Yamaha Motif 8

Using newest version (2/27/05) of OS.
I write in many different genres, mostly musical theatre and performance styles (think Sondheim to Schwartz.) The ease of use, at first, was a TWO. I purchased this board for it's compatibility with my computer and the rich voices and expandability it presented. After learning the more 'modern' features, it felt more and more like my old QY300 Sequencer. If you're familiar with Yamaha boards and sequencers, give it time. I now give the ease of use a NINE. It could be easier, maybe a bigger, more colorful screen; maybe more discriptive titles on the buttons and knobs. Otherwise, the screens are built on pages (which are easily changed with function keys,) and everything is very well integrated.

For just having fun, the performance voices are fantastic. The only problem I have is that, when using OrchThem or similar sets in performance, you need to add RAM to get a real effect... the starting RAM is just not enough. For basic voices however, this board functions well.

I was nearly offended when someone said there was ONE effect available. That's just NOT true. You are offered so many avenues to layer effects/voices... don't even start. Hehe. Yes, it takes a little work to build the effects you want ... but .. that's what a SmartMedia card or hard drive is for! Save what you built ... music is not created in a day.

I have heard the samples of what certain expansions can do, including the 'vocoder.' They sound impressive, but after paying in excess of $2k for the monster I just can't validate such purchases.

The weight is near perfect. As a PERFORMANCE machine, as in, piano, organ, guitar... you really couldn't ask for much more. I play a Bradbury upright from 1940, considered one of the best of that era (and beyond, some would say,) and I feel I play the Motif as well as I play my piano. As a PRODUCTION machine, the weight of the keys can be a bit annoying ... but if you don't like it, tough. The Motif 6 and 7 offer just what you need with nearly the same specs.

The sequencer is fantastic. Yamaha is very well known for the ease of use of their sequencers... and having such an expanded seq built into the board is a blessing, never a curse. EXCEPT (and this I take a point away for) the board is VERY integrated. This creates an illusion, of sorts, that EVERYTHING can be integrated. Performance mode is difficult to integrate into the sequencer, but CAN BE DONE ... unfortunately it requires a track for each voice used in performance mode.

The jazz flute. That is how I start this segment and how I wrap it up. When they get it right, they get it VERY right. From the pianos to the woodwinds, organs to the strings, realism is the thought. People complain about the presentation of the violin and organs. I rave. The organs, when controlled correctly, are easy to use and very realistic. The violin (PRESET) is a bit full with the vibrato, but if you don't want a sweet violin, use the original MIDI violin. It's still MegaVoice, it's just not as 'performancy.' Most people that want a realistic violin sound with full control ... hire a VIOLINIST.

Above all, the voices are phenomenal. I researched other boards for MONTHS until I made this purchase. Roland's string voices sounded like, when solo, original MIDI with a touch of care, and, when grouped, sounded like there was always a choir in the background... useless for me. I have produced many compositions that have had professionals scratching their heads... for soundtrack composition (and a little work besides, considering you're using ONE machine,) this beast is my baby. I love it like it's a member of my family.

Have no opinion ... my Motif is still working to this day.

Haven't had to.

A bit expensive considering what it must cost to manufacture, but I could say the same about my television or my cell phone. The fact is, Yamaha has hit a GEM with the Motif. It's a fantastic instrument between ease of use and sweetness of sound. I've had this board for a year and a half, and I'm still tingly when I touch it.

This beast is a #$%^& to learn but well worth the effort. If you have worked with other Yamaha gear then you should pick ip up pretty quick. If you are used to Roland or others then Yamaha's nomenclature can be condusing. The screen is small but there are a lot of function keys which makes getting to the desired functions easy.

Just what you would expect from a board of this caliber. Polyphony could be a little higher but I haven't run into any problems yet. Think of this as a studio production/song writing instrument and not as a tone generator for film scoring. Use the rack if that is your need.

Many people complain that there are not enough effects (read nerd nobs). While it is fun and in some RARE cases important to design your own sounds, this board is made to be played and not played with.

Haven't had the chance to use any of the expansion cards.

The feel of the keyboard action is nothing short of inspiring (at least for me). I personall like the Yamaha feel but others complain that it is too heavy. Thanksfully Yamaha makes boards with a synthy action (Motif 6, 7) for people who like that.

I'm still trying out the sequencer but frankly you can't beat a dedicated software sequencer for flexibility and features.

I personally love the sampling capabilities but was extremely disappointed with the 64MB memory limit. Yamaha, what were you thinking with using SIMMs???? The new ES solves this but I would hate to think that the board was designed poorly just to release an upgrade.

The sounds are distinctly Yamaha. If you like other Yamaha gear then you will LOVE this board. If you are a fan of other synths, then you will still love this board, but just not as much.

I personally mix the sounds of a Roland XV-3080 with the Motif to come up with the best of all worlds. Mi primary instrument of choice the the accoustic piano. The Motif is brite and brassy which is great when used in mix but harsh for some solo classical work unless you are prepared to alter the EQ/effects/etc. I have found that mixing the Motif Grand with the Roland SRX02 piano produces the finest sounding instrument available. My point is that no single instrument will meet everyone's needs for every sound.

Works like a charm but it stays in my home studio and is babied.

Never had to deal with them.

I'm in love and wouldn't part with it for anything (except maybe a new Motif ES8) Definately my favorite board!!!

I would like to see later versions come with a larger screen. Perhaps Yamaha could adopt the industry nomenclature as well.

I'm using OS 1.7. Compared to other boards, this one is very complicated, due to the small screen, but for the features, the ease of use is great. I've figured out almost everything on my own, and I referenced the manual a few times and had success. Don't buy this board if you're thinking it'll do work for you. This is a professional board and inexperienced people need not apply.

Great features. I'm in a touring band called Somebody's Closet and I tour with the machine. The voices and live performance is working just fine for me. I also use it in the studio and have never come across any problems or anything I can't do.

The piano is the most life like on the market. Roland and Korg need some work on their pianos. As far as the organ, it could be better, but good enough for live performance. You can also download MANY voices to upgrade your bank.

I only have 1 and I been touring with it for over a year now. The only problem I have is a sticky key, which I can fix on my own. Never had a problem.

Never used it.

I have been playing boards for 19 years and this is the greatest yet. If you're having trouble, just stop and think. Again, this thing won't think for you. Logic is the word. My Motif and I think the same. Don't get frustrated when something's not working the way you want. Chances are it can do it, you just need to know how to make it work.

OS Version 1.7 (no improvement only bugs remove. The manual is not very usefull and with many translation errors.

This not an user friendly keyboard and the GUI is the bad thing that we can find on the market.

Yamaha can and must do better (like the LCD screen on the TYROS)

Only out of date technology here. Use of USB for midi and data yes but at the Midi rate it's the hell.

Today it is very hard to find SCSI devices. Iomega (ZIP & Jaz) discontinue selling SCSI devices.

All the good stuffs are not included in the keyboard : AES/EBU - mLan are optionals

The GM presets are not truly GM compatible (the GM Drums for example)

The Onboard sequencer is the hell to use.

Can't change the weight of the keys. Playing organ is a hell for the fingers with the weighted keys.

Aftertouch is good but nothing exceptionnal.

Only one effect is not enough

This is a heavy keyboard used only at home.

Yamaha come with customer support ??? is it free of charge ???

There is motifator.com but i think that noone at Yamaha read it.

