Its been 8 Months- has MODX met your plans/expectations ?

[Stokely]

Hey, now that I decided to get a MODX, I mentioned it to my keys-playing buddy and he said he'd sell his MOXF to me (that he no longer uses) for a price I "can't refuse"

 

AUGHH, it takes me ages to make decisions on gear and now he's thrown a "go back to page 20" at me (from those old choose your own adventure books.....)

 

I've read the feature differences...anyone have any thoughts on sound quality between the two? One is Montage sounds and one Motif, correct?

 

I'll be using a combo of piano/epiano/bread n butter sounds and a fair bit of synth sounds, the latter are what I'm mainly wondering about. I know the FM engine is only on the modx.

[stoken6]

How important is ease of use? The MODX is less deep and has a more straightforward UI.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[bill bosco]

i traded in a moxf6 for a modx6 . get the modx ,the sounds are way more refined , action is alot better and i like navigating through it better , my only regret

is not going with the 7 , seriously thinking about upgrading , can use the extra keys .

[Stokely]

I think since my post I have thought my way out of the conundrum...I really do think the FM engine will get some use, and I like the extra space to the right (where moxf sequencer is). FM, especially for live, can do some pretty nice clean "analog" sounds on top of the normal stuff that FM is known for. Plus, his is weighted, and the only justification for that would be that it could take the place of my old Studiologic weighted controller which has finally broken after 25 years....and my original plan was to get a weighted action that I *really* liked, eventually, and the GHS is just ok.

 

I am debating the 6 vs 7, and leaning 7. We are starting to do more pop synth stuff and extra room for splits is always welcome. My other board is an electro and it can't help all that much in that area.

So I managed to quickly talk myself out of the moxf!

[stoken6]

What action do you like? Other Yamaha (CP4, P515...)? Casio? Roland? Do you have a weight tolerance?

 

+1 on 7-octave boards. Definitely a sweet spot between range, weight, size and convenience.

 

Cheers, Mike

[EscapeRocks]

One thing people who haven't researched need to understand, also, is that the MODX is not a workstation in the traditional sense. Nor is it designed to be.

 

While many programming methods do follow the "Yamaha Way," the first layer (voice) such as on the MOX(F) is not there.

One also needs to know how they want to use it: stand alone, controlled by another board, a controller for another board, or a combination of both.

 

Depending on your answer you will need to understand the Multi or Single MIDI mode on the MODX and what that means.

 

Yes, the MODX is a paradigm shift in ease of programming for Yamaha. Compared to the insane amount of menu diving for simple things on the MOXF, getting around my MODX is excellent. Out of the MODX is ready to go if you're not into deep programming.

 

As with most boards, though, there's a ton of power under the hood that take time to explore and figure out how you want to implement it. So far I have seen endless ways to modify the parts of a Performance to get the sound I want. The Superknob, itself, changes the way you interact with a live board.

 

The thing that makes all this new stuff easy is the touch screen. Even there, there are subtle things that you can tell a lot of thought went into. For Example, when editing a parameter, if you touch that parameter twice, quickly, it brings up a full sized number pad for direct entry. This is great when you get tire of spinning the know to get the value you want.

 

So, yeah, I still love my MODX6. It is the only sound engine I am using in my rig. I use a PX-5S (yes I was using my Juno DS-88, but I finally came across the solution to get the PX to talk nicely with the MODX....the key is the Casio Data Editor, to do things beyond the 4 zones...more on that in a future thread.).

 

I use the Bosendorfer library Yamaha provides with purchase as my main piano.

 

[zephonic]

 

The thing that makes all this new stuff easy is the touch screen. Even there, there are subtle things that you can tell a lot of thought went into. For Example, when editing a parameter, if you touch that parameter twice, quickly, it brings up a full sized number pad for direct entry. This is great when you get tire of spinning the know to get the value you want.

 

 

Agree, but I will say the touch display isn't very responsive compared to our iPhones/iPads. It's a bit better than the Krome's, but nowhere close to what we have come to expect from our devices.

