The new Motif XF is really cool, despite all current Motif users are saying. Having been a Roland user for many years (I’ve never had a Yamaha workstation, but only arranger keyboards), I really believe that Yamaha must consider to release the next Motif XF: A new Motif Rack XF.

- Question:
Someone could say: “Ok, what would make a rackmount XF as the Ultimate Motif XF? How different would that be from the Rack XS”

- Answer:
“A Motif Rack XF with sampling + sample player + flash memory option + firewire option”

I would need nothing more really than the following:
- Don’t put a sequencer
- Don’t put a big screen
- Don’t put Ethernet or multiple analog outputs, or even digital output

BUT:
- Put a sampler
- Put a sample player
- Put the ability to install flash memory, like the current keyboard version
- Put the ability to install the firewire expansion.

For me, this could be the perfect match to any of the current non-Yamaha synths/workstations. This way, Yamaha could make new customers. I for one know very well that something like that would be a very good solution to compliment my current workstation.

I hope that Yamaha puts good consideration towards building such kind of a machine.

cyclops - 07 September 2010 06:43 PM

The new Motif XF is really cool, despite all current Motif users are saying. Having been a Roland user for many years (I’ve never had a Yamaha workstation, but only arranger keyboards), I really believe that Yamaha must consider to release the next Motif XF: A new Motif Rack XF.

- Question:
Someone could say: “Ok, what would make a rackmount XF as the Ultimate Motif XF? How different would that be from the Rack XS”

- Answer: A Motif Rack XF with sampling + sample player + flash memory option

I would need nothing more really than the following:
- Don’t put a sequencer
- Don’t put a big screen
- Don’t put Ethernet or multiple analog outputs, or even digital output

BUT:
- Put a sampler
- Put a sample player
- Put the ability to install flash memory, like the current keyboard version
- Put the ability to install the firewire expansion.

For me, this could be the perfect match to any of the current non-Yamaha synths/workstations. This way, Yamaha could make new customers. I for one know very well that something like that would be a very good solution to compliment my current workstation.

I hope that Yamaha puts good consideration towards building such kind of a machine.

I agree with you TOTALLY and a 100%. In my particular case I have spent a lot of money on my XS7 already. I bought the Mlan, DIMMS, and the half damper sustain pedal, plus three libraries. To buy the XF7 just because of the flash thing it would be a total LOSS $$$$ for me, something I cannot afford and an expense that wouldn’t be smart on my part. By saying this I am not bashing the machine, I think is a great instrument, in fact if I hadn’t sell my ES6 for the XS7 I would just naturaly upgrade to the XF6 or XF7.

However, if they come up with a rack version that can sample and retain the samples with flash memory, I might consider buying the rack, but right now I prefer to wait for my samples to load one two or three minutes, than spend $3000 Dlls plus mlan and flashs, and end up selling my XS7 for $1200, that would just mean losing like $1800, up to $2000(NOT WISE).

In that case I prefer to keep my XS7 at least for three more years then see what Workstation comes up in the future, after the XF or even after its replacement. Then it would me the moment for me to spend and upgrade to the next thing.

I once considered buying a Rack XS, but was frustrated to not being able to put any kind of new sample material. Anyway, I wish that they just put a sample player, but with flash RAM, that would load instantly all my sounds. Consider that solution during a live situation.

I know this could be a good solution for all musicians that can’t afford a keyboard version of the XF, or don’t want another keyboard, or that want to carry their samples and have them load in an instant.

Well Cyclops,

I have tried my best to avoid the complexities of adding a rack, but dammit you have a point..:)

I can however understand some current XS owners being a bit disappointed in the limited additional features, but that is also somewhat missing the point.. The XF will sell at the same price level as the outgoing XS and is clearly a superior board.. so the consumer wins :) .... look at it like a model year refresh of a car.. it doesnt mean the older car is bad or obsolete, just that this years model is better.

And plaudits to Yamaha in a crappy economy putting some money into workstation enhamcements… would i wish other manufacturers followed suit.

Mystic38 - 07 September 2010 07:51 PM

Well Cyclops,

I have tried my best to avoid the complexities of adding a rack, but dammit you have a point..:)

I can however understand some current XS owners being a bit disappointed in the limited additional features, but that is also somewhat missing the point.. The XF will sell at the same price level as the outgoing XS and is clearly a superior board.. so the consumer wins :) .... look at it like a model year refresh of a car.. it doesnt mean the older car is bad or obsolete, just that this years model is better.

And plaudits to Yamaha in a crappy economy putting some money into workstation enhamcements… would i wish other manufacturers followed suit.

