Traveling at MOX6

[Adan]

Went to my local GC during their weekend 13% sale and walked out with an MOX6. My Korg R3 recently died (minutes before a sold out show for 750, but that's another story), and I needed a replacement that could handle my synth sound needs. The Motif sounds can do that, and of course much more. I love the Motif strings, and have been using lots of strings the past few years.

 

I was also in a quandry about how to tackle a fly gig I have a couple weeks from now. Getting any kind of backline was proving to be a PITA. After some messing around with the floor model, I decided that I can do it with just the MOX6.

 

The obvious selling points are the price and the weight. Happily, the keyboard action doesn't suck. I couldn't A-B them, but I believe it's much better than the Mini Mo. It's not great, but I'm sure I can work with it. I wish there were faders for the individual performance parts. That's def something I'll be missing, but I can work around it.

 

The MOX8 is likewise a fantastic bang for the buck product. The action is the same as the P95. Not luxuriant, but eminently playable. It weighs under 35 lbs.

 

While at GC, I tried out the Roland 300NX and the Nord Stage 2. The action on the NX is very strange. Shallow and sluggish. I could work with it, but it doesn't seem like an action that a piano player can love. It's obviously a compromise to reduce weight, but in that case, the keyboard should be lighter than it is.

 

The one observation I'll offer about the Stage 2 is that the action does not feel the same as the Nord Piano. The NP has a deeper throw and more cushion at the bottom. I think piano players would feel much more at home on the NP. The Stage 2, like it's predecessor, is set up to achieve more of a compromise between piano and organ. They may in fact be the same keybed, but adjusted differently.

 

edit: I sometimes confuse POS and PITA. fixed.

[AnotherScott]

I wish there were faders for the individual performance parts. That's def something I'll be missing

Yes, it's an unfortunate omission. The part that really seems idiotic to me is, okay, I can understand taking off the faders (compared to the MO or the XS) to save cost. But they still have the two banks of 4 knobs. Why could they not implement a mode where four of those knobs would function as 4 volume controls for the 4 parts that can be assigned over the keyboard?

 

If you happen to have an ipad, though, you might be able to add back the fader functionality with the forthcoming Faders and XY Pad app shown at http://www.yamahasynth.com/jp/library/motif_xf/ipad/soon.html -- supposedly it will work with the MOX as well, though it will need a hard-wired MIDI connection (it can be wireless with the Motif).

[Adan]

I wish there were faders for the individual performance parts. That's def something I'll be missing

Yes, it's an unfortunate omission. The part that really seems idiotic to me is, okay, I can understand taking off the faders (compared to the MO or the XS) to save cost. But they still have the two banks of 4 knobs. Why could they not implement a mode where four of those knobs would function as 4 volume controls for the 4 parts that can be assigned over the keyboard?

 

If you happen to have an ipad, though, you might be able to add back the fader functionality with the forthcoming Faders and XY Pad app shown at http://www.yamahasynth.com/jp/library/motif_xf/ipad/soon.html -- supposedly it will work with the MOX as well, though it will need a hard-wired MIDI connection (it can be wireless with the Motif).

 

You have to hit the part select button, then turn the one volume knob. It's not idea for live tweaking. For me, the lack of part faders essentially translates to more homework to get the relative volumes right.

[Synthoid]

I wish there were faders for the individual performance parts. That's def something I'll be missing

 

Yes, it's an unfortunate omission. The part that really seems idiotic to me is, okay, I can understand taking off the faders (compared to the MO or the XS) to save cost.

 

Would using knobs instead of faders really save that much?

 

[nickd]

I'm very interested in the MOX8 but haven't had a chance to try it out yet (which I will do - at length).

 

AnotherScott and Adan: can I ask, is there anything that springs to mind I should look out for on the MOX, other than what I can glean from reading the manual, watching the videos online, and trying it out with a good pair of headphones?

