Hello everybody,

I used to have an ES8 and I just purchased an XF8. Compared to my previous keyboard, it’s a whole new world, very impressive piece of gear.

I’m learning to get the most from it, but there are some questions I didn’t find an answer to online, so I’m trying here.

1) Memory. It looks like I can load libraries only if I have a Flash Board installed unless they stay within the limit of 128 (128!) Mb.
Is it right? I mean, a 3k+ $ instrument with only 128 Mb memory in a world where libraries are measured in dozens of Gb?
More, the Flash Boards are ridiculously high priced (300$ for 1 (one) Gb. I hope I’m wrong.

2) Is there a way to assign the volume of different sound components to a Foot Controller? Eg. On a Piano & Strings voice or perf, using a FC to control the volume of the strings part. It looks like something dealing with the Master Mode, but I never used it.

3) I tried to install the Yamaha Motif XF Editor on my Mac running Mavericks, but no luck. The older one (1.4.0) installs nothing, and the newer (1.6.9) installs but doesn’t open (it runs fine on my home Mac, which runs on El Capitan). Upgrading my OS might not be an option, since I have drivers and applications that would have problems with more recent OS.
But that’s not all: the vst3 is 32bit, so it won’t run on my Cubase 9.5, and jBridge does not work with vst3. Quite a mess…

If any of the above questions has already been discussed here, please pardon me, just point me to the right direction cause I didn’t find anything about, maybe I used wrong keywords.

Thanks in advance!

m-tagg - 11 January 2020 11:17 AM

Hello everybody,

I used to have an ES8 and I just purchased an XF8. Compared to my previous keyboard, it’s a whole new world, very impressive piece of gear.

I’m learning to get the most from it, but there are some questions I didn’t find an answer to online, so I’m trying here.

Welcome to the forum.

 

m-tagg -

1) Memory. It looks like I can load libraries only if I have a Flash Board installed unless they stay within the limit of 128 (128!) Mb.
Is it right? I mean, a 3k+ $ instrument with only 128 Mb memory in a world where libraries are measured in dozens of Gb?

Yes, the XF has 128 MB SDRAM as standard.

 

m-tagg -

More, the Flash Boards are ridiculously high priced (300$ for 1 (one) Gb. I hope I’m wrong.

Yamaha flash modules are available in 512 MB and 1 GB capacity. In addition to those sizes, Mutec makes a 2 GB one. Careful shopping should yield lower pricing than what you mentioned.

 

m-tagg -

2) Is there a way to assign the volume of different sound components to a Foot Controller? Eg. On a Piano & Strings voice or perf, using a FC to control the volume of the strings part. It looks like something dealing with the Master Mode, but I never used it.

Master mode is not required to accomplish what you want.

See http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/453969/

 

m-tagg -

3) I tried to install the Yamaha Motif XF Editor on my Mac running Mavericks, but no luck. The older one (1.4.0) installs nothing, and the newer (1.6.9) installs but doesn’t open (it runs fine on my home Mac, which runs on El Capitan). Upgrading my OS might not be an option, since I have drivers and applications that would have problems with more recent OS.
But that’s not all: the vst3 is 32bit, so it won’t run on my Cubase 9.5, and jBridge does not work with vst3. Quite a mess…

The Motif XF Editor Standalone/VST v1.6.9 is for…
Mac OS X 10.11, macOS 10.12, macOS 10.13, macOS 10.14, macOS 10.15

I believe you want the Motif XF Editor Standalone/VST v1.6.7 , which should be compatible with OS 10.9 (Mavericks) and Cubase 9.5. However, I’ve been unable to find a link that works to download it. I suggest that you contact Yamaha Support in your country and ask for assistance.

Hi SpinDIN,

many thanks for your reply. 1Gb Flash Boards are about 300$, I didn’t know about Mutec boards, they’re a bit under 200$, but the 2Gb is over 300. Overpriced anyway.

Thanks for pointing me to the article about FC controlling. I’ll go reading.

As far as the editor, I also searched for the phantom version 1.6.7, but is indeed a phantom. Yamaha removed it from all its sites. Weird choice too. Let’s try with the support.

Thanks very much for your help.

m-tagg - 11 January 2020 05:08 PM

Hi SpinDIN,

many thanks for your reply. 1Gb Flash Boards are about 300$, I didn’t know about Mutec boards, they’re a bit under 200$, but the 2Gb is over 300. Overpriced anyway.

Thanks for pointing me to the article about FC controlling. I’ll go reading.

As far as the editor, I also searched for the phantom version 1.6.7, but is indeed a phantom. Yamaha removed it from all its sites. Weird choice too. Let’s try with the support.

Thanks very much for your help.

You’re welcome.

The memory used on the flash modules is a special type that allows for high speed reads - the sample data is read just like that from the built-in ROM - and is more expensive than other types. That’s not to say that Yamaha didn’t set a premium price, since they have a captive user base.

You might want to check the auction sites - every so often flash modules are listed at a decent price. Of course, be sure the seller has good feedback. Your member profile doesn’t indicate where you’re located, other than “Outside US” - there’s currently a seller in Germany offering FL1024M (1 GB) modules for about $150 each (plus shipping), if that works for you.

Thanks again, SpinDIN, I’ll look for that. I also think Mutec could be an alternative.

The editor could still be a problem, even if I find the phantom version 1.6.7, cause it’s 32 bit, so no way to use it as vst with Cubase 9.5.

Any user in this situation?