Just brought a Motif xf6 in white for around $1500 and there is a lot to experiment with, it will be doing all we need a keyboard to do for our needs and more. Running Ableton Live, Cubase and Garageband at the moment.

I’m not unless I can get Mexico to pay for it. There’s a mint Motif XF8 on my local CL for $2200 and a MOXF8 for $1200. Might pay to keep a safe distance from the bleeding edge.

I will never buy any keyboard until there are better manuals, training, and support.  Every time I try to accomplish anything with my current workstation (Yamaha MOX6 - made out of date just after I bought it) I spend all my time trying to figure out how to do what I want instead of doing what I want.  Today I can’t even find out how to make a song with a 3/4 time signature.  I have played a Montage twice, first time I was sure I wanted one.  The next time the technology kept blocking me.

From the demos I’ve heard, the Montage does have nicer sounds than the XF/MOXF. But I was wondering: are Montage orchestral sounds superior to the additional flash libraries available for the XF/MOXF (like DSF Strings and DCP Brass)? Has anyone had a chance to make such a comparison?

I’m definitely not getting a Montage: it’s way out of my budget and music is just a hobby for me, so I can’t justify spending that much money. But I might get a MOXF later this year. Or I might wait until a cheaper version of the Montage comes out. But I wonder if it’s worth the wait - and I’m specifically thinking of stock Montage orchestral sounds vs flash orchestral libraries for the MOXF.

Mark and others still having operational issues on MO and Motif instruments -

Official written manuals tend to be reference manuals… here’s what this button does, here’s this feature etc etc. Seldom, if ever, do they go through the sort of steps a normal person wants to go through when they’re actually using the instrument. Nor, for that matter, explain ‘why’ you’d ever need to carry out various operations.

Could they? Should they? Not our call. We don’t make these instruments. We just try to provide independent support wherever and however such can be done.

For the MOX, the shop carries a number of general accessories, including a full-length instructional DVD. There are also a number of MOX Pattern libraries, some of which include drum loops in 3/4 time signature. We also carry a number of Voice libraries.

The inherent ‘problem’ with this type of technology is that manufacturers are really only interested in getting the sale. If providing support helps them get sales then they will go a little ways down that path.  For a time. Once a product has been superseded then their interest tends to melt like snow in spring. Don’t get me wrong, they’ll still support products as in fix them, do OS updates for a reasonable time etc. But, and this isn’t a criticism for a ‘legacy’ product, it’s just not likely that manufacturers are going to retain much enthusiasm for teaching you how to operate the thing. Again, could they? Should they? Maybe, but they don’t.

For our part - an independent support provider - the way we stay afloat is to sell things: instructional videos, content libraries… Even though the entire Motif / MO series has now been ‘replaced’ by Yamaha’s Montage family, as this thread bears witness, the Motifs and MO’s are still popular and powerful instruments and for as long as we can we will continue to support them.

And of course there is also a ton of information that’s completely free of charge here, both on the forums and in the MOX section, BadMister blog etc.

We’re not asking you to donate cash or buy stuff you don’t need, but if you do need a gig bag, memory, pedals, or help in understanding these instruments, your custom will help a platform such as this to continue. And our prices are the same - or sometimes less - than The Usual Suspects who, to be candid, care as much about your understanding of Motif / MO instruments as the medical industry does about herbal remedies.

MM

I’m grateful for my XF, motifator’s support of it, and for the XF items I’ve purchased here on Motifator.

I bought a Mofit-XF6 when the prices dropped down around $1500 after the Montage gained some momentum, half the price of a new Montage.  It has about 2/3 of the same patches as the Montage, and since I have an FS1R I already have had the ‘new’ FM-X for a while.  With all of the information available on the XF here on Motifator and on the Yamaha synth site I feel like I’m well supported.

I personally don’t feel the need to be right on the leading edge all the time, one step behind is just fine for me.

