Well the NS3 is a very expensive board about double the YC61 and almost for SKpro. I've not played it so I don't know how it feels. They are all organ-ish light and plasticy for that style and speed of playing.

So is the organ the best sounding on the Hammond since they specialize in organs? I don't have organ experience but it feels authentic sounding and has proper character to me. The YC FM is a different animal almost a new creation and synthlike too.

I have the Fantom organ installed and yeah it's interesting if you have no other options but the others seem more realistic. But hey all sounds that sound good are good for making good sounds. That was deep. Subjective for sure.

So my current debate with myself is to keep the SKpro & YC73 paired together or sell the SKpro and pair another YC61 with the YC73. The traditional organs are best on the Skpro while the FMs are different but great. The YC beats most of the SKpro other voices and the SK mono synth is best because YC doesn't have one. I use that for combo nuance and not necessarily lead.

The Famton does so much I get lost so for quick plays I power up the YC/SK. I also have the CP1 stage monster and Hydrasynth Deluxe when I feel like textures galore. I'd like to buy a Nord stage but I don't need all the other stuff so it's probably overkill.

I did really overkill going with used Focal Utopia phones but they have breathed new life into all my boards and I can really hear them now. That made a big difference.

[quotePost id=118304]So my current debate with myself is to keep the SKpro & YC73 paired together or sell the SKpro and pair another YC61 with the YC73. [/quotePost]
The YC73 lets you trigger some of its sounds from its own action while you trigger other sounds from a second board, and the SK Pro allows you to configure Favorites that do nothing but trigger another board. So you can keep your SK Pro and use it both for its own sounds AND to play the YC sounds from.

I think the main advantage of using a YC61 instead is that it would allow you to play four non-organ YC sounds at a time instead of two. But you'd lose all the other sounds you can get from the SK Pro... its own organ, its VA lead line synth, and its own set of sampled sounds (of which you can split/layer up to 8 at a time).

I will keep the Sk + YC. You'll have a greater sound palette

I looked at the combo of these 2 and SK is extremely powerful. Not that it has greater individual sounds but they are different but that you can create 4 part single voices that are outstanding. Organ is different and better in some ways as well and the monosynth of course is great. How many sounds can the Nord Stage do at once? I keep looking at the price vs reward ratio and in many, many years have never thought the Nord was worth it. My YC73 plus Skpro combo probably beats it for sure and similar price plus I get two sets of keys to the Nord one. Obviously I'm not transporting these so that would matter to someone else.

The challenge is Nord Stage 3 vs YC/Skpro combo. IF you must have sample loading then Nord wins I know.

YC at half the price beats NS3 all day long. Some cost is in the one knob per function because Nord has almost double the dials so I understand that can double production costs but can it beat a YC/SK 1-2 punch? Might not be a fair fight because that combo can play 2 independant organs plus 9 SK and 2 YC voices at once. 13 voices at once if you wanted.

[quotePost id=118364]How many sounds can the Nord Stage do at once?[/quotePost]
6 internal plus 2 external.

[quotePost id=118364]The challenge is Nord Stage 3 vs YC/Skpro combo. IF you must have sample loading then Nord wins I know. [/quotePost]
Also aftertouch, and real-time knob control of polyphonic synth sounds (vs. mono on the SK).

Tell me what are those 6 internal sounds? Organ is obviously 1 and synth is 1 or 2? Other types are the other 4? or how does it work? I was looking at the interface and couldn't tell but like SK maybe you can layer 4 other types.

Is there any difference between the models as I noticed the compact has draw bars but can you still morph with it? The others have digital sliders.

The differences among the three versions of NS3 are the drawbars (physical vs. LED), the feel of the actions (all 3 are different from one another), and the number of keys.

So you can still digitally morph the physical faders like the others that are digital only? Are the physical faders better, obviously more traditional. Are the physical faders also lit showing original positions? It seems that the digital faders are difficult because it appears you have to use a button press to move them up and down.

I just searched for some critical reviews which confirmed my suspicions. The samples/waves aren't great (the MODX kills it) and the synth is limited to 2 osc and drops notes etc. If we are going to pay $4 to $5K everything on the board better be perfect. Don't get me wrong I know why people love it but my combo SK/YC appears to be more unlimited with better sounds and more options, not all, but I can layer more and also have (2) very different organs also. YC waves are excellent too. It probably isn't worth it to buy the NS3 just to compare it to the others and I'm talking about the compact version. Those digital button bars are really stupid. YC's fader with transparent LEDs are stellar. I also think the YC will get expanded and I hope the SK does too although I haven't heard anything about that sadly. I also bet that the SKpro has a million more design abilities because you can menu dive and create under the hood if you want to.

