'll file way for later.

Like... for right now.

I blogged a little about Yamaha's confusing early 80s organizational structure a short while ago and the possible effects it had on the consumer. Or, I should say I pointed out what Dominic Milano had already said back in his March 1983 Keyboard Report on three Yamaha offerings - the PC-100, MP-1 and the lovely CS01.

"Companies, as they get larger, tend to split themselves up into smaller divisions internally, for administrative reasons. This may make perfect sense for their own purposes, but it can be confusing for anybody from the outside who deals with them. Case in point: Yamaha International (which is itself a division of Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd.) has no less than three separate divisions selling keyboard instruments. Depending on what instrument you want to talk about, your phone call may be routed to either the Keyboard Division (pianos and organs), the Combo Division (rock and jazz keyboards), or the Special Products Division (portable battery-operated keyboards)."

 This rather new division - the Specialty Products Division-  included portable battery-operated keyboards. Except the CS-01 battery-operated keyboard. That belonged to the Combo Division. Confusing? Yerp!

It was quite normal for a company division to include a little tag line in an advertisement - a bit of an ego boost I suppose - but to actually have a particular division of a company calling themselves out publicly within the ad-copy itself is unusual indeed. And double-indeed that it can be unnecessary and confusing for the consumer. Especially in a consumer magazine such as Keyboard.

The advertisement is also an interesting read because it's doing the hard sell to retailers. Like, really hard.

• "Pinch yourself and read those words again"
• "Better act now"
• "Three little keyboards that are going to add up to big sales"
• "Put a lot of money in your pocket"
• "Don't miss this opportunity"

And my favourite in the mail-in cut-out section:

• "Yes! I'd like to get in on the ground floor..."

It's almost like I'm talking to my buddies who tried to get me in on pyramid schemes back in university. 

And if it wasn't for that lovely photo in the ad showing the current line of Portasound keyboards surrounded by styrofoam packing peanuts, you might be inclined to think it was a scheme to sell products that don't actually exist. But the Portasound line obviously did exist AND like the ad states, there were "many more new products to come".

And, I can tell you from a personal point of view - very FUN products. :)

And that statement is backed up by the cover of the PS 1, 2 and 3 Playing Guide (Yamaha has a PDF on their Web site).

Both the girl and guy on the cover are obviously really stoked, not only about their high-waisted pants, but also about their Portasound keyboards.

Yamaha TX802 FM Ton Generator "A Truly Collosal Performer" brochure, 1987

Yamaha TX802 FM Ton Generator "A Truly Colossal Performer" six page gatefold colour brochure from approximately 1987.

Summer is slowly making its way here - and I'm loving it. The problem is that when its starts getting nice out, it also starts getting harder and harder to concentrate on writing blog posts. So, it's a sure sign that when I start scanning larger documents it's so I can feel less guilty writing less about them.

So, here's a request from reader of the blog "GinTonic" - a scan of a six-pager for the TX802. He loves his TX802 and has had it for years.

The only other thing I can tell you about GinTonic is that he chose a TX802 over his girlfriend back in the late 80s.  And I quote:

"It's EIGHT frickin' DX7IIs!!!"

Well, there is that.    :)

At the top of this post, I included higher-res scans of each individual page in the order that one would probably read the information. I have also included lower resolution scans below as you would find the pages if you unfolded the brochure.

outer spread

inner spread

Part of fun of designing brochures is the "art" of the fold. There are a number of different folds available and a designer will often choose to use a certain fold type to enhance the design. In the case of this brochure, the six page gatefold was used (third one on the top row below).

The gatefold provides some great opportunities for interesting design. For example, when the reader flips open the front cover of this brochure (scan 1) the first two pages seen before folding out the other side of the gatefold are scans 2 and 3 (see below).

What the reader first sees is a nice little introduction to the TX802 including feature highlights and a really large front panel photo. And even though two pages are not really "connected" to each other, it was designed as one large page, with thw photo of the TX802 spanning the full two pages. And did you notice that the faded background image - a DX7IIFD - also spans the two pages? Nice touch.

Then, when the reader unfolds the other side of the "gate"  to the right (scan 3), it reveals the three-page "inner spread" (scans 2, 4 and 5). The designer set up the page so that the reader still gets that view the photo of the TX802 spanning across two pages.  And now, the "flow" of the design continues with the title (A Truly Colossal Performer) and brochure text spanning across the rest of the inner spread - scans 4 and 5.

