Thoughts on the Yamaha M06...

[elwoodblues1969]

Just for sh*ts & giggles,I decided to click on Skipp's link to the YouTube demo of the M06 & I just could not believe what I was hearing from a $1,000 workstation!

I never actually bothered to listen to an M06 before now and I never remember even seeing one in a music store....so very strange.

It seems that a lot of folks complain about the synth sounds not measuring up to Korg's,but I really enjoyed listening to what I heard in that video demo.

I'm speculating that the M06 is the equivalent of the old ES Motif series?I actually have no idea when the M-series even came out(but I imagine a few years after the ES)?

I must do some research on this...very curious.....


-Elwood

 

[Skipp]

Hehe...

Basically - the MO6 is a Motif ES just without the sampling option, and with 64 notes of polyphony.

Also, the MO6 has 2 banks of presets less then the ES but all those sounds
can be loaded into the MO since it's 100% compatible with the ES.

What that means is that you can load every single Motif ES sound and every single
Motif ES sound library you can find on the internet into your MO (apart from the voices that use sampling data ofcourse).

The ROM is exactly the same (175mb), the sound generator is the same... and like I said - you will be buying a bit cut-down version of the ES.
If you like how the Motif sounds - then you won't find anything else here apart from the exact same sounds.

Motif ES line came out somewhere around the time Korg released the Triton Extreme,
and the direct competitor of the MO would be the Korg TR.

TR has 1 IFX - MO has 4
TR has 64Mb ROM (well, actually 32Mb like the Triton classic + new piano) - MO has 175Mb
TR has 8 part combis - MO has 4 (but 4part voices)
Polyphony is exactly the same
Navigation is way easier on the MO (I owned a TR once) since you have tons of
dedicated buttons - where on the TR you have to poke around tons of submenues.
Keybed is better on the MO

Out of the box - TR comes with better motion synths and pads but those can
be programmed on the MO up to the point you won't believe that you're playing a Yamaha Keyboard

The Yamaha/Korg workstation timeline goes something like this:

Triton Classic - Motif
Triton Extreme - Motif ES
M3 - Motif XS

Triton LE - Don't think Yamaha had a mid-range workstation back than to compete
TR - MO6 (still available for purchase)
M50 - Still nothing from Yamaha. Hopefully a stripped down version of the XS will be available

Anything else you want to know?

 

[elwoodblues1969]

Skipp,

While I am impressed with the M06 in the budget sense,it would not make any sense for me to back pedal & buy an entry level board.
I mean...the mere 3 insert effects and the flat,green display would drive me nuts & I'm sure there is a lot of sounds on it I wouldn't use anyhow....but still,a wonderful instrument for $1,000 nonetheless.
If for some reason,I don't feel that the XF will be worth it's asking price when I demo one,I will probably go for the Kurzweil PC3LE6(same size screen as M06 & same polyphony),but the PC3LE6 has 10 insert effects,all the sample quality & same number of presets at it's bigger brother and an angled,two-tone blue screen that's very easy on the eyes and it's only $300 more.

Kurzweil does not list the size of the ROM,but the PC3LE6 has more usable sounds than any other keyboard in this price range,but I do know that the ROM is h-u-g-e for the price.

I'm with you though about the scaling down thing,as I think a budget line of XS would be a decided improvement over the M06 and certainly budget friendly-especially so,with the release of the XF.

Thanks for all of the info,


-Elwood

 

[Skipp]

Kurzweil doesn't list factory ROM cause they've been using the same samples for over a decade. And yea... scaling down to a mid-range workstation after a flagship of ANY brand is a step back.

I use my MO mostly when I don't feel like carrying the M3 and the CP33 to rehearsals.
Lightweight and it sounds great

Besides... M3 has 5IFX where the MO has 4, and over half of the M3 programs don't even use 5IFXs!

For mere voices it's not needed... but it gets way more complex once you switch to combi/performance mode hehe.

