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Yamaha MODX


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Haha! His name came up, actually. Bert is with Yamaha Europe and this was a Yamaha US event. I saw Bert's Montage demos a couple of Musikmesses ago and they were fantastic as always.

 

Bert isnt part of Yamaha Europe anymore, altough they often pay him to do some demos.. he is more freelance these days..

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Woah, this is legit. Thank goodness for the 76-key version. May have to pull the trigger on this.

Soul, R&B, Pop from Los Angeles

http://philipclark.com

 

Cannonball Gerald Albright Signature Alto, Yamaha YC73, Fender Rhodes, Roland Juno-106, Yamaha MX61, Roland VR-09, MicroKorg XL, Maschine Mikro, Yamaha Reface CP, Roland MKS-50

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So this new 76 really has me thinking. I usually gig with an MOXF6 over an Electro 4 73 as a lightweight, do-all rig. I use just the MOXF for rehearsals. The short keybed is the only reason I haven't gigged with it alone on some events... because it really covers most of the core sounds I need quite well - including a lot of the same ground as the Nord. I don't want an 88 due to space and carry limitations

 

Just wondering how the electric pianos compare to the expansion board & Chick Corea sounds on the MOXF... and if the organs are going to be that much better than the tweaked Organimation patches I really like and use. (Just haven't been able to tell from the videos so far.)

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

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The Montage libraries are available for the MODX as well:

 

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/music_production/synthesizers/modx/sound_library.html

 

 

I was all set on the 88, but now Im thinking I may want to get a 76 instead. Or both!

 

Same sound engine..

 

A montage 8 for the studio and a modx7 for the road makes sense...

you can take all your montage performances to your gigs in a lightweight package...

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Domi is beast! She really tore it up. I hadn't heard of her before. The future of music is in good hands.

 

edit:

Actually, I did see a vid of her sightreading Corey Henry's Lingus solo a while back. No idea it was the same girl.

 

Watched some clips from her on Youtube because of your comment. Wow, very talented lady. I really think see will be big in a few years. Not only because of her shredding, but she also has a really nice musical vibe going on. Female Cory Henry:)

Rudy

 

 

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The Montage libraries are available for the MODX as well:

 

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/music_production/synthesizers/modx/sound_library.html

 

 

I was all set on the 88, but now Im thinking I may want to get a 76 instead. Or both!

 

Same sound engine..

 

A montage 8 for the studio and a modx7 for the road makes sense...

you can take all your montage performances to your gigs in a lightweight package...

Same design architecture but Id check the fine print on complete compatibility assumptions. Over on the Yamaha forum, Phil has explained at length that a MODX file cat be read by a Montage. I think (dont know) the reverse is ok - MODX can read a Montage file?

 

There is going to be a lot of content available for MODX - a lot already out. Easy Sounds had all of their Montage libraries re-jiggered for MODX and all set to launch same day as the MODX release. Others will also ...

 

Melas tools may solve any conversion issues for those that want to go from MODX back to Montage, not sure.

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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I was all set on the 88, but now Im thinking I may want to get a 76 instead. Or both!

Same, except reverse. ;-) I know I want the 76, but it's tempting to think about having the 88 as well, so I wouldn't need to go with three boards when I want my Yamaha, my Nord Stage 3 Compact, and also a weighted action.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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The Montage libraries are available for the MODX as well:

 

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/music_production/synthesizers/modx/sound_library.html

 

 

I was all set on the 88, but now Im thinking I may want to get a 76 instead. Or both!

 

Same sound engine..

 

A montage 8 for the studio and a modx7 for the road makes sense...

you can take all your montage performances to your gigs in a lightweight package...

Same design architecture but Id check the fine print on complete compatibility assumptions. Over on the Yamaha forum, Phil has explained at length that a MODX file cat be read by a Montage. I think (dont know) the reverse is ok - MODX can read a Montage file?

 

There is going to be a lot of content available for MODX - a lot already out. Easy Sounds had all of their Montage libraries re-jiggered for MODX and all set to launch same day as the MODX release. Others will also ...

 

Melas tools may solve any conversion issues for those that want to go from MODX back to Montage, not sure.

