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Yamaha YC61 Announced


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Sounds like a good axe for rock and soul, prog rock, fusion. At least in this jam I"m not hearing a Hammond purist"s tone for jazz or necessarily gospel. Not saying it"s not possible - just that in its current incarnation it would be pretty good in certain settings. Certainly for this artist"s very stylized playing. The rotary simulation is not bad, we"ve heard much worse.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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Sounds like a good axe for rock and soul, prog rock, fusion. At least in this jam I"m not hearing a Hammond purist"s tone for jazz

It's nice to hear a non-jazz demo! ;-) It seems so many organ demos are jazz, and if they do rock, they do a super distorted Deep Purple kind of thing... both pretty useless to me. I was impressed by this demo, in organ and otherwise.

 

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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I have to say I am too, all this kind of thing is right in my wheelhouse. In this kind of band context it's hard to isolate just the organ but that's ok because I rarely do organ solo or duo gigs anyway. I can tell it's not a pure Hammond sound, it sort of has it's own voice but I like it. I still wonder what the keys feel like after Jim's comments. Steve in the VIP thread said he won't have one to test until spring whenever that is, it could be anywhere from March to June. It's also possible that Yamaha has gotten some good feedback at the show plus their forum and may do some software changes.

 

Bob

Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff...
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It's nice to hear some good demos to get an idea of the sounds. I was at NAMM, and as many others have mentioned, it was really hard to hear a damn thing in headphones across the board from manufacturers. As others have suggested over the years, I would splurge on noise cancelling phones if I were exhibiting.

 

The one thing I can say about this board is I LOVE the action on it. It seems quite close to me to a real Hammond or and an XK-5. I have an Electro 5D 73, and I've always disliked the stiffness of it. Before I even put on the phones to try to hear it, I liked what I felt with the YC....

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A few of the things I really appreciate about this board are the internal power supply with a real AC cord, quarter inch jacks that appear to be threaded steel held in place with nuts, super light weight,and audio inputs with volume control, At least Yamaha has shown an instrument can be very light and still have an internal power supply. If only one set of draw bars is available,the ability to have them light up different colors for upper/lower seems ingenious. I hold Jim A. in high esteem so his first impressions were a small bummer since I had high hopes for this thing. Ultimately I just have to get my hands on it and evaluate for myself how it sounds and feels.
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Blake spent a lot of time on the organs in this vid and it still sounds pretty good to me but again, he didn't mention or activate the C/V. Makes you wonder. Or, it could be as simple as he's not an organ first type of player and doesn't understand the importance of that.

 

A comment about complaints by some that too many clone demos focus on the jazz sound. The thing with that is all Hammonds in the rock era start with that sound then as time went on both the consoles and Leslies got modded for the rock sound but if a clone cannot nail the jazz sound first and the C/V is critical for that, then the other styles of playing are not going to sound authentic. The jazz sound is the foundation of all modern Hammond playing and a good clone starts with that and then adds all the different software modelling to it just like was done originally back in the day with the preamp mods, different speakers in the Leslies and all that good stuff. It was all added on top of the foundation of jazzy sounds.

 

Bob

Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff...
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Blake spent a lot of time on the organs in this vid and it still sounds pretty good to me but again, he didn't mention or activate the C/V. Makes you wonder. Or, it could be as simple as he's not an organ first type of player and doesn't understand the importance of that.

 

A comment about complaints by some that too many clone demos focus on the jazz sound. The thing with that is all Hammonds in the rock era start with that sound then as time went on both the consoles and Leslies got modded for the rock sound but if a clone cannot nail the jazz sound first and the C/V is critical for that, then the other styles of playing are not going to sound authentic. The jazz sound is the foundation of all modern Hammond playing and a good clone starts with that and then adds all the different software modelling to it just like was done originally back in the day with the preamp mods, different speakers in the Leslies and all that good stuff. It was all added on top of the foundation of jazzy sounds.

 

Bob

 

Bob, from observing his demo playing, he freely admits he"s not an organ player. Many players who are fine pianists don"t get this, nor basic techniques like subtler drawbar use nor actual organ finger technique or idiomatic chord voicings.

 

"I have constantly tried to deliver only products which withstand the closest scrutiny � products which prove themselves superior in every respect.�

Robert Bosch, 1919

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Blake spent a lot of time on the organs in this vid and it still sounds pretty good to me but again, he didn't mention or activate the C/V. Makes you wonder. Or, it could be as simple as he's not an organ first type of player and doesn't understand the importance of that.

 

A comment about complaints by some that too many clone demos focus on the jazz sound. The thing with that is all Hammonds in the rock era start with that sound then as time went on both the consoles and Leslies got modded for the rock sound but if a clone cannot nail the jazz sound first and the C/V is critical for that, then the other styles of playing are not going to sound authentic. The jazz sound is the foundation of all modern Hammond playing and a good clone starts with that and then adds all the different software modelling to it just like was done originally back in the day with the preamp mods, different speakers in the Leslies and all that good stuff. It was all added on top of the foundation of jazzy sounds.

