Baby Audio goes back to 1982 and revives Yamaha’s cult CS01 synth as a plugin

Having made its name with a range of intuitive effect plugins, Baby Audio has now released its first synth, the BA-1. This is a “modern re-imagination of a cultish 1982 analogue synth,” otherwise known as the Yamaha CS01.

Despite bearing the same prefix as the classic CS-80, the CS01 was a different beast entirely. A compact, almost toy-like keyboard, it was a simple single-oscillator monosynth that could be powered by batteries and had a built-in speaker.

For the BA-1, Baby Audio’s first task was to model the CS01 as accurately as possible, but that was just the start. There are plenty of additional features, too: a second analogue-modelled oscillator, FM and polyphony, for example.

Fittingly, there are also some quirky elements. This may be a plugin but you can still drain the battery, bend the circuits and ‘use’ the built-in speaker. These features can help you to achieve the kind of lo-fi sound that you’d associate with vintage hardware.

There are some suitably retro effects, too - all inspired by budget ‘80s rack hardware - and more than 500 presets. The ‘Re-Gen’ algorithm, meanwhile, enables you to create new patches on the fly.

BA-1 runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats. The regular price will be $99, but it’s currently available for $49 and you can also download a trial version.

Find out more on the Baby Audio website.

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