Hey to all,

As I have said I am a Motif Rookie. I don’t know just about anything about these complex machines other than they have thousands of features to put together amazing sounds. I’m a hip hop/pop music producer and I’m looking to taking my production to another level and I know I can do so with these keyboards. I have a million questions about these keyboards, but I will stick with the main questions that will have the most immediate impact. Firstly…

1. What would be the best type of motif to buy for a person like me (who is absolutely new to these keyboards) who is looking to produce hip hop/pop/R&B;music?

2. Is there one that would be a reasonable price for what I am trying to accomplish?
Because I don’t need one that costs like $4000 and I won’t need some of the features on it,
plus I doubt I will be able to learn all there is to learn anyway for a motif that is too complex.

3. Are there any type of booklets or guides that could assist me in the learning process for learning these keyboards?

Basically, I am looking a motif that has thousands of sounds and is easy to record with. Preferably a motif that is very compatible with Logic Pro, because this is what I use to do my production.

I hope someone can help point me in the right direction,

Gabe

I am in no way a Motif expert myself, I only own an MX61 but will offer my advice as I’ve done a fair amount of research before I made my purchase. Since you use a DAW, the main thing I think would be a consideration in your situation is whether you want the full Motif sound set and all of it’s capabilities or save money with the MX or MOX. With the Motif XF, $2500-$3600, you are getting all the voices and abilities but you are also paying for the extra workstation features such as sequencer, large screen etc.. With the MOX, $1200-$1700, you get the Motif XS voices but paying much less as the workstation/mod/capable features are reduced but it does have a sequencer. With the MX, $800-$600, you are getting many good Motif voices and few workstation type features for even less. The MX is geared very well for DAW users who want access to good sounds without the excess. BTW, with Yamaha, they call the sounds voices. Sometimes it can be confusing if you don’t already know. ;)

Another thing to consider is Expanded Articulation. It’s featured on the XF and MOX. It offers alternate articulations for sounds such as fret slide sounds and can be used to create a more realistic playing like you may encounter with a person playing the physical instrument.

As far as I know, all of these keyboards have support for Logic, however to what extent, I do not honestly know. If it was me, I would fully research the version of Logic you have for compatibility with the synths and see if there are any issues that may be a concern for your potential setup.

For learning, the manuals (check Yamaha’s website) are a good point to start and they do have learning DVDs here on this site. There are many other places on the web though, even YouTube has user videos where you can learn things.

I am mainly a DAW user myself and I find that the MX is very easy to work with, nothing extensive is required to tweak and get good sounds out of it. You also have access to 3rd party software that runs on your computer to further tweak the sound like you can with it’s bigger brothers. This makes it a very usable synth with an unbeatable price. Personally, I’d suggest the MX, or the MOX if you want a full Motif XS sound set plus the expanded articulations. Either way, both of those synths have quality, usable sounds, not loaded with extensive features you might not use and won’t break the bank. Even the MX has clean, good sounding drum kits to pianos. If you do consider the XF, wait off until the end of the year as there may be a new top end Motif on the horizon by then and it could very well have some features or new sounds that might appeal to you. If not, the price on the XF will more than likely have dropped due to a new model out and you can get access to all the Motif XF sounds and abilities for less.