It's too early to tell but I think that the YC73 version with weighted keys and the SKpro with waterfall keys are actually different enough to keep both.

The SKpro is certainly a Swiss Army Knife of options. The sound quality is superb which I couldn't tell a thing from demo videos as we know.

I don't have the YC61 anymore but I prefer the SKpro action as it might be slightly more uniform and a tad stiffer. A little less toy-ish than YC61.

Organ players have their own opinions I'm sure. I'm still learning the interface but seems simple enough. I want to dive to see what's inside the options.

With the current price of the SKPro - here in the UK - I think I would spend the same money on a YC61 -- together with a P121 and a Neo Vent 2, plus a Kenton MIDI USB Host.
(to link the P121 to the YC61)

That would give me:
• 61 note waterfall keyboard for organ
• 73 note weighted keyboard for pianos - (using the great YC61 piano voices).
• A best quality rotary sim

All for around the same money as the current cost of the SKPro !

But we all have different preferences of course...

Then you'll have to haul around all that separate gear and hook them together.

I priced those out here and it's over $3,000.

However I have the YC73 which is $500 more but I didn't pay that much for it.

Then you're missing the mono-synth and all the SKpro real organ content plus 300 other voices, plus the ability to sound design.

Yes, there are lots of options but then you loose a lot too.

Wait for a refurbished or sued on to come available. It will be worth it.

With the current price of the SKPro - here in the UK - I think I would spend the same money on a YC61 -- together with a P121 and a Neo Vent 2, plus a Kenton MIDI USB Host.
(to link the P121 to the YC61)

That would give me:
• 61 note waterfall keyboard for organ
• 73 note weighted keyboard for pianos - (using the great YC61 piano voices).
• A best quality rotary sim

The problem is that the Vent (or any external rotary sim) does not work well on the YC61, because there's no way to send different sounds to different outputs (no assignable outs, no fixed L/R assignment or panning that you can store either globally or within a Live Set). That creates two real limitations: (1) You can't split/layer a YC61 organ sound with any other sound and have the ability to send the organ sound through the rotary without sending your other sound through the rotary as well, and (2) you have to remember to switch the Vent "in" every time you go to an organ sound, and switch it back "out" every time you go to another sound. I used to use a setup like that, and gave up quickly after too many times of forgetting, and suddenly having my strings or brass going through a Leslie.

If you can't deal with the YC Leslie but it is still your board of choice for other reasons, I think the solution is, not a Vent, but an external organ sound source, like the B-3X app running on an iPad, or maybe the new VB3m app which runs, not only on iPad, but also iPhone/iPod Touch and even Android smartphones.

the solution is, not a Vent, but an external organ sound source, like the B-3X app running on an iPad, or maybe the new VB3m app which runs, not only on iPad, but also iPhone/iPod Touch and even Android smartphones.

You can see the massive circular irony in there.

The disconnect being you bought an electronic "Stage Organ", and end up having to use an App.

I'm no expert on good vs bad leslie sims, but it seems like Yamaha need to take a serious look at the Leslie effect on their YC Stage keyboards.

the solution is, not a Vent, but an external organ sound source, like the B-3X app running on an iPad, or maybe the new VB3m app which runs, not only on iPad, but also iPhone/iPod Touch and even Android smartphones.

You can see the massive circular irony in there.

The disconnect being you bought an electronic "Stage Organ", and end up having to use an App.

You left out the context of my suggestion. I said, "If you can't deal with the YC Leslie but it is still your board of choice for other reasons." I was making no assumption about how many YC owners this would apply to. I merely put it out as better than Roger's idea of putting a Vent on a YC.

BTW, Vents are used by people with Hammonds, Nords, and other stage organs. This isn't a defense of the YC, but suggesting someone use a Vent (or an app) is not an inherent indictment of the board. It's apparently a very difficult effect to get right, even if some come closer than others. (In fact, i think the new one in the OP's Hammond's Sk Pro is something like their fifth attempt.)

I'm no expert on good vs bad leslie sims

The irony is that some of this forum's loudest complainers about the rotary effect hadn't, themselves, noticed any problem. For some reason, there are people who see what others complain about and use it as an excuse to rail on Yamaha.

@Another Scott...

sorry dude, I wasn't intending to be malicious about your post, it wasn't intended that way.

I don't have a dog in this fight either. But I was merely musing on the case where someone might feel compelled to use an App with their YC61 for the sake of getting a decent/integrated Hammond + Leslie sound.

Is the YC61/73/88 Leslie really that bad? I don't know.

I have heard a friend with a Roland VR09 and a real Leslie cab. The sound of the real Leslie was awesome, it made the whole room pulsate. It was quite spooky, because the sound feels like its jumping out of the walls all around you.

So I imagine creating that type of effect with some software and electronics is a tall order for anyone.

