Nord Stage 4 vs. Yamaha YC88 - Upright Piano Sound Comparison

[@gauravarorapianist]

Could you please do a video where you try to make the Yamaha sound like your favourite Nord samples using maybe the Master EQ and other stuff maybe? Since many of us are considering this as an alternative of Nord and wondering if it can sound as full as a Nord if tweaked properly?

[@extreamtechguy1891]

The Nord just has that thing that makes you want to play it. The Yamaha is super good too but there is something magical about the Nord….

[@Echochamber79]

​@@Roger.T That's why so many professional studios and artists use Nords, right?

[@ChrisP3000x]

Love your playing!

[@bilozkip998]

Nord 👍

[@johnchabo9839]

you play beautifully

[@danielcolfer4671]

Glad Yamaha finally added an upright. It sounds great. Nord had the original great sounding upright.

[@abbezwaal]

Thnx. I just bought the YC88. Do you habe the live preset you used in this video?

[@lars1588]

The significant price difference should be acknowledged when comparing these two keyboards. The YC88 is $2,500 cheaper than the Nord Stage 4. The fact that the YC88 can sound about as good as the Nord Stage 4 for 2/3 of the price is impressive. Yamaha has also shown that they are willing to keep adding high-quality samples and features to the YC series with firmware updates.

[@germanshepherdlover2613]

I have just bought the YC-73. Absolutely brilliant, nothing in the price range can touch it and the Hammond organ sounds better than Nord to my ears. Pianos aren't too far off from Nord either.

[@Echochamber79]

The Yamaha has no where near the same capabilities as the Nord...

[@wieselt]

To me, the Nord Upright sounds too “polished”. Hardly any difference to a Grand Piano Sound. The Yamaha sounds like if I would be listening to our real acoustic Upright piano in our living room. To me, that’s the objective/target.

[@Nostxalgic]

The Nord pianos sound like you’re hearing them from the pianists perspective while the Yamaha pianos sound like you’re hearing from inside the piano. I personally like the Nord because it’s a more accurate representation of what you would hear in person.

[@jasonlibs]

The Yamaha sounds “better “ (mostly just punchier) at the beginning of the sound. But as the sound lingers, you begin to hear the digital sample. The Nord sounds like a real piano that’s been mic’d

[@torbenanschau6641]

yeah that's it. But for the uprights I think it's far closer than with the grands. Here I would say there's clearly no winner, both offer fantastic uprights; Yamaha stepped up their game here.

[@adrianfundescu5407]

@@Roger.T no.

[@torbenanschau6641]

@@Roger.T Well I have. And no, Yamahas don't really belong to them. Nord pianso sounds have something special which really sounds like acoustic pianos. Most other digitals sound too synthetic still. Exception might be the biggest Kawai.

[@Roger.T]

@@torbenanschau6641 I had a nord stage 4 and sold it after 2 weeks as i was supremely disappointed in the piano sounds, i own a c3x that me and my sister share & have played almost any grand you can think of while touring the world. there is nothing special at all & you saying nord sounds more like an acoustic piano is absolutely hilarious to me 😂😂

[@johnscott4693]

On a budget, piano only? Buy the Yamaha. Everything else - buy the Nord. Had mine for 6 days, I’m blown away…

[@xchalibur77]

Did you ever considered a Korg pa5x instead of the Stage 4. As I understand the keybed is of a higher quality and the big screen does allow to do more settings on it.

[@torbenanschau6641]

I own a Kronos which also has good pianos and the touch screen. For live situations when you have to change a lot spontaneously and on the fly, the concept of the Nord Stage clearly is better. The PA is also an entertainer keyboard with rhythm styles and auto accompainment and loads of sounds. The pianos and organs are good but not quite on the level of the Nord which is more of a specialist.

[@WoutMusic]

Wth my eyes closed i like the yamaha, sounds realer then the nord. I got the cp88 myself andits awesome when you are a pianist

[@wieselt]

Are the 3 parts of the YC “multi-trimbal”? Can I use the Organ Section via MIDI from a non-weighted Keyboard, setting this section “local off”, while continue playing Pianos on the YC88 keyboard itself?

[@criskeys14]

The answer is YES

[@germanshepherdlover2613]

Yamaha sounds nice like a digital piano should...Nord sounds like an acoustic piano with gorgeous resonance that follows after holding the chord. But the Yamaha is catching up.

[@andrewb2700]

Nord has been and always very musical sounding it maintains warmth and feel more dynamic. The YC is bright , percussive and less layered sound and the sound selection is just outdated - same old cfx everywhere.

[@ricseehu]

Every Nord Stage piano sound is low frequencies boosted, therefore it can sound better. But the Yamaha piano sounds are more natural.

[@theclaverman]

Well you are the first one I've heard who says that. What I normally hear is that the Nord Stage pianos sounds incredibly realistic, but lacks in the low end department.

[@woka_kawanua-hw2hj]

definitely want the NS4 but it is beyond budget. 😢

[@claysibert]

I used to think the Nord was the best out there, but I believe Yamaha’s YC just blows the Nord out of the water. The samples seem so much more authentic than Nord, and, to me, that’s saying something, because Nord has always had outstanding samples. But with the Yamaha, it sounds more real. You can hear more string buzz, the sounds of the resonance, etc. I just like the Yamaha overall.

[@h88sixtyone38]

Almost too exaggerated, to m the felt piano sounds like a snare drum was added.

[@agartthamishkan2054]

quality is equivalent, the cheapest wins

[@zumadale]

Pianoteq U4

[@DojoOfCool]

I prefer the Yamaha YC it has much better note definition. The Nord samples have changed over the years, the early Nord samples tended to be darker and sometimes kind of muddy resonance. The recent Nord samples have become very in your face brighter, and so much resonance like a piano that has been mic'd too close.

[@reviewerchoise]

No sir ! You forcefully say that Yamaha is good too! The sound of the Yamaha piano has no details The details of the cabin sound cannot be heard Especially, there is no pedal noise There are no settings to customize the piano sound as you would expect from a $4,000 or stage keyboard. And in its flagship model, it even has two piano sounds, only cfx and Bassendorfer, which must be downloaded without any other features. As someone who owns the flagship Yamaha model, I dare to say that the Yamaha piano is nothing Now the yc series is a childish copy of the Nords, we don't care about the appearance

[@Roger.T]

Nord is overpriced garbage

[@amirprog]

except, the yc88 has one of the worst keybed ever, just saying.

[@gauravarorapianist]

Could you please do a video where you try to make the Yamaha sound like your favourite Nord samples using maybe the Master EQ and other stuff maybe? Since many of us are considering this as an alternative of Nord and wondering if it can sound as full as a Nord if tweaked properly?

[@dionewillmann8723]

Nord has a fat sound, ideal for piano and vocals, or a band with few instruments, preferably acoustic, such as jazz trio and bossa. YC already comes balanced to play in big pop and gospel bands for example. You can get close and even better to the Nord with the YC, using the equalizer and compressor.