Yamaha YC 1.20 Firmware Update! - Yamaha's Organ & Stage Keyboard Just Got Better!

[@rcom9880]

That last bit with the piano/organ noodling--wowee. Spot on bit of kit and playing. Kudos Luke & Yamaha!

[@towjam2359]

Yamaha should buy the rights to Luke's piano/organ outro and feature it in their YC marketing. VERY tasteful and shows off the meat and potatoes of the YC.

[@Fufuman94]

The feature of being able to play the piano with the organ in the background; and the sounds aren’t clashing, I need this!!!

[@fliegenderwal8807]

How is this Feature called and does the Electro 6d have it?

[@jo_ey]

I have a YC61 and Im not really a keyboard player but it has served me well on stage and in the studio. It really has all the sounds you need to make a record. I’m a huge wurlitzer sound fan and this keyboard nails it. Im gonna explore the fm capabilities because I haven’t done that properly. Great work Yamaha

[@Featherlightstudio]

Love the gospel bit at the end, great playing! This update for the YC series just keeps getting better and better. The new rotary organ sim is not only wider and more spatial, but also tweaks the actual EQ of the emulation as well and really nails the sound of a Leslie cabinet.. Its allowed me to finally sell my Neo ventilator which I thought I would never do.

[@ChopKnives]

Find someone who looks at you the way Jack looks at Luke 😍

[@alexanderyozzo]

Didn’t realize my YC88 had these FM features, this is a sweet discovery. Also the 2 keyboard midi option, with per-layer assign-ability, looks awesome.

[@TheNappyboy2]

The outro may have just sealed the deal for me! Amazing really

[@derekfernandez7701]

Wow Luke's so talented! Loved the outro! He's from Mike and the Mechanics? 10:35 was so impressive to me - he picked the chord by ear while setting up the next patch!

[@jjptech]

Absurdly amazing

[@BsidetheCside]

amazing outro, listended to it over and over a few times, awesome playing.

[@Infinighost]

Wow, that outro song was fantastic. Beautiful!

[@lukejuby]

Haha. Thank you John. 👍🏼👍🏼😊 It's actually Something Beautiful.... as in that's the song's name. I wrote it with a guy called Jacob Banks.

[@OptimaMrL]

@@lukejuby fantastic song and love the t-shirt. Stay blessed brother!

[@otoms]

@@lukejuby I listened to the song on Apple Music and I must say I like the Yamaha sound here better than the one in the recording. 😅

[@atanasprodatanasov9233]

This channel is god-tier

[@rio197]

13:55 This is ace. Love this, thank you, Luke! And Jack!

[@lukejuby]

Thank you for commenting. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 (and yes, Jack is a legend)

[@ReallyDudeYouGottaHearThis]

I just wanted to point out what a significant update this is. I was really disappointed with the organ sound ,,,particularly the rotary in my yc 73. This update has made it very playable and it sounds great with the band. And the new improvements in the velocity settings have dramatic effects on the sounds and how they play. Now I can have a super mellow Rhodes or one that totally bites and snarls. It’s like a completely different instrument and now I would not part ways with it. 👍

[@epluribusfunk514]

Dude! 1.3 firmware with the Nashville , German and Felt Pianos!! pure bliss! The Rhodes and Wurlis sound just like the 70's recordings! I am beyond happy with my YC -73

[@godisbollocks]

New Leslie sim is a big improvement.

[@revp01]

Great video (as always). Wondering if Yamaha can bring this same rotary effect fix to the Reface YC

[@carlmartinez7399]

Very nice. I went from a Nord to a YC73 and I really like it. Also, the Horn section, the Clavinet, the Willitzer piano on it is nice. 27 lbs. and you have one hell of a sound.

[@epluribusfunk514]

Congratulations!