The XF is superior to the XS, but it is not vastly superior. In my case I wouldn’t want to lose more than $2000 at this moment for something that in reality is just an upgrade of the same or previous instrument(WE all due respect).

For me a musical instrument is not like a car, and I understand that in the american way of thinking its always about spending in the brand new this or the brand new that, that has always been the marketing way of life in the United States, and perhaps in other parts of the world. I saw it from Classic to XF right here on this board.

My way of thinking is that I will spend in something new when:

1- I have the money and won’t hurt my economy.
2- When my old instrument becomes obsolet.
3- When the new instrument is signically better or superior than the preivous one.

Ofcourse, every person has its own point of view and makes its own decisions.

oh sorry,
I agree with you, guess what i was meaning is that for new consumers they win by getting a better board for the same money… there is no doubt that if i had an xs then i would skip on the xf...as you say it is, to many folks, not a good enough upgrade to justify losing $1000 on an xs6 and paying $1000 more to get the xf6..
Im my case i have a fantom G6, and had been considering an xs rack, or alternatively an S70XS (which to me is an XS rack plus piano keybed) as the combined soundset of fantom plus motif is quite enticing.

venattboy - 07 September 2010 08:14 PM

The XF is superior to the XS, but it is not vastly superior. In my case I wouldn’t want to lose more than $2000 at this moment for something that in reality is just an upgrade of the same or previous instrument(WE all due respect).

For me a musical instrument is not like a car, and I understand that in the american way of thinking its always about spending in the brand new this or the brand new that, that has always been the marketing way of life in the United States, and perhaps in other parts of the world. I saw it from Classic to XF right here on this board.

My way of thinking is that I will spend in something new when:

1- I have the money and won’t hurt my economy.
2- When my old instrument becomes obsolet.
3- When the new instrument is signically better or superior than the preivous one.

Ofcourse, every person has its own point of view and makes its own decisions.

Mystic38 - 07 September 2010 09:31 PM

oh sorry,
I agree with you, guess what i was meaning is that for new consumers they win by getting a better board for the same money… there is no doubt that if i had an xs then i would skip on the xf...as you say it is, to many folks, not a good enough upgrade to justify losing $1000 on an xs6 and paying $1000 more to get the xf6..
Im my case i have a fantom G6, and had been considering an xs rack, or alternatively an S70XS (which to me is an XS rack plus piano keybed) as the combined soundset of fantom plus motif is quite enticing.

venattboy - 07 September 2010 08:14 PM

The XF is superior to the XS, but it is not vastly superior. In my case I wouldn’t want to lose more than $2000 at this moment for something that in reality is just an upgrade of the same or previous instrument(WE all due respect).

For me a musical instrument is not like a car, and I understand that in the american way of thinking its always about spending in the brand new this or the brand new that, that has always been the marketing way of life in the United States, and perhaps in other parts of the world. I saw it from Classic to XF right here on this board.

My way of thinking is that I will spend in something new when:

1- I have the money and won’t hurt my economy.
2- When my old instrument becomes obsolet.
3- When the new instrument is signically better or superior than the preivous one.

Ofcourse, every person has its own point of view and makes its own decisions.

I wish that I knew for sure they were considering releasing an XF rack version.  I think I’d go ahead and sell my XS rack for $700-$800 right now.  The added functionality that it would bring (not really a sampler (per se), but the Flash option (with the right amount of memory would be kinda enticing...), but then again, I don’t really use many samples to get the sounds that I need.  It’s all really hardware or software based (keyboard or computer).  Nothing that I’ve personally sampled or downloaded.  But if I had the option, I’d probably be all over it.  But at the moment it’s not worth the trade or hassle of trying to make the upgrade.

XF rack though… hm… would be interesting.  You know they will eventually have one though.  (based on history)

venattboy - 07 September 2010 07:00 PM

I might consider buying the rack, but right now I prefer to wait for my samples to load one two or three minutes, than spend $3000 Dlls plus mlan and flashs, and end up selling my XS7 for $1200

Have you seen how much the XS7’s are going for on Ebay? I haven’t seen one yet for less than $2,000 (in the US). Heck, you can get a used XS8 for cheaper than a 7 :)

worknman - 07 September 2010 11:30 PM

venattboy - 07 September 2010 07:00 PM

I might consider buying the rack, but right now I prefer to wait for my samples to load one two or three minutes, than spend $3000 Dlls plus mlan and flashs, and end up selling my XS7 for $1200

