Got my Motif ES 8 today from Dan O'Neil, Keyboard City; http:www.keyboardcity.net - 1-410-665-MIDI (6434). Good deal and a good guy to deal with.

First impressions after an afternoon with it:

*it's BIG. 66 lbs. It's meant for my studio and fortunately I don't plan on traveling much with it so I got it a Yamaha-brand soft case. Impressive keyboard. BTW: the display is bright and clear and easier to read than I expected.

*The triple-strike grand piano is overrated - Kurzweils still sound better for my money. Seems to be fewer overtones on the upper midrange than on the other notes, which I find to be common amongst Yamaha digitals. May have to spring for the PLG150-PF piano expansion card like I did for my 9000 Pro. The "Full Grand" sound isn't bad but I've definitely heard better. Fortunately the keyboard feels great.

*The lines between arrangers and workstations are nearly gone now with the arpeggios/"Phrase Factory" (calling them "arpeggios" is misleading - they're patterns). There's a slew of one-note-potential-radio-hits in this thing in several genres. If it had intro, fill-to and ending buttons on the front panel, it'd be an arranger. A lot of jaded pros who think they wouldn't own an arranger are getting one in the Mo anyway. Lots of dance-oriented stuff but fun surprises like "9Ft.Hammrz" makes alternative rock easy.

*Sounds: Rock guitars are better than I expected, the acoustic bass is incredible, yes those Megavoice guitars are a little difficult to get used to playing but I've never heard better acoustic guitars from a keyboard. I also found a Hammond C-3 sound to die for. Lots of lush pads and syncopated synth thingys that's perfect for commercial music production.

It's a keeper. Wish the acoustic piano sound was better - that's my only gripe so far. Too much fun.

I'm very jealous - even tho I've just had my new PSR2100 for a week or so . . .

I saw that video demo of this, and was defintely drooling!

Jill

Pro,

Have you by chance played the P250 Yamaha keyboard? If so, how does the Mo ES8 compare to that keyboard?

I played the P250 and I fell in love with the Piano sound and key feel. The Rhodes and Wurly's weren't too shabby either.

If the MO ES8 comes close to the 250, I'm going to sell a few kids and buy one.

Al

The Pro,

I have several questions to ask:

1) If one does not tweak any sound but uses only factory sounds, what advantage does Motif ES (other than the keyboard feel) over Tyros? I am selecting Tyros here for comparison because they share the sounds.

2) Does the phraze factory functionality offer anything that an arranger (say Tyros) will not be able to do so?

3) You already own PSR9Kpro. Do you see an advantage in sounds?

4) What are any distinctive features for this keyboard that is not in Tyros?

The reason I am asking you this question is because I shopping for a keyboard myself. I know what I want but I need these particular questions answered.

Al: Sorry, I haven't played a P250 so I can't compare. To my ears the Mo Full Grand sounds very much like the stock piano on my 9000 Pro, which some people liked but I didn't. I played around a lot more with the Mo this evening and I still don't like it's stock acoustic piano, but I've reasoned that Yamaha probably doesn't want to eliminate it's own market for the PLG150-PF expansion card. I do like the PF card quite a bit and don't want to remove the one I have from my 9kPro so I'll probably buy a second for the Mo (sigh).



I've never played a Tyros but there are some things I can compare. First and foremost, the Tyros is a true arranger and would be a much easier to operate and make music with quickly. It's meant for live performance. The Motif ES is an in-depth workstation that you really build songs around and seem more studio-oriented. Also the Mo has some deep integrated sampling/sequencing features that allows you to slice up samples and change their tempo/sync them to drum beats without changing pitch. The Tyros has no sampling capacity and even my 9000 Pro's sampling ability is basic compared to the Mo.



Yes... Mo comes with a huge database of arpeggios (over 1700) that you can switch between five of instantly via the front panel buttons. That's a lot of variations. The Tyros, like most arrangers, offers more song-oriented styles that include intro, verse, chorus, fill-to, ending etc. making it pretty simple to know what you're doing even if you've never played the pattenr before. With the Mo you gotta know what you're doing in advance because the arp butons are only named arp1, arp2, arp 3 etc. So again, the Motif is meant for in-depth working and the Tyros is less demanding.



