I can’t thank you enough for taking me on this journey. I am definitely going to buy one based on your video. I really appreciate your time and effort to make this. No typical video can cover the scope of all this keyboard can do. You really gave us a comprehensive tour. Much appreciated!
Thank you sooo much for this very comprehensive overview of this keyboard. Your video confirms that this (well, the YC73) is what I need to get hold of now that my Rhodes Stage 73 and Wurly EP200A are permanently resident at my son's flat! I'm now faced with the issue of scraping together the £2000 to buy one. In the meantime, my Hammond XK1 and Yamaha Reface CP are trying to cover the bases at band rehearsals and gigs. They're not doing too badly, but the YC73 would be an all-in-one solution, with many extra bells, whistles, and wonderful piano samples too. One day.... (wistful sigh)
Same here :( My back is getting less and less excited to wear all the keyboard gear. I can choose either to become a guitarist or to go sick to an all inn keyboard.
Wonderful Video. Thank you for taking the time !! Ben, I was bummed about the F1thru F6 organ not having vibrato UNTIL I moved the 'MODULATION LEVER There it is !!
I couldn't agree more - the Studio rotary DOES make the YC series worth buying, because the other two were awful and ruined an otherwise great keyboard because (as you say) the lack of assignable outputs meant you couldn't even use an external simulator if you wanted to use two different sounds at once. I'm a Nord (C2D) player as well, and a staunch advocate of the old grey case Ventilator Mk1 and the YC has gone from ruined to best in class just with that 1.2 update. Your comment 'you can get the sound with a Nord and Vent but not just a Nord' was the last bit of a push I need to get the credit card out and try a YC(61 in my case). Great video!
Hi, I will soon listen to the full demo so thank you for this. I was wondering whether you played the synth lead section of this! It’s the one gripe I think I have against this atm, I really love this keyboard, but it gotta have a good synth lead on there to really get me all I need. I’m gonna be playing with a talk box too so I always wondered about them.
I like all of the pianos, but the ones that stick out to me the most are the S700, the nashvill C3, and the U1. my favorit electric pianos are the 78 roads, and the FM DX and urban EPs.
Bought and sold the YC61. I really did like it, but, (as much as I really wanted to), I found the Nord Stage (I have the NS3) far superior. The NS3's Piano's, EPs and Organ are just better. A factor that would have swayed me to keep the YC is if there was an editor for the FM (8 Operator) engine (something like what Korg did with the OpSix). Amazingly enough, the Nord DX E.Piano is so much better than the equivalent in the YC - FM editing capabilities on the YC would have likely fixed that. Another downfall of the YC was that I accidentally broke one of the toggle switches. I had to order and replace an entire circuit board that contained that and other toggle switches. I could not bear the risk of having that happen again. I am grateful that I was able to locate the part and order it through Yamaha. I'm a huge Yamaha fan and have had and still have a lot of Yamaha gear. Nord prices really turn me off, thus why I really "wanted" to like the YC better, but ultimately the Nord won out for my situation.
Great Video! Thanks for going so in-depth. I have a Kronos 2 - 88 and an old Nord Electro 2 with a Mk 1 Vent which I've been wanting to upgrade to a YC73 or YC61. I liked the key action on the 73 as a compromise between waterfall and piano keys...tough call. Nice playing too!
Very nice instrument. Beautifully made all around. What's not to like? It's fantastic. But, I wish the instrument had a little bit more comprehensive i.e. fully editable FM engine, and the same goes for the AWM2 engine, too. You know, something editable from say a PC editor. I don't want Yamaha to change absolutely anything about the YC's front panel, because it's perfect. Having said that, I wonder if Yamaha plans to release, say DX88 and/or CS88 to address fully editable FM and subtractive synthesizer engines, respectively.
