Nord Stage 4 vs Yamaha YC88 - Comparison Review 

Yamaha's piano's tend to have a bit more presence and brilliance, whereas the Nord pianos sound a bit softer and more intimate.

I’ve always been a Nord guy, but I REALLY like this YC-88 and find it to be more versatile in many ways (despite less layer parts) at considerably less $$!

What an amazing demo. Loved your playing. Thanks 🙏🏻

This was fascinating and very engaging comparison, and of the two I the mellower sounds of the Nord. thank you for your post, I've just subscribed.

nicely done and detailed video!loving the YC88 here with the built in audio interface

That's why I bought a YC61 for my top keyboard, which has the plastic organ-like keys, so it doesn't hurt to play typical organ type slides and swells. I also have a Yamaha CP88 on the bottom, which has basically the same piano sounds as the CP88 and I get the wooden keybed and great sounding pianos. Both of those combined are less money than one Nord.

What a great comparison! Love both units. Thank you so much!

Great presentation, clear and concise. I look forward to future videos focusing on various sounds and capabilities of each board.

I have been performing on keys for 55 years now. In the late 1980s I bought the first digital piano. Every time technology advanced enough for it to be worthwhile, I bought a new one. By the year 2008 I had become very discouraged that hardware pianos were not advancing as fast as software pianos were, it was taking 10 years to get a tiny improvement. So this year, with few years left in life, I bought lots of pianos, because the only way to know if a Dpiano is any good is to work with it for at least 6 months. So, I gave my Yamaha P95 away after 10 years of use, and replaced it with a Roland RD-2000 with the V-Piano (modeled), a Kurtzweil PC4, a FantomO with a SuperNatural piano, a Korg KromeEX with the big piano sample, and a Yamaha DGX-670. Which one was the outstanding best, far better than any, the inexpensive Yamaha, the finest Dpiano I have ever heard and played. Any Dpiano worth a look MUST have extensive editing of the piano sound and touch response, and a good keybed or it is 100% useless. To a piano master, audio engineer, audiophile, musician, and sound designer...I have a very VERY critical ear, and an extremely critical ear for the acoustic piano sound. After a short time editing the Yamaha DGX-670 piano I had the greatest Dpiano for practice at home with my chosen headphones ever in my life. Yes, technology usually means the latest is the best, but I am saying I am not disappointed practicing on a Dpiano for the first time in 35 years. The sound, the keybed, the interaction between the mechanics of the keybed and the software is perfect, the 3pedal system is perfect, the soft pedal for the first time in my life sounds like a soft felt pedal, the sustain with half damping is perfect and the range is adjustable in the software! Finally, a pedal system that perfectly simulates an acoustic. The editing of sound is so good, that in a short time I created a second piano patch for ambient piano that sounds as good as any software soft felt ambient piano. And adding the soft pedal to my ambient piano patch makes a wonderful added color to the sound. For a Dpiano to accomplish all that I demand of it, is so rare, this is the first time. And it only cost me $750.00 on sale for $100 off, I bought the whole package (keyboard, stand and pedal system) for $1000.00. Any Dpiano that would please this extremist in piano sound should be amazing to anyone else. Nothing else to buy out there, this is the one....FINALLY!! And is priced for everyone too, don't know what Yamaha was thinking when they made this, but they just made every one of the 1000s of different Dpianos out there obsolete. (NOTE: I live in a tiny apartment and for the love of my neighbors only practice with headphones. I would prefer an acoustic grand piano, but that is not possible. I perform on stage with the best Concert Grands in the world and some not so great, adapting to all the actions and voicing/tuning is a time earned skill of mine).

I gotta say this is probably the best demonstration I’ve had the pleasure to watch all the way so great thanks I have purchased the Stage4 earlier so you basically confirmed what I thought to be a better version of stage keyboard for myself therefore I will follow up your great suggestions thank you very much again Your truly Lyne🙏

Great video man! Idk how I'm just discovering your channel. Definitely subscribing.