Example : some ask for a 1.8 OS free upgrade with great improvements of the GUI and the result is :

an Expensive Motif ES version

If it were lost or stolen, i never buy it again. I'm looking for other technology this is upgradable like Liontrack or eKo Open Labs.
This is the future of the music.

We must wait because mLan, USB 2, Bluetooth 1.2, Wifi and so on are the far future of the music.

Imagine your instruments hoocked to your computer or your mixer via Bluetooth or Wifi.

Software version unknown. Presets sound good but complicated. Editing patches is fairly unintuitive and takes a while to navigate to the parameter you want to edit. Manual is utter crap, merely explaining each feature in a very shallow way: "The arpeggio function is used for arpeggios" would be a good way of summing up their manual style.

64-note polyphony (or is it 62-note?) The keyboard action is a slightly-light piano-weighted feel. It has a number of built-in effects which sound quite nice, but I'm not sure how easy they are to make new ones. It accepts up to three Yamaha-branded expansion boards. I tried their Piano expansion board and after having a Roland A-90/ex the piano sounds were WEAK. Very weak. And I never figured out how to get the expansion board's sounds to play in my songs with the built-in sounds.

It has full MIDI controls, but curiously, at least the aftertouch DOES NOT get recorded into your sequences. This sucks if you have a sound that depends on aftertouch. For example, I had a flute noise that aftertouch would trigger a little harder breath noise, and by wiggling my finger I could get a beautiful human-controlled vibrato. But when playing back the song, the flute would always be flat and dull and boring. Yamaha tech support sucks in answering this. Fired off email to tech support and only got a robot response asking me to fill out their marketing survey.

The on-board sequencer is so convoluted and un-intuitive, you should expect to spend at least a week trying to sequence the most basic sounds. Then, if you ever try to sequence anything except 4/4 time, you will be a little disappointed in how little quality assurance went into making sure non-standard timings like that work. So far as I can tell, it is impossible to properly use arpeggios, patterns, and song mode in, eg, 5/4 time.

The instruments are beautiful but shallow. You will instantly sound like a professional violinist, flautist, pianist, or DJ when you get on this keyboard.

But if ever you want to play a violin sound without vibrato (or cello, or viola...) you will discover that they've SAMPLED THE VIBRATO INTO THE SOUND!!! This means that for any lengthy violin solo, for example, your ear will quickly grow tired of the monotonous constant vibrato on the instrument.

Don't dig too deeply on these samples, and you'll be amazed and astounded. Try to emulate a Yo Yo Ma cello piece, and you'll be disgusted at its limitations.

It does react well to velocity and aftertouch, but like I mentioned above, at least aftertouch cannot be recorded into your sequence. I know mod wheel and pitch bend *ARE* recorded ito the sequence, but I have no breath controller or controller pedals to be sure if every controller type can be recorded. (Oh, BTW, yes, I did find the screen that lists which events to record into the sequence, and yes, aftertouch was checked)

I don't gig with this board. It's a studio machine. It hasn't flopped out yet except features. As mentioned above, the inability to deal with anything but common time (4/4) and inability to record basic MIDI events like aftertouch into the sequence make this board a little limited.

Customer support sucked. Email: "Can Motif8 record aftertouch?" Simple question. Seems like a human could quickly say: "Your board is defective, return it," or "We have known issues, upgrade your OS" or whatever. Instead: "Fill out this huge complicated marketing form with your grandmother's date of birth and how many children you'll sell to Yamaha." Useless.

I've never tried to upgrade or repair this, but I've had Yamaha gear before. Like any company that has a monopoly on their own stuff, repairing or replacing parts will be extremely expensive and a huge hassle until it gets fixed. I doubt Yamaha is any worse than any other company in this regard, however.

I would probably buy something else if this were stolen. The Roland Fantom maybe. Roland's piano sounds and weighted piano feel is a little better in my opinion.

I have been playing for about 20 years, and have owned a Yamaha V50, Roland A90-ex, Roland Juno 60, Peavy DPM-V8. Some other random synths and modules in the past.

I love Yamaha's arpeggios. I wish they worked in 5/4 time, for example. If you only ever play common-time music (4/4) you probably will love this synth. It seems very geared toward rap and R&B, too.

When I was preparing to purchase, I compared this against the competition, and this one just seemed the right feature set for the price for me.

I do wish it would record aftertouch and work well with non-4/4 timed music :(

And sometimes I wish the sequencing and controls were a little less complex. The Yamaha V50 had some good controls for editing parameters and navigating the features, this one has a lot less buttons, sliders, and knobs and therefore is "simpler" but takes 3x longer to edit or navigate through the system as before. Take data entry: The value is "999" now and I want it to be "32" -- I have to spin this stupid data entry wheel for 10 seconds to get down to 32, whereas on the V50 you could just type "32" on the number pad then "enter."

So the Motif is much simpler to understand, but when you start getting good with it, there's no way to speed up input.

Sometimes it gets in the way of making music and sometimes it helps. Depends on if you can wrap your head around the new idea of an "arpeggio." If you can, then you can sound like a professional flautist, guitarist, pianist, violinist, and R&Bist all in one hour, but if you can't, then this will only ever make cheezy music for you.

The email address I give below is actually a valid email, and you can email it without getting bounces.

The best way to learn this keyboard is to be part of www.motifator.com and its forums. (play this AXE nightly) The manual is basically used for definitions and has no interactive support. My advice is to put it away. (It's only good as a reference) Eventhough it offers a sequencer, you're better off having Sonar XL 2.2 as your software sequencer here. It's easier to edit using sequencing software than to deal with the Motif 8 edit capabilities.

The Keyboard action on the Motif 8 is terrific along with its touch sensitivity. (I depend on it for all of my articulations evident in my scores) The internal sounds are fine and I do not care for any of the expansion boards. I basically use Gigastudio 160 and its libraries to bridge thoses sounds with the Motif internal sounds. Polyphony issues are resolved by using Sonar XL 2.2 and creating additional Audio tracks. This gives you greater control in all of your final mixes.

Since I am a Jazz arranger, there is a lot to be tweaked in way of reeds and horns. Check out http://motif.falldowngoboom.org/ and look for the guys there that are offering at present a free voice bank.

I use the Motif strictly in my studio only! I wouldn't take this heavy axe out on a gig unless I needed it to make a living. Since I am retired from Gigging, my Motif 8 remains in its pristine state which is very comforting to see. It does get covered when not in use.

The customer support can be aided by contacting the Gurus in the motifator.com forums otherwise it takes a good while IMHO for Yamaha to respond. Look for my scores in the Mo-Songs Forum of that Site under Saxman28

Since the Motif 8 is my Master Keyboard, I wouldn't part from it. You can listen to all of my song-arrangements at www.AlanRussellMusic.Com (Please sign my guest book) You'll be able to hear many internal sounds of the Motif 8 + A few Giga Library Files. There is a description for every song-arrangements and the instruments used. All of my gear is notated. Keep in mind that the Motif 8 is my master keyboard in all of my productions.

Hate to break it to you folks but the Rhodes and Wurli patches in the S80 are far better than the Motif 8 or the new S90 (since the S90 is just a compilation of Motif sounds) They didn't use the same Rhodes samples and the new ones are much thinner and not as responsive. Yet one more example of how things get worse as a product line progresses. The synthesizer industry is just like the car industry. In order to have the best you have to search for that one model and one year that had the killer engine in it that the model from the "improved" following year didn't have. Absolutely ridiculous. Gear head techy folklore anyone?

