EX5 or MOTIF

[seanbaker]

Besides the MOTIF's intergrated sampling feature, does anyone think EX5 may be better still?

[Botch.]

Sean, I haven't played with the Motif but have owned the EX-5 for about four years now. I'd avoid it if I were you. Its got some great features but its buggy as heck, and the owner's manual wasn't the best (I also own a DX-7 and TG-77, both were deep and took some effort to learn but they didn't have bugs, and the owner's manuals were accurate). It doesn't even call up presets the same reliably!! This last weekend it started transposing on me during our last two songs, but we were playing on a trailer in a asphalt parking lot when it was 93 degrees, I think both instrument and operator were breaking down by then! I only use the Flash ROM, I've heard that the SCSI speed should you decide to use an external hard drive for samples is extremely slow, like half-an-hour to load one bank! On the plus side you could probably pick up a used EX for MUCH less than a Motif, but I wouldn't recommend it. Let us know what you get!

[VanZea]

I own both a EX5 (with 64meg, internal HD, 10 outputs), and a Motif 6 (with 64 meg, AN+DX plugin, 8 outputs). Both have there strong points. If it's your first keyboard, buy a Motif, if you'll be happy not using it multitimbral, and not using it's internal sequener, I think it's still one of the best sounds synths on the market. Have a look at http://www.ex5tech.com There's a very active comunity there, and you can download some incredible sounds for your EX...

 

Grtz,

Jeroen

[Botch.]

Thanks for the link, VanZea!!!

[seanbaker]

VanZea,

 

This is a dumb question, but after what you said, I realized that I don't think I know what multi-timbral means. Can you explain that? You're saying the MOTIF is not multitimbral or the EX5?

[EZB]

Multi-timbral refers to the synth's ability to fire several distinct sounds (or, in Yamaha speak, "voices") at once. A common example would be during sequencing, where you want to reproduce drums, horns, bass, etc. simultaneously.

 

The EX Forum is a godsend if you're interested in learning about the instrument in depth. There's a boatload of info and opinions on there; allow me to hit a couple of highlights and recurring themes that are most pertinent to your purchase decision...

 

EX5 Strengths: Most EX owners love the depth of the voice architecture. It's a very deep instrument, and it's unlikely you'll exhaust its capabilities. Secondly, people like the breadth of the voice architecture. Yamaha crammed almost every piece of intellectual property they had into this, from AWM (i.e., ROMpler) to VL to analog modelling to FDSP.

 

Weaknesses: Most EX5 owners feel the SCSI interface is just too darned fast. OK, seriously, it's pathetically slow. If you can get your hands on an EX 16 Mb flash card, you'll alleviate some frustration by cirvumventing RAM loading, but if you're looking to load big-ass 64 Mb sample files into RAM, you're going to be waiting several minutes.

 

The second major gripe is that it's underpowered. The EX has all of those really cool synthesis modes, but its CPU doesn't allow you to do a lot at the same time. The VL and modelled analog voices suck up a lot of the computing horsepower, not leaving much for anything else. Forget about multi-timbral if you're using these voice types extensively.

 

The third major gripe is that the sequencer timing is dicey. Personally, I haven't encountered that problem, and there seems to be a bit of a divided opinion on this topic, but it's something that comes up often in discussion forums.

 

The Motif addresses many of these issues head on. Loading sample data into RAM is by all accounts MUCH faster. And you're less likely to run into DSP limitations using CPU-intensive voices like modelled analog sounds, for the Motif farms those functions out to optional cards you install yourself. And I've heard the sequencing timing is better. And lastly, it has a lot more onboard ROM waveforms (about 4x the EX5 I believe.)

 

There are many clear factors in favor of the Motif. As for reasons to consider the EX:

 

1) Value. You have to spend a lot on a Motif+expansion boards to match the EX's breadth.

 

2) FDSP. FDSP enables you to model some really cool stuff like pickup position on guitar and clav patches. Again, it sucks up the EX's CPU resources, but there's no way to get these sounds on the Motif.

 

3) User community. The EX has, by far, the best user community I have ever seen. Whether it's cool patches you need or technical support, the people there are fantastic. Frankly, I'm embarassed to be writing this, as there are so many people on that forum who are far more qualified than me to weigh in. Maybe they will...

 

If it were me, I'd second the sentiment expressed earlier. If this is your main axe, and if you have the money to spend, the Motif might be a more prudent choice, If you're on a budget, and/or are intrigued by the EX's depth, it might be for you.

 

Good luck.

[mildbill]

sean: if you don't know what 'multitimbral' means, you may be better off with the motif.

on the other hand, if you want to jump off into the deep end, get the EX5.