Finally!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jObR8avIAkY

Thanks! I'll listen to it tonight!

listen to teh latin flute at 6:05

You welcome!

The sound of the Montage is very good. There is "breath" to the voices, probably due to the effects. It's a "spatial" sound, that makes the voices come alive. Very good reverb and chorus.

As far as the strings are concerned, they sound very good, but perhaps not quite as realistic as Kurzweil's. It's hard to tell, especially listening to YouTube with a cheap pair of headphones. I've never been a fan of Yamaha's strings, but I'm sure the Montage will sound much better in person.

To make it easier, here's a list of the demoed voices, and where you can find them in the video:

Seattle Sections: 59 seconds

Solo Cello: 1:41

Strings & Brass: 2:12

Orchestral Horns: 2:45

French Horn Swell: 3:55

Pop Brass: 4:12

Horns Accent: 4:21

More Strings: 4:31

Pizzicato: 5:01

Harp: 5:08

Woodwinds: 5:25

Oboe: 5:39

Clarinet: 5:51

Latin Flute: 6:09

Tenor Sax: 6:40

Soprano Sax: 6:58

Choir, Strings, Pipe Organ (together): 7:42

Choir: 8:13

I hope they demo the Performances. I'd like to hear how having up to 8 parts sounds like, compared to the Motif's 4 parts. The acoustic performances, that is.

OK, listened through them:

Seattle Sections: 59 seconds

Surprisingly familiar! I bet they are a larger version of the Motif's "Orchestral Strings" - maybe with a similar problem: sounding very good via headphones, but a bit spherically synthetic as soon as, via speakers, there is no full stereo separation.

Solo Cello: 1:41

Good, however solo cello is good on many recent instruments.

Strings & Brass: 2:12

Probably very good, but if the brass come through this sharply, the way of playing makes it a bit unreal.

Orchestral Horns: 2:45

Better than the Motif ones, but still, I like those from Roland SRX 10 and the Korg M3 Brass&Woodwinds expansion better. These ones sound rather 'open', as often used in Hollywood soundtracks, whereas the SRX 10 and M3 ones sound more classical.

Pop Brass: 4:12

Sorry, sounds artificial here.

Pizzicato: 5:01

I'm happy with all pizzicato strings I already have, IMO not a very demanding sample

Woodwinds: 5:25

Very good and lively

Oboe: 5:39

Not an Oboe expert, but definitely more lively than the Motif one.

Clarinet: 5:51

Very good, but again good in many instruments, and no sampled vibrato here (can have pros and cons)

Latin Flute: 6:09

Great. The thrill seems to be a kind of scripting, i.e. a different sample is triggered by playing 2 notes. But this is no modeling feature, so I don't think it's like SA2.

Tenor Sax: 6:40

Good; basic sound of the sample very much like the newer tenor sax of the Motif XF

Soprano Sax: 6:58

Heard better ones.

Choir, Strings, Pipe Organ (together): 7:42

Choir is very good. Pipe Organ as far as I can isolate it acoustically, does not reach Hauptwerk level - and I have a Hauptwerk sample in my Garritan GPO (but only a 'plenum organ' one).


So, what's my summary here? - Everything audibly better than in the Motif, but not everything is necessarily better than in the Integra or my MoXF libraries. The strings are surprisingly similar to the former Orchestral Strings, probably bigger samples from the same sampling session.
Just assuming that this is everything of importance regarding orchestral sounds, my decision once again would be: I'll take it if it comes out in the shape and weight of a MoXF, preferably without the FM-X engine for a reasonable price. For the instruments I'm interested in, the Kronos with its options for special libraries really offers more, but again, only a lightweight version would be interesting for me.
High level of sounds, but I just doubt the Montage provides you with the aha effect regarding orchestral sounds you would wish for when already having used several Motif libraries AND the Integra.

P.S.: I'm opening a new thread about the problem of assessing the sound quality versus realism of a sample...

Thanks, Rosetree, for your detailed rating.

So far, from what I've heard, I don't think I'll be changing my Motif XF for the Montage. Of couse, before I decide, I'll need to play one when it becomes available (in May).

I like the idea of an all-in-one keyboard (workstation, arranger, great acoustic, orchestral and choir sounds, good keys...), but I haven't found one, with the exception of the Korg Pa4X. However, I haven't tried one yet. So, up to now, maybe the best is to get more than one keyboard.

I guess if I want great orchestral sounds, I might be better off using specialized gear, like a Kurzweil, Integra-7 or libraries for the Motif.

I wonder what's coming at Musikmesse?

My search continues....

If these kind of sounds you need and it is just at home or studio, why even bother with any of these workstations? VSTs are at least 100x better for strings or orchestra sounds. Workstation keyboards don't even come close.
I know there is a hustle setting up everything, but you do it once and you are set for a long time.

The reasons I don't get into VSTs are;

1) I don't have a technical mind. I just don't understand computers, software, etc......and I'm not interested in learning those things. It's a miracle I can even surf the internet.

2) I don't want to make music on a computer, or stare at a computer screen.

3) I read there is latency with VSTs. When I go from one sound to the next, I don't want to have to wait a few seconds for the new sound to kick in.

4) I would have to buy another computer dedicated to the VSTs. I don't have a tablet or anything like that.

5) From what I've heard, top workstations and arrangers sound very good, and everything is built in. The sounds are ready to play, with reverb, chorus, etc. With software, you need to buy effects and apply them. It's a hassle.

When I hear certain VSTs, like EastWest or Garritan, I drool over the orchestral sounds. I wish keyboards would come with that kind of realism. That's why I look forward to hearing new keyboards. I want to see if their orchestral sounds are getting closer to VSTs.

I guess the way I explained the above points may be laughable to some, but I really don't know technical terms. I'm sure my objections can be answered, but just the idea of making music on a computer is a turn off.

I've looked at Musebox, Receptor and other recent VST hosts, but in the end, it seems I prefer a good workstation/arranger.

Any thoughts would be welcome. Maybe I'm missing something (probably in my head!)