Good luck in finding intro and ending arps then..They are some, but most need tweaking to work properly. Lots of fill arps though.

All songs with the exception of "Over the Rainbow" were done on a PA800. "Over the Rainbow" played on Tyros2
http://steveonpiano.com/Song%20Demos.htm

Sorry, Dennis, but I think you are kind of dodging the fill issue. To be honest, no, there really aren't a lot of fills in the MoXS, at least compared to normal loops. In an arranger they outnumber the main loops 7 to 4 (in a Roland), and the Intro/Endings outnumber the loops 2-1 (four of each).

But the main issue is the timing thing. Unlike an arranger, the fills HAVE to be triggered a bar in advance, or you lose sync. Not only from having to rely on your own timing to stay in meter (lots of potential for screw-ups there), but simply because of the fact that you not only have to drop the fill in wild sync, you then have to drop back into the main loop in wild sync. Every fill, TWO chances to screw up the timing. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying it is a LOT more difficult than the arranger's system.

But you are also missing one other important point. Maybe you NEVER trigger a fill unless you need the entire bar's fill, but most of us, I dare say, use fills at different points in the bar. Hit it on the 'one', get a full fill, hit it on the 'two', get a partial fill. Hit it on the 'three' get a pickup, hit it on the four, get an even smaller pickup, or maybe just the crash on the next bar. You cannot do this with the XS's system. Ever fill starts on the 'one'. Ask for it on the two or three, it is musically wrong. And out of sync, to boot.

Yamaha need to completely rethink this system for it to make any sense as a musical tool for anything other than hiphop and techno (which is always about full loops, on the whole). What they have now is a pale shadow of how well an arranger works. Admittedly, it wouldn't take much for Yamaha to change it, but we all know how resistant to change those guys can get. Best of luck getting a 76 out of them! (at least in an arranger!).

I also think those tiny buttons are ridiculously placed and sized for the job they are doing, especially as you can't trigger them from other sources. Roland's big pads are great on the Fantom's, although placed on the wrong side, IMO. Even for WS players, having them on the same side that your best playing hand is makes no sense...

Yamaha slowly creep towards arranger and WS integration, but they have a LONG way to go before the WS is a practical arranger.

Thanks for sharing Steve - good job. I use those styles on different songs

BTW, I absolutely love the Rainbow style on the T - wow........damn, I miss that beauty.

Diki, I completely agree with your last post, apart from the dodging fills issue bit. Which I wasn't, well not intentionally anway.

I was just pointing out that it CAN be done, not that it was easy. I did it on the Motif rack I had with a footpedal attached.

Although to be honest, I only ever had it set for 1 bar in advance as I was never that good in hitting the pedal at exactly the right time.
Because you are 100% correct in that if you miss, even by a gnats fanny hair, it goes out.

As you say, it's a real shame, because if Yamaha included only a BASIC arranger engine in the Motifs, they would truly be a "killer" keyboard.

Dennis

I don't think the Motif is intended to be used as an conventional playback arranger at all. The Arps are great for a jumping of point in a new song but intros and ending will have tp be recorded the old fashion way. Part by part. I view the Arps as Multi-pads so far. Salt and pepper but not the meat and potatoes....I hope they are more than that.

I like the arranger "type" features but I certainly don't want another arranger. I want a DAW integrated Work Station.
I love the AI of the Yamaha fills...but using a keyboard live that would be a terrible omission if it were not so. (The PA2x was sloppier in that regard if I remember correctly)

Although the lines are somewhat blurred with the XS and an Arrangers one can still see the sharp edges. Years ago in Cakewalk version one there was no linear sequencing (although you could have constructed a LONG Sone) It was all pattern based which is loop oriented. Thehn chained together into a song.

What I like about looping 8 bar patterns is trying out different parts on the fly until I find something I like for that A section or B section. I don't see where the T3 is as intuitive in that regard,since one cannot create patterns then chain them into a song...( I guess one can use the Registration banks to save patterns then press the buttons while recording a sequence in linear fashion......nah..the work flow is terrible.)

Stephen, thanks for posting the songs.
They sound very good. I didn't have a problem with the latin styles.
I really had to stretch to make it play much Country or even old time R'nRoll though.
It does sound better than the one I had.
I still wouldn't trade my lowly E50 for one though!
DonM

I have a G70 and I thought the number of fills is 6, not 7... where is the 7th one?

Or do you intend the "break mute" as a fill?

Boy, God sure made us with a set of different ears I spent 3 hours on that E60 last night ...........ughhh (so thin). You must be a freak of nature to make a E50 sound better than a PA