The newest addition to the Vintage Keyboard Studio, and the largest one yet. The Yamaha Electone E70is a very special organ in that it is highly regarded as the "poor man's Yamaha CS80". If you made it to this site, chances are you already know what the CS80 is. The CS80 was Yamaha's flagship synthesizer, released in 1976, and remains sought after to this day, usually commanding ridiculous prices. But there was something in the sound of the CS80 that made it come alive, and well-known composers such as Vangelis (who composed the soundtrack to the movie Blade Runner) showed what the CS80 was really capable of.
The Electone E70 model was different in that it used the same circuit boards and preset voice architecture as used on the CS80. So basically, you're getting a preset CS80. Pretty sweet...
I'm certainly glad we found it when we did; these are most likely becoming rare, and I don't think Yamaha produced a ton of them, so if one presents itself, it's best to grab it (providing you have room, have a means of hauling it, and have some friends that don't mind helping lift a 350lb organ...)
Here she is after a thorough cleaning. Unfortunately, we are still having issues with the second bank of voices, and are trying to obtain a service manual. Once we figure out the problem, we have a full-fledged analog synthesizer in a home organ enclosure. This was definitely a good find, and like all projects, extremely rewarding once done.