 

I'm not crazy in love with my MODX8, but it does the job well. If I were in the market today, I think I'd buy the MODX or Montage 7, and have a CP73/88 on the bottom.

[EscapeRocks]

 

Agree, but I will say the touch display isn't very responsive compared to our iPhones/iPads. It's a bit better than the Krome's, but nowhere close to what we have come to expect from our devices.

 

Interesting. The touch screen on my MODX6 is almost too responsive. I barely tap what I need and it comes right up. I am assuming you've done the calibration?

I usually clean mine with my eyeglasses cleaning pad a couple times a week.

 

[Stokely]

Is there a standalone ios or pc/mac editor for the Modx?

[AnotherScott]

Is there a standalone ios or pc/mac editor for the Modx?

John Melas' tools are available (PC/Mac).

 

[EscapeRocks]

As Scott said.

 

 

I highly recommend the Melas software. It's good stuff. I've been using it since my MOX and MOXF days.

[brenner13]

Things are getting better than how I felt on the previous page after a little more time spent customizing the thing...just takes time and a lot of it. Still only have a handful of dedicated performances for some of songs on the setlist for tonight. A coupe of frustrating things: 1) getting the settings I want to consistently stick in the Scenes and 2) where the heck is the LFO speed control on a part? I found what says LFO and a Speed box, but sweeping the number doesn't seem to change anything. Typical Yamaha programming stuffs...not always instinctual, but once found kind of makes sense...in the "Upsidedown". HA!

 

It is far from polished for a big show, but should do fine replacing both the Fantom and the Numa C2 at the little bar gig tonight. The VR09 headphone jack is still solid and should cover any sound needed in a pinch.

 

We shall see.

[EscapeRocks]

The LFO needs to be routed on the effects page via one of the inserts, then when you sweep the value it will change.

 

Not sure of you've seen this, but here is a good page on navigating the MODX:

 

Mastering MODX

[brenner13]

Dude! That is a great link...THANKS!

 

Of course...lfo is an EFFECT in Yammie-world. I was looking in the pitch and controller menus, silly me.

 

Thanks again, Dave.

 

 

The show went pretty well last night. EP's, Clavs, Hornz, Synth Pads and Leads were clear and punchy. Had to really crank up the gain on the mixer to get a good signal. This board has really low output, right? My piano patch is still a little quiet and requires a twist of the vol knob to get it noticed. I did manage to place a gain boost on the Assign 1 button on the piano for solos; worked perfectly...YAY! I modified Dave's Nu Organ preset a bit and it worked surprisingly well on several tunes. I am quite amazed it turned out that good. Only four faders at once, but they work fine.

 

Overall, I've definitely decided to keep it. Now, to unload a bunch of older keys to get that Vox funded...HA!

[miden]

You can go into the System Setitngs (under Audio IIRC) and change the main output from 0 up to +12db (might have been +6 ??), and minus the same amount. But be careful, when boosting quite a few sounds go into distortion quite quickly!

[lsj]

very satisfied with the synth and a great price. other manufacturers should follow with the same pricing before Behringer takes over everyone. I am glad for Behringer, in fact just purchased their model d.

[rickzjamm]

So it only boosts volume globally & not individually at that price range?

[brenner13]

Holy Toledo, that Bosendorfer expansion is wonderful! Digging the Chick Corea Mark V, too.

Very tempted to buy that Organ expansion, but demos don't really have the sounds I'm looking for. Does anyone have opinions of their experience with that library? My classic rock cover band does all the cliché staples; Clapton, Petty, Alman, Doobies, Purple, Santana, and such.

The Soundmondo app probably has some really great sounds that deserve exploration.

Hmmm, the lawn is only knee-high...and will only be waist-high if it waits another week, right? Huh? What's that you say, Honey? Well, "obsessed" is kind of a strong word...maybe "enamored". Perhaps we could get it baled and sell the hay? Okay, okay! Getting on my bibs, now. Sheesh!