FWIW my friend hates the Leslie Sim on his VR09.

Maybe we are expecting too much of any "2 Dimensional" DSP effect when it comes to Leslies. The real Leslies just have so much presence, like an elephant in the room, that any sim is going to fall way short.

However, since the YC61 Leslie effect has drawn so much criticism, I would hope Yamaha are at least looking into it.

They are "looking at it" for a year now. Looking and looking and looking.

They are probably not able to fix it else it would have been fixed long ago.

I suspect they are testing several other versions.

I envision a mad Yamaha programmer/scientist in his cubical with a mask on trying to figure this out. Spilling his coffee and cursing etc.

A swirling bass frequency and a twirling tweeter at different rates layered on top of each other must be difficult and/or YC is DSP underpowered.

If I had to guess, the engineers are plenty smart enough but corporate is tying their hands and telling them to fix it at the same time.

I'm pulling for the engineers.

I've been through the SKpro and it's many options. It's more of the pro league version of the YC unless Yamaha can make additions and improvements.

If you want the best organ that's still portable and does everything SKpro is more expensive but worth it.

I layered some voices using the mono-synth capability and it's astonishingly fun and diverse.

SKpro has a lot of dual layered single voices plus you can build your own, haven't tried that yet. Way more versatile than YC.

The organs are more and sound very realistic, the keys click almost before you touch them.

It doesn't have the real time one-to-one dashboard tweaking effect/gain knobs but it has the color display for editing.

Of course it has tons of storage to save your tweaks like you want them.

Seems like Yamaha did away with almost all the storage except enough for a performance. Not very useful for studio and design work.

SKpro kept some of the programmability and detailed design capabilities.

YC is more like changing everything on the fly thus the name "stageboard" code word for taking much of the goodies out of the machine.

Some people love that simplicity but it could have had both. Maybe I paid a net difference of $400 more for the Skpro.

So potentially $400 more into the YC could have made it totally awesome minus the weighted keybed upgrade to the 73. I do prefer this for keys.

I'd play both before deciding if you can only afford one. If organ is your main focus then SKpro is the better and if it's price with fun lights and switches then the YC.

Both sound great. If I had to sell one I'm not sure which I'd sell as I'm only a home studio enthusiast. They are probably different enough to keep both for now.

I actually paid less for my Roland Fantom than either of them BUT it was refurbished as new. If you buy new you always lose.

Between the YC and the SK Pro, how would you compare the pianos, rhodes, wurli, strings, brass?

Pianos are very subjective. I've had many Yamaha boards and they all had essentially the same regurgitated pianos.

The SKpro sounds different for a change. Different might not mean better or worse but depends on the sound you're after but I do like it. If it sucked I'd say so.

I'll have to compare the dynamics side by side and report back.

The SKpro harpsicord is phenomenal and I don't care for that but it's so good I play it now. They have a slide pedal steel guitar which blows my mind why Yamaha never does.

Solo instruments are better on the YC however the strings, again different, sound amazing on the SKpro plus you get vocals and percussion for backing.

Brass and wind solos are better on YC. BUT, big BUT, SKpro does some combination or ensemble groups and variations that are good.

The SKpro has the MK1 and II I think and different variations. They are good but not sure side by side which is better.

SKpro includes some "toy" pianos that are actually really cool.

Wurli I don't recall but I'll see what they have. YC has real FM and SKpro has some FM/EP voices. Lots of voices in the "Free Reed" category.

It was reported that Hammond upgraded their sample quality/resolution for this model.

The guitars might be comparable. SKpro has a little more variety of other voices overall and has ethnic stuff as well.

A ton of chromatic percussion on SKpro that are good.

It's difficult to describe different as a better or best classification but solo instrument are better on YC I can confirm directly.

It's also worth noting that in SKpro you can create a new voice that only occupies a single slot that can be comprised of any 4 waveforms of your choosing.

Essentially it can play 2 organs + 4 (in piano slot) + 4 (in ensemble slot) + a monosynth voice. YC can only play 2 organs + 1 + 1.

For me, the Montage's pedal steel guitar is way (way) far off the mark of what I want for that sound - so I use a tweaked clean guitar sound instead. Still not perfect - but less ____ (pick your negative emotion/description/etc). Not surprising that anyone else can do better on that sound. I guess this is where Yamaha would say find 3rd party content that fits what I want.

Voice counts are 145 -6 (organs) = 139 non-organ waveforms on YC. Yamaha counts up to 144 but includes "0" as one of the numbers so actually 145.

SKpro has 163 non-organs waveforms. It has 8 organs vs 6 (A-100, B3,C3, Mellow, pipe, Vx, Farf, Ace) And then a million options for customization and Leslie cabinet types, mic positions etc.

Plus the onboard monosynth that catapults the SKpro to another level.

I used to have a Montage but never recall it having a pedal steel. Does it really?