I presently have a MOX 8. I just saw that there is a new product, MOXF available. How is this different from the MOX 8?

MOX8 is based on XS and it became the most competitive board on the market.  It was very well received because there was never a board so powerful before at this price point. 

Naturally with the flagship XF, MOX got upgraded to the specs of the XF.

So MOXF is really MOX on steroids.  More sounds, more power. 

When you compare the specs of the XS against the XF, you will know what I mean.

This MOXF is one amazing machine. 

It will become another standard, another legend and much sought after synth by musicians and professionals.

Imagine.  CFX, CFIIIS, S6, S700 all on one machine.  Where can you find another machine with such firepower, except for the XF itself.

For musicians who play Yamaha pianos, this machine is a must.

davidtre - 03 October 2013 08:11 PM

I presently have a MOX 8. I just saw that there is a new product, MOXF available. How is this different from the MOX 8?

128 polyphony instead of 64

8 simultaneous sets of insert effects instead of 3

The extra voices of the Motif XF (the MOX has the voices of the previous Motif XS)

The ability to install a flash card for an additional 512 mb or gigabyte of new sounds (Yamaha, third-party, or your own)

and some additional operational enhancements

http://www.motifator.com/index.php/support/view/moxf_whats_new

I know there were limited voices that could be purchased from third party vendors for MOX 8. Can you use all of the voice packages for Motif XF with the MOXF?

I know there were limited voices that could be purchased from third party vendors for MOX 8. Can you use all of the voice packages for Motif XF with the MOXF?

Yes.

I don’t know if anyone has had a chance to play the MOXF 8 yet as everywhere I look it seems the release isn’t until later this month. I’m hoping maybe Bad Mister or one of the other Yamaha folks can answer this. I went and played the Motif XF8 and the MOX 8 this afternoon to get a sense of the differences between the keybeds. By a small margin, I liked the action better on the Motif. My question is, are the two keybeds physically different from a design perspective and if so, which action will the MOXF 8 have? Thanks!

As you may know, Yamaha is a piano manufacturer and the R&D;that goes into action is extensive.

The Motif XF has what is called the BALANCED HAMMER action.
The MOX8 and the MOXF8 have what is called a GRADED HAMMER action.

The BALANCED HAMMER has the same weighting across all keys left to right.
The GRADED HAMMER has a scaled action so that there is more resistance to the lower keys than the upper keys

Graded Hammer is designed to mimic what an acoustic action does. The keys are more massive the lower you go on an acoustic and there is a shorter key will a different fulcrum as you go up the keyboard).

There are different zones of weighting across the keyboard in the GH action - one of the weighting is used across all keys in the BH action.

mshamp88 - 04 October 2013 11:59 AM

I don’t know if anyone has had a chance to play the MOXF 8 yet as everywhere I look it seems the release isn’t until later this month. I’m hoping maybe Bad Mister or one of the other Yamaha folks can answer this. I went and played the Motif XF8 and the MOX 8 this afternoon to get a sense of the differences between the keybeds. By a small margin, I liked the action better on the Motif. My question is, are the two keybeds physically different from a design perspective and if so, which action will the MOXF 8 have? Thanks!

In addition to what B_M said about the difference between balanced and graded, there are other differences between the actions. Not all Yamaha’s graded actions feel identical, and the MOX uses their “entry level” (read least expensive) “GHS” weighted action. Yamaha has other graded actions which most people think feel better. That said, this particular graded action is light, which is one reason a MOX8 weighs so much less than so many of Yamaha’s 88s. The MOXF will use the same kind of action (GHS) as the MOX8.

Thanks Phil and Scott for your replies. I’m thinking that even though the Motif may use the balanced action vs the graded hammer action of the MOXF, it may be a higher quality action, which may explain my preferring it over the MOXF. In any event, given a choice between the PX-5S and the MOXF 8, I’m thinking the Yamaha is still a much better choice, even though it’s a couple bucks more. I loved my XS7, but growing up on piano, I miss the touch of a weighted board from a “feel” perspective, but it also keeps me from getting ahead of the beat, which I sometimes do on a synth weighted board. Plus, it just feels gooooood!