 

Thanks

[HAMEGZ]

Went to my local GC during their weekend 13% sale

 

While at GC, I tried out the Roland 300NX and the Nord Stage 2.

T

 

 

I wish my local GC had ANYTHING Nord...

[Synthoid]

I wish my local GC had ANYTHING Nord...

 

+1

 

Just the big three here in Lancaster. Occasionally an interesting used synth shows up... maybe once a year.

 

 

 

[Aidan]

Congrats on the new board, Adan. I was similarly impressed with the MOX 6 and 8 at the Leeds music show last week. I think Yamaha will sell a lot of these.

 

I also agree with you about the Stage 2 action, btw. Very smooth but definitely shallower than the NP88. I'm not sure if it truly bottoms out harder or whether it seems that way because the key has further to travel on the NP88. But speaking as someone who's primarily a pianist, I'm very happy to stick with the NP88.

[AnotherScott]

You have to hit the part select button, then turn the one volume knob.

It can be a little more complicated than that. If you're switching among different Performance presets, you won't be in the right mode, you'll have to hit the "Pattern Select/Performance Control" button before hitting the Part Select button.

 

And hopefully you remembered to save the performance with the top bank of knobs in the third position... otherwise you'll also have to hit another button once or twice to get it to the place where that button controls volume.

 

And you have to know which Part was assigned to the sound that you want to adjust. I mean, yes, you should know that anyway, but in a 4-control system, your memory does not have to be as foolproof. You could go to knob/fader #2 thinking that's the piano part you want to adjust, and then when you move it, you realize that's the strings, and you put it back where it was and adjust knob/fader #3 instead. But on the MOX, if you hit "Part Select 2" and turn the knob and realize it was the wrong part and put it back where it was, you can't just move to the next knob over... you have to hit "Part Select 3" (on the other side of the keyboard) and then go back again.

 

I think many things make the MOX surprisingly performance friendly, more so than many Yamahas have been, but this inability to quickly adjust the volumes of parts on the fly is a surprising oversight. Especially since the older MO had the 4 faders.

[AnotherScott]

Would using knobs instead of faders really save that much?

In this case, since the knobs serve many functions, they need the knobs regardless. So the question wouldn't be one of faders instead of knobs, it would be of faders in addition to knobs.

 

There are many functions that add little to cost or weight, but aggregate to something significant, and a manufacturer is always considering these kinds of choices. I'd certainly have preferred having the faders, but I don't fault them as much for removing them as for not providing a way to assign 4 existing knobs to do the same function, would probably would have added zero to the cost.

[Synthoid]

Would using knobs instead of faders really save that much?

In this case, since the knobs serve many functions, they need the knobs regardless. So the question wouldn't be one of faders instead of knobs, it would be of faders in addition to knobs.

 

There are many functions that add little to cost or weight, but aggregate to something significant, and a manufacturer is always considering these kinds of choices.

 

I see your point there, but the original MO series used both knobs and faders. Some prospective MOX buyers were expecting a Motif XS size view screen (since the Korg M50 has a touch screen) but that didn't happen. Keeping the faders would have been nice.

 

Seems every manufacturer is cutting more corners.

[Adan]

[quote=Synthoid

Seems every manufacturer is cutting more corners.

 

Might be more accurate to say that they are providing more price-point options. You can still get the top of the line Motif with all the knobs and faders. Who knows how these design decisions are made . . . not me. Scott's point seems to be a good one, that adding perhaps another button and row beneath one of the knobs would have been easy to do.

 

I'll be using the MOX6 performances in projects where, generally, I play the same songs in the same way. It may take some trial and error, but I will get the volumes right. A control pedal can adjust volume for one or more parts. Also, I can take a moment before playing a song to make sure the volume knob is programmed to adjust a particular part, that's not hard to do. These workarounds will work. If I'm using the MOX6 in a more fluid situation, then it's probably in voice or, at most, split mode.