Hi, Thanks for a great comparison. Just adding to the info where some are talking about synth samples on YC. YC has a proper 8 operator FM engine. Same as Montage. Just not as editable. With OS 1.3 - 15 original DX7 paches were added with original velocity sensivity (109) for the real DX7 feel, 1 TX81Z patch and 16 very nice modern patches in the style of produced electronic music. Best!

Great video and wonderful production quality. Thanks!

I have a YC88 and absolutely love it.

100% correct about the Yamaha! Other than all those extra synrhs I don't know what the hell people are talking about. Maybe a couple of extra layers but I play in a rock and roll band and overall the Yamaha is superior stage piano for performing Rock and Roll music or even for solo live performance

this is super helpful! also, you know how to play, man! loved the chords.

Thanks for the upload !

Thank you for this timely comparison. I’ve been a Nord Stage guy beginning with the so-called Classic or NS1 to NS2 to NS3 - all 88’s - because I’m a pianist who plays organ, ep’s and synths. And now I’m saving my shekels for the NS4 - which, though spendy, appears to be quite the upgrade from the 6 year old NS3.

I have both pianos. A NS4 88 and a YC73. Love them both. I was concerned about Fatar TP40 keybed on the Nord, but after an hour of playing I really enjoy it. It’s lighter than the Yamaha but excellent compromise for Piano, EP, Synth, and Organ. Triple sensor allows very intricate rhythmic playing. Yamaha is incredible value and is plenty for most applications. However, the Nord is a beast. It is like a Yamaha YC plus a Nord Wave Synth. There’s no comparison. You can layer 2 organs, 2 Pianos, and 3 Synths at the same time with hands on live controls. Frigg’n amazing for massive sound scapes. You can get lost in the Nord for hours. I’m a Yamaha fan (3 Yamaha stage pianos) but Nord wins this one. Can’t go wrong with either.

I love my Yamaha YC. But the Nord is pretty sweet as well

If the Nord is better, it isn’t better by a factor of two. My music would need to be quite lucrative to justify the cost. For small time local gigging or a hobby, $3,000 is the extreme of what I would pay for any one piece of gear. The Yamaha had me at hello. My practicality bias would drive me to a YC-88 or Kurzweil K2700.

Cool Video. Thank you very much 😊. How about comparing the YC to the Nord Electro instead? Wouldn’t that be more fair?

I guess, I’d go with the YC88 and a (used) Access Virus Polar (37keys) or Snow (module). Never liked the Nord Lead Synth sound that much. YC88 + Virus would probably my favorite sound combo for less $$. (But that’s personal taste)

As much as I love the nord. It’s Yamaha for me. Even their intermediate versions sounds amazing. Perhaps it’s the brilliance the Yamaha gives that makes me go for it.

For me Yamaha is a way to go now. Theyve got a range of nice stage keyboards such as yc, cp, ck, reface. Also Yamahas weighted action is much better

the Felt Upright sound has to be my favorite, which sounded great on both, but I think the subtle texture to the sound of the Yamaha took the cake for me

Yamaha for me, definitely in a mix with a full band. It cuts through. The Nord is warmer, so a somewhat nicer feel solo but it has too much mud to my taste. I would roll off below 120 hz in a mix anyway.

We have a YC88 for a house piano at our church then we also have a piano player that brings his Nord in. Both great options

Exactly! Totally agree with you!

Thank you for a very comprehensive review and sound comparison. Could you please let me know if there is a good cathedral pipe organ sound in the NS4 or the YC88. I've watched quite a few demonstration videos and not seen a convincing cathedral organ sound.

I know this is a comparison but thank you for playing them! sounds amazing on both, though I do prefer the Yamaha sounds.

I really like the organ on the Nord better. Nothing wrong with the YC, but the Nord Organ is more colorful and a little phatter. However, I could never play organ solos on a weighted keybed, I prefer light and fast keys for that. Thank you for the demo!

8:30 you should try adjusting the touch curve on the YC88 to Hard. The Nord sounds like it's setup for more resistance.