There is absolutely NO way you are going to use this synthesizer through intuition. however, the manual is 94% useful. If you get in stuck on something for a long period of time read carefully through manual. I learnt all the fundemental operation prodecures in only 2 days. but it takes quite a bit of time and frustration to understand.

I do not know much about the polyphony yet, havent even bothered with it. the keyboard it EXCELLENT. comfortable than your average grand piano. I love the sequencer but i find it a little time consuming. I have finally got the hang of the song mode but i still have a little more to master. The bitch about the sequencer is that you MUST either have a Smartmedia Card or Scsi connection otherwise once you turn it off all the sequence data is gone.

I think that the synth pads are absolutely brilliant. The only thing that i would ask for is that they had more sounds which were more sharper and attacking. it consists more on ambiences but other than that they are top notch.The string samples are definitely the best and most that you will ever find for a workstation with preset sounds.
The guitar sounds are detailed but i would not say that that they are realistic. it was a minor disappointment. the synth leads are pretty good. there drums are excellent and also have a broad range. the brass sound are medeocre. the musical FX can be classified as top notch. The EFFECT sounds are great but leave a little to be desired.

I would NEVER take to any gigs. It almost weighs more than i do. It has only crashed once in the time that i have had it but other than that it's more trustworthy than your right hand man.

I have not need to go to any kind of support.

worth every single penny{even worth more}. this is a definate purchase if you are looking to make amazing and professional music.

The motif was a little hard to use, because you have to press several buttons to get to one place. With the help of motifator.com most of my questions are answered in a day or two. So overall, it's a fairly easy synth to use once you get down the basics.

The only downside to the Motif is the polyphony. Only 62 and it can run out fairly quick, especially if you like to use that sustain pedal with the pianos. I can only get down to like 3-5 tracks , if i use the sustain pedal a lot with the pianos. THe other downside is that you can only use one fx at a time. So in song mode you can only assign one fx to one channel. That kind of change the sounds a little, but still fairly decent.

As far as expansion capabilites, you can add more memory for sampler, add up to 3 expansion board, Mlan, and AIEB2.

The onboard sequencer is fairly easy to use, but editing is sort of confusing due to the tiny screen.

The sounds on the motif is superb. Probably one of the best acoustic sounding synth i have ever come across. If we're just talking about stock sounds, then the motif can't be beaten.

I use the sounds for pop, rnb, rock, and dance music. The sounds can be edited to suit your needs. There are other third party offering more sounds, so you're not limited.

The motif is built like a tank. Extremely heavy. I recommend that if you plan to use it for gig, you'll have to invest in a case that has wheel so it'll be easier for you to transport it from one place to another.

I have not call customer yet. I got the motif for a year now and so far no problem. IF i'm stuck with a problem, i usually post my question in motifator.com and it's usually answer in a couple of hours or the next day. Of course, the manual sucks, so go to the site for better help and clarification.

If it was lost i would replace it. For sounds makes a huge difference in my mix. I have been playing for 15 years now and this is one of the synth that i owned. When i was going to purchase this synth i did compare it with the Korg Triton Studio 88, but the motif has more realistic sounds while the Triton is aimed more toward dreamy pads to synth sounds. THe only thing that i can make it better are more FX (right now only 1 for 1 channel) and more polyphony(62 at the moment).

Mine came with OS v. 1.4; will upgrade to v. 1.7 shortly. I'm hoping 1.7 improves the user interface, but I'm not holding my breath. My previous experience is limited to Ensoniq (SD1, TS12), and a very little with a Yamaha S80. In so many ways, my approximately 10-year-old Ensoniqs were FAR easier to use, with a far better and user-friendly onboard sequencer, than the one that comes with the Motif8 (the onboard sqeuqncer being one of the main reasons I bought the Motif8). I still haven't gotten very far into the various features of the Motif8 yet (in large part because I am still stuck trying without success to get the sequencer to do things that my old Ensoniq could do in a cold heartbeat). Much of my inability to get very far into the Motif8's features more quickly by now than might normally be possible is directly due to the nightmare that Yamaha calls a user manual. It's obviously written for rocket scientists and gear-heads, but not musicians. The manual covers all the buttons (and myriad combinations thereof), in a scientifically perfunctory (but uselessly unhelpful) kind of way. Adding to the difficulties is Yamaha's unexplainable need to rewrite otherwise commonly used synthesizer terminology in its own unique way! The user interface, as presented on the LED screen on the synth itself is anything but user-friendly. Yamaha could learn a lot in this department by taking a close look at Ensoniq's user interface and soft/dedicated button setup. Another user here mentioned the ASR10 (Ensoniq) as being the best onboard sequencer of all the many synths he has used, and the Ensoniq TS-12's onboard sequencer (which I used a lot previously) is very closely related, if not the same animal. Some here say the Motif8 sequencer is a great thing because of all its features and tracks, etc. I'm not impressed. You can have all the features and tracks in the world; but if the basic usability of the thing is far more difficult than it should be, and it's also handcuffed by the Motif8's limited polyphony, which definitely comes into play when doing sequences, then none of the good stuff matters, in my opinion.

Only 64 (62?) voices of polyphony. Should be 128 out of the box (hopefully, some wise forward-thinking company will bump the "out of the box" standard up to 256 voices sooner rather than later). And who wants to spend a couple of hundred per expansion board that has a bunch of unwanted extra "new" sounds just so you can get added polyphony? Not I.

My Ensoniqs only had 32 voices of polyphony, yet I could layer more tracks in a sequence than I can with the Motif8 which supposedly has 64 voices of polyphony. One wonders if "voice" really means voice, or whether Yamaha redefined that one, too. I have yet to be able to layer anything more than 2 thicker sounds (i.e., piano and strings) together in a sequence (something I do frequently) without running out of polyphony; and sometimes, I even run out while laying down the track for the second sound!! For my desired uses of an onboard sequencer, this renders it virtually useless except for the most unadvanced and simple "sequences". Also, some funky MIDI thing happens in the first measure or two of every sequence that I haven't figured out yet, and which messes up the first measure of music in every sequence. Finally -- and this is pretty incredible -- you MUST save any songs/patterns EXTERNALLY -- i.e., there is NO internal hard drive/memory dedicated to songs/patterns created with the sequencer. This is like a leap back to the stone age. Even my 10-year-old Ensoniqs could save numerous songs created with its sequencer to a dedicated internal hard drive.

My general impression of the Motif8 (excluding the fabulous sounds) is that you have to do a lot of tweaking, a lot of "homework" (research), and invest a fair chunk of $$ in a variety of extras in order to get the beast to work the way it really should.

Lots of features, but difficult to use (unless you want to just play it as an unconnected stand-alone piano (or other instrument)). Because of its abundance of features (despite their difficulty of use), my rating of this category will give it the benefit of the doubt.

Best brass on any synth I have owned or tried out.
Too much vibrato (and can't get it to fade out) on the solo string instruments (i.e., violin, etc.).
The PowerGrand piano is to die for (and I'm a pianist).
There are also a nice variety of fairly realistic pipe organ sounds (I'm also an organist). Overall, the Motif8's sounds are the best. I've spent only a little time on the motifator.com site in the short time I've been registered, but I understand that downloads of additional sounds, as they are developed, are available, which surely is a good thing.
I use my Motif8 in a church setting (I direct my church's orchestra), and do a lot of mixed ensemble work with various orchestral insrument, vocal ensembles and solos, etc., and so I focus on the orchestral instruments, pipe organ sounds, pianos, and could care less about drums, guitars and anything "band" (we already have our own live band, and they do a great job).

