I purchased a Motif 8 for my 16 year old son.  This will be a Christmas gift so I am trying to learn as much about the Motif as I can prior to next month, so I can help him through the learning curve.  He is a very accomplished keyboard player and has done some recording via his laptop.  I did not get a start up CD with the purchase, the previous owner is still trying to locate..  I assume this is a must.  Can I order one ,and should I order the instructional DVD’s.  Are they much easier than just a manual.  I don’t do well with manuals.  My son is even worse.  Sorry for the mundane newby questions.

Re: Getting Started

the CD is not really critical. All of the software that was on that CD is likely very old versions and newer versions are available for download from the following website (which is the official Yamaha website for all things synthesizer)

[url=http://www.yamahasynth.com]http://www.yamahasynth.com [/url]

Manuals are very important - you can download a PDF version from the following site.

Yamaha Manual Library

They are textbooks and should be treated as such. They are not novels and you can’t approach reading them like that. You will find that manual is divided into an overview section, that introduces the structure.. followed by the Basic Operations (Quick Guides)… then followed by a complete screen-by-screen Reference section.

Since you have found this website you can find more information on getting around the product and getting deeper into it. plus you can always post questions when you get stuck.

The DVDs are highly recommended. The “Get Motifated” series is definitely worth it…

Re: Getting Started

I’m sure your 16 year old will learn the Motif pretty quickly when he starts playing with it. The manual, as Bad Mister said, is more of a textbook for reference once you start exploring the machine--it’s not a great help when you first start out. The “Behind the Manual” section of this site has a lot of useful information (most of it written by Bad Mister) :

[url=http://www.motifator.com/classic/btm_gettingstarted.php]http://www.motifator.com/classic/btm_gettingstarted.php [/url]

I only have the first DVD in the Motif (classic) series and it’s also been a great help in learning the basics.

Kevin

Re: Getting Started

Thanks, I appreciate all the input.