I was able to take the patches as displayed and match them by ear better to the recordings - I notice that the biggest difference is in matching the overall brightness of the sounds and some tweaks to the envelope curves. By that time the patches didn't match as closely visually, but did sound more alike. If you collapse the CS80V down to mono it comes even closer, if that's what you're looking for. I find that treating the plugin as distinct but in-the-family of the hardware is good enough, and while I've never been lucky enough to have two hardware synths in the same place and time, I have been told they require the same kind of by-ear matching. Go figure, given the sheer amount of hand wiring that's in the CS80.
Yup when I had an MS-20 Mini I had to match patch examples by ear all the time even if the patch was originally made on a MS-20 Mini in the first place. It's just part of the game with analog synths.
If you're using the current Arturia CS80 V4 it's likely you will get much closer than what was achieved in this video with CS80 V3, which has been obsolete for over a year.
I got all of them right, the software has that more modern, "crispy" higher frequency - maybe it's also the tuning stability but the hardware has this pleasant softness that sounds very inspiring. Not many people can enjoy this synth and properly maintain it but those who can are really lucky. There is nothing else that sounds like the CS80.
Since even the price of the Arturia plugin is a stretch for me I downloaded demos of it and the CA GX-80 and spent a couple of hours tweaking similar Bladerunner presets (as is required by law). Out of the virtual box, I found the Arturia more convincing. But spending time with the CA closed the gap enough that I'm buying the GX, considering how easy it is to get them similar. Your video made me do it, so thank you.
Thank you, maestro. I learn a lot from your videos. There is no such detailed information anywhere. I've always wanted to know stuff like that and it's helping me a lot as I work on my first soundtrack album.
The problem with the comparison is that the patches are not similar enough, wild disparity in detuning, panning, etc.. at that point it becomes a matter of taste and preference *not* authenticity.
@@josesvintagekeysthat's as many be, but say at 2:50...the filter is clearly opening much much more in the software .....that's not useful at all for comparison
I always chuck a pultec emulation on my arturia synths. Boost that bottom and get those massive harmonics of the analogue Esq amplifiers. Thanks for the comparison. I thought with some post processing and minor adjustments with the oscillators and filters you could have gotten even closer. But a good test anyway, shows people what they are getting.
It's too bad you didn't use the current Arturia CS80 V4, which has been around now for over a year and is a complete ground-up re-write. There is such a chasmic gap between this and the V3 version you are using, that their patches aren't even compatible. I was kinda disappointed when I saw you was using an obsolete version, firstly because this is not the version people will potentially buy, and secondly as an owner of V4 I was hoping to hear how well it compared to a real CS80.
Agree, I never upgraded to V4 - because I use the real instrument…I do hope that even the comparisson with V3 shows how close the arturia gets. And I understand that V4 is even better.
I am totally not surprised by the results: very close every time, but the correct answer every time. That is classic “wisdom of the crowds” result. What it means is that the majority of the people could not tell the difference, and so they just gave a random response. All those random responses (50% right, 50% wrong) cancelled out. So they had no effect on the final result. But a small percentage were experts, and they got it all right. And they swung the result to make it correct every time. Brilliant survey!
I believe I got all 5 close to correct, I don't remember which I picked on the strings 😂 I think the giveaway was the stereo spectrum of the arturia plugin is almost always wider than the 80. I don't have the plugin so I am not sure if there was some voice panning etc. built into some of the patches? Could be completely wrong but the CS-80's mono-ness was always apparent to me, especially with headphones 🎧 Thank you for such a great video!
Ich lag nur beim 1. und letzten Beispiel richtig. Als Laie ist es natürlich schwer, wenn man sich selber nicht intensiv mit der Hardware Version beschäftigt hat. Aber klasse Idee, mit dem Formular-Link. Danke für die Arbeit und die Zeit, uns die Oldtimer auf Deine ruhige Art vorzustellen.
Except for the Alaska Brass sound, the hardware CS80 had more noticeable deep end and just overall richness. But as far as sound texture, almost impossible to distinguish. As someone who has the Arturia CS80, it's great to hear how close to the original it can get. Thanks for doing this comparison!
I could hear the differences, but not which instrument played which sounds. I chose what I preferred, and got 3 wrong. Apparently I prefer the sound of the Plug-in over the real thing. I remember what those rubber tipped faders felt like, but regretfully we don't listen to 'feel'.
The hardware CS-80 seems to have a much more subdued top end, that sort of "makes room" for the midrange to shine. The plugin is quite good but I might try darkening mine up a bit to see if I can get some of these sweet mids.
The calibration of the faders between instruments often differs..... this is what makes a big difference here in my opinion. The best would be to repeat this blind test but by adjusting the faders of the Arturia in order to get as close as possible to the Hardware..... The differences would be much less pronounced...
