Baby Audio’s BA-1 Review: A Faithful Homage To The Classic Yamaha CS01 Synthesizer

Baby Audio’s BA-1 is a synth plugin based on the classic Yamaha CS01 synthesizer. This portable 80s synth, with its toylike appearance and gritty sound, has left an indelible mark on music production, and this new plugin captures that spirit in digital form. The result is a synth plugin that perfectly captures the signature sound of the CS01 while offering expanded capabilities.

We love the BA-1 for its versatility and the ability to manipulate and tweak the sound in so many ways that were impossible with the original CS01 while staying true to the original.

For example, the BA-1 offers additional features not available on the CS01; this includes a wide range of effects, side-chain compression, filtering, and modulation options, providing users greater control over their final sound output.

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Interface

The interface is intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy for beginner and seasoned producers to dive in and start creating.

The layout resembles the original CS01 but with an additional row of options. The top row features the Oscillators, Filter, and Envelope options. Directly below are the LFO, effects, and some extra quirky features:

Re-Gen – instantly alter the sound of a preset by clicking a button.
Battery Slider – drain the battery life to introduce degraded sound to the overall master.
Built-in speaker – produces lo-fi sounds by toggling the on/off switch.

The Oscillators

Unlike its predecessor, the BA-1 incorporates two oscillators offering triangle, sawtooth, and pulse waves. The first oscillator includes pulse width modulation, while the second oscillator features a white noise option. Fun for just tweaking presets and creating your unique patches.

Additionally, the BA-1 is equipped with a cross-fader (X-Fade) for blending the two oscillators and a Frequency Modulation (FM) slider to transition between them.

There are numerous options available for sound generation here, including over 500 presets that can be easily adjusted and customized, with the ability to save them for later use. Let’s not forget the Re-Gen button for instant sound tweaking and variations.

We spent time exploring and adjusting the diverse presets, resulting in great sound quality and effortless creation of lo-fi patches/presets.

The Filter

The filter consists of a 24db lowpass filter featuring adjustable resonance and an on/off key toggle. By maximizing the slider, we generated some intriguing filtered sounds.

ADSR

The Enveloper generator includes Attack, Delay, Sustain, and Release sliders and an on/off synch switch. All of these elements are easily adjustable and straightforward in their functionality.

Speaker

Navigate to the second row of controls to discover the speaker feature. It incorporates an on/off switch that instantly transforms into a lo-fi wizard setting, offering a great way to emulate your beloved lo-fi artists. Coupled with the RE-Gen option with this feature, we created some really nice gritty and dirty sounds.

LFO & Effects

The LFO offers Speed and Amount sliders and an OSC 1 and Filter Target switch. Additionally, there’s a hidden surprise: by clicking on Target, you can enable or disable the xFADE LFO.

For exciting ducking techniques, use the Sidechain slider, and pre/post-routing switch come into play. There is not much customization with the settings, but a nice and easy way to add some quick compression on the fly.

Moving on to the Effects section, you’ll find Tone, Drive, Delay, Reverb, and Chorus. The delay option provides a synch on/off switch, while the Drive slider features a Circuit and OD switch. As for the Chorus, it is simply an on-off switch. These effects deliver exceptional sound quality and give you full control over the output. The effects section alone justifies the price of the plug-in.

Battery

Lastly, the Battery slider is a delightful feature that allows you to infuse “warped” texture into your sound. As you lower the slider, the overall sound progressively distorts the master sound, resulting in a gritty, noisy, and unpredictable character.

Is the BA-1 Right for me?

In a nutshell, absolutely!

We adore the BA-1. This plug-in is an absolute gem, bringing an awesome combination of “vintages” and contemporary versatility to any producer’s arsenal, all without the hassle of navigating complex menus. With the BA-1, you can dive right in, begin experimenting, and achieve unique sounds with just a few flicks of sliders.

Whether you’re a vintage purist of the CS01’s iconic sound or looking for a new plugin to inspire your creative process, the BA-1 is worth checking out, particularly considering its affordable price point.

Final Thoughts

Here is a short list of our final impressions of the BA-1. We did the heavy lifting for you and decided to break it down into this device’s simple pros and cons. So let’s get into it because it’s just super cool.