Beautiful playing, i just wish it wasn’t 3100$. I’ve been working overtime trying to save up for it but in the end i think I’ll be happy if i buy this but i was considering getting the yc73 and using my kawai as an extended midi controller to get the full 88 effect to save some money
I'm more a Wurli fan than a Rhodes fan (?heresy?!). Not that I don't like Rhodes, the Wurli just sits better with me; so very glad to see such a good Wurli included. There's one thing that slightly disappoints me on the YC which is given the organ engine why is there no Pipe Organ? I would have thought that should be in there. If it doesn't work with the engine then samples. I guess as a stage piano, Yamaha may have thought there would be limited use for a Pipe Organ though isn't there a pipe organ in the CP88?. I love a good Pipe Organ but I can live without it using my existing sample libraries it would just be nice to have a decent one onboard which is one of the reasons I went the Stage Piano route. And not everyone will have a decent set of samples available. The drawbars could have been used to great effect with a pipe organ representing different stops. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this and have missed something somewhere. Fingers crossed that will come in a future update (assuming there are more updates incoming). edit - Using that clean electric sample and playing it like a keyboard makes me think it could be used in place of a clavi and sound better (sorry clavi lovers). It just had that vibe but a more approachable sound to my ears at least.
Thats a great set of points. I would encourage you to join Ideascale and let Yamaha know. If the new update is proof of anything, it is that Yamaha LISTENS to their user base.
@@benallen5967 - Yep, I'm thinking I should do exactly that. Not sure if anyone else has suggested it yet or not. I had the chance to sit down and spend a few hours with my YC88 yesterday. First proper chance I've had. And I was not disappointed. Still working a few things out and I haven't even been through all the sounds. The straight acoustic piano, electric piano and organ engine sounds are excellent (to my ears) and I haven't made it much further as they totally sucked me in and had me playing for hours. I guess that's the focus of the stage keyboard anyway so makes sense they should be good (and they are). I also love the synth lead that's in page one of the Live Sets. It's beautiful. I also love the wiggle sticks. Wasn't 100% sure how they would be compared to wheels. They're excellent to use. Very happy.
Waouh, incredible work, it helped me in making the decision to purchase my future keyboard ! Can you give me the reference of your support which can accommodate two keyboards? He looks great... Thanks a lot !
Hello Ben, since I love the Rhodes sound from this, was wondering if you still think this is the best Rhodes in a keyboard over the Korg SV-2? Those two seem like the best Rhodes I've heard
So that’s a good comparison. I would throw Kurzweil in there as well. The YC88/Montage M has my favorite Rhodes samples, but Nord and Korg are also both excellent. Roland is using their same old recycled PCM sounds from the early days….but Korg, Nord, and Yamaha are all excellent choices for Rhodes. I also think the Crumar options sound great, but they are not so easily accessible in the states.
God bless you ,Thank you so much!,lovely demonstrations and playing ,probably gonna get the 73 version as it suits me better , Do you have any of your own sounds on Soundmondo ?
Hello Mr. Allen: Here is a quick question. I too believe that with the new OS updates, this is a tough performance key rig to conquer. I'm currently looking at purchasing an 88 key main keyboard and I've narrowed these down to this one or the new MODX8 Plus that just got released. Both are exceptional keyboards, but are aimed differently. I love the workstation capabilities in the MODX, however, love the drawbars and better organ capabilities in this model. So here is my choices.... Yamaha YC88 with MODX6 plus in a 61 note version as a secondary keyboard.... or vice versa... MODX8+ 88 key with the YC61 as the secondary. Please provide me with your thoughts. BTW: Also will be getting a Nord stage down the road (not an 88 key version), the Akai MPC Keys 61 that just released, and eventually the Casio Privia S7000 (which is by far superior to most digital grands in my opinion. I'm a church musician and am getting set up for studio production. My environment is strictly Presonus Studio one for the DAW and already have all that in place. Ramping up for next year. The above mentioned keyboard configurations are serving as my live rig and studio rig. Please let me know your thoughts... Anyone else feel free to jump in as well. Thanks so much
Hi does anyone know if this keyboard or any other don’t care the brand, has a YC30 sound? I would think this one would have but i cant find someone playing a sample of it thanks in advance!
