Yamaha gave Motif owners a nice free upgrade this week. Version 1.5 gave us the new HD reverbs that are in the Tyros 5 as well as 16 new voices ( actually new versions of existing ones ) and 8 new performances plus a number of new Guitar effects. The new HD reverbs are very clean and a welcome upgrade from the already nice reverbs in the Motif. So it looks like the next TOTL Workstation from Yamaha is probably at least a year away. BTW since I run my Tyros 3 through the Motif it gets processed by the Motif effects so the new HD Reverbs have improved my Tyros 3 voices and Styles as well.

A new HD workstation by Yamaha is long overdue.. as the XF was only a minor sound upgrade to the XS..

Might be that they want to sell the last few XF workstations with this so called update.. The update itselves however gives no indication at all about a new upcomming workstation.

Actually with the Flash Expansion, which I have not done yet, you can add tons of new Performances and 3rd-Party Voice Libraries to the Motif XF and the MOXF. If you maxed out the Flash (2GB) and loaded it up you would have a new Workstation from a sound perspective. Plus you can add Karma and many Ipad/Mac Apps. I have had the Motif for a few years now and learn something new that I can do all the time. It's a fabulous workstation. So a new one from Yamaha would have to be fantastic for me to upgrade.

I hope Yamaha jump on the Kronos bandwagon, and go streaming SSD ROM. Until WS's can address the RAM sizes that VSTi's can, they are going to keep losing market share to them...

I'd love to see Yamaha go touchscreen, as well. After you've used one, it's almost impossible to stop yourself touching the screen to get stuff done! They probably need a larger one than they use now, but touch screen OEM prices are tumbling, and it speeds up operation and intuitiveness.

A bit more flexibility to the Arp structure would be nice... we've talked here recently about the need for arps to start when you ask for them, not just on bar boundaries, but they need a system where, if you ask for an arp on say beat 3, it STARTS on beat 3 (as an option, of course)...

I know I'm going to get a popcorn eating emoticon for saying this, but isn't it a shame that Yamaha can get around to updating their WS's with a free update, but this virtually NEVER happens for their arrangers..?

I bet all the PSR and Tyros users got at least a dozen great ideas that could be added with software alone.

Yes, as a Tyros 3 Owner I never received any additional voices, sounds, effects, etc as part of an upgrade. Yamaha only offered Premium Voice/Style Packs that required you to first purchase Memory to store them. Right after I purchased the memory (thinking I would have lots of future packs to add) they introduced the Tyros 4 and all subsequent Premium packs were not compatible with my T3.

As to the WS's not starting the arp on a specific beat, that has never bothered me. I use the "Next Measure" option and it works fine for my needs. So not an issue for me.

Yes. I believe that if you get use to a Touch Screen on another keyboard going back to a non-touch can be difficult. Both my T3 and Motif do not have a Touch Screen so again not an issue for me.

I was rather more talking about arranger features than sounds and styles, but anything is welcome!

And, if you come from an arranger background, it's hard to go back to asking for fills a bar in advance... I'm glad you can make it work for you, Joe.

Yes, once you have a particular feature it is difficult to go back. In any case I will be looking forward to see what Yamaha will offer in the next iteration of their Workstation. Who knows maybe they will move toward more Arrange type features.

I own the Motif XS (have had it since its release and its still going strong)

I am hoping for Yamaha to allow up to 6 or even better - 8 arps to be layered simultaneously as opposed to just 4 in performance mode...

then you will be able to have full proper arranger-like backing and performances in real time...

also the MOXS and MOXF have dedicated buttons on the keybaord for layering voices and transpose which the Motif XS and XF do not...

Touch Screen? I dont know if im a minority or majority here but I honestly dont really see any need for a touch screen on the Motif. from what i see in the motifator forum its never really on the wish list... navigating through the Motif is always a breeze. things could be quicker with some short cuts and better planned out Operating System IMO.

Hopefully we see some major changes on the new synth whenever it comes out...

Everybody THINKS they can do without a touch screen, until they get a keyboard with a GOOD one...

Then you never want one without it!

Sadly, Roland shafted me. After making quite honestly the BEST touch screen OS in any keyboard (I've played them all), the morons dropped it. They must be on drugs!

