YAMAHAYC61 61-Key, Organ Focused Stage Keyboard

I have owned and played the Yamaha CP4 for a few years and really loved it. However, when I saw that Yamaha came out with this new keyboard I just wanted it. At the time my keyboard needed a few keys repaired. I had not practiced with my band members for over a year. We stopped playing during COVID. I didn’t have time to get my CP4 fixed at the time. So, I ordered this keyboard from Amazon. The CP4 is an excellent stage piano. But, the quality of the sound coming out of this keyboard was noticeably better. It was definitely worth the money. I am so so so happy with this keyboard.

Its a high end Yamaha.. love the sounds... great keybed.. easy to learn. Lots of great resources online to learn how to use it.

Organ and drawbars are AMAZING on this board. The sound quality is top tier and the effects seem endless. I’m just getting back into playing piano (gospel and r&b) after taking some years off and I’m completely addicted to this keyboard. Worth every penny.

Quality of this keyboard is amazing

You can program up to 80 live set songs, each tailored to the song, including multiple sounds simultaneously using the split mode. Piano sounds are amazing and additional effects are so precise. And the organ feature is simply mind blowing! Excellent feel, though a little stiff for me, I'll happily adjust. XLR outputs are nice too. I think they thought of every possible playing scenario when they designed this board. It is very pricey, but worth every dime, IMO.

I think this is the best stage keyboard on the market currently. Yamaha is obviously aiming this at the people shopping Nord, and frankly they hit a home run. For organ the controls on this are very accessible and easy to use and understand. I know some folks weren't happy with all the organ sounds when it first hit the market, but after the first major update they tackled those issues with improvement to the Leslie sounds. It's impressive. I mostly bought this because I think Yamaha is making the best sounding electric piano emulations with Wurly, Rhodes, and YC combo sounds. Unbelievably good. Easy to stack and layer up to three sounds total. The full assortment of quality effects are all within fast reach, and combining a nice EP with effects make me a happy camper. The Pianos in here are very nice and usable for gigs, but that's not the main show on this particular model. It's about tasteful options in one package. Personally, I think the layout and options make this better than the Nord, and it's almost half the price. (On the 73 key.) Note that you can't download sounds onto the memory like the Nord. You can however connect to a computer, iPad, or iPhone, and bring in sounds through that. This is also better at connectivity of multiple keyboard setups and the recording options are stellar. Way easier to use this keyboard with other gear, and likely the best I've seen for that. The biggest downside is it isn't really what you'd turn to for heavy synth work. There is FM synthesis, but you are not going to be doing major sound design with this. Still, I'd say for all it does offer that is pretty minor.

The best keyboard I have ever owned.