Thanks for this video. I'm interested in the synth section. Question: Can you make a dry sawtooth wave with the filters? I want to use it for talkboxing.
@@benallen5967 ah, that stinks. I would think since they have fm synthesis built in they would have a simple saw wave. Bummer. Thanks for the reply though
Hi Alan, Thank you for your video. As you have had both the P515 and the YC88, which keybed do you prefer (NWX or NW) please? Thank you, Warmest regards, Chris
The YC88 has a much much better action than the S80. The YC88 has a wooden, fully weighted, graded, triple sensor keyboard action, and personally I don't find it hard to play for organ either.
@@benallen5967 Perfect. Time to retire my S80 then! The S80 has an action not too dissimilar to a real Rhodes (which I have), but it's a touch too heavy for organ without drawing blood!
Is it possible to assign the Leslie rotary effect (independently) to both the organ and the E.P. ? I like sound of the E.P. when rotary speed is at slow speed; but, I’d like to control the fast speed on the organ without effecting the slow speed of the E.P.
Good question. Because there is only one Leslie effect, and it is shared on a per sound basis- the answer is that you cannot have an EP using that effect at the same time the organ is, unless you switch back and forth.
Is there a place to give feedback to Yamaha on future features? I don’t know if it a possible to add, but an arpeggiator would be great, for a person of very limited playing capability like myself. I would like to make the request.
I am kind of disappointed, only 2 key sections seems like too few for me. I would expect at least 3 + the possibility to use the organ section for any other thing. At least for this price point.
I understand what you mean… but there simply is nothing else on the market with a weighted action that good, that lets you ALSO play real drawbars. So, as I’m primarily a piano player that loves organ, and needs EPs and “other” sounds… it’s the best YC for me. I have a Nord Stage 3 compact with a waterfall action, and while I was going for a CP88- the YC is more versatile and thanks to the new 1.2 update, has a killer organ engine.
Great playing and sound manipulation skills here, Ben. It’s like you’ve owned this thing for a decade. My Electro 2 is wonked out so now I’m unfortunately faced with replacing it and I’m not keen on going Nord again as their customer service has been somewhat abysmal. Yamaha has always been solid as a rock with everything they make, even their entry level instruments. This thing sounds so good especially with the firmware updates.
@@folk49lol no. Trying to determine if it can be repaired, it’s my baby. It ain’t looking good though, in my area in the US there’s almost nobody who knows how to work on them.
On a real Hammond there are 9 key contacts beneath every key. If you pull your drawbars out on your C3 and play any key VERY slowly, you will hear the various tones triggering. The 1 foot busbar is used to trigger the percussion circuit. On a real Hammond you won't hear the 1 foot drawbar when percussion is on. There is an aftermarket modification that one can do to have the 1' together with the percussion 2nd or 3rd
@@benallen5967 - not going to hassle you about which keyboard to buy, I already have the YC88. Purchased mine before this video was published. Your review of the CP88 had something to do with that, the organ feature was too good to pass up for me and I had the benefit of knowing that the rotary sim had been improved through update before I purchased. It's just nice to see someone who seems to be looking for similar things in a board. I agree, that in the current crop of offerings the YC88 is an excellent option (obviously, I think that). Where I live the Nord Stage 3 is just under twice the price. There are a few things I don't like with the Nord but that's just my opinion and personal taste. Nothing that I don't like about the Yamaha and only a couple that I think could be improved (cough) pipe organ (cough). It has a very solid sound set and a feature set that exceeds what I was looking for. So far so good.
V1.10 to V1.20 New features A new rotary speaker effect has been added. New FM organ types have been added. A new setting “FM Color Type” has been added to the “Drawbar Color” setting. Three EQs have been added to the effect types. A new setting “Touch Sensitivity” has been added to the Settings. The locations in the menu of “EG Control” and “Filter Control” have been changed. New Live Set Sounds have been added. New Voices have been added. Fixed problems Fixed minor problems.
