Nord Stage 4 vs. Yamaha YC88 - Organ Sounds and Features

Can you do a video on all the nord stage 4 organ settings ? I've heard that Nord removed the horn/rotor balance on the stage 4

IMHO better Yamaha model to compare would be YC 61.

What are you talking about? The Nord totally blows the Yamaha out of the water.

Nord is better, tone and leslie. Yamaha is good, yet inferior.

Is the yamaha yc88 worth for the Hammond gliassato?

Love all your videos on the comparison between the YC88 and the Stage 4. Just to confirm there aren't a Pipe Organ on the YC88? I saw you demo the Pipes on the Nord but not the YC.

You should not be running the Vox, Farfisa and (God Forbid) Pipe through the Leslie simulations!

Does the YC88 have any convincing pipe organ sounds?

I love my YC-73, prefer the B3 sounds over the Nord. But a Pipe organ engine and synth engine would have been great...I would have paid the extra for them. But in saying that, The YC series was more targeted towards the Electro rather than the stage. If Yamaha go after the stage series their product will be a beast!

I own a YC61 and have played the Nord Stage 3. Both are great boards but I personally prefer the YC for organs (and some other sounds). I feel the YC sounds a little more mechanical and closer to the Hammonds I've owned and played. I also prefer the rotary.

just listening to both of them being an organist myself you would not be able to tell, unless you are in the same room with each of them, that is being able to see that they are not the actual B2 and B3 organs. Good sounding keyboard organs, great for traveling and carrying around. Can not wait to own one in the future sometime. Like is an understatement !

For anyone wanting the same warmth or close to what the Nord has. Add a narrow band EQ around 2k hz and takeout about 2-3db then take the tone knob and bring down to about 35-45%.

Nord is great l think yamaha's touch is bed for organ.

I have a NS3 88 and if something happens to it, I will buy the YC88. They both sounds great but there is too much a price difference in Canada (yamaha 4100, clavia 7700, diff of 3600$).
I have a 76 kurzweil PC3 so I’m cover on the synth area…😊

I find that the Nord organs are too smooth and buttery compared to an actual Hammond B3, whereas the YC is much closer/authentic to a B3 sound. I would think a B3 purist would favour the sound of the YC more. Also, the Nord's 5 layers are not worth double the cost. I think you're paying about $2000 just for the Nord 'name' alone!! I would go with the YC myself without a doubt...

Yamaha for the price. Very versatile keyboard. I used to have a Nord and it broke on me; and they could not find parts for it. Buyer beware.

The Leslie is better on the Yamaha YC. Nord sounds a little plastic-like.

I have got the Yamaha YC88. Honestly both keyboards are excellent. I love them. :)

The yc is indeed solid. But I prefer the yc 73 ( personally) cos of its superiority key touch over the yc88. Wondering if anyone agrees with me

Great review on both the organs, for the most part. One minor complaint, however…as a player that grew up in the 60’s/70’s playing a number of transistor (“combo”) organs, rarely did you ever hear anyone play through a Leslie…they always used the vibrato built into the organ (The Doors, The Animals, Iron Butterfly, etc)…and hauling a Leslie would have defeated the propose of a small light combo organ anyway. I did try running my Vox Continental thru a Leslie…and it took away a bit of the character of the bright, tinny attack characteristic of the instrument…making it sound a little more Hammond like. I think therefor, a better comparison would have been to use one of the guitar amp setups (ex…Twin Reverb). That being said, I have the NS4 88…and the combo organs seem to be a little more accurate than they were on the NS3 88, which I sold to get the NS4.

That’s my $.02 worth…keep up the reviews !!

Great demo, both ortgans sound very good. As a Stage 3 owner, I am partial to Nord sounds over Yamaha--but this is certainly a closer comparison than I imagined it would be. I was puzzled a bit by the Vox/Farfisa/Transistor sounds--on my Stage 3 the vox/farfisa sounds are exactly as I remember them from my days performing in the 60's. In this demo, they sounded too much like a B3--I'm guessing that the drive was set, and on my Stage 3 when you switch to farfisa, for example, the drive is off and it has that characteristic 60's transistor organ sound. Very authentic.

Wow very similar. I love my YC. The Nord is a beast though

I think the yc 61 keys would feel much better for this play style.

I love my nord stage 4 ! Great Video ! Thanks for sharing and, God Bless you !

Both are pretty good. For live use, no one in the audience will ever know the difference lol! Actually, my Nord Stage 2EX as a gigging keyboard is fantastic! Still do not have a reason to change and upgrade.

Very thorough, thanks for the video!

I have a Yamaha YC73, and I'm so happy with it. I was initially disappointed with the original leslie speaker sound, but the firmware update took it to another level. Hearing these two keyboards side by side; I feel even more assured that I have the right keyboard; that Nord organ does absolutely nothing (possible even less) for me.

More comparison please. I bought a YC88 already, waiting for its delivery. But still I would like to know more about their differences. NS4 is ridiculously expensive... Just curious whether its functions justify the price. To me, the price of YC88 is much more reasonable.

Thanks !! -wow , though I love my stage 4 it sounds a bit tepid where the Yamaha sounds overly aggressive, and too fast on Leslie hi speed - just gotta say the menu dive on Yamaha turns me off , fast ! The Nord is so easy so tactile so analog , so visual - both nice

Nord sounds a bit warmer than the yc88. I have the yc61 and I love the background leslie noise feature it has. It pretty much simulates the noise of a real leslie that can be heard through your speakers. But I really love the warmth of the Nords organ, this is what the YC is missing

Both sound good. The updated rotary effect on the Yamaha vastly improved its sound. I almost like it better now than the Nord. So close really. The rotor effect on my SKX pro is also quite good. Again very close in quality. I own all three and have gotten feedback from band members stating they’re so close it’s hard to say which is “best”. I do like the organ feel the best on the Hammond. Wether or not it’s actually a different keybed it somehow feels easier to play organ on than my stage 4 compact. Although the stage 4 compact with its updated triple sensor action is certainly a noticeable improvement over the stage 3 compact. I like the Rhodes and the Wurly a bit better on the YC. But now we’re getting off topic. The price of the Nord is quite frankly painful. If they would of kept it close to the stage 3 it would be a much better value. Expanding the memory and polyphony and adding in a midi/audio interface like the Yamaha would also have been nice and justifying the price increase a bit more. Anyway long post. I love ‘em all and am fortunate to be able to own and play them etc. Great video. Keep up the great presentations.

I have the Nord stage 3 compact. I’m trying to decide if I want to trade in my stage 3 for a Nord stage 4 88 or just add the Yamaha Yc 88 with the stage 3 compact??

Both organs are decent! Yamaha’s audio over usb is a sweet deal though, because iOS and MacOS allows you to control B3X which is a superior organ to both. Yamaha’s drawbars should send midi ccs for drawbar controls for the software too.
Yet both instrument are good standalone. So, in that case, Nord has the 7 layers of stacking and their own sweet signature sounds vs Yamaha’s sounds and the YC capabilities.

Since the organs are so close, the differences in touch and price would be the determinants for me! $3,150 for the YC88, and Nord stage 4 $5,699. Quite a big difference in price!!