Yamaha YC61 or Nord Electro 6D 73?

[Paul Woodward]

Pretty sure this has been discussed to death somewhere but appreciate up to date views.

I have a YC61 hardly used (so far) and really do love it. I am using it for rehearsals with a Roland A800 and iPad. However, I am finding I just need the YC to rehearse and when we get nearer to performing/recording, I will take my Korg Grandstage for weighted piano duties (and I love the piano sounds of the Korg).

I really appreciate the stereo audio inputs of the YC as well as the iPad integration, but Im tempted by the Nord library and regular updates (YC not updated in over a year now!)

I am quite concerned about the longevity of the YC keybed having had it serviced once already and seen how it is constructed, but I also think I would benefit from a 73 note board which the Nord has. However, I have never played a Nord, just heard them online.

I also like the fact you can stack two pianos and an organ in the YC to get some really deep and dirty sounds. I believe you can’t stack two pianos in the Nord which might be a deal breaker.

Synths I can do on the iPad if need be but I am using this board for retro sounds; hammond, rhodes, wurli etc. so the synth section is less important to me. A decent piano is only necessary for rehearsing as it wont get used once I take the Korg GS out.

Finally, to get a Nord, I will have to sell the YC for a decent price and pay another £400+ so this needs to be factored into my decision.

Appreciate your thoughts, especially if you have experience of both.

 

[niacin]

you might find this helpful, but i think it will come down to trying a NS3C and finding out if you connect with it or not, fwiw I've owned a YC61 and an Electro5 and a Nord Lead A1, which is the synth in the NS3C, and kept only the A1, finding the Leslie in the YC61 unpalatable even with the update, and the Nord organ and Wurli uninspiring (compared to a Hammond SK1 or SKpro or a Mojo61).  I might yet sell the A1 and buy a NS3C for piano, rhodes and synth.  ymmv.  Given your concern about the YC61's keys and interest in a 73 note board it might be worth laying hands on a YC73.

 

 

[konaboy]

having owned and played both extensively, i would venture to say that the Yamaha blows the Nord away in features and all sound categories. With one exception, the characterful grand and uprights in the Nord piano library.

 

But like you, I would be concerned about the potential issue of keybed longevity and maintenance. Hopefully it was just a problem on early units and Yamaha have sorted it out now.

 

Electro uses tried and tested fatar action. some guys don't like the feel of it, but it's solid and has stood the test of time.

 

It was surprising to me that YC73 comes with a weighted action, making it unsuitable for organ splits. if that's important, then Electro is better option.

[Paul Woodward]

1 hour ago, niacin said:

you might find this helpful, but i think it will come down to trying a NS3C and finding out if you connect with it or not, fwiw I've owned a YC61 and an Electro5 and a Nord Lead A1, which is the synth in the NS3C, and kept only the A1, finding the Leslie in the YC61 unpalatable even with the update, and the Nord organ and Wurli uninspiring (compared to a Hammond SK1 or SKpro or a Mojo61).  I might yet sell the A1 and buy a NS3C for piano, rhodes and synth.  ymmv.  Given your concern about the YC61's keys and interest in a 73 note board it might be worth laying hands on a YC73.

 

 

Alas, I really want a waterfall keybed for the drags and smears when playing organ, and I am happy with the Grandstage as a main board so not really looking at the Nord Stage. Thanks for the link though.

[Paul Woodward]

50 minutes ago, konaboy said:

having owned and played both extensively, i would venture to say that the Yamaha blows the Nord away in features and all sound categories. With one exception, the characterful grand and uprights in the Nord piano library.

 

But like you, I would be concerned about the potential issue of keybed longevity and maintenance. Hopefully it was just a problem on early units and Yamaha have sorted it out now.

 

Electro uses tried and tested fatar action. some guys don't like the feel of it, but it's solid and has stood the test of time.

 

It was surprising to me that YC73 comes with a weighted action, making it unsuitable for organ splits. if that's important, then Electro is better option.

Thanks Woody, this is a case of really needing to try the board out. Nearest one to me to try is a 4 hour round trip and Im not yet sure I am going down that route (plus dropping half a grand to upgrade!). Certainly happy with the YC in other respects, but that damn keybed just annoys me knowing how quickly it became noisy and seeing the key design…whatever possessed Yamaha to go ‘cheap’ on what it not exactly a cheap board 😞

[Paul Woodward]

Am I right in thinking that you cannot layer two sounds from the same section on the Nord? That is probably a deal breaker for me.

[AnotherScott]

3 hours ago, Paul Woodward said:

Am I right in thinking that you cannot layer two sounds from the same section on the Nord? That is probably a deal breaker for me.

That is true on the Electro. If you want to layer two sounds from the same section, that's one of the benefits of the Nord Stage 3, which is available in a 73 which uses the same keys as the E6D... but is quite a bit pricier.