I have owned the YC88 for 1 year and of all the stage pianos I have owned or played this is by far the best all-around performance board... actually I should include that just for the pleasure of playing as well it is the best. With the 1.2 OS update, I think it is now surpassed all boards that were even close including the RED ones which it beat out of the gate. Great video showing off it's amazing abilities and quality sounds.
@@abrahamsg8318 No it does not but If you are a performing musician, who needs 8 layers?? High quality sounds and a couple to 3 layers is all I need on stage. Same reason the Nord 4 would be useless to me. I want the better action of the Yamaha, excellent organ section and multiple quality sounds and will take those any day over half assed action and a bunch of useless sounds
@@golfingfinatic 100% get the Yamaha YC88. It has the excellent action with the wooden key feel. Multiple pianos that sound amazing and they keep adding more, plus the organs that make the CP88 sound bad in comparison. It is an absolute pleasure to play. I did demo the CP88 when it came out and backed off mostly due to the cheap organ sounds. I bought the Krog Grandsatage { great board} and when the YC came out I had almost hoped I would not like it because I only had the Korg for 2 years and knew I would lose money on it. After 15 minutes I was hooked and I told the guy at GC I am buying this piano and worked out a fairly decent trade but still lost on the Korg. Never looked back, though. I hope this helps. Enjoy !!
Yamaha has the best Rhodes samples of all time. And more different Rhodes pianos than anyone else, too. They all have their own character. Some are more bell-like, some more throaty, some more Wurli-like. Believe it or not, layering two of them at 60/40 can make some incredible deep sounds, especially nice if it’s just a few instruments.
What in the world do you mean by this comment? This was recorded direct into a DAW, no woofers are involved. You aren't hearing any speakers in this video.
I can’t thank you enough for taking me on this journey. I am definitely going to buy one based on your video. I really appreciate your time and effort to make this. No typical video can cover the scope of all this keyboard can do. You really gave us a comprehensive tour. Much appreciated!
Yamaha should pay you a lot of money for this grait job you have done . Thank you
Love all the FM sounds, it has all the classics in there, not just the EPs.
Thank you sooo much for this very comprehensive overview of this keyboard. Your video confirms that this (well, the YC73) is what I need to get hold of now that my Rhodes Stage 73 and Wurly EP200A are permanently resident at my son's flat! I'm now faced with the issue of scraping together the £2000 to buy one. In the meantime, my Hammond XK1 and Yamaha Reface CP are trying to cover the bases at band rehearsals and gigs. They're not doing too badly, but the YC73 would be an all-in-one solution, with many extra bells, whistles, and wonderful piano samples too. One day.... (wistful sigh)
Same here :( My back is getting less and less excited to wear all the keyboard gear. I can choose either to become a guitarist or to go sick to an all inn keyboard.
Wonderful Video. Thank you for taking the time !!
Ben, I was bummed about the F1thru F6 organ not having vibrato UNTIL I moved the 'MODULATION LEVER There it is !!
Great find, thanks for letting me know!
Hey NORD... Yamaha is comin' for you!! 🎉
I really apreciate these videos. Thank you very much!
Glad you enjoyed it.
Why does it sound so good? OH LORD!
The leslie sound at 3:35:25 sounds just like vascular sounds (the blood flow in the artery) 😊
I couldn't agree more - the Studio rotary DOES make the YC series worth buying, because the other two were awful and ruined an otherwise great keyboard because (as you say) the lack of assignable outputs meant you couldn't even use an external simulator if you wanted to use two different sounds at once. I'm a Nord (C2D) player as well, and a staunch advocate of the old grey case Ventilator Mk1 and the YC has gone from ruined to best in class just with that 1.2 update. Your comment 'you can get the sound with a Nord and Vent but not just a Nord' was the last bit of a push I need to get the credit card out and try a YC(61 in my case). Great video!
