The whole Fathom price point has changed from $2095.00 to $1495.00 for the 61 note version .
What do you think ? That's close to 30% reduction .

dano

[This message has been edited by DanO1 (edited 10-11-2003).]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DanO1:
[B]The whole Fathom price point has changed from $2095.00 to $1495.00 for the 61 note version .
What do you think ? That's close to 30% reduction .

dano

I think the people that bought the Fantom a month ago are going to be pretty ticked off!

Tommy

Hmmmmm, I've played the Fantom-S 88 and I really loved it. I don't really understand how those key/pads on the upper right work, but the action and the Piano sample was very, very good and I liked the Quick-Key Piano mode which summoned the Piano sample no matter what mode your in.

Here is my quandary; The problem I have is, if I spend 2000 on a new keyboard would it be a Fantom, a Motif ES, or a Digital Piano like a P250, S90, P120, or a Roland VR760?

I DO need a 3rd keyboard as a backup to my Triton and Tyros. It has to be weighted, 88 keys, and have killer Piano's, but also fantastic backup acoustic samples for Sax, Strings, Brass, Rhodes, and Hammond.

What would YOU buy?

Al

Al....MOTIF ES....best of all worlds...expandability.....great action....killer sounds....sampling I believe....the total package....In fact, you could sell the Triton and save yourself some money....brian

I agree with Brian, Al. The Mo' ES8 is a spectacular Keyboard. It's not all that intuitive, ie., (high learning curve) but the sounds are so good it's almost freaky. Boo!! Yes; they're really that good. But having said that, you may want to wait until Winter NAMM 2004 because of the 'new' products that will be released and I've heard Korg is releasing a "Monster" Workstation that is suppose to blow 'everything' else out of the water. Hard to believe but that's what I've heard.

But if you can't wait until January 15th-18th 2004, then I would most definitely get the Motif ES8 (as apposed to the Roland Fantom S). In other words, that's the one "I" would get. Best thing to do is try before you buy to see which one fits 'your' bill. 128 note Polyphony on the Motif ES plus the option to add more is sure a big plus whereas you get 64 note Polyphony with the Roland S88 with NO option for adding more.

PS: I hope you have some College background Al because the learning curve on the Mo' ES's require at least a Master of Science degree with advanced degrees in Mathematics and Physics as well. Just kidding of course but the fact remains the Mo' ES DOES have a HIGH learning curve. They're not for the faint of heart that's for sure. You may even want to wait until the next generation of Mo's because word has it that Yamaha has finally seen the light and they are busily back at the drawing board with plans for a "larger" LCD screen and scratching their heads as to how and make the OS 'truly' user friendly and easy to navigate and use. They sure botched the current Mo' ES's in that regards IMO. Hopefully they will succeed in the next generation Board.

But the sounds are wonderful. That I can attest to.

Best regards,
Mike

But aren't the sounds in Motif es and Tyros identical?

No.... the megas are and they share some sweet sounds, from there though the ES has a different sound palette the Tyros is mellower overall than the ES.

Not to mention sampling, 8 insert effects, 1700+ arps, 700+ drum patterns, phrase factory, loop remix, plg expansion boards on and on.
Terry



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

kbrkr

You wrote

"I DO need a 3rd keyboard as a backup to my Triton and Tyros. It has to be weighted, 88 keys, and have killer Piano's, but also fantastic backup acoustic samples for Sax, Strings, Brass, Rhodes, and Hammond."

Do not overlook the Kurzweil PC2 X - may or may not be your cup of tea bot probably worth looking into. I understand the Piano sample is one of the very best.

Jerry

I know the tendency for me was to want to have one of each from the big three. ( Roland , Yamaha and Korg ), but after playing th Fantom S and the Motif Es side by side, there was no comparison. For me, the ES won hands down in almost every sound category. In fact, the Motif classic ( some 2+ years old already ) won for me vs the "brand new" Fantom S.

About the OS.. complicated, yes it surely may be for some.. but I don;t see that it should prevent someone from playing the many marvelous ES presets right out of the box. I find that the OS makes sense now that I understand it, but it is deep and there is a learning curve. It stands to reason, as there are so many features and functions here. Could they have been laid out a little better. Maybe, and yes the Fantom seems like an easier OS to navigate and learn, but I'd never take the tradeoff in sound quality because of it.

AJ

I'll add my thoughts too - I just sold my Kurzweil PC2x to get a Motif ES 8... no regrets at all BUT it was a matter of priorities. I believe in all honesty that the Kurzweil had a better native acoustic piano sound than the MoES8. But the Kurzweil hasn't got a fraction of the overall capability of the Mo. When it comes to features that include arps, MegaVoices, the integrated sampling sequencer, expandability, libraries of sounds that are available, and even some individual sounds like violins and violas and most of the synth pads the Mo is better. The PC2x also had very limited digital output options. My priority was getting a keyboard that allowed more options for creating music beds and doing original music in a studio and that's the Mo ES. I'm still a fan of the Yamaha PLG150-PF piano expansion board which seems more comparable to the Kurzweil for tonality to my ear, so I can always add that to the Motif if I decided to be critical about the piano, and add another 64 notes of polyphony in the process. Also I believe the Motif ES will become one of the best-supported keyboards on the market with direct feedback from Yamaha via their motifator.com website. Overall the Mo ES 8 is the most powerful and in-demand synth on the market and it's no surprise that other synths are dropping in price to compete.