Once I can figure out how to get the onboard sequencer to do what I think it should be capbable of doing, with the results sounding much better than they do now, then my overall rating of this synth will increase dramatically. But as for its sounds and expressiveness viewed ALONE, they are wonderful! Many here say they would buy the Motif8 for the sounds alone regardless of other factors. If I had to do it over again, I'm not sure I would agree with that -- but in all fairness, the jury (for me) is still out on that point.

Very reliable. However, I don't understand why I can't write/save Motif8 MIDI files directly from the Motif8 to a USB pocket-size 20GB hard drive via a USB cable plugged into the back of the synth (on one end) and into the hard drive (on the other end), without getting a PC involved. The only two options offered on the Motif8 for saving song/pattern files are (1) the SmartMedia card (fairly expensive memory space when compared to other forms -- $40 for only 32MB of SmartMedia memory space versus $180 for 20GB of USB hard drive space); or (2) a SCSI hard drive. The Motif8 has a USB port, but no option to use it to save and/or load data via that port is even offered within the Motif8 OS. I don't get it.

Haven't had occasion to use this yet. Registered with motifator.com, but have not had time to give it a serious look (too busy screwing around with the manual, the sequencer, and trying to make the USB hard drive I bought work with the Motif8 to save song files). I hope the positive comments others have said here about the motifator.com site are all true.

Caveat - I haven't owned this synth for very long; but on the other hand, it hasn't taken me very long to figure out the things mentioned in this review.

Overall rating is split into two categories: (1) Available sounds, effects and features - "10" (except for the sequencer -- and I forgot to mention that I have never done any sampling, so any ratings I offer exclude that feature); and (2) ease of use of available sounds, effects and features - "3" (at best). Combine this with what I would consider very limited polyphony (I've been asked more than once "how can you ever run out of polyphony with 64 voices?"; my answer "it happens to me daily"), and I'd have to give the Motif8 an overall rating (at this point in time) of 6. Again, if I had bought it for different uses than I currently have, then perhaps I would think it was the greatest invention since apple pie; but I didn't, and I don't. I sincerely hope I can come back here later on and, like one other reviewer here, positively amend this initial review (by the way, I completely agree with and echo the sentiments of that other reviewer as expressed throughout his amended review).

Except for the sequencer, manual, limited polyphony, and difficulty of use, it's a great instrument, if you don't mind spending hours figuring out how to use it instead of creating and/or saving music!

Great sound. Editor is OK, but the User Interface programming sort of sucks.

Enough notes 64. Great keyboard action. OK effects. Expansion great with 3 PLG cards. OK sequencer but no match for software synth. BUT digital outputs are one way only. You can't audio sync this beast to a studio. The studio has to sync to it. Sort of stupid.

Great sounds BUT microtonal tuning is crippled with useless presets. Lots of duplication (same tuning on different notes). I could do the same with performance tuning and voice tuning functions. Useless for serious alternate music work.

Build like a tank. Wouldn't take it anywhere.

Forget it. It's Yamaha. (Microtonal tuning update has been on the most wanted wishlist for a year. Software updates have not taken it into account. Nobody's listening.

I bought this for the keyboard action mainly and the PLG150-VL plugin boards (own 3). Was really pissed off cause I can't use alternate tunings. A shame that Yamaha discontinued this feature in its high end line.

It's really a pitty that Yamaha did not include any of the S80's electric "Rhodes" type piano sounds. The Rhodes type electriuc pianos on the Motiff are thin sounding. I decided not to get this keyboard based on that. However, the acoustic piano sounds are better on the motiff. Kurzweil's PC2X still has better pianos. A Motiff piano note decays too quickly after the initial attack.

Appears to be well engineering.

They will call back.

Board came with 1.3 installed. Upgraded to 1.6 although I had no problems with the board before upgrading. This is used in a contemporary church worship environment. I have found the sequencer and ISS to be a bit more confusing than anticipated, but am close to making it workable on a live basis. Great Acoustic Piano presets as well as guitars and bass. Drums also very good. Brass leave a bit to be desired, but I have downloaded some patch variations that show hope.

Fantastic board upgrade from a Roland XP-80. Wish the sequencer was intiutive and easy to use as the XP, but man the key action rocks!

64 Polyphany stinks. I misread the marketing materials and thought that buying one PLG150 piano board expansion would allow me to increase my polyphany. WRONG! You need 2 expansion boards. I haven't had much drop out note problems. But would like more polyphany.

Keyboard action is by far the best I've used.

Effects are easy to use and bypass as needed on the fly.

Wish the sequencer memory could be expanded. Would rather have a firewire connection than SCSI. No missing MIDI capabilities that I long for. This seems to cover my needs.

On board sequencer not as easy to use as XP-80 or Triton, but the ISS makes up for any lacking in this on-board sequencer.

Wish the screen was bigger.

Overall excellent feature set for a workstation. I paid nearly the same amount 5 years ago for my XP-80 and it didn't even have 88 keys or weighted action.

Accoustic pianos - Awesome! The GM Natural Grand is much more to my liking than the PowerGrand. This is truly a subjective area.

EP's - Some excellent, some so-so. S80 seemed to have better preset EP's. However some voice editing has improved this.

Strings - Presets stink - too much unnatural vibrato. Tweeking the voices produced good results. Don't judge it by the presets. They can be much better if you can edit or know someone who can.

Drums /Percussion - Awesome!

Other - good variety. Arp and after touch add so much to all the voices. Still playing with variations a month after getting the board.

Very warm pads!

Would give a 10 if presets were better. I don't like to tweek. They are a 10 now, but that doesn't help you if you don't know how to improve through editing.

Incredibly hard to move around. Very big. I'm still waiting on my custom SKB case with wheels. I'll feel better about moving it regularly then. I transport back and forth from gigs 2 times a week and up a flight of stairs. God help me if I drop this thing!

I'd use it on a gig with out a backup. It has never frozen, acted up or anything bizarre. Stable OS.

Mac OS X support is lacking. Would like to use the direct USB midi connection, but still waiting for Yamaha to get off their duffs and provide some OS X drivers. Most SW included is geared to PC or the old MAC interface.

Haven't had to use CS at Yamaha, but wish the site had more power user guides for this board. www.motifator.com has been a big help, however.

Definitely would buy again if lost of stolen. Definitely worth what I paid. I actually bought one for my church a couple months ago for $2600. I was excited to save $200, tax, and shipping (another $200).
I've been playing for over 15 years. I own an S80 and a Roland XV3080 which are going on Ebay tonight (no need). Use Cubase VST and compose on Sibelius.
Compared to Triton Studio, Roland Fantom. No comparison. Sound and key action along with the ISS function is why I chose this board.
Wish I could install an onboard Hard Drive instead of using and external SCSI.

Don't rely on online reviews without going and checking this board out in person. You can find a great deal online (musicians friend or 8th street music), but CHECK IT OUT IN PERSON!!!!

v. 1.4 software. Ease of use. Heh. How is the editing? It's a bloody hemorrhoid in my a$$. Yes, it's an itching, painful mass of dilated transistors and capacitors and circuitry... though unfortunately you can't swab it with gel and make it stop hurting. How is the manual? Think quantum physics. By far this is the most poorly designed OS in the history of synthesizers - b a r NONE.

