Yamaha MoDX 8 Pros and Cons
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2022
- IN this video I talk about the Yamaha MoDX 8 in comparison to the Montage and the Pro and Cons of the keyboard.
Trace Taylor Great Guitar Giveaway - • The Trace Taylor Great...
00:00:00 Intro
03:10:00 Pianos
09:39:00 Organs
14:39:00 Bass
16:00:00 Strings
20:12:00 Brass
20:33:00 Pads
24:00:00 Random Sounds
25:57:00 Guitars
30:04:00 MODX vs Montage
47:28:00 Breakdown
54:02:00 Pros and Cons
patreon.com/tracetaylormusic
#modx8 #yamaha #synthesizer
You are really right Bro thank you for your kind explanation !
anytime my friend.
Man I love your rant on the P/S... so, so true!
I know right. Of all the places to cut corners that is not the place.
Nice presentation, so hard to find these damn things nowadays due to the chip shortage.
Yeah they are getting hard to find, hell everything is hard to find right now. I got really lucky and when I got mine sweetwater had 7 of them in stock but they did not have any of the montage. Also Sam Ashe in Nashville TN had a few several weeks ago if that helps any. Guitar Center had 0....but of course it is guitar center so I expected that.
Wow. Love the riffs from Billy, Styx and others. I’m worried that later this year in 2024 Yamaha is gonna announce something new and better. However I’m missing out now on being able to enjoy the selections this unit has. My current keyboard is an Alesis QS8 which I love the keybed. However the limited sounds on it doesn’t really inspire me. I plan on using and enjoying the Modx8+ now.
Oh guaranteed. these are like computers. Always a better one tomorrow. But what you got is a beast and for the money very very hard to beat. Thanks for the comment my friend.
I was listening carefully to the sounds Mr. Taylor was getting here and I felt like his lower octave, left hand was a bit heavy on the board. BUT . . then I noticed that HUGE BIG Ben clock on his left wrist and it all made sense to me! lol (J/K Mr. Taylor. Nice job with the demo. I appreciated it.)
Funny. Yeah it is a big watch. It is a G shock Mud master. A mans watch. or at least that is what they told me when I bought it.
@@TraceTaylor3 Oh hell. You bought that?
lol
Very helpful video...one of the best I have seen regarding this keyboard. I have a Roland VR-730 and frequently use it as a piano and a synth since purchasing a Hammond SKX organ and external Leslie speaker. The piano sounds on the Roland are not very good and I obviously don't need the Roland organ sounds so I'm looking to move on from the Roland to get a keyboard with a decent piano sound. After hearing your review, it appears as though this keyboard will provide a better piano sound. Do you agree with my assessment?
Yes. The piano sounds are actually quite good but a lot of the sound for live depends on how good your PA is. But if you are running straight into a DAW you will love the sounds.
Ok I just ordered the 7+ I’m a guitar player that has no idea how to play a keyboard but I need something to jazz up my home recordings cause you can only layer so many guitars before it gets repetitive! I’m looking forward to learning this new platform
Yeah, man for the money it is hard to beat this board and it has a bevy of sounds you will be able to use right out of the gate. Deep diving is a bit of a pain on this unit so get ready to dig through the manual, but you should be able to get about any sound you can imagine from this. You will like this unit. Can't go wrong with it.
Nice video. How do you feel about the "Modx plus" being released after you just got this board, and will you exchange it to get the extra polyphony?
You know that is how it always works with me. As soon as I bought my Black Magic 6k cams, the released the pro. However, this still does everything that I need it to do and I have not had an issue with the polyphony yet so I am think I am just going to hold with what i got. Also, Last I checked you could not get these things anywhere about a month ago. that may have changed by now but I don't think it would be worth the headache to trade it up.
The extra ram is by far the main benefit. The other differences to make people will make little difference, unless they are trying to sequence an entire band out of the keyboard, something I don't do.
The MODX+ does cost a bit more. However, if I had the chance to pay the extra money for the extra ram to load more sampled sounds, I would. But the 1 gig isn't so bad.
I don’t agree with saying “I don’t think that sounds like a guitar” types of comments made about various sounds throughout the video. You have to play like the instrument you’re emulating which wasn’t being done. Sounds like saxophones, strings, guitars and other instruments only sound real if you play them like the instrument would be played (bends, vibrato, the correct strings on a guitar, etc). If you play a guitar sound like you’d play a piano sound, it won’t sound like a guitar. There’s an art to demoing sounds other than keyboard sounds and you have to know how to do this if you’re going to review or comment about sounds on a keyboard “not sounding real.”
Well you can disagree, but the fact remains that a synth will never sound like a guitar. I don't care how you play it. I am a guitarist and I can pick a synth guitar out in a song 10 out of 10 times. You will never have the nuance of a guitar with sound nor feel. Just like a synth will never sound like a grand piano. You simply cannot account for the acoustics of stings on wood. I don't care how good it is. I play my digital pianos and they sound good....but nothing like when I play a grand piano. The fact remains that digital guitars....sound digital. Period. And you also have to account for the pitch variations of a guitar when you press the string, they way it vibrates. You simply cannot do that....nor will ever be able to do that with a synth.
Yes, sound real but is not real 😂
I agree about the power supply, I still love my MODX 8 as my work horse. I have YC73 as my gigging piano which has the 3 pin “kettle” plug, which feels much sturdier. Maybe the power unit added extra weight as my YC73 is heavier?
Hello trace love your vids here.
Im curious about what is the diff about regular modx and modx plus?
And could you recomend me the modx plus, korg nautillus, or korg krome? I used to gigs every weekend at my friends coffee shop.
Need your advise sir. Thank you.