Appreciate your responses. Makes sense now.

Mark

GHS is not really “the least expensive” Yamaha Graded Hammer action, and is certainly not “entry level” :-) (but it does not matter). Play the keyboards, if you can’t download a manual ask your sales associate to show you how you can adjust Yamaha keyboards to respond to your playing style. Velocity curve is extremely important when judging action and feel.

Try each setting for ten to fifteen minutes to really get a feel for how it “plays”. Play several different pieces and styles so you don’t always judge it on one type of playing approach. I know how much Research and Development actually go into these actions, and how Yamaha spends the time to match the sound set to the action. Don’t let anyone sway you with talk about ‘better’, ‘more expensive’, ‘less expensive’, or any of that… It’s a musical instrument, you are a musician, play it, then decide for yourself!

mshamp88 - 04 October 2013 01:12 PM

I’m thinking that even though the Motif may use the balanced action vs the graded hammer action of the MOXF, it may be a higher quality action, which may explain my preferring it over the MOXF.

Right, there is no direct correlation between gradedness and quality. A $500 P35 is graded, a $5k CP1 is not, and I don’t think too many people would consider the P35 to have the superior action.

Bad_Mister - 04 October 2013 04:01 PM

GHS is not really “the least expensive” Yamaha Graded Hammer action, and is certainly not “entry level” :-) (but it does not matter).

Just curious… What am I missing?

If I remember correctly, GHS is used in P-35/85/95/105, MOX8, and some DGX. What I would call the next action up in the line, GH, is in the P155 and CP-33/40/50/300. So the GHS is used in the lower priced (less expensive, entry level) models, and the GH is generally used in the step-up models. (Which is not to say that everyone will necessarily prefer GH to GHS, I know.)

Maybe I should have been more specific that I meant it wasn’t the GHS action per se that is less expensive or entry level, but rather that GHS is the action that is used in the less expensive and entry level models, which is a subtle difference and more accurate, I did use a little shorthand there, is that the issue? Or am I missing something?

In terms of costs, the progression goes from GHS, GH, GHE and GH3.  BH is almost exclusively used only on the motif series.  But all these play very well if you come from an acoustic piano.  GHS offers authentic piano feel at the lightest weight.  So you get a lightweight body.  With that the keys are a little slower to rebound and they a just a little noisier.

My guess is alot of piano players would prefer GH, GH3 or BH actions because they feel heavier, rebound quicker, more responsive to extremely fast passages and and quieter.

But having said all these, don’t let the key action bother you too much.  All these graded hammer actions play very well.  You will grow to enjoy the GHS action, even as many perceived it to be cheaper and entry-level.

There are even more actions than that (at Yamaha this is what we do)… but your point is correct… you have to “Play them...” don’t prejudge them, you may prefer a less expensive action - so what!!!
Does that mean anything really? No. It’s a matter of what you prefer and can you play it and express yourself. Yamaha does R&D;_ like no other company in this area, trust me. I am continually amazed even after all these years with the company!

There is no such thing as “ENTRY LEVEL” when it comes to action. Sorry… Just isn’t.

I would just like to say that while I very much still like the semi-weighted, aftertouch-enabled feel of my Motif ES7, I have grown to love all the features of my MOX6, including the really light, quick action, which I have found to be very good for playing fast organ techniques.

While it may not have quite as shallow a key-on as some waterfall type organ actions, the small amount of weight required to depress the MOX6 keys makes it easy to let your fingers fly or even do palm smears. (And some of those internal MOX tonewheel organ patches and rotary emulations are quite usable, along with the various H*****d emulations I use.)

As always, it comes down to how you most expect to use any given keyboard and if it feels good to YOUR hands, not someone else’s.