Polyphony is 64, like the competition (don't be fooled into thinking a Triton is 128 voices because it is 64 for PCM and 64 for piano.. don't believe the Korg hype). THe Motif's effects are excellent, and very fun to use. Inspiring, funky, wet, snappy, great verbs, etc etc. You can expand the board with PLG boards :fart: Yes, it has a sequencer and it rims. Can't stand it. Loop mode for EACH track? Wtf is that? I'm not even going to go into it because you have to see it to believe it. Don't plan on working efficiently and intuitively. Not gonna happen with this board.

By far and wide the Motif offers the best patches of any workstation in existence. They are SUPERB. Both electronic and acoustic sounds kick AZZ. The free presets from the motifator.com site (look in Motif store under files, etc) are completely off the hook. They will keep me busy for a looooong time. I mean, here we (Mo users that hanf out at motifator.com) were all jazzed about the presets, then Yamaha rolls out another three banks of sounds designed by top designers and my Motif is new all over again. I can't tell you about these presets (meat and potatoes, coffee and dessert - as they are clled, etc) You just have to hear them. F'G AWESOME.

The aftertouch and sensitivity afforded by the REMARKABLE key action on the Mo8 is to die for. Too expressive to even describe. Sold me on the board. You will LOVE playing. It feels beautiful under your fingers. I'mn not being corny. It feels better than any real piano keys I have ever struck.. and I'm a decent player.

Solid so far.. not a single crash (though I sequence on my MPC ONLY so I can't speak for the sequencer. I used it one time and the notes drifted from the click.. I was like, "nope.")

SUPERB. Best in the biz. Check out motifator.com 'nuff said

Best board I've ever owned.. with the worst OS ever designed. You'll have to go to your local store and ask them to demo it.. have them edit some patches, activate some arpeggios.. watch how many button clicks.. notice how buttons for common features are spread out all over hell. I hate that about the board. But the sound and fell sold me... and would sell me all over again...

We found the programming of the Motif simple and intuitive. The manual was clear and provided all the information we required. The presets are quite usable in a studio context. It is very easy to edit, tweak and save patches. The synth comes with a nice little library of editors and tools on CD ROM

The action on both the weighted version (the Motif 8) and the organ style (Motif 6 & 7) are all time favorites. The unweighted keyboards have a nice bounce with very comfortable mod / pitch wheels.

The Motif 8 will gratify piano players. On the other hand, as a synth player, I found the weighted keyboard hard to play... the piano action was too realistic.

The built in DSP is remarkable - phase shifters, reverb and delay all sound superior to any other keyboard we have tested. In fact, I have found it very difficult to go back to favorite Korg and Roland modules. At the same time, it is great being able to turn the effects off with a single button on the front panel.

Most of the instruments are very realistic - the electric pianos and clavinets in particular are standouts. Our Rhodes has been in the basement since we bought the Motif. It has the best "stock" piano sound we have ever heard. In a mix, it is very hard to tell from the Yamaha C7 grand.

For general commercial use, all the sounds are stellar, and some of the patches that sound a little bland when played solo (the hammond organs in particular) shine in a mix.

The orchestral patches are no substitute for a high end sampler with a good library, but they are superior to any other PCM / PM synth we have tried. In fact, they are very good and I am just spoiled.

The Motifs are built like tanks. They are one of the sturdiest, dependable synths ever built. The Motif 8 is very heavy, but you know that by now. If you have ever moved a Yamaha CS-80, Hammond Organ, CP-70 or even a Fender Rhodes, you won't complain.

Yamaha's very net friendly approach to service and upgrades should be commended.

Since investing in our original Motif 8, we have now added a pair of Motif 6.

Still have 1st version of SW. Presets are excellent, although Rhodes sounds are not quite the quality of the S80. Have not used the patch editor, or the manual.

62 note polyphony, not sure about upgrade via Yamaha cards. Some say adding the piano card gives you 128 notes, Yamaha lit seems to say adding (2) piano cards gives you 128 notes. Excellecnt action, effects. Sequencer works well, no complaints there.

Excellent piano, organs, electric piano, pads, strings, brass, drums. Not bad guitars, I think Roland has um beat on the classical and steel string guitars. Yamaha has the best electric guitars. Works wll for any type of music. Excellent onboard effects. Reacts pretty well to playing. I like the S80 electric piano reaction better.

No problems so far. Would really like to use it gigging but its just too heavy.

Never called on the Motif; however they were very helpful on the O3D.

Would buy it again, no question. Had a S80, sold it to get the Motif 8. Have a Roland A-70EX Midi'd to Proteus 2000 w/ Holy Grail Piano and Definitive B3 ROM, and Yamaha FS1R for DX sounds. I love the Motif for the action and so many excellect sounds. It is the only keyboard anyone needs. I wish the electric piano sounds were identical to the S80.

There is a steep learning curve to use the advanced functions on this keyboard, but it is relatively easy to start using the Motif to do basic sequencing. There are many different "modes" on the keyboard, and buttons change function depending on what mode you are in. This takes some getting used to.

The manual definitely leaves something to be desired, but great help can be found at motifator.com.

Polyphony is 62 notes. Supposedly, polyphony is enhanced by the new OS upgrade. There is a multi-part plug-in board to enhance polyphony. Also, the piano plug-in board enhances polyphony to 126 notes for the piano sounds. By the way, the Roland Fantom workstation also has 62 notes of polyphony.

The effects are amazing. There are many different chorus and reverb effects which make your sequences sound amazing. You can also apply effects to a line input, so you can sing into a microphone and apply a chorus effect to your vocal.

The Motif has unprecedented expandability. You store to SmartMedia cards, you can install two SIMM cards to be able to sample over 6 minutes of audio. There is an optical out so you can record onto a DAT recorder. There is a USB connection for MIDI.

I haven't even begun to access the advanced functions of the sequencer but it is very powerful. The whole song/pattern/part/section lingo is a little confusing to me.

Sounds are amazing. I love the drums and electric keyboards. On the VL-150 plug-in board, there are some amazing saxophones with the breath built right in.

On the acoustic bass sounds, there are effects like bass "tricks"...there are some great electric guitar sounds. There is also a Latin percussion kit with Brazilian surdo, tamborim, agogo.

This thing is so heavy (62 pounds) that I am never going to lug it anywhere. Seems reliable!

Motifator rocks.

I love this machine. Although there is a steep learning curve for some functions and the setup isn't entirely intuitive, it really is an amazing machine and you can make amazing music on it.

ver 1.4
I'd like to go against the trend and say that so far, I haven't found the Mo difficult at all. Okay, so Yammy calls them voices when others call them patches, but who cares what they are called? The knobs and sliders are great for quick edits. Sequencing is about as easy as it can be without a computer, so easy in fact that I had a whole stack of fully sequenced tracks the day after I got the thing.
The only fair comment I have seen about it's apparent lack of user-friendliness is that there is a fair amount of button pushing because there are few dedicated buttons, but the display is very helpful and shows you exactly what you need to see on each page.
The manual has been criticised but I think it's actually okay (ever had the misfortune of reading a Roland manual? At least Yammy put all the info you need in their manuals).
One thing worth mentioning: if ease of use includes ease of carrying, the Mo 8 would score 0. This is a big Mo.

