Did Yamaha Just Change the Stage Piano Game? - YC88 Vs Nord Stage 3 Vs Korg SV2

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Can Yamaha take the title away from Nord as the favoured keyboard for live performance and studio recordings? Looking at the new YC88 drawbar organ & stage keyboard, Jack runs through a selection of specs, patches & features, comparing it to its Nord & Korg 88-key competitors.
Which brand has the best 88-key stage piano? Is the updated keybed enough to make you choose Yamaha? Watch jack shootout all three brands in our Yamaha Vs Nord Vs Korg 88 Key Shootout!

🎥 Looking to watch something else? Check out our previous episodes on the Yamaha YC61!

↪️ Episode Guide ↩️
» 0:00 Yamaha YC88 Vs Nord Stage 3 Vs Korg SV2
» 1:35 First Look at the Yamaha YC88
» 2:54 Electric, Rhodes & Piano Comparison
» 5:21 Outputs & Updates
» 7:17 Organ Comparison
» 10:49 Layered Sound Comparison
» 15:55 Pitch Bender Comparison
» 16:00 Price?
» 17:35 Outro Playing

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#Andertons #YamahaYC88 #NordStage3

[AndyChamberlainMusic]

I went to a local music shop where they had the YC88 and god the action was heavenly

[stevec.]

The weighted triple sensor action, and physical drawbars in the YC-88 sold me along with its versatility. Spot on presentation as always. Thanks.

[SuperBriansmoke]

This review was choc full of genuine passion for these keyboards. One of your best JD! Tasty playing (as ever) as well.

[ianflurrance]

What I love about my sv-2 is that I can dig into setting at home practice with my laptop, but live I don’t have to worry about bumping anything and majorly changing my sound.

[Redbuzzcut]

I went out to purchase a 88 key Nord Stage 3 as a new gig keyboard and while at the store I tried the Korg and the YC88 too. Your video helped a bit with all this - thank you so much! The feel of the YC88 keys was phenomenal compared to the Nord and Korg and the ease of adjusting the YC88's sound on the fly was impressive and intuitive. The drawbars on the YC88 also sold me for the organ (tapping buttons on the 88 Nord, what were these guys thinking?). After playing each board for about a half our I opted for the YC88; hands down the right choice for me. I did save about $1k USD but again I was prepared to shell out more on the Nord. It just wasn't the best board for gigging for what I do.

[kiko]

I like Jack bc he seems like he might be a party boy at first glance but he's actually a synth nerd and absolute savage on the keys. Plus I like that he actually plays music in these videos instead of just moving a filter cutoff knob. Keep up the good work lads.

[rickpoling]

I'm a several decades Yamaha fan, many of their boards have come and gone through the years, though I'm still hanging onto a S90ES, a CP4, an old CP33 (mostly for sentimental reasons), a MX49, a P105 and recently bought a P515 for easy studio use and practice. I play left-hand bass in 3 bands, and ever since my old Fender Rhodes Piano Bass days in the 70's, I have always had a dedicated signal and channel for bass running through bass amps and/or D.I.'s, which made it easy working with venue or studio sound engineers accustomed to having a bass guitar feed; it was a seamless setup with them. Before starting to use a Stage 3 88, I commonly had a CP4 or S90ES on the bottom for APs, EPs and pads/strings, a Hammond SK1 on the top for organ (midi'd to the bottom board for right hand to play both boards from the lower keyboard when desired), and a MX49 angled in from the left side for bass - but the Stage 3 88 allowed me to use one board for all three functions (and then some, taking the synth into account) since I could assign the bass (synth on panel B) to output 3 as a dedicated bass out, assign the bass volume to the mod wheel for easy tweaking accessibility, and then have panel A visible and available for stereo organ, piano and synth full time. I could accomplish much of the same thing with the S90ES's assignable outputs, but the organ section wasn't nearly as good as Nord's (I got by installing a few good B's Knees patches) but most of that relied heavily on presets with very little flexibility during performance, and the S90ES additionally is 10 pounds heavier and 6 inches longer than the NS3 88. So now, when I see any excellent new offering, like the YC88, the limited outputs kills it for me immediately - otherwise, I'd be seriously interested in the YC73 for rehearsal and quick on/off stage work. With many folks like myself desiring additional outs for dedicated bass or to have a dedicated organ out to a vent, maybe Yamaha could quickly broaden its market by adding a couple assignable outs to what seems to be a stellar YC lineup. Thanks for your great reviews and insights, always a pleasure to watch and listen!

[galastar]

All quality keyboards but there are considerable price differences Stage 3 £3000, YC88 £2350, SV2 £1650. It’s also likely in future that YC88 & 73 will drop in price to under £2k. One thing regularly overlooked with the YC & CP73/88 is the audio interface which works great with MacBook or iPad. Also almost every control on the front panel outputs midi cc so if you use VSTs the YC/CP is a fantastic option. Have the CP73 and Korg SV2, love em both😊😊

[anthonysilva]

I come for the review, I stay to the playing and I ALWAYS enjoy the levity !! Well done lads!🇨🇦

[desmoriderssthlm]

Thanx for another great video Jack! Your reviews are the best, and I check them all. Greetings from a "Nord-guy" in Sweden :)

[billyartiga]

Even though I liked both the Yamaha YC and The Korg SV2 I’m just happy with my Nord Stage 3 because it is was my dream piano for years and Got it last year and I’m not planning on getting another piano anytime soon

[EPGTR]

The action on the YC88! As well as the warmth and usefullness of the new "Nashville Piano" on the YC. Winner Winner Keyboard Dinner.

[frankboelens]

I’m very very impressed by the YC! I’ve never heard a piano coming so close to the real piano sound!

[shabbee]

Great work Jack, very honest and impartial as is should be

[SoundMadeVisual]

I'v played all versions.
I owned the Nord 6d. which was great in a lot of ways but the unavoidable factor was the key bed was trash to me. Not much flow, plus im not a big piano guy but more so EP guy, the selection is very big even with the add ons from their site. I used it more for synth than keys.

The Yamaha i tested out the smaller version the CP80 and again super small creativity on sonics within the EP section and very limited section. Key bed was nice though. I could care less about organs.

The Korg SV2 is right up my alley. Its extremely SPECIFIC, yes no mod wheel but that is intentional as it emulates the vintage Stage Pianos which none of those have mod wheels either. I love the specificity of it. As far as EP...YES!!! BEAUTY! The range of which i can choose different variations and sonics from amp, to eq and more is amazing!
It may not have the BEST acoustic piano compared to Nord or Yamaha BUT it still holds its own and i'm not a big acoustic piano guy, but i have Keyscape if i need that LOL!

At the end of the day i said all that to say. its about what FEELS RIGHT to YOU! The only true way to tell, is to get in front of the hardware and play for yourself.

[thomasschatton]

Very nice, informative and useful comparison. The best part of the video though is your playing on the outro. I love it! Do you have some ambient stuff on Spotify? If not, maybe you should consider recording/producing something... Cheers from Berlin, Germany.

[Julyion]

Huge thanks for all you do on this channel! I loved the playout - great!

[LemonJelly]

Jack has changed his avatar back to ‘Day Release Jack’.

I jest of course ... lovely video as always ♥️

[JurjenMelinga]

Love the outro! Could be a powerful movie soundtrack that would definitely bring tears to me eyes in the moment, on par with Zimmer, Williams and the likes.

17:42 Oh my, the play-out is fantastic!