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illest1029
New member
I almost got 2 grand, and im tryin to buy a keyboard. Ive done alot of research, but i am in need of more opinions. What would you prefer??
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thejam1999
New member
As always, al lot depends on what you want with it and what you like. So you have to listen to both and make you own judgement. I like the more clear sound of the Yamaha (I own both types: a Yamaha motif classic & a Roland XV-88. I'm not shure what the extended features are for the Roland, but the features of the Yamaha are endless (sequencing, patterns, user-arps, sampling). Both synths are difficult to master.illest1029 said:
thejam
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The Green Hornet
New member
Yo ILL and JAM:
Jam-man has it right with his comment about "keyboards [both of them] are difficult to master.
I have many years experience with the Yam DX-7; it took many years, and several publications FREE from Yamaha to get to understand the machinations of the DX-7.
I bought the Motif--it is, indeed, a FABULOUS keyboard. It can do things that will take me another 44 years to learn. [I'm sure the other keyboard you mentioned is about in the same canoe.
If I were you, I'd call a vendor and ask to rent a copy of the manual for either or both.
I can tell you the Yamaha manual will help you get started; however, like most Yamaha manuals, written by engineers who do not really know English grammar and the American step/by/step thought process, they SUCK. Big vacuum.
I bought the Yam DVD guide for the Motif. Very, VERY poorly organized. I can say that because I've taught English Composition at the college level for muchos annos. [excuse my Spanish spelling]
But, I must say, the DVD does help a bit when you play it over and over and then sit down with the "manual" notes you've made, and you try to slide into some of the processes of the keyboard.
The Motif ES is one hellova keyboard. It probably can cook eggs for you while you shower and play you "yesterday's" inspiration you recorded. But, gads, the documentation is so poorly done.
The Motif needs several manuals with each one guiding you through ONE thing this keyboard can do. I'm sure the Roland and Korgs fall into the same arena.
Well, you'll love either one you select just for the crips patches. But, man, there is SO MUCH TO LEARN.
Dive in and buy one or the other. But, try my suggestion of renting the manuals for a week; it would be worth the modest charge.
Green Hornet
TO all those folks who wrote the manuals. 
Jam-man has it right with his comment about "keyboards [both of them] are difficult to master.
I have many years experience with the Yam DX-7; it took many years, and several publications FREE from Yamaha to get to understand the machinations of the DX-7.
I bought the Motif--it is, indeed, a FABULOUS keyboard. It can do things that will take me another 44 years to learn. [I'm sure the other keyboard you mentioned is about in the same canoe.
If I were you, I'd call a vendor and ask to rent a copy of the manual for either or both.
I can tell you the Yamaha manual will help you get started; however, like most Yamaha manuals, written by engineers who do not really know English grammar and the American step/by/step thought process, they SUCK. Big vacuum.
I bought the Yam DVD guide for the Motif. Very, VERY poorly organized. I can say that because I've taught English Composition at the college level for muchos annos. [excuse my Spanish spelling]
But, I must say, the DVD does help a bit when you play it over and over and then sit down with the "manual" notes you've made, and you try to slide into some of the processes of the keyboard.
The Motif ES is one hellova keyboard. It probably can cook eggs for you while you shower and play you "yesterday's" inspiration you recorded. But, gads, the documentation is so poorly done.
The Motif needs several manuals with each one guiding you through ONE thing this keyboard can do. I'm sure the Roland and Korgs fall into the same arena.
Well, you'll love either one you select just for the crips patches. But, man, there is SO MUCH TO LEARN.
Dive in and buy one or the other. But, try my suggestion of renting the manuals for a week; it would be worth the modest charge.
Green Hornet
TO all those folks who wrote the manuals. 
tamky
New member
The Green Hornet said:Yo ILL and JAM:
Jam-man has it right with his comment about "keyboards [both of them] are difficult to master.
I have many years experience with the Yam DX-7; it took many years, and several publications FREE from Yamaha to get to understand the machinations of the DX-7.
I bought the Motif--it is, indeed, a FABULOUS keyboard. It can do things that will take me another 44 years to learn. [I'm sure the other keyboard you mentioned is about in the same canoe.
If I were you, I'd call a vendor and ask to rent a copy of the manual for either or both.
I can tell you the Yamaha manual will help you get started; however, like most Yamaha manuals, written by engineers who do not really know English grammar and the American step/by/step thought process, they SUCK. Big vacuum.
I bought the Yam DVD guide for the Motif. Very, VERY poorly organized. I can say that because I've taught English Composition at the college level for muchos annos. [excuse my Spanish spelling]
But, I must say, the DVD does help a bit when you play it over and over and then sit down with the "manual" notes you've made, and you try to slide into some of the processes of the keyboard.
The Motif ES is one hellova keyboard. It probably can cook eggs for you while you shower and play you "yesterday's" inspiration you recorded. But, gads, the documentation is so poorly done.
The Motif needs several manuals with each one guiding you through ONE thing this keyboard can do. I'm sure the Roland and Korgs fall into the same arena.
Well, you'll love either one you select just for the crips patches. But, man, there is SO MUCH TO LEARN.
Dive in and buy one or the other. But, try my suggestion of renting the manuals for a week; it would be worth the modest charge.
Green Hornet
The manuals for both keyboards are available for free and can be downloaded from the Yamaha and Roland sites in PDF format. In addition, Roland has a set of 'workshop' books that are sort of like 'Fantom X For Dummies' available in PDF format to download for free. I am in the process of reading the Fantom X data now.
noisewreck
New member
I'd say you should also look at the Kurzweil K2600/K2661. They look dated on paper, but when it comes to sheer sound mangling capabilities, they're still years ahead of any hardware workstation out there, perhaps surpassed only by software such as Reaktor and Max/MSP (with all the complexity that it implies).
Having said this, if you're only interested in "plug and go" then either of your choices will be better suited to you. The difference comes to what kind of music you do and what sounds better to your ears, although I like the Yammie's "Slice'n'Dice" feature.
Having said this, if you're only interested in "plug and go" then either of your choices will be better suited to you. The difference comes to what kind of music you do and what sounds better to your ears, although I like the Yammie's "Slice'n'Dice" feature.