Upgrade Motif7 to ES?

[Dave The Rave]

I'm considering selling/trading-in my Motif 7 for a Motif ES7. Are the new sounds and bigger buttons worth it? Is having the mLAN option available really going to be necessary in the near future (i.e. will I be able to connect it directly to my Mac dual G5 running Cubase SX2 and DP4)?

 

Mike Martin - I recall Yamaha had some kind of trade-up deal going for upgraders. Is there still something on the table? I bought my Motif 7 just a few months before the ES came out (had I known about the ES, I would have waited....oh well, c'est la vie, n'est ce pas?)

 

Any thoughts as to whether the upgrade is worth it or not?

 

:DTR

[Jabbe]

New sounds worth it? Definitely! Absolutely! The ES sounds MUCH better than the Classic. I had a Motif6 in test use for some months before my ES7 came.. the difference was more than I expected. They improved almost everything!

[Stephen Fortner]

Definitely worth the upgrade. The Motif ES is almost a completely different machine. I mean, it navigates the same, but it sounds way better and is much more powerful.

[p120dUdE]

Yes, trade it in. The sounds are great and much better than the Regular Motif 7. The ES also has a New Striple Strike Grand piano, which is awesome. 3 layers of a Yamaha concert gra...well, you get it.

 

User Interface is different, but you will figure it out. Nice backlit screen. All of the sounds are great though, it is the king workstation.

 

Regards,

p120dUdE

[burningbusch]

When you people are claiming the ES sounds MUCH BETTER than the Motif are you suggesting that's comparing the same patches. I have both an S90 and Motif ES8 and when I compare "identical" patches they sound very close. Yes certainly the ES has better guitars, bass and ac. pianos. I don't have a problem with that. But I don't find the difference in quality of sounds overall to be that significant. Not as big as let say the difference between the Roland JV and XV series.

 

Is it worth the upgrade? Depends on how much $$$s you're talking and how much you use the workstation features (patterns, arps, etc.).

 

Busch.

[p120dUdE]

The ES sounds significantly better in NEW sounds. It has a whole bunch of new sparkling synths and guitars. The sounds that are the same in the Regular Motif sound maybe just a little better in the ES because of the new playback engine, but really, theres not a big difference.

 

The sound that I think is most superior to the Regular Motif is the new Triple Strike Grand Piano, which is outstanding.

 

Regards,

p120dUdE

[Dave Bryce]

For me, it's the filters. I think the filters in the ES are much more what I am looking for than the ones in the S90 (which I had before the ES8) or the earlier MOTIFs.

 

dB

[Jabbe]

The new Grand Piano is nice, but horrible to play with ES7's synth action. But use a weighted controller (or ES8) and it's one of the best piano sounds I've heard. Really nice.

 

Most of the sounds really sound better. I think the filters and envelopes have something to do with it, as they are a lot smoother on the ES than on the Classic. Also, new samples sound nice. Just about every acoustic instrument in the ES is better than in any other synth I've heard. And the synths beat my soft VA's easily. And the drums... and... and...

 

Great instrument. Get it if you have the cash!!

[MrVegas]

Originally posted by burningbusch:

I have both an S90 and Motif ES8 and when I compare "identical" patches they sound very close.

 

Busch.

Hey Busch .... you say you have both the S90 and the ES8. I'm am currently debating between the two. Are they about the same in terms of bulk and weight for lugging around to gigs? Which one do you like better for live playing, selecting patches on the fly when changing songs, etc.?

[burningbusch]

See, it's not really the extra weight that throws me off on the Motif 8, it's the bulk. It has greater depth and length. With the S90 you can (at least I can) pick it up and more or less carry it under one arm with the other arm used to balance it. The Motif doesn't balance as nicely as you can't get your arm wrapped around it the same way and then you have the extra length and weight to deal with. When I move the Motif, I will more often then not hit something unintended or put it down too hard. With the S90, I feel I'm always in control. Personally, I would much rather have an S90 and a one unit rack module (Fantom XR, XV-5050, PC2R) than the Motif 8 for gigging. I gig with the S90 (a great workhorse) and the Motif ES8 stays in my home studio.

 

But everyone's different. Go into your local music store and pick both of them up, try moving them around and see what you think.

 

As far as using live, they are functionally about the same. Getting around on them is about the same.

 

One other thing. I think I'm more in touch with the S90. It's a simpler device and I end up using pretty much all that it has to offer. I feel very comfortable with it. I've only fooled around with the patterns, sequencing and sampling on the Motif, as I use a computer to do all of those things. So there are a lot of screens and functionality that I'm not that familiar with. I don't feel I know it anywhere near as well as I know the S90. Kind of in the vein of Zen and the art of Yamaha Synthesizer playing, I'm more at one with the S90.

 

But I do hope Yamaha comes out with an S100/S90 ES, i.e. all the ES sounds in the S90 case.

 

Busch.

[Dave The Rave]

Thanks for all your opinions/inputs folks. I bought the "7" because I wanted a good keyboard with synth keys - I already have a K2600XS that's got a superb (IMO) weighted action. I play my current Motif 7 pianos with that. I rarely use the sequencer in the Motif 7, but have used a few of the arps etc.

 

I think what would solve my dihlemma would actually be an ES rack module!! What do you think the chances that Yamaha will come out with one later this year? If they did, I'd be all over it.....how about it Mike?

 

Cheers for now,

:DTR