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Yamaha YC73 73-key Stage Keyboard Demo

73-key Stage Keyboard with Balanced Hammer Action Keys, Virtual Circuitry Modeling, Organ Engine, Advanced Wave Memory 2 Instruments & FM Synthesis, 9 FX Processors, and USB Audio/MIDI Interface
7 Write review Item ID: YC73d1

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Yamaha’s Amazing Organ-focused Stage Keyboard

The Yamaha YC73 packs expressive acoustic pianos and electric pianos; vintage combo organs; detailed instrument sounds such as strings, bass, and brass; and dynamic synth sounds into a gig-friendly and compact 73-key stage keyboard. Using Yamaha’s proprietary Virtual Circuitry Modeling, the YC73 is one of the most lifelike-sounding analog organ emulations on the market, and it comes stocked with a large selection of additional instrument voices and killer onboard effects. The YC73 is designed for today’s performing keyboardist; its weighted/balanced keys and physical controls keep you out of menus and in the music. While the YC73 is vintage in character, it boasts all the functionality and reliability of a modern digital instrument, with vast customization options and computer audio integration for audio recording, playback, and MIDI control. Keyboardists at Sweetwater are blown away by the YC73. Great keyboard, stunning instrument and synth sounds, plus a compelling drawbar organ and stellar performance features give the YC73 the right stuff to be the top-tier keyboard in your live and studio rigs.

Related Videos: YC73 73-key Stage Keyboard

Endless sonic possibilities

The YC73's Dual Keys section gives you control over a slew of instrument voices, including acoustic and electric pianos, FM synth, strings, and brass. The YC73 also features the signature tones of drawbar and pure FM synth organs for super-fat low end, thick organ swells, mellow emanations, and biting leads, along with the inimitable sound of a rotary speaker. With its onboard panel controls, the YC73 presents a sizable sonic palette with tons of tweakability. Layer up a fat organ pad. Pull back the drawbars for a focused sound. Add percussion, vibrato, chorus, or drive to the organ, or experiment with the onboard effects for a totally new sound. Beyond the incredible organ sound, Yamaha’s YC OS adds new sounds and features so your instrument is always up to date. Plus, the YC73's nine onboard effects — such as vibrato/chorus, reverb, delay, and drive — make for endless musical possibilities.

Stellar feel and playability

With an action that’s neither too light nor too heavy, the YC73’s responsive, weighted/balanced keyboard is designed for musicians who are accustomed to playing all types of virtual instruments on one keyboard. And its ideal 6-octave range ensures you’ll have access to the all the notes you need during a performance — without the extra weight and bulk of keys you never use. The physical drawbars and intuitive control surface make it easy to shape sounds on the fly without getting bogged down in programming patches. Yamaha's Seamless Sound Switching lets you change patches while holding notes without the sound cutting off.

Proprietary Virtual Circuitry Modeling

The foundation of the YC73’s rich and detailed sound is Yamaha’s Virtual Circuitry Modeling (VCM), which digitally emulates analog circuits down to the individual component level. Yamaha has been working with physical modeling since the development of their VL1 Virtual Acoustic Synthesizer, which was released in 1993. Over the ensuing decades, they have continually refined their proprietary modeling technology and incorporated it into iconic, cutting-edge products that deliver stunningly realistic digital emulations of traditional instruments. The YC73’s VCM organ engine mimics the analog topology of Yamaha’s classic organs for astonishingly accurate tone, vibe, behavior, and realistic rotary speaker sounds that will transport you to a blissful vintage dreamland with all the benefits of digital sound processing.

Yamaha YC73 73-key Stage Keyboard Features:

  • 73-key drawbar organ and stage keyboard
  • Proprietary Virtual Circuitry Modeling delivers authentic vintage organ character
  • Sculpt your sound with intuitive drawbar controls
  • 6-octave, weighted/balanced keyboard is perfect for playing all types of virtual instruments
  • 2 ultra-realistic rotary speaker models
  • Seamless Sound Switching patches while holding notes without the sound cutting off
  • Great selection of additional instrument voices, including acoustic and electric pianos, DX-style FM synth sounds, strings, and brass
  • Layer sounds with the Dual Keys section
  • 9 onboard effects processors, including vibrato/chorus, reverb, delay, drive, and more
  • USB-to-Host port: 2-channel audio/MIDI interface for DAW and computer audio integration
  • USB-to-Device port: for connection of thumb drives, smartphones, tablets, etc.
  • Dual 1/4-inch jacks for connecting secondary keyboards, mobile devices, and more
  • 2 assignable 1/4-inch continuous controller pedal jacks
  • 2 1/4-inch switch pedal jacks (sustain, assignable)
  • L/Mono-R 1/4-inch inputs with Gain control
  • 1/4-inch Headphones jack
  • Internal power supply; IEC mains port

