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Yamaha YC88 and YC73


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Smart video, though maybe too subtle without some captioning or narration... It really does a nice job of highlighting the ability to play piano expressively on its non-hammer action.

I predict the release of these models will come with a software update which will improve the YC61 as well.

 

ETA: Struck out the first line... I assumed these had the same actions as the YC61. I didn't figure on hammer action with the CP73/88 in the lineup.

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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It actually is hammer action. The 73 and 88 keybeds appear to be identical to the CP series. Also, they have announced a limited OS update 1.1...adding two acoustic and two electric pianos...but very little other than that. At least they titled the the update appropriately as a relatively minor one. Guessing they're still working on the rotary sim and that will be part of a future 2.0...which I hope is soon...but probably will be at least a few months.

 

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/music_production/stagekeyboards/yc/updates.html#product-tabs

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Sheesh. I guess we saw this coming. I wasn"t expecting it in 88keys. Nor in Hammer Action.

 

The 73 is using the BHS 29.9lbs. The CP 73 is 28lbs, 14oz

The 88 actually has the NW-GH3 41lbs, same weight as CP88.

 

I think I"d have liked to see the 73 in a semi-weight with waterfall keys.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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I may be missing something, but it seems like the YC73 and YC88 have everything the CP's have, plus a drawbar clone. That's a lot of overlap, so does the CP line even continue after this? I think a lot of folks were expecting a semi-weighted YC73, so this is a bit of a surprise but still makes sense.

 

So now Yamaha has a whole line of keyboards crippled by a bad leslie sim. They'd have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to realize that they need to have their engineers working day and night to fix this problem.

 

I'm probably less troubled by it that most YC owners, because I rarely use either upper drawbars or fast leslie. Larry Young's sound on Unity and Into Sometin' is my happy place, and the YC sounds great there.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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I may be missing something, but it seems like the YC73 and YC88 have everything the CP's have, plus a drawbar clone. That's a lot of overlap, so does the CP line even continue after this? I think a lot of folks were expecting a semi-weighted YC73, so this is a bit of a surprise but still makes sense.

 

So now Yamaha has a whole line of keyboards crippled by a bad leslie sim. They'd have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to realize that they need to have their engineers working day and night to fix this problem.

 

I'm probably less troubled by it that most YC owners, because I rarely use either upper drawbars or fast leslie. Larry Young's sound on Unity and Into Sometin' is my happy place, and the YC sounds great there.

 

Exactly. The 73 in a quality semi weight with waterfall keys would have been killer.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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Highly enjoyed that ! Very nice, tasteful player. :thu:

 

Like Al said, very nuanced playing, he makes it sound non-electronic.

 

Yeah, that Uri Gincel performance is really something. In spite of his hair! Very rare to get a transcendent moment like that in a highly staged keyboard demo like this.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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Ha, that Sweetwater one still has "1080 Export" in the title. :laugh: Fresh off the press!

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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Sheesh. I guess we saw this coming. I wasn"t expecting it in 88keys. Nor in Hammer Action.

 

The 73 is using the BHS 29.9lbs. The CP 73 is 28lbs, 14oz

The 88 actually has the NW-GH3 41lbs, same weight as CP88.

 

I think I"d have liked to see the 73 in a semi-weight with waterfall keys.

Yeah, with the CP models out there, I didn't predict hammer action for these. Though the "leak" some weeks back (some inadvertent page headings on yamaha's web site) did indicate that a 73 and an 88 were both in the works.

 

The YC73 has some nice appeal vis-a-vis the Nord Electro 6HP and Stage 3 HP, for a lightweight hammer action version of this kind of board, just because the BHS will probably feel better than the TP100. Most non-TP-100 7x-key boards are quite a bit heavier, so this could be a nice niche for Yamaha. I could see this being more successful against those Nords, the Dexibell TP100 models, the heavier Korg SV1/Grandstage and Forte 7, than it would have been competing with the semi-weighted group, especially with the new Hammond.

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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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Not as good as the Yamaha Motif 88 BH?

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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Sadly, that BHS action on the CP73 wasn"t a succes. Clunky, GHS style.