Thanks my friend. Really the only difference is you get more polyphony and a little bit more user storage between the two. I did not upgrade to the plus because it is minimal. If you could find a deal on a regular MODx I would go that route. The Korg is nice but I would probably still go with the MODx. The super knob....at first I did not think it was a big deal but after using it....I don't know if I could like without it. It is a very cool feature and so assignable you will constantly find uses for it. Of course the MODx is very deep editing if you are into that and I do wish the touch screen was a bit bigger. Sometimes it is hard to use because everything on it is a tad on the small side, but other than that I love my MODx. So much so I was buying a Nord Stage but decided on the Yamaha because of their durability.
After having a power supply fail inside my Motif (expensive repair), I'm sort liking the wall wart.
Wow. that sucks dude. Luckily I have never had one fail inside a unit but I have destroyed countless of these wall warts.
Besides taking about an extra year to get a product to market for government safety approval with a built-in power supply, that is the extra benefit of a wall wart.
Wall warts for the MODX are tiny, and inexpensive. Spending the price difference of about $2000 so you don't have to buy or carry an extra $20-$40 small item you can throw in the gig bag in case you loose one or it breaks should be ZERO reason for consideration on buying a Montage over a MODX. That part of the rant in the video made no sense. Most of my keyboards have built-in power supplies, and though it is nice, it's not worth a rant in the least bit. At the end of the day, Yamaha had good reasons for using wall warts on this product, and we should be understanding of it. The difference in cost savings was only a tiny part of the reason for doing it.
@@classicarcadeamusementpark4242 Things that should be considered for a Montage is the better keyboard with after touch, more A/D channels, and something not to consider anymore with the newer MODX+ is memory and FM-X polyphony, as the MODX+ now matches the Montage in that restpect. So as far as the synth engine goes, it's now exactly the same as the Miontage. As far as after touch goes, I still have a Motif 6, and can control the MODX+ with it. Also concerning the piano sounds, there's AWM2 sampled piano percussion that can be loaded in and layered upon the piano for a more realistic piano sound.
@@delscoville Agreed.
I have several other keyboards of various sizes with premium keybeds and aftertouch.
I use an Axiom 61 MIDI controller along with my MODX at the typical gig. It has aftertouch and I use it a good amount with some soft synths. The factory & 3rd party sound collections for the Montage doesn't support aftertouch all that well compared to some older synths. The Korg Kronos/Nautilus & newer Roland Fantoms are the same way. Aftertouch is largely ignored today by sound designers sadly. You might find a patch here and there, but not like on old keyboards where it was a much more important, in your face thing to have to add effects vibarato, volume swells, etc. Can still be manually programmed, but most people don't know how.
Trace from where Im sitting those organ sounds sound pretty good. I'm looking at ordering one of these but right now everyone is out of stock. Anyway liked the approach to your video.
Thanks brother. The organs are actually pretty darn good as are most of the sounds in here. Did you check sweetwater? when I ordered mine they said they had quite a few in stock.
My agent at Sweetwater said they are getting some mid October which should be fine. How is the MODX working out for you real world use?
@@jackprice7828 Pretty good. I do have a bit of fun with it and the bazillion sounds that it has. Just be prepared to to watch a lot of videos. It just does so much. But.....as with any keyboard, the better the PA the better it sounds. I have 4 of the Italian Mackies, when mackie made good speakers, and even with that sometimes I find it lacking. But with everything.....good speakers are a must. You will really enjoy it if you get it. And dude you can waste days of time messing around in this thing.
I have modx7. For me the best thing about this synth is the weight (7 kg) and the worst is the keybed. Although, the keybed feel might be improved with a simple, but effective modification which I've discovered spontaneously during experiments.
Regarding the reduced faders and knobs amount, it's a big butthurt, because you have to be awared of current layer and also the fader positions might not corresponding actual values because they're not motorized, so you have to keep that in mind. It makes things so complicated for live playing that I almost never use them.
Actually I agree with everything you said. The weight is awesome but it is way to complicated not having all the buttons and knobs. Having to switch from bank one for 1-4 then bank 2 for 5-8 is just too much for live play....so there fore I don't use them that much either when live. I try to have everything set so I can bypass all that except the super knob. That I do use. One other issue that I have....which maybe I have just not found yet....is a way to save the eq settings with turning the knobs. Some rooms are dead and some are lively and every sound reacts differently. I have a sound that I am using live and I have to reach up to do a quick eq on it....then change sounds....and when I come back to that sound I have to re=eq it on the fly. That irritates the hell out of me.
What is the modification? I just got a 6+ to test out. I agree, the keybed feels horrible and flimsy - like it's gonna break off. I intend to to use my Roland RD-2000 keyboard to play it via midi.
@@jazzzman1000I wrote a long and detailed reply, but it's gone for some reason.
In short, round magnets from Amazon go under the white keys. I used two 10*3mm and one 10*1mm for each key on top of each other. Plus you should reverse polarity every key to avoid field interaction.
One reason keyboards have moved away from external power supplies is to comply with product regulations more effectively. By integrating the power supply within the keyboard itself, manufacturers can ensure that the device meets safety standards. This can simplify the certification process and reduce manufacturing costs. Another issue is the temperature increase when using an internal power supply. The temperature withing the housing is aging all capacitors, including signal processing caps, much faster leading to earlier fail or sound degeneration probability. You can have a fan inside your synthesizer like the Deep Mind 12 to compensate this problem, which I do not like. Otherwise, with your $100 bucks extra, you can buy one or two spare part power supplies before going to a gig. Most of the buyers are playing at home. It would be stupid increasing the price. It is easy to complain about product engineering if you believe that the bill of material is the only thing that influences the final product price.
Well, now I know. I guess you cleared that up for me. I will have to mention this on an upcoming video. I am sure there are a lot of others out there who feel the same way I do. What you said makes sense and I am sure others would like to know also. thanks for the info my friend.
