MotifES Piano Vs S90ES Piano

[søren]

Has anyone compared the piano sound of the MotifES and The S90ES.

 

Please give me you opinions - I'm not sure which one to choose.

 

I would also like to know if anyone has tried the Motif with the pianoexpansion board.

 

Thanx

[HomeAmateur]

The S90ES piano is simply much better. I dont think that Ive seen any opinion other then that to be honest.

 

You can quicky A/B them if you have access to an S90ES. Pre1 A07 is the Full Grand from the MotifES. Its interesting that if you just play the Motif ES Full Grand it doesnt sound alllllll that bad compared to whats been offered in the past, but then switch to Pre1 A01 Natural S and you will quickly realize how 'not so good' the Full Grand is.....

[NoahZark]

Totally agree with homeAmature: The main piano on the S90ES is far richer in my opinion than that on the MotifES.

 

Of course, the MotifES and the S90ES are so different in terms of overall functionality that I don't know why having a better piano sound on one or the other should help you choose which board to buy. After all, if you want the sampling and sequencing capabilities of the Motif, then the S90ES isn't for you, despite the better piano sound, because it doesn't have those capabilities.

 

Best of luck.

 

Noah

[DanL]

How many people do you think purchase a Motif and never use it to it's capability? I bet a lot. A guy here in this funk type band that I might start doing some sidework for bought one because "it's the same keyboard Stevie Wonder uses". He can't even figure out how to use master mode to save his presets- he uses the favorites list and scrolls through them to find the sound he needs. He'll NEVER use the sampling or sequencing, guaranteed.

[Trill]

Originally posted by DanL:

How many people do you think purchase a Motif and never use it to it's capability? I bet a lot. A guy here in this funk type band that I might start doing some sidework for bought one because "it's the same keyboard Stevie Wonder uses". He can't even figure out how to use master mode to save his presets- he uses the favorites list and scrolls through them to find the sound he needs. He'll NEVER use the sampling or sequencing, guaranteed.

Good point Dan. I wonder how many people actually dig into thier boards and use them to the max capabilities. Or actually tweak the sounds with the EQ and effects. Or actually know that you can change the response of the keys to how you strike them and the brightness,or just write the board off as having a sluggish feel with a Piano sound they don't like. I am speaking from a Yamaha point of view. Funny thing is ,We see guitarist who plays a certain brand of guitar and he will help sell for that company.I would venture to say,by the time his tech is done with it, that guitar is rarely like the "out of the box guitar."

[resigned]

I am one of many who have spent years with a Motif ES 8 and finally sold it. I never got comfortable with it, I always had to keep the owner's manual and printed instructions from Motifator.com within reach, and in the end I wound up using it more as a glorified softsynth controller than a stand alone synth or piano. I tried nearly every plug-in card made for it and felt they were also a waste of time and money, especially the AP piano although I like the older PF piano card better. I also tried the S90ES and found nothing about it to like either, improved piano sound or not, especially since it shares the Motif's tiny green display. And I really, really tried to like mLan and use it in my studio... another mistake.

 

I think I've seen my last "workstation". I like Reason and Sonar too much now to give up a full computer display and an unlimited choice of sounds. But I still like owning a solid digital piano, and IMHO the entire Yamaha digital piano lineup is overdue for a makeover. The sound and the technology are dated, from the P-whatever to the S90ES. It's all repackaged samples stuffed behind a terrible user interface and everyone knows it. Yamaha may return to true innovation someday but not as long as they can save on R&D and keep selling the same old thing.

[HomeAmateur]

The Pro,

 

I guess I could see why you and (many others it seems) aren't/weren't that impressed with the UI, Im actually not finding it all that difficult.

 

Im actually finding it much more complicated (being brand new to the recording end of it)figuring out how to configure my Mackie 1202vlz, Firebox, eq, hardware effects, S90es, mic, monitors, comp and Cubase Le all together 'properly' so I can sit down and play with and with out the comp, and also record mic and keys on seperate tracks, with effects on the mic (with hardware) without bleeding onto the keys tracks........ooopps am I rambling??? I guess this should be a whole other thread...

 

I totally agree though that its time for all the rompler makers to do a major make-over. I think with products like the Receptor becoming main stream, the boys at Yam,Rol,Korg etc etc.... are going to HAVE TO go back to the drawing board and come up with some new ideas. Re-packaging the 'old-stuff' isnt going to fly much longer. And its about time!!!

 

I am happy with my S90ES, however a board that I could cusomize myself with very high quality software instruments would be a whole new welcomed world. I think that is exactly what the next genereration of romplers will be like. In the simplest if terms I think the next generation of romplers will basiclally just be a rompler with a built in laptop.