Great design work.

Hope my description makes sense and does the whole thing justice. 

Good design in a brochure is one thing. But good design of an actual rack synth is another. Programming an FM synth is hard enough as it is, but it gets even more confusing when you try and cram all those buttons into 19 inches of front panel space.

But Yamaha does everything possible to try and make it easy on the user. For example, using different colour buttons to distinguish the Mode Select buttons and the keypad buttons is helpful.  Better yet, one of the really fun features of this generation of Yamaha racks is their little slide-out reference sheets that attach underneath. I've come across some racks that include reference information on the tops of the racks, but that becomes useless once you've actually racked the thing.

I first came across this feature with the TX81Z and found it really handy to have all the program editing info and the diagrams of the eight oscillator algorithms readily available. And, even better - with the TX802, you get TWO pull-out sheets. One contains all the page editing info, and the other one is dedicated to all 32 wonderful algorithms available on the TX802. I believe the other Yamaha rack unit - the TX812/816 - also included a pull-out sheet (or two?). Or at least it looks like it in photos I've seen online. But I've never had the opportunity to get my grubby little hands on one. YET.

Sadly, that big two-page front panel photo of the TX802 in this brochure doesn't include the pull-outs. They've been removed, leaving a gaping hole at the bottom of the unit (directly underneath the LCD readout).

That's the only flaw I can find in this thing. Now go read it.

Yamaha CS-01 "Full Synthesizer Performance You Can Take Anywhere" brochure, 1982

Yamaha CS-01 synthesizer "Full Synthesizer Performance You Can Take Anywhere" two-side colour brochure from 1982.

While searching through my Yamaha brochure pile I came across this two-sider. Gah - can't believe I didn't add this one to the rest of the Producer Series blog posts!

If you recall, back at the beginning of March I was going through a bit of a Yamaha Producer Series fetish that included some great artwork that could be seen in ads (they look so juicy lined up in a row like this)...

... as well as in an awesome brochure that also pushed the mobile aspects of each piece of gear...

Artwork so good that I threatened to make T-shirts, or get a tatoo, or something. I don't really recall that part.  

Anyways, the final blog post in the series concluded with an new ad that came out a fair bit later, pushing some of Yamaha's new Producer Series gear while at the same time pushing aside those lovable characters. Instead we got actual humans photographed with the gear as Yamaha tried to swing the professional/studio angle.

What's interesting about this just-added CS-01 brochure is that although it came out at roughly the same time as the original 1982ish ads, it didn't include the characters. Instead we get a nicely dressed human using the synthesizer against an anonymous grey wall or while awkwardly sitting on a chair in the middle of a park. Neither of which I think helped create that connection with the reader. Luckily those were small photos.

I also find this brochure interesting because you can't really tell which side is the front. The gorgeous half-page photo probably should be the front, but then the specifications, and all those additional components (excellent!) and accessories (even more excellent!) are usually found on the back of these types of brochures or sell-sheets. My only guess is that the page was meant to be folded in the middle so that you had a front, back and inside.

As I stare more closely at that photo, a few other freaky things pop out at me. For example, that BC1 Breath Controller and CS01 strap aren't following that whole law of gravity thing that seems to be affecting the CS01 itself and the headphones. It messes with the brain a little seeing them floating around like that.

Another freaky thing involves the background image that frames the photo. None of those synth knobs and switches seem to have come from any Producer Series equipment. Instead it looks like they have taken the front panel of a CS40m to use as a pattern - probably to help subtly introduce some higher quality aspects to the CS-01. I'm not saying the CS-01 is cheap, its just not *as* high quality as something like the CS40m.

Just saying.  :)

Short post - because I have to get ready for the snow storm that's coming.

Yeah. Snow. 

Yamaha Producer Series "Production Values." ad, Keyboard 1984

Yamaha Producer Series "Production Values." full page colour advertisement from the back cover of the February 1984 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

Interesting fact: It's 1984, and yet this appears to be only the second Yamaha synthesizer advertisement to appear on the back cover of Keyboard Magazine. But once Yamaha got this ad onto the back cover, it kept it there pretty regularly from February all the way through to October.