 

Just to quote Phil, Bad mister :

 

The MODX (2018) will certainly be able to load any data made for MONTAGE (2016)...

The MONTAGE cannot Load MODX proprietary Files.

 

It has to do with the fact that the modx has a newer data format then the montage..

So it works one way only, from the older to the newer instrument..

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Do we know if this board will still stream .WAV files from a USB drive?
Ref Manual states this:

 

FYI - Owner Manual Pg 48: Playing an audio file

As described below, the MODX can play audio files (.wav) from a USB flash drive, regardless of whether they have been created by the instrument itself or come from another source.

 

1 Connect a USB flash drive to the [uSB TO DEVICE] terminal of the MODX.

2 Touch the [Play/Rec] tab  [Audio] tab at the left side of the Performance display.

3 Touch Audio Name and then select [Load] menu at the left side of the screen.

4 Select the source USB flash drive and folder.

5 Select the desired file (.wav) on the USB flash drive to execute the Load operation.

6 Press the [R] (Play) button. The audio file will begin playing.

7 Move the cursor to Audio Volume (2), and then adjust the playback volume by using the data dial.

8 Press the [J] (Stop) button to stop playback.

 

NOTE Keep in mind that you can also play a selected Performance on the keyboard during audio playback.

What I'd like to do is link a playback audio file to a particular performance. For example, one of my bands plays an intro audio clip to start a particular song - its about 30 seconds or so. Currently i plug an mp3 player into the A/D Input jacks and have that "song" it its own playlist alone. If I could link a file to a Performance so when I select that Performance, the audio file loads and is ready to go - that would be cool.

 

Like #2 - even better would be to have it loaded/saved into the board so I don't even need to use a USB flash drive.

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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Do we know if this board will still stream .WAV files from a USB drive?
Ref Manual states this:

 

FYI - Owner Manual Pg 48: Playing an audio file

As described below, the MODX can play audio files (.wav) from a USB flash drive, regardless of whether they have been created by the instrument itself or come from another source.

 

1 Connect a USB flash drive to the [uSB TO DEVICE] terminal of the MODX.

2 Touch the [Play/Rec] tab  [Audio] tab at the left side of the Performance display.

3 Touch Audio Name and then select [Load] menu at the left side of the screen.

4 Select the source USB flash drive and folder.

5 Select the desired file (.wav) on the USB flash drive to execute the Load operation.

6 Press the [R] (Play) button. The audio file will begin playing.

7 Move the cursor to Audio Volume (2), and then adjust the playback volume by using the data dial.

8 Press the [J] (Stop) button to stop playback.

 

NOTE Keep in mind that you can also play a selected Performance on the keyboard during audio playback.

What I'd like to do is link a playback audio file to a particular performance. For example, one of my bands plays an intro audio clip to start a particular song - its about 30 seconds or so. Currently i plug an mp3 player into the A/D Input jacks and have that "song" it its own playlist alone. If I could link a file to a Performance so when I select that Performance, the audio file loads and is ready to go - that would be cool.

 

Like #2 - even better would be to have it loaded/saved into the board so I don't even need to use a USB flash drive.

 

Fantastic. That's how I stream my backing tracks on my MX61. Was thinking about upgrading to the MOXF, but now this is probably what I'll get.

 

Can't wait to see/hear comparisons to the FA-07.

Soul, R&B, Pop from Los Angeles

http://philipclark.com

 

Cannonball Gerald Albright Signature Alto, Yamaha YC73, Fender Rhodes, Roland Juno-106, Yamaha MX61, Roland VR-09, MicroKorg XL, Maschine Mikro, Yamaha Reface CP, Roland MKS-50

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Do we know if this board will still stream .WAV files from a USB drive?
Ref Manual states this:

 

FYI - Owner Manual Pg 48: Playing an audio file

As described below, the MODX can play audio files (.wav) from a USB flash drive, regardless of whether they have been created by the instrument itself or come from another source.

 

1 Connect a USB flash drive to the [uSB TO DEVICE] terminal of the MODX.

2 Touch the [Play/Rec] tab  [Audio] tab at the left side of the Performance display.

3 Touch Audio Name and then select [Load] menu at the left side of the screen.

4 Select the source USB flash drive and folder.

5 Select the desired file (.wav) on the USB flash drive to execute the Load operation.

6 Press the [R] (Play) button. The audio file will begin playing.

7 Move the cursor to Audio Volume (2), and then adjust the playback volume by using the data dial.

8 Press the [J] (Stop) button to stop playback.

 

NOTE Keep in mind that you can also play a selected Performance on the keyboard during audio playback.

What I'd like to do is link a playback audio file to a particular performance. For example, one of my bands plays an intro audio clip to start a particular song - its about 30 seconds or so. Currently i plug an mp3 player into the A/D Input jacks and have that "song" it its own playlist alone. If I could link a file to a Performance so when I select that Performance, the audio file loads and is ready to go - that would be cool.

 

Like #2 - even better would be to have it loaded/saved into the board so I don't even need to use a USB flash drive.

 

Fantastic. That's how I stream my backing tracks on my MX61. Was thinking about upgrading to the MOXF, but now this is probably what I'll get.

 

Can't wait to see/hear comparisons to the FA-07.

 

Could you load it into the Flash RAM?

Soul, R&B, Pop from Los Angeles

http://philipclark.com

 

Cannonball Gerald Albright Signature Alto, Yamaha YC73, Fender Rhodes, Roland Juno-106, Yamaha MX61, Roland VR-09, MicroKorg XL, Maschine Mikro, Yamaha Reface CP, Roland MKS-50

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Could you load it into the Flash RAM?

I assume you could load it to Flash and create a one-sample waveform which you could then assign to a Part with the specifics (play till end, assign a key, don't adjust tune scale to key, etc.). Then put the Part in a Performance and trigger (play) it with the key you select. I could do that in XF and MOXF, and did it on just a couple items. Benefit is you can loop a clip thats converted into a waveform, which was great for clipping in one cycle of the sweep synth sound in the intro to Moving in Stereo back when I did a Cars tribute band. In the real studio song, the sweep timing varied but nobody in audience knew or cared. It was a signature sound in the song, needed to be there.

 

There's no need to loop a one-shot intro audio clip - that process was sort of a pain in XF, not the most elegant solution to just play a clip. Maybe it will be easier in the MODX.

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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I stream backing tracks as described above from a usb drive on the Montage.

 

One great thing is that the later OS allows you to go back to the Live Sets page while it is playing back - and you can change performances/sounds on the fly also while it is playing back. Works great live, and also so easy to add new songs!

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Can't wait to see/hear comparisons to the FA-07.

Well to start, at least for "real instrument" sounds, I thought even the MOXF was generally superior to the FA-07, and the MODX will beat the MOXF. For synth sounds, I might have given Roland the edge with its Supernatural synth, but now the MODX has the whole FM synth section.

 

As a live performance board, the FA had some feature/functionality advantages over the MOXF, some of which it retains over the MODX (trigger pads, assignable out, drawbar-adjustable organ), and some of which Yamaha has caught up on or exceeded (big screen interface, availability of 76 keys, seamless sound switching), while there are other areas where Yamaha had the edge and still does, like loading keyboard-playable custom samples (which no longer requires purchase of an additional card) and having two effects per sound vs. one. And I'll take the superknob over the d-beam. ;-)

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Can't wait to see/hear comparisons to the FA-07.

Well to start, at least for "real instrument" sounds, I thought even the MOXF was generally superior to the FA-07, and the MODX will beat the MOXF. For synth sounds, I might have given Roland the edge with its Supernatural synth, but now the MODX has the whole FM synth section.

 

As a live performance board, the FA had some feature/functionality advantages over the MOXF, some of which it retains over the MODX (trigger pads, assignable out, drawbar-adjustable organ), and some of which Yamaha has caught up on or exceeded (big screen interface, availability of 76 keys, seamless sound switching), while there are other areas where Yamaha had the edge and still does, like loading keyboard-playable custom samples (which no longer requires purchase of an additional card) and having two effects per sound vs. one. And I'll take the superknob over the d-beam. ;-)

a superknob can crush a d-beam :)

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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Can't wait to see/hear comparisons to the FA-07.

Well to start, at least for "real instrument" sounds, I thought even the MOXF was generally superior to the FA-07, and the MODX will beat the MOXF. For synth sounds, I might have given Roland the edge with its Supernatural synth, but now the MODX has the whole FM synth section.

 

As a live performance board, the FA had some feature/functionality advantages over the MOXF, some of which it retains over the MODX (trigger pads, assignable out, drawbar-adjustable organ), and some of which Yamaha has caught up on or exceeded (big screen interface, availability of 76 keys, seamless sound switching), while there are other areas where Yamaha had the edge and still does, like loading keyboard-playable custom samples (which no longer requires purchase of an additional card) and having two effects per sound vs. one. And I'll take the superknob over the d-beam. ;-)

 

Always love your insights, man.

Soul, R&B, Pop from Los Angeles

http://philipclark.com

 

Cannonball Gerald Albright Signature Alto, Yamaha YC73, Fender Rhodes, Roland Juno-106, Yamaha MX61, Roland VR-09, MicroKorg XL, Maschine Mikro, Yamaha Reface CP, Roland MKS-50

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The thing I'm most excited about? Audio interface (and a place to put your computer) on a lightweight 88 is a painless way for me to begin using a laptop live. So any sonic shortcomings on the MODX can be addressed via MainStage.

Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37

Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D

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Wall warts are for easy UL compliance.

 

I know why they do it, but that doesn't change the fact that its not compatible with gigging musicians. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

 

Its not supposed to be about whats easier for them, its supposed to be about what makes sense for their customers.

 

Once again, wall warts are for toys.

 

The fact that I'd have to carry around an external power supply makes the keyboard a non-starter.

 

They only way I'd ever consider a MODX would be if I modified it and put a real power supply inside the case where it belongs.

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Its not supposed to be about whats easier for them, its supposed to be about what makes sense for their customers.

 

Their customers (for this particular line) basically want a Montage at considerably reduced cost. Using external power supplies is one of the factors which make the keyboard cheaper. So actually, that DOES make sense for their customers.

 

The fact that I'd have to carry around an external power supply makes the keyboard a non-starter.

 

Really? I mean, really? Yes, it's a bit of a PITA for sure but 'non starter'? At worst, it means buying a second (light, cheap) PSU and adding it to your spares bag. I presume you do carry a spares bag with at least 'one of everything', yes?

 

Tough crowd, as they say...

Studio: Yamaha P515 | Yamaha Tyros 5 | Yamaha HX1 | Moog Sub 37

Road: Yamaha YC88 | Nord Electro 5D

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Once again, wall warts are for toys.

The fact that I'd have to carry around an external power supply makes the keyboard a non-starter.

 

Welcome to the forum. :wave:

 

Maybe you have heard of Moog Moogerfoogers. Some guy name John Medeski uses them live, you may have heard of him. They require external power supplies. I'm sure you will find something in the current market place that works for you, this product is not it.

They only way I'd ever consider a MODX would be if I modified it and put a real power supply inside the case where it belongs.

 

So then just buy a Montage and you are good to go and won't have to do any modifiactions.. :thu:

:nopity:
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My Minimoog Model D Re-issue has an external power supply. Moog does provide a locking type connector for it, but really it isn't an issue. I velcro the cables to the stand legs and there is no strain on it all night - just like the signal cables.

 

I wouldn't overlook the quality/value of this synth for that alone. The way it is priced, even if the keybed is marginal, it can be played from almost anything else. And so light in the 61/76 versions!

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Wall wart isnt a deal killer for me. Internal is nicer but when it comes to choosing a board, its not something that is remotely a factor. And on stage, ive never once plugged my MOXF in and started cursing dangalangabangbang - plugging in my Motif XF is sooooo much easier!!!

 

Not once. Hasnt even crossed my mind. I did have one stage with a sketchy receptacle so i taped it down with gaff tape to be sure it didnt pop out. Once - in 2 yrs.

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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My problem with wall warts is reliability - those flimsy wires and barrel plugs can break easily, particularly during setup/tear-down. I velcro a PSU to the device to keep the fragile parts out of harm's way.

 

Typically I use an aftermarket PSU with an IEC socket on it, which keeps all mains connections consistent.

 

Example on my Rolls PM351.

 

14347033731_672747aac1_z.jpg

 

Cheers, Mike.

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