WOLF retro DESIGN REVIEW. 6th January 2019
A retro review looks at products that are at least over ten years old from a present-day WOLF design perspective. While the technology and fashion of the period influence design, and are taken into consideration, great design ideas will transcend their eras to be timeless.
Interesting and factual information may be provided, but our review aims to deliver insight from the perspective of a designer’s mind and eyes.
The SY99 is the SY77 perfected.
Introduction
Product Focus
As with most reviews the focus is on the design and its evolution with the synthesizer. The functioning systems and sound quality are not necessarily considered.
Product description
In our opinion the SY77 felt rushed into production due to the fierce competition Yamaha faced from Roland and Korg. The SY99 which came out just two years later in 1991 seems to have made up for that by overcoming all that the SY77 lacked. It was an improvement over the SY77 in the same way that the DX7II was an improvement over the DX7.
Price and Availability.
Good examples that have been stored in their original hard cases do pop up from to time to time but can command high prices. Be aware that the SY99 can be expensive to ship due to its size and weight. Out of the entire SY range this is clearly the best model and most collectible.
Additional information
Putting aside the DX7C this was Yamahas first mass produced 76 key synthesizer/workstation. Being an improvement over the SY77 and building upon all of Yamahas technology to date it was a very complete and well-balanced machine. It is still well loved by many original owners as a robust machine that is still modern enough to use.
REVIEW
Elegant and understated
First impressions / Delight
Our first impression was that it looks very clean and minimalistic, appropriate to the early 1990s. Most people will feel like it looks just like the SY77 but a little longer. That is true but the additional octave gained over the SY77 balanced out what previously was a little bulky in our opinion. Proportionately this synth is much more elegant and appealing.
With all the buttons remaining very similar to the SY77, there is even more blank surface area due to the stretched body and this furthers the design simplicity.
Shares the same buttons as the SY77
Exterior Design Review
The new disk drive location is probably the only thing that upsets the relative symmetry of the layout. It’s a big machine and Yamaha tried to make it look slenderer by giving the end panels some design attention by means of stepped layering. This effect works better on the SY99 than on its predecessor (the SY77). The rear panel has a large removable plate where the Logo is positioned. This is necessary for expansion, Yamahas first keyboard to offer hardware upgrades.
Stretched out and looking slenderer.
Craftsmanship.
As with its predecessor it still feels a little plasticky because of the large plastic end panels. This is a shame since much of the unit is metal. Furthermore, the plastic on the end panels are painted and many machines show a lot of paint ware on their corners.
It is well assembled overall with no visible screws, and very heavy at almost 20KG. At the time it was a very expensive machine and Yamaha could have done a little more with the exterior to help justify its price tag. Perhaps they could have embossed some of the logo print of introduced metal end pieces with a slightly different colour or texture.
A 1992 Japanese Catalog shows the LC-SY1F in still a different colour, though not gold.
A perfect fit
This flight case came with an SY77 Purchased from Japan. We believe that it could be the elusive LC-SY1F. It is the exact same size as the hard case, with the same edges, corners and handle. It also uses the same surface material found on the DX7II series hard case, except in a dark blue. The only doubt we have comes from the fact that this case does not say YAMAHA on one side. It’s possible that it wore away as many DX7II hard cases lost their logos due to a poor adhesion between the label and the rubberized surface. Or perhaps Yamaha simply did not put their logos on this flight case, though that is highly unlikely. If we ever find another SY77 flight case, we may be able to confirm.
This is another flight case that came with an SY77 Purchased from Japan. It could also be the elusive LC-SY1F as it is the exact same size as the hard case, with the same edges, corners and handle. It also uses the same surface material found on other flight cases but in grey. The grey is also consistent with the lighter colour illustrated in all known trade literature with the LC-SY1F. This case also has the correct YAMAHA logo in white and slightly larger than on the hard case which is another consistency with the trade literature. Have we finally found the LC-SY1F?