 

As for Electro 6D vs. YC61, I have a chart comparing them (and others) at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Fr9cObRaep37A9Y1PZtRkVWxKKDsXUGPk9ubfhYgoSk/edit?usp=sharing

[Paul Woodward]

That is very helpful @AnotherScott

[Mighty Motif Max]

I've played both. This is an interesting situation, given your sound preferences. I don't honestly see a clear winner - I think the YC's EP's are better than Nord's, the organs are tied, and the pianos are down to personal taste but *very* close in quality, just very different sounding. Yamaha has better multi-sampled other sounds and pitch/mod controls, while Nord has a wider variety of samples available, but single-velocity-layer and no pitch/mod controls at all.

 

I personally don't like the YC's keybed a lot, but the Nord SW is on the springy side, so they each have their own issues IMO. You really need to play the Nord and see how it connects with you - otherwise I don't think there's a clear enough determining factor here. Split/layer capacity may be the deciding factor otherwise.

[Docbop]

OH NO!!!!!!   Someone used the "N" word so this thread will probably go on for four or five pages of replies.   <grin>

[AnotherScott]

41 minutes ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

I've played both. This is an interesting situation, given your sound preferences. I don't honestly see a clear winner - I think the YC's EP's are better than Nord's, the organs are tied, and the pianos are down to personal taste but *very* close in quality, just very different sounding. Yamaha has better multi-sampled other sounds and pitch/mod controls, while Nord has a wider variety of samples available, but single-velocity-layer and no pitch/mod controls at all.

 

I personally don't like the YC's keybed a lot, but the Nord SW is on the springy side, so they each have their own issues IMO. You really need to play the Nord and see how it connects with you - otherwise I don't think there's a clear enough determining factor here. Split/layer capacity may be the deciding factor otherwise.

I pretty much agree with all of that. When it comes to the action, I prefer the YC for piano, and the Nord for organ. Odd thing about the organ... it's not the lack of high trigger on the YC that bothers me so much, it's more that I think its release point is too low! I find it makes smooth trills difficult because lifted keys cut the notes off too soon.

[drawback]

1 hour ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

I've played both. This is an interesting situation, given your sound preferences. I don't honestly see a clear winner - I think the YC's EP's are better than Nord's, the organs are tied, and the pianos are down to personal taste but *very* close in quality, just very different sounding. Yamaha has better multi-sampled other sounds and pitch/mod controls, while Nord has a wider variety of samples available, but single-velocity-layer and no pitch/mod controls at all.

 

I personally don't like the YC's keybed a lot, but the Nord SW is on the springy side, so they each have their own issues IMO. You really need to play the Nord and see how it connects with you - otherwise I don't think there's a clear enough determining factor here. Split/layer capacity may be the deciding factor otherwise.

 

54 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

I pretty much agree with all of that. When it comes to the action, I prefer the YC for piano, and the Nord for organ. Odd thing about the organ... it's not the lack of high trigger on the YC that bothers me so much, it's more that I think its release point is too low! I find it makes smooth trills difficult because lifted keys cut the notes off too soon.

I agree completely with Max & Scott. When I briefly had a YC61, I found it almost unplayable - perhaps it was the release point. Anyway, I’ve had an Electro and a Stage, both 73s and would take them any day of the week over the YC. I do wish Nord would get in there and revise their Rhodes samples, though. 

[Adan]

Since you bring the Grandstage to gigs and use ipad for synths, that suggests the main gigging purpose is organ.  I found the YC61 get get pretty far into heavy organ playing but was ultimately limited by the lack of high trigger.  Electro or SKPro, both with high trigger, can go farther.  If we're just talking organ, SKPro is the clear winner here, but if other duties are involved it's more of debate.

[Paul Woodward]

15 hours ago, Adan said:

Since you bring the Grandstage to gigs and use ipad for synths, that suggests the main gigging purpose is organ.  I found the YC61 get get pretty far into heavy organ playing but was ultimately limited by the lack of high trigger.  Electro or SKPro, both with high trigger, can go farther.  If we're just talking organ, SKPro is the clear winner here, but if other duties are involved it's more of debate.

never really thought of it like that. Current setup (if I need portability or for rehearsals) is the YC and the iPad is connected to a Roland A800 Pro for its sounds. It has some decent vintage sounds available through the Korg Module app.

For the good gigs and studio it would be Grandstage and YC (iPad is just for keeping it all light for rehearsals and maybe smaller gigs). This is about having a few options rather than each board being dedicated to a 'sound'. Having said that, I would use the Korg GS for acoustic pianos (and a few decent synth and string sounds there too) over the YC. I do prefer the organs and EP's of the YC so that is pretty much my combo.

Completely agree that I need to actually 'play' a Nord as this is a very personal choice when it comes to boards, but I have to say that not being able to stack the same engine is a big negative for me and I like being able to route the GS (or iPad) audio  through the YC....

[stoken6]

18 hours ago, Adan said:

Since you bring the Grandstage to gigs and use ipad for synths, that suggests the main gigging purpose is organ.  I found the YC61 get get pretty far into heavy organ playing but was ultimately limited by the lack of high trigger.  Electro or SKPro, both with high trigger, can go farther.  If we're just talking organ, SKPro is the clear winner here, but if other duties are involved it's more of debate.

SK Pro is also a better controller (and slave), which makes it perhaps a better fit into a two-board rig?

 

Cheers, Mike.