SY77 Ascension
- Studio
Neu! - Hallogallo
I’m working on a project with New Berlin School vibes + Floydian texture + something else. The “something else” needed to be a distinct element that would bring a different flavor yet mesh well in primarily analog terrain.
Enter the pinnacle of Yamaha synthesis in the 80s: the SY77. Modern synthesizers can be all sweet spot, but who defines the sweetness? This beast is from an era before we rounded all sound’s corners, and can run the gamut from wretched to angelic. Last century’s sound through modern processing like a Zoia Euroburo or Hologram Microcosm still retains its essential sonic essence. Perfect for my purposes.
The floppy drive was long departed and sysex slows me down. I needed a better solve for saving daily sound design: the Gotek II from SamplerZone. Their package includes a 16GB USB thumb and an Eddie Van Loon ribbon cable converter, much cleaner than hacking my own together.
It took a few attempts to get the correct Gotek jumper arrangement and FlashFloppy configuration. After finding a multitude of conflicting info on the web, logic and perseverance led to the below.
Gotek:
J5 open
JA open
JC open
JB open
S0 jumper
S1 open
MO jumper
FlashFloppy values:
interface = ibmpc
pin02 = auto
pin34 = chg
host = unspecified
Here’s my complete SY77 FlashFloppy config file.
For library creation, patch/bank identification and conversion duties, I’m using sy.factory to sift through my own sounds and the many sysex files found in the wild.
Next in the SY77 ascension process is experimentation with sector101’s WaveBlade and DataBlade cards, then display swap and perhaps op-amp upgrades.
I’m also curious about Swayed, the coming patch-compatible SY77 emulation from Stryde Audio. I’ve gleaned the WaveBlade and/or sy.factory may allow me to use custom audio ROM images in Swayed.
If you’re an SY77 or Swayed user and would like to trade soundsets - those no longer or never available in the market - please get in touch.