Aaaahhhh..!!! NOOOO.. Not Billy Joel!!!! :). I dabble with Ravenscroft and Neo Soul Keys on iPad with a USB k/b. I appreciate all the keyboard stuff but that thing is a beast. Best Regards and Best Wishes!
Well if you play piano you have to play billy joel and elton john. Honestly I like billy joel better than elton john. Yeah this thing is crazy and going to take me a year to figure it all out.
I also bought the MODX 8 and completely agree with your power cord criticism. The Yamaha owner's manual for the MODX 8 actually says you should only plug the power adapter directly into a wall outlet, with nothing in between. No extension cords allowed! On what planet (or stage) is that an acceptable constraint?
I know right. Very stupid. Of course I run mine through my power supply but sometimes I wonder exactly who Yamaha made this rig for. That is my one BIG gripe about this unit. Other than that I do enjoy it. Thanks for comment.
No big deal at all. Buy a spare wall wart and always carry it to gigs.
Yamaha had very good reasons for not having a built-in power supply. It would have delayed the product for over a year.
The guitars on Yamaha Genos has the required effects for guitarsm, with aftertouch, SA1, SA2,
I’m thinking about getting the modx8 as my first ever high end keyboard. But the only issue that’s stopping me from making up my mind is the sound output. I just fully realized the modx8 as with other synths, does not have internal speakers. I need advice on what to do😭
Well you will have to have sound output. Most Pro keyboards do not have any type of speakers or such. If you invest in this I would recommend a pretty decent set of studio monitors for playing at home. The flatter the better. Granted a lot of times at home I will use headphones, but any pro unit will not come with any type of speaker. They do make keyboard amp also. There are some pretty good ones out there but I really guess it depends on what you are going to use if for.
I am actually at college right now so, I do plan on using headphones most of the time. But, In some situations I would love to have the alternative option of using speakers. Maybe I will consider investing in other sound outputs. Thanks for the advice.
Yamaha should pay you for this video. Just saying...They don't do their own keyboard justice like you do
Nive video. Im primarily a guitrist too - and play a Fractal (have since 2008), and dont think a keyboad guitar sounds like a guitar lol. Im with you on the weight as well.... I currently run a Fantom 7 (synth action) at 18Kg (40 lb or so). I can just about handle that. My Piano is an RD2000 - and that PH50a is perhaps the best keybed (bar the Kawai MP11se) available BUT its nearly 22 Kg (50ld or so). Im looking for something for the keybed, that is still good for Piano, but is40ld/18Kg or less. I cant stand the Nord keyeds. The Monatage is too heavy (the Mox8 ISNT the same keybed, its a subtle but noticeable difference). The ModX and Fantom 08 are possibles for weight... The F08 duplicates what I have (pretty much) whihc is good as I can duplicate sounds so if one board goes down Im covered (Im literally using them to get a synth and a piano keybed). ModX gives MUCH better accoustic instruments (strings and brass particularly) but Im not sure about the keybed on the ModX. so - to the chase, for Piano playing, for the key feel, is the ModX goiod enough (as my main bed)......
I like the keybed and I play mostly piano. Granted it is not as good as my CP300 keybed and I can tell a difference, but not enough to deter me from getting the MODX obviously. I think you would be happy with it because I am very very picky about how the piano plays, and like you, I go after the keybeds first then worry about the tones. And yes, for as amazing as the Nords sound, their keybeds are pathetically bad. Not sure how they call them graded, unless they are comparing them to a turd. Also, after lugging around my 100lb CP300, this thing is fantastic at less the 40lbs.
@@TraceTaylor3 Thanks. I Did fleetingly try the Modx and the Montage at a tradeshow a couple of weeks back. I came away feeling the Montage was good enough but the ModX I was less sure of (they are different) - BUT I played a lot of boards (inc a Nautilus, a Kurzweil K2700, Noprd Piano 4 and lots of synths) - sand you kind of loose your reference when you do that.
@@paulmapp8306 Yeah. you keep playing too many and you lose your way. Same with guitars. If you keep playing a lot of different guitars you end up buying no guitars. It confuses the issue too much. the reason I chose the Yamaha is because the products are built like tanks, especially after I have heard several stories of Nords failing for all different kinds of reasons. The Montage feels a little better but not at twice the weight and twice the price. I get the same engine minus a few little things and 90% of the keybed feel. That is worth saving 30 lbs and 2k dollars to me. Once I played it for a couple of hours I was right at home.....
At the risk of being a royal "pain" I do have one more question. I spoke to a rep at Sweetwater who suggested I consider the Roland Phantom 08, which is a newer model, as an alternative before making a final decision. Any thoughts on that? BTW...I appreciate your help and timely response to my questions.
Man the Phantom is nice. I don't think you will be upset with either direction. The FM engine in the Yamaha is very powerful and the super knob which at first I did not think was a big deal....is actually very very cool and handy to change sounds and blend them. I really haven't done a deep dive into the phantom as I have the Yamaha, but I can tell you there is almost unlimited "Tweakability" on the Yamaha but it can get really confusing when you get in deep and you have to know what you are doing. I honestly think they are on par with each other. Me personally, I would probably go with the Yamaha because I have been using Yamaha keyboards forever. And now they have upgraded to the X+......I would lean to the Yamaha just for the super knob. It has amazing functionality.
FYI...after extensive research, most of which validated your opinion of the MoDX 8, I bought one. Again, I really appreciate your input in helping me to make this decision. Thank You! 🙂
@@martyzz73 Not a problem brother. You will love it. It is a great keyboard.
Yeah, agreed good choice getting the MODX8, Roland’s are unfortunately plagued with rehashing outdated sounds from 30 years ago in even their flagship keyboards even today. MODX doesn’t play that game. You made the right choice.
@@joshuaswannmusic6462 Yeah I agree. I really like the MODX. It has worked very well for me at shows and it is super light as compared to my CP300.