 

[elwoodblues1969]

I'm not debating on how many insert effects there actually are on the M06...I mean,you own it,but on the Yamaha website,it states that the M06 has 3 insert effects.

You wouldn't by any chance,be including the master effect,as part of the total amount of effects in the M06?...just curious.

As for the Kurzweil-yes it is true that there are still some samples in the PC3 series from way back and that's the beauty of it,as your not at a loss for old retro sounds,when you buy a new model of Kurzweil.

In fact,Kurzweil is known for having the largest sample library in the world and with the upcoming PC3K8,you can add every retro sound library that ever existed,from day one,into the PC3K.

However though,this does not mean that they have not also added new sample data-they have indeed & improved the V.A.S.T. synth engine also.
I have been following Kurzweil's progress in terms of sounds for years and they are not trying to hide their amount of ROM data.

Never really thought to ask Kurzweil why they don't advertise that info,but as far as I'm concerned,the quality of the programs speak for themselves,in terms of the amount of ROM data.

 

[Skipp]

Sorry I wasn't clear enough.

MO has 4 IFX like the ES in Voice mode
It has 3 IFX in Performance mode though

That's not counting the MFX

But the effects system on the MO/ES is not like on Korg keyboards.
There are blocks in IFXs, not just IFX per-channel.

A bit different, but adds more variety

 

[elwoodblues1969]

No problem....I actually should have mentioned to you,that all I really care about in terms of effects,is the amount of insert effects in the song mode.

I gave up playing live years ago,so studio work is my world now.


-Elwood

 

[cat]

mo6

Thanks to a very convincing demo by Skiff, and some useful comments from Elwood, I have decided to buy a Mo6. I am trying very hard to manage with two keyboards (already have a Ketron SD1), and if the rhythm accompaniments on the MO6 is what I need, I will have it all. I play mostly jazz, blues and latin, and some good drum and bass parts is enough. Yamaha has lots of stuff you can download, and I would like to know if there are more rhythms I can get for the MO. Some comments would be helpful.
cat

 

[Skipp]

Rhythms for the MO?

No, no, no... MO is not an arranger - there are no rhythms onboard.

MO goes into Yamaha's workstation branch like the MOTIF line.

 

[cat]

Mo6

I know the MO6 is not an arranger. I also know there are factory preset rhythms on it, that you can modify to create your own. A bit complicated according to the demos, so I was hoping there might be something useful out of the box. My complete collection of useful jazzstyles on the two arrangers I use now are exactly ONE, and latin I have five or six. So I guess I will end up with two arrangers and the MO when I am finished shopping. (Having exchanged the KN 1000 with something better.)
The good news is that there are some very good sounds for playing Bach on the MO. The sounds are of course the great thing on the MO6,
but a little extra would not hurt either.
cat

 

[Skipp]

Well, there's a really easy way of creating patterns - especially if you use one of many built in arpeggios.

You select up to 16 sounds and record loops of several bars that run over and over again.
Inside each pattern, you can have several variations (i think it's 8) so you could use those as "rhythms".

Just record drums/basses/guitars/pads/whatever - and play along with that.

You can record chord changes into the variations or play a bass yourself

 

[cat]

That sounds nice. Making a drum, bass part should not be too difficult. Now I have just been going through a very detailed description of the Motif ES, and the extras you get there are interesting, especially the effects and the synth functions. Getting a used ES6 is within my budget, so I will probably buy that.
cat

 

[Skipp]

Apart from the sampler, and more polyphony - they are the same.

Oh, and there's only 1 IFX missing in Performance mode... (3 on the MO - 4 on the ES).

The rest of the engine is exactly the same

 

[cat]

Thanks for good info. I dont need more polyphony, or a sampler, so I will buy the MO6. I am watching one on Ebay.
cat

 

[Skipp]

If you really don't need the sampler - you made a good call. Why waste money on something you won't need.

Once again - you can load all motif ES voices (for example the missing voices that are not initially in the MO), so you won't be missing out on those