Yamaha YC61 Keybed - still problematic?

[Chummy]

Good evening

I know many people who bought the YC61 find out that their keys are clankey, noise, or loose after  ~ 6 months of use. Either WoodyPianoShack, other folks here in the forums or reviews online (Thomann, etc.) all mention it. I wonder, did Yamaha address that in any way or are they still releasing flawed YC61 boards to the public today?

[McBones]

Tried one at Guitar Center and was not impressed with the action.  I get price points and all, but this was really below par.  Clacketty, cheap feeling keybed.  Decided I wasn't interested any longer.

[Chummy]

Yes, I also tried one at the store, it does feel cheap to me too, but I have a little experience with semi weighted waterfall keys, I've been playing with fully weighted actions or on sometimes a "synth" action. Which semi weighted action was your favorite? What I like about the Yamaha is the interface and the sounds. The acoustic sounds / synth / brass etc. of the Nord Electro were not impressive IMO, even more so for the price.

[JohnH]

Have had mine for 16 months. Not a single issue with the keys. So this is not an epidemic. This has become my main second board at most gigs, so it's out on the job every weekend.

[rogs]

I've had mine for 3 years now. No problems with the keys so far. Only used at home though...

[UnderGroundGr]

I played one some years ago and i like the keys a lot...

[Chummy]

Thanks for the feedback. Truly I have to try the keys again and see whether I like it, as so far I had a very quick first impression - not thorough.

I'm still wondering if anyone knows whether Yamaha did anything to fix the clank / noisy/ loose keys problem, or was it a bad batch, or there may still be a % chance of getting these faulty keybed when purchasing one today.

 

What do you guys think about the Yamaha YC61 vs the fatar TP waterfall keybed? (Hammond SK Pro, Nord etc.)

[UnderGroundGr]

Far better action than Nord Electro...

[Paul Woodward]

My first one (a newer model) had this problem and was serviced under warranty, but never felt quite ‘right’ so I sold it on.

Came across another (older model) that had hardly been used and so far it’s perfect, although the bottom C is getting a little noisier over time.

Perhaps they used less grease on subsequent models (seems that is all it takes to remedy the issue). Of course, usage, playing style, temperature, humidity etc. will all play a part in how bad this issue becomes. From what I can gather, it’s not a technical fault as such, so it should play just fine, more of a design fault. When playing live or with headphones, you would never know.

For what I paid for my YC I am willing to take a risk, and maybe service it myself, but I would be gutted had I paid almost £2k and had a clunky keybed.

[Josh Paxton]

Mine has been one of my main gigging boards for probably three years now. No issues with the keys. Action is a subjective thing, of course, but to me it feels as good an any other non-hammer action in recent memory. And I still like playing it, for whatever that's worth.

[BradleyG]

I’ve had mine for about 12 months now. Nothing in the mechanics of the keyboard I’d complain

about, other than the slightly slim width of the keys. Definitely no reliability or noise problems. It feels a world better to me than the Nord Electro I tried out at Guitar Center, but it could be that the board on their floor took a lot of abuse before I sampled it.

[Paul Woodward]

Been on the YC groups and seeing more complaints of keys becoming clacky, wobbly and even black keys breaking.

My first YC became very noisy, was then like new after a regrease. Second one, despite being older, has no issues although the lowest C is getting noisier.

Yamaha are a reputable company and this is a newly engineered keybed. I have to wonder if they really did test it over time, after heavy use etc. I think we have to agree that this is not just a bad batch, and looking at the key assembly (same as ModX?) you just know it will be problematic over time.

If it was tested, how did none of this get picked up, or do they know it’s not got much longevity and don’t care?

I really can’t see how anyone with an ounce of common sense at Yamaha didn’t see this coming.

Shame because it’s a great board, but I am already anticipating having to get it regreased and I’m consciously avoiding smears and wipes (which is pretty much why you buy a waterfall keybed) as those key assemblies look far too easy to snap playing that way.

[Paul Woodward]

Would love to see if this guys keybed is clacky or broken after a few months….

 

[TomKittel]

The title of this thread scared me. I have owned my YC61 for quite some time. I'm as happy with the keybed as I am with any other keyboard I own. Did not even know that it is problematic...

[The Piano Man]

Is it the same keyboard as that used on the Yamaha NP range or is it something more substantial?

[UnderGroundGr]

1 hour ago, The Piano Man said:

Is it the same keyboard as that used on the Yamaha NP range or is it something more substantial?

It is a different, much better keybed. Excellent waterfall keybed for organs and very nice for all the other sounds...

[Paul Woodward]

11 hours ago, TomKittel said:

The title of this thread scared me. I have owned my YC61 for quite some time. I'm as happy with the keybed as I am with any other keyboard I own. Did not even know that it is problematic...

If you know, you know. If there are no issues then dont worry. My first YC became very noisy within months but was like new after a regrease. If you dont 'know' its noisy i.e. when playing with headphones, you wouldn't know, doesnt 'feel' any different to the touch. Its definitely a noise thing, but there are a few people with broken keys (black keys that can wobble side to side (almost rotating) which isnt a surprise when you see how the keys are designed and how organs are typically played.

