Hi guys,
I ma looking to egt motif xs to use as a stand alone worksataion ( no DAW ) for producing trance dance mainly.
My question is. Do you think i would be better off keeping my Fantom G and use this to create trance or ofload it and buy thee motif? I am in a real pickle because i invested a lot of money ££££ in the FG and it turns out that it is maybe not all its cracked upto be. Dont waana make the same mistake twice. plz help.
Thanks

PS… plz try to be unbiased

Hello ,

Wel i must say after i bought my xs 8 the fantom g looked a bit more easy, but i went to a store to play the fantom G 8 and i must say you have to do a lot to make this synt sound real good.

It is there but you have to tweak a lot while the motif xs sounds are really great in the presets.

The Fantom G is better with the sequencer you dont need a pc at all evrything is there in the big screen , you can even use a mouse great option.

The xs screen is much smaller but provides evrything you need and when you connect it to a pc / mac with the Cubase Ai4 what comes with it it works very very good with mlan.

All of all i think the xs is better to make trance music the fantom is more for brass and jazz sounds.

For me the motif xs stands out but i am an amateur and still learnig this beast evry day.

Nico

Hi Lei9h,

Musical taste and workflow differ so much from person to person… To be sure, you should test the Motif XS yourself before buying.

Isn’t there a shop around where you can play with it for some time? Or a colleague or friend who owns one?

Fantom = interface
XS = sound

Putting it in *very* simple terms. I don’t think anyone would disagree with me if I said that an XS with the interface of a Fantom would sell like hot cakes :)

They both sound very good, of course. Personally the Roland sound doesn’t work for me; and I don’t mean just the Fantom G, but all digital Roland synths (I did love the Roland Jupiter 8 but that’s another story). If you genuinely love the Roland sound then great. To me the Yamaha sound is, and always has been, more solid and ‘real’.

The XS is a little quirky, and even obscure in some regards, but the end result is worth the effort *if* you appreciate just how good it sounds.

Df.

The best I can tell you is this.

If you want the best sound, you go for the XS.

I do not know how to read music, and whatever I learned from the XS was learned WHILE making music. Same thing for my DAW. Having said that, I have made MANY songs without a DAW, just using the XS.

I think the jury is unanimous that the XS is and has been the best workstation that money can buy. It was released in 2007, and here we are 3 years later, with no answer from the competition. That’s saying a lot.

And for more proof of what the XS can do, listen to my album here.

http://bit.ly/bRkKqk

ajm786 - 06 March 2010 03:37 PM

The best I can tell you is this.

If you want the best sound, you go for the XS.

I do not know how to read music, and whatever I learned from the XS was learned WHILE making music. Same thing for my DAW. Having said that, I have made MANY songs without a DAW, just using the XS.

I think the jury is unanimous that the XS is and has been the best workstation that money can buy. It was released in 2007, and here we are 3 years later, with no answer from the competition. That’s saying a lot.

And for more proof of what the XS can do, listen to my album here.

http://bit.ly/bRkKqk

Great music!
(but the cover is BAD BADDDD!)

I think the fantom has more tracks and audio options while recording than the xs.
If 16 tracks are ok for you - should try the xs yes!
even an es will do!

nothing like roland old jupiter8!

expand and get different synths to achieve what your goal. be warned the xs is not easy to program.

megassus - 07 March 2010 09:39 AM

ajm786 - 06 March 2010 03:37 PM

The best I can tell you is this.

If you want the best sound, you go for the XS.

I do not know how to read music, and whatever I learned from the XS was learned WHILE making music. Same thing for my DAW. Having said that, I have made MANY songs without a DAW, just using the XS.

I think the jury is unanimous that the XS is and has been the best workstation that money can buy. It was released in 2007, and here we are 3 years later, with no answer from the competition. That’s saying a lot.

And for more proof of what the XS can do, listen to my album here.

http://bit.ly/bRkKqk

Great music!
(but the cover is BAD BADDDD!)

I think the fantom has more tracks and audio options while recording than the xs.
If 16 tracks are ok for you - should try the xs yes!
even an es will do!

nothing like roland old jupiter8!

The audio tracks are a big plus for the Fantom G, as is the spectacular interface. The Fantom is just plain easier to use than the Motif, and the sound isn’t half bad either. It’s probably the best “performance” workstation out of the big three (XS, Fantom G, and M3).
That said, I find the sound sculpting capability of the Motif to be greater than either of the other two. True synthesis would be nice, but as a pure ROMpler it’s one of the best on the market (as a studio tool).

megassus - 07 March 2010 09:39 AM

Great music!
(but the cover is BAD BADDDD!)

