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The new CK ranges from $1,000 to $1,500
The new MODX+ ranges from 2,200 to $1,500
Montage and Genos are standing by in the shadows or are remaining in detention while the other kids run, jump and play. Will those be more of the same egg fried up a different way or are they just going the affordable route for a while?
Only been 3 years since YC61 so did we really need the new CK? S.R.I.T happens. Simplification, Refinement, Interaction, Temptation.
I mean was IdeaScale bursting at the seams concerning a brand new (while my YC73 still has the sticker on it) stage board with batteries and speakers?
It's a fun board no doubt and almost anyone can save for it.
Everything is going plastic I guess but what is going on inside where the guts are, where we can't investigate without destructive testing?
Hollow thin sounding units covered in plastic. So was the AN1x but we loved it. It's here to stay but at the opposite end of the spectrum we crave forcefulness and power and raw cylinders rumbling without a muffler. A kick-ass muscle car! Can I type "a s s" here?
I don't necessarily mean deep diving so deep if you return to the surface too quickly you might have an aneurism.
Just pure exhilaration and acceleration to fit my analogy. Can that be accomplished on or by a workstation?
Maybe the form factor need not have a key-bed included so you can add your own (like Osmose) but so that all of the design focus can rest solely on the contents and advanced circuitry and UI laid out brilliantly and intuitively. One knob one function but with exploration as simple and inviting as having your own scuba instructor by your side with an escape respirator handy. Complexity should be the baby step toward the final objective which is total ease of use.
Maybe the keys themselves get in the way of making things really happen. The form factor, shipping, boxing, portability, manufacturing, materials and on and on.
"Forget the keys and just make something unimaginable"
Posted : 03/06/2023 4:11 pm
The YC-88 will set you back over $3,000. The YC-73 is $2,599. The YC-61 is $1,999 but they don't have an aftertouch feature which is important to a lot of keyboardists. The Montage does have after-touch but no one has them in stock this side of planet Earth. OTOH, you can still purchase the Yamaha Genos online which is an arranger keyboard and also has an after-touch feature but it also has an eye-watering price tag of $5,999. If anyone here on this forum is still waiting for a Montage successor be patient. What I think could be happening is Yamaha is having trouble securing enough parts which they will need to ramp up production. It will likely sell like Gangbusters once it's released to the public. The supply chain crisis is not out of the woods yet but it is apparently slowly getting better. Once enough parts and supplies are secured and guaranteed for the long haul through contractual commitments that's probably when they will give the green light and make its long-awaited announcement. Until then, enjoy what you play! Btw, the YC-series are great mid-priced keyboards that punch above their weight. They also now have a suitable B3 rotary emulation although the 61-key version lacks somewhat in Effects/SpeakerAmp types compared to the 73/88-key versions. Since no one seems to have the YC-61 in stock currently perhaps Yamaha is working behind the scenes to fix that anomaly.
Posted : 04/06/2023 12:19 am
Topic starter
I about to post concerning the boring YC key action. I MIDI my YC73 to my CK and noticed the YC has a problem. However the CK is turned up hot by design. Now I have the Osmose insane key action and the YC sounds much better played on the Osmose. Far more dynamics without changing response curves etc. I mean when you hit a hard note on YC piano thru the Osmose the walls shake. On the YC73 it does nothing. You're getting half the enjoyment or less playing it like it is. It's crazy alive now. Yamaha seriously needs to address their boring key and sensor (whatever it is it's poor) because Osmose just improved their product by 100% . If you barely touch it, it's so silent and if you hit it the roof caves in. Where he hell has this been on Yamaha boards?
Posted : 04/06/2023 4:47 am
@David With regards to sound synthesis, and its future in an MPE and MIDI 2.0 and dynamic, multidimensional, polyphonic controllers, this video is very interesting insights: https://youtu.be/OJl4XpAoXWE
Posted : 04/06/2023 8:37 am
lol I misread the title as something else thinking it was regarding Yamaha targeting new keyboards for the year 2200 :p
Interesting, the YC doesn't have aftertouch? That is too bad. Although I guess when I think about the target audience and what it's main purpose is, it's for keyboardists who mainly want B3 Hammond Organ sound and functionality, but with the ability to have excellent stage pianos and other sounds, so not a likely to need aftertouch as you would on a synth like the Montage or MODX+. If I were big on organ sounds & was looking for more of a 'stage' board, then I guess aftertouch wouldn't be that high on my list. It's really too bad IMHO that the YC didn't have the update 1.2 rotary functionality right out of the gate when it was first released, as the initial reviews/demos may have been much more favorable, and gave it more of a push into the Nord market for organ players..!? It might be too late, but maybe if they come out with a YC+ with even more noticeably great rotary and other features added, they might be able to get the ball rolling faster..!?
Regarding the Montage successor, well I kinda thought we may hear something either in early June or Sept, so if there are no announcements this coming week, then then I guess we may have to wait until the fall before hearing anything. Seems like a lot of things are just questions to be answered, such as AN-X engine? MODX+ 2nd SWP70 tone generator? (someone please crack open their board lol) Montage flagship replacement? I say replacement because successor almost seems like a complete newly redesigned Full Flagship Synth, which I think we will hear about several months or more before it's ever released...
As far as "Forget the keys and just make something unimaginable" goes, I don't think that is Yamaha's style, so if the Osmose is what you want, get an Osmose and maybe not look to Yamaha for this. I think they are more about what will give them the most ROI, and less about giving customers 'exactly' everything they want. They had given us some things via Ideascale for the first half of the Montage roadmap, so I think the initial roadmap & concept was good, but they have fallen short over the past 3 years and it feels like they ditched it a bit on their synth line...
The YC, CK, etc are more stage targeted boards I don't think they were ever intended for what the Osmose is all about, nor even a synth like the Montage/MODX+ are about. They are basically product lines for a completely different target, heading in a different direction. Will Yamaha come out with an Osmose? I doubt it, but never say never... Maybe some kind of MPE / MIDI 2.0 capable synth, and who knows, maybe that will be the new Full flagship synth some day..!? Seems that it's all just guesswork at this point...
Posted : 04/06/2023 5:59 pm
Topic starter
I wanted to post the gestures per the Osmose web page which are as follows and you can watch the videos. Probably most impressive is the press. Not like sensor on/off but continually sensing throughout the entire press. As if it's hitting 100 points all the way down until the aftertouch range kicks in. Way different than just aftertouch or polytouch.
Tap
Press
Press&Tap
Pitch
Aftertouch'
Shake
Strum
Pressure Glide
Note-off
And depending on the voice programing many of these you can do within a single voice. Some are specific to the voice such as plucked or bowed etc. Sometimes the modulation will transform the voice from one type to another. The most freaky thing is when the key is almost like a guitar string with a pickup on it. I know BM was claiming Yamaha has been there and done this already but I'm betting Yamaha's "wiggle" and aftertouch are nowhere near as advanced as the Osmose. Get one and test it. The continuous sensor (my name for it) isn't like anything they've done that I know of because their sound technology isn't able to trigger endlessly or that's not what it's designed to do. I don't claim to know 100% only that nothing they make can go beyond wiggle and aftertouch and definitely nothing affordable. We know they could make it but might not be totally honest to say they have made all of what the Osmose has done here. Likely not the 3/8" of motion beyond the typical bottoming-out point. IF you've ever squeezed one of the stress relief balls it's like pressing your finger into that.
Posted : 05/06/2023 7:24 am