Features can be found at Yammy's site. The features I bought it for are the built in sampler and the pattern mode, which means now that when the singer in my band wants to sing a few extra choruses, he can do what he likes! Other features worth mentioning are Master mode, which essentially stores a 'snapshot' of the Mo, giving quicker access to functions you frequently use for different applications. This is great for a live situation, eg, you are playing two songs, one sequenced, the other not. One 'master' takes you straight to the right song in song mode, the other takes you straight to the right sound in performance mode.
The synthesis system (AWM2) is fairly comprehensive, though there is only one LFO per voice element (Roland synths usually have two).
The effects are lacking in number compared to a Triton, but are of high quality, besides, how many effects do you need at once? The sounds are good without them anyway.
The keyboard action feels good, not too heavy, not flimsy. It's certainly a step up from some of the terrible actions on other digital pianos that I've tried.
Features lacking:
Polyphony! 62 voices can quickly run out.
Proper voice editing in sequencer mode.
Built in co-axial S/PDIF: there is built in optical, though co-ax can be added.
Smartmedia cards. There is a slot for a Smartmedia card, but as the sequencer and sampler memory is volatile, Yammy should have included a Smartmedia card along with the Mo.
Vocoder effect. This has to be added seperately (with the Vocal Harmony board).
A velocity curve for the keyboard that turns it effectively into Graded Hammer Action (lighter at the top, heavier at the bottom).
16 REAL knobs and sliders instead of 4 real and 16 virtual.
Wheels. Not pitch or modulation wheels. Wheels to transport the thing!

The standout sounds for me are the Rhodes EP's and the drumkits. The snares especially are very realistic (I had a drummer playing them from his electronic kit for hours). The piano is very broad and rich. Organs are nice and crunchy. Great range of synth sounds and effects.
One big problem with the solo string sounds is that they were sampled with vibrato, meaning that you can't get rid of it once it's there, and it ends up sounding LESS natural, as it just gets faster higher up the keyboard. The flute has the same problem, great tone, too much vibrato.
The sound quality is not as brittle and harsh as some have suggested, and there are plenty of warm pad sounds that can be coaxed out of the Mo.

I have so far done one gig with it, and am going to use it for future gigs. I haven't had any problems with the unit crashing. The only issue with gigging is how damn heavy it is.

I've dealt with Yamaha Australia before, and they were pretty helpful. I don't know if I'll get any support this time as I bought the keyboard from Belgium!
The Motifator.com website is a great example of a product support website, very helpful and informative.

For the price, it adds a huge amount of 'studio' to any studio, it's a flexible performance instrument and it's genuinely fun to play. My only 'problem' with it so far is how heavy it is!
I have or have used: a Yamaha DX7s, DX100, CX5m, Roland RD-700, JV-50, JV-80, JV-1010, JV-1080, Korg Trinity, 05R/W, Ensoniq Mirage, ASR-10.

I'm pretty new to this synth, but I find the basic features of the synth fairly easy to use. There is some button pushing but by no means do you have to push any button more than 3-4 times. It's just that some of the button sequences are kind of tricky to remember, and there are so many things this synth can do. It's definitly more complicated than any synth I've used before. The manual isn't really that good, but at least it's available for free electronically. A lot of the features I learned online at the Motif Forum (www.motifator.com). I think without the forum I would be dead in the water and pretty frustrated. So with the forum I rate the ease of use as 8, but without it, a 6. Also check out motifhelp.tripod.com, which has a ton of information.

The one thing that I've found the hardest to use is the pattern mode, but after looking on the web site about what styles, sections, phrases, and parts are, it started to click a lot better. The ease of use of the onboard sequencer could be improved, but it's pretty usable as it is.

The buttons and modes are fairly easy to use once you get used to them, but the learning curve is kind of steep.

The polyphony is only 64, which may be kind of limited, but one of the great features of this synth is that it can do resampling, which means if you have enough memory you can convert entire parts of your song into a sample, saving the polyphony for additional song parts.

Out of the factory it only has 4MB of sample memory, which isn't really enough, but it is upgradable to 64MB. The tricky part about the upgrade is that not all memory will work. Also, it's volatile memory so any samples or sequences must be saved to external storage or they will be lost.

For storage you have several options. One is to buy a smartcard (up to 128MB), or you can use the onboard SCSI. Don't expect quick file transfers, however. It can take up to 5 minutes to load a file from a smart card. The SCSI speed is faster than some other boards, but is not exactly impressive. If you use a smart card it's always good to have a smartcard reader/writer for your computer. Those cost less than the smart cards typically so it is definitly worth it.

For voices (patches) you get 3 preset banks, 1 General MIDI bank, and 1 user bank. Each bank has 128 voices. Each voice has up to 4 elements (waves), which can be from the ROM or from a sample. Each voice has 2 insert effects and reverb and chorus. The effects are pretty good but I can't tell you much about that because I haven't explored them that much yet.

The arpeggiator is pretty strong. You can build custom arpeggios but the ones that come with it are pretty good.

It has a sequencer with two modes, song, and pattern. In each mode there is the edit mode (which is helpful but not that great), a mix mode (where you specify part volumes, voices, effect sends, and stuff) , a job mode (copy, quantize, delete, and a lot more), and of course the record mode.

The one thing that I find annoying about the sequencer is that sometimes it insists that you stop the playback or recording to get what you want to do done. For example you can't go right into mix mode while you're recording.

There are 4 knobs and 5 volume sliders. The knobs control parameters such as reverb, chorus, attack, decay, filter cutoff and resonance, and a 4 band equalizer.

There are also buttons to control an external sequencer if it is compatible with one of three sequencer types. However I found it kind of hard to use in Cakewalk.

This is definitly a heavyweight synth. You might have problems transporting it unless you have a wagon or van.

The key action is really superb. I would get this synth for the realistic sounds and great key action alone.

The sounds are very full and realistic, as long as you play them within a reasonable range. Some of the sounds are good for the entire keyboard.

There is aftertouch, but I've only heard it used in one patch. It could definitly be used better. The aftertouch itself is kind of insensitive in my opinion.

The key action is so helpful when it comes to expressiveness. Going back to a non weighted keyboard lets you know how spoiled you've become by this instrument. I'm sure there are better keys out there, but you would have to pay a lot more.

The sounds are pretty modern, and there is a good balance between standard instruments and electronic instruments and sound effects. Samples would cover anything else that you needed.

I don't like the user voices that come with the synth mostly (maybe I haven't given them a chance yet??). But the ones that are downloadable from MotifMart are really great, and FREE.

You can use 2 expression pedals and 2 switch pedals (sustain and assignable) which adds even more expression to the works.

I'm not sure what else to add other than it's dreamy.

So far so good. The OS upgrade went without a hitch. I'm mostly a home studio recorder and I don't gig, but if I ever did I wouldn't need a backup. I haven't had it long enough to really gain a valuable opinion, however.

We lost the manual within a week of purchasing it, and I called to see how much a replacement would cost, and they sent it for free! Their motifator website is really comprehensive. The made the manuals available via pdf files for free. So far I don't have any complaints about customer service.

This synth is definitly a dream machine for me. If it were stolen I would mourn the loss and then try to replace it as soon as I could afford it again (if it wasn't covered by insurance).

Practically the only thing it doesn't do is give me playing lessons.

It could use faster data transfer better USB capabilities (you can't transfer files via the USB and it is limited to std MIDI speed only) and more memory expandability, and the sequencer is far from perfect, which is why I won't give it a 10. Still, a good all round synth overall.