Hey man just passing through, as I've had this for about 2 years now and love it. I just wanted to point out that AWM2 is sample based not synth. So anything with AWM2 is from a sample, FM-X is derived from synths.
Yeah, this is my first synth and I am still trying to figure it out. I’ve had digital pianos my entire life, so I’m still working through this thing but thanks for the information.
Definitely agree on Wall Wart. A keyboardist I know use this and showed up for rehearsal and forgot her Wall Wart and had to drive back home to get.
Forget a Ac power cable, many other Band members usually have a spare one. Ac cables are usually more rugged and easier to find replacements.
My guess weight was the biggest concern.
As for not having a Piano Engine, not that big of a deal as Piano Quality is usually determined by Quality of samples and complexity of Sample Engine itself. That said Montage pianos don't sound as Warm as a Kronos, but still perfectly usable.
As far as Synth Engine, it is a mixed bag. Montage Engine is pretty powerful and can emulate most sounds. Biggest gripe is no Analog modeling Engine. FM/AM can emulate most things but PWM and good OSC sync sounds will be harder to achieve compared to a good VA.
Montage only have two Engines but they decently cover most of Korgs ground as the quality of the Montage samples makes up for alot of its shortcomings. It has great EPs, Organs, Brass, Strings, and Pianos.
It's Touch screen is not as snappy as the Kronos but I think most of its bugs were resolved with updates. That said for Live use, (Setlist navigation, and ability to quickly create layers, and splits) is where the Montage shines most as the Montage I can be put on the spot and quickly make adjustments with the keyboard.
It's FM engine is pretty flexible and does make a great VA for certain things just mainly the Osc sync and PWM is where it falls short. it probably could be done with FM-X but would be a more convoluted process than a traditional VA.
See I disagree on the piano engine. This modX does not have the overtones that my CP300 has or a Nord, and that is part of the piano experience. My grand had these beautiful overtones that are missing from the montage and the modx. Granted the pianos are good, but to me they seem just a touch sterile.
What is the chord progression from the G. Michael song?
Give me a couple of days and I will do a video on it. It has been on my list for a while to do but I will move it up.
@@TraceTaylor3 Thank you would be great!
Thanks for your video.
The Virus TI2 desktop is more expensive than the MODX8+ and it has a external power supply.
Figure 8 power cables are not better. In fact, the extruded plug assembly is thick and hard, has more leverage than the jack they plug into and can, under shock, shatter your input jack which is made smaller, and has thin walls.
Not a problem my friend. I have not played one of the virus synths but since you sent me this I have been reading about them and dude the reviews seem off the chart but they are a bit pricey for the size. I love having 88 keys since I play piano and don't know if I would buy anything smaller than 88 keys. But i am going to head into youtube and listen to one. the sounds on the MODX are actually really good and I have no complaints bout that.....just some of the parts they cut back on and all the knobs they removed.
@@TraceTaylor3, thank you for your reply. I learned a few things from your video BTW. About to pass it on to the guy who recommended the keyboard to me!
I deeply contemplated the issue with tiny knob right on my first onstage gig with my MODX8+ when it went to blackout and I had the first sound! I guess we can borrow from the guitar mod world and change the knobs or get some luminous stick-on jewelry beads from a dollar shop.
I own an Access Virus TI2 desktop. The sounds are deep. I know a film composer that has two Virus B racks. They're pricey alright and slowly going up on the used market. But there are still bargains. Any model in the series is worth owning, they're almost totally interchangeable.
One low-level mod to the MODX+ series I highly recommend is to buy a second power supply and keep it in your keyboard case.
Cheers
@@TraceTaylor3 the sounds _are_ great on the MODX. The point I was making is responding to your comment on the a wall wart's tiny barrel plug power supply input shouldn't be on more expensive keyboards when it is, and not just the Access range who were an example. They've been doing it for twenty five years!
As we know, a wall wart reduces the price since unit sales are not impeded by internally installed international power supplies at the wholesaler. Theoretically.
As a side note, enjoyed the video!
The MODX+ is a deep synth.
Cheers
How about the CME UF8 MIDI keyboard 🎹?
You know I was going to go this route before I bought this. The software for keys is getting so good. I looked at this one but I have not gotten to play one to see how it feels. I did play a few M audios, Arturia and Novation. They were nice but in the end decided to go with a unit that has its own engine that I could also use as a controller. This one fit the bill perfectly and that is one of the reasons that I bought it. But if you have the sound banks and interface.....the controller is the way to go for the money.
Montage synth action is pretty nice. I also played the weighted version which is nice as well.
I would guess that is where the Modx cut corners to reduce weight and cost. As Montage is a pretty heavy and bulky keyboard. Not as heavy as other big keyboards but you will feel the weight. Modx is alot more portable.
Have you tried playing external vst.
I just bought an modx6 but have a hard time to get it to control external midi.
The masterkeyboard functions are a real mess, trying to control eg Gigperformer via cc massages. Extremely unreliable and buggy unfortunately.
I have not tried it yet but I have watched a few videos on it. This guy seems to be pretty good and have watched a couple of his vids. Maybe this will help.
ua-cam.com/video/XZKonQnPFEc/v-deo.html
@@TraceTaylor3 Thanks 😊
I also found a video, that I think Will help me. It explains a plug-in mode
ua-cam.com/video/xv5AWpYjIlY/v-deo.html
@@MadsGranumMusic Very good. I will be checking that video out. Thanks brother.
I am planning to use it with Native Instruments Kontakt pianos and instruments....Is it a good idea?
@@neelenpatten2959 I have not used it that way yet but I have heard and read that it is amazing with externals. I have a friend that plays one and he uses a lot of external sounds and said that it works flawlessly
Better using the superknob to blend sounds than scenes
True the super knob is nice but a little limited when it comes down to adding in multiple things. At that point I use the scenes.
