Yamaha Motif XS7 Keyboard Workstation with Free Bundle

$250 Price Drop!!! Motif XS7 is the six-octave version of the go-to, must-have, pros-choice keyboard workstation in 2010 and justifiably so.

Overview

Since it’s arrival in 2007 - with a long and illustrious pedigree stretching back to 2001's Motif 'classic' - the XS had the best sounds, the best keyboard action, the best third-party sound and beat libraries, and the best support in terms of web and video material of any of its competitors.

In 2010 the new Motif XF was announced (shipping in September) so where does this leave the XS? Although the XF will eventually replace the XS, the XF for the most part IS an XS; the main differences being some new items in the Wave ROM and the capability of adding Flash memory for samples (see the XF listing for details).

Currently the XS7 is on OS V1.55 but soon there will be an OS update that will take functionality up to XF feature level. So, the XS7, especially at its new lower price point, remains an extremely good buy.

The Motif XS7 is a workstation keyboard, meaning it offers both sounds and a recording facility in one package. The factory sounds are top-notch. This is a Yamaha after all. But it doesn’t stop there. You can load in new samples (1mB optional sample memory capacity), plus there are tons, and we do mean tons, of new voice libraries from sound designers all over the world. And you can get all of them, right here at KEYFAX, pre-loaded if you need.

Polyphony, voices, memory... the XS is well endowed in all the right places.

Sounds

This is where the XS blows away the competition. It just sounds better than everything else. Pianos, strings, basses, drums, woodwinds, synths vintage and modern... the XS has a power and clarity the envy of the world’s keyboard manufacturers. Standouts are certainly the keyboards (acoustic and electronic) but also there are flutes to die for, punchy basses (acoustic, electric, and synth), and enough pads and strings to melt the hardest of hearts. And of course everything is editable if you need to indulge (internal, plus software editors are available).

Effects

The XS offers both Insert and System effects, which basically means you can add specific effects to individual voices, or you can apply master effects to mixes or combinations of voices. And again, there’s tons of them, including a Virtual Circuit Modeling collection that re-creates (both aurally and visually on the color LCD) vintage effects processors from compressors to chorus boxes to EQs. The XS’s reverb is taken from the Yamaha SPX2000/REV-X. This both sounds like and IS expensive technology, right at your fingertips.

Recording

Who needs a hardware 'recorder' these days? Well, maybe you do, even if you’re perfectly happy on Cubase, or Studio One. Several reasons:

The XS offers MIDI and audio recording in both Looping (Pattern) and Linear (Song) style. Pattern-based MIDI recording is ridiculously fast. You can build up beats in minutes, tapping into the XS's gargantuan library of sounds, calling on the army of backing players (arpeggio-d drumbeats, basslines and more), dividing stuff into different Sections, applying FX, mostly without ever having stop the groove from playing.

The serious-minded can also spend hours tweaking and experimenting internally (features like Loop Remix are inspirational) and when you’re ready you can send MIDI or Audio out via FireWire or USB or save to a thumbdrive… for mastering or continuing work on a DAW.

In OS V1.5 Yamaha added the very useful function of being able to record performances directly as WAV format audio files, and indeed play back WAVs direct from USB.

Hardware

The XS7 is built like a tank. The keyboard is a 76-note, FSX action, which means light but definitely not sloppy or floppy. Panel hardware includes a set of eight knobs and sliders for real-time mixing, real-time MIDI control (recordable internally or externally - extremely cool), or just hands-on parameter tweaking. A plethora of buttons flanks the good-size color LCD. No, it’s not a touch screen. Nice, but you can’t have everything.

Finally, this is made by Yamaha. So, generally speaking, it doesn’t break or stop working. Yamaha has spent 100 years + on this type of attention to detail. But if anything untoward does happen, again, it’s made by Yamaha. We’re talking quality service and backup.

In Use

Within the KEYFAX family, the XS was used extensively to produce background music and themes on Alan Parsons' Art & Science Of Sound Recording video series. Plus Alan himself uses an XS to drive his Live Project show complete with samples, click-to-drummer, and of course sound and part generator. You can scarcely see a music program on TV without an XS (from American Idol, to Bob Dylan, to Green Day, via Alicia Keys, & Justin Timberlake). It’s not so much who does but who doesn’t use a Motif XS. You’re going to love it, and you’re going to be in great company.