Yamaha SY99

The Yamaha SY99 was a high-end music synthesizer released in 1991. The Japanese group Yamaha brought it out as the successor to the SY77 released in 1989. In the broadest sense, both devices follow the tradition of the successful 1983 model, the Yamaha DX7 . In 1991, the SY99's direct competitor was the Kurzweil K2000, which was released at the same time . The purchase price was around 7,000 DM. Big names in the pop scene at the time such as Brian Eno , Toto or Vangelis used and advertised this device.

Sound generation

The 76 velocity-sensitive , but not weighted plastic keys of the Yamaha SY99 could be played with 32 voices polyphonically, i.e. up to 32 keys could be operated simultaneously. He generated his sounds using two methods that were considered established at the time, but did not exist so lavishly in one device:

Frequency modulation ( FM synthesis ), in which simple waveforms such as a sine or sawtooth were modulated by other, equally simple waves. FM sounds have been known since the DX7 for their belliness and often sharp sharpness; But they could also produce deep, warm bass, as is known from the much older synthesizers, in which several oscillators also vibrated, but without modulating each other via carrier waves.
the sample- based synthesis, which was based on real recorded sounds - basically sound snippets.

Both methods can be mixed, or better: interconnected so that, for example, a sampled string sound could be modified using the FM module. The programming was done via a monochrome display and buttons. One of the strengths of the device were sounds that developed indefinitely with a single keystroke without repeating themselves; they just kept their self-likeness. In many music productions these given “presets” were used without any further programming. Despite their diversity, they were recognizable to experts. The SY99 was delivered with 128 presets and left space for 128 user-programmed sounds. The demo song, which was delivered with the operating system as an advertisement for the variety of sounds, was called “99 flavors” and was composed by Chick Corea.

The storage space was one of the lavish facilities for the time. The non-volatile memory (RAM) was 1/2 megabyte in size and could be expanded using plug-in modules. Sounds and songs could be saved on a built-in floppy disk drive ( 3½ inch ). Songs were composed and arranged using the 16-track sequencer . The main memory of the sequencer managed a maximum of 10 songs and a total of 27,000 individual notes. The format was midi .

A few years after the SY99 appeared, hardware synthesizers were largely supplanted by software synthesizers . Thus the Yamaha SY99 was one of the last great synthesizers of its kind.

Web links

Original operating instructions for the SY99

Individual evidence

↑ The music carpet under the Deutschlandfunk series “Sternzeit” (in the program “ Forschung aktuell” ) was taken over and translated by an American broadcaster in the first few years. The music was that of the American original and came from a soundscape created by a single long press on the Yamaha SY99.
↑ The song can be found on Corea's album Beneath the Mask .
↑ Yamaha SY99 (MT Oct 91). Retrieved December 4, 2018 .

[1] The music carpet under the Deutschlandfunk series “Sternzeit” (in the program “ Forschung aktuell” ) was taken over and translated by an American broadcaster in the first few years. The music was that of the American original and came from a soundscape created by a single long press on the Yamaha SY99.

[2] The song can be found on Corea's album Beneath the Mask .

[3] Yamaha SY99 (MT Oct 91). Retrieved December 4, 2018 .