ANYONE who says they can absolutely tell the difference between the original vs a VST sitting in the mix is a liar. NO ONE can tell. Even if you own 2 CS80's, the circuits have aged so much that both of those units will sound different. Too often we try to get technical and really try to use the brain and explain how one is 'brighter' than the other. OK, add EQ. CS80 is an amazing synth, Arturia CS80 V is an amazing synth. Just go make music - doesn't matter what you use. Great video/test series. Love them.
I chose what I thought was the better sound and assumed that that would be the software (because of how much we've come on in terms of this technology). But no, the sound I preferred in each case actually belonged to the CS-80. Bit gutted because it means I can't afford the sound I like!
I made the test and was easy to find out which sounds were soft or hardware. There are a significant difference between the two. But most importantly the hardware is much better so it means in real in front of the speakers the difference is BIG . ( don t forget you are listening NOT a cs80 but a cs80 sampled to be listened on Utube( again signal degradation ) . I don t have a CS80 but i have an OBXa and i ve never heard on Utube an OBXa demo that sounded like my OBXa in my home studio. I think comparing a digital software with a sampled analog synth is ….not fair. But which is really interesting is that even through Utube you have to be death to not hear the difference between soft and hard and more important the hard sounds better . When i made the test i was thinking which instrument sounds better to my ears? Then always the better was the cs80 with no surprises.
Cool vid! I got them all right, the hardware has more tuning instability (and maybe even instability in the filter?) and had generally less top end. The plugin sounded more like I imagine a CS-80 fresh from the factory sounded like, while yours has that sound of old caps not really doing their job etc 😁 which I prefer btw! Every voice sounds a bit different, which wasn’t the case with the plugin
I think the biggest difference comes from the analog circuitry on the CS80 audio output buss. It would be interesting to do this again with the plugin going through a analog sim / saturation plugin like the RC-20 Retro Color
I put all the A sounds as the best but it was it was 3 out of 5 that were CS80 the 3 and 4th sound were acually the plug in version it says a lot use your ear when you buy gear. Thanx again for an educational and inspiring video. TAO FROM SWEDEN 5:53
I got them all correct, but in a way I "cheated". I decided to go with "Hardware" if I thought the sound had that analog "drifting oscillator" sound. It also helped that the VST version always seems to sound a little "crisper" that the analog. I will say though, that I really doubt if I could tell the difference in a fully recorded score, and I can't call one clearly superior to the other. Edit: This was fun, and you should think of doing more comparisons if you can.
I chose A for all 5, based purely what I liked the sound of best. Great test, thanks for doing it. Would love to know what % of people guessed all 5 correctly (and also what % got 4 correct, 3 correct etc).
👍 thanks. I picked B instrument all the time because it was mostly louder. I listened on mobile. As you try to disect differences, on mobile it seems almost impossible.
I was wondering if youve ever gotten a chance to try a hydrasynth deluxe. more from a playability perspective than a sound for sound comparison (hydrasynth can get similar sounds easily enough). with a similar voice count in multi timbral mode, i was wondering if the playing experience was similar with the poly AT and touch strip, but i havent seen that compared anywhere. pretty sure the "not actually that poor mans" cs80 could be a hydrasynth deluxe controlling a deckards dream from black corp.
I do think cherry audio got closer and maybe arturia v4 but in the end they wont match the hardware completely. Also its the experience of hardware, feel of the keys, the optical based aftertouch of a CS 80 and 60 is indescribable until you try it. The experience. Imagine a plugin that sounds just like a pre-war martin guitar, played even through a midi guitar controller. It will never be like playing a martin guitar.
Thanks for this nice comparison. Great video duet. And I think I got all of them right. The wobblyness at the end of the notes is especially quite different on the cs80 vs the plugin. The plugin is more consistent, but the inconsistency of the cs80 is part of what gives it its analog charm I guess. I would love to see a comparison between other Arturia plugins and the real deal.
