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Yamaha MODX


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The keybeds are on a par. With the MODX perhaps slightly, ever so slightly a bit slower. Bounce, key travel and key striking areas seem to be about the same. Mechanical noise level is about the same.

 

The MODX GHS 8 is definitely different imo to the MOXF 8, which I got rid because of its loud mechanical noise (read same as PX5-s)

 

And what's the keybed like compared to the SL88 Studio?

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Latest prices in Oz MODX 8 2399 SP6 $1839 difference $560...the 30% was just me doing my poor math skills. Didn't realise folks were going to get so pedantic. I did say "more like" :)

 

And actually that IS 30% btw...1839 plus 30% = 2390

 

 

There is no luck - luck is simply the confluence of circumstance and co-incidence...

 

Time is the final arbiter for all things

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The keybeds are on a par. With the MODX perhaps slightly, ever so slightly a bit slower. Bounce, key travel and key striking areas seem to be about the same. Mechanical noise level is about the same.

 

The MODX GHS 8 is definitely different imo to the MOXF 8, which I got rid because of its loud mechanical noise (read same as PX5-s)

 

And what's the keybed like compared to the SL88 Studio?

 

SL88 studio is better, although not by a lot. So the SL88 Stage, I imagine would be better again.

There is no luck - luck is simply the confluence of circumstance and co-incidence...

 

Time is the final arbiter for all things

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... ... I almost never play a guitar sound, I leave that to the guitarist....

 

 

That's a tad difficult when playing solo ;)

There is no luck - luck is simply the confluence of circumstance and co-incidence...

 

Time is the final arbiter for all things

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Latest prices in Oz

Ah. Bigger differential in the U.S.

 

... ... I almost never play a guitar sound, I leave that to the guitarist....

 

That's a tad difficult when playing solo ;)

Yup, gets back to folks having different needs. Personally, even in my solo work, I don't use guitar sounds.

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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Latest prices in Oz MODX 8 2399 SP6 $1839 difference $560...the 30% was just me doing my poor math skills. Didn't realise folks were going to get so pedantic. I did say "more like" :)

 

And actually that IS 30% btw...1839 plus 30% = 2390

 

Just because it happened to you, does not make it interesting ;)

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just purchased a MODX6. I know you can't post the company where I purchased it from but it was a sweet, sweet(hint)deal. best deal on the web. I listened to the demos of organimation for the Montage and was really impressed. I am hoping that organimation sells the same product for the MODX6. has anyone purchased this library....Larry
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just purchased a MODX6. I know you can't post the company where I purchased it from but it was a sweet, sweet(hint)deal. best deal on the web. I listened to the demos of organimation for the Montage and was really impressed. I am hoping that organimation sells the same product for the MODX6. has anyone purchased this library....Larry

 

It is stated that MODX can load Montage files. I would ask them but I expect you should be able to load the Montage library:

MODX Compatibility

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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88 to 88, $1300 to $1900 s 46% more. But if you can get by with the 76, sure, the difference reduces, since there's no 76-ky SP6.

 

The 76 key MODX is synth weighted, isnt it? Thats likely a deal-breaker for someone who finds the SP6 attractive as a point of comparison. I thought the MODX8 action was surprisingly decent, but I havent heard anything as kind regarding the lighter weight actions of the 6 and 7. Still, theyre great sounding synths at their aggressive price points, no question.

Acoustic: Shigeru Kawai SK-7 ~ Breedlove C2/R

MIDI: Kurzweil Forte ~ Sequential Prophet X ~ Yamaha CP88 ~ Expressive E Osmose

Electric: Schecter Solo Custom Exotic ~ Chapman MLB1 Signature Bass

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just purchased a MODX6. I know you can't post the company where I purchased it from but it was a sweet, sweet(hint)deal. best deal on the web. I listened to the demos of organimation for the Montage and was really impressed. I am hoping that organimation sells the same product for the MODX6. has anyone purchased this library....Larry

 

That's surprising. Usually a brand new keyboard will have the same street price everywhere, only later will there be deals to find by shopping around.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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[The 76 key MODX is synth weighted, isnt it?

yes... in the U.S. that would be the trade-off for getting the price that close. Right, not necessarily the same customer.

