Yamaha Motif 7

The manual needs more information... The Es manual was very detail in areas of setting up your midi and voiciing....This is a little thinner....

THe wurlly, Rhodes, and organ....Very much in improved!! I sold my fantom!

Awesome......The MOTIF is known for the user friendliness..The new Appreggio system blows fantom out the water...

Again, Motif does not fall short in this area..... Korg has always has had great syn sounds.... Motif has not match the Korg yet but they are getting better.. The fantom is still reigning champ on the brass sounds...

My gig set up is MOTIF ES8 and Fantom 7.(Love the FANTOM!)

My new gig set up is MOTIF ES8 and MOTIF XS 7!!! With confidence

I currently own ES8, and this is an excellent production keyboard; allowing great song writing creativity for pop, smooth jazz, jazz, and etc.....I was never really happy with ES's Rhodes, Wurlly, Organ, Synth and Guitar sounds. Their strength has been user friendly worksation and piano sound....I brought the Roland fanthom to fill some of these deficiencies ( love the fantom)....Well, Yamaha has fix the problem with the XS because the Rhodes, Wurlly, Organ, and guiars are awesome... ...I sold my Fantom!! It is that good...Appeggio system blows Fantom away....

I actually had an ES-8 (76 keys) : Presets far better than Korg Triton to me, sweet sounds. I am an orchestrator and I loved the woodwinds, string choices and harp. For what I need out of a board however, basic editing is far too difficult. Remember, I'm not producing a track,
I just need to hear sounds and generate scores (notation).

How can one not
have a touchtone screen in the 21st century? I have to dial in each alphabet to name a file and my name has 21 characters in it. After 3 months, I traded Es-8 in for a Korg Triton Studio.
The Manual provided enough detail, but too many steps are needed just to "throw in a disk" assign patches to tracks and generate a song. I see that others highly rate Motifator, but what I love about the Triton is that in the 4 years that I owned my old one, I only needed technical support once. So much of it is common sense, you didn't need to refer to the manual. I don't want to meet technical support, I want to CREATE. I don't want to
have to go to a manual just to figure out how to save the name of my song. If the Motif
ever gets smart and adapts Korg's SENSIBILITY, I'll be back for the most blazing pre-sets in its price range.

Keyboard action the same as Korg-great. I cannot speak to the other issues, except
pressure sensitivity seemed good and the on board sequencer, as I explained before is not at ALL easy to use.

Very realistic acoustic instruments, and as a conductor/orchestrator just great. Bass sounds fun and as a jazz/Latin enthuaist I was thrilled. Even the factory pre-set touch sensitivity during real play much better than Triton, and this I misse most of all when I had to trade in Motif for Triton so that I actually could get 15 orchestrations done and earn some Christmas money.

I did use it for gigs, and as a performance instrument it was great.

Never kept it long enough. On the other hand kept DX-7 for 9 years.

I'm afraid as an orchestrator, it gets in the way so I had to go with a lesser sound board that allowed me to get work done.

The Motif ES7 is great if you are able to receive training. Yamaha should have representatives to visit dealers and offer training hands on at site locations, this would increase sales and offer users a chance to ask questions concerning this complicated keyboard. I will keep this keyboard but it should have been made with a CD Rom or floppy accessability. The Piano and organ sounds are not satisfactory for church use.

The company where I purchased it has no knowledge on how to use it

I would not buy it again, I would have bought a Korg Triton or Phantom, possibly a Roland

If you are new to synths/workstations, you may find this keyboard is a bit of an enigma. The manual matches the abilities of the instrument; simply massive. However, when you do get used to it, it is easier than you first thought. The presets sound quite good and editing/making performance edits is quite easy.

This keyboard has almost every facility a performer needs. Polyphony is adequate and the keyboard action is typically synth-like. There are some options for expansion and plenty of this is available both in stores and on-line. Try Motifator.com.

There are plenty of sounds; some good and some not so good. This is not a piano and consequently, don't expect top-notch piano sounds. Most of the sounds are excellent, including the drums. This is a 'board you can use for many types of music. The effects are good and easily manipulated.