I decided to RE-REVIEW this synth because when I wrote my last review of it - which I have requested Harmony Central remove - I was a bit frustrated with the horrible manual and the fact that I simply could not figure out how to get the Motif in Multi Timb. mode. So here's a more objective post. I apologize for jumping the gun.

I'll start by saying I have been producing/composing since the late eighties and have used everything from a DX7 to the Motif8 (SD1, EPS16, ASR10, JV1080, JV2080, Korg M1, K2000, k2500, MPC, SP, Proteus, Phatt, E4xt, S2000, S3000, S5000, A3000, D50 .. you get the idea). I've also used just about every software sequencer and VSTi made - on PC's as well as Mac's. And I still suck. :P IN ANY CASE..

I think most seasoned keyboard addicts will tell you Yamaha products are not known for their ease of use. For some reason, they employ different terms than other manufacturers and most of their products have operating systems that will leave you scratching your head for hours - if not days. Compound this with the fact that they have absolutely no idea how to write a technical manual (apparently an epidemic in the gear industry) and you're in for a LOT of headaches.

I think the above is important to comprehend for both the vets and newcomers. For the vets: if you've been a die hard (eg) Roland user over the years, beware of this OS; it's unlike anything you've ever seen. It's a steep curve. If you're a newcomer: I don't think this is the right board to learn on. Learn the conventions first (i.e. Roland, Korg, etc) and then come back to the Yamaha in a couple years. If you start out on a convulted board like this, you're going to get frustrated REAL quick. So what I would recommend? Try a Korg Triton. It's by far the easiest synth to use on the planet.

All that said, editing patches is a pain on the tiny display. Lots of button clicks and scrolling. PC/Mac editor is a MUST-HAVE if you want to do granular editing to patches/programs (which Yamaha calls "voices" incidentally). The Motif is soft button heaven - or hell, depending on your perspective.

The manual is a J O K E. I had to go the Motif web site and ask questions about BAIC operations on the user forum because I simply could not find any answers by cross referencing terms in the back. I continue to be amazed at how much they left out of the manual. For instance, there is NOT even a SENTENCE in the entire manual the refers SPECIFICALLY to setting up the synth to be used with an external sequencer. Nothing. I don't know about you, but I find that unacceptable. The manual is not worth the paper it is written on.

The Motif's polyphony is a meager 64 voices. I don't know what Yamaha was thinking when they designed it. Almost everything coming out has 128 voices now and even 128 is not enough sometimes. Oh well, Yamaha will invariably lose a lot of sales because of this.

The effects and filters are sufficient for most applications. The reverb is very clean and realistic, and the filters are flexible. The XV5080 and the Triton both offer more effects blocks, as does the disgustingly-priced K2600 series. In terms of expansion and memory, there is a 64MB RAM limitation AND it's of the SIMM variety.. another puzzling move on Yamaha's part considering how cheap and accessible DIMMs are these days. On the flip side, Yamaha took a bold step and tossed the antiquated floppy drive and decided to use SMART MEDIA. Only thing is, SmartMedia is expensive. 64MB card cost me $40. I think they should have went with a Zip drive.. but what do I know..

Let's talk about modes. This is where things get screwy. In MOST synths, there is a program mode, combination mode, multi mode and sequencer mode. Simple. Not so with the Motif. The Motif has the following modes:

Voice (traditionally called "single" or "program") Performance (traditionally single programs using more than one waveform, up to 4 max in the case of the Motif), Master (don't ask), Song and pattern. Let's look at each in more detail:

*****VOICE MODE******
This is Yamaha's word for what most of us know as PROGRAMS, PATCHES, INSTRUMENTS or SINGLES. The term "voice" has HISTORICALLY been another word for a WAVEFORM or a TONE, so to use it to describe a PROGRAM is REALLY bassackwards - let alone uncalled for. Anyhow, there are several banks of "voices" and they cover all of the bases (see below). Problem is, if you're in one bank scrolling through patches, once you get to number 128, you're done. You can't keep scrolling to the next bank. You have to use the "voice finder" to call up another bank. The array of buttons that begin to flash like a Christmas tree when you fumble through the "press button x, hold it down and simultaneously press button "y" procedures is entertaining :sigh: I can't believe I had to open the manual to figure out how to view the next bank from voice 001. Again, no excuse, Yamaha.

****PERFORMANCE MODE*****
Funny thing about this mode is that it's not a "performance" at all; it's simply a program with more than one "voice" - similar to the Korg's "Combi" mode. Here you can add up to four voices to form a monster instrument (and I do mean MONSTER) but watch your polyphony! You've only got 64 voices -- err crap, what should I call them -- to use so easy on that vibrato!!

****MASTER****
No clue. Still can't figure out its purpose. I doubt I'll ever need it. I'm not lugging this 5,000 lb. BEAST to a gig anyways. But don't be fooled, it has NOTHING to do with global settings.

***SEQUENCER MODE****
This covers both patterns and songs. Gone are the days of looping beats in SONG mode (like you can do in every other sequencer in existence). If you're loop oriented, you'll be working in PATTERN mode. Why? Apparently Yamaha thinks that's how we all work. Looping in SONG mode IS possible, but high unorthodox in that TRACKS loop, not the song. Don't ask, I don't even want to discuss it because it's pointless. I haven't had much luck with the sequencer. Click track keeps losing sync with my beats. Yes, you read that correctly. After about 8 bars it starts drifting.. and drifting until it is no longer bearable. I will say this, editing track params and events is anything but efficient. You have to hit an dedit button, followed by the "job" button. Yamaha calls these BASIC sequencer tasks "jobs." I'll say they're jobs!!! I gave up on it. Then again, has there EVER been a good sequencer on a workstation???? I think the ASR10 had the only decent sequencer on board...

As Dr. Dre once said, "Now we've come to the payoff." You can say that again. This is where the Motif SMASHES the competition in nearly every category. My first impression was mildy impressed. In practice (playing riffs, etc) I was highly impressed. Now, as I have actually put a the instruments to work, I am - in some cases - staggered. The drums are - bar none - the best drums on the market. Period. If only the percussion lived up to the quality of the drums (the triangles, maracas, twings and twangs congas , etc etc are very synthetic. Yammy dropped the ball here). The standup bass sucks as do the other electric basses - with the exception of the slap bass with FX - which is INCREDIBLE. The pianos are above average, bot not the best out there. You can still do better with HALion and a copy of Bolder Pianos (http://www.boldersounds.com) The strings are kind of LUSH for my taste. I would like to have more resonance than all the dreamy swimming pads and flowing ensembles. The synth leads are varied, some kick azz, others need work. There are some extraordinary flutes, saxes and even trumpets. I love the brass on this board. Acoustic guitars are so-so. I like the strats and the electric stuff (check out the "voice" called VOODOO!!). The XV5080's acoutsic guitars are awesome but the strats STINK. The Triton has poor guitars all the way around.