 

Different strokes, I love the way mine feels and plays, definitely don't find it sluggish or clunky. My favorite action so far for a stage piano, where you also play EP's. It feels better and more quality to me than that of my P115, which itself is just ok. I was surprised to read where Mr. Dave Ferris didn't like it but AFAIK he just put his hands on one at the store, never gigged on one.

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Sadly, that BHS action on the CP73 wasn"t a succes. Clunky, GHS style.

 

Not sure how you're defining "success." Of course there are better actions using heavier mechanisms, but I think the relevant comparisons are with weighted actions in keyboards that are in a similar weight class. For example, I find it much better than the Fatar TP100 action.

 

I gets confusing using "weight" in different senses in the same sentence -- how heavy it feels under your fingers vs how heavy to pick the keyboard up -- but I think my meaning is clear enough.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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Most digital piano hammer actions are too heavy for my synthy hands. I definitely preferred the CP73"s lighter action than the 88"s when trying them out at a GC two summers ago. However not sure if I could get used to playing a lot of organ even with the lighter weights. Interesting choice for Yamaha to make.
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Incoming

 

I currently have a CP73 and it doesn't sound nearly as detailed as that YC performance...granted the performance itself is very nuanced. Although it does seem to be a running theme for me when it comes to Youtube demos of Yamaha pianos vs when I actually play them for myself in person - maybe it has something to do with the EQ...

 

I may be missing something, but it seems like the YC73 and YC88 have everything the CP's have, plus a drawbar clone. That's a lot of overlap, so does the CP line even continue after this? I think a lot of folks were expecting a semi-weighted YC73, so this is a bit of a surprise but still makes sense.

 

So now Yamaha has a whole line of keyboards crippled by a bad leslie sim. They'd have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to realize that they need to have their engineers working day and night to fix this problem.

 

I'm probably less troubled by it that most YC owners, because I rarely use either upper drawbars or fast leslie. Larry Young's sound on Unity and Into Sometin' is my happy place, and the YC sounds great there.

 

The main difference from what I can tell is that you can have layer up to 3 sounds of your choice on the CP, whereas the YC limits you to 2 max plus organ if you want. The pricing on the CP series also seems to be cheaper, so non-organ players will probably gravitate more towards that. The YC does seem to have a more versatile effects system when it comes to upgrades though.

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I really don't understand what Yamaha are doing here. There just seems to be too much overlap between this and the CP series. I'm all for more weighted 73/6 options, but as a heavily organ focused board you'd think Yamaha would give the 73-version a waterfall action rather than making it CP73 2.0.

 

I get there are differences between the two lines, but they just seem too similar to make sense.

Hammond SKX

Mainstage 3

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I think it might be safe to assume that creating a high trigger option for the YC range is not exactly going to be top of Yamaha's 'to do' mod list now :) ---

It would have been nice for the YC61, but not exactly that useful on the new weighted 73 or 88 versions?...

 

I'm trying to get my head round the logic for issuing an 88 note - against their own CP88 - and why the YC73 is not a waterfall just has me scratching my head ?...

 

Ignoring a rotary sim upgrade for the latest OS update is just crazy... or are we really expected to believe that ALL the engineers and demonstrators at Yamaha have cloth ears, and are in denial that it has problems?.... Weird!

Yamaha - YC61 - P105 - MOX6 - HC2 -- Neo Vent 2
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I really don't understand what Yamaha are doing here. There just seems to be too much overlap between this and the CP series. I'm all for more weighted 73/6 options, but as a heavily organ focused board you'd think Yamaha would give the 73-version a waterfall action rather than making it CP73 2.0.

 

I get there are differences between the two lines, but they just seem too similar to make sense.

 

Yes, I was thinking the same even before the models came out. Looking at the manual the voice list is the same, though there a couple of new APs in the later CP updates.

 

In the UK YC61 and CP73 are about the same price. As I said sometime ago, I don"t see a future for the CP73.

 

Manual YC73/88 https://uk.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/5/1376845/yc88_yc73_en_om_a0.pdf

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Sheesh. I guess we saw this coming. I wasn"t expecting it in 88keys. Nor in Hammer Action.

 

The 73 is using the BHS 29.9lbs. The CP 73 is 28lbs, 14oz

The 88 actually has the NW-GH3 41lbs, same weight as CP88.

 

I think I"d have liked to see the 73 in a semi-weight with waterfall keys.