You get double the independent processing power using the combo YC73/SK so I think it beats NS3 for about the same price plus you get (2) manuals, one waterfall and one YC73 keys the best I've ever felt. Unless you have to have all-in-one unit and custom samples the combo 1-2 punch is no contest. I personally don't like messing around with having to load samples and choosing between which to use and which to delete. When I was younger maybe.

[quotePost id=118384]So you can still digitally morph the physical faders like the others that are digital only? [/quotePost]
yes

[quotePost id=118384]Are the physical faders better[/quotePost]
to an organ-focussed player who manipulates the drawbars as they play, yes. Unlike the buttons, you can move them at any rate you want, and you can grab a bunch at once and "shape them" all together.

[quotePost id=118384]Are the physical faders also lit showing original positions?[/quotePost]
no, but there is an image on the LCD display that indicates the programmed positions. But that is something some people like about the LED approach... when you move it, you are always moving it from its actual current position. One helpful feature here on the model with physical drawbars is a button to synchronize the sound to the current drawbar position.

[quotePost id=118384]The samples/waves aren't great (the MODX kills it) and the synth is limited to 2 osc and drops notes etc. [/quotePost]
The synth is basically the same as the $2k Nord Lead A1, with the big differences being, on the down side, you can layer 2 VA sounds instead of 4, but on the up side, you can also play (and process) samples with it (which otherwise would require moving up to a $2900 Nord Wave 2). As for dropped notes, I guess you mean the relatively low polyphony, but that's typically how VA works. MODX has no VA... but it's much better for sample stuff. Different tech, different strengths and weaknesses.

[quotePost id=118384] I personally don't like messing around with having to load samples and choosing between which to use and which to delete. [/quotePost]
Yeah, there's no right answer to that. Some people would say they wish Yamaha would make some of the other CP88/CP73 pianos available to download into the YC, even if it meant you had to delete some things to make room. But if Yamaha did that, other users--like yourself, perhaps--would then be turned off by not being able to have everything loaded at once. Which may be a factor in why Yamaha doesn't offer that ability. I think we're better off with choice. No one is forcing any Nord owner to ever swap a sound, the factory sounds are a perfectly good set. But if someone wants to have sound X in place of sound Y, they merely have that option.

The user swapping waves is one thing but I wonder how much memory is still available on the YC internally because Yamaha can still add waves but we don't know when/if they will reach the maximum. Eventually perhaps the YC will have those loaded too in an future OS update. I don't really see why a CP owner get piano "A" but the YC owner can't have it too. They are different in their focus because of the organ and shouldn't be because of the keys section. Just give everyone the same waves.

The price point of the Nord in the USA makes it almost cost prohibitive to most non-pro users. Nord may be better in some aspects than the YC series, but it is certainly NOT $1500 or $2000 better.
On most pro stages, I still see Yamaha's (Motif, Montage, CP5) more than Nord's. Stevie Wonder always has a Motif or a Montage under his Clavinet.

Yamaha makes me laugh with the MODX+. OMG they are milking that old Montage for every penny they can get out of it. The MODX made perfect sense but now I guess the component costs have dropped and now we have an upgraded MODX. I've had a Fantom for years refurb for 2K and I'm not sure Yamaha can top it so they are milking the Montage forever I assume. The current MODX owners will be pissed. When will we ever see the next generation Montage. I'm not sure that it should be more of the same but probably will be and still not a workstation. Now that I'm older I prefer the one button one function so I'm looking forward to the next YC. For the first time ever I will probably not purchase Yamaha's next gen flagship.

[quotePost id=118398]OMG they are milking that old Montage for every penny they can get out of it.[/quotePost]
That's how the industry works. We're a low volume niche market with high product development costs. Yamaha doesn't stretch their tech any more than anyone else. 90% of the new Korg Nautilus is still based on a 2005 OASYS. The best acoustic emulations in current Fantoms are the V-Piano and SuperNATURAL sounds which date back to 2009-2013.

At least the YC was something new, no new ideas really since DX, VL days. Maybe the CP1 some of which I think spilled over into YC organs. How about a YC hybrid board, not necessarily an organ, with 20 of those awesome illuminated sliders that are assignable to any parameter you want. Still a stage board but most customizable and limitless. You can assign blocks to the bars like an FM section, AN, organ, or morph voices or real time osc/env, dare I propose motorized draw bars that morph to a motion program or assign program positions 1, 2, 3. Could digitally morph because motorized would be too expensive. This idea can go far when you think about it.