I’m not sure how anyone got the 1st one wrong!?? With that result I’m gonna say a-lot of the incorrect answers came from people who have never owned real synths and have only used the plugins. I would also test synths by their brass patches or self resonant patches.. Also a lot can be said by how the synth sounds while its perameters are being changed. If you could add that to the next test that would be great. Plugins are great .. but they have a lifeless feel to it after a few instances. Still close enough where I can’t ever see myself paying over $4000 for Any synth. And I own a few vintage classics.. just with great plugins .. prices for vintage are currently flat out crazy .great work .. thanks for the test
👌🤗👍🧡After my last video comment, I spend the evening recreating Hymn, on my Jupiter 50 added to the Deepmind 12D on single Ju50 keyboard, and had a good time playing with so much variations that I even not remember if Vangelis played it that way🙀 when you play directly it has nothing in common with a plugging. As the use of external effects is not satisfying me, because I think I loose a feeling in the sound creation, an invisible wall is taking me from the electronical real feeling, it's like to create a music on your violin and then listening the record. There's a color that is not so subtile when you use a plugging. I was Using the CS3, perhaps it's my computer or the version, By past I noted that people were saying that the plugging was not so good, and the fact is that I did not tried to test it more. I will return to use it and perhaps try the version 4 on an other computer with an other sound device. But I'm more to buy cheap Behringer 2600 ARP, some monosynths , modular sets, and stand to a polysynth they are going to release. Computers were a facility, as I had them without money, repairing them from trash, loved having pluggings like Korg Monopoly, and M1, or VSTI, I have by Hundreds. This time is not ending totally, some vsti are very special ans have not real equivalent, only perhaps in modular, but this is also a question of what is related to my proper music. Pluggings let me time to experiment without need for money and place. My project is a mobile studio, quick to move, but using historical analog sounds, FM synthesis and Jupiter 50 type sounds, recorded in Nature soundscapes, vocals and real wind instruments, like my Clarinet , and Bass , Soprano Recorders, and so other tips, I can modeling in modular. So for me it's a question of accurate sound for my proper music, which requires to know exactly what is the real set of sounds I can hope from an instrument, how it is inspirational to play, and how it is a complement to my palette.
I have the plugin and love it. In fact, I have V Collection and love them all. But I still have a Pro 3 SE on the rack, because I do prefer sound design and tweaking with knobs. Also the Pro 3's modulation matrix is so intuitive, I wouldn't think it can be compared to software, but it is. I chose it over a Matrixbrute because I like it that much more. Matrixbrute looks really simple, it is, but requires examining the list of sources and destinations for the rows and columns. Pro 3, I press the source buitton and twist a knob of the source, then press the destination and twist the knob of the destination. So it takes up only two buttons on the Pro 3. I can do it while barely even looking at the synthesizer.
Some were more clear cut than others, but overall the Arturia plugin version was pretty close, but not 100%. Of course, the sound is only part of it, actually being able to tweak on the fly with real hardware is also part of the appeal, and a poly AT keyboard is essential to the experience.
i got the first two wrong 🥺 i was going by the more random variations and also implied by the fact the CS-80 has aftertouch...not sure how i managed that 🙈 were you using aftertouch for the plug-in?
Certainly a fun experiment. And yes, the real one can achieve things the plugin can’t… but so can the plugin. And you can play several instances of it at once. So it’s a draw in my opinion
It was pretty obvious which was which to me. The EQ was one thing, but really it was the character of the filters that was the giveaway. Hardware was smoother.
What I usually take away from these tests is that the emulations are really good now and that unless you're really committed to spending stupendous amounts of money on the hardware, the software versions are in most cases good enough. Even more the case when you put the sounds in a mix.
I think testing very seriously CS80 plugins needs the use of a poly AFT keyb and a ribbon like Cs80 . by using Hydrasynth as a midi controller or the new poly Kb midi controller of NI should results of very convincing results
Its the experience of playing an actual hardware synth and the imprint of that endeavour that which creates the music.the rest is fantasy.nothing wrong with that.but it does affect the music and vibe…
As a side comment … I saw UK twice live, years apart, medium-sized hotel ballroom venue, excellent sound system. At no time did I feel there was anything “wrong” with any of the Arturia-based CS-80 sounds. In fact I was impressed at how dead-on they sounded - much more so than with the typical live mix of other bands.
I do enjoy these comparisons but when it comes down to real-world decisions, one of my mantras is that when choices come down to blind A/B tests, the difference is insignificant because the listener will never know and there are likely far bigger problems to be fixed in the recording! 😀 For me the big issue with plugins is the interface - the mouse is obviously a fail for real-time control but knobbly MIDI controllers don't provide the mojo for me that a hardware synth does. The MPC plugins are worse because the "logic" of their user interface makes Windows 95 dialog boxes look almost user-friendly! 😂
Enjoyed the video, but to my ears the differences are so massive (as in different sounds, not as in identifiable instrument, as I don't own them) that they have nothing to do with HW / SW but everything to do with the programming. I wish you had adjusted the synths more to get the same sounds, regardless of how different the knobs' / slidders' positions end up on each synth, because the tone quality is what matters.
