Yamaha CS 15 VS Sequential Circuits Pro One

[theauras333]

was looking at these two synthesizers and really cant decide which one to go with and just wanted to get some opions from people on what they dig more the Yamaha CS 15 or the Sequential Circuits Pro One

[intrancewetrust]

i think the pro one will be a firm favourite, however (where i live) they cost over twice as much as a CS-15... which for someone like me means they are not something i would compare...

[Solderman]

Pro One is brighter with the filter open, has better bass, waaaay punchier envelopes, additional bus for modulation routing using modwheel for depth control. cross-mod and audio-rate PWM, the ability to combine square+saw+triangle LFO and VCO waveforms, 4 pole VCF, VCF keyboard tracking control, VCF self-oscillation, oscillator sync, an arpeggiator and a sequencer.

CS-15 has multi-mode 2 pole VCF, 2 parallel synthesizer channels(but channel one has only one VCO), separate optional glide envelope for VCO, invertable envelopes, a pitch stick that actually springs back to center and sample+hold LFO.

I got rid of my Pro~One because the filter thins out tremendously with resonance up, the pots are cheap and wear out too fast, the case is flimsy and cheaply made and I kept feeling like the VCO's always had this "stiff" quality about them. I had other monosynths that already covered the other advantages.
Aside from the bass, I find the CS-15 more tonally pleasing. It certainly lacks alot of bells and whistles, and I wish the CS-15 had punchier envelopes, oscillator sync and some kind of modwheel functionality, but just don't use it for bass or spacey sounds and it ought to still be useful.

[CfNorENa]

The CS-15 is a good synthesizer. The Pro-One is a great synthesizer.

/thread.

[synthparts]

The CS-15 is a good synthesizer. The Pro-One is a great synthesizer.

/thread.

A fairer comparison (price, features, etc) is the CS30 which I'd defintely rate in the "great" category like the Pro-One...

[Automatic Gainsay]

I"m sorry, but the only way the Pro One has a "better bass" than the CS-15 is if you don't know how to use the resonance on a High Pass filter to amplify bass frequencies.

[Solderman]

This is true if you don't want to lowpass any of the oscillators' harmonics or when you have two filters in series like the MS20 or Minikorg, and the lowpass is second, so you can use the highpass as a bass boost for the VCO mix and still do lowpass envelope sweeps. You have to modify the CS15 to get serial filtering with both oscillators.

[syntheticsolutions]

I"m sorry, but the only way the Pro One has a "better bass" than the CS-15 is if you don't know how to use the resonance on a High Pass filter to amplify bass frequencies.

So incredibly true, the CS-15 is my go to synth for that punctual 70's bass!

[nathanscribe]

I found the CS-15 to give perfectly adequate bass - bass lines don't have to be subby bowel-churners, they can be punchy and thumpy without all that stuff. And if you want extra low, you can always add another layer, or whatever. No problem.

The thing with the Yamahas is I think people often get baffled by the filters. We're so used to being told the Moog 24dB LP ladder is where it's at that anything else gets forgotten. I love my Moogs, but I also love the various Yamaha CS series I've had. They make some great sounds. Just not the same sounds as a Moog.

Personally, I would use the filters as a starting point for a decision, once price has been accounted for. If you don't want what a 12dB multimode filter does, don't choose the Yamaha because you'll likely be disappointed. But if the various kinds of tonality it produces are going to interest you, definitely consider it. The CS-15 does more than at first meets the eye.

It's not without limitations though. It could do with a more flexible LFO, for one. Despite the dual filters, I ended up preferring and keeping the CS-40m over the CS-15. Only one filter, but duophonic and more flexible oscillators and modulation, plus a ring modulator and extra envelope. And much better interfacing without modification. If you can find one they're definitely worth thinking about.