selbalicious - 26 June 2012 03:14 PM

You’ll definitely enjoy the rather obtuse methods to load/unload a flash board.  Once you “get it” though, you’ll be fine.  I suppose in Yamaha’s defense, there’s only so much real estate on the screen for doing things that most people normally do with a mouse and keyboard (in Windows/Mac).  Still...it’s not terribly intuitive and you’ll have these funny little “aha!” moments in terms of “so THAT’S what they wanted me to do”.  Heh heh.

Overall though...I had a blast auditioning the Inspiration in a Flash content (kind of ashamed it took me this long to finally get around to it!).  I ended up choosing 16 “must have” voices and simply using User1/E bank to shove them all into.

Also...just so you know...the Vintage Keys, Bees Knees, Axxe, (DCP libraries) and Chic Corea’s Mark V Rhodes library are all THE BOMB and I love them.  Had to be very careful and picky as to where I loaded them, but again, once you get the hang of it, they all fit nicely where I stuck them (I have a 1Gb flash board) and now I have truly a powerhouse keyboard with basically every sound I could ever need (err...maybe I could use the Garritan orchestra library too some day!!).

Luvin’ my XF8/XF7.  Feeling truly blessed, fat, dumb, and happy!

Kevin B. Selby

Added Note:  VK and BK (DCP) don’t use any flash, they use factory preset samples.  You still have the decision of where in User banks you put them. 

Haven’t looked at Chic’s or Axxe.

motidave - 28 June 2012 03:05 PM

Added Note:  VK and BK (DCP) don’t use any flash, they use factory preset samples.  You still have the decision of where in User banks you put them. 

Haven’t looked at Chic’s or Axxe.

AXXE also uses no new samples.  I recently purchased AXXE, but have not had time yet to load and thrash.  I’ll give my thoughts once I do.

Got my XF8 yesterday and all setup.  FL1 = 1GB.  Firewire board installed and working.

What a BEAST!!!!

The samples Sweetwater supplied on the flash drive was a nice addition.  It completely filled User3 and User4 - with some really nice stuff.

I also loaded the S700 piano from the Inspiration in a flash set.  I enjoy it very much.  It has a really really mellow tone, which I prefer “most” of the time.

Now, I just need to dig in and see how I can do something to make a custom User voice to fix those 3 messed up keys on the “S6 Natural”.

VikasSharma - 23 June 2012 05:51 AM

I tested this with my XF6 today and yes the problem is clearly there in those three keys.

This is especially noticeable in mezzo piano (mp) and mezzo forte (mf) waveforms that have been used in elements 4 (Note Limit: C-2 to F#5, Velocity Limit: 47 to 81) and 3 (Note Limit: C-2 to F#5, Velocity Limit: 82 to 104) respectively. In the other elements, the ringing noise is less apparent. I also checked the other S6 waveforms (from waveform no. 44 to 145) and the noise is most apparent in mp and mf waveforms only - more in some, less in some.

I don’t think much can done about this issue without changing the character of the Piano sound as a whole unless the waveforms themselves are replaced by Yamaha (and I doubt if that’s feasible).

The situation remains the same even in version 1.40.

I don’t like the S6 voices either. To my ears they sound like they’re in a can or something, and the first octave of the 88 notes is definitely out of tune.

I prefer the Power Grand from the original Motif, which is also on my Tyros2. This sound is in Inspiration in a Flash. It’s the only piano voice Yamaha currently offers that is both bright and doesn’t have any of the annoying metallic ring in it. It has that Elton John-like sound, which is what I prefer.

Piano sounds are obviously subjective. The main point is that every piano on the motif has a different tone, because they are indeed different piano models. I like the S 6 especially because it seems to have been sampled close to the strings, so the sound is intimate and warm for my taste, and you hear the details, wood, ringing etc.. I like the power grand also, it has a bright tone, a little bit less realistic piano patch and streched samples in the low and high ends. However, very effective and still great for certain kinds of music, no doubt about it!