The Motif 7 is well made and I use it constantly for gigs. The casing is metal and well designed. There are some knobs/sliders which require protection, particularly on the road; a good case is a must. I think that the keys might be easily damaged too. No problems with my 'board so far, reliability has been good. However, my first Motif 7 had a fault with one of the circuit boards and Yamaha agreed to provide a new instrument; eventually. They wanted to repair the first Motif 7 but I thought that a two-month old instrument should not have such faults and insisted on a new 'board.

When I had problems with the first Motif 7, Yamaha tried to pass the buck to my local dealer who happens to be a friend of mine, insisting that he could carry out the repair. After insisting that I be given a new keyboard, i had to wait several weeks for a new instrument! Not impressive for a corporation of this size. I would hesitate at buying another Yamaha product particularly when there are other manufacturers, many of whom provide better warranties.

Motif 7 represents good value for money but i would not replace it with a Yamaha product. However, it is competent, light, and sounds good. It is easy to use once you get used to it and ditch the manual. I believe that Motif 7 ES is much improved but i will not audition it when i change my current Motif. I chose it because it is portable and very able. It's all down to personal opinion at the end of the day and the Motif is still very much a leading light.

I use an MOTIF 6 with Software Version 1.7.I kicked out my good old Roland XP80 for theMotif. The presetb Sound are great - the editing of the sounds is (Yamaha-Like) ok, also with the software.
The Manual is like every japanese manual - you need a lot of time !

Polyphony (62) is ok, keyboard is ok, the uise of the smart-card is great, better then the harddisk in my Kurzweil K2000SVX! And a lot of Exansions.
I am very dissapointed about the MIDI capabilities. No programmable RCV-Channel in the Performances ( or I didn't find it in the Manual)
No Programmchange in the Masters ! Big Sounds but MIDI - uihhh ???

The sounds are great - but to much aiatic drums and instruments !
The Effects are ok.

I will use the MOTIF in November the firs't time on stage. But I had one of the first DX7 - and I think I can trust on Yamahas qualtiy.

I buyed it as an uesd one, but there ar a lot of informations on the website of yamaha and other websites.

I miis only the 76-Keyboard and the MIDI capabilities of the XP80.
Thats all!

My OS was recently updated to 1.7.
Personally, I love the preset sounds. All the musicians around me love them too. The Motif presets actually manage to WOW my bandmates every time we get together to jam. The variety of sounds is nice. The brass and vox sounds are good but don't offer quite enough variety for my taste. I would also really like a rich oboe sound, which is not present here.
Editing can be a bit frustrating at times, depending upon what I'm trying to edit. I've not used the patch editing software.
As with every Japanese keyboard manufacturer's manual I've ever dealt with, this manual is fairly worthless except to maybe steer me in the right direction.

Polyphony is 62; not really enough for complex sequences using lush sounds, but polyphony is increased with each PLG board added. The keyboard action is light and responsive; I have to play my Yamaha P300 from time to time in order to keep my fingers in shape.
The built-in effects sound great and are pretty easy to edit. They won't take the place of some big fat Lexicon Reverb in the studio but are more than adequate for a high-end workstation.
The expansion capabilities are plentiful. I really love that the PLG boards have their own polyphony and that my audio output options are so plentiful and expandable.
Midi implimentation is what you'd expect from a high-end workstation--no news here.
The sequencer isn't necessarily stellar but I was able to master it without use of the manual (thank God!). The ability to sample on-the-fly with the Motif automatically keymapping the sample/samples as you go is frickin cool!

The pianos and electric pianos are top notch. The "Power Grand" patch was the first thing that made me stop and think before buying a Triton. Every player has his/her own taste in piano sounds--I've always favored Yamaha's and the Motif is a great example of why. Nothing sounds unrealistic on the Motif except some of the preset Leslie Speaker effects (nothing that a good tweak won't fix).
The sounds cover the gamut as far as styles. I've heard talk that the Motif doesn't do the orchestral thing very well, but I disagree; tweak a little and the results are great. The Motif for "dance" music is a no-brainer. The sounds are punchy, piercing, flowing, engaging, mezmerizing, anything you need them to be for dance. It's a great Rock keyboard but don't do any of that fake guitar stuff; some of the solo guitar sounds are nice but no one has created a keyboard that can realistically do the high-gain Mesa Boogie crunch and punch sound without sound like a keyboard. I'm hoping the Motif ES will address this.
The effects, once again, are more than adequate for a workstation. They are a nice compliment to the basic sounds (which again I love).
Key response is nice. I don't feel I ever put more expression into playing than I get out of the Motif. The realtime control knobs are a bit small and don't react exactly how I'd like, but are easy enough to adjust to.

I lug twice weekly and I've never had a problem with reliability. But I love my Motif too much to simply put it in a gig bag and go. I got the SKB hard case for it. The case's built-in wheels are a great help.
I have now broken 2 keys on my Motif. Yeah, I know... what a goof! I guess I play pretty hard sometimes. I don't know if this was a hardware shortfall or my own zeal but I thought I'd mention it.

I only had to deal with Yamaha once for the Motif. The CS person was great and actually gave me the number and address for the repair center they send-out to. That way I could have my broken key fixed without waitng forever and sending my Motif through a back-and-forth shipping nightmare.

If it were lost or stolen I would buy another without hesitation, unless of course the Motif ES 7 was out at that point. The "bang-for-the-buck" factor sometimes makes me feel like I should give Yamaha some more money. It's a great bargain. It's the best bit of gear I've owned in the 18 years I've been playing synths/electronic keyboards. I also own a Yamaha P300 and a Roland XP-30 (which I plan on selling in order to upgrade to a Motif ES this September!). I use a Mac with Digital Performer.
I love the Motif for its rich sound and playability. I hate nothing about it. I would say that I want more variety out of it but as no one board can REALLY do EVERYTHING at the highest levels of quality and satisfy EVERYONE'S tastes, this is as close as it gets to perfection for me (for now). It helps me express musical ideas the way I want them expressed.
If you're looking to purchase a workstation, go to your local store and A/B it with the Korg Triton. The Triton has nothing on the Motif as far as sounds go. Hear for yourself--you'll get a Motif. And, no, I don't work for Yamaha.

The OS is a little weird at first to get around, but once you know your stuff... you'll get it down fast. The manual is a little tough, you may need to use some internet tips for some things.

Excellent features. Everything is very nice... effects, sound, expansion capabilities. Very easy on the hands to play, even after playing for forever. i've never used the midi yet, so i dont know. The memory card idea was great so that you have a place to store your data.. and an alternative to that is a SCSI device.

AWESOME sounds! everthing from organs, pianos, brass, synths and drums. Everything is very nice. I especially like the organs with the Leslie. You can move the modulation wheel to change the rotation speed, or you can assign a pedal to do it. Very nice! a ton of options that you can change for almost anything and everything.

Excellent again. It has a built in back-up battery to keep the data without being plugged in. It also lets you use SmartCards, SCSI device, even your computer. As long as you take care of it, its awesome!

never needed tech support.

Definitely holds a place in my heart!!! The ONLY thing i dont really care for is the small screen... which korg tritons beat with their large touch screens. I LOVE THIS KEYBOARD!! i recommend it for anyone whos looking for something different than the Triton... which i dont exactly like.

not so good .. u need to get around the place to understand the parametres... korgs do much better than this one

well i havent spent much time with the machine. yeah the features are really great especailly u r expansion slots! usb midi and other stuff well sequencer is not that hot ... no looping tool for the sng mode which is a serious drawback .... screent too small ... not like the triton is ...midi is great,,,but give me some more to like it more

the generic orkestral instruments suffer ........... though it has great drum kits and arpeggios
the pads are average
the motion textures are pretty neat!

no i wont say that............. it is good keyboard for dance and elerktonic muzic but when it comes to symphonic sounds a triton proves to be a much better keyboard

it sucks big time in india i hate the company to sell it on international prices and no support sturcture at all

well all i can say is that it is not a great mother keyboard for me..
i use it more like a side kick ,,,, the sequencer is tough and it has some great features but yet not as perfect as the triton is..... i think it needs better modelling for generic sounds especially orckestral brass and strings to a great extent !!