Have you seen how much the XS7’s are going for on Ebay? I haven’t seen one yet for less than $2,000 (in the US). Heck, you can get a used XS8 for cheaper than a 7 :)

If you go into eBay’s completed listings for a Motif XS7, you will only find one that sold for $2,200, back in August 24. One thing is for how much they are selling, another thing is how much a buyer is willing to pay for it. On eBay most XS7 are selling for $1800

Now, if you go to Sweetwater the XF7 is at $3,099 when I bought my XS7 at Fullcompass for $2,500 back in 2008. Plus if you want to buy the flash and Mlan it costs as follows:

1GB Flash $299.00
512MB Flash $149.99
Mlan FW16E $269.99

So lets suppose I have the luck of selling my Motif XS7 for $2000 even. Then I would buy the XF7 at $3,099 plus a 1GB Flash for $299 and Mlan FW16E for $269.99, that is $3667.99. So after I sell XS7 my expense from XS7 to XF7 would be between $1667.99 and $1867.99(almost $2000).

Naaaa, way way to much(For me).

venattboy - 08 September 2010 02:46 AM

worknman - 07 September 2010 11:30 PM

venattboy - 07 September 2010 07:00 PM

I might consider buying the rack, but right now I prefer to wait for my samples to load one two or three minutes, than spend $3000 Dlls plus mlan and flashs, and end up selling my XS7 for $1200

Have you seen how much the XS7’s are going for on Ebay? I haven’t seen one yet for less than $2,000 (in the US). Heck, you can get a used XS8 for cheaper than a 7 :)

If you go into eBay’s completed listings for a Motif XS7, you will only find one that sold for $2,200, back in August 24. One thing is for how much they are selling, another thing is how much a buyer is willing to pay for it. On eBay most XS7 are selling for $1800

Now, if you go to Sweetwater the XF7 is at $3,099 when I bought my XS7 at Fullcompass for $2,500 back in 2008. Plus if you want to buy the flash and Mlan it costs as follows:

1GB Flash $299.00
512MB Flash $149.99
Mlan FW16E $269.99

So lets suppose I have the luck of selling my Motif XS7 for $2000 even. Then I would buy the XF7 at $3,099 plus a 1GB Flash for $299 and Mlan FW16E for $269.99, that is $3667.99. So after I sell XS7 my expense from XS7 to XF7 would be between $1667.99 and $1867.99(almost $2000).

Naaaa, way way to much(For me).

yea that does seem a bit steep…

cyclops - 07 September 2010 06:43 PM

- Put a sampler
- Put a sample player
- Put the ability to install flash memory, like the current keyboard version
- Put the ability to install the firewire expansion.

As for full-featured 2U or 3U sampler with SDRAM, FireWire option, and flash memory slots, well, that will actually cost like a full XF6 without the controls and the keyboard, likely over $2000. I don’t see people spending that much on a rack module when you can buy a XF6 keyboard for just $400 more, and have all the sliders, knobs, buttons, a bigger screen, and a keyboard.

As for those who just want new XF voices, selling their old XS keyboard and just getting the XF will be quite cheaper than buying this full-featured Motif-Rack XF in addition to the XS.

DmitryKo - 08 September 2010 04:02 AM

cyclops - 07 September 2010 06:43 PM

- Put a sampler
- Put a sample player
- Put the ability to install flash memory, like the current keyboard version
- Put the ability to install the firewire expansion.

Sample player and flash mrmory slots are good ideas, however they will also require a USB port and a new FILE mode on the unit.

As for full-featured 2U or 3U sampler with SDRAM, FireWire option, and flash memory slots, well, what will actually cost like a full XF6 without the controls and the keyboard, likely over $2000. I don’t see people spending that much on a rack module when you can buy a XF6 keyboard for just $400 more, and have all the sliders, knobs, buttons, a bigger screen, and a keyboard.

As for those who just want new XF voices, selling their old XS keyboard and just getting the XF will be quite cheaper than buying this full-featured Motif-Rack XF in addition to the XS.

would the unit REALLY need to be able to sample… or just load samples?  I don’t think the sample option would be that big of a deal…

now that I’m thinking about it though, maybe it could come with software that the user could use to sample.  then you could just load the results up via USB (thumb drive) or via USB connected directly to the computer.

I believe that there is not much need for a real sampler to be put to a possible Rack XF edition. What’s needed is some way to load user samples. I don’t know what it would take to make such a machine, or how much would it cost, but it would be appealing to me to have the advantages of the Motif XF keyboard to a more compact package.

So as you can see the XF is quite more expensive than the XS when it came out. It’s not at the same price as some people have said.