Hi Everyone, I’m new here and also a newbie and looking for direction and advice. I’m the guitar player in the family and my wife plays the keys.  She needs an updated system for a new band she will be playing in.  I have been put in charge of getting the information and technical data for her.

She has tried all the top keyboards and she keeps going back to the Yamaha Motif XS.  She would love to get one but the weight is going to be just too much of an issue for her moving the keyboard to rehearsals and gigs.

So we are looking at the rack version, but we are confused as to how a Controller will work at a live gig.

All she would be doing is playing the sounds that are already in the XS unit. She has no intention of editing any of the parameters, as she just wants to plug and play using the default sounds that come with the XS rack.

So here are a few questions:

Which 61 Key Controller would you recommend we buy?

How will she be able to call up different sounds that she will use during her gigs with the band quickly? 

Say she is playing the Grand Piano and wants to switch to another sound that has strings. Can this be done quickly on the fly using a Controller Keyboard?

Are there “User settings” where she can store the sounds she uses the most in like a user list of say her top 15 or 20 sounds?

And also is there a good website that explains how we can program the controller to work with the XS rack? We have no clue where to start.

This is a big investment so we want to make sure we know what we are doing!

Thanks for your time.

Re: Need Direction and Advice For a Live Gig Set-up

Hi Ken, and welcome (Mrs. Ken, too /forums/images/icons/wink.gif alt=)

Forget the Rack product and buy the keyboard version. This is of course a personal opinion of mine, but running the Rack XS from a controller keyboard would be no walk in the park for someone not well versed in midi, program change commands and things like that. The keyboard XS has all those physical controllers - the 8 knobs and sliders, preset and bank select buttons for easy voice selection, the XA control buttons - in short, all the live performance controllers you need are right there in front of you that work in perfect harmony and are properly integrated into a well designed total package.

There is no controller made (that I am aware of) that would give you 50% of the keyboard’s control functionality. I believe it would be very frustrating for your wife.

For your situation, I recommend the XS7 keyboard. It is not so heavy and large as the XS8, and the new keybed is very playable for those more used to 88 weighted keys. I think most piano players would be quite satisfied with 76 keys, but would quickly frustrate with the missing lower octave and a half on the 61 key version.

Again - all personal opinions, but I cannot imagine trying to use the rack with some controller without any previous experience with this stuff.

The Motif XS is indeed a superb live rig - it just sounds so great Do yourself the favor of an enjoyable playing experience and get the keyboard version. A bit more weight, but worth every pound.

OK, now that you have my opinions, here are answers to your questions:

All she would be doing is playing the sounds that are already in the XS unit. She has no intention of editing any of the parameters, as she just wants to plug and play using the default sounds that come with the XS rack.

She will probably need to adjust EQ and possibly reverb settings based on the location she is playing in. This is pretty standard business when live.

So here are a few questions:

Which 61 Key Controller would you recommend we buy? No recommendations here.

How will she be able to call up different sounds that she will use during her gigs with the band quickly?

You will preprogram your controller to call up the desired voices. Usually associated with a button on the controller. Your controller will send bank select and program change commands that the rack will recognize. You can also use the knob on the Rack itself, but this is typically not a very fast solution unless they are very near to each other in a user location.

Say she is playing the Grand Piano and wants to switch to another sound that has strings. Can this be done quickly on the fly using a Controller Keyboard?
See may answer above.

Are there “User settings” where she can store the sounds she uses the most in like a user list of say her top 15 or 20 sounds?
Yes. There are three User banks of 128 ‘slots’ where frequently used voices can be stored.

And also is there a good website that explains how we can program the controller to work with the XS rack? We have no clue where to start.
This site is your best resource.

Bob