Dave Smith's forgotten synth - the yamaha sy22

tom Cadillac · Post by **tom Cadillac** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 10:05 am

I just bought one of these on impulse, coz it was so cheap and found out it was designed by Dave Smith! (Correct me if I'm wrong). I think the whole vector thing is really neglected and really cool - realtime morphing from one oscillator to another. And i don't care about the low quality sound - grainy low-fi heaven is what I think.

Anyway - do these synths deserve their low reputation? Or are they the forgotten work of a synth genius?

Altitude · Post by **Altitude** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 11:51 am

It was a rushed product by DSD (Dave Smith designs) which was formed by Yamaha after they bought up SCI and is a crude precursor to the wavestation. After this synth was designed and before it was released, Korg came in and stole Dave and crew away so it was really the only production synth that he worked on for Yamaha in the very short time he was there. The lack of basic synth features (like a filter) made this synth pretty limited

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:11 pm

i consider this quite an underrated/undervalued synth.
sure, it could be better, but for the prices they were going for last i checked, its worth picking this or a tg33 up.
id use my tg33 if i wasnt so busy pimping vintage synths.

mini

Taxidermy · Post by **Taxidermy** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:56 pm

Great keyboard. Quite like it. One of the few things I regret selling.

Sir Ruff · Post by **Sir Ruff** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:18 pm

I picked up tallowwaters' sy-35 a while back.. it's definitely got an interesting sound-I'm actually not a big fan of the whole joystick thing-maybe it's just cos I haven't mixed and matched the right samples/FM.. the volume jumps and waves themselves are so disparate i find it hard to make a smooth change (prolly just me!)... and while more features is usually a good thing, I think by adding an individual envelope for each osc, they inadvertantly make basic volume editing too complicated (surely that's what the vectors are for!)
I actually find using the vector just on the detune instead gives real interesting subtlely modulated pad sounds... and the samples have got that great early 90s gritty, breathy sound which I really like... oh yeah, and the s/h lfo is a neat way to "bit-reduce" those samples... get some real dirty but still usable sounds that way...

nuketifromorbit · Post by **nuketifromorbit** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 3:58 pm

Sir Ruff wrote:I picked up tallowwaters' sy-35 a while back.. it's definitely got an interesting sound-I'm actually not a big fan of the whole joystick thing-maybe it's just cos I haven't mixed and matched the right samples/FM.. the volume jumps and waves themselves are so disparate i find it hard to make a smooth change (prolly just me!)... and while more features is usually a good thing, I think by adding an individual envelope for each osc, they inadvertantly make basic volume editing too complicated (surely that's what the vectors are for!)
I actually find using the vector just on the detune instead gives real interesting subtlely modulated pad sounds... and the samples have got that great early 90s gritty, breathy sound which I really like... oh yeah, and the s/h lfo is a neat way to "bit-reduce" those samples... get some real dirty but still usable sounds that way...

Ha, so thats what tallows did with my sy35. Honestly I like the tg33 I picked up quite a bit better than they sy35. Theres certain waves that went missing on the sy35, specifically a really great one which I swear I've heard used on skinny puppy's last rights.

hinotori · Post by **hinotori** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 4:11 pm

i can support the support for the tg 33 . its an interesting box to play with .

micahjonhughes · Post by **micahjonhughes** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 4:50 pm

I've owned tg-33s. I must have liked the first to buy it again many years later. I think vector synthesis is great and the Tg-33 has it at a low price. My only complaint and the reason I don't own one today is that in trying to pack too many options in (samples, a drum set, effects...) Yamaha missed out on making it do any one thing great. I would really love to have the ability to mix four FM sounds together with a little more control in editing those sounds. I could do without the drums and certainly the effects. But it is what it is and it's not bad.

hageir · Post by **hageir** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:22 pm

minime123 wrote:i consider this quite an underrated/undervalued synth.
sure, it could be better, but for the prices they were going for last i checked, its worth picking this or a tg33 up.
id use my tg33 if i wasnt so busy pimping vintage synths.
mini

don't make me use my pimp hand!

yeah I like the vector; sy & tg series from yamaha, I'm gonna pick up a tg55, locally tomorrow..

Thefumigator · Post by **Thefumigator** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:39 pm

Does anyone have a demo mp3 or a tune made with one of those vector synths?
Also, which is or has been the ultimate vector synth? (just to have as reference)

Post by **meatballfulton** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 9:13 pm

Thefumigator wrote:which is or has been the ultimate vector synth?

Korg Wavestation

Sir Ruff · Post by **Sir Ruff** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 9:15 pm

Thefumigator wrote:Does anyone have a demo mp3 or a tune made with one of those vector synths?
Also, which is or has been the ultimate vector synth? (just to have as reference)

Look no further than Sealed's great website....

and just from general reading, I think it's probably safe to say the SCI Prophet VS is the mother of all vector synths...

Alex E · Post by **Alex E** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 2:16 am

I'm saving up for a Yamaha SY22. I am in touch with somebody who is ready to sell theirs, and when I finish saving up I will buy it from them. Since the TG33 is just as cheap I am going to add even more power and get that too, someday. Wonderful, dirt-cheap synths. It's just amazing how low they go for nowadays.

crystalmsc · Post by **crystalmsc** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 9:38 am

tom Cadillac wrote:are they the forgotten work of a synth genius?

yes, it is

really love my TG33 and the lo-fi quality is really fit with what I want from this synth. with some real stereo analog filter such Dave's own Evolver..it's a complete legendary synth.

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 2:06 pm

nice pimp cookie!

Dave Smith's forgotten synth - the yamaha sy22

Dave Smith's forgotten synth - the yamaha sy22

Re: Dave Smith's forgotten synth - the yamaha sy22