I'm using 1.7 OS.
The presets voices are good, and the Gm bank is one of the best I ever heard. Patch edit is not so difficoult,but there are a lot of features and you have to learn the meaning of each one.
I'don't use the bundled voice editor but it seems good. I just prefer to make everithing using only the Motif.

Polyphony 62... For me is enaught but it's not a lot. The effects are quite good, but there are some limitation in performance mode. There are 3 expanision slots, but i don't need a FM synth simulation or other yamaha expansion boards (a sort of roland SRX were better IMHO). The sequencer it's powerful and you can insert in a song wav files: great!
The smart media and the usb connection are great.
The display is smaller than triton's but is ractional and quite clear

I think that this is the most versatile workstation (exept kurzweil maybe).
Acoustic pianos are good for a synth, wurlitzer and rhodes are quite good, elecric pianos are great.
Hammond sound are few and not wonderful but b's knees from motif mart can help you.
Strings and brass,bass, are ok.
Pads are beautiful but there are too layers (so I edit them, putting of some layers and they become ok).
I think that syn lead is the worst section on motif, so if you want to play prog rock or dance, get a triton studio or a kurzweil k2(5)600.
The onboard effects are good, but so powerful as triton's.
Aftertouch works great

OK

never calld yamaha, but www.motifator.com is helpful

If it were lost or stolen, I will cry!
It's a great machine. I think it's more versatile than triton. I also think that triton studio and kurzweil k2600 are better keyboards. For it's price I think it's the best synth now

I have the latest version of the os. I bought this keyboard because it was impossible to not purchase it. Its that good. Ive owned 19 keyboards over 23 years.

I bought it for the internal 85mb sounds and the fast scsi smart media (128mb) cards, 64MBRam(I installed that) and Akai s1000 cd-rom compatibility. When ever a new keyboard comes out I go play it and listen to its solo violin preset. This is the only keyboard that has a good one. The next thing I consider is does it compare to cdrom based 3way velocity-switched samples. The motif has this on nearly all its piano and electric piano samples. My final test is does the keyboard have any samples anywhere on the keyboard on any sound that sound bad or are out of their range and ie chipmonk effect. Most keyboards have about 70 bad samples, the motif - Ive only found 3.
ie organ with leslie high note.

I could not avoid buying this keyboard and I did try. I also find the internal sounds are so good that I haven't had to import that many akai samples. The guitar sounds are nearly as good as the cdroms and the strumming patterns have taught me alot about how to use those samples. The 4 sliders work as drawbars on b3 sounds and modify others, the 4 knows adjust sounds too. I own a KorgT-2 and love it but I am waiting for korg to eliminate bad samples from their sample rom and include scsi as an installed base feature. The choir voices totally lack on the motif so I bought the Acoustic Choir cdrom(akai) from bigfish for $49 now it has the best choir of any keyboard hands down.

hasn't broke, loading the new os fixed a polyphoney bug.

there in an independant webpage that is more organized that links to specific pages in motifator.com. Example: akai samples aren't loud enought after import, go param etc, adjust etc. I emailed yamaha to get a training dvd, I received 2 of them 3 weeks later.

I prefer korg equipment but Yamaha addressed and passed all my tests that pertain to sound and samples so I bought it and never looked back. I thank Yamaha for raising the bar for standards on keboards. In 2 years Korg will put something out to compete. Anyone reading this should go play this board or the motif8, test the sounds with muliple velocities, test functions that are important to you, give it a good 2 hours. Now walk away any try not come back and buy it. Good Luck. Oh, I got a written email quote and took it to guitar center locally and they matched the price :)