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Charleston

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Posts posted by Charleston

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    On 12/19/2023 at 3:17 PM, Paul Woodward said:

    As for pedal I use a Moog expression pedal between a Korg Grandstage, Yamaha YC61 and a Roland A800. Works perfectly on them all and is a nice robust pedal (and cheaper than the FC7).

    IMG_0135.jpeg

    Looks nice! I will keep that one in mind.

    The prices must have changed. The Moog seems to be more expensive than the Yamaha now.

    Edit: I like that the Moog has a TRS output so the cable isn't hardwired like the FC7

    • Like 1

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    1) The Korg SV-2 pedal works with the CK, but only goes down to around 30 on volume. But I assume that's an issue with the SV-2 unless I'm missing something (since it does that with the Yamaha MX also.)

    2) Unfortunately there is no way to choose 2 sounds (for example: B & C ) in the CK for volume control. 

     

    I was going to buy the Yamaha FC7, but if I can't choose B and C for simultaneous volume control, then I probably don't need it.

     

     

     

     

    Rumors: Yamaha Montage successor

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    2 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

    Yamaha should sponsor a contest for young musos - the winner gets a Montage M8X

     

    Then we can sit back and watch the young muso innovate on the M8X, showing us what can only be done on this keyboard and nothing else in production

    Why "young"? I don't get it.

    What age range is "young" to you?

     

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Bobby Simons said:

    I know, f*cking outrageous for a piece of plastic, isn't it? I actually got mine from Kraft Music for $76.99 - I see they still have it at that price. Slightly less outrageous.

    Cool.

    Although Kraft makes up a little on shipping ($12), ...but still a little better overall on price.

    Thanks for the info!

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    On 7/16/2023 at 1:40 PM, AnotherScott said:

     

    I can understand not using the MX sound set of over 1100 voices... there is an advantage to quick navigation through available sounds, and if there were 3x as many sounds, those scrolling menus would be more cumbersome to navigate. But I would have hoped that all the sounds that were there were at least MX quality (e.g. the MX does have that better flute sound I mentioned).

    I personally would prefer it. Scrolling 50 voices....or 200....within a category is fine with me. The most bread and butter ones are typically toward the beginning of each category anyway if one is in quick improv mode.

     

    And they could make it even easier, by making consecutive clicks (on the same category button) bring up the subcategories (so even way less scrolling needed). 

    • Like 1

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    On 7/14/2023 at 9:36 PM, Prizm said:

    With the exception of piano, EP and other vintage keyboards (organ, etc), I find most other sounds on the CK are disappointing.

    Every review I've seen seems to avoid talking about the quality of these other sounds. This feedback is only being mentioned in a few user comments.

     

    I hear a lot of obvious loop points, I hear clipping on some sounds, and resampling of some sounds as I go up the keys. Most are thin and weak sounding, with no depth or high-end quality to make you sit up and go "wow".
    Some sounds in 80s romplers have better quality than this.  Even the old orchestra hit sample on this board has an odd, overly-crunched distortion to it.

     

    I get Yamaha don't want to put their most expensive sounds in here, but surely they can afford something better than 30 year old samples.

     

    The redeeming feature is the hands-on effects and easy interface. A bit of tweaking can help mask the poor quality of the sounds.
    Other keyboards might have better sounds/features, but if I have to menu dive all the time, then that cancels out whatever benefits the board has, as it just gets too tedious. So... the CK is a bit of a mixed bag.

    It would have been great if they had at least dumped the MX sounds into it. A lot of great stuff there. 

     

    Last night, I was looking for the basic ole' generic rock guitar sustained lead sound on the CK and there was nothing. Even the synth leads are pretty terrible. The MX has ton of them both. Yeah, old samples, but they work.

    • Like 2

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Has anyone noticed that you only see the names of the layers on the screen, when they are turned on?

     

    Is this preferred by some? I can't remember, but is this how Nord does it?