[@davidbond70]

I love Luke's YHWH T - defo going to buy one

[@lukejuby]

Haha. Excellent. You know what it's about? 😊😊

[@NeonShores]

@@lukejuby I immediately read it as Yahweh but figured probably not on a channel like this. I am happy I was right about the name and wrong about it showing up on a big yt channel. I'm definitely buying some merch now 😎

[@godisbollocks]

I think that's how Yahweh was spelled in the Old Testament

[@davidbond70]

יהןה

[@NeonShores]

I feel dumb. I knew that lol

[@TDRKB]

Awesome! Gives the Nord Stage a run for its money! Great video guys!

[@robmillisTW2]

Superb rotary update. Come on Yamaha, last hurdle: sort the mellotron voices out!

[@grenasdelinkuente]

Wow!!! Definitely buying this keyboard

[@neilbissett1240]

Great as ever and what a nice bit of keyboard playing to Finnish of with 👏👏😎

[@superhadouken]

Actually the Snes didnt have fm synthesis. Genesis had it. It was a yamaha chip. If you lsiten genesis music you will notice it instantly. In the right hands, the genesis procesor did miracles.

[@skipculp6078]

LUKE- your rendition of Something Beautiful was absolutely amazing!!! I'm a piano player but have been wanting to learn EP & Rhodes & the like so I can play keys, and am trying to decide on YC-88/73 versus Stage 3 or Electro6. Struggling to decide if Red is worth the price when the YC seems at least as good with arguably a better action. Man, you were able to blend the sounds of piano and organ so tastefully---- just wow!

[@lukejuby]

Ah. Thank you!!!! You know, on the original we didn't even pay for the studio we recorded it in. I asked a few friends if I could jump in for 5 minutes if I bought them a coffee. We got one take, separate rooms, and somehow managed to land the ending despite not being able to see each other. Hope the playing is going well. 🙌

[@CraigMecak]

Can you run two midi keyboards on the extra outputs? Thinking lower manual of the organ, plus pedals.

[@James-cn9no]

Yamaha is on the right track providing so much versatility at an attractive price, as compared to the Nord Stage 3, for example. However, IMO the settings navigation is outdated and lacks the intuitive factor. If they introduced an interface more like their Clavinova they would appeal to more people, I think. Also, I found the keybed action had an awkward un-natural feel to it as compared to the Nord or Roland PHA-50 or the Kawai. I have only played one YC at the music store so there may have been an issue there. Yamaha came so close IMO, but didn't quite cross the finish line.

[@deancol4080]

Hey James, could you elaborate about the awkward un-natural feel of the keybed? Is it clunky feeling? Is the action too heavy? too light? Do the keys rebound quickly or is it sluggish?

[@lukejuby]

@@deancol4080 Depends which keyboard.... each version is different. 61 has waterfall type keys... they're much like my Hammond C3 keys, 73 has the Montage 88 keys and the 88 has the gorgeous CP88 keys.

[@deancol4080]

@@lukejuby Thanks for the info Luke. I'm interested in the 73; i haven't played a Montage 88 but I hope its not the same keybed as the CP-73.

[@James-cn9no]

@@deancol4080 It was heavy and had an odd transition point in the depressing of the key. I have a Nord Piano 5, Kawai MP11SE, and Roland RD-2000. All have smooth actions. So that is my frame of reference. I just found the YC felt awkward in comparison. I'm sure if I played it a lot I wouldn't notice so much, but playing it for the first time after years on my other keyboards I found it awkward and more difficult than it needed to be. I could see my fingers getting tired playing it a lot and especially up high between the black keys. You may not agree if you try for yourself.

[@deancol4080]

@@James-cn9no Thanks for your response. I purchased a CP73 a few years ago and it played the way you describe the YC73; heavy and awkward. I felt it to be sluggish, I tried to get used to it for about a week and I just couldn't, so I sent it back to candy store. From now on, if I have to get used to the action of a keyboard, then I'm not buying. I appreciate your insight and perspective, this will save me a lot of time and grief. I really prefer the keyboard action on my Casio PX S3000 (and it weighs nothing); just missing the great sounds from the YC.

[@Hozay1]

That casual rip 10:30, like nothing sheesh. 🔥

[@jzwicewi]

Glad to see they finally improved the organ after more than a year of bad reviews online about it, and a year after after I bought my Nord Electro

[@ChrisP3000x]

No one had a problem with the organ.