My actual tonewheel Hammond was an old model with no C/V (an original model C). So I never got into using C/V! If the stuff I covered used it, I didn't notice. (None of it was jazz, though.) I did miss having percussion on that oldie, though. I bought an aftermarket kit to add it.

 

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Blake spent a lot of time on the organs in this vid and it still sounds pretty good to me but again, he didn't mention or activate the C/V. Makes you wonder. Or, it could be as simple as he's not an organ first type of player and doesn't understand the importance of that.

 

A comment about complaints by some that too many clone demos focus on the jazz sound. The thing with that is all Hammonds in the rock era start with that sound then as time went on both the consoles and Leslies got modded for the rock sound but if a clone cannot nail the jazz sound first and the C/V is critical for that, then the other styles of playing are not going to sound authentic. The jazz sound is the foundation of all modern Hammond playing and a good clone starts with that and then adds all the different software modelling to it just like was done originally back in the day with the preamp mods, different speakers in the Leslies and all that good stuff. It was all added on top of the foundation of jazzy sounds.

 

Bob[/quo

 

Well that was me that has an issue with it as long as we are talking about it. Again jazz organ is the smallest subset of players out there and is only one sound. You really have to watch making broad statements. Jazz players can never understand that there might be other organ styles other than their small circle of musicians. That particular sound is annoying as shit after awhile honestly.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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Outkaster, I don't disagree about few players use organ for jazz any more including me. My point is how a clone's overall sound is created. The good clones are trying to emulate a real Hammond, correct? The foundation of that is the basic standard drawbar settings. All the other custom or modded sounds are built on that foundation. That has nothing to do with whether or not players use the jazz sound.

 

Bob

Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff...
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Outkaster, I don't disagree about few players use organ for jazz any more including me. My point is how a clone's overall sound is created. The good clones are trying to emulate a real Hammond, correct? The foundation of that is the basic standard drawbar settings. All the other custom or modded sounds are built on that foundation. That has nothing to do with whether or not players use the jazz sound.

 

Bob

 

Bob I hear you. It just sounded like a sweeping statement that's all I meant as I don't come in contact with that many guys that are using those registrations all the time. I only meant there are other players that are part of the scene like gospel players. In the southern states there is a big need for gear as most of the Hammond and Leslie gear is in the northeast, Chicago, and out west where recording was done years back. That market for churches is still pretty vibrant so much so that a guy bought a 145 from me that was from a worship house 13 hours away from me.

 

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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In the southern states there is a big need for gear as most of the Hammond and Leslie gear is in the northeast, Chicago, and out west where recording was done years back. That market for churches is still pretty vibrant so much so that a guy bought a 145 from me that was from a worship house 13 hours away from me.

I can vouch for this. My gospel organist friend says he is willing to drive up to 6 hours to pick up a Leslie. I only had to go 3 hours one way to get a road-warrior, non stock 145.

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Do I smell the ubiquitous "game changer?"

 

I'm so glad they left off the aftertouch, otherwise I might have had some gas for this. Organ sounds great, lots of good features. Beyond lame to leave out channel aftertouch, but MODX also is without this fundamental feature.

 

Many I'm sure will care less and love it :)

 

RT-3/U-121/Leslie 21H and 760/Saltarelle Nuage/MOXF6/MIDIhub, 

SL-880/Nektar T4/Numa Cx2/Deepmind12/Virus TI 61/SL61 mk2

Stylophone R8/Behringer RD-8/Proteus 1/MP-7/Zynthian 4

MPC1k/JV1010/Unitor 8/Model D & 2600/WX-5&7/VL70m/DMP-18 Pedals

Natal drums/congas etc & misc bowed/plucked/blown instruments. 

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Off-hand, looking at multifunction performance boards (i.e. not counting straight synths), the only boards I can think if under $2k that have aftertouch are Kurzweil PC4, Korg PA1000, and Roland AX-Edge. Any others?

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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what is the verdict on the keybed , full width ? from the hands on videos , it doesn't look like it

 

Published spec has the overall width of the YC61 as 896mm -- bit of 'scaling' using Yamaha's own photos indicate one octave of keys as 159mm and not 164mm -- so Yamaha 'synth' size keys then....

Yamaha - YC61 - P105 - MOX6 - HC2 -- Neo Vent 2
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The Montage action is a proper quality semi weight synth action - it also uses Yamaha scaling.

The MODX7 is more typical springy feeling, but not horrible (like the FA-06/VR-09, sorry just an opinion). I am guessing it also uses Yamaha scaling.

So what did they do here? Is it the Montage action with waterfall shaped keys?

 

 

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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Does the Studiologic Numa Compact 2x count?

 

 

It does in my book, particularly since my NC2X arguably has a better & more responsive action than my MODX7. Like Elmer states,the MODX action is not horrible, just not quite what I normally expect from Yamaha. I am very interested in evaluating a YC61 first hand, especially since it is supposed to be a different action.

----------------------------------------------------------

 

Gig: Yamaha MODX7, NumaX 73 Piano  Studio: Kawai ES-920; Hammond SK Pro 73; Yamaha Motif ES7 w/DX,VL,VH; Yamaha YC 73; Kawai MP-6; Numa Compact 2x

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