Hi, I will soon listen to the full demo so thank you for this. I was wondering whether you played the synth lead section of this! It’s the one gripe I think I have against this atm, I really love this keyboard, but it gotta have a good synth lead on there to really get me all I need.
I’m gonna be playing with a talk box too so I always wondered about them.
I love the s700 piano sound
Great video, well done!
Great job with this demo…
I like all of the pianos, but the ones that stick out to me the most are the S700, the nashvill C3, and the U1.
my favorit electric pianos are the 78 roads, and the FM DX and urban EPs.
I have the cp88 which also has the u1 and S700.andan the S700 especially isnjust THAT good
Really great Demo, thank you alot.
Bought and sold the YC61. I really did like it, but, (as much as I really wanted to), I found the Nord Stage (I have the NS3) far superior. The NS3's Piano's, EPs and Organ are just better. A factor that would have swayed me to keep the YC is if there was an editor for the FM (8 Operator) engine (something like what Korg did with the OpSix). Amazingly enough, the Nord DX E.Piano is so much better than the equivalent in the YC - FM editing capabilities on the YC would have likely fixed that. Another downfall of the YC was that I accidentally broke one of the toggle switches. I had to order and replace an entire circuit board that contained that and other toggle switches. I could not bear the risk of having that happen again. I am grateful that I was able to locate the part and order it through Yamaha. I'm a huge Yamaha fan and have had and still have a lot of Yamaha gear. Nord prices really turn me off, thus why I really "wanted" to like the YC better, but ultimately the Nord won out for my situation.
I really wish they had made an 88 model with waterfall keys
Sorry, that DX ep sounds like a Psr home keyboard. Good playing.
Great Video! Thanks for going so in-depth. I have a Kronos 2 - 88 and an old Nord Electro 2 with a Mk 1 Vent which I've been wanting to upgrade to a YC73 or YC61. I liked the key action on the 73 as a compromise between waterfall and piano keys...tough call. Nice playing too!
Glad it was helpful! I appreciate the complement.
I'm in the same boat, 61 waterfall or 73, I kinda wish there was waterfall on the 73, would be the first keyboard bought with my own money
Very nice instrument. Beautifully made all around. What's not to like? It's fantastic. But, I wish the instrument had a little bit more comprehensive i.e. fully editable FM engine, and the same goes for the AWM2 engine, too. You know, something editable from say a PC editor. I don't want Yamaha to change absolutely anything about the YC's front panel, because it's perfect. Having said that, I wonder if Yamaha plans to release, say DX88 and/or CS88 to address fully editable FM and subtractive synthesizer engines, respectively.
Beautiful playing, i just wish it wasn’t 3100$. I’ve been working overtime trying to save up for it but in the end i think I’ll be happy if i buy this but i was considering getting the yc73 and using my kawai as an extended midi controller to get the full 88 effect to save some money
3:13:53 sitar - nice!
@@TheJFerg24 thanks!
If organ is not your department of interest, would you still get the YC over the CP? Ty in advance if you could answer my question.
How bout on the Nord Stage 4 how is the LESLIE? Or the Roland Fantom 07 or 08 or roland vr-09-b and v-combo vr-730 keyboard ?
that pad at 2:31 is great
2:30:30
I'm more a Wurli fan than a Rhodes fan (?heresy?!). Not that I don't like Rhodes, the Wurli just sits better with me; so very glad to see such a good Wurli included.
There's one thing that slightly disappoints me on the YC which is given the organ engine why is there no Pipe Organ? I would have thought that should be in there. If it doesn't work with the engine then samples. I guess as a stage piano, Yamaha may have thought there would be limited use for a Pipe Organ though isn't there a pipe organ in the CP88?. I love a good Pipe Organ but I can live without it using my existing sample libraries it would just be nice to have a decent one onboard which is one of the reasons I went the Stage Piano route. And not everyone will have a decent set of samples available. The drawbars could have been used to great effect with a pipe organ representing different stops. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this and have missed something somewhere. Fingers crossed that will come in a future update (assuming there are more updates incoming).
edit - Using that clean electric sample and playing it like a keyboard makes me think it could be used in place of a clavi and sound better (sorry clavi lovers). It just had that vibe but a more approachable sound to my ears at least.
