I’ve spent waaaaaay too much time on this already, so here’s a quick observation on Yamaha CK’s position in the Yamaha line-up.

Blake Angelos (Yamaha) mentioned that the CK does not replace MX. I take him at his word because CK and MX are aimed at two different use cases: live (CK) and studio (MX). Some forum folk noted this distinction as stage keyboard vs. synthesizer. Obviously, you can use a CK in your personal studio or play an MX on stage. The (marketing) question is, “What is the primary intended use?”

The MX series are synthesizers derived from the venerable Motif XS (MOX). The MX internal sound architectures is very similar to MOX. The MX series are 16-part multi-timbral. The MX have patterns and arpeggios. MX are designed for DAW integration and arrive with Cubase AI. You can connect an MX to a DAW and play a 16-part General MIDI file and get a reasonable result. You can create and edit new sounds at a very deep level thanks to the John Melas tools.

The CK series are intended for live playing. It has many, dedicated front panel controls to make real-time adjustments while playing. The number of tweakable voice parameters is relatively small versus MX. The effects signal flow is limited and fixed. The CK does not have patterns and arpeggios. The CK does not have drum kits. If you throw a General MIDI file at the CK, you’re gonna miss percussion. 🙂

So, functionally, you have two very different primary use cases and capabilities. The series are offered at different price points, too:

     Model      MSRP      MAP 
     ------    ------   ------ 
     CK61      $1,249   $  999 
     CK88      $1,899   $1,499
 
     MX49      $  799   $  569 
     MX61      $1,099   $  799 
     MX88      $1,599   $1,199
 
     MODX6+    $1,899   $1,499 

     YC61      $2,499   $1,999
     CP73      $2,699   $2,099 

     Montage6  $3,699   $2,999 

Yamaha like to offer a range of products that appeal to a range of customers — something for everyone. Customers on the tightest of budgets find the MX49 and MX61 under the magic (psychological) $1,000 USD threshold. The CK61 is exactly at the $1,000 mark, filling the gap between MX and MODX+.

The YC series, CP series and Montage are premium-level products. Many (most) customers and I would think twice about dropping $2,000 or more on a keyboard. This is not a casual decision especially if one is considering a piano- or organ-focused keyboard (CP or YC, respectively). Thus, the CK series is a good value proposition for price-conscious customers.

I’m going to restate a certain point that I made previously because I was misunderstood by some. When the Reface series was first released, many of us wanted to see all of the Reface engines combined into a single, full-sized keyboard. We liked the sounds (engines) and interactive interface, but disliked the mini-keys. The CK series combines the Reface YC and Reface CP into a single full-size model — and throws in a good set of bread-and-butter sounds to round things out.

Functionally, CK organs and sound editing are not at the same level as premium YC and CP series. CK has the old Reface YC sample-based engine; YC stage organs are a superior invention. You get what you pay for.

If one needs FM, then MODX+ is your full-size gateway. CS, AKA “virtual analog”, has yet to be seen in a current Yamaha product. And you already know the rumors…

Thanks for reading!

Copyright © 2023 Paul J. Drongowski

I’m reading through the CK documentation and posting random observations here.

The Yamaha CK series are a response for a full-sized keyboard melding the Reface YC and Reface CP with a little bit of additional ROMpler thrown in. The Reface series shine with immediacy of control coupled with decent PRO-quality sounds. No sign of Spectral Component Modeling, so the electric pianos (EP) are sampled. Bummer, since SCM has a smoother velocity response. The EP presets are Montage/MODX greatest hits.

Organ preset voices include H, V, F, A, and Y — clearly lifted from Reface YC. The pipe organ presets (!) have a few surprises: Grand Leu, FondsEtArches, Organo Pleno, Diapason, Claribel&Flute, and SoftReeds. These presets are straight out of Genos™ and Yamaha should be commended for their inclusion. These voices are excellent. [Yeah, I know. Rockers are not looking for pipe organ… 🙂 ]

The drawbar sliders are short-throw like Reface YC. I like the buttons for percussion and vibrato/chorus control. Front panel placement is good, too, as most people change settings on-the-fly with the left hand.

I don’t see a way to adjust rotary speaker acceleration (ramp up) and deacceleration (ramp down). These leaves me very concerned because the Reface YC fast speed and ramps are waaaaay too fast and there isn’t any way to change them. Yamaha consistently makes preset rotary speaker speeds too bloody fast.

Yamaha did not hold back on orchestral voices and deserve further credit for that decision. I didn’t bite on YC61 because it is weirdly short on orchestral voices. Where’s the oboe, for example? Add more orchestra voices to YC61 and I will pull out my credit card. Really, I can only take one keyboard to my church gig given set-up time constraints, space and my 7-decade old body.

Gut-level, the preset synth voices feel like greatest hits from arranger Legacy synths and pads. No new ground, here. I use a few of these bread and butter voices — VP Soft and Soft RnB, for example. Synth enthusiasts have already swiped left on the CK series anyway.

Like their CP/YC brethren, the CKs expose a fixed voice-effects signal flow. There are five choices of Drive, nine+ choices for insert effects, and global delay, reverb and EQ. Effect tweaking is limited — just one or two parameters per effect type.

The CKs do have potential for external control via Master Keyboard Mode (four zones). All the basic zone parameters are there including Bank Select MSB and Bank Select LSB and Program Change. Yamaha got this right. It’s 2023 and I can’t believe how many MIDI controllers commit the cardinal sin of leaving off Bank Select!

Assessing the assignment of MIDI continuous control (CC) numbers to physical sliders and knobs is going to take time and effort. Some CCs are assigned based on voice part (A, B, C). Yikes! We’re going to need to forge a secret decoder ring! 🙁

The date on the MIDI implementation chart is 16 July 2021. Yes, “2021.” Yamaha have had these designs in the can for a while. The pandemic and supply chain problems interfered with the CK’s release.

Copyright © 2023 Paul J. Drongowski