Cool test indeed. But I think more tweaking is needed for this to honestly be an apples to apples comparison. Also, I don't see the value in this being whether this one or that one is better. The CS80V stands alone in terms of sound quality, without being put in a side by side with the original, it's amazing for what it is. Of course it isn't going to be exactly like the original several decades old hardware synth. It's likely that plugins will never achieve that. Point is, honestly, who cares if a plugin is only 90-95% there. You give a kid with an interest in synthesizers an Arturia CS80V plugin and next thing you know, grammy's.
65% of people know what they are listening for, ie the softer, richer, organic sound... the other 35% like the 'brightness" of the vsts. I soent a while a/bing my juno 60 with roland cloud. They dont sound the same. But in the mix, the roland cloud version is good enough for most things, and takes up a lot less space in my little studio.
It was so clear and so different to my ears. When I listened, A was what I would pay for an album, what takes me away. So obvious and how far software needs to go. They cant even make a piano like playin a piano, its almost not possible.
Does everyone understand why this quiz is flawed? Because none of us own a CS-80 and know what it sounds like. So we are listening and then first subconsciously imagining what we think the CS-80 sounds like, and then voting on which sample matches our imagined idea. It's like showing two digital camera photos of a scene and asking "Which more closely matches real life?" none of us were there, so we can't say. You might vote on the photo with more vibrant colors or deeper shadows, but it has nothing to do with the real scene. If you have a CS-80, then you can analyze if the VST matches it or not. I say this as somebody who's won a technical achievement academy award for creating tools to reproduce the real world in the computer. Its a fun video, nonetheless.
too bad I forgot to notice how I voted myself so I can't check. Didn't have everything right. Overall I think the sounds still were not close enough so we couldn't really figure out the intention.
Still, just as with hardware clones: if you can't make great music with a clone, I doubt you could make it with an 'original'. Interface matters sure, but no interface is worth €50000, unless you're flying an F35 or something.
My preference for hardware is the user interface. A mouse is obviously a fail for real-time control but knobbly MIDI controllers are still no substitute (especially for having to remember which knob does what for which plugin but also the inconvenience of teaching the darn thing - I use one with my MPC). I wouldn't pay silly money for a synth but plugins just don't have enough mojo for me compared to even humble gear like the MicroFreak. I choose the MicroFreak as an example intentionally because its unique "keyboard" brings about performances that just wouldn't happen on a regular keyboard.
Dont forget Vangelis switched to Midi controllers later on and used Macro assignments on his midi. Very quick to do and if its good enough for the master then its good enough.@@unclemick-synths
I have the Arturia, and I could have sworn that a better/closer example of the brass sound can be achieved than your example (no offence). It sounds obviously weak. Strange. Presumably, you're using the most up to date version of the plugin. Never having played the real instrument, perhaps I'm in a psychological zone whereby I'm settling for less simply out of ignorance. Hmm... not sure. To my ears, the Arturia's various sounds are INCREDIBLY close to the CS80 recordings that I know well. Nevertheless, an interesting experiment. Thanks,.
Hi Jose, I wrote you in another video but thought i would try again. I love❤your channel and playing. I own a cs-60, not the same capabilities as the cs-80 but wanted to try to recreate some of your sounds on the 60 :). I will likely never be able to own a cs-80. Would you be willing to share out the settings for a few of your sounds like the bladerunner blues and a few others? Idk how you could share but my email is my name at google. Thanks so much
My heart says CS80, but my budget says CS01. Excellent video
I was able to take the patches as displayed and match them by ear better to the recordings - I notice that the biggest difference is in matching the overall brightness of the sounds and some tweaks to the envelope curves. By that time the patches didn't match as closely visually, but did sound more alike. If you collapse the CS80V down to mono it comes even closer, if that's what you're looking for. I find that treating the plugin as distinct but in-the-family of the hardware is good enough, and while I've never been lucky enough to have two hardware synths in the same place and time, I have been told they require the same kind of by-ear matching. Go figure, given the sheer amount of hand wiring that's in the CS80.
Yup when I had an MS-20 Mini I had to match patch examples by ear all the time even if the patch was originally made on a MS-20 Mini in the first place. It's just part of the game with analog synths.
If you're using the current Arturia CS80 V4 it's likely you will get much closer than what was achieved in this video with CS80 V3, which has been obsolete for over a year.
I got all of them right, the software has that more modern, "crispy" higher frequency - maybe it's also the tuning stability but the hardware has this pleasant softness that sounds very inspiring. Not many people can enjoy this synth and properly maintain it but those who can are really lucky. There is nothing else that sounds like the CS80.
Since even the price of the Arturia plugin is a stretch for me I downloaded demos of it and the CA GX-80 and spent a couple of hours tweaking similar Bladerunner presets (as is required by law). Out of the virtual box, I found the Arturia more convincing. But spending time with the CA closed the gap enough that I'm buying the GX, considering how easy it is to get them similar. Your video made me do it, so thank you.