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Tech Specs

  • Type: Stage Keyboard
  • Sound Engine: VCM Organ, AWM2, FM
  • Number of Keys: 73
  • Type of Keys: Balanced Hammer Action
  • Touch Sensitivity: Normal, Soft, Hard, Wide, Fixed
  • Other Controllers: Pitchbend Lever, Modulation Lever
  • Polyphony: 128 Notes (AWM2/Organ), 128 Notes (FM)
  • Presets: 8 organ, 139 keys
  • Effects: Reverb, Rotary Speaker, 3-band EQ
  • Audio Inputs: 2 x 1/4" (R, L/Mono)
  • Audio Outputs: 2 x XLR (main out), 2 x 1/4" (R, L/Mono)
  • Headphones: 1 x 1/4"
  • USB: 1 x Type B, 1 x Type A
  • MIDI I/O: In/Out/USB
  • Pedal Inputs: 4 x 1/4"
  • Pedal Included: Yes, FC3A (sustain)
  • Display: LCD
  • Power Supply: Standard IEC AC cable
  • Height: 5.6"
  • Width: 42.75"
  • Depth: 14"
  • Weight: 29.6 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: YC73

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Customer Reviews

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Possibly best Stage Piano in 2023

Currently have a Yamaha CP88, P515 and now the YC73. The keybeds on the CP88 and P515 are almost identical. P515 adds escapement but I can't really tell. Both play lovely. CP88 is a wonderful and easy to use stage piano. The only thing that outshines the CP slightly is the newer YC series. Biggest difference of the YC is the brilliant organ section. The Keybeds on the YC series are like the equivalent size CP series except the YC61 has the waterfall keybed for organ focused playing. Be sure to watch reviews with firmware 1.2 or newer regarding the YC organ engine. The new 'studio' setting creates an amazing Leslie speaker effect with perfect stereo separation. Prior to 1.2 the reviews are quite flat regarding the organ sound and rotary effects. Organ sound is also improved with 1.2. I don't have a Stage 3 Nord but the organ comparisons are coming in as equal or better on the Yamaha with the 1.2 firmware. Plus you get physical drawbars on every version of the YC! Silly Nord.
Piano sounds are lovely on the YC, especially if you like Yamaha exclusive pianos. Perhaps not as warm as Nord pianos but incredible for live settings. My daughter records with our CP88 and it sounds lovely.
I chose YC73 to get a lighter piano (only 30lbs) and to try the Balanced Hammer action. It's a slightly lighter feel than the 88. For me it seems perfect for being playable for synth, piano and some organ. If you're primarily an organ player, get the 61 and put it on top of your 88 key controller for piano.
I have to say, I can't think of too many activities more enjoyable than getting lost in this piano (although I can think of a couple). The effects alone are incredible and so easy to use. You can basically turn a classic CFX piano into a modern synth sound with a few selections if desired.
This is an instant classic and will gain a following as word gets out. I compared this to Nord Stage 3 for months and so glad I went with the Yamaha. All respect to Nord but Yamaha is bring the heat with the YC series. Definitely get a pro level speaker setup. I went with JBL 305 speakers and Sub. There's better speaker setups (more expensive) out there but the YC sounds great through these.
-Enjoy
by Andrew from Twin City, GA on
Music background: Church playing, amateur recording

Everything I need

The organs are excellent, the pianos are excellent, the brasses and strings are excellent.
Combined with the live controls, this keyboard is all I need!
by Darrell Ward from Michigan on
Music background: Writer, arranger, producer, live player

Might be the perfect stage piano!

This thing is pretty near perfect. The sounds are stellar, the key feel is a great balance between electric piano and acoustic piano action (it's not graded hammer action, but it IS weighted, not "semi-weighted" as some descriptions say - so playing piano on it feels VERY natural). The organ sound isn't going to outshine the likes of a Hammond, Crumar or Viscount (dedicated organ-only or organ-plus-other-sounds instruments), but it's on par with the Red Brand that this thing is clearly going head-to-head with. For any gig that needs legitimate, quality organ as one of your primary instruments along with piano, electric piano and other sounds, it's more than enough and light years beyond the simple "organ patch" sounds on most stage pianos.

The piano sounds are fantastic. They're Yamaha samples - on the bright side, but there's a good variety to choose from. The Hamburg Grand gives a nice, darker sound great for jazz gigs, the Nashville is great for honky-tonk playing. It gives some of that great "worn-in" character WITHOUT the over-the-top out of tune saloon piano sound that's just so corny to my ears. And the CFX piano (which is the main sample) is perfect for live settings - bright enough to cut through, but still complex enough to be inviting to the ears.