YES. No comparison between the Mo and the 9000 Pro on most everything. Cellos and violins are quite realistic. The Mo's rock guitars would fool me in a recording. Of course the Megavoices blow away the 9000 Pro. More than quality, the sound of the Mo is big and spread out so it's a leap forward sonically over the 9000 Pro. I think the 9000 Pro will still earn it's living as my main stage instrument for some time to come but the Mo really fills my studio needs.



Oh boy... too much to list easily. They are still two different beasts really. Bottom line: the Tyros is more live-performance oriented with many easy features and a vocal harmonizer. The Motif ES has no vocal harmonizer (it can be added via expansion card though) is a studio workstation with highly advanced features that will require some work to make the most of.

If you are seriously considering the Motif ES, I would recommend that you buy the "Complete Guide To The Yamaha Motif ES" video from http://www.motifator.com. It takes you through the many functions of the Mo and is very good.

My sentiments exactly Jim. Having owned the Motif ES7 for a 'short' while, I can concur with you wholeheartedly that the Motif ES is mainly a "Studio" fixture and I would dare to say not even recommended for live performance. That was one of my biggest chagrins with the ES; that it's not suited for live play IMHO. And having just recently bought a Tyros I have learned firsthand that the Tyros is, was, and always will be a Live performance Keyboard! That is the area it "really" shines in. The layout on the Tyros is practically perfect for Live use. And there are tons of superb Voices in it too, including the Mega Voices of course.

Someday in the not to distant future I think there will be Workstation Arrangers. Notice I didn't say Arranger Workstations but 'Workstation Arrangers'. The Motif ES, and Roland Fantom S are laying the basic groundwork for that concept IMO. Down the road the line drawn between Workstation and Arranger will be transparent and indistinguishable, having become one in the same IMO.

Best regards, and congratulations on your new Board!

Mike

In my case, live play is relative. For a solo gig ( or in my case sometimes duet with a guitarist ), I'll take either of my arrangers ( PA80 / PSR2000 ) as a first choice over the Motif I had. Tyros.. you bet I would if I had one.

For live play in a band, the Motif couldn't have been simpler ( don't care about all the sequencer / midi / menu features ) and for me is a good choice vs the arrangers. Access to the sounds, or combinations is simple, and the arrangers have nothing to compare to the real time control of the instrument via the sliders and knobs, which for me is important when I do synth solos.

I really like the Motif for the staple sounds I gravitate toward when playing with a band.. For me they are ac pianos , Rhodes and Wurlis.. and of course a sprinkling of the analog modeling board sounds and the breathe controlled VL wind sounds.. ( OK ac pianos are pretty good on the 2k but the key action isn't.. Tyros would make a difference here )

Pro's report on the C3 sound ( absolutely my favorite organ of all time ) just increases the odds that my the ES will come along for the ride more often than not, even in the solo / duet setup, particularly because to this point I had preferred my PA80 organs to the Motif's.

I liked my Motif a lot .. so it's a good bet I'll love the ES. It'll serve me equally well in the studio or in a live setting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Pro

AJ

Pro,
Before you run out and buy the expansion board for pianos, I would load the piano samples that came with the ES on cd. For my tastes the ones there are better than the onboard ones, like the s700 and jazz grands etc.

The one thing I sort of disagree with you on re: the Mo is pretty much an arranger with it's arps. The majore difference I see is that the Tyros with it's styles are like having several arps running at the same time if you will, one for a bass pattern, drums, lead voices, fills, rhythms etc. The Mo's arp with very few exceptions will only practically run one voice at a time. Even though in performance mode it could be applied to all 4 voices, it would sound like junk i.e. a piano arp playing the drums at the same time does not sound good at all.
Terry

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

Terry



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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

Mike,
I think if one takes advantage of the master mode, the ES could readily be set up for live performances with a band. As far as being a "one man band" such as the Tyros is then I agree.

The other overall thing I would say is that the Tyros is much more fun to just sit down and play the ES is more of a creative tool to work with.
Terry

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html