So here is the GX-80 by Cherry Audio
A hybrid reincarnation of Yamaha's novel synthesizers. The CS-80 and it's predecessor GX-1.
And if you're not familiar with the legendary CS-80, it is undoubtedly the most expressive analog synthesizer ever made!
It was considered by many the ultimate performance instrument and it found it's way on many influential recordings by renowned electronic music pioneers most notably Vangelis (Blade Runner / Chariots Of Fire) and Jean-Michel Jarre (Oxygen 7-13).
It featured the innovative "polyphonic aftertouch" as it's big brother GX-1 (which means you can modulate the sound of each note according to the pressure you apply on each corresponding key), a feature unprecedented for the time (GX-1 released in 1973 / CS-80 in 1978) while still impressive today!
I am really not familiar with the GX-1. It was a massive synth weighing 1 ton with a price-tag of 50K, made before I was born.
I can only imagine what a beautiful synth it was through this emulation!
So let's get to the point... how does the GX-80 sound?
Incredibly... amazing. I strongly recommend this synth. It just captures every nuance of the velvety pads and string ensembles the CS-80 is known for.
Lush sounds , deep bass, ethery leads, it's all there. And honestly, it's not just the sound with this synth. It's the expression!!!
It's aftertouch implementation is just incredible!
They've modelled it so good. The behavior of sound modulation corresponding so well to every key stroke, it gives a whole new meaning to my keyboard's sensitivity!
Congrats to Mark Barton for his DSP work in this.
The effects of the synth are great sounding and the ribbon pitch controller offers some amazing pitch-bending techniques by "touching" the strip directly (instead of using your keyboard's pitch bend wheel- also available).
Well-designed synth with smart menus, resizable (drag) UI and a lovely focus/zoom feature!
The GX-80 comes with 1060 expertly crafted patches and nearly every parameter of the synth can be automated.
Congrats to Cherry Audio
for a brilliant sounding synth with excellent features!