     

    I think I would rather see all 3 at all times, and then highlighted if turned on or off.

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    6 hours ago, Prizm said:

     

    Perhaps you can send Yamaha some quick feedback about it if you have time. The more people mention it, the more chance they might look into a fix for those of us who plan to keep it.

    Where do I give Yamaha feedback? 

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    3 hours ago, drawback said:

    Until Yamaha gives you an option to change button lighting intensity, tape them off with masking tape. The light will still shine through, but limited. You can use different colours of tape to modify the colours too.

    Unfortunately there is no way to know if Yamaha can.... or will.... change anything regarding button lighting. 

    Thanks for the idea, but as far as masking tape: 1) Some of the buttons have text on them. 2) Having only one color would defeat the primary benefit of the colors changing depending on the layer chosen. 3) Not sure if I want all that tape all over that many buttons.

    But yeah, as a last resort taping up everything could be done I guess.

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    If anyone was interested, I was just checking the speaker volume (and bass) of the CK88 vs the P-125.

    If you have a P-125, first put the piano on variation 1 (Live Grand).

    Then put the volume on around 7.5 (using the 11 dots, and counting the first dot on the left as 1).

    That will be the closest to volume and bass, although the CK88 will still have a little less bass ..... and more crispy highs.

    The sound of the CK88 speakers are decent enough for quick solo practice in a completely quiet environment. Kinda low volume/bass. Bluetooth audio sounds okay coming through it. PC audio sounds decent enough. You can get a quick jam in, but yeah, nothing like the P-125 speakers.

     

    I'm still concerned about the button lights, and may return it. I like to play at night, in low lighting, and knowing that I have to crank up my room lighting like a cafeteria,..... or use my portable music stand light every time is not something I enjoy. I keep thinking that maybe I'll memorize where everything is and not need to look very much? I assume we won't hear from Yamaha about possible lighting changes before my return window, so ...oh well....

     

    And another thing I forgot to mention earlier on lighting is that you can't see what current category you are in, with heavy or low room lighting. Not a huge thing, but when you look down to see what category you're in, you ain't gonna see it. 

     

    I think it's ironic that one of the purposes/advantages of this really cool UI is for quick sound creation/improv/etc.. on the fly, on stage and such, but the button lights will probably make that very difficult for those that aren't playing where lighting is hitting that interface. Seems like, at the moment, you need to setup your live sets ahead of time, and just have the effects/layers ready to turn off/on (which you could do with about any board).

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    7 hours ago, Tiff_Sunbacon said:

    Whilst the colour 'coding' on different parts is, frankly, inspired, I agree that in low light environments they are bright. Also, I find that the default yellow on Part A appears red in my peripheral vision, which is a little distracting. To handle this I changed it to magenta but there doesn't seem to be a way to save that to the default colour because when I powered off and back on again, part A was back to yellow.

    Do you know if there is a way to change the default colors? 

    Seems as though, as of now, it has to be done per live set? (If so, that's really annoying).

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Did anyone download the free Live Set Pack from Yamaha?

    I bought the CK88, and when I clicked the link in the email from Yamaha it went to "access denied".

    Just curious what it sounded like. 

    And btw, anyone have trouble seeing the interface (buttons/knobs/etc..) in a darker setting? The button lights are kind of blaring, while hiding/over-contrasting the tiny text. I wish the lights could be dimmed (or can they?). Maybe it's just my eyes though.

    The screen itself is nice. 

    I may give more of a review later. Sounds good so far though. 

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    3 hours ago, HSS said:

    The lack of onboard drum patterns is still a bit annoying to me for a self-contained hybrid home / stage board but I guess one could just use the CK's Bluetooth audio with a drum app on a smartphone without going through the hassle of loading 'em on a USB stick or running a line in.

     

    Speaking of that, does anyone have a recommendation for a nice Android app with good presets of standard drum beats/patterns? 

    Weeding through 1000's on the PlayStore is a daunting task....

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