[@luucdentoom6955]

@@ChrisP3000x lots of people had a problem with the rotary simulators that were initially onboard. With the 1.2 update, they introduced a new rotary simulator which everybody loves. This process took some time though…

[@ChrisP3000x]

@@luucdentoom6955 No, a rotary sim/effect is not an "organ". A Leslie cab/speaker is not an ORGAN. No one had a problem with the ORGAN. This is literally the most ignorant stuff I've heard in years. Are any of you actually keyboardists? Or just internet posers/bots/trolls?

[@luucdentoom6955]

@@ChrisP3000x Thanks for your reply. I think we’re on the same page here: I never saw negative comments on the ORGAN simulation as well. The negativity was all about the rotary sim, which indeed is not the same as the organ itself. That’s all I wanted to point out. I do not own the YC series (I do have the CP88), but I follow the Yamahasynth forums and the Ideascale. That’s how I found out about the critiques on the rotary sim. Have a nice day!

[@Max1337_]

Laughing at the cut at 11:40 to "tined electric instruments" presumably because he's not allowed to say Rhodes 🤣

[@derekfernandez7701]

haha Nicely spotted!

[@jdrum3053]

Love it from the USA!! My next keyboard!! After I pay off the ModX! 🤪

[@raincells]

Luke - love your videos and your playing. Is that piano / organ layer at the end available on Sound Mondo? Thank you for sharing these videos.

[@nickhanley5407]

I was wondering why I liked these guys… then I saw his shirt.

[@keywavemusic]

Great stage keyboard!

[@johnchabo9839]

thank you for the great video. does this keyboard have seamless transition between sounds and programs like the nord electro 6D

[@1881Gordon]

This is an excellent product. I really enjoyed this review. PS: Simon Cowell is pretty tasty on the keys 😁. Never knew he had it in him.

[@fliegenderwal8807]

Whats the effect called he used when playing the organ and piano Sound in the outro. Is this also possible on the nord Electro 6d?

[@MaximeGendron-u3i]

What is the song do you play at the end of the video? it sounds amazing.

[@davidreidy5750]

I have the CP and man I play and produce music with that thing just about every day!⚡🤖⚡

[@souldom99]

Super Nintendo wasn’t FM, the mega drive was though, Genesis for American folk.

[@thecoastCoverband]

Hi can the YC be used as a sound module in Cubase 12 for example, 16 midi in and 16 midi out so I can have different sounds on multiple tracks? Thank you Gr.Ness

[@GestattenWinnetou]

Luke, I want your shirt!

[@TheSunlight74]

6'46" - "Yeah you just keep talking pal..." 🙂

[@mattmilford]

Live CF3 - who doesn't love the Power Grand from the CP300?

[@2HimTru]

Just a newbie here, "Why a Yamaha" over a Roland Fanthom 8 EX or Nord Stage 4 88? I'm asking a sincere question.

[@お茶さんぽ]

could you make this YC with speakers and old style interface of YAMAHA such as MOTIF or SY99.

[@MrPeteUK]

Wow! 😮

[@lucasvicentedemorais]

sons do órgão soa muito natural e agradável de ouvir. Piano nem tanto, mas deve ser configuração.

[@matt_phistopheles]

I really like the sounds. Too bad that Yamaha has closed it's synth department.

[@troublesomecorsair]

12:16 No rinky-dinks! Get a Crumar Mojo Lower + MJU Processor

[@endyzyl]

Luke, I need your T-shirt, please 🙏. Where did you get them

[@lukejuby]

Art Of Homage. From the States, but they never charge or pay for the import tax... what did Jesus say about paying your taxes?? 😂

[@christophlambpie]

More brilliant stuff Jack. No hate here!

[@dankeplace]

I wish I could update my organ. :/

[@jjptech]

10:35 Damn!!

[@666JGNotts]

Awesome.

[@con7rl670]

is the outro an specific song?