When I had the chance to buy either a Motif XF8 or Montage 8 , I bought the Motif, now that I have the Motif and have had some time to think about it, I’m glad I bought the Motif, and if I had it to do all over again, I would buy the Motif.  I may buy the montage 6 in a year or two, as a supplement.  But Motif FuckN ROX!  Besides it will take years before the same wisdom on how to use Montage catches up with all the good knowledge, blogs, explanations, user experience etc that we have on Motifator.  Virtually any question that I have about my Motif or my MOX its either already been thoroughly answered on Motifator, or someone with deep knowledge of the instrument comes to the rescue.  It will take years before this same kind of resource for Montage becomes available anywhere.  Hell not to long ago we just celebrated the 10th anniversary of Motif.  Its mature, and well documented both here on Motifator and Youtube!  Last time I looked, Bad Mister had a nice intro to Montage, but outside of his good work, there was no real Montage juice out there.

I also like the challenge of seeing just how much I can program the Motif Arpeggiator and 8 elements to give me similar effects to those motion control things done on the Montage ;-)

Sure Montage’s motion control makes a lot of the automation/programming easier (especially with the Super Knob), but with a little extra work and knowledge of the Motif Arpeggiator function and voice parameters, you can pull off one or two motion control tricks on the Motif LOL.  No I’m not suggesting that Motif is in any serious way competitive with some of the Montage motion control stuff, but I am saying, even after all of this time, we’ve barely scratched the surface on Motif Arpeggiator capabilities, and I recently heard some stuff on a Motif XF8 that I did not think was possible, in fact before I saw that the cat was playing A Motif, I assumed he was playing Montage!

In some ways the Montage will serve to bring out the best Arpeggiation techniques in us Motif owners as we try to prove to the Montage folks:  “Hey I can do that on my Motif!” LOL.
‘

Phooey who needs a Super Knob!  All I need to do is program this here thing-a-ma-jig on my Motif.  let me see, If I make this ARP a trigger for that ARP, and then program my ribbon controller to kick off that dudad, and then set the velocity threshold so that once the Other ARP fades out then have all voices on the same Channel, and ctlset, but only connect the original ARP to the 2nd element, all I’ll have to do is............

La Viva Motif!!!!!

kday - 01 February 2016 05:17 AM

The Kronos will easily blow the Montage out of the water even for a slightly cheaper price.

9 synth engines in the Kronos is just incredible. Plus a highly professional and highly intuitive user and sampling interface.

The Montage is listed as a synthesizer and not a Workstation in the keyboard category at Sweetwater.

I think Yamaha set out to build a synth, and not a Workstation replacement to the Motif.

The Montage 8 build quality is way better than the Kronos 88 (IMHO).  The action plays better (the Kronos 88 was too sluggish and heavy), the knobs, buttons and sliders are much more solid (it’s 10 lbs heavier and built like a tank!)

Also, you can control 72 parameters at ounce with the Super Knob. 

Plus you can have 64 elements/oscillators per patch!  With 64 Oscillators, just think what you can do!  8 parts as well mixing FM-X and samples.  Pretty amazing.

Here’s a guy making a SuperSaw patch out of an Oberheim SAW Sample.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aikn82Fvswg

And it’s 128 voice Stereo, not mono and that’s just the one synth engine.

Now the Kronos IS KILLER! Great pianos and synths, but the effects in the Montage are better and the guitars (from what Kronos owners who own both have to say)

If I didn’t have a ton of VSTi synths and samples I’d get the Korno 61 and use it like a rack with my Montage.

Both synths are great for what they do. I might get a Kronos one day.
Like the Kronos LS.  I want to try it and see if I like the action :)

lastmonk - 30 June 2017 11:51 PM

Phooey who needs a Super Knob!  All I need to do is program this here thing-a-ma-jig on my Motif. 

(said the guy who never used and/or programmed one!) LOL!

But yeah… it all depends on your work flow the Super Knob can control 72 parameters at ounce.  If you really dig deep and I mean DIG DEEP, you can do amazing things on the Montage that you can’t do on any other synth. :D