Which one would you choose?

What exactly are you wanting from the keyboard??? I used to own the MO8, and can comment on the sound quality, OS, ect.

What are your needs? Both have their good points and so on. One fits the bill more as a "workstation" and the other does not.

Squeak

Might as well compare apples and spades

Well let me give you the skinny on the MO8. First let me say you're comparing a "stage piano" to a "workstation". The Roland RD is a stage piano (killer action too!) The MO8 is an 88 key workstation.

The MO8.. Sounds on it are pretty darn good. Same soundset as the ES series. The MO will give you a nice set of pianos, EP's, Brass, good guitars and basses, some decent synth sounds, and KILLER orchestral sounds. Drums aren't too bad either. The action is "balanced" and NOT "graded" hammer. Id compare the action closer to that of the Yamaha S-08 model. There is also no aftertouch either.

The MO series are "closed systems". Literally "what you see is what you freakin get". NO EXPANSION! No sampling, meaning no loading of new raw voice data or audio loops ect. It has a full synth engine though. Pretty darn good one too. If I remember correctly is runs 3 insert effects (that's a plus!) especially considering some units out there still run with only 1 insert. Overall construction quality wasnt too bad either.

Now the MAJOR downside. Only 64 note poly! Imagine going to a car lot and seeing a nice Ford Mustang. It's all decked out with ground effects, scoop on the hood, and from the outside is looks like it would eat you alive. You'd expect to find a 5.0L under the hood, but when you open it you see a freakin 4 cylinder

That's what the Poly is with the MO. It's got the sporty car looks, cup holder, dice hangin from the mirror, but rather than running on 128 balls with dual exhausts(like it should) it's choking on 64.

Poly is the reason I sold the bloody thing. Blowing the poly was so easy on the MO series. Once you start using the arps, sustaining sounds, ect. the poly drops fast. Sure there are work-a-rounds, but they are serious "voice compromising" work-a-rounds. For example: going into a particular voice you're using and "turning off" elements to reduce poly blow outs.

If you're heavy into orchestrating songs you're going to run into poly issues. If you want good sounds, good real time control, decent key action, and sequencing isn't on the top of your list, then the MO will work nicely. The MO8 is still the best 88 key workstatin out there too. The only other 88 key workstation that's in the same price range is the Fusion 8HD, and don't get me started on the Fusion's either. I owned the 6HD..., what a waste of money!

Squeak



[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 03-30-2007).]

Also don't be turned off by the poly issue if you're not a heavy sequencer. I do really indepth orchestral work sometimes. Lots of instruments going at the same time. Orchestral music will eat up poly on 64 note synth in Performance Mode really fast. I choke the living sh$t out of my Roland RS-70s poly all the time when doing orchestral work

So if you're doing some more modern styles like Hip Hop, R&B, ect, the MO will work great for you, even for traditional styles. You just have to be cautious when using the arps. Using arps and a sustain pedal will eat the poly on any synth, but if you're limited to 64 notes.., well I'm sure you can do the math

Crap I almost forgot to mention the OS or "User Interface". If this is your "first synth" and you buy the MO8 ya might want to have a bottle of Advil close by. It's not a bad OS, but if you're new to synths it may confuse the hell out of you in a few places. Even though the MO is a baby ES it's LOADED and I mean freakin LOADED with features. Newbies at times get bogged down by all the technical terms too. The manual isn't written for newbies either. So the terminology will be pretty heavy.

I had no problem running the MO8. However, I did have the upper hand as I also owned one of the EX series synths from Yamaha (older brother to the Motif line). Similiar OS between the two.

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 03-30-2007).]