What, you mean the album artwork? What’s wrong with it? :-D

The Dark, Dim LCD Screen of the Motif XS alone is a big reason to get the Fantom G.

Yamaha has yamaha-ish sounds, Roland sounds are famously Roland-ish. If you loved The JV/XP series, you’ll love the Fantom.

But again, the LCD on the Motif is a *****

“Best sounds = XS ?”

with Fantom, you can expand with their AWESOME symphonic strings SRX among others, various new ARX cards, the sampling is less limited than XS.

I work at guitar center so i have been able to get alot of experience working with both boards and i would say ease of use, stock sound, dependability, and quality the motif xs is killing the fantom g......
....... however feature wise the fantom g is revolutionary with a 24 track audio recorder, built in XLR mic input with fantom power, and an amazing sampler. All in all i also work in a studio where we own both the G and the XS i would definately take the motif over the fantom any day especially for creating trance music, or any other genre of current pop music for that matter. MOTIF XS EVERY TIME!!!

zzzxtreme - 07 March 2010 06:32 PM

with Fantom, you can expand with their AWESOME symphonic strings SRX among others, various new ARX cards, the sampling is less limited than XS.

Actually, I don’t think you can install the SRX line of cards in the G.Only ARX and while the video’s and advertisements make the ARX card set sound exciting......It’s just not.Sound wise, I’d pick the XS first and then the M series.That’s what I have in my set up now....That and a couple of Ensoniq boards.If only THEY were still around:(.....Good Luck....ZR

ajm786 - 06 March 2010 03:37 PM

The best I can tell you is this.

If you want the best sound, you go for the XS.

I do not know how to read music, and whatever I learned from the XS was learned WHILE making music. Same thing for my DAW. Having said that, I have made MANY songs without a DAW, just using the XS.

I think the jury is unanimous that the XS is and has been the best workstation that money can buy. It was released in 2007, and here we are 3 years later, with no answer from the competition. That’s saying a lot.

And for more proof of what the XS can do, listen to my album here.

http://bit.ly/bRkKqk

ajm786 - 06 March 2010 03:37 PM

The best I can tell you is this.

If you want the best sound, you go for the XS.

I do not know how to read music, and whatever I learned from the XS was learned WHILE making music. Same thing for my DAW. Having said that, I have made MANY songs without a DAW, just using the XS.

I think the jury is unanimous that the XS is and has been the best workstation that money can buy. It was released in 2007, and here we are 3 years later, with no answer from the competition. That’s saying a lot.

And for more proof of what the XS can do, listen to my album here.

http://bit.ly/bRkKqk

Hi,

I heard the previews of your tracks!
Fantastic music!
You used only the XS? Very good!
You are a talented musician, for sure!
And the cover art is very good and reflects very well the name of the album.

I’ll buy your album even today, soon.
Congratulations!

Number Nine - 07 March 2010 01:38 PM

[...] That said, I find the sound sculpting capability of the Motif to be greater than either of the other two. True synthesis would be nice, but as a pure ROMpler it’s one of the best on the market (as a studio tool).

Totally agree. The ROM samples on-board in XS are fantastic!

Never did quite understand why the XS does not allow the PLG expansions, for example. The project is so different from the ES, to not allowing the use of expansions of hardware? IMO this was a big mistake by Yamaha.

I first bought a Fantom G7, and later traded it for a Korg M3 73 and Motif XS6.

I think the Motif-XS/Korg M3 (with radias) combo will kill the Fantom G: Motif XS has extremely sharp filters that are great for psychedelic trance while Korg has rich pads, trance basses and drums for the background music. In general, Korg has a ‘fatter, more expansive’ sound while Motif XS has a ‘warm, analogish, natural’ sound. They both are great at what they do.

Trance nowadays also use a lot of orchestral, ethnic and other types of samples, and for these Korg M3 (orchestral/organs) and Motif XS (guitars, drums, acoustic basses, eps, piano) will do well.

Fantom G seemed to be somewhere in between the XS and M3 in terms of sonic quality...I agree with DF that analog Rolands (that put Roland and Ikutaro Kakehashi on the famous innovation map) had a killer sound...too bad they don’t make them anymore.

But still, Roland digital sound is warm and has a good character...I would buy it to complete my setup, but for my first choices, I would go with the XS and M3.