Jote - 15 January 2016 11:08 AM

First thoughts:

1. This is not Yamaha’s Kronos - this is Yamaha’s Jupiter 80
2. 1.75GB of flash is an odd (sic!) capacity
3. Motion SEQ sounds like FreeEG (?) taken from AN1x
4. Notice how that lengthy description doesn’t mention much about the internal sequencer (JP80 again)

Too bad Google’s cache did not catch the contents of the original page. The address WAS

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/music-production/synthesizers/montage/

It sounds like it will be a nice synth, but honestly, this isn’t what I was hoping for.  I wanted Yamaha’s answer to the Kronos.  I wanted the next generation Motif.  I don’t want a Jupiter 80.  I want a “modern day” workstation that has enough power to lay down an entire song on it’s on without the need to turn my computer on.  That’s what I miss most about my Motif ES.  Sometimes I really just want to step away from the computer.  When I had my Motif ES, I just felt so much more focused on the music itself rather than anything else. 

I’m still eagerly awaiting the official announcement and release of all of the specs, so I’ll reserve my final judgement on this until that time.

Jote - 15 January 2016 02:46 PM

Is audio over USB new for Yamaha synths? Wish it had a VST-type integration too, so that I could simply create a VST midi/audio pair in my software DAW and whenever I need a mixdown I just press “mixdown” instead of recording everything in realtime. Many synths already have this capability AFAIK. Correct me if I’m wrong

Audio over USB is a feature of the MOX and MOXF, but not the Motifs. The Motifs do have optional FireWire interfaces, and S/PDIF DIGITAL OUT standard.

Yeah, that’s what I suspected. I’d still love to have the “VST-like” functionality - bounce a MIDI track to audio automatically, without hitting “record audio”. I think Virus has had that for ages now.

kb420 - 15 January 2016 03:16 PM

It sounds like it will be a nice synth, but honestly, this isn’t what I was hoping for.  I wanted Yamaha’s answer to the Kronos.  I wanted the next generation Motif.  I don’t want a Jupiter 80.  I want a “modern day” workstation that has enough power to lay down an entire song on it’s on without the need to turn my computer on.  That’s what I miss most about my Motif ES.  Sometimes I really just want to step away from the computer.  When I had my Motif ES, I just felt so much more focused on the music itself rather than anything else. 

I’m still eagerly awaiting the official announcement and release of all of the specs, so I’ll reserve my final judgement on this until that time.

+1… Perfect! Ditto verbatim.

Let’s just see if Yamaha used their brain this time. If it turns-out that the “Montage” isn’t a self-contained workstation then it’s an immediate flop in my books. Making a hardware synth rely on a Laptop sequencer is not the dropzone AFAIC. Since I already have a full setup on my Laptop, why would I want a workstation unless it’s self-contained? A workstation is for the times when we want old-school simplicity and hands-on chuka luka. The Korg Kronos has 9 engines, so Yamaha need to have kept this in mind.

I’d be happy if the Montage has only 3 engines. The Rom section, a virtual analog section, and an FM section. These three are enough for me to kick ass with.

kday - 15 January 2016 02:47 AM

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Where have you been bro? lol

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I’m still breathing God’s free air bro, just like everyone else. I see you’re still holding the fort here with the troopers after all these years. Keep those beats comin, bro, there’s lots of pretty ladies that don’t wanna stop partying, but i’m worn-out lol.

foleycore21 - 15 January 2016 08:32 PM

kb420 - 15 January 2016 03:16 PM

It sounds like it will be a nice synth, but honestly, this isn’t what I was hoping for.  I wanted Yamaha’s answer to the Kronos.  I wanted the next generation Motif.  I don’t want a Jupiter 80.  I want a “modern day” workstation that has enough power to lay down an entire song on it’s on without the need to turn my computer on.  That’s what I miss most about my Motif ES.  Sometimes I really just want to step away from the computer.  When I had my Motif ES, I just felt so much more focused on the music itself rather than anything else. 

I’m still eagerly awaiting the official announcement and release of all of the specs, so I’ll reserve my final judgement on this until that time.

+1… Perfect! Ditto, verbatim.

Let’s just see if Yamaha used their brain this time. If it turns-out that the “Montage” isn’t a self-contained workstation then it’s an immediate flop in my books. Making a hardware synth rely on a Laptop sequencer is not the dropzone AFAIC. Since I already have a full setup on my Laptop, why would I want a workstation unless it’s self-contained? A workstation is for the times when we want old-school simplicity and hands-on chuka luka. The Korg Triton has 9 engines, so Yamaha need to have kept this in mind.

I’d be happy if the Montage has only 3 engines. The Rom section, a virtual analog section, and an FM section. These three are enough to kick ass with.

In the 32 second video, stop the stream and you see ARP buttons as well as control and sequence buttons.

Yes Virginia, there is a sequencer in the Montage.

craig

kt_over_q - 15 January 2016 10:09 PM

In the 32 second video, stop the stream and you see ARP buttons as well as control and sequence buttons.