It seems that Yamaha decided it wasn't exactly through with the promotion of its Producer Series line of products. But instead of reanimating those fun, illustrated ads from a few years ago, they decided it might be better to switch gears a bit and begin promoting both the old and new Producer Series gear towards the professional studio musician. And probably a good thing, because you can't really roller skate with a four-track recorder. At least not this Yamaha four-track. 

It was time to bring those roller skaters back into the studio to cut all those tracks people had been working on for the last two years with their CS01 synthesizer, MA10 headphone amp, MM10 portable mixer and MH10 headphones. They are all still available as part of the Producer Series, so they must have been selling okay.

But the bulk of this advertisement's ad-copy is all about the new studio gear:

• MT44 4-track cassette recorder.
• MM30 4x2 mixer with built-in analog delay, 7 band equalizer.
• RB30 system rack with patch bay and accessories compartment.

I really became intrigued with this 4-track system after seeing this ad a few days ago. I loved my Tascam four-track - I cut my teeth in music production on that that thing. But this system with patch bay and mixer sounds and looks really cool.

It didn't take long for a Google search to bring up that RB30 manual and it turns out the RB30 is the Ikea equivalent of studio furniture. It makes me want to find all the parts and recreate it even more! Gah!

Also - I found a great little German blog that included some good pics. Google's Chrome browser with its Translation feature is *awesome*. 

Almost as intriguing as this studio system is the one other piece of gear they kind of just slipped in here. As far as I can tell, it wasn't part of the original line up of Producer Series gear, but yet never really got any promotion on its own whenever it came out.

I'm talking about that MR10 drum machine! It kind of just got thrown into this ad

Well, in Yamaha's defense, it has been two years since that last batch of ads ran and they were releasing products as fast as humanly possible. And then some. They probably just didn't have enough ad space. But, we can get an idea of when that MR10 drum machine was actually released from when it appeared in the Spec Sheet section of the magazine in February 1983.

It actually appeared as part of a long series of Yamaha new gear, including mixers and power amplifiers, but those other items were not part of the Producer Series (but maybe precursors to them?), so I've only included the drum machine info:

"Yamaha Drum Machine, Mixers & Power Amps. The Yamaha MR10 is a battery-operated rhythm unit with twelve preset rhythms, plus five finger pads for playing live fills or entire rhythm parts. Preset rhythms, which can be combined with one another for greater variety, include disco, jazz, swing, waltz, march, and several Latin rhythms. In addition to the master volume, there are separate volume controls for the bass drum and cymbal. A tuning control governs the pitch of the snare drum, high tom-tom, and low tom-tom, and a tempo control governs the speed of the automatic rhythms. automatic fills can be activated every four or eight bars if desired...."

What the devil? No price?

Boooooo! 

That's enough Producer Series for now. On to something else in the next blog post. 

Yamaha "Producer Series" 12-page brochure, 1983

  
Yamaha "Producer Series" 12-page brochure from 1983 featuring the MA10 Headphone Amplifier, MM10 Mic/Line Stereo Portable Mixer, and CS01 Micro-Monophonic Synthesizer.

Just in case you couldn't get enough of the illustrations from Yamaha's 1982 "Producer Series" ads that ran in the June, August and October issues of Keyboard Magazine, I thought I would post this awesome 12-pager.  It took a bit more time than normal to scan, but I figure that allows me to blog a little bit less.  :)

Illustrations aside for a second, this brochure is also currently in my top 10 because it also gives readers an up close and personal look at each piece of gear. Labels for every knob, lever, dial and input and output are all clearly visible. And each piece of gear has a page or two devoted to detailed info. Can't beat that. 

But as much as I like that first half of the brochure, its the last half that is a joy to read. I really like diagrams. But I *love* these diagrams.  I'm talking about the "Six  Producer Series set-ups". The illustrator that sketched the imagery in those Yamaha ads was clearly running on all cylinders when asked to come up with more imagery for this brochure.

To me, the punch line comes in that sixth set-up (bottom of page 10) for "Amplifying TV sound". Two couch-potatoes lounging in front of a TV, beer and cigarette in hand, and head-phones securely on their heads so they can listen to their TV "privately and in synthesized stereo". Brilliant. And I'm also kinda crushing a little on the country singer in the second set up. Those are some serious birthin' hips.