Great video thanks. I play in covers bands - Motown, soul, blues, etc so just need an easy to use board that does the basics - piano, B3, Wurli really well. I was a Nord fan but the addition of complex synths, effects etc (7 layers WTF!!!) is overcomplicated and useless for what I do. Seems that Nord have moved away from the 'stage' board concept to more of a studio one. So I've bought the YC88 and not a NS4. Delighted with the YC - great keybed (if like me you're a piano player at heart), does all I need in the live mix and has saved me weight and cost.

God bless you, thank you for your videos I really enjoy them. My church is trying to upgrade our keyboard and one of the options was the Nord stage 4 but we were also hoping to find a more economical alternative. Could you recommend one or two options of which keyboard sounds great under 3 grand? Thank you in advance!

Thanks. What do you suggest for a non player who wants to write music?

Can't afford either but glad I found you 👍

I recently saw a keyboard player in a major act playing a Nord Stage 73 or 88, and a Stage compact on the top tier for organ and synth sounds. Killer set up and an excellent musician.

Can you tell us what that was you were playing at the intro? Can you link to sheet music?

The Nord definitely needed that reverb added in order to absorb those twangy after sound artifacts.

That white grand of nord has always been my fav but the yahama keyboards have always had way more of a presence in the sounds. I am trading in my kawai mp7se for the ck88 that yahama just came out with. Nothing is better than the rh3 action. That’s why it’s in the nord grands and the kawais, but i like the yahama because of the cfx patch, batteries, and organs

I'm a bit surprised that Nord didn't add the XLR outs to the Stage 4. It's becoming pretty common on flagship workstations, especially boards meant for live playing. The Stage would be the perfect line to add that functionality.

Hi, can you talk about the split. Is there a Google bass sound, both keys ?

I have tested Nord Stage 4 two weeks ago, I have finally bought a ........ Numa X 73 Studiologic -> 1000 € value. Outstanding insturment.

Yes ..Both great keyboards.. I tried out a YC73..Very nice but those pitch and mod levers felt terrible..I sent it back. The Nord pitch stick and mod feel great. The synth section on the Stage is powerful and useful! Plus having the sampled sounds and the sampler give so many choices for patch design. Using my Vini Vent ll on the organ and am very happy with the one keyboard gig machine!

Hi amazing video i just have an anwser, i just receive my stage 4 88 and i noted in the black part downside have the 4 holes without parafused its normal u can chel in your for pleasure? Thank u sorry for english mistakes im italian kkk thnk u

When will the electro 7D be updated?

For 6k, I don't even know what I would expect out of a keyboard, but it'd certainly be a hell of a lot more than what the Stage 4 is said to be capable of. Give me Keyscape and Omnisphere sound library's inside of a keyboard with a great build and excellent keys/and tons of knob of function control and I'd pay 6k for that.

As a soundengineer with 25 years experience: If you have to use a stage keyboard, Yamahas 10 out of 10 times. They fit the mix. I really do not like the Nords, very hard to make them sit in the mix.

Honestly both sound great

Brighter sound of the Yamaha might work better live though I tend to prefer the darker fuller tone of the Nord. The Yamaha however has that treasure trove of Yamaha sounds from the DX up.

Hello! Great review sir. Question. Which keybed action feels "heavier"? 😊

The Yamaha YC has a unique KILLER feature: it’s an audio interface, you can simply plug-in your iPad via a single USB-C cable and play all your iOS synths, including all the synths in Logic. It’s like a super Kronos!

Nord is something else. No other manufacturer comes close to the default fatty piano sound, smooth and dynamic as well.