Nick:

I agree and if Yamaha were to expand Motif Performances to support 6 parts I would upgrade. That would make the Motif even more exciting to use. Since I have a Tyros 3 I have been able to get more voices in a mix by using the Right 1,2,3 and Left on the Tyros. Plus I also use one or two channels in a Style combined with the Motif Arp parts.

Diki:

I agree that once you get use to a touch screen it can become a requirement. Although in my case I seem to have wide fingers and have had issues selecting the right item when I demo Korg products. I have found the Motif buttons to be be so fast to use with no accidental selections of things I don't want.

Touch screens, sliders all the way for me. It must be that size matters, Joe. I've never had a problem with Korg screens, though on some models they do look a bit crowded.

I am sure it's just me. I have the same problem on my Smart Phone.

TBH, Korg's touch screen is a bit clunkier, and also less responsive to touch than the G70's. I've played my friend's PA3X, and have an older Triton. Neither was as snappy and precise as the Roland.

The Kronos's screen tries to cram too much onto one page, making precise selection a bit tricky, but the page that calls up the Performances is much larger. Maybe even TOO large! That's the thing about touchscreen OS's... It's a lot harder to get it all right than you would think, and playing the wrong system can give you a negative impression of the entire idea.

Trust me on this one... Roland got it RIGHT. Everything is the right size, right spacing, no screen is too crowded, few have too little on them. The links to other pages you might need is logical, nothing gets buried too far down you tend to use.

An obvious candidate for Roland to ax, LOL

I've just filled the flash of my new MoXF with three libraries:
- CP1 piano (containing the main piano sample from the Yamaha CP1 piano!)
- Inspiration in a flash (a compilation of many versatile samples from brass and sax to ethnic sounds)
- Garritan Personal Orchestra Lite (a symphony orchestra library with samples customized for the Motif XF).
The first two were for free, the third cost 129$.
This way I have about 600 MB of additional samples, and it has upgraded the factory soundset dramatically.

How does the sound of the Intergra compare to the Moxf
Also does the Integra have Arps, DRUM Tracks or any accompaniment or is it just voices.

The missing step in much of this 3rd party arranger content is the care to balance it with the rest of the sounds...

Arranger players are strange ducks. Unlike WS players, we expect to be able to change from any sound to ANY sound, from any drum kit to any OTHER drum kit, and not have to immediately go hunting a slider or two to bring the volume up or down, or reduce or increase the reverb, or make the snare drum quieter, etc..

Without that, you either have a bunch of work ahead of you to balance it all yourself, or your heart is in your mouth any time you decide to call up a new sound you aren't 100% sure you know what you are going to have to grab!

More sound designers need to be made aware of this if they are designing for arrangers.

I'll comment it in detail later. Generally, for my acoustic sounds, especially grand piano, strings, brass, woodwinds, I rate the Integra clearly superior to the Motif XF/MoXF factory waveROM (without additional libraries in the flash).

Integra 7 Examples

Enjoy

Bill

Wow. I am surprised
Please tell me more about the Integra

LOL... piano on a 49 note controller..!

OK, I have to say I'm not too interested in e-piano and e-organ sounds. In these sound categories I can't tell whether the Motif XF or the Integra is actually better. But regarding other sounds, my rating is as follows:
Grand piano: Integra 8 points out of 10, Motif XF 7 (I didn't like the Motif XS grand at all, artificially bright and obviously not 88-note sampled; the newer S6 sample is nice, but still the Integra's SN-A grand has a slight edge to me)
Brass: Integra 10, Motif XF 8 (Integra has some very good SN-A solo brass sounds, the Motif solo brass lacks the physical modeling engine, however the newly added trumpets are very nice; but the Integra clearly wins regarding sections due to the SRX 10 expansion board, very realistic C-trumpet, trombone and french horn sections. The Motif french horns sound artificial, the small/medium brass section is nice).
String sections are far better in the Integra, except the Motif's 'Section strings', which are very realistic, too, but represent a rather small section. The Motif's large strings are not realistic enough, especially the 'ensemble strings', a really poor sample. Solo strings are nice in the Motif.
Guitars are great in the Motif, the Integra's guitars are also partly extremely good, but some are so-so.
It's only my opinion, but regarding symphonic sounds I think I know what I am talking about, having played the trombone in a symphonic university orchestra for some time.
Of course, the big advantage of Motif XF/MoXF is the flexibility to load libraries into the flash, which can really turn it into a new instrument.