The brochure was the perfect end to this series of illustrated Yamaha ads. If they had kept them going on longer, they might have become as epic as the John Mattos period of Sequential Circuits ads and brochures. Almost.

My biggest problem now is trying to decide which one of these illustrations to make my avatar on Facebook and the Cakewalk forum I just joined.

Yamaha CS01, MA10, MH10 and MM10 Producer Series "Before. After. Affordable Alternative..." ad, Keyboard 1982

Yamaha CS01 Synthesizer, MA10 Headphone Amplifier, MH10 Stereo Headphones and MM10 Stereo Mic/Line Mixer "Before. After. Affordable Alternative..." Producer Series two-page colour advertisement from page 8 and 9 in the October 1982 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

Okay, it definitely wasn't Yamaha's original intent, but I *really* want that synthesizer the dude in the bucket is playing in the "Before" illunstration. It's like a cross between a Kord MS20 and some computer panel from an early James Bond flick that some anonymous henchman would be controlling. It actually brings back some great memories of a time when all my available income would go towards that one... special... synth (which would change when the next best synth came out). A time when I would honestly consider wearing a bucket if it meant I could buy it. Although I'd never not pay for a good haircut.

But Yamaha once again does a fine job of literally illustrating their point - the Producer Series gear wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. It was truly an "Affordable Alternative".

This was the third and final ad in this particular series of "Producer Series" ads. If you recall, each in the series dealt with one particular advantage that the gear held over its competitors. The "Rolling Sound" ad was all about the mobility of the gear, and the "Private Practice" ad pushed the idea of being able to practice without disturbing others. 

Rolling Sound.                             Private Practice.

Each of these ads appeared only once - June, August, and October 1982. And its a shame, because the illustrations are really nice and they all deserved more airtime. But I'm sure part of the problem was that Yamaha was pumping out tons of gear all the time, and needed to advertise all those products. To make the point, during the time these ads were running, Yamaha was also throwing advertising dollars at Keyboard Magazine for the CS70m, Electone 7000, CE20 combo, CP11 and CP12 electric pianos, and PS10 and PS20 portable keyboards. They were running two to four ads per month.

All those different products probably made it a little confusing for the consumer. And I'm not the only one who thought so.

Dominic Milano says as much in the introduction of his March 1983 Keyboard Report on three Yamaha offerings - the PC-100, MP-1 and the lovely CS01.

"Companies, as they get larger, tend to split themselves up into smaller divisions internally, for administrative reasons. This may make perfect sense for their own purposes, but it can be confusing for anybody from the outside who deals with them. Case in point: Yamaha International (which is itself a division of Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd.) has no less than three separate divisions selling keyboard instruments. Depending on what instrument you want to talk about, your phone call may be routed to either the Keyboard Division (pianos and organs), the Combo Division (rock and jazz keyboards), or the Special Products Division (portable battery-operated keyboards)."

Over-lapping departments in a large organization is never a good thing. It just leads to silos. I've not just seen it, I've experienced it.

So, guess which division the portable, battery-operated CS01 synthesizer was a part of. Nope, not the Specialty Products Division which specialized in portable, battery-operated keyboards. It belonged to the Combo Division, which includes rock and jazz keyboards. Go figure. Well, enough griping about that. 

Dominic's report on the CS01 is pretty standard, concentrating on the functionality of the synth. And he did touch on one aspect of the CS01 that really interests me - the breath control. The VCF and VCA can both be controlled with Yamaha's $35 breath controller accessory.

"This handy little accessory, which you blow into, turns the CS01 into a very expressive lead instrument. The amount of signal from the breath controller that is opening up the filter or VCA can be continuously adjusted with a pair of knobs at the left end of the keyboard. Thus you can easily use the ADSR to control the loudness while your breath controls the filter cutoff, or vice-versa. Or you can mix the two for some subtle inflections."

Yeah, sure, you might look a little odd running around the stage with the CS01 around your neck and a giant soother in your mouth... wait... actually, now you wouldn't look that odd.

I'm going to have to investigate that breath control a little further...

