Motif ES8 from Yamaha
Equipment Reviews
by EXW Staff
January 14, 2004
One of the hottest and best sounding keyboards on the market comes to us from Yamaha. The Motif ES8 88 Key Music Production Synthesizer may be more than you need for worship but it packs an awesome punch for sounds and versatility.
This Motif is our EXW Pick of the Month for many reason. It's features include:
88 keys
Largest wave ROM of any workstation keyboard (175MB)
Enhanced soundset of 1,859 waveforms
1024 voices plus 65 drum kits
128-note polyphony
Newly developed synth engine provides new parameters and faster, more precise envelope control
20 reverb types and 49 chorus/delay types
8 types of mastering effects including multi-band compression
5-band master EQ
Advanced Phrase Factory arpeggiator
New 'Mega Voice" system for samples that include all of the subtle nuances of an instrument
Unprecedented performance and expressive control.
It features the largest wave ROM of any workstation keyboard (175MB), an enhanced soundset of 1,859 waveforms that provide the foundation for the Motif's 1024 voices plus 65 drum kits. A newly designed tone generator chip offers true 128-note polyphony, and a newly developed synth engine provides new parameters and faster, more precise envelope control. An enhanced effects system includes 20 reverb types and 49 chorus/delay types, 8 types of mastering effects including multi-band compression and a 5-band master EQ. It houses an advanced Phrase Factory arpeggiator with realtime loop re-mix capability plus parameters such as Swing, Velocity, and Quantize so you can easily modify preset arps. Overall expressiveness of the instrument has been expanded with the new 'Mega Voice" system, a technology that makes it possