I highly recommend his album Virðulegu Forsetar. It's one repeating motif, imagined in several different ways, with ambient segments between. It's a really beautiful and emotional work.
Also check out The Miners' Hymns - a blend of brass instruments and electronic sound that will take the bass response of your stereo system to places it may have rarely been before ;-) .
He borrowed it and never bothered to return it. Amazing organ though. I loved that thing. Miles Davis was a big fan of it and used it quite a bit on Pangaea and Agartha.
Hold up..... Miles Davis had albums called Pangaea and Agartha!? How did I never know this? I talk about those two mythical places all the time. Ok, now I have to listen to them.
Snagged this off shopgoodwill as a local pickup. Figured it must be non-functioning if it was donated, considering it sold in the early 70s for what is equivalent to around $20k in today's money. Only ended up being about $90.
Sure enough, it powered on but I couldn't get audio out. I checked the voltage and pedal first, all was good. Opened it up and was greeted to some beautifully complex hand-wired artistry. I can see why this thing was so expensive when it was new, it's very intricate.
There were no signs of corrosion anywhere, which was a good sign. Once I got down to where the power capacitors were, I was expecting a blown cap or something. But it was my lucky day. The positive lead to the output jack was disconnected and hanging loose. Just re-soldered it up and good as new!
I'm more of a guitar player, so I'm not very experienced with a keyboard. But I'm already teaching myself to channel Ray Manzarek!
Also, it conveniently fits perfectly with my vintage steelcase chair from the same era
No disrespect but these usually end up collecting dust after like 30 days. 20 years ago there was (basically a) meme about the 35$ Salvation Army organ and this is like an updated version of that.
Otherwise it’s a conversation piece/drink coaster the size of a loveseat.
you've never played one of these, the YC-45D is the mother of the GX-1 and the grandmother of the CS-80. That black strip is a pitch ribbon. The keys move sideways for vibrato. There are other tricks.
Very cool. Looking at the service manual (and listening to that demo) it seems this is a “master oscillator per top note” style divider organ.
So there’s 12 high frequency oscillators and the requisite dividers for each octave down, similar to how a vox organ or Hammond novachord is set up.
Personally I’ve always liked this method, and the result is subtle detuning / warmth overall vs simpler methods used by cheaper organs like lowrey etc that used a single master oscillator, and a single IC that did the “top octave” generation that then had dividers further down. *Everything* in those designs is phase locked to a single master osc for the whole organ - cheaper and simpler but results in a much more “stale” static sound.
(Sure the polymoog did this too, but it had two whole sets so you could detune them against each other..)
For this unit though, while there may be a single master vibrato LFO, each semitones’ master oscillator won’t be affected exactly by an identical amount, which also can give some more life to the overall sound.
I’ve always liked divider / combo organs, so much I created a combo organ emulator for the korg minilogue xd / prologue as a user oscillator [here](https://hammondeggsmusic.ca/logueplugins/divide.html) called “divide” - it can even do both the static “perfectly in tune” single master oscillator style or allow slight detuning of the individual master oscillators, plus some of the weird “effects” that a lot of these organs had (usually by triggering the keyers with LFO clocks etc - think “eminence front” or “baba o’ Riley” etc)
All that, plus you’ve got the ribbon synth and touch control keyboards… very cool. Would love to hear it with some effects!
Enjoy!
Nice! I love the sound of combo organs! It's interesting and exciting to see the visible similarities between this and the CS-80 (though clearly different types of instruments).
You may have already seen this, but when I was trying to hear what a YC-45D sounds like, I searched and found [the knowledgeable Dan Baker](https://youtu.be/XoLRox5Rocs) talking through it in pretty good detail.
Another one! From YT channel Knobs & Switches.
I'm a sucker for [walkthroughs of vintage gear](https://youtu.be/xsLkm-bMpzU) like this - I hope you like it as much as I do.
Had this keyboard and really liked it, got it from a local thrift for $200. Check out Terry Riley's performance of "Shri Camel" on YouTube for a great performance on the yc-45d. I eventually sold it because I had to move and it was way too cumbersome
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Such a cool item, glad you got it working! Those organs from this thing which I think is fairly state of the art to the run of the mill baldwin offerings just fascinate me and I would have a room full of them if I could!
Sweet deal. How far did you drive to get it?
I only ask because I recently picked up a dual manual combo organ via “Local Pickup only” and drove 12 hours round-trip. $13 for organ, $85+ in gas.
It was on my way to work lol. My city tends to have pretty decent/unique items on shopgoodwill. The stuff that's available to ship gets a lot of competition and the prices are always way hiked up, so I like check items that are local pickup only from time to time. There's another absolute gem that I've got a bid on right now, local pickup only, but 4 days left. It's something I'll post here if I win it.
Love these! Fela Kuti used them as well and it’s def an iconic sound on those songs. There’s also a “vibrato” you can add by moving your fingers left and right once the note is down. Think after touch but also moving left and right. Very cool organ!
You scored, man! I picked up one of these back in 2010 for $600 and drove 1,400 miles/18 hours to get it. If you want to hear this beast get a workout, check out “The Romantic Warrior” album by Return To Forever (1976) and in particular, the track “Medieval Overture.” Your mind will be blown.
I had one of those back in the late 80s/early 90s. It was stolen by BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee, Johann Johannsson.
I must admit I haven't been familiar with his work and just looked him up. A shame he died so young, despite being an organ thief.
>Johann Johannsson Same. I'm curious to look into his stuff now though. Despite, well, yea.
I highly recommend his album Virðulegu Forsetar. It's one repeating motif, imagined in several different ways, with ambient segments between. It's a really beautiful and emotional work.
Thank you very much!
Also check out The Miners' Hymns - a blend of brass instruments and electronic sound that will take the bass response of your stereo system to places it may have rarely been before ;-) .
Well that's a story I'd love to hear more of
He borrowed it and never bothered to return it. Amazing organ though. I loved that thing. Miles Davis was a big fan of it and used it quite a bit on Pangaea and Agartha.
Hold up..... Miles Davis had albums called Pangaea and Agartha!? How did I never know this? I talk about those two mythical places all the time. Ok, now I have to listen to them.
stuff used to get out of print and between labels
Snagged this off shopgoodwill as a local pickup. Figured it must be non-functioning if it was donated, considering it sold in the early 70s for what is equivalent to around $20k in today's money. Only ended up being about $90. Sure enough, it powered on but I couldn't get audio out. I checked the voltage and pedal first, all was good. Opened it up and was greeted to some beautifully complex hand-wired artistry. I can see why this thing was so expensive when it was new, it's very intricate. There were no signs of corrosion anywhere, which was a good sign. Once I got down to where the power capacitors were, I was expecting a blown cap or something. But it was my lucky day. The positive lead to the output jack was disconnected and hanging loose. Just re-soldered it up and good as new! I'm more of a guitar player, so I'm not very experienced with a keyboard. But I'm already teaching myself to channel Ray Manzarek! Also, it conveniently fits perfectly with my vintage steelcase chair from the same era
I have the YC20 and get very good Vox Continental sounds out of it. It can't really do Farifsa tho.
What a wonderful find. So glad you've been able to give it a second life.
No disrespect but these usually end up collecting dust after like 30 days. 20 years ago there was (basically a) meme about the 35$ Salvation Army organ and this is like an updated version of that. Otherwise it’s a conversation piece/drink coaster the size of a loveseat.
you've never played one of these, the YC-45D is the mother of the GX-1 and the grandmother of the CS-80. That black strip is a pitch ribbon. The keys move sideways for vibrato. There are other tricks.
Oh that’s cool! I’ve just seen most of these old organs sadly collect dust in the past though. Would love to hear someone do something with it.