Yeah, with the CP models out there, I didn't predict hammer action for these. Though the "leak" some weeks back (some inadvertent page headings on yamaha's web site) did indicate that a 73 and an 88 were both in the works.

 

The YC73 has some nice appeal vis-a-vis the Nord Electro 6HP and Stage 3 HP, for a lightweight hammer action version of this kind of board, just because the BHS will probably feel better than the TP100. Most non-TP-100 7x-key boards are quite a bit heavier, so this could be a nice niche for Yamaha. I could see this being more successful against those Nords, the Dexibell TP100 models, the heavier Korg SV1/Grandstage and Forte 7, than it would have been competing with the semi-weighted group, especially with the new Hammond.

 

So the YC73 has the same action as the CP73 which is a nice light action which I much prefer to the TP100. I've had Hammond B-3X connected to my CP73 this week and it's OK but the key shape and the absence of high trigger make it much less fun to play. It sure is an odd choice to have YC73 with BHS. But so does the lack of high trigger on the YC61.

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In the UK YC61 and CP73 are about the same price. As I said sometime ago, I don"t see a future for the CP73.

 

I wouldn't be so sure. I think they will put the boards at different price points, considering the same key number configuration. YC73 will be more expensive than CP73 and same story for the YC88 and the CP88. And if you look to the 73, and 88 keys versions, the spec look pretty much the same except for the added organ drawbars and controls on the YC series, right? So not everyone needs a full organ drawbars/control, as they already have a dedicated board for this, or they will just be happy to use the CP's organ presets without doing too much tweaks on them, as they don't play that much organ.

 

I find the YC serie offers a nice package of features, but its price quite high and I would rather buy a CP73 or 88 at the moment if I was looking for a new board mostly for AP, EP and synths. So it seems Yamaha is targeting different groups of players with these series. But maybe I'm mistaken...

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In the UK YC61 and CP73 are about the same price. As I said sometime ago, I don"t see a future for the CP73.

 

I wouldn't be so sure. I think they will put the boards at different price points, considering the same key number configuration. YC73 will be more expensive than CP73 and same story for the YC88 and the CP88. And if you look to the 73, and 88 keys versions, the spec look pretty much the same except for the added organ drawbars and controls on the YC series, right? So not everyone needs a full organ drawbars/control, as they already have a dedicated board for this, or they will just be happy to use the CP's organ presets without doing too much tweaks on them, as they don't play that much organ.

 

I find the YC serie offers a nice package of features, but its price quite high and I would rather buy a CP73 or 88 at the moment if I was looking for a new board mostly for AP, EP and synths. So it seems Yamaha is targeting different groups of players with these series. But maybe I'm mistaken...

 

I agree the YC octave for octave will be more expensive - so the price of YC61=CP73 and I suppose YC73 = CP88.

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The CP prices might go down a bit. That would be nice. One thing i do not understand in YC/CP lines is why dont they do it campatible with Montage ecosystem. Nord and Roland go this way. Yamahas have better action than Nord, good form factor and USB interface is really nice bonus, but possibility to completely choose the sound pallette is something that keeps me stay with Nord. I dont understand why Yamaha does not go this way.
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oh, surprising. I think we all expected the 73 but not with weighted keys. I find the 61 to be fantastic for both organ and piano, I was hoping for a 73 to give more space for lower/upper organ splits. I'm not sure about weighted keys for organ, not an option for me anyway.

 

I must add, I've been enjoying the YC61 so much in the last few weeks and playing hours every day, which is something I haven't done for many years, not had so much enjoyment and inspiration from a keyboard since I first got an Electro in 2001. It's a fantastic package and I'll be sad when I return mine!

hang out with me at woody piano shack
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I really don't understand what Yamaha are doing here. There just seems to be too much overlap between this and the CP series. I'm all for more weighted 73/6 options, but as a heavily organ focused board you'd think Yamaha would give the 73-version a waterfall action rather than making it CP73 2.0.

 

I get there are differences between the two lines, but they just seem too similar to make sense.

 

 

Possibility. Yamaha research says their piano players aren"t interested in playing organ, unless 'in a pinch'. And those players have been satisfied with their organ efforts. So dedicated organ section stays off the CP line. But by that logic, why did they do with hammer action on the organ centric YC line? Maybe because it"s the Nord Electro they want to compete with.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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