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The Keys Section of YC61 gives you everything you need for the gig. The quality and range of sounds are great, and the ability to instantly change things like filter, EG and effect settings is easy. Below is an image of the Keys Section:
The Keys A & B switches are like those on the CP73/88. You switch the Section on to make it active. Each Section has independent Volume and Tone knobs, a Split button and Octave settings. In situations where both Keys A & B are on—like a Piano/Pad sound—there is a dedicated Keys A/B Button that toggles between each Part.
To choose sounds in the Keys Section use the Voice Category Selector Knob and use the red selection switch to choose a Voice from the selected Category. The Voice Categories are:
- Piano: Acoustic grand pianos like the CFX, C7 and S700, the U1 upright piano and CP80 electric grand.
- E. Piano: Here you’ll find “Rd” tine pianos, “Wr” reed pianos, actual FM electric pianos clavs and harpsichord.
- Synth: Pads, leads, synth bass and some great FM synths are in this category.
- Other: Realistic ensemble and solo strings, guitars, electric and acoustic basses, brass and woodwind sections and chromatic percussion are in this category.
The range and quality of the Voices are great. You can cover any gig with a single YC61!
Pianos
Check out two of the premium pianos in the YC61. First up is the CFX Concert Grand “Studio A CFX”:
Next, the C7 Grand “Studio A C7”:
These two pianos are equally great sounding and great to play. The CFX is my go to piano for virtually everything, is great as a solo or ensemble piano and is even throughout the entire range. The C7 has both a gorgeous soft sound but when played at higher velocities can sail over any mix.
Electric Pianos
Next up are three Voices from the Electric Piano Category. The Rd73 below uses both the Compressor and British Combo Amp Simulator. It has a solid overdriven sound that works great in Funk and Fusion:
The Rd78 has a more modern, bell-like quality. Note the “Small Phaser” effect that engages in the middle:
“78RdCompSmPhase” on Soundmondo.
The Wr Warm Voice nails the reed piano sound, but with the “Case” setting in the SPEAKER/AMP Section it really has a great vintage quality and is super expressive:
“WrAutoPanComp” on Soundmondo.
FM adds more than the F Type Organs to the YC61. There are classic FM electric piano, pads and synth leads too. With it’s 8-Operator FM Engine and the 816 chorus effect the Live Set Sound “FMTheEP” absolutely nails the classic FM electric piano sound.
Synth
The next Live Set Sounds come from the “Synth” Category. The Live Set Sound below is “FMSawBellPad”. Keys A is the FM Saw Pad Voice with Harmonic Enhancer and LoFi Effects; Keys B is FM BellSquare Voice with British Combo Amp Sim and Hall Reverb. This is an engaging and modern pad sound that really highlights the cool effect possibilities in YC61.
Before checking out the “Others” Category in the Keys Section a nice feature related to the Synth is the Single Knob Filter and EG Control Knob.
Single Knob Filter and EG Control
Single Knob Control over EG and Filter settings is a cool feature. With a Single Knob you can make changes to timbre (Filter) and how the sound develops over time (EG). These controls have the most affect over the Voices in the Synth Category and there are 7 preset filter settings and 11 EG settings to choose from:
I love single knob control over these settings during live performance. Several filter and EG settings allow you to change multiple parameters simultaneously so you can make a filter sweep that changes both cutoff and resonance or adjust EG attack and release without having to think about it too much. It’s another example of how the YC61 design keeps in the moment and focused on the music. Check out the “ClassicMini” lead below. I set it to mono mode, added some portamento and adjusted the Single Knob Filter mode during performance:
Others
The Live Set Sound below is called “Horns 1&2” and has the two horn section Voices in Keys A and B. This Live Set Sound is so fun and easy to play:
The acoustic steel string guitar Live Set Sound is called “SpanishSteel”. It is very expressive, full and sounds great with effects. This Live Set Sound uses the Steel Gt. Voice processed with Tempo Delay and Compressor in Keys A. Halfway in I switched on both Keys B and the Organ Section with Sine Lead and F1 Organ. The F1 Organ (04402310) functions as a pad sound with sustain pedal is engaged. Soundmondo Link:
“Spanish Steel” on Soundmondo.
The Keys Section has even more great Voices to discover. Stay tuned for more Mastering YC articles!