Yamaha CK88 88-Key Stage Keyboard

Yamaha CK88 88-Key Stage Keyboard is for the working player who does the pub gig on Friday, the open mic on Saturday and the practice room on Sunday, and wants one keyboard for all three. It has speakers built in, runs on batteries if you want, and weighs 5.6 kg. That combination is the reason it costs what it does.

88 GHS weighted keys at 5.6 kg

The GHS action is graded, heavier at the bottom and lighter at the top, and the whole instrument weighs 5.6 kg without batteries. It is 480 mm deep, so it sits on a standard X stand without hanging off the back. The full-dot 128 x 64 LCD keeps settings readable on a dark stage.

Three layers, 363 voices, 160 Live Set slots

Sounds come from the Yamaha CP stage piano and the YC stage keyboard: piano, electric pianos, strings, brass, a dedicated organ section and synths, 363 voices in all. Layer or split up to three at once, with 128-note polyphony behind them. 160 Live Set slots hold your combinations, 80 of them preset.

Organ drawbars and effects on the panel

The organ section has a full set of drawbars, so you shape the sound with your hands mid-song rather than in a menu. Three reverb types and a 3-band master EQ sit at the end of the chain, with insertion effects per layer. Everything is on the front panel.

Speakers and battery power

Two 6 W amplifiers drive the built-in speakers, so busking and rehearsals need no extra gear. Run it from the PA-150B adaptor, where it draws 11 W, or on batteries when there is no power point. Line outs and a 6.3 mm headphone jack cover the stage and the silent practice.

A/D input, Bluetooth and USB audio

The A/D input takes a mic or another instrument, puts the CK88 effects on it and sends it down the same USB audio path, so a laptop records both. Bluetooth audio input streams backing tracks (this may not be available in every country). MIDI in and out, USB to host and USB to device, and two foot pedal jacks finish the back panel.

Specifications