The battery-powered CK76 fits between the CK61 and CK88, while a free OS update brings new sounds and split options to the whole series.
A third size has joined Yamaha’s CK stage keyboard series. The CK76 fits 76 semi-weighted keys between the 61-key CK61 and the 88-key CK88, and like both, it has built-in speakers and runs on batteries, so it can go from a rehearsal room to a gig without needing a PA or a power point.
Yamaha launched the CK series in 2023 with the CK61 and CK88, both built around stage piano and organ sounds, hands-on controls and the option to run on batteries. The CK88 uses Yamaha’s Graded Hammer Standard action, which recreates the weighted feel of an acoustic piano and makes it the natural choice for piano players, at the cost of size and weight. The CK76 gives organ and synth players 15 more keys than the CK61 without moving up to the bigger board.
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Like the CK61, it uses Yamaha’s FSB action. Semi-weighted keys have more initial resistance and travel than a typical synth keybed, but they’re lighter and faster than a piano-style action, which makes them a better fit for organ swells and synth lines than for classical repertoire.
More than 360 sounds are on board, with acoustic and electric pianos drawn from Yamaha’s CP stage pianos and organs from its YC stage keyboards, alongside strings, brass and synths. Nine physical drawbars handle the organ side, while dedicated filter and envelope controls take care of synth sounds. Drive, delay, reverb and EQ each get their own controls, with two more effects slots on top. Yamaha’s aim is to keep everything one control away instead of buried in menus.
Two split points let you set up layered sounds or multi-zone setups, such as organ in the left hand and a synth lead in the right. Around the back are audio outputs, 5-pin MIDI in and out and two pedal inputs. A built-in stereo USB audio interface with an analogue input means you can plug in a mic or another instrument, run it through the CK76’s effects and record straight to a computer. Bluetooth audio is also on board for playing along with backing tracks.
According to Nate Tschetter, Yamaha’s senior manager of product marketing for synths, the CK76 “delivers the sounds, control and portability musicians need”.
Alongside the new model, Yamaha has released CK OS V2.0, a free update for the whole series that adds three new electric piano sounds, 16 new Live Sets and more ways to split and layer sounds.
The Yamaha CK76 is available here
