New Yamaha Stage Piano CK61/CK88 just announced...

[keynote]

For keyboard players who want an affordable stage piano with big sound, check out the new stage piano from Yamaha called the CK61 key & CK88 key. Arrangers are great, but if you want a stage piano for specific needs, the CK stage pianos might be the ticket. Here is a newly released video and I must say it sounds great and at very affordable price points plus easy portability, especially the 61 key version. Without further ado:

Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-2XBBEvpPI&t=331s

All the best, Mike

[supersteve]

I have seen the demo video earlier, They mention portability I:E battery powered,could not see any mains adaptor alternative , I could be wrong, but agree great sounds.
Steve

[overover]

I have seen the demo video earlier, They mention portability I:E battery powered,could not see any mains adaptor alternative , I could be wrong, but agree great sounds.
Steve

Of course, the CK61 and CK88 can also be operated via an AC adapter.

The CK61/88 Owner's Manual can be downloaded here:
>>> https://uk.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/2/1547682/ck88_en_om_b0.pdf


Best regards,
Chris

[Divemaster]

Have to say, it sounds very nice. 

[pjd]

Maybe move this thread to Yamaha Keyboards - General? There is a CK thread in that section, too. Too much non-Genos stuff in the Genos part of the forum. (I'm open-minded about postings, but, really?)

BTW, if you own a mid-range Yamaha arranger (e.g., SX700, SX900) or Genos, you have all the tools needed to create your own sounds of the same caliber as CK. Love the one you're with and keep diving deeper. Save money. 

All the best -- pj

[mikf]

The SX series of arrangers do not offer 88 key versions with graded hammer action keyboard. Agree if you are a sound junkie there may be better options, but  I see these as aimed at mainly piano players who want some other pretty decent sounds, and portability at a good price. If you are that kind of player but also want accompaniment options the DGX also offers this at a budget price. Both seem decent keyboards with good marketability to me.
Mike

[keynote]

Sorry, I guess I should have posted the CK stage keyboard release info in the Yamaha General Keyboard forum. If a moderator wants to move it over there, that's fine and dandy. In the meantime, I think Yammie will sell a boat load of the CK 61/88 stage keyboards especially to churches that want an affordable, decent sounding stage keyboard with nice pianos and also very good modern organ sounds, really nice string sounds, and even pipe organ voices onboard for traditional church services.

Yamaha's press release on March 1st, 2023 stated: "This year, Yamaha will introduce breakthrough products at the (NAMM) show across multiple musical categories, including piano, synthesizer, winds, acoustic guitar, drums and percussion, and professional audio." It appears the new CK piano/stage keyboards could be the 'piano' mentioned in the press release, and perhaps Yamaha wanted to give people a heads-up prior to NAMM to pique interest in the new product. They also mentioned 'synthesizer' which might be a prelude to a new Montage+, etc. But no mention of "keyboard" as in Arranger keyboard. So Genos2 is probably out of the question, but perhaps it will be released at the U.K. Yamaha Club event in November or possibly at NAMM 2024, January 25-28, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. Or maybe Yammie had decided to quit making high-end arrangers, which would be a real punch in the gut to thousands of Yamaha arranger keyboardists loyal to the Yamaha brand. Roland went that route years ago, and there's really no telling what Yamaha might do because they are very secretive and hush-hush. Only time will tell, I reckon. 

[supersteve]

Thanks for the update Overrover , I never got as far as the owners Manual, I assumed it would have a power adapter,
Not that I have any use for a CK quite content with my Genos.
Steve

[soryt]

Nice and cheap models but the YC range drawbars and effects are a lot better and usable for pro use.
The Drawbars are similar to the Genos  and the rotary effects are a little tuned to sound better , with a lot of tweaking you can get same sound on Genos. On YC there is VCM drawbar voices and on the CK AWM like on the Genos and other SX boards.
I now hope that the Genos II comes soon with the VCM drawbars and Effects of the YC range.

[sarathnmusic]

Hi Gentleman,
Any possibility of getting these piano sounds for YAMAHA GENOS.

Thank you.

[Duffy]

Nice and cheap models but the YC range drawbars and effects are a lot better and usable for pro use.
The Drawbars are similar to the Genos  and the rotary effects are a little tuned to sound better , with a lot of tweaking you can get same sound on Genos. On YC there is VCM drawbar voices and on the CK AWM like on the Genos and other SX boards.
I now hope that the Genos II comes soon with the VCM drawbars and Effects of the YC range.

I've been doing a lot of tweaking for the last 6 years and I have never come even close to the sound of the YC 61's Hammond & Leslie sim, which is reasonably ok.
As for sounding anything like a real Hammond and Leslie, it's a physical impossibility on a Genos. I keep hearing it can be done but no one proves it by sharing an edited voice.
I finally purchased a Neo Ventilator 2 but the Genos drawbars don't work successfully as real drawbars should (Don't always respond in real time to the physical movement)

[soryt]

I've been doing a lot of tweaking for the last 6 years and I have never come even close to the sound of the YC 61's Hammond & Leslie sim, which is reasonably ok.
As for sounding anything like a real Hammond and Leslie, it's a physical impossibility on a Genos. I keep hearing it can be done but no one proves it by sharing an edited voice.
I finally purchased a Neo Ventilator 2 but the Genos drawbars don't work successfully as real drawbars should (Don't always respond in real time to the physical movement)

I didn't mean that the Genos can sound like the YC drawbars , but it comes close to the CK range .
With the new update on the YC  ( 1.03) there are a few new piano samples that are so good sounding and I hope to see them back in the Genos II .the YC drawbars and rotary effects are a lot better than the Genos with a ventilator II , I have both and like to combine them  in several songs , nice toys to play with..