Hi,
its been quite a while I´ve been here. So, my best regards to everybody...
Sorry for bothering you with a subject which is not really about arranger keyboards but I guess here´s the only forum I will get an answer to my question.

I need a quick composition tool for modern styles like hiphop, R&B, Jazz, Latin/Cuban - no techno. (My keyboardskills are very limited, I´m playing guitar and afrocuban perc.) I want to move from my beloved Emu MP-7 to something I can start from songs in a much quicker way:

Motif? - (I know the fatures and got to know the RM1-X a little, so it shouldn´t be to difficult, couldn´t demo it yet, though quite some people are complaining about the ease of use)

Fantom? - liked the sounds a lot! But stuck with 50 preset Rhythm styles and 80 preset arranger styles (though very good), no user styles/arps possible, only editing your own RPS - hm, this is a serious omission! And the price in Germany: way more than 2000 bucks!

Tyros? I never wanted to switch over to an entertainer keyboard, though I liked the Yamaha 9000 a lot for its very good drumparts on styles - but, alas, no "agressive" sound. Can you tell me if the tyros is more oriented towards "modern" styles, is able to mute single drumsounds, has some fills, breaks you can change "dynamically" (fantomlike?), make your own styles (morphing etc.)

Thanks for your patience - any answer is appreciated. Keep up the good spirit.

Heinrich

I'll respond later today ! dano

[This message has been edited by DanO1 (edited 08-23-2002).]

I have the Motif and have played a good bit on the 9000 ( the "predecessor" of the Tyros ) . I also demoed the Fantom but really don;t have a ton of time on it.

My impression of the Fantom was .... very nice board, but the built in rythyms were very limited and as you said no user arps. The sounds were quite good, but the Motif's sounds and features just "sang" to me a little more. It seemed to me that the Fantom was fairly easy to navigate though. It was a close choice and came down to spending several hours on each board before I decided on the Motif.

The Motif IS a bit difficult to learn, but not impossible. The sounds.... very good, but maybe a few of the acoustic instruments ( sax comes to mind ) sound better on the 9000. I'm going to add the vL plug in board to address that however. If you wanted electronic sounds, add the AN150- board ( I already added it .. by mistake.. I had ordered and thought I was geting the VL board.. but I decided to keep it anyway..... wow.. awesome electronic / simulated analog sounds ) User arps work well once you get the hang of it. I took some "grooves" ( midi file snippets that came from some of the better PA80 and Yamaha styles ) and made user arps out of them. An excellent way to make quick pieces. The board is well suited for composing, and a lot can be gotten from it, but it takes some work.

As far as a quick composition tool,, the 9000 ( and likely the Tyros ) is a lot easier to get around on. The sounds are very good ( not as cutting edge as the Motif especialy for synth oriented stuff, in my opinion ). The styles are right there and ready for use. A lot easier to make music " right away " than either the Mo or Fantom. The question is.. Will you tire of the styles ?

I have the Motif and the PA80 and together they make a nice tandem for both composing and live play. I could just as easily use and be happy with the 9000 ( the Tyros if it's as good ) or a ketron arranger instead of the PA80. I just happened to like some of the Korg sounds and styles. Mixing and matching style parts in it is very easy too.

Heinrich, welcome to the club.

Unfortunately, there is no arranger out there that would be good for that type of music. (I've been there, done that). You're in the same boat, bro. I don't know about new breed (i.e. Tyros, Genesis, kn7000 etc.) but from what I heard they are suited for everything except hip-hop, r&b, dance or techno. I mean they have a few styles on this and some good synth sounds... But not enough to produce a good dozen of this type of songs. No arp, no good real time controls, you can't mute this hihat and make louder that SD or BD. You can do it with cakewalk and such though. Drum kits? Forget about it. If you're into hip-hop for example you'll find 1 or 2 drum kits for that and even they are not "into your face" if u know what I mean. I've always asked myself:

- why reinventing the wheel and modify lets say Triton or Motif to be an arranger?

- why there is no or ever was an arranger for modern dance music? (please, Yamaha's DJX or whatever doesn't count at all. It’s for kids only)

The only good one out there is Korg PA series. Has really good techno and hip-hop sounds. But very VERY little. Drums? Same. But more than other arrangers I think. Tweaking sounds and muting single percussion stuff here and there? No way.

What a shame.