[@lukejuby]

Yes mate. It's a song called "Something Beautiful" by Jacob Banks. KZbin can get a bit funny about using songs in videos for copyright reasons so thought if I played one of mine and don't complain we should be ok. 😆

[@con7rl670]

@@lukejuby you are a legend. Thank you so much. I admire your work, hope I can get to your level someday. Cheers from Brazil!

[@horst6855]

nice updates but man i wish yamaha would add a felt piano sound to it... it's the sound of this era. and maybe some more authentic mellotron sounds.

[@stevebeeston8749]

Yamaha has added the felt piano to the CP73/88 stage pianos in the OS V1.5 update…

[@epluribusfunk514]

Firmware 1.3 now has an awesome Felt Piano!

[@karimsadouni4758]

I have Yamaha. Very nice. Number. 427 . You can. Play anywhere. Because. Have. Battery. To. Good speaker to thank you

[@leighgoldstein3119]

I love your videos but I can't see how all these companies are selling many of these products at $ 2k for a 61 key version what with all the unbelievable samples and VST's etc that are available. What am I missing? Is there enough of a pro market to support all of these companies? ( Nord-Yamaha-Korg etc)....Are these huge corporations subsidizing their music divisions from other parts of the corporation? I don't see how the math can possibly work.....I love these products...don't get me wrong.

[@hifimidi]

Computer-based VIs are not ideal for live performance. Not only are their dynamics not made for stage (they have to be heavily tweaked, they’re more unreliable and have more latency than internal sounds. Also, people just prefer hardware. It’s a real, physical instrument. It’s not going away any time soon.

[@ErraticFaith]

Only to echo the reply to your comment; you have to realize that the instruments are looking toward live musicians. Most people at home (aside from those making rooms into studios of their own) lack the room for a rack of keyboards. So by the time you're at 88 most people are thinking of VST/PC/Controller. That's not the same for live bands, who are often looking for things like a performance keybed at a reasonable weight. A simple UI and accessibility. Easy to read in the dark without any needless excess and the list goes on in this area. When they are made -- they run the 'wants and needs' against live musicians and artists. Thus they feature in many adverts for the products and there's a huge gulf between them and the home user. The flagship feel keybed -- comes with weight and size. The very last thing I want to be lugging up the back stairs at a venue. 61 keys waterfall is the standard for Organ, albeit with tiers but for stage with other boards thats not always necessary. Result -- you're looking for a premium quality unit at all sizes. And yes, in the current world climate that is either cheap with a poor build (as some roland and korgs unfortunately have) or you pay a margin more. There is no 'bad agenda here'; you're paying what it's worth (my opinion from Japan).

[@JayTheLane]

T Shirt? YHWH? Hebrew name for God.

[@donk5336]

I love this video can I please be sponsored with a keyboard I can never afford a good good I would love to play with a sx S 900 . I love to sounds of guitar 🎸😍😋an organ

[@ReggieBishop]

The newer sounds are good but aren't covered that much in this video.

[@mh22xv]

Thought this was old News…

[@heinrichkoop9189]

The yc61 keybed gave up on me after 4 months ... meh. Had to swap it and got myself another brand of keyboard. Deeply disappointed 😥

[@yohanesjonk]

10:38 yeaahh🫣😬🤣

[@natenate11]

Maybe a dumb question, but can someone explain the settings for the outro jam? I would love to incorporate something similar into a few songs on our set list. @lukejuby thanks for the great video!

[@WARDISWARD]

03:35 THe dude has absolutely no idea what he's talking about . Super nintendo didn't have an FM chip , it was the sega and the megadrive that thad the ym26 12 chp

[@lukejuby]

Sorry for this unforgivable error Ward, I'll see if we can have the video taken down.

[@RogerT-kt3zd]

@@lukejuby😂😂 Luke i’ve been wanting to get the yc88 all week, do you think i should grab it or maybe wait until yamaha announce their new keyboard? Thanks and awesome playing as always 😊

[@-CrippledNinja-]

Sorry mate, but Nintendos never had FM-synthesis, Sega Megadrive/Genesis, Arcade cabinets and Adlib/SB cards for PC did. And I hated it back then (in the 80's) and I still dislike it. Except for the obvious DX7-sounds.