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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It is not a 50% price difference, more like a 25-30% price difference.

88 to 88, $1300 to $1900 s 46% more. But if you can get by with the 76, sure, the difference reduces, since there's no 76-ky SP6.

 

II reckon the organs on the MODX match those on the SP6. Others will disagree, but I don't use organ much anyway.

 

Guitars and basses are simply NO comparison.

And then there are people like me whose priorities are the reverse of those. I use organ a lot and like having 9-drawbar control... I do play LH bass on some gigs but am not fussy about that sound ... I almost never play a guitar sound, I leave that to the guitarist.

 

They way Kurzweil do the whole structure of sound/multi organisation is so unintuitive, well for me anyway. Everything is based around the sound. Want to have a multipart setup, and just want to tweak an ins effect for that ONE setup? well you need to create a whole new patch JUST to save one minor efx tweak, oh and a new Ins Efx patch as well!...the MODX OTOH allows tweaks in the "multi" setup itself

It's not that the MODX "allows" you to save tweak sounds right in the "multi" -- it requires you to do so, there's no other place to save them! But yes, you touch on a basic philosophical difference among many keyboards. Some only let you save your tweaked sound as separate individual programs, some only let you save tweaked sounds within the multi-sound setups... and there is the related consequence that changing an individual Program in the first case can change that sound in every combination you've ever used that sound in. Sometimes that's what you want, sometimes it's not. (This difference also affects the ease of re-using a sound you like, though MODX seems to address that nicely even though they use the method that usually makes that trickier.)

 

Just taking time to tell you how much I appreciate your posts, here and in other forums, AnotherScott. Always insightful, always interesting.

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It's a sticky. Called "READ BEFORE POSTING: Forum Policies". :snax:

We're in the era of iTunes License Agreements. Nobody reads anything they're told to read anymore.

 

I call your attention to my Don Quixote avatar as my response to this. :2thu:

 

Reading and history is hard work !

 

We must have a little click box to check for those ' annoying ' agreements/acknowledgements

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I listened to the demos of organimation for the Montage and was really impressed. I am hoping that organimation sells the same product for the MODX6. has anyone purchased this library....Larry

 

If the Montage version is as good as the Organimation for MOXF, you should be very happy. I use it all the time - and will definitely purchase it again when I upgrade to an MODX 7...

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Two questions, if anyone is in the know.

 

First, is the drums tempo adjustable on the fly while playing?

 

Second, has anyone bought the official soft case for the MODX, and if so, is it good gear, or just a piece of tat?

 

Thanks in advance.

Occasionally, do something nice for a total stranger. They'll wonder what the hell is going on!
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Thanks for the various comparisons to the SP6. Have to admit, Im big on bang for the buck, theres been very few times I had the bank to afford 3-4,000 dollar boards, so most of the time Im looking at the under $1,000 ones, and only entertain the under $2,000 boards when it seems irresistible. The MODX7 or 8 is starting to look that way.

 

Id normally never consider buying another Yamaha higher end board, had a really miserable, frustrating time with the XS7. But it sounds like this board is more approachable and user friendly than past Yamaha workstations? Please correct me if Im wrong! I do realize thats a very big generalization- there were actually quite a few things on the XS7 that were quick and intuitive, a lot of direct button presses usually. But get below that surface and it was obvious that engineers, not musicians, designed most of the work flow, and after awhile I hated it.

 

At less than half the price, the Numa Compact 2x is in a different class than the MODX8, But its the only other bang for the buck board that Id consider getting at this point. The NC2x even has some advantages over the MODX.