Thank you, maestro. I learn a lot from your videos. There is no such detailed information anywhere. I've always wanted to know stuff like that and it's helping me a lot as I work on my first soundtrack album.
The problem with the comparison is that the patches are not similar enough, wild disparity in detuning, panning, etc.. at that point it becomes a matter of taste and preference *not* authenticity.
that also has to do with the difference of the instruments… it was nit mentioned to be a scientific xperiment
@@josesvintagekeysthat's as many be, but say at 2:50...the filter is clearly opening much much more in the software .....that's not useful at all for comparison
I always chuck a pultec emulation on my arturia synths. Boost that bottom and get those massive harmonics of the analogue Esq amplifiers.
Thanks for the comparison. I thought with some post processing and minor adjustments with the oscillators and filters you could have gotten even closer. But a good test anyway, shows people what they are getting.
It's too bad you didn't use the current Arturia CS80 V4, which has been around now for over a year and is a complete ground-up re-write. There is such a chasmic gap between this and the V3 version you are using, that their patches aren't even compatible. I was kinda disappointed when I saw you was using an obsolete version, firstly because this is not the version people will potentially buy, and secondly as an owner of V4 I was hoping to hear how well it compared to a real CS80.
Agree, I never upgraded to V4 - because I use the real instrument…I do hope that even the comparisson with V3 shows how close the arturia gets. And I understand that V4 is even better.
I love that you did this comparison, TY
Some say that Arturia v3 sounds better than v4
Thanks again, great job putting this together. I learned a lot from this.
I am totally not surprised by the results: very close every time, but the correct answer every time. That is classic “wisdom of the crowds” result. What it means is that the majority of the people could not tell the difference, and so they just gave a random response. All those random responses (50% right, 50% wrong) cancelled out. So they had no effect on the final result. But a small percentage were experts, and they got it all right. And they swung the result to make it correct every time. Brilliant survey!
Txxs - will start to make new versions with the JP8
For some reason I woke up this morning and found the inexplicable urge to google exactly that. This video hits the spot.
I believe I got all 5 close to correct, I don't remember which I picked on the strings 😂
I think the giveaway was the stereo spectrum of the arturia plugin is almost always wider than the 80. I don't have the plugin so I am not sure if there was some voice panning etc. built into some of the patches? Could be completely wrong but the CS-80's mono-ness was always apparent to me, especially with headphones 🎧
Thank you for such a great video!
Good point on the mono vs stereo!
ABBA is always the answer😍😃
Ich lag nur beim 1. und letzten Beispiel richtig. Als Laie ist es natürlich schwer, wenn man sich selber nicht intensiv mit der Hardware Version beschäftigt hat. Aber klasse Idee, mit dem Formular-Link. Danke für die Arbeit und die Zeit, uns die Oldtimer auf Deine ruhige Art vorzustellen.
Except for the Alaska Brass sound, the hardware CS80 had more noticeable deep end and just overall richness. But as far as sound texture, almost impossible to distinguish.
As someone who has the Arturia CS80, it's great to hear how close to the original it can get.
Thanks for doing this comparison!
I could hear the differences, but not which instrument played which sounds. I chose what I preferred, and got 3 wrong.
Apparently I prefer the sound of the Plug-in over the real thing.
I remember what those rubber tipped faders felt like, but regretfully we don't listen to 'feel'.
The hardware CS-80 seems to have a much more subdued top end, that sort of "makes room" for the midrange to shine. The plugin is quite good but I might try darkening mine up a bit to see if I can get some of these sweet mids.
The calibration of the faders between instruments often differs..... this is what makes a big difference here in my opinion.
The best would be to repeat this blind test but by adjusting the faders of the Arturia in order to get as close as possible to the Hardware.....
The differences would be much less pronounced...
You'll know who got all 5 right by reading the contents; they'll tell you😄
ANYONE who says they can absolutely tell the difference between the original vs a VST sitting in the mix is a liar. NO ONE can tell. Even if you own 2 CS80's, the circuits have aged so much that both of those units will sound different. Too often we try to get technical and really try to use the brain and explain how one is 'brighter' than the other. OK, add EQ. CS80 is an amazing synth, Arturia CS80 V is an amazing synth. Just go make music - doesn't matter what you use. Great video/test series. Love them.
I chose what I thought was the better sound and assumed that that would be the software (because of how much we've come on in terms of this technology). But no, the sound I preferred in each case actually belonged to the CS-80. Bit gutted because it means I can't afford the sound I like!
