From aevett1@yahoo.com Sun Oct 25 13:00:39 2009
Subject:Re: Yamaha Motif Classic/ ES /XS Acoustic and Electric Pianos

There is something about those older, Yamaha AWM based pianos.   My 13 year old P50m module just has a certain tone/balance to it...  Still have a TX1P module that's 22 years old. While the samples aren't as developed as the P50m, the tone balance and voicing still impress me.
That said, the S90ES pianos (especially the S700 sample based voices) are my 'go to' pianos these days.  Their playability and sound work great for me: country, rock, dinner music, etc.. Those sample aren't found in the Motif ES models though.  (Just like the new, special piano samples for the S90/70XS aren't in the Motif XS units).
  I did have a P-85  that was used primarily for teaching; tried it MIDI'd to my XS Rack for some home studio stuff. Played the wide variety of pianos (a whole history of Motif piano voices there); I agree: the velocity of the P-85 does bring the piano tones to life in a new way.  But, my ear is kind of spoiled by the S90ES pianos.  Though you already have the P85, you still might want to play an S90ES S700 pianos for perspective - plus you get the great ES voices with the it.  I used both, for different apps, for a few years.

--- On Sun, 10/25/09, MRK7421@aol.com wrote:

From: MRK7421@aol.com
Subject: [CWSG] Yamaha Motif Classic/ ES /XS Acoustic and Electric Pianos
To: CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, October 25, 2009, 11:23 AM

 


I recently parted with my trusty Yamaha P-200. It had been in front of my

computer for years, and the action was starting to wear out and get really

noisy.



In its place, I now have a Yamaha P-85. The "Grand Piano 2 " sound was

very much to my liking. Plus, I like the 25 lb. weight and the action is not

"bouncy " like some other pianos I will not mention.



Anyway, I finally got around to midi -ing it up to my Yamaha Motif 7. I was

VERY surprised at how much I like the acoustic and electric piano sounds

in the old Motif. Having weighted action really made the POWER GRAND and

DARK GRAND piano sounds come to life.



I confess I have a few issues with some of the newer acoustic piano samples

I have been hearing. I do not like "plunkiness" in the mid range that some

of the newer and more expensive samples have. I am seeming to prefer the

way Yamaha voiced their samples in earlier times. Or maybe I just got really

used to the P-200.



I also went out to hear the Yamaha Motif ES and XS piano samples. On the

ES I REALLY like the "R & B Soft" Rhodes Sound and also "Contempo" .

Contempo sounds a bit different on the ES than it does the classic.... there

seems to be more tines in the sound. The acoustic piano also seems like a toss

up between the ES and classic. On the ES there is that nice woody contact

sound in the upper register tones, but also the ES POWER GRAND" sample is

somewhat brighter than the classic from what I could tell.



The XS seems to be kind of ultra high fi and though I am not putting down ,

the mid range plunkiness seemed to be there in most of the acoustic

samples. The upper register is fantastic. I wish I could combine the lows and

mids of the classic Motif with the top end of the XS.



The EP's are also fantastic though I wonder if there is just a bit more

brilliance in some of the Rhodes sounds than I need . Once again, I am

somewhat used to Contempo in the classic, which has a kind of warm sound to it

that is similar to my real Rhodes. The XS sounds are somewhat enhanced from

what I can tell. A real Rhodes does not always sound that high tech.



So right now I am playing a Motif 7 triggered by a P-85. I would like to

hear some impressions of what Motif sounds other people like and have used

for a long time, since I may need to make a decision on which rack module to

get. The ES and classic are at steal prices on e bay these days.

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