As I said, my second YC is fine except for the bottom C which is getting noticably noisier.

[Paul Woodward]

Well, thats the second YC I have owned now sold on. Aside from the lack of use it was getting, this poor quaiity keybed just 'niggled' me to the point I couldnt take it serious. The keybed in this one had held up fine with only the low C start to get noticeably noisy, but the ways the keys could be wobbled just made me feel that a few organ smears too many and those notes were going to come off. You really shouldnt feel that way about a 'pro level' instrument, especially one designed to be played like an organ.

Thats it for me, I got this cheap enough to not be tempted by another and will see if Yamaha ever address the keybed in future models, or whatever the next stage keyboard range is....

[UnderGroundGr]

It's very strange that yamaha put a problematic keybed to a pro level instrument(it costs almost 2000 euros)...

I have played it once and the action was wonderful, much better than nord electro's action...

[Paul Woodward]

40 minutes ago, UnderGroundGr said:

It's very strange that yamaha put a problematic keybed to a pro level instrument(it costs almost 2000 euros)...

I have played it once and the action was wonderful, much better than nord electro's action...

It is...at first. See Woody's (Piano Shack) initial review where he thinks it might be his favourite keyboard ever...then watch his follow up video. I think many YC61 users have experienced the same feeling of increasing disappointment. Opening it up just reveals what we feared, its the multi key single injection mould with living hinge used on cheap mini keyboards.

 

[rogs]

I've had my YC61 for almost 4 years and have not had any real keybed issues. I like the action.

I do find the sideways movement of the black keys a bit disconcerting - and that does make the black keys a bit noisier than the white ones -  but it's only 'nit picking'.

It hasn't affected the performance of the instrument.

I don't think Yamaha is likely to do much more with this keybed..... The YC73 and 88 both use weighted keybeds -- which I find a bit strange for an organ based instrument - especially for the YC73?

I think this was Yamaha's first vernture into a waterfall keybed -- could well be their last?

[Paul Woodward]

My first YC developed the noisy keybed within weeks and a regrease at a service centre made it feel like new, but it was starting to get noisy again with minimal use after a few months.

This latest one was great, but I could feel it getting noisier on some keys again with very light use.

If they do another one, they would do well to look at other boards that got it right. Have to say, other than the very top end, a lot of key actions have taken a step backwards in terms of quality.

[PianoMan51]

Noisy keys. Loose keys. 

 

Bought a used CP-4 years ago. Cheap. Had two black keys that had an amazingly sloppy sideways movement. I was pissed until after my first gig. 
 

When I realized that when I actually played, I didn’t even notice the two bad keys. The sideways motion was not apparent at all while playing the piano.

 

Now, don’t get me started on the Fatar keybed on my mid-90s K2500! 

[Paul Woodward]

Posted on Facebook YC group today. I’m having trouble believing a Yamaha rep or service centre would actually admit this about the YC73, but if they did, it’s a pretty grim state of affairs. I think the YC would have even more complaints about the keybed….

The issue is about velocity dropping on repeated plays of the black notes which he demonstrates in a video.

[rogs]

One other aspect is that - being a Yamaha 'synth'  keybed - the YC61 has 159mm octaves instead of the 164mm octaves  used by most (all?) of its competitors.

Personally I'm fine with the narrower keys, but I know some folk can find it a bit strange.

 

 

[HammondDave]

On 2/21/2024 at 10:04 AM, rogs said:

One other aspect is that - being a Yamaha 'synth'  keybed - the YC61 has 159mm octaves instead of the 164mm octaves  used by most (all?) of its competitors.

Personally I'm fine with the narrower keys, but I know some folk can find it a bit strange.

 

 

That’s always been the case of Yamaha synths since the DX7. Yamaha can be pretty stubborn sometimes. 

[AnotherScott]

16 minutes ago, HammondDave said:

That’s always been the case of Yamaha synths since the DX7. Yamaha can be pretty stubborn sometimes. 

 

I guess they figure, "well, it didn't seem to hurt the sales of the DX7." 😉

[Chummy]

@Paul Woodward that's very disheartening to hear , sorry you experienced that mate must be very frustrating.

I would assume you'd go back to the CK61 now? I realize it's a cheaper keybed but perhaps more realible? I wouldn't know.

I don't know what alternatives are there to the YC61 in terms of sound quality, variety and tactile control (except Nord Electro / Stage)

 

[Paul Woodward]

7 hours ago, Chummy said:

@Paul Woodward that's very disheartening to hear , sorry you experienced that mate must be very frustrating.

I would assume you'd go back to the CK61 now? I realize it's a cheaper keybed but perhaps more realible? I wouldn't know.

I don't know what alternatives are there to the YC61 in terms of sound quality, variety and tactile control (except Nord Electro / Stage)

 

I'm not likely to be gigging any time soon and I have the Grandstage and iPad (Korg Module) at a push. No CK or YC for me. The former was ok, but lacked some of what the YC offered albeit with that dodgy keybed. Will see what the next wave brings if I ever need a second board.