[@Nicolas_J3869]

Le processeur de la super nintendo est fabriquée par Sony et non par Yamaha.

[@tordana]

He makes a big deal about the MIDI capability to hook in a second keyboard, but... hasn't every pro-level keyboard made in the last 20 years had that functionality?

[@lukejuby]

No. It's still utilizing MIDI but different to the norm. No need to think about MIDI channels 1-16... and each patch can save how the external keyboard is utilised. Go check it out at Andertons. 👍🏼

[@jeighmsc1251]

Yea most keyboards only let you control the main board with a different board rather than a specific sound with a different board

[@towjam2359]

IMHO, Yamaha should be highlighting this feature. I'm not aware of any other keyboard on the market right now that can do (at least right now).

[@harold12A]

@@towjam2359 hey man. The Nord stage has that feature using the panels A and B feature. As some folks say online.... the YC is the black Nord 😆

[@DaraM73]

I’m totally sure this fella is lovely dude, but the whole potted history of FM is bogus.

[@lukejuby]

Please teach us Dara xx

[@DaraM73]

@@lukejuby thought that was your job? Perhaps “bogus” was too strong a term….The sega machines didn’t default to FM but psg, and the cart had to include the Y26xx chip in variations. The 6800 chip was a Motorola. Apart from that skewed frame of sonic reference, bang on.

[@DaraM73]

@@lukejuby we didn’t get to hear FM soundtracks on sega euro home gaming consoles until things like the 32x and the Sega CD, or game carts with fm sound chips installed. Arcade machines were different of course. Just your frame of reference was off and I’m an old fussy muso. 👍

[@lowdefal6306]

@@DaraM73 The Mega Dive used a onboard Yamaha FM Chip (with several revisions to the circuitry in various models), in addition to the PSG it inherited from the Master System. The rep's comment about the Snes is incorrect because that used a sample based Sony sound chip (designed by Ken Kutaragi who designed the Playstation). Mario has never used FM sound but anything on the Mega Drive did. Most western Mega Drive games had poor sound because they used a bad middleware that converted midi into bad presets and the composers didn't know how to use FM properly (and even then their compositions werent very good for any sound source). Japanese games tended to sound better because they were more used to working with FM due to its availability on japanese computers and from arcade developemnt and often wrote their own custom sound drivers. Yuzo Koshiro developed his FM chops on his PC-8801 and ported his sounds from that to the Mega Drive for example.

[@DaraM73]

@@lowdefal6306 yeah, the FM on mega drive had to be game coded to utilise.

[@JgHobley]

Sounds great but what a crap name, YC? 🙈

[@ErraticFaith]

I assume you know but it's 'Yamaha Combo' organ. A respectful nod to their past history and those that brought the system to life. I don't see that as ''crap'' personally but opinions are what they are.

[@diekeyser]

....secret piano on small CP???

[@lukejuby]

Hey mate. Yes - turn it on with the voice dial halfway between the sounds. Secret piano achieved.

[@dyinbreed3329]

dude, you're a day late and a dollar short. the firmware has been out for 4 months and has been spoken about ad nauseam

[@lukejuby]

Haha. I love KZbin. Hi Dyin'. You sound fun.

[@haarman77]

@@lukejubydoesn’t Dyin know we’re all just soft-hearted keyboard nerds? 🤓🤘🏻

[@ET2carbon]

Snooooooooooooooz

[@luisanaya9810]

more playing less talking please

[@dalex60]

The guy on the right, worships the Pagan mountain volcano god Jehovah... Interesting.

[@endoflevelboss]

"All the sounds that we know from Super Mario is FM technology" no, the SNES didn't have FM sound it was PCM based and designed by Sony. The Sega Megadrive/Genesis was FM and nothing to do with Mario, so Sonic's sound is FM. 🥳

[@yohanesjonk]

10:38 yeahh🫣🤣🤣