I made the test and was easy to find out which sounds were soft or hardware. There are a significant difference between the two. But most importantly the hardware is much better so it means in real in front of the speakers the difference is BIG . ( don t forget you are listening NOT a cs80 but a cs80 sampled to be listened on Utube( again signal degradation ) . I don t have a CS80 but i have an OBXa and i ve never heard on Utube an OBXa demo that sounded like my OBXa in my home studio. I think comparing a digital software with a sampled analog synth is ….not fair. But which is really interesting is that even through Utube you have to be death to not hear the difference between soft and hard and more important the hard sounds better . When i made the test i was thinking which instrument sounds better to my ears? Then always the better was the cs80 with no surprises.
Cool vid! I got them all right, the hardware has more tuning instability (and maybe even instability in the filter?) and had generally less top end. The plugin sounded more like I imagine a CS-80 fresh from the factory sounded like, while yours has that sound of old caps not really doing their job etc 😁 which I prefer btw! Every voice sounds a bit different, which wasn’t the case with the plugin
I think the biggest difference comes from the analog circuitry on the CS80 audio output buss. It would be interesting to do this again with the plugin going through a analog sim / saturation plugin like the RC-20 Retro Color
It will suck…
I missed #3.😆 Fun videos, thanks!
I put all the A sounds as the best but it was it was 3 out of 5 that were CS80 the 3 and 4th sound were acually the plug in version it says a lot use your ear when you buy gear. Thanx again for an educational and inspiring video. TAO FROM SWEDEN 5:53
I got them all correct, but in a way I "cheated". I decided to go with "Hardware" if I thought the sound had that analog "drifting oscillator" sound. It also helped that the VST version always seems to sound a little "crisper" that the analog. I will say though, that I really doubt if I could tell the difference in a fully recorded score, and I can't call one clearly superior to the other. Edit: This was fun, and you should think of doing more comparisons if you can.
I will start working on the JP8 :-)
Now try Memorymoon's ME80!
I chose A for all 5, based purely what I liked the sound of best. Great test, thanks for doing it.
Would love to know what % of people guessed all 5 correctly (and also what % got 4 correct, 3 correct etc).
Mmmhhhh - i have to find out whether i can get that data from google forms
👍 thanks. I picked B instrument all the time because it was mostly louder. I listened on mobile. As you try to disect differences, on mobile it seems almost impossible.
I was wondering if youve ever gotten a chance to try a hydrasynth deluxe. more from a playability perspective than a sound for sound comparison (hydrasynth can get similar sounds easily enough). with a similar voice count in multi timbral mode, i was wondering if the playing experience was similar with the poly AT and touch strip, but i havent seen that compared anywhere. pretty sure the "not actually that poor mans" cs80 could be a hydrasynth deluxe controlling a deckards dream from black corp.
Unfortunately not; but I would love to give it a try!
I do think cherry audio got closer and maybe arturia v4 but in the end they wont match the hardware completely. Also its the experience of hardware, feel of the keys, the optical based aftertouch of a CS 80 and 60 is indescribable until you try it. The experience. Imagine a plugin that sounds just like a pre-war martin guitar, played even through a midi guitar controller. It will never be like playing a martin guitar.
Thanks for this nice comparison. Great video duet. And I think I got all of them right. The wobblyness at the end of the notes is especially quite different on the cs80 vs the plugin. The plugin is more consistent, but the inconsistency of the cs80 is part of what gives it its analog charm I guess.
I would love to see a comparison between other Arturia plugins and the real deal.
I’ll start working on the JP8
Hombre, your version of Stranger Things is mush better than the original. Bravo!
I’m not sure how anyone got the 1st one wrong!?? With that result I’m gonna say a-lot of the incorrect answers came from people who have never owned real synths and have only used the plugins. I would also test synths by their brass patches or self resonant patches.. Also a lot can be said by how the synth sounds while its perameters are being changed. If you could add that to the next test that would be great. Plugins are great .. but they have a lifeless feel to it after a few instances. Still close enough where I can’t ever see myself paying over $4000 for Any synth. And I own a few vintage classics.. just with great plugins .. prices for vintage are currently flat out crazy .great work .. thanks for the test
Great videos!!! thank you very much!
Excellent video and very interesting results. Would love to see the same for GX-80 and perhaps comparing the two plugins.
Maybe I’ll get the GX - lots of people refer to its quality!
It's pretty cheap and a comparison with both the CS-80 and Arturia would fill a void that the world doesn't seem to have.
👌🤗👍🧡After my last video comment, I spend the evening recreating Hymn, on my Jupiter 50 added to the Deepmind 12D on single Ju50 keyboard, and had a good time playing with so much variations that I even not remember if Vangelis played it that way🙀 when you play directly it has nothing in common with a plugging. As the use of external effects is not satisfying me, because I think I loose a feeling in the sound creation, an invisible wall is taking me from the electronical real feeling, it's like to create a music on your violin and then listening the record. There's a color that is not so subtile when you use a plugging. I was Using the CS3, perhaps it's my computer or the version, By past I noted that people were saying that the plugging was not so good, and the fact is that I did not tried to test it more. I will return to use it and perhaps try the version 4 on an other computer with an other sound device. But I'm more to buy cheap Behringer 2600 ARP, some monosynths , modular sets, and stand to a polysynth they are going to release. Computers were a facility, as I had them without money, repairing them from trash, loved having pluggings like Korg Monopoly, and M1, or VSTI, I have by Hundreds. This time is not ending totally, some vsti are very special ans have not real equivalent, only perhaps in modular, but this is also a question of what is related to my proper music. Pluggings let me time to experiment without need for money and place. My project is a mobile studio, quick to move, but using historical analog sounds, FM synthesis and Jupiter 50 type sounds, recorded in Nature soundscapes, vocals and real wind instruments, like my Clarinet , and Bass , Soprano Recorders, and so other tips, I can modeling in modular. So for me it's a question of accurate sound for my proper music, which requires to know exactly what is the real set of sounds I can hope from an instrument, how it is inspirational to play, and how it is a complement to my palette.
You made curious to listen to your music - where can I find it?
I have the plugin and love it. In fact, I have V Collection and love them all. But I still have a Pro 3 SE on the rack, because I do prefer sound design and tweaking with knobs. Also the Pro 3's modulation matrix is so intuitive, I wouldn't think it can be compared to software, but it is. I chose it over a Matrixbrute because I like it that much more. Matrixbrute looks really simple, it is, but requires examining the list of sources and destinations for the rows and columns. Pro 3, I press the source buitton and twist a knob of the source, then press the destination and twist the knob of the destination. So it takes up only two buttons on the Pro 3. I can do it while barely even looking at the synthesizer.
That’s what I love about the CS: just turn the knows (..push the levers) and you are good to go. Very intuitive
Some were more clear cut than others, but overall the Arturia plugin version was pretty close, but not 100%. Of course, the sound is only part of it, actually being able to tweak on the fly with real hardware is also part of the appeal, and a poly AT keyboard is essential to the experience.
And this is with an audience of (I presume) synth lovers! Imagine what an average Spotify listener would be able to tell.
i got the first two wrong 🥺 i was going by the more random variations and also implied by the fact the CS-80 has aftertouch...not sure how i managed that 🙈 were you using aftertouch for the plug-in?
No aftertouch - both on the CS and the plug-in.
Certainly a fun experiment. And yes, the real one can achieve things the plugin can’t… but so can the plugin. And you can play several instances of it at once. So it’s a draw in my opinion
It was pretty obvious which was which to me. The EQ was one thing, but really it was the character of the filters that was the giveaway. Hardware was smoother.
iam proud to trust my ears 🙌
What I usually take away from these tests is that the emulations are really good now and that unless you're really committed to spending stupendous amounts of money on the hardware, the software versions are in most cases good enough. Even more the case when you put the sounds in a mix.
i agree, but have to say that i do enjoy the hardware quite a bit😅
@@josesvintagekeysno doubt. I'd love to have the hardware versions of about 20 different vintage keyboards!
I think testing very seriously CS80 plugins needs the use of a poly AFT keyb and a ribbon like Cs80 . by using Hydrasynth as a midi controller or the new poly Kb midi controller of NI should results of very convincing results
Its the experience of playing an actual hardware synth and the imprint of that endeavour that which creates the music.the rest is fantasy.nothing wrong with that.but it does affect the music and vibe…
As a side comment … I saw UK twice live, years apart, medium-sized hotel ballroom venue, excellent sound system.
At no time did I feel there was anything “wrong” with any of the Arturia-based CS-80 sounds. In fact I was impressed at how dead-on they sounded - much more so than with the typical live mix of other bands.
Did Eddy Jobson indeed use the plugin?
Example 4 has B in the opening shot, and A during your explanation.
I do enjoy these comparisons but when it comes down to real-world decisions, one of my mantras is that when choices come down to blind A/B tests, the difference is insignificant because the listener will never know and there are likely far bigger problems to be fixed in the recording! 😀
For me the big issue with plugins is the interface - the mouse is obviously a fail for real-time control but knobbly MIDI controllers don't provide the mojo for me that a hardware synth does. The MPC plugins are worse because the "logic" of their user interface makes Windows 95 dialog boxes look almost user-friendly! 😂
Got third one wrong through ipad speakers.
Enjoyed the video, but to my ears the differences are so massive (as in different sounds, not as in identifiable instrument, as I don't own them) that they have nothing to do with HW / SW but everything to do with the programming. I wish you had adjusted the synths more to get the same sounds, regardless of how different the knobs' / slidders' positions end up on each synth, because the tone quality is what matters.