Feature aside, the harmonics, ring, clarity and simulated sound of the pedals and the plate are FAR superior on the piano patch of the Nord in the opening sequence. Yamaha keys sounded well-sampled but flat, though I think Yamaha overall does a much better job than many other manufacturers. Your playing and phrasing was gorgeous by the way! #IMHO

NORD BABY!!!!!👍👍👍👍Rich, Bright, Moody, Robust, Truer sounds. Love the samples I heard from another demo of the Nord stage4..= IMPRESSIVE!!! Love to own one. I own a decent Yam 88 purchased in early 2000's, and love it...and a Yam Acoustic Guitar..Beautiful!!! But need to move up after I sin a lottery lol!!!! Thank You for the Demo! Much Appreciated!!🙋‍♀️😁🎶

YC61 - waterfall keys and all the great sounds. Perfect as my 2nd keyboard/organ.

What do u think about AKG-K92 Headphone sir? Thank you sir!!

The Yamaha is so incredibly musical and organic, absolutely beautiful! But the Nord is just next level, above and beyond. Is it a $3G difference? Heck no! I'd pick the Yamaha for that very reason.

Seems like adding a bit equalizer to boost bottom on this Yamaha and (for some voices) just a touch of filter movement can make both practically indistinguishable. Though out of the box NORD does sounds fuller and more dynamic. Would it justify 3K$ difference, probably not for me. I used to mix Yamaha from PLG150AP pianos with Roland Integra pianos exact MIDI doubles just for the "touch of that Roland's fatness/fullness" thus adding a little bit of the sub-frequencies that Roland has and Yamaha PLG is missing in a lot of the presets. But again it's PLG150AP, which is about 25 years old. 😄The pianos form the modern Yamaha sampled pianos are as amazing as most of the other sampled keyboards. Synths on the other hand - I would prefer desktop/mini/micro boxes anyways.

Is the shimmer synth pad available with the nordstage 3? Or only 4

I will say once I got the Osmose to control the YC I noticed the dynamics are messed up on my YC73. You have to turn up the "64" to actually activate the samples. The Osmose played the YC far better so the YC has some unrealized punch that isn't available out of the box. You have to fix it yourself and save it for each live set. As far as the levers I custom created and installed lever extensions that are much better. No I can manipulate both levers in my hand simultaneously very easy and it's super controllable. Here's a secret. Save your YC live set with with all voices on but two turned down this way you always see what the other voices are without having to turn them on and they are always on without turning them on and turn them up (fade in) as required.

Very nice review man! I am seriously considering buying a YC88 since February. NS4 is ridiculously expensive for me... Is it possible for me to input notes or add layers from a separate synth by connecting it to a YC88? I believe a separate professional synth shouldn't cost me another $3000 if I have to buy one...

Great comparison. Basically regarding pianos, it comes down to whether you are a Steinway (Nord) or a CFX / C7 (Yamaha) fan. If you are more into the classical sound, the Nord might be the better choice. If you have into classical & rock, the Yamaha might be the best option. Regarding the organs, Yamaha definitely vastly improved the rotary swell on their latest 1.3 update, so I'd say they are pretty much even. I think you can tweak the organs on either to sound the way you want them. For the price, the Nord is not worth #3000 more...it's just not that much better than the Yamaha. You are paying for a Nord brand, whereas the Yamaha is new & trying to make a name starting at a lower price. These are both high quality keyboards and very well done. With money being a factor, I would definitely choose the YC. I believe the YC also has the Imperial Bosendorfer piano as well as the Yamaha pianos... I currently have a Yamaha Montage 8, and while re-watching parts of this video (the piano comparisons), the CFX I have on the Montage is the same as the YC. The Steinway library I bought (American Grand) for my Montage sounds pretty much identical to the Nord piano...it made the comparisons between the YC and Nord pianos make more sense knowing what pianos are being compared against each other.

good comparison. I'd choose the Nord most times bc the pianos are better and updated on occasion. But Yamaha's are great work horses. They get it done just fine for live. For recording I'd probably prefer the Nord.

What are you playing these through - speakers or an amp?

Does the yc88 have a vocoder function like the nord stage?

