YC73 vs NE6D 73 -and about YC73 keybed issues

[Dreun]

Hi, new to the forum. I'm looking for a 73 keys board to play piano, EPs and organ, mainly for home practice for now and eventually some gigs. It will be my only keyboard, apart from a synth I use for music production. I had briefly a Nord Electro 6D 73 and I liked it, very solid with a good interface. I found the waterfall keybed very good for organs, ok for EPs and not so good for acoustic pianos, as expected. I think it would be playable for my piano needs, but the truth is it felt a bit frustrating when playing acoustic piano.

 

Then I discovered the YC73. It seems more capable and flexible than the Nord, excellent sounds, mod and pitch bend sticks, etc. I think I like more the Nord interface, whose knobs and buttons seem more solid to me, but maybe that's just an impression. The YC73 is not available to test near me but I tried the CP73 with the same BHS keybed and I found it a very good compromise for pianos and my organ playing needs. It felt very good for piano as well as light and fast enough for organ and synth. My organ playing by now is limited, mostly Doors covers, although I'd like to expand it, not in an orthodox jazz Hammond direction, more in a psychedelic rock direction.

 

But I'm mostly concerned about the reliability of this keybed, since I have read some reports about issues such as clacky, sticky and even broken keys within not much time of use. It seems, judging by these reports, that the YC73 is an awesome machine but with a poorly implemented keybed? In the other hand, the Nords seem to be very solid and reliable in this respect.

 

Do you know if this is a current issue or has Yamaha solved it by now in recent batches? Sometimes you read about problems with boards but most users are happy with their units, so not sure what to expect from this model. 

 

Also, I'd like to know about your experience with the YC73 and the Nord Electro 6D. Which one do you think will be more fitting for my needs (piano, EPs and rock organ)? Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

EDIT: Another question for those who have used both keyboards. How do the Vox and Farfisa models on the YC73 (F2 and F3 I think) stand against the Nord Electro ones?

[Paul Woodward]

On the YC group on FB, there is someone collecting data from users about issues with the 73 keybed. He is saying that velocity levels decrease as you play repeatedly, particularly the black notes. Some have developed clacky keys that need degreasing, a few having wobbling keys.

The YC61 is equally notorious and it’s disappointing to see the key design when stripped down, it’s similar to those cheap mini keys used on the Mininova etc.

Im on my second YC61 and so far so good but there are clearly quality issues, or they are just not up to the hammer pro players are giving them.

Best to try one for yourself really. They are great boards otherwise and bear in mind, it’s the people with issues being vocal, likely thousands of users having no issues.

[kenheeter]

After playing Nords for years I bought a YC73. I liked a lot about it and even the keybed was OK to me but the acoustic pianos always sounded very compressed .  I tried everything, even changing my amps but I finally traded it in on a new Nord Stage 3 and the pianos are great again.

[Dave Keys]

I had the Nord Electro 5HP and loved it's sound, but hated playing it, so traded it for the YC73 in March last year. The keybed was what sold me on the YC73 - I've gigged the board regularly and had no issues with the action at all. It was like going from a Dacia to a Mercedes in terms of premium feel. 

[Dreun]

On 1/28/2024 at 10:40 AM, Paul Woodward said:

On the YC group on FB, there is someone collecting data from users about issues with the 73 keybed. He is saying that velocity levels decrease as you play repeatedly, particularly the black notes. Some have developed clacky keys that need degreasing, a few having wobbling keys.

The YC61 is equally notorious and it’s disappointing to see the key design when stripped down, it’s similar to those cheap mini keys used on the Mininova etc.

Im on my second YC61 and so far so good but there are clearly quality issues, or they are just not up to the hammer pro players are giving them.

Best to try one for yourself really. They are great boards otherwise and bear in mind, it’s the people with issues being vocal, likely thousands of users having no issues.

Most users on the FB group seem to be happy with their YC73, so yes, this seems to be a problem with some units, not a common issue. That's a relief because I think this instrument is exactly what I've been looking for.

[Paul Woodward]

1 minute ago, Dreun said:

Most users on the FB group seem to be happy with their YC73, so yes, this seems to be a problem with some units, not a common issue. That's a relief because I think this instrument is exactly what I've been looking for.

The YC61 seems to be more consistently reported in terms of keybed issues.

[Legatoboy]

My 73 has held up fine for over a year now, true I haven't giged it but my handle is Legatoboy for a reason... I try not to bash my keybeds in the heat of the moment for technique reasons and my hands, especially at this age. I think of it like a Wurly 200 action, it feels like that to me, which I always found a pleasent experience. I like playing acoustic piano samples on it...comfortable action for me, but at times I miss some of a fully weighted scaled action on piano sounds with it but not  much. I would like to gig it, but I'm playing solo acoustic piano out only right now...