The EP's are much better than I had anticipated. I'd still give the nod to Nord, ever so slightly. But these hold their own. They've got presence, dynamic sounds, real bite when played hard, and the effects section gives some great sounding amp simulations, tremelos, reverbs, and a whole lot of other effects that can be inserted in the chain. And speaking of, ALL of the effects are available for ANY sound, so you can add crazy amp, tremelo, phaser, distortion, etc. effects to piano to get some really interesting sounds. Running the piano through the very high quality Leslie simulation (another area where this thing really outshines most other stage pianos) is a cool effect.

Lastly, the layout is (almost) perfect. I often bounce back and forth between organ and piano/EP in a single song. I like to be able to change my drawbar settings, Leslie speed, C/V or percussion settings BEFORE I switch to the organ so that I have the exact sound dialed in for that upcoming section from note one. AND I don't want all of those settings to revert back to their initial patch settings when I switch to another patch. The "section hold" function gives me this. There IS one odd thing about this, though: when you tell the organ to go into "section hold" mode, it means it will ALWAYS be an active voice in your presets, and therefore ALWAYS sound. So if I switch to piano, for example, the organ will still sound with each note. There is no "mute" option, so I thought I was stuck either having the organ revert to initial settings every time (which completely destroys its usefulness for me), OR HEARING organ on every patch (also a non-starter).

BUT THEN..... I discovered the "split point" workaround. Just set the split point for a key HIGHER than the keyboard goes, and assign the organ to the upper zone on any preset where you don't want the organ to sound. Then, you can assign the piano, EP or whatever else to the "lower" zone (which is the whole keyboard), and abra cadabra, the organ settings "hold", you can tweak them, set them ahead, not lose them when switching to other patches, and then go to your your organ patch (where the split point is set for a key BELOW the keyboard, making organ sound on the whole thing) and have your live settings. Brilliant!

So far the ONLY downside I have found is that there is no option to change the behavior of the assignable food switch. It can be set to "leslie speed", but the behavior can only be "momentary", so a half-moon switch (which must be "latching") isn't usable here. I hope a future OS update adds this bit of functionality, but in the meantime it's easy enough to just use the pan button to switch my leslie speed, and this is a VERY minor annoyance in the scheme of things. Overall, I'd say this is the best stage piano I've owned, by a pretty large margin.
by Scott from Denver, CO on
Music background: Professional Musician

Great for the stage and the studio. Playable AND tweak-able. NOT lacking in the Hammond department either!

I was invited to join Fifty Bucks For Betty (https://fiftybucksforbetty.com/home) just as I was recovering from CoViD pneumonia in early 2022. I've played music in the DelMarVa area most of my adult life. As a guitarist/keyboardist, I've become quite familiar with the basic staple of sounds necessary to hit the stage in a Rock Band. I had been using a Roland Jupiter 50 on stage and a Hammond XP-Pro in my home studio. The Korg Kronos was discontinued around this time. I love the Kronos, but spending that amount on an unsupported piece of gear is out of the question. The sounds of the Jupiter 50 were definitely professional and competent; but the singer and the band demand much more live tweak-ability than the Roland could provide. Many suggest the Nord instruments, but I never bonded with them. The Hammond would do nicely, but I needed a stage specific instrument that could also enhance my studio. The Yamaha YC 73, with its Balanced Hammer Action Keys and absolutely INCREDIBLE sounds fills the bill as nicely as anyone could hope. The YC 73 is a great complement to the SK-Pro. Sweetwater, shipped me the YC with OSv1.2 plus a flash drive with added sounds. Yamaha just released OSv1.3. This firmware update demonstrates Yamaha's ongoing, active support. Suffice it to say, The YC 73 works and sounds incredible onstage with the band. In fact, I can honestly say the Yamaha could just about replace the Hammond XK-Pro; it's organ sounds are just that good! I really am enjoying the best of both worlds at this point! The YC OSv1.3 has just been loaded. Yes, I saved my sounds and live sets, but they remain on the flash drive while I spend the next few days checking out all the new sounds/sets. It goes without saying that the YC lends itself to improvising, composing, writing and arranging in the studio as well. Well done Yamaha!!
by Tim Albert on

Superb playability

YouTube will tell you everything you want to know about this machine look for "Yc-73 firmware 1.20 from featherlight studio for a great rundown to add to sweetwater's videos here. I'd like to simply add that the keyboard action is absolutely stellar. So don't hesitate. This is so playable. Every time my fingers hit it they're happy and it's ruined my experience with other boards completely it feels so great.
by Mark on
See also: Organs, Yamaha, Yamaha Electric Organs, Yamaha Digital Pianos
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