Thats a great set of points. I would encourage you to join Ideascale and let Yamaha know. If the new update is proof of anything, it is that Yamaha LISTENS to their user base.
@@benallen5967 - Yep, I'm thinking I should do exactly that. Not sure if anyone else has suggested it yet or not. I had the chance to sit down and spend a few hours with my YC88 yesterday. First proper chance I've had. And I was not disappointed. Still working a few things out and I haven't even been through all the sounds. The straight acoustic piano, electric piano and organ engine sounds are excellent (to my ears) and I haven't made it much further as they totally sucked me in and had me playing for hours. I guess that's the focus of the stage keyboard anyway so makes sense they should be good (and they are). I also love the synth lead that's in page one of the Live Sets. It's beautiful.
I also love the wiggle sticks. Wasn't 100% sure how they would be compared to wheels. They're excellent to use. Very happy.
Does the YC have a Clav sound?
Waouh, incredible work, it helped me in making the decision to purchase my future keyboard !
Can you give me the reference of your support which can accommodate two keyboards? He looks great...
Thanks a lot !
Hello Ben, since I love the Rhodes sound from this, was wondering if you still think this is the best Rhodes in a keyboard over the Korg SV-2? Those two seem like the best Rhodes I've heard
So that’s a good comparison. I would throw Kurzweil in there as well. The YC88/Montage M has my favorite Rhodes samples, but Nord and Korg are also both excellent. Roland is using their same old recycled PCM sounds from the early days….but Korg, Nord, and Yamaha are all excellent choices for Rhodes. I also think the Crumar options sound great, but they are not so easily accessible in the states.
God bless you ,Thank you so much!,lovely demonstrations and playing ,probably gonna get the 73 version as it suits me better ,
Do you have any of your own sounds on Soundmondo ?
So GOOD !! But that same tremelo on all the ep's mostly the rhodes is SO annoying.. Otherwise spot on mate
Hello Mr. Allen: Here is a quick question. I too believe that with the new OS updates, this is a tough performance key rig to conquer. I'm currently looking at purchasing an 88 key main keyboard and I've narrowed these down to this one or the new MODX8 Plus that just got released. Both are exceptional keyboards, but are aimed differently. I love the workstation capabilities in the MODX, however, love the drawbars and better organ capabilities in this model. So here is my choices.... Yamaha YC88 with MODX6 plus in a 61 note version as a secondary keyboard.... or vice versa... MODX8+ 88 key with the YC61 as the secondary. Please provide me with your thoughts.
BTW: Also will be getting a Nord stage down the road (not an 88 key version), the Akai MPC Keys 61 that just released, and eventually the Casio Privia S7000 (which is by far superior to most digital grands in my opinion.
I'm a church musician and am getting set up for studio production. My environment is strictly Presonus Studio one for the DAW and already have all that in place. Ramping up for next year. The above mentioned keyboard configurations are serving as my live rig and studio rig. Please let me know your thoughts... Anyone else feel free to jump in as well. Thanks so much
Hi does anyone know if this keyboard or any other don’t care the brand, has a YC30 sound? I would think this one would have but i cant find someone playing a sample of it thanks in advance!
Thanks for this video. I'm interested in the synth section. Question: Can you make a dry sawtooth wave with the filters? I want to use it for talkboxing.
No, the YC is extremely limited as far as the synth section goes.
@@benallen5967 ah, that stinks. I would think since they have fm synthesis built in they would have a simple saw wave. Bummer. Thanks for the reply though
Can you make timestamps for this please?
Does the YC have patch remain when switching between them?
