Electro 5D vs YC73/61?

[Deadkeys]

I have owned a Electro 5D and been pretty happy but resently purchased a Yamaha CK61 which kinda introduced be to stage keyboards as Ive alway played live with synth (MODX/Nautilus/Roland FA06 ect) but organ sounds on the CK werent up to par. I upgraded to a YC61 and really love the sounds but its really only a slight upgrade in organs sounds. The newest H4 organs in the upgrade give the leslie sim a airyness to them that I like slighty better. Im not really a drawbar guy and rely mostly on presets. Not trashing on Nord here and im sorry for talking Yamaha here as well...just looking to fall back in love with my 5D again....anyone else had experiences.....More sounds available third party....outboard leslie sim like NEO VEnt2?

I play in a Dead cover band and a Phish jam band and really need the arps and synth board on top and the YC is limited there...FA06 is a bit complicated but has features I need if I keep the two board solution of Nord (organ) bottom and synth (MODX/CK61/FA06) on top
Thanks James

[Deadkeys]

So after a more careful comparison it seams to me the leslie sim in the YC that sounds more fat/stereo and has a slightly slower ramp time.
With out rotors enguaged they sound the same.

[cphollis]

The organ and effects section on the NE5D is pretty good. A Vent (1 or 2) will add a different leslie sound, not necessarily better. I never use mine.

What are you playing through? Try your NE5D through a nice pair of headphones, then maybe turn a critical eye on your amplification and signal chain.

I'd also encourage you to take some time to experiment with the drawbars as well as percussion, chorus, etc. You can dial up a very wide range of organ sounds on the NE5D with a little playtime.

You also sound like a candidate for a NS4 Compact ...

[Deadkeys]

Thanks CP ...
I am seeking identical draw bar settings and it seams the exact same positions on each board sound different but when I take the stops out 1 or two more positions on the Nord they are closer in sound. Playing through Sony MDR7506 and nicer AKGs in the studio. Live im playing through a QSC12 mono. IS this wrong> Stereo out of each board into Radial Key Largo and stereo out in the two inputs of the QSC. I do this so FOH gets stereo but i only have one QSC12 on stage for monitoring

[Tasten-Bert]

I have owned a Electro 5D and been pretty happy …… Ive alway played live with synth (MODX/Nautilus/Roland FA06 ect) …… FA06 is a bit complicated but has features I need if I keep the two board solution of Nord (organ) bottom and synth (MODX/CK61/FA06) on top.
Thanks James

Hi James,

two thoughts from my side:

If you intend to carry only one board it needs to be an all-in-one workhorse. To be honest, I don‘t know any keyboard which has an organ incl. drawbars at the level of the current ranges of nord, Hammond or Crumar along with a good synth and samples section that is able to combine a multitude of sounds. Korg Kronos or the premium Roland Fantoms are organwise only poor compromises.

If the schlepp doesn‘t matter, I‘d say take the NE5D for what it can best - the organ and the piano sounds - and put it a second board to side with all the synths, arps or even brass and strings which you like. I had a Roland fantom that impressed me by all it could do, so for me the FA06 would seem a good choice. I use a korg X50, already appr. 18 years old, but a korg Nautilus or the cheap kross 2 would be my favourites of today‘s products. I was never able to get familiar with Yamaha‘s menu structure - I don‘t like them.

As far as the neo venti is concerned: If you are more the preset type of organ player I‘d think that the NE5‘s sound and effects are good enough.

So good luck with whatever you do.

Cheers from Germany

[Deadkeys]

Thanks for the note. Im just addicted to all things new and at the moment the YC61 feels fresh and will have a hard time sending it back. Its just 2k is allot to only get a little bit of freshness. i sold my Nautilus to buy the YC and have been eying the Kross 2...I have a MODX and FA06 they just require menu diving but I could get passed this. May return thej YC and get the Kross 2 and bank the rest. The FA is hard to read on stage

[cphollis]

Thanks CP ...
I am seeking identical draw bar settings and it seams the exact same positions on each board sound different but when I take the stops out 1 or two more positions on the Nord they are closer in sound. Playing through Sony MDR7506 and nicer AKGs in the studio. Live im playing through a QSC12 mono. IS this wrong> Stereo out of each board into Radial Key Largo and stereo out in the two inputs of the QSC. I do this so FOH gets stereo but i only have one QSC12 on stage for monitoring

You're not getting the stereo effects with this setup, and that flattens the leslie, the APs, the FX and so on. It makes a big difference to my ears.

[Deadkeys]

Im sending stereo to FOH but monitoring in mono...."Both channels to same Stage monitor"
Are saying I should have stereo on stage ? In reguards to the sound Im hearing between the YC61 & NE5D Im using headphones.. The leslie and the vibrato chorus on the YC seams brighter and more in stereo

[monsterjazzlicks]

Hi DeadKeys,

I tried a YC61 and after a couple of weeks took it back and exchanged it for a NE6.

The YC61 won't do all of the extra things you hope it can cover.

Best,

Paul David Seaman

[M_a_c]

I had both Keys combined in my rig (mostly for Live-Gigs) for more than a Year (and even got the CK61 in back). I was looking for an Organ/Synth Solution as upper key above my Hammer-Action-one (meanwhile a NS4-73HP) - or let me say an Organ with my typical needed Synth sounds in addition. Beside that, this upper key needs to serve at my trips to rehearsals and small Gigs as standalone Key. I heared the YC-Organ on a German Music-Fair and loved it.

Thy YC61 seems to have more Soul in the Hammond, what surely depends on the Rotary-Sim. It gave me more Hammond-Feeling with it´s "strange" Key-Touch than the NE5. The Keybed was "strange", but a real good invention. The whole Thing is built as a Tank (even if those little Toggle-Switches are looking suspect and surely need some Attention when the Key is moved). And not to forget - the YC had the first really reliable Gigging-Bag in Yamaha History.

In the End, I found the YC-Interface not so easy, intuitive and directly as the NE5 comes up. The More on FX-Power gets lost in Operation of that flimsy Display and the Buttons. With that, the hole Panel was black on black and on dark Stages and I had to (neon yellow) tape-stripe it, so I at least can find the needed Button or Knop under a poor Light (but well - I´d always changed the desired Sections in the Dark). The main thing to sell it was the Samples-Quality. Compared to my MODX lots of Samples appeares to be more at a CK- or even a PSR-Level. The Synth-Sounds can not win (for me). I compared the (subjective) Sound-Quality with my MX49 and this Oldtimer always coming up better (especially the really poor Ending-Loops in Places). And for a All-in-one Key the missing of a really cutting and full SAW-Sound like "Jump", which even has been in the CK. And even with the (good) YC-Piano-Sounds in combination with the Waterfall-Keybed, I cannot reach the amount of Piano-Feeling I got on the NE5-73. My Conclusion for the Yamaha Marketing Guys is: please try ONE TIME to waive the typical Yamaha "consistently-let-away-some-options" for "at-any-price-NOT-to-offer-the perfect-Keyboard"... You´d been very close...

So the Pitch- and Modulation-Option, the attractive Dimensions and wheigt, the good Tonewheel-Sim cannot help the Lag of Sound-Options of the YC and I changed it against a NE6-61. Here I can implement any Sound I like / need, reach a spontaneous wanted Tweak-Button directly and the Keybed seems to be better to control (for me). Maybe it looks a little boastful to enter a Stage with 2 Nord-Keys s, but well - I got all I want under my Fingers then (but Mod+Pitch+Aftertouch on the NE6, but well - who can be fully satisfied anyway)...