MODX8 is a Great Keyboard (gigs, recording, production etc.)
Yes it is. For the money....very hard to beat.
Is it ok to play Stairway to Heaven in a music store, if it is played on a keyboard?
I called the CEO of Guitar Center. He said if it was on a keyboard....or an oboe it was all good.
I have the YAMAHA MODX 8+ and I find it really annoying that the on/off button is at the very back in a very inaccessible place - I wonder why. With such a large surface, with so much space available, the power button could have been built in there.
That I absolutely agree with. I think there are a couple of things they should have done that really would not have effected the price. That power button on the rear is just ridiculous.
If you play MODX often you'll get used to it. My fingers are instinctively going for the button without any searching.
@@dwsel Yeah, I have only been playing it lately trying to adjust. Still hit a lot of ghost notes from the keys being so light but it is getting better.
@@dwsel true, I can find the button very fast now :-).
It might be genius because you won't ever turn thrle keys off by mistake!
There are differences between the MODX & the Montage, but I would not say "significant" differences, depending on how you define that. Derick's UA-cam videos (he owns a Montage & a MODX) explains side by side, the differences in sound are negligible which is the same conclusion I've come to having tried them side by side through the same keyboard speakers many times. I've had mine 4 years now.
Aftertouch on a piano sound? I'd wouldn't have guessed that would affect a piano sound. Verlocity, sure. What does aftertouch do for a piano patch?
Around 52:00 you mentioned the MODX8 keybed is the same as the Montage 8 keyboard. That is incorrect. The keybeds are by far the biggest difference between the Montage & MODX, and in the regular MODX the amount of ram, but with the new MODX+ it's the same, as are most of the other internal sound engine differences such as 128 note polyphony FM-X engine. The Montage has a few extra buttons and knobs, but I don't miss them.
I prefer the MODX6 because synth & organ action is more important to me than piano action. It is much easier for people to play piano on a synth action keybed than playing lead synth & lead organ parts as I frequently do on a hammer action piano keybed. I also love the MODX6 compact size.And when I'm home I can MIDI to many other keyboards if I want hammer action, more keys, or the use of a premium keybed (like the Montage series has).
The reason for the wall wart over a built in power supply as explained by Syntaur's Synth Wizards in their video is to get the product to market much faster. It can take a year to get government approval to be allowed to have a built in power supply due to safety issues. You should always carry a spare wall wart to gigs with the MODX. They were 20 bucks before the huge price hikes here in the USA in the past 2 years. Even if double now, $40 is way cheaper than an extra $2000 for a Montage. It shouldn't even be a consideration. As for fitting in your power conditioner, you can use an 8 inch AC adapter extender so it fits easier. No big deal.
There really isn't much to complain about. As Sound on Sound magazine said in it's review of the MODX. As they said, it raises the bar of how much synth you get for the money. Flagship technology, at a very reasonable price, the lightest weight possible. Hard to find fault with that. Roland's new Fantom 0 series is the first worthy competitor to it, but I still feel the MODX will be more appealing to more people for the kind of sounds it is better at.
Hopefully with a positive outlook, the MODX will continue to be what has probably been the best selling semi-pro keyboard in the USA for the past 4 years, I suspect blowing the competition out of the water in numbers. And the benefit of being top dog is sound designers will make more expansion sound collections for such a product than less popular synths.
Yeah I do really like the keyboard, and yes there is a difference between the two yamaha's but to me it is not that significant when compared to my stage piano which has a much better feel then both......if you are a piano player. I have never been a fan of the wall wart. It is not that I have had many of the power supplies fail as much as broke the cable, but with an internal PS, I have hundreds of those cables as all my gear uses them, and now I have this one unit that has to have a specific unit. Really just wish list stuff. I do like the piano sounds on the MODX but being a piano player and not a synth player, I use my CP300 for piano strictly for the feel, but hopefully over time that will fade. For the money, regardless, it is hard to beat the MODX. I have been lucky enough to get to play both and I really could not detect and difference in the sounds at all. I just did not think there was enough on the montage to justify the extra 2K. Thanks brother.
@@TraceTaylor3 I'm more of a lead synth & organ player. I do play piano, but it's never been a main instrument for me, but more something I'm often asked to play in bands. So I'm less picky about having piano keybed action & feel, though I do have a Kuzweil with 88 keys & piano hammer action. But I'm usually find using the MODX for piano, even on a synth action keybed. But I realize for other players they need a keybed with a more suitable feel, the same as I could never play some of the lead synth & organ work I do (like cover Boston organ tunes) on a piano weighted keybed. Or some of the prog rock synth leads I'm into. If your going to dig deep into either synth/organ or piano, you really need to a minimum of two keybeds, unless someone eventually invents one as I thought of with a leveler to quickly change between synth/organ action and hammer piano action. Seems possible, no one has invented it yet.
@@classicarcadeamusementpark4242 I know right. You would think that someone would come up with that idea and it would be awesome. Since I am the guitarist in our band if we started rocking boston I would seriously pick up a synth player at that point. Being that I play piano sometimes it does not translate that well to synth and vise versa. to me the keybed is everything. I can play my cp300 like I would a grand but I cannot play the MODx that way. It just doesn't feel right, but I do love the MODx and I am slowly veering off into that synth world.
@@TraceTaylor3 I actually do play Boston in my bands. Foreplay/Longtime, Smokin, etc.
I'm more of a synth/organ player than a piano player.
@@classicarcadeamusementpark4242 That is awesome. I have never tried to tackle any boston on keys but it has always been one of those "one of those days" type of thing. Again, since I am the guitarist all that cool stuff always falls to the side because there is so much keys and guitar in their music.
It’s the A&W root beer engine. As many times as you say it’s NOT graded, you might want to fix that. You might like a CP88 or YC88. How are you going to replace the plastic jacks with metal if they’re circuit board mounted components? It’s not a guitar.