Yes
Hi Alan,
Thank you for your video. As you have had both the P515 and the YC88, which keybed do you prefer (NWX or NW) please?
Thank you,
Warmest regards,
Chris
They are identical besides the escapement in the P515. They feel very very similar.
Hey ben, can you link the ideascale website where you can request update features? Thanks
I'm looking to replace my aging S80. Does the yc88 have a similar piano action or is it lighter to better lend itself to organ patches?
The YC88 has a much much better action than the S80. The YC88 has a wooden, fully weighted, graded, triple sensor keyboard action, and personally I don't find it hard to play for organ either.
@@benallen5967 Perfect. Time to retire my S80 then! The S80 has an action not too dissimilar to a real Rhodes (which I have), but it's a touch too heavy for organ without drawing blood!
Is it possible to assign the Leslie rotary effect (independently) to both the organ and the E.P. ? I like sound of the E.P. when rotary speed is at slow speed; but, I’d like to control the fast speed on the organ without effecting the slow speed of the E.P.
Good question. Because there is only one Leslie effect, and it is shared on a per sound basis- the answer is that you cannot have an EP using that effect at the same time the organ is, unless you switch back and forth.
@@benallen5967 okay… thank you for the information
Is there a place to give feedback to Yamaha on future features? I don’t know if it a possible to add, but an arpeggiator would be great, for a person of very limited playing capability like myself. I would like to make the request.
You can use arpeggiator of external midi device. Besides, if you can't play keyboard why you need YC? An expensive tech toy?
what is the name of the sound you are using at minute 1:02.33 piano God bless you
1:02:33
I am kind of disappointed, only 2 key sections seems like too few for me. I would expect at least 3 + the possibility to use the organ section for any other thing. At least for this price point.
Do you still have your CP88?
Yes, though that is technically a Church keyboard, not mine. The YC above, is mine.
@@benallen5967 cool. Great video!
it would seem there is no aftertouch What a pity if this is the case
Still the best keyboard on the market
@@RogerT-kt3zd the Korg Nautilus incidentally is now available with aftertouch
Strange pick, to get yourself an organ machine with a -wooden piano keys.. and it's a graded one.
I'd take a 76 ver. with possibly waterfall k.
I understand what you mean… but there simply is nothing else on the market with a weighted action that good, that lets you ALSO play real drawbars. So, as I’m primarily a piano player that loves organ, and needs EPs and “other” sounds… it’s the best YC for me. I have a Nord Stage 3 compact with a waterfall action, and while I was going for a CP88- the YC is more versatile and thanks to the new 1.2 update, has a killer organ engine.
I don't like this view. I miss the view of the preset/patch name on the keyboards screen.
Hopefully there aren't too many nitpicky Hammond purists attending the comcert when you start wailing on this great sounding instrument
Great review - Thankyou ...has really helped me make my mind up..
Anyone have thoughts on whether I should purchase the YC88 or the CP88?
Can you dim the organ fader LED's ? Ben
@@staceycarras3815 you can change their color but I don’t believe they can be dimmed.
Great playing and sound manipulation skills here, Ben. It’s like you’ve owned this thing for a decade. My Electro 2 is wonked out so now I’m unfortunately faced with replacing it and I’m not keen on going Nord again as their customer service has been somewhat abysmal. Yamaha has always been solid as a rock with everything they make, even their entry level instruments. This thing sounds so good especially with the firmware updates.
Can I have your Nord
@@folk49lol no. Trying to determine if it can be repaired, it’s my baby. It ain’t looking good though, in my area in the US there’s almost nobody who knows how to work on them.
Kevin, reach out if I can help with any questions! Godisopen@Gm*** . com
On a real Hammond there are 9 key contacts beneath every key. If you pull your drawbars out on your C3 and play any key VERY slowly, you will hear the various tones triggering. The 1 foot busbar is used to trigger the percussion circuit. On a real Hammond you won't hear the 1 foot drawbar when percussion is on. There is an aftermarket modification that one can do to have the 1' together with the percussion 2nd or 3rd
…and I’m back. Sorry for stalking you on the YC demos Ben. Appreciate you taking the time to put this together.
