review title:
Subject
Excellent sounds
By: Chicho
Submitted: 8/6/2019
2 people found this review helpful.
Product Rating
Product Review
It's a Motif XS, what else needs to be said?
Miniscule display-one star off, but for the sound and effects I'd give 6, if i could.
Oh, anyone noticed it's a hardware piece? It aint no soft synth, so better to be used with full size weighted keys, preferably at least 76 of them, to appreciate its EP-s, Organs and Pianos.
Drums are of very high quality and well programmed multisamples make perfect company to its over 1500 drum groves. Did I say four arpeggiators run in synch? Some 8000 melodic arpeggios to choose from? (Yeah, three zeros)
I used to own everything from Motif ES to XF, all the MO-s, plus the ill fathed MODX, they were all lovely instruments (except the MODX), but needed a module, had plenty of boards, already. I almost forgot about this baby, but its surely selling, still, and for a reason.
If you want excellent sounds and great mixes, get one, before it's late.
The FX blocks are 8 insert and 3 master (chorus, reverb, delay, or anything you prefer)
review title:
Subject
Excellent sound module
By: Steven Carrington
Submitted: 6/21/2019
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
This sound module works immaculately with the EWI 5000 wireless wind controller. Easy to add userbanks of more sounds.
review title:
Subject
It sounds good but unable to do what I needed.
By: Alexus Maximus
Submitted: 7/16/2018
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
Good sound module unfortunately if your a Motif XS keyboard owner and you want to do a midi dump into the rack, Yamaha does not have a way of doing it. Yamaha customer service referred me to a 3rd party vendor who was charging 30 Euros on up in order to do it. Needless to say I was very disappointed in Yamaha on this.
review title:
Subject
Adendum: Firewire Interface
By: Vanessa J from Somewhere IN USA
Submitted: 6/17/2012
0 people found this review helpful.
See Prior Review from "Vaneesa J"
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Your general opinion of this product.
ADENDUM:
The mLan interface noted in the video and the instruction manual HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED. It has not been available since approximately 2006.
However, a check of Yamaha's website shows that the same interface has basically been rebranded as the FW16E and is, per the same website, compatible with the Motif Rack XS. If you type "Yamaha FW16E" into American Musical's search window the product comes up, but it only lists it as compatible with the newer Motif XF. But it is the same interface as the prior-named mLan16E and, again, IS compatible with the Motif Rack XS per Yamaha's website.
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review title:
Subject
A must have space saver
By: BL
Submitted: 4/7/2011
It's in the rack and it will stay there in my studio. It is somewhat heavy. Pushing the buttons didn't feel like anything cheap. Feels well made.
The sounds, their ability to be tweaked, and the overall ease of use.
It is super simple to use. I pretty much started going through the menus without even looking at the manual. The only thing I went to manual for was how to set the additional outs. Ironically, the very page to go to was found in the beginning where it's telling what the different buttons are for. I figured out everything else. If you have other equipment this will be a breeze. If not, please read the manual. I did after a few days and found it to be very simple and informative even though I figured it out.
The sounds are really good. The fact that you can easily edit them is even better. It is easy to create your own sounds with this.
I used it for about 2 hours out of the box when I first got it. It just sounds good. There are over 2,000 sounds I believe so be prepared to be there for awhile auditioning the sounds if you want to go through and see what it has.
Definitely a good value. I have the sampled "sounds" of the motif but there is nothing like the real thing.
review title:
Subject
A Sonic Arsenal
By: Vanessa J from Somewhere on the road, USA
Submitted: 3/14/2010
Very well built. Solid construction, nothing flimsy
The editing features are probably the best features on the XS. If I were to add anything, it would be more user banks.
It's very easy to use and integrates well with your studio. The user manual is comprehensive and fairly easy to grasp. Minimal learning curve.
For the most part, the sounds are exceptionally rich. There's an abundance of variety to match any mood you may want to create. I have one major disappointment, however. Compared to the Clavinova I already own, the piano sounds in the XS are muddy, flat and dull. In fact, I would not recommend fronting a band with these piano sounds, although they would suffice in the back of a mix.
The Analog synth sounds are outrageous! And there's an abundance of very good electric keyboards and organs, bells, tines, ... everything.
Good drums and nice basses.
Apart from my disappointment with the piano samples, I would say that no serious studio these days is complete without this arsenal of sounds.
Very user friendly. Plug and play.
Yes, this is a good overall value. Apart from the arpeggiators, there is no sequencing. That is on the keyboards only.
review title:
Subject
Not a Software Sampler !
By: micr from Seattle Washington USA
Submitted: 4/25/2009
The Motif Rack XS is lightweight but can support a lot of weight, at least 30 pounds on top. All the knobs have a good feel and control, many double up as push buttons and some duplicate control the others have, you can use your own routine to navigate around. In other words you can be fast and sloppy, there is no precision required to get it working, and lose your sound ideas.
Easy to use compared to big time software samplers. The main reason why I sold all samplers and went hardware only. This is like an instrument, and you won't get locked into constant upgrades and bug fixes. It will last much longer than a program. Plus you don't have to upgrade or configure a computer.
It is real easy to use after looking over the controls for a few minutes. They want you to use it not learn how to use it.
The sound is just like the real thing, I can't tell the difference. The distorted electric guitars are pretty wild.
The controls are perfect.
It's kind of expensive compared to software ($1300), but I see a person buying new software versions and titles every year for decades. The Motif rack XS puts an end to it, save thousands instead.