The only inconsistency with both the Blue and Grey cases above are the designs of the latch handle which is more straight. All other known Yamaha Flight case latches of the same era had a curved shape.
The manual had a more durable semi-plastic cover which was more durable and came in 3 volumes, (each in a different language).
There were two demonstration disks for the SY77. That on the left is a very rare demo CD featuring 5 songs composed fully on the SY77. This we understand was exclusive to dealers to demo to customers and not meant for public resale. The floppy disk on the right was a standard demo disk that came standard with every SY77.
The demonstration disks came in different colours. We have seen green, pink and black ones but there could be others too. Let us know if yours is in a different colour.
The ADP2 is one of Yamaha’s most rare synthesizer accessories. It was relatively unknown as it was rather unnecessary due to disk drive technology. The ADP2 allows you to directly access sounds from DX ROM cartridges. Interestingly we have yet to see the ADP2 featured in any of Yamaha trade literature. This image is of one found in Japan and is in mint condition with original box.
The SY77 still had card slots which was rather strange given that it also had a disk drive because disks were more versatile and affordable. There were two RAM storage cards, the 64K and the 32K, which both came with protective clear plastic hard cases.
The initial release had graphics similar to those on the instruction manuals
Two cards inside the original series, later issues had just one card.
Later sound cards had more creative and colourful graphics.
The sound cards are beautiful objects in themselves that are well crafted with a good weight to them.
Could this be the most rare sound disk available for the SY77? We found it in Japan and it’s labeled “Not For Sale”, which suggests that it could have been something exclusive for the sales team to use for demonstration purposes.
WORD OF THE WOLF
We like the SY77 for what it tried to achieve and for what it represents but it could not live up to the significance of the DX7 and maybe nothing ever will. It was then overshadowed by its younger but bigger brother the SY99 that was significantly better. Out of the entire SY range the SY77 and SY99 are the only one’s worth collecting in our opinion. They are both still very usable from sound and functional perspectives. We don’t recommend looking at any of the smaller SY models which seem very limited and even more plasticky.
The SY77 had a beautiful brochure that was significantly better than its predecessors.
In the days before Photoshop this photo remains one of Yamaha’s finest synthesizer photos.
A neat center fold out.
In Japan the SY77 had another brochure that explained its RCM system in greater detail. This brochure shown above is very rare.
Another Japanese brochure with the SY77 as the head of the SY family.
Japanese YAMAHA 1990 product catalog presented the SY77 on the front cover and with a two page spread within.
Japanese YAMAHA 1990 product catalog had this interesting Graphic photograph of the S&& with its smaller cousins.
Rare Japanese brochures with extensive information on the Voice & Wave library for the SY series.
The SY99 with the SY85 replacing the SY77.
Out of the entire SY range the SY77 and SY99 are the only one’s worth collecting in our opinion, but if you had to choose one Yamaha synth from the 1990s, we would choose the SY99, even over the EX5 that came several years later. By todays standards it’s simple and easy to use with plenty of timeless sounds. For this and its solid good looks it is bound to be sought after and go up in value. Ideally it would have looked a little more interesting than just a stretched SY77, because as it is it feels like how the SY77 should have been rather than a new model.
The original box, a rare sight indeed.
The WOLF SY99
The synthesizer in this review is from the Wolf private collection. It was purchased in May 2004 via an eBay auction from Italy. While in good condition many of the panels were later updated with the very last pieces Yamaha still kept in their Warehouse in Japan. In near mint condition this synth remains a personal WOLF favourite.
WOLF DESIGN EXCELLENCE SCORE = 7.0
Disclaimer
The information in this review is intended for informational or educational purposes to provide readers an understanding of how something may be seen from a certain design perspective. In this case it is from the view point of WOLF DESIGNS. As design is subjective this review should only be considered as an independent opinion. Information further to being of an opinion is provided to the best of our knowledge based on our own research at the time of doing the review. We cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or inconsistencies and reserve the right to change or update any content as appropriate.
The final responsibility of the design resides with the original manufacturer.