I guessed all A except 4 and thats only because i thought they cant all be A 😂 but i knew ot was all A. Its so clear how unbelievable the CS line is
Was it the V4 version you were using?
Someone here said it was v3
Correct - it was v3. I never upgraded, because….well I use the real instrument..
@@josesvintagekeys Gotcha. Would have been good to hear a V4 comparison with a polyAT keyboard
Cool test indeed. But I think more tweaking is needed for this to honestly be an apples to apples comparison. Also, I don't see the value in this being whether this one or that one is better. The CS80V stands alone in terms of sound quality, without being put in a side by side with the original, it's amazing for what it is. Of course it isn't going to be exactly like the original several decades old hardware synth. It's likely that plugins will never achieve that. Point is, honestly, who cares if a plugin is only 90-95% there. You give a kid with an interest in synthesizers an Arturia CS80V plugin and next thing you know, grammy's.
65% of people know what they are listening for, ie the softer, richer, organic sound... the other 35% like the 'brightness" of the vsts. I soent a while a/bing my juno 60 with roland cloud. They dont sound the same. But in the mix, the roland cloud version is good enough for most things, and takes up a lot less space in my little studio.
It was so clear and so different to my ears. When I listened, A was what I would pay for an album, what takes me away. So obvious and how far software needs to go. They cant even make a piano like playin a piano, its almost not possible.
Does everyone understand why this quiz is flawed? Because none of us own a CS-80 and know what it sounds like. So we are listening and then first subconsciously imagining what we think the CS-80 sounds like, and then voting on which sample matches our imagined idea. It's like showing two digital camera photos of a scene and asking "Which more closely matches real life?" none of us were there, so we can't say. You might vote on the photo with more vibrant colors or deeper shadows, but it has nothing to do with the real scene. If you have a CS-80, then you can analyze if the VST matches it or not. I say this as somebody who's won a technical achievement academy award for creating tools to reproduce the real world in the computer. Its a fun video, nonetheless.
too bad I forgot to notice how I voted myself so I can't check. Didn't have everything right. Overall I think the sounds still were not close enough so we couldn't really figure out the intention.
Still, just as with hardware clones: if you can't make great music with a clone, I doubt you could make it with an 'original'. Interface matters sure, but no interface is worth €50000, unless you're flying an F35 or something.
I got them all wrong, which means I picked out the difference, I just don't have enbough experience hearing these to determine the original.
it also means you can save 49.800 dollar ;-))
I have Cherry Audio GS80 and its exactly the same as the Yamaha CS80 in a mix. I mean EXAcTLy. If your not just after the sound then its nostalgia.
My preference for hardware is the user interface. A mouse is obviously a fail for real-time control but knobbly MIDI controllers are still no substitute (especially for having to remember which knob does what for which plugin but also the inconvenience of teaching the darn thing - I use one with my MPC). I wouldn't pay silly money for a synth but plugins just don't have enough mojo for me compared to even humble gear like the MicroFreak. I choose the MicroFreak as an example intentionally because its unique "keyboard" brings about performances that just wouldn't happen on a regular keyboard.
Dont forget Vangelis switched to Midi controllers later on and used Macro assignments on his midi. Very quick to do and if its good enough for the master then its good enough.@@unclemick-synths
In a mix, no one can tell the difference. If you’re rich, get the real thing. If you’re not, get the plugin.
I have the Arturia, and I could have sworn that a better/closer example of the brass sound can be achieved than your example (no offence). It sounds obviously weak. Strange. Presumably, you're using the most up to date version of the plugin. Never having played the real instrument, perhaps I'm in a psychological zone whereby I'm settling for less simply out of ignorance. Hmm... not sure. To my ears, the Arturia's various sounds are INCREDIBLY close to the CS80 recordings that I know well. Nevertheless, an interesting experiment. Thanks,.
Apparently he’s using version 3, not 4, and also I thought he said he had used a controller that didn’t have after touch.
Big drawbacks …
@@penponds Really? Wow. He should upgrade, like NOW, then redo the comparison.
i too think the software examples sounded awful, almost too bad to be true really.
its not even close imo, the plugin doesnt even sound liek a cs80 it just sounds like a mid quality plugin
Main conclusion: the plugin sucks…
Hi Jose,
I wrote you in another video but thought i would try again. I love❤your channel and playing. I own a cs-60, not the same capabilities as the cs-80 but wanted to try to recreate some of your sounds on the 60 :). I will likely never be able to own a cs-80. Would you be willing to share out the settings for a few of your sounds like the bladerunner blues and a few others? Idk how you could share but my email is my name at google.
Thanks so much