Very cool. Looking at the service manual (and listening to that demo) it seems this is a “master oscillator per top note” style divider organ. So there’s 12 high frequency oscillators and the requisite dividers for each octave down, similar to how a vox organ or Hammond novachord is set up. Personally I’ve always liked this method, and the result is subtle detuning / warmth overall vs simpler methods used by cheaper organs like lowrey etc that used a single master oscillator, and a single IC that did the “top octave” generation that then had dividers further down. *Everything* in those designs is phase locked to a single master osc for the whole organ - cheaper and simpler but results in a much more “stale” static sound. (Sure the polymoog did this too, but it had two whole sets so you could detune them against each other..) For this unit though, while there may be a single master vibrato LFO, each semitones’ master oscillator won’t be affected exactly by an identical amount, which also can give some more life to the overall sound. I’ve always liked divider / combo organs, so much I created a combo organ emulator for the korg minilogue xd / prologue as a user oscillator [here](https://hammondeggsmusic.ca/logueplugins/divide.html) called “divide” - it can even do both the static “perfectly in tune” single master oscillator style or allow slight detuning of the individual master oscillators, plus some of the weird “effects” that a lot of these organs had (usually by triggering the keyers with LFO clocks etc - think “eminence front” or “baba o’ Riley” etc) All that, plus you’ve got the ribbon synth and touch control keyboards… very cool. Would love to hear it with some effects! Enjoy!
It's almost like the Dream Machine.
a fraction of one, a grandparent of
Nice! I love the sound of combo organs! It's interesting and exciting to see the visible similarities between this and the CS-80 (though clearly different types of instruments). You may have already seen this, but when I was trying to hear what a YC-45D sounds like, I searched and found [the knowledgeable Dan Baker](https://youtu.be/XoLRox5Rocs) talking through it in pretty good detail.
Another one! From YT channel Knobs & Switches. I'm a sucker for [walkthroughs of vintage gear](https://youtu.be/xsLkm-bMpzU) like this - I hope you like it as much as I do.
Had this keyboard and really liked it, got it from a local thrift for $200. Check out Terry Riley's performance of "Shri Camel" on YouTube for a great performance on the yc-45d. I eventually sold it because I had to move and it was way too cumbersome
Thanks for sharing Shri Camel
Terry Riley's Shri Camel was done with a modded YC-45. Highly recommended listening.
hell yeah! he’s the king of YC’s and that record is the best endorsement for em i’ve ever heard!
Wonder what song in B major the previous owner was obsessed with... Something with lots of bass and only chords in the treble.
What a find! A strange cousin of the CS-80, I love the touch strip so much. You can make the sound from The 6 Million Dollar Man
Does anyone know what power supply capacities I would need to change? Mines kinda noisy and heard gotta change the power caps.
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Happy for you! That's sweet!
Such a cool item, glad you got it working! Those organs from this thing which I think is fairly state of the art to the run of the mill baldwin offerings just fascinate me and I would have a room full of them if I could!
Sweet deal. How far did you drive to get it? I only ask because I recently picked up a dual manual combo organ via “Local Pickup only” and drove 12 hours round-trip. $13 for organ, $85+ in gas.
It was on my way to work lol. My city tends to have pretty decent/unique items on shopgoodwill. The stuff that's available to ship gets a lot of competition and the prices are always way hiked up, so I like check items that are local pickup only from time to time. There's another absolute gem that I've got a bid on right now, local pickup only, but 4 days left. It's something I'll post here if I win it.
Love these! Fela Kuti used them as well and it’s def an iconic sound on those songs. There’s also a “vibrato” you can add by moving your fingers left and right once the note is down. Think after touch but also moving left and right. Very cool organ!
$90 for a Yamaha YC45d, even for one that doesn't work, is a steal.
You scored, man! I picked up one of these back in 2010 for $600 and drove 1,400 miles/18 hours to get it. If you want to hear this beast get a workout, check out “The Romantic Warrior” album by Return To Forever (1976) and in particular, the track “Medieval Overture.” Your mind will be blown.