Yamaha CS01, MA10, MH10 and MM10 Producer Series "Before. After. Rolling Sound..." ad, Keyboard 1982

Yamaha CS01 Synthesizer, MA10 Headphone Amplifier, MH10 Stereo Headphones and MM10 Stereo Mic/Line Mixer "Before. After. Rolling sound..." Producer Series two-page colour advertisement from page 36 and 37 in the August 1982 issue of Keyboard Magazine.

Yamaha must have known they were on to a good thing with the artistic direction taken for the Producer Series of advertisements, and decided to keep the ball rolling after the first ad appeared in the June 1982 issue of Keyboard Magazine - ---see right  --->

In that first advertisement, Yamaha focused on the theme of "Private practice", where using only Yamaha Producer Series equipment, a band could practice without annoying the neighbours, or apparently, the pet dog.

In this second advertisement, again appearing only once, this time in the August 1982 issue of Keyboard, the theme switches to "Rolling sound", aka the ability to take your music on the road. And not on now-fasionable inline skates, but old-skool roller skates - toe-brakes and all. Whether we are talking about the skates or the... ahem... cleavage... it is truly all in the details.  Hubba!  The point is, this battery-operated gear is light and easy to take on the road.

Both this ad and the previous one follow the same "Before/After" layout, with only two splashes of colour to be found. In the "Producer Series" name and the gear itself. Those splashes of colour save the ad in some ways, allowing the readers' eyes to find a focal point. Something that could be rather difficult without the colour in a two page advertisement this busy.

I have to give Yamaha credit. They went to great lengths to make these ads unique. And not just the imagery, but the ad-copy as well. The story pulls each piece of gear from the Producer Series into the ad, even if it is not part of the artwork. Nice.

At some point I'll pick up all these pieces just to fiddle with, but as can be seen in my previous blog post, my obsession is really all about the CS01 synthesizer.

Side note: I went through a period where I was really fascinated with mini-synthesizers and at one point was ignoring all my other gear and creating music based only around my CZ101, DX100, MC202 and Prophecy. Kind of concept album. Never went anywhere, and probably a good thing since that last one I mentioned, the Korg Prophecy, may not be a true mini. Someone would have called me out on that. But it is monophonic. And great sounding. And adorable - just like the rest in this group. :)

Anyways, my obsession is really about the CS01. But the others were definitely along for the ride. For example, all four pieces appeared in the same Spec Sheet promo in the May 1982 issue of Keyboard (a month before the ads started to appear). The promo focuses on the most important aspects of each piece - the size and weight. Plus, us historical freaks get some retail pricing info too!

"Yamaha products. Four new miniaturized sound reinforcement components have been introduced by Yamaha. The portable battery-operated CS01 Monophonic Synthesizer, is 19 3/4" wide by 6-3/8" deep, with a 32-note keyboard, pitch and mod wheels, LFO, variable glissando, pitch, and waveform controls, pulse width modulation, full VCF, VCA, and envelope generator controls, an octave selector for adjusting keyboard range, and an interface allowing modulation of both VCF and VCA functions by breath. A build-in amp and speaker system is also included. Price is $249.95. The MH10 Headphone Amplifier, weighing 17 ounces and measuring 8-3/4" by 5" by 2-1/16", features four line inputs and outputs, separate volume controls, bass and treble controls, and input and master volume controls that permit intentional distortion effects. A built-in analog delay line can create a stereo-like effect. The MA10 sells for $124.95. The MH10 Stereo Headphones weigh two ounces, and feature adjustable headband and a 9' cable. Price is $29.95. Finally, the MM10 Mic/Line Stereo Portable Mixer weighs 17 ounces, measures 98-3/4" by 5" by 2-1/16", with capability of mixing up to four signals. Each powered product runs on either AC or battery. Yamaha, Boxx 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622."

$249.95?!?! That's an amazing price for what the portable CS01 can do. And the timing couldn't have been better either. In this May issue alone, we have advertisements for the Roland TB303/TR606 and SCI Remote Prophet. And the article on Jonathan Cain (Ex-Babys Keyboardist touring with Journey) features a large photo of him with an ARP Odyssey strapped around his neck (and looking like he's experiencing severe back problems). Technology was getting to the point where the luxury of portability was starting to kick in. Yamaha was catching the wave.

I'm curious though... can I really get a power generator harness for my dog? I could see how that could come in handy.