They are board mounted but they can still be replaced. I have a friend that his business is working on instruments....namely amps and digital pianos and synths. He can replace the jacks if they break but after doing a bit of research....the chances of them breaking are pretty slim as long as you take care of it. Also, I have a cp300 that does have graded keys. The MODX does have "graded keys" per say, but they are not graded and weighted like on my cp300.
My man is a big Billy Joel fan!
It boggles my mind why anyone would spend three times as much or more on a Genos when they could have one of these that sounds BETTER. You can still do arranger things on a MODX and play like a live band. Is it just harder to do live because of the buttons?
Yes. I am a big Joel fan. and yes....for the price it is really hard to beat. You lose a couple of things as compared to the Genos but for gigging or recording.....to hard to pay more than twice the price when this will do pretty much everything you need.
The cords always kill me!
The MODX8 does not have the same keybed as the Montage, I’ve tested the 2 side by side and you can fell the diferencie, the MODX8 feels cheaper, the Montage feels premium
Yeah they feel very similar to me. I have a CP300 which has a much better keybed then both of them. Minus the actual wood, the cp300 feels almost like my C6 baby grand. The montage and MODx just feel cheaper.
The keybed on the Montage 8 is NOT the same than the one on the MODX8
you are correct. the montage has balanced action where the MODX8 has graded action. However they do feel pretty similar in respect to my CP300 which feels substantially better then both.
I m torn between this and the fantom 0 series
Man that is a very tough call. Unfortunately you will just have to sit and play them both to see which one you connect with. I went with the MODX because the super knob is pretty damn cool. And once you figure it all out you will use it. I wish it had a few more controls on it but for the price point it was really hard to beat.
What do you mean by a piano "engine"? To my knowledge all piano sounds are either sampled or modeled. Roland V-pianos and Pianoteq are modeled, that is they have no recordings of actual pianos, the sound is created by an algorithm. I am aware of the FM "engine" but that is for the digital piano's, not acoustic.
Yeah. A piano engine is the set just for the pianos only. Nord in the stage 4 uses 3 engines. One for the piano, one for the synth and one for the organs. That way you do not have to share power for all the different sounds and you can dedicate all of that engine to creating one type of sound. And yes....most piano sounds are samples but there is still a lot of work that has to go into them to make sound "real". Or as real as possible. For those that use the algorithms, there is still a lot of computing going on and they can commit all that power to that one sound. Especially when you are trying to make it as real as possible with reverbs and effects. Reverbs take a tremendous amount of power to make accurate. If you have one engine that shares all those duties then something has to suffer....be it sounds or effects....but if you dedicate one to each you can get much more realistic sounds. That is why Nord literally has the best piano sounds on the market. But at a very high cost. Hell everything now is at a very high cost.
Is this mod X plus
No this is the standard MODX. they came out with the plus about two months after I bought this.
@@TraceTaylor3Those Bastards 😂😂😂❤
@@bjornkreuze7423 I know right? Every damn time.
It's the GHS key bed. That means it is graded. It's just that this is the lowest class of Yamaha's weighed and graded key beds.
Yes. I love the keyboard. Really my only complaints are the power supply and the keybed. I wish they had put a better grade on it. Being that I am a play piano I like the heavier keybed. Still adjusting to that since this is my first real synth and everything else has been stage pianos.
@@TraceTaylor3 @52:40 you incorrectly say that "this is the same keybed that's on the Montage." as mentioned above the ModX has a GHS Keybed and the Montage has a BH Keybed. Still nothing as good as the CP300, you're 1000% correct on that one, I wish I would have never sold my CP300, for actual piano playing, it's the best. I am still researching a "new" 88 note master keyboard / synth for my studio. I just dumped the Native Instruments S88-MkII for the second time, the Fatar Keybed just wasn't meeting up to my standards as well as the insane latency delay of the sample player of Kontakt 7... I've was looking at the Roland Fantom-8 until another YT pointed out the loss of Polyphony while playing stacked mode... unless you used the V-Piano, but then no seamless transitions between patches. Awful for a live performance. Ive owned a Nord Stage 2 HA88 in the past... it was "close" to being all around perfect, but the keybed almost seemed a little "lite" at times... sigh, my search continues... I suppose I could buy a used CP300 and MIDI it to a Montage-6 and have the best of both worlds in a way...?
@@MarkWRoberts Yes the keybeds are different but to me the felt the same. I really could not tell much difference if any in the two. Man I almost but a Nord Stage 2 but like you, the keybed to me is extremely lacking, and I have heard horror stories of them not standing up with a lot of failure. And I guess what is killing me is that I have always had a baby grand for a lot of my adult life but when that went away I played everything and finally settled on the P250 which had an amazing keybed. I upgraded it....not sure why....to the cp300 and I have yet to find anything even remotely close the that feel. But yes, a cp through a montage would be the best of both worlds but if you gig that is more crap you have to carry around and I am tired of carrying a bunch of gear around.....but the feel of the cp with the sounds of the montage would be awesome.
I just sent back a Nord Stage 3 88-key because it is quite complex. But I will say there is no match for the quality of samples.
My sales rep recommended the MOD8X+. There is a lot that is nice about it. It appears more accessible than a Nord. And in some respects, more synth options without so much tweaking. And I think this has better arpeggiation and motion effects.
However, I’ve never been able to get myself to purchase a Yamaha keyboard or synth because I’ve often felt that Yamaha samples sound more like recordings than they do actual instruments. It kind of seems that way with this one also.
Also, regarding the touchscreen, I do not understand why Yamaha would cram so much in. That appears to be a crowded screen and the text is kind of small. They’ve done that with their control screens before. I have a Yamaha mixer/recorder and the screen is similar, however it’s not a touchscreen, and the readability is fairly okay.
