Upgrading to YC61 from CK61

[jamesmiller]

Love te CK61...very easy to get what you want fast....light weight is great too.
But like the better organ sounds on YC. I have a Nord Electro 5d and a MODX6 already
what would I be missing upgrading to YC or CK?
Thanks

[davlippo7]

I tried the CK but returned it. I kept my pro level YC73.

Depends on if you are going to travel or sit out back under a shady tree.

HOWEVER Yamaha released the SeqTrak which might FAR out weigh the CK in voices and has real FM.

I liked the CK but it was toyish and still limited and of course I didn't need both.

See my photos on this forum concerning the SeqTrak thread.

Yamaha might have really screwed up offering a massive Yamaha library with FM for pennies so that anyone can now obtain and add to their current rig.

So now none of us have to go buy a Yamaha board just get the SeqTrak and add it to whatever you have.

The YC will allow me to Master control the SeqTrak's 4 channels so I can add the 3 synth channels to the 3 on the YC.

For exmaple I created a trio of choir, FM pad & drone AWM2 on the SeqTrak and still have all 3 YC voices available.

I'd skip/sell the CK, keep or get the YC and add SeqTrak as a rompler.

The YC73 IMO is kind of a work of art and it's only downfall was the limited selection of voices. Now SeqTrak has forever fixed that issue.

I do request & hope Yamaha release a pro level SeqTrak with SSS and high grade shell, knobs, switches & buttons.

[anotherscott]

Love te CK61...very easy to get what you want fast....light weight is great too.
But like the better organ sounds on YC. I have a Nord Electro 5d and a MODX6 already
what would I be missing upgrading to YC or CK?

Here's some of the things the CK61 has that the YC61 does not:
... the ability to combine any three sounds (on the YC, one of the three sounds must be an organ)
... 2 split points for the internal sounds, instead of 1 (so each of the 3 sounds can have entirely different key ranges)
... pipe organs
... the Acetone and Yamaha Combo organ models from the Reface YC
... more CFX piano variations
... more sounds overall (though I think in some cases, a YC equivalent sound sounds better)
... ability to save master EQ to a Live Set
... battery operation
... speakers
... effects for the audio input
... audio playback from USB stick
... bluetooth audio in
... traditional pitch/mod wheels instead of the sticks
... an operational layout that is simpler to use overall

And here are some of the things the YC has that the CK does not:
... the better tonewheel organ emulation (instead of the one from the Reface)
... better (and more adjustable) rotary effect
... more different piano models (C7, Nashville C3)
... way more different Rhodes models
... metal build
... internal power supply
... endless encoders with LEDs so controls indicate (and are immediately properly adjustable from) their current positions
... nicer action, waterfall shaped keys
... FM sound generation for the FM sounds, plus ability to create your own "FM organ" synth sounds
... full travel drawbars, with multi-manual LED indicators
... 4 amp simulations (in addition to rotary)
... generally more effects capability (i.e. a third insert effect that can be added to the main pair on the non-organ sounds)
... some of the additional sampled sounds seem to be better quality

That may not be totally complete/correct in every detail, but I think that's probably pretty close to a list of the major feature differences. And some of these things may not matter much to you if the board will be used in conjunction with an Electro 5 (which also has strong organ and piano) or a MODX (which has FM and lots of other high quality sounds).

[jamesmiller]

Just ordered the YC61 from Zzounds!
Will be here Wed. Im not sure if it will make my CK obsololet but will see...

[davlippo7]

The YC73 might be too large for you but has XLRs and feels great with super professional build quality. 61 is better for organ playing obviously. 73 is better for playing pianos & EPs etc.

Read the other post "Yamaha CK61 dilemma" which has some general YC information you might want to know about.

We got into some discussion about the Nord comparison to Yamaha so since you have both please give us feedback when you can.

True about the YC must have one of the (3) combined voices an organ but there are some cool things you can do with this. You can use the FM engine with new organ effects to make new sounds and on the F4 & F6 you can use the percussion draw bars (turn others to off) to create attacks that don't sustain like an organ does. It's like you get the attack and decay percussive variations without the sustain. It's a bonus you might not realize.

I wish Yamaha could actually add a ADSR to the FM section so it doesn't sustain if you don't wish to have an organ sound but something else in its place.

[davlippo7]

Here are some examples IF you don't need or want an organ part but need a 3rd voice:

First turn off parts "A" and "B" for now for this experiment.

Use Organs F4 or F6 for a real FM base part or guitar or flute or synth attack etc.

Set all draw bars to zero (up or off) except for 8 & 9

Turn on the percussion option so 8 & 9 are active and adjust them to get a tone you like for a starting point

Turn on the Chorus/Vibrato section and adjust to taste on the key strike which can make some very different tonal attacks. Cycle through those options for fun.

Turn on the Amp modeling section and set it to Organ. Try the 4 types until you get a key-on sound you like. Notice they won't sustain because it will decay unlike an organ. Adjust the dials Drive and Tone to taste.

Also remember to adjust the organ octave options on the left which can provide a cool base (set it low) or a flute (set it high) key-on tone etc. Adjust custom organ volume and pre-drive

Next add an effect to the organ section as or if you prefer.

F4 sounds good as a guitar and F6 for a base but the possibilities are a lot.

The photos show these related areas and you can get a lot of variations instead of just wasting the organ section thinking you can't use it if you don't need an organ. Yamaha could easily expand this feature if they thought about it allocating many more options on the percussion bars and get the "organ only" idea out of their heads. It's FM it can do anything. Sadly this entire organ section could have doubled as a full blown FM/DX section with slight modifications and an editor like on SeqTrak.

BTW I've never heard Yamaha even mention this feature if they even know about it.

Next, try mixing in the Felt Piano. I think I made 10 new pianos that way tweaking all of the above and trying different effects on the percussion part.

[jamesmiller]

Thanks davlippo7.....Im putting this on top over my Nord ED5 73 and may midi the two together. I dont do allot of splitting for my gigs..
I do mostly layering.... Chose the 61 for the watterfall keys

[davlippo7]

I created so many new voices using the trick I mentioned and still had voice "B" available plus because the FM carrier & modifier like a filter are on 8 & 9 bars you can freely modify them in real time.

The real fun was in the effects and all you could do to the "organ" percussive part and through some experimentation I created some really cool synth parts to go with "A" & "B" parts. I could upload them to the SoundMondo share site so others can grab them to see what I did. If anyone cares just let me know. Not too many here care about the YC acting as a 3-part synth without an organ.

The greatest instant value is to add the SeqTrak to the YC and thus add 3 or 4 more channels including editable FM & samples and thousands of additional voices. I had once calculated how many pennies per voice not including the FM section. IF you only used it for nothing else but a rompler but then it does lots of other stuff too.

Leave your vote here if you want me to upload some examples.