You are right with the ARP buttons:

But in the row above, there are no sequence buttons but buttons for “Motion Seq” (Control Sequences):

“Motion Sequences are tempo-synchronized, completely customizable control sequences that can be assigned to virtually any synthesizer parameter and provide incredible creative new ways of programming sound.

Motion Sequences also have dedicated controls on the front panel making it easy to manipulate and change in real-time, providing incredible interactivity and expression.”

Regards, :)

Jo

DschoKeys - 15 January 2016 10:34 PM

kt_over_q - 15 January 2016 10:09 PM

In the 32 second video, stop the stream and you see ARP buttons as well as control and sequence buttons.

You are right with the ARP buttons:

But in the row above, there are no sequence buttons but buttons for “Motion Seq” (Control Sequences):

“Motion Sequences are tempo-synchronized, completely customizable control sequences that can be assigned to virtually any synthesizer parameter and provide incredible creative new ways of programming sound.

Motion Sequences also have dedicated controls on the front panel making it easy to manipulate and change in real-time, providing incredible interactivity and expression.”

Regards, :)

Jo

The row above is out of focus, but there is a sequencer, a multifarious sequencer!

What would be the objective of having a Motion Sequence without a sequence?

That is a rhetorical question.

kt_over_q - 15 January 2016 10:09 PM

In the 32 second video, stop the stream and you see ARP buttons as well as control and sequence buttons.

Yes Virginia, there is a sequencer in the Montage.

craig

I’m still not convinced by anything that I have seen so far that this is the successor to the Motif.  In my original post, I quoted Jote who said

Jote - 15 January 2016 11:08 AM

First thoughts:

1. This is not Yamaha’s Kronos - this is Yamaha’s Jupiter 80

As I said before, I don’t want a Jupiter 80.  I want Yamaha’s answer to the Kronos.  I want the next generation of Motif.  A modern day workstation. The Motif XF has been out since 2010.  The original Kronos has been out since 2011 and has been updated twice.  I figured that Yamaha would one day create a workstation that is comparable to the Kronos spec wise, and if what Jote said is true, the Montage isn’t that at all, and isn’t meant to be.

I’m sure the Montage is going to be a great synth.  I’m sure it’s going to sound absolutely amazing, but if Jote is correct, then it’s just not what I wanted or expected.

kt_over_q - 15 January 2016 10:42 PM

The row above is out of focus

Well, I can read ”MOTION SEQ SELECT” quite well in the second screenshot.  ;)

kt_over_q - 15 January 2016 10:42 PM

What would be the objective of having a Motion Sequence without a sequence?

E.g. for synchronizing control (multiple cc) sequences with the tempo of several Arps played in realtime resulting in time controlled sound morphing:

“The motion control and motion sequencer appear to be similar to features implemented in the old Yamaha AN200 and DX200 table-top groove boxes. These allow dynamic control of multiple parameters for sound “morphing.” (http://sandsoftwaresound.net/montage-prelim-2/)

It might quite be the case that there is a build-in (linear) sequencer, but in my opinion, these buttons you mentioned are no proof for that at all

Regards, :)

Jo

...double post...sorry!

DschoKeys - 15 January 2016 11:08 PM

...double post...sorry!

You are right, not proof, just faith.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

It would seem that since Performances apparently will have up to 8 Parts, the mention of 32 parts might well imply a sequencer. But then the question arises of how 32 parts would be allocated.

Until now with the Motifs, by default one Part would be assigned per sequence track, and each of the 16 tracks would transmit on it’s own MIDI channel. You could, of course, change the Part’s receive channel so that two or more could be layered, sharing a channel.

With 32 Parts, by default there might be two Parts that could be assigned to each of 16 tracks, or there might be 32 tracks. With 32 tracks, if each had its own MIDI channel, that would require two MIDI ports - but USB easily handles multiple ports.

Maybe we’ll find out in a few more days…

5pinDIN - 16 January 2016 12:02 AM

It would seem that since Performances apparently will have up to 8 Parts, the mention of 32 parts might well imply a sequencer. But then the question arises of how 32 parts would be allocated.

Until now with the Motifs, by default one Part would be assigned per sequence track, and each of the 16 tracks would transmit on it’s own MIDI channel. You could, of course, change the Part’s receive channel so that two or more could be layered, sharing a channel.

With 32 Parts, by default there might be two Parts that could be assigned to each of 16 tracks, or there might be 32 tracks. With 32 tracks, if each had its own MIDI channel, that would require two MIDI ports - but USB easily handles multiple ports.

Maybe we’ll find out in a few more days…

So, performance is bifurcated if desired.

1. One AWM2 Voice
2. One FM-X voice

Per performance

or

2Parts = 1 AWM 2 and 1 FM-X Voice
2Parts = 2 AWM 2 Voices
2Parts = 2 FM-X Voices

Option 2 seems more likely.

All I want to know is where they put the wheels on the 88 key version.