Also, I hear the touchscreen uses the old Bell Labs technology, pre-Apple era. Why would they do this on a brand new instrument!?
For now, I am back to my Roland FP3 which I’ve had for 20+ years. I will have to do more searching before I decide on something new..
Thank you for this excellent pros and cons video!
Glad it helped. And I agree. the sounds on the Nord are amazing but I have heard of a lot of them being returned for reliability. Yes there are a few things I wish Yamaha would do different on these keyboards. I understand the most bang for the buck but sometimes you can go a little too far, and the small screen can be a headache while using at a show. It is best to have all your stuff ready. Tweaking on the fly can be bothersome....but with that said I do love my MODX. There really is a lot of usable patches right out of the gate and the super knob is actually very useful.
LOL! Boot up a Kronos or Nautilus the MODX will seem instant
ultimate piano would be the Yamaha S90ES which i will never sell.
I just don't think anyone makes the ultimate digital piano. It seems there is always something you need or want missing on everything. I love the Nord but the keybed is crap. I love the Yamaha's but the pianos.....just like their grands....are just a touch harsh. There is always a compromise. Thanks for the comment friend.
I have the MODX8 for some time. I stopped this video at 4:20. First reason: "Synthesizer" to me means "horny" sounds, effects... to say: the other 99% of this machine. It seems that this synth-bubble evolves in a strange direction. Coming from organs (Wersi, with velocity, aftertouch) I doubt on the importance of a GHS keybed for an electronical instrument. It seems, that nowadays piano-players are defining what a synthesizer shall be. "Synthesizer" formerly was Jean Michel Jarre et al.. Piano players should buy epianos. Sorry to say: I'm sick of all those piano-comparison-vids. The 2nd reason I can only guess from "my first synth". Videos mostly deal with superficial things. Plastic, metal, keybed, colour... Also 1% of this machine. 99% are the internals; chips, sounds, effects, features. For a profound judgement a longtime, extensive use of all features is needed. And then... you will find many, many deficits. Do you want a funny example? - > so what does the knob "Pan"? Panorama? Sure?
My personal judgement: it is cheap. And that's the acceptable compromise. For its price it delivers all kinds of features. But on a low level. It's a toy.
I get your point but many of us in gigging bands that have had to take on the role of keys needs something that is greatly more versatile then a e piano. The problem is that the companies are marketing these with graded keyboards to attract the piano players, just to get them and find out that they feel nothing like a good e piano....let along a real piano. I stated clearly in the vid that this was my first synth and after some time with it I would do a follow up with more detail, but this video was geared more towards the piano player that needed a synth and not a synth player. As I am the guitarist in my band the keys are secondary...and I did drag my e piano around for a while but the weight was something else and most good e pianos are heavy....so you get a synth at half the weight...and unfortunately half the feel. I still haven't really had time to tap into the power of this thing and I am just now starting to dig into it. But I do appreciate you leaving a comment and hopefully when I so the second video it will be more to your liking.
This is a bizarre video review of a MODX synthesiser. It is not a piano and the constant reference to your CP300 is an unnecessary distraction. Most digital pianos provide a range of synth sounds for layering or soloing so if you primarily play the piano, purchase a Roland RD2000 or similar. If you want access to a range of synth sounds with a piano option, buy the Yamaha MODX, Korg Nautilus or similar. The main reason why the MODX is so popular is that it is a scaled-down version of the Montage and is significantly cheaper and lighter. Yes, I can see your point about the power supply but is it really that big a deal? You had over an hour to review the MODX and completely missed the point of the synthesiser, the depth of the sound, the sampling options, the pattern sequencer, sound creation, the sound possibilities of the super knob, the ARPs, how tones can be edited, the use of scenes etc etc etc. You may have mentioned these briefly but these are the main features of this synth! Maybe it would be an idea to review this instrument after a few months and see what you think! By the way, the MODXplus introduced in September 2022 has extended the FM polyphony, increased the sample size to 1.75 GB (same as the Montage) and upgraded the mod wheels so they are now the same as the Montage.
yes I stated in the video that I just got the unit and it was a pros and cons. And yes I also talk about the my cp300 a lot because I am a piano player looking to get into the synth world which I stated in the video. And yes, the comparison is because since I do play piano the keybed is extremely important to me....as it is with every other piano player looking to get into the synth world and I stated that my piano knowledge was considerably higher then my synth knowledge. The video is not titled as a review, but a pros and cons and after I spend time with it I will then go back and do a review of the unit. this was a straight out of the box and my impressions....and yes.....the power supply is a huge deal. I have a thousand power cords that all professional gear takes because their power supply is internal. If I lose or damage the cord I have countless more. If this unit breaks, lets say in the cable then you are screwed. If they want to market this as a professional unit then they should have built it like a professional unit and not made it where I have to have one special plug to for it like the one on the back of the montage.
There is nothing worse than Yamaha synthesizers these days! The next will be another MODX Plus, but in white. I don't expect anything else from Yamaha. This synthesizer is another Yamaha duck. I did not find any pros, but there are a lot of contras in it. I have known Yamaha for a very long time. I'm used to the fact that you should not expect good things from Yamaha.
Actually I disagree. Granted this board does have a few shortcomings but I don't think they are enough to buy the montage at double the price. The synth sounds are outstanding...the piano a bit lacking but I have a cp300 which is amazing. I was originally looking at a Nord stage 3 but I have a few friends that work at music stores and the all say the same thing. Sounds great....built terrible. Yamahas are tanks. My CP300 has been to countless shows and have never had an issue. But, not everything is made for everybody. Bang for the buck....I think the MODX is the best in this price point....and I played them all.
@@TraceTaylor3 I don't want to discuss North Stage, we are talking about Yamaha these days. I was a fan of Yamaha, almost all synthesizers of this brand passed through my hands. And what Yamaha is doing these days is complete sadness! I am completely disappointed in Yamaha. If they go bankrupt, I will not have any compassion on this occasion, I will only be glad of this event in the current situation.
