Yamaha CS-80

Yamaha CS-80 for sale by auction – it is in working order but unserviced. Ex-Patrick Moraz (Moody Blues/Yes). In excellent condition having been well cared for and complete with many accessories and documentation.

If you want this serviced/upgraded by us, please do not bid until you have contacted us to discuss timescale and cost.

It has been assessed by Soundgas head synth tech, James Walker – he reports that it’s one of the better examples we’ve yet seen. All appears to be as you’d expect for a vintage CS-80 that’s not been recently serviced: the usual full recap, power supply overhaul, key contacts, and tuning/calibration, however all the key (impossible to find!) parts appear to be working fine.

The auction is for the synth as it stands with no service work performed by us: some potential buyers have said they wish to have servicing done by their own techs. Please read notes below if you wish to purchase this and have us restore it for you.

It comes with extensive documentation, archive/receipts etc – including the owners’ guides and service manual/schematics. Complete with lid, stand, pedals, cover, wheels (for the case) all housed in a large, custom, wheeled flight case with Moody Blues stencil. The last owner has included various receipts, notes and CS-80 related dvds (a clip of Patrick Moraz/Moody Blues live, excerpt from BBC documentary with CS-80 playing Born In The USA, and CS-80 How To Play video). This is the most complete CS-80 package we’ve seen and the archive makes fascinating reading: it last changed hands in 1983 for £1200 (£295 less than a new DX-7)!

Servicing: this auction is for the CS-80 as it stands with no work beyond initial assessment carried out by us. Why? Because we have a synth tech queue that stretches into early 2022 and some customers have expressed interest in buying it for immediate delivery. It works, but requires the usual updates and service/tuning/calibration that you’d expect.

If you wish to bid on this and have us service it for you (at additional cost), then delivery estimate is towards the end of the first quarter of 2022. We may be able to better this, but CS-80s take time to get right. Extensive soak-testing following an initial overhaul often reveals further niggles and issues that require additional time (we have one about to leave that took six weeks and then threw up one final issue that took another week). If you try to rush a CS-80 or cut corners it will bite you, so we always try to over estimate timescale (and cost). Please get in touch for a cost estimate for the work: bear in mind that it will take at least two weeks of our senior tech’s time (and quite possibly two or three times this).

SHIPPING: This will be charged separately once the synth is ready. Delivery will be by private courier for the UK and some of mainland Europe. Elsewhere we will engage a audio specialist shipping company (eg Rock-It Cargo). Please ask if you need an approximate quote for this – estimates based on previous shipments are £250-350 for van delivery to much of the UK, £800+ in Europe and $1500 plus for North America.