I don’t mind at all, I appreciate the interaction! Feel free to email me if you want to talk further. God is open at GM
@@benallen5967 - not going to hassle you about which keyboard to buy, I already have the YC88. Purchased mine before this video was published. Your review of the CP88 had something to do with that, the organ feature was too good to pass up for me and I had the benefit of knowing that the rotary sim had been improved through update before I purchased. It's just nice to see someone who seems to be looking for similar things in a board. I agree, that in the current crop of offerings the YC88 is an excellent option (obviously, I think that). Where I live the Nord Stage 3 is just under twice the price. There are a few things I don't like with the Nord but that's just my opinion and personal taste. Nothing that I don't like about the Yamaha and only a couple that I think could be improved (cough) pipe organ (cough). It has a very solid sound set and a feature set that exceeds what I was looking for. So far so good.
Can you tell us what's new in 1.2 update package?
V1.10 to V1.20
New features
A new rotary speaker effect has been added.
New FM organ types have been added.
A new setting “FM Color Type” has been added to the “Drawbar Color” setting.
Three EQs have been added to the effect types.
A new setting “Touch Sensitivity” has been added to the Settings.
The locations in the menu of “EG Control” and “Filter Control” have been changed.
New Live Set Sounds have been added.
New Voices have been added.
Fixed problems
Fixed minor problems.
There is a new version 1.3 update
I have owned the YC88 for 1 year and of all the stage pianos I have owned or played this is by far the best all-around performance board... actually I should include that just for the pleasure of playing as well it is the best. With the 1.2 OS update, I think it is now surpassed all boards that were even close including the RED ones which it beat out of the gate. Great video showing off it's amazing abilities and quality sounds.
hey , how about 8 layers in MODX...?
is there 8 layers here..?
How does this compare to the CP88? I'm torn on which way I should go.
@@abrahamsg8318 No it does not but If you are a performing musician, who needs 8 layers?? High quality sounds and a couple to 3 layers is all I need on stage. Same reason the Nord 4 would be useless to me. I want the better action of the Yamaha, excellent organ section and multiple quality sounds and will take those any day over half assed action and a bunch of useless sounds
@@golfingfinatic 100% get the Yamaha YC88. It has the excellent action with the wooden key feel. Multiple pianos that sound amazing and they keep adding more, plus the organs that make the CP88 sound bad in comparison. It is an absolute pleasure to play. I did demo the CP88 when it came out and backed off mostly due to the cheap organ sounds. I bought the Krog Grandsatage { great board} and when the YC came out I had almost hoped I would not like it because I only had the Korg for 2 years and knew I would lose money on it. After 15 minutes I was hooked and I told the guy at GC I am buying this piano and worked out a fairly decent trade but still lost on the Korg. Never looked back, though. I hope this helps. Enjoy !!
Can you give your want😊
Is the attack sustain decay envelope adjustable for synth sounds...especially attack?
Yes, though not quite in the same depth as a traditional synth engine. It’s preset ADSR, but it works nicely.
@@benallen5967 So you can adjust the attack and save the sound? On my Roland RD-88 I can't but that's a Rompler.
Thanks
Yamaha has the best Rhodes samples of all time. And more different Rhodes pianos than anyone else, too. They all have their own character. Some are more bell-like, some more throaty, some more Wurli-like. Believe it or not, layering two of them at 60/40 can make some incredible deep sounds, especially nice if it’s just a few instruments.
The next step forward: a more sensitive to clipping and saturation separation for the woofer
What in the world do you mean by this comment?
This was recorded direct into a DAW, no woofers are involved. You aren't hearing any speakers in this video.
@@benallen5967 yes, excuse me, i implied for a digital emulation
1:16:30 Wah!
2:14:50