Blake's Take: YC OS v2.0

YamahaSynth

Blake's Take
YC OS v2.0

By: Blake Angelos

New Voices, new Live Sets and useful control updates.

YC OS v2.0 is available now! Get it right here. Here’s all that’s new.

VCM GS1 Ensemble Chorus and eight new FM Voices

Introduced in 1981 the GS1 was among the first FM synthesizers, and a unique GS1 feature is the rich Ensemble Chorus effect. This analog chorus imparts a spaciousness not found in any other FM synthesizer. MONTAGE M OS v3.0 added a VCM version of this great chorus effect, and it’s now available for YC Series players with the OS v2.0 update. Furthermore, because the YC features a real FM engine, you get eight additional FM Voices based on original GS1 presets. You’ll find them in the Synth Category in the Keys Section. Check out the eight new FM Voices below. In each audio example you’ll hear the sound first without the GS1 Chorus then with it switched on so you can hear the difference:

CFX2 Concert Grand Piano

YC OS v2.0 adds a total of nine new Keys Section Voices. First up is a new concert grand piano voice, the CFX2.

Yamaha introduced the new CFX Concert Grand Piano in 2022. Over a decade of evaluation by world-class pianists resulted in a truly remarkable piano. The updated CFX features many design improvements like:

Acoustic Resonance Enhancement (A.R.E) rim and back posts
A new soundboard design
A reshaped bridge
An innovative hammer design
A lighter frame

The Yamaha sound design team meticulously sampled the new CFX (CFX2) and added this new content in MONTAGE M OS v2.0 and CP OS v2.0. Now YC players get this expressive instrument in OS v2.0. The new CFX2 captures the deeper tone and resonance of the and retains the projection and clarity of the original CFX. The sound is breathtakingly rich yet delicate when playing softer passages, but it’s capable of serious power and projection as you play with greater intensity. Check it out:

Eight all-new Live Sets, 24 Revoiced Live Sets

YC OS v2.0 gives you eight new Live Sets featuring the new CFX2 and GS Ensemble Chorus. The CFX2 Live Set appears above. Here are audio examples of the seven additional Live Sets:

In addition to the new Live Sets, the first 24 Live Sets have been revoiced and reworked by professional players in the following ways:

Revoiced EQ, Effect Settings and Section Settings are instantly usable for a wide variety of musical situations.
In Live Sets with only one Section enabled, the additional Sections will have complimentary Voices and Settings assigned and ready to go when the Section Switch is turned on.
The 24 Live Sets are the same for each YC model, but the order gives you more organs up front for YC61, more Electric Pianos up front for YC73 and more acoustic pianos up front on YC88.

Section Switch Mode Parameter

Seamless Sound Switching between Live Sets is a great YC Series feature. OS v2.0 now allows Seamless Section Switching within a Live Set. A new “Section SW Mode” has been added under [MENU] → Control Panel → Section SW Mode. You can now choose between the following settings:

Realtime: When you turn a Section off with the [ON/OFF] switch while holding a note the sound immediately stops. This is the default setting.
Next-Key: When a Section is turned off with the switch while holding a note the sound HOLDS until that key is released.

The Next-Key setting adds a new layer to Seamless Sound Switching. Check this out:

Here’s what I did in that audio example:

I choose a new OS v2.0 Live Set, CFX2 Grand.
I switch Keys A off—this is the “CFX2” Voice—and switch Keys B on. The Voice “Slow Strings” is assigned to Keys B in this Live Set.
I play octave Cs with the Synth Pad and immediately switch the Keys B Section off. Note how the sound keeps playing!
While continuing to hold the octave Cs I switch Keys A on and play the CFX2 over the held Slow Strings octaves.
As soon as I release the octave Cs the Slow Strings that sound stops and CFX2 continues. I switched the Section back on for the very last chord.

This is a great enhancement to Seamless Sound Switching.

USB [TO DEVICE] External Controller

The YC Series gets more versatile with the USB MIDI Controller feature. This lets you play the YC from an external USB MIDI controller connected to the USB [TO DEVICE] port. For example, if you like the feeling of a specific USB controller with a lighter synth action when playing Synth Leads in the Keys A or B Section, just connect it with a USB cable to the [TO DEVICE] port and that’s it. Compatible keyboards are USB class-compliant MIDI devices, and most current USB MIDI controller devices support this requirement. See the page 6 of the Supplementary Manual for a list of compatible Yamaha MIDI devices.

For more control over this set up you can use the existing YC Series External Keyboard feature. You’ll find this under Live Set [SETTINGS] → External Keyboard. Before OS v2.0 this feature was only possible with the MIDI ports. Now you can user either the MIDI ports or USB [TO DEVICE]:

For control over Keys A/B with only an external MIDI controller, set Section to “External Keyboard”.
For independent control over the UPPER and LOWER Parts of the Organ Section, set to “2ManualUp” to control the UPPER Part and “2ManualLo” for the LOWER Part. This is a great way to create a two manual organ situation.