45 YEARS OF YAMAHA SYNTHESISERS

It’s 45 years since Yamaha produced its first synthesizer, the SY-1. Since then, the company has become a giant of synth development, releasing hugely successful models in every decade, with features often so powerful and cutting-edge that they have become iconic machines in the history of the synthesiser. From the rich, analogue sound of the legendary CS-80, through the digital exploration of Frequency Modulation synthesis with the DX7 and Virtual Acoustic modelling with the VL1, right up to the powerful workstations of MOTIF and the current day MONTAGE and MO range, Yamaha has always strived to deliver instruments that are packed with next-generation thinking, but which are also designed to deliver a rich and rewarding user experience.

Here are just some of the highlights of Yamaha’s incredible history of synth releases. As you can see,