Are you talking about quality? Listen to all the pianos that have S6 in their name, for example "Natural Grand S6". Press the keys with the number in Keybank C1, C#1, D1, D#1 and after them press other neighboring keys and you will hear that something (nasty resonance sound) is wrong with these samples. So this mistake has been around since the time of the XF, and even Yamaha adopts mistakes without the desire to correct them.
In the top workstation, they put the ugliest microcircuits, the price of which is 11 cents. The MODX is generally rubbish and its sound from the line-out is 20 times worse than any cheap Chinese MP3 player worth 10 euros. Montage 8 cost 4,000 euros at the time of release. The technology that Yamaha chose did not match the synthesizer at that time. In Kronos, for the same money, there was more! Including the memory size and the quality of the piano and the amount of synthesis, the number of inserts in the chain. I chose Montage in the hope that Yamaha will release the correct operating system updates and I will like it more each time. As a result, 7 years have passed, from the first days to today (compared to Korg and Roland), Yamaha has made a meager contribution to updating the operating system. Montage as it was empty, so it remained. But the worst thing is that they still have not solved many problems. But they recruited a huge number of advertising agents, paid them a lot of money for PR. On this, all the actions of Yamaha related to their products ended. Yamaha only releases snot.
On my channel you will find both good and bad things about Yamaha. Watch the videos and you will understand what the problem with Yamaha is. I give you just 1 link of the many videos criticizing Yamaha ua-cam.com/video/5gusCc_fA-E/v-deo.html
@@js-sound I will check out the link....and don't get me wrong. The MODX has many shortcomings. And yes the piano sounds are not the greatest and sadly if I need a good piano at a show I have to drag around my incredibly heavy cp300. Now as far as the weird sounds you mentioned.... I don't seem to get that on my cp....but I do agree and are you ready for this. My cp has voice speakers and the pianos sound amazing though those speakers....but through the outputs....not so much so I literally mic the speakers and it sounds like a grand on the stage using it that way. On the synth sounds, coming through the jacks isn't all that bad, by far much worse on the pianos and that has been a huge complaint of mine....but even on the Nord....which I have to talk about because that was my first choice until I found out that they are extremely prone to break, even they can sound a little strange through the output jacks. As far as the circuits you have me there. I really don't dig into synths and pianos like I do guitars and guitar gear. But, what got me started on Yamaha is I had a C baby grand which was simply a brilliant piano and I loved it.
@@TraceTaylor3 I understand you and everyone else, except for the manufacturer himself! :-) Imagine the situation today, when the population on the planet has exceeded many billions, that each person will get to work on a horse or using a bicycle without a motor in a mountainous area, instead of trams, subways, trains and other things. I'm talking about the technological backlog of Yamaha. Therefore, unfortunately, I don’t understand exactly those people who, after a meager optional addition to the synthesizer (such a thing can be an increase in memory by 75% and polyphony by 64 voices with a price for a new product exactly 2 times more expensive) shout “Bravo Yamaha, you did THIS ! You are incredible!". Yamaha likes such exclamations and they say "even if we make shit, people will still buy our product! So why do we need to think a lot about what we do? We will do the same stupid things, release RPS and you won't stop loving us, because people are stupid !"
I am like Don Quixote and I am at war with this nasty policy of this brand. Certain things in Montage make me outdated, but I don’t eat with happiness, and much for which I began to love him more is my merit, and not Yamaha! I modified it and it produces a sound that I would never get from the manufacturer. I made a bunch of presets, many people say I make the best of the best, and because of my sounds, Yamaha has sold thousands more synths in this series. But at the same time, I expected that Yamaha would solve problems, after OS 3.51 there were many holes left in Montage. They spat in people's faces, they fell asleep. Roland introduced a wavetable, an organ engine, a super sequencer and more, Korg had it all from the start. What did Yamaha do? Smart Morph? how much more do you need it, for example, than a new type of synthesis or more thoughtful functions? I do not understand the logic of the concern. From Roland you will get new Zen Core engines for the Fantom and new sounds, and Yamaha told you Soundmondo, make the sounds yourself and exchange them with each other.
I want TECHNOLOGY, OPPORTUNITY, OPTIONS and not offered Yamaha's garbage.
In Montage there was not a bad DAC, this is in 90% of all TOP-level Japanese equipment produced these days. He's not the best! The best 2 pieces are in my Montage and the difference is like heaven and earth. But I'm not talking about them, after the DAC, Yamaha supplied the worst operational amplifiers. Motif ES and XS still have good op-amps, which is why you can still see them on stage today! Don't fall for provocations with Matt Johnson! I was at the Superbooth 2019 in Berlin in the Yamaha room and saw Montage and 10,000 people there. So even there Montage sounded better and everyone stood and listened to it more than Moog One 16!
The sound was not on USB! The sound went through the audio, so for advertisers or people like Matt Johnson, they put the best microcircuits on the board. But for ordinary users like you and me, the boards are garbage! I am in the EU. I have already modified 10 Montages for people and they are in the 7th heaven with happiness.
The MODX DAC is worse than what was in the Montage, but even with it, the MODX can sound better if it is modified.
What have we come to? You can't love Yamaha anymore. The 90s are over, today Yamaha only does nasty things!
@@js-sound How in the hell are you updating the DAC? That is actually one of my big complaints with the Yamaha products. Like I said I am not into the synth world as I am the guitar world. Like I said in the last post....I mic my speakers in my cp to get the sound I need because running through the outs....it just fails.
Guitars sounds like a clavichord with chorus.
Yeah they are terrible. I don't even know why they put these sounds in synths. It's never going to full anyone. Take that time to create better sounds of something else.