Yes, sounds are very subjective. But here's the true test: next time you shop for a keyboard, have the salesperson turn off all the effects in the boards you are comparing. Listen to the patches; you will find most are very thin and uninspiring (Triton comes to mind). Not so with the Motif... its sounds are KILLER, even dry. Yes it has a few shortcomings but Yamaha is adding sounds to it every month (yes, you read that correctly; they are augmenting the sound librbay free of charge). Overall, IMO, this is the best OVERALL soundset in any synth on the market - bar none. In addition, the sound engine is HOT like an Akai (to give you an idea of how hot, I can not have the master and channel knobs on my Mackie at twelve o'clock unless I want to shake the windows out of their frames. This baby COOKS. On top of that, the sound is CLEAN, CLEAN clean and HUGE. LOVE the WIDTH of the sound. The basses are SUPER-DUPER subsonic. Be careful with them around children. Might cause someone to go deaf. No lie. By the way, the electric pianos are simply BRILLIANT. The Rhodes and Wurlies are OFF THE HOOK. The organs pale in comparison to NI's B4.

Don't know yet. Time will tell. I won't use it on a gig.. I'm not lugging this dog around. Would you?

Best in the business. If you don't believe me, go to http://www.motifator.com and visit the forums. Have a look around. Yamaha is investing an exorbitant amount of energy and resources into this synth.

Overall I really like it. It's not perfect, but I've yet to find a board that is. Have you found one? The reason I can't give it a 10 is because the manual is horrible and the OS is a steep learning curve. If you took the Triton's OS and combined it with the Motif's sounds, you'd have a dreamboat of a workstation.

Oh, I almost forgot: Another thing I REALLY like is this LOAD ALL feature. With this, you take a snapshot of every setting, every voice, sample, etc in the OS, store it to SCSI device or SmartMedia and when you pwer on, bing, EVERYTHING gets loaded AS it was when you powered off .. all your samples.. everything. HOW COOL IS THAT???????? You can save as many of these snapshots as you want.

In any case, the sounds are what sold me. I am constantly inspired everytime I sit down with the Motif. I can't think of many boards I can say that about. In fact, I can't think of any outside of the old Rhodes keys and analog synths.

this thing is pretty complex. manual describes pretty much everything but sort of targeted for sound engineer or something. however, if you spend more time playing with the synth with the manual on your side, the learning curve is not that steep. the screen is small compared to the other synth (like triton) but considering the price, it's a good bang for the buck.

once you learned/get used to the interface, this synth is one of the best.

the synth is loaded with features. some of the goodies:
scsi i/o
smartmedia i/o
usb/midi connection
digital out
optical out
3 expansion slots
on board sequencer
tons of apreggios
arpeggiator
and many others

make sure to buy the usb cable to expand its features (like remote control, i.e. controlling the sequencer software from the synth).

haven't tried all instrument yet but the piano sounds really good. combined with great key feeling, this synth plays like a real piano.

this thing is HEAVY and durable. the design is solid and versatile.

motifator.com is the hangout place of the motif people and sometimes yamaha rep also reply messages in the forum. not sure if this is owned by yamaha though.

for its price, this synth is hard to beat. took a while to get used too, though, but once you are, it's a great instrument and musician gizmo. :-)

Generally speaking, the problem with today's keyboards is that they are designed to do so much that it is almost as much a challenge to make them 'easy to use' and at the same time offer tons of features. With that said, I think the Motif is definitely easier to use than previous Yamaha boards (specifically the EX series) and a little more difficult than the Triton. But I like that Yamaha has really laid out the different features on separate screens so one screen isn't loaded with parameters.

I would have liked another insertion effect, but for the price, who can complain. Of course, the Mlan, USB, 3V memory card and built-in SCSI are unbeatable. Absolutely great. I still am amazed at the smart card on that thing. 64 megs on something the size of a watch head.
The elements (or multi-samples) are wonderful. Really great. I was particulary impressed with the drum samples. There are something like 150 snare drum samples, and with a little tweaking, you can practically match any snare sound out there (which I like to do for my sequencing).
I haven't had first-hand experience with the Integrated Sampling, but from what I hear it's great. I'm also looking forward to the expansion boards and OS upgrades.
As stated above, the more features you pack into a keyboard the more difficult it will inherently be to use. The trick is making all of those features easily accessible and understandable to the user, and I think Yamaha still needs some serious work on this. The manual is great for me because I have a keyboard/Yamaha background. But as I read it all I kept thinking was how up the creek I would be if I didn't have the background on it.
I think Yamaha really needs to supplement its manuals and keyboards with an Idiot's Guide to their terms. The manual assumes you know too much.
This is not endemic to Yamaha. Most manuals I have seen are geared toward a more knowledgable user.

GREAT. Simple to say. The sounds are great. The effects are clean, the samples seem cleaner than the EX. The drums are really great. Other than buying a $3000 sampler or jumping to a Kurzweil (and hiring an engineer), I can't imagine much better sounds.

Like my other Yamahas, perfect.

I'd give this board a solid 9. I think many of the sounds are cleaner than the Triton, but the Triton is more of a plug and play techno type board. Once you've played the VL on the EX5 or the Moss board for the Triton, most acoustic instrument presets pale in comparison, but I don't hold that against this keyboard because it's comparing apples to oranges.
I recommend this board to anyone. The price CANNOT be beaten. Just shop around and don't pay tag price at any of the big chain stores. SUPPORT THE LITTLE GUYS!!!

This was something that I was conserned about before bying the Motif. But if you are willing to read the manual it should not be a problem. Somethings in the user interface are in deed a bit confusing and you do need to keep that manual nearby. And personally I think the manual is actually fearly good (or at least better than average.)

Its not bad, but it is not great either, but you learn to live with it...

Good in effects, expansion capabilities, etc... I think everything has been said before...
Polyphony should have been better. You do run out of notes every now and then :(

Very, _very_ good, but honestly not perfect.

Strings: I am a huge fan of strings and I use them a lot. In Motif there are lots of them but I still feel like I am missing something. Then again it has a sampler and it supports AKAI sampler files so after all its no problem.

Very solid build. No problems with the software.

Well, motfator.com -> see it... I would say that this site was my inspiration of bying Motif. Never have I seen such kind of support anywhere.

Great workstation. Great value for money. Good hammer effect keyboard.

Simple the best workstation around.

This board is (in my opinion) as good as it gets. The preset sounds are really awesome, and the board is completely expandable via sampling and/or expansion boards. You can sample up to 64M of your own stuff and then create voices based on your samples.

I'm not going to say this thing is "easy" to use, because the feature set runs so deep. Let's say it's easy to get going, but the more complex editing features aren't immediatly easy to do.

Stock, the board has 62 notes of polyphony. The motif 8 comes w/ 88 weighted keys based on the P80/200 but with balanced action instead of graded. It's basically what's on the high end clavinovas. The key feel is unbelievable (way better than an S80). This is the ultimate keyboard for someone who wants a real piano feel, but with all the MIDI/sequencing gizmos. I'm in techno heaven with this thing.

That brings me to the sequencer, which kicks complete ass. 16 tracks, pattern and song mode. In pattern mode, you can create a 16 track pattern with 16 sections (variations) and then play the pattern and change the order of the sections (real time). Very cool.

The expressiveness is excellent (same as a clavinova). The board also comes with aftertouch, which is great. The stock piano sounds are really good, but you can also get a piano expansion board for way more and way better piano (and expand the polyphony at the same time).

BEST COSTOMER SUPPORT EVER!!!!!!!!!!! There's a website called motifator.com that is updated by the minute where you can post a question and a Yamaha rep will answer it for you. Excellent excellent excellent online support. I've honestly never seen anything like it. Yamaha is definitely behind this product.

Everything has its plusses and minuses, until you learn to think the right way. You can do so much with this board, but you really have to learn to think the way Yamaha wants you to. After the initial learning curve, this thing is just pure fun.