1) The translucent drawbars are spectacular. Reminds me of my idea of translucent knobs.
2) The quality of drawbars and action is tight and the quality is top tier
3) Toggle switches are a very welcomed touch of oldschool class
4) What! new knobs? I told Yamaha about those pre-2K rubberized knobs (ala RS7000) still on the Montage. I had thousands of these in a box when I was repairing their vintage gear. Yes, glad they are not present on the YC
5) The drawbar colors and all panel lights are, well, enlightening.
6) Surface control arrangement is exceptional
7) The on-board sounds are better than I expected and has a lot of Yamaha's highest grade stuff, just want more of it
8) Real FM engine and not samples? That's a triple plus
9) I detected AWM2 sample layering or velocity sensitive triggering. Again top notch!
10) Organ by Yamaha? Been waiting on this for 30 years. Never bought one before this one.
11) Metal enclosure with AAA fit and finish. Yamaha has recently set the standard for this with the Montage now carried forward.
12) I love waterfalls!
13) Skipping #13 not that I'm superstitious or anything
14) Key action? Seems to be nearly perfect
15) Ease of maneuvering around is intuitive and simple
16) Modulation & bending levers on an organ? Icing on the cake. I can make it feel like a synth too! I wonder if I can extend those a tad. Sometimes I miss grabbing them as they are pretty small. Just add a rubber extension. I'm glad Yamaha didn't put them in the same direction & adjacent to each other.
17) Blacked out surface and controls I really like. I'm changing the (4) 3/4" rotors to red the 14 with rotary lights to metal but that's what I always do as my personal customization. I hope it's grounded because those pots have metal shafts! This could get electric!
18) I haven't explored the effects as much but they seem to be very high end.
19) I'm not an organ guru but they sound realistic but I have no point of reference. Others have said the Hammonds are exceptional. Since the organ selection knob continuously rotates and the associated readout is digital, I'm thinking organs can be added. That would be awesome!
20) Blake & Guitar center spec that the OS allows for expansion. I don't see this officially in writing on the Yamaha site like for the CP73/88. I'm assuming so. Why not officially advertise this as that's a monster selling point?
21) I like the synth like EG/Filter controls and the internal selectable curves for these controls
22) I like that the pitch bend allows for individual parts to be bent as you desire and even go negative in one direct and positive in another
23) Layering 3 voices or even 2 of the same voice provides for some really thick tones
24) I researched a ton of controllers for the remote upper/lower assignable organ part. I wanted quality keys, inexpensive w/super small footprint to stack up. I'm not a Roland guy but check out the A-49 for less than $200. Yamaha doesn't make one that I could find for $200 or I'd buy it.
25) I like the rotary effects but again I have no point of reference. Providing (2) different options is a big plus. They sound good to me.
26) The tone knobs are great, sometimes the voice tone knob has almost no detectable change when rotated. I wonder if that can be scaled up by Yamaha. I'm really anticipating how they might make a great board even better.
27) Read Blake's Take on the YC as it really gets into the details on some of the goodies with illustrations. It's very professional looking.
28) I/Os are as expected.
29) What, no touch screen? I was surprised on all this screen will display. It does it all nicely.
30) We are praying for an FM editor of some sort but even if they only provide more internal FM voices that will be great. That might be somewhat limitless depending on how it was integrated.
31) Since I skipped #13, Whats most impressive on the YC61? I like almost everything but it has to be the quality of build and the sound it produces.It has the ever evasive "IT" factor. I call it the "FF" for fun factor based on the holding power it has over my attention and all the other stuff I could be doing. The frustration factor is non-existent with this one. Sometimes I'd just stare at my Montage waiting for it to tell me what to do. I'm kidding.