Should the white Nord be in contention and add to the competition also ?…I’m referring to the Dexibell S 10

Originally a piano player myself, and to my ears, neither piano sounded 'real', my favorite electronic stage piano is still the old Kawai MP11SE. As well as its piano sounds, it's got some great sounding electric tyne sounds, the rest of the sounds can be better done with a powerful computer, vst instruments, and lightweight midi controllers: keyboards, MPE controllers, knobs, sliders, surfaces, and pedals......

It would have been nice to see some numbers - there are weights that can make the action heaviness more objective. I always start any test of digital piano by checking the action for noise (especially on the way up of keys) and measuring the action downweight (including initial move of the keys and values needed to trigger the sound (and sustain the sound). Michael

The YC73 has differently shaped keys that are more organ-like, yeah? Man it would be nice to have those keys with the feel of this bed and aftertouch

An interesting idea is the YC88 + ipad Pro vs. the Nord Stage 4. I say this as the YC88 makes layering ipad synths with the onboard sounds very easy with just one cable. While I think the Nord is the better all in one keyboard, the YC88 + ipad is a cheaper and interesting option.

love the Nord. Sounds more realistic overall... plus there are more features.

Great comparison - now you'd just need to buy an Roland RD 2000 - since I'd love to see a comparison as well 😅

can you do a Nord stage 4 vs Kurzweil SP7?

I love my YC 61 ❤

What was the opening piece of music?

Well, they both sound great. It's a wonderful time for keyboard players.

Is it my impression or is this display on the Nord very blue? compared to previous models

there some equivalent to korg comaprtive withs theses pianos?

Could you do a video comparing layered sounds so that we can know how much having those extra layers in Nord is really gonna matter?

If you had a budget of 1000 -2000 and wanted to have a keyboard that you could practice on, that sounded like a realistic baby grand or Grand piano .. what would you recommend? new or used. thanks !!

I’d prefer the S4 due to the synth programming capabilities on hard and more authentic sounding organs and controls. Not just the piano differentials. BUT for those who get these boards and go straight into MIDI, I don’t understand why you’d spend the 6k for a keyboard you’re not using any of the onboard functions! Go for the YC for that matter, or if you’re strictly MIDI go for the AKAI MPK88. Just makes me cringe to see these Nord products not being used to their capabilities, and then folks have the “it’s not worth the money” comments.

They both good. Which one cheaper

I’ve been a keyboard player for over 50 years. After checking out many keyboards I bought a Yamaha Montage 8, which was very hard to find. The Nord is a very nice instrument but can’t come near the voice architecture of the Montage.

pls put diesser on your vocal mic. The sibilance sounds so sharp

both are good

Maybe I missed this but the Yamaha has a real FM engine not sampled FM/DX sounds plus the latest OS created F4/5/6 FM synth like voices so you could have these acting as a synth with the other A & B voices. Hopefully Yamaha will keep expanding on this concept since true FM is essentially limitless. I'm not familiar with the NS4 synthesis engine. Yamaha could conceivably add more organs too and keep expanding the memory. Typically all for free. The general voice true FM organs are really smooth and organic.

Both have incredible sound. Telling factor for me is, is the Nord $3,000 better than the Yamaha?

Contemplating a 1st time Nord 88 purchase, curious how the Nord Stage 3 88 keybed feels compared to the Nord Stage 4 88. Improved or about the same? In addition to all the other upgrades is the NS4 88 keybed worth the extra$$? Thanks for this helpful video!

Thank you for the video. You play really nice music 🎉

Only a question: why?

The more fair comparison would be the Yamaha vs Nord Piano 5, which are at the same price point.

I'll take the yamaha

Dream stage piano

The main question mark is whether the cp88 is a flagship piano library that yamaha will continue to build for many years like the nord. I would hate to invest in the cp88 and then yamaha pull the plug 🔌

Cries in Montage 8

You should compare to nord electro 6d

Experimentei os dois e achei o timbre e a praticidade do nord bem melhores

Thank You! what do you think which action has a better "Piano Feel"......I´m owning a Nord Stage 4, perhaps I'm buying a YC 88....