YC61

Blake’s Take

There are some keyboards that pull you in and engage your soul. I’ll never forget the moment I saw the YC61 Stage Keyboard for the first time. It looks so cool with a great drawbar design, plenty of knobs and controls, cool CP-style Section switches, a compact and lightweight footprint and…a waterfall keyboard! This is the organ-focused stage keyboard I’ve wanted for so long.

Then I got to play it and was completely captivated. The Organ Section is amazing and features two tone generation engines: Virtual Circuitry Modeling (VCM) Organ for classic organ behavior and character and a new 8-Operator FM Organ for creating new kinds of sounds. There’s also VCM Rotary Speaker (and many other effects) to complete the sound. The sound, dynamic expression pedal response and the organic, enveloping quality is wonderful. There’s also a Keys Section with a great range of sounds to cover any gig: acoustic and electric pianos, pads, strings, lead synths, brass sections and more. And the FM sounds didn’t stop in the Organ Section: There are classic FM electric pianos, great FM synth pads and super expressive FM leads complete with a mono mode and portamento. Add single knob control over EG and Filter settings and you have fast and easy control over your sound during the gig.

There is something special when user interface perfectly matches sound. That balance keeps you in the moment; that elusive “space between the thoughts” where the best music happens. The simple and powerful one-to-one interface keeps the focus on the music. And everything feels solidly built. The knobs, buttons, levers, switches and drawbars have a professional feel and sit firmly in a matte black aluminum alloy chassis ala CP73/88. That is what the YC61 is for me, and now I finally get to share this awesome keyboard with you!