 

NC2x Pros:

The 20w speakers are a big plus in my book. With my Casio MZ-X500, Ive realized that balancing the onboard stereo speakers with my K8.2 speaker placed right next to the keyboard end cap, that for the first time Ive got a fully immersive and bass responsive sound that is very satisfying for me, and now I almost never get people asking me to turn down; so I anticipate that kind of personal monitoring capability with this board. A bit like a 2.1 system

The weight is about half of the MODX8, of course its only semi-weighted

It has aftertouch!

Its very shallow, 9 vs 13

Drawbars! Which can double as oft used synth parameters

Limited options, but this makes for simplicity

 

The cons seem pretty significant though:

No user samples can be loaded, and your only dealing with 1 GB / 88 sounds to begin with

Spring returning mod stick is a non-starter, what are they thinking?

Tiny little display

No audio in. Does audio over USB satisfy the ability to use an iPad as a sound source? And if it does, how would i control the volume? With my Casio MZ-X500 I go from the Korg Plugkey to the keyboard audio in. The Plugkey has a little volume knob that i use ALOT, pretty indispensable.

 

 

Randy

 

 

Numa Piano X73 /// Kawai ES920 /// Casio CT-X5000 /// Yamaha EW425

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Just taking time to tell you how much I appreciate your posts, here and in other forums, AnotherScott. Always insightful, always interesting.

Thanks!

 

If the Montage version is as good as the Organimation for MOXF, you should be very happy. I use it all the time - and will definitely purchase it again when I upgrade to an MODX 7...

When you migrate your data from your MOXF to MODX, all your third party libraries should come along too. And at least as long as you're not keeping the library in both units, the license should permit that.

 

NC2x Pros:

The 20w speakers are a big plus in my book. With my Casio MZ-X500

The NC2 speakers are not nearly as beefy as the MZ-X500. Better than none, but I could do a little cocktail hour thing with the MZ speakers, not with the NC2.

Another pro, though, is 88 keys.

 

The cons seem pretty significant though:

Spring returning mod stick is a non-starter, what are they thinking?

One of the sticks does not spring return on one axis, hopefully that's the one that does what you want for mod!

 

Other performance-oriented cons that come to mind that I'd add to your list...

... splits/layers limited to two sounds total (vs. 8)

... MIDI zones likewise limited to two (vs. 8)

... split sounds cannot be panned to different outs (left/right), preventing you from doing splits where just your organ sound goes out to a Vent or just your bass sound goes out to a bass amp

... no seamless transitions when switching among user presets

... almost no direct access to sounds, you'll have to scroll (though you could use MIDI Program Change to change sounds externally)

... and while you mention that "you're only dealing with 1 GB / 88 sounds to begin with" I'd also note that most of the sounds it has are not of Yamaha calibre

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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Originally Posted By: ShadowMan

If the Montage version is as good as the Organimation for MOXF, you should be very happy. I use it all the time - and will definitely purchase it again when I upgrade to an MODX 7...

It is a significant improvement over the internal organ patches I tried out yesterday in the store, judging by this demo. It just might move me into the 'buy' column. Definitely worth the 50 bucks:

 

[video:youtube]

 

Yamaha P515 & CK88, Pianoteq, Mainstage, iOS, assorted other stuff.

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I'm sitting here with a wry smile on my face. Who knew that a board without VA capability, and without a clonewheel model, but with FM synthesis (FM! Like the DX7? You know, with those clangy EPs?) would inspire such passion?

 

My second thought is: the DX7 could produce a highly passable tonewheel simulation using six operators in parallel (no rotary sim obviously). The Montage/MODX have 8-op FM - anyone thinking what I'm thinking, and adding a Vent to it?

 

Cheers, Mike.

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Ive played around for 2nd night on MODX7 - it feel similar but better than MOXF6 to me. i cant put my finger (no pun intended) on exactly the difference. Keys feel a tad more sturdy,

Yes... besides the known difference of the matte black keys, it feels to me like it has a somehow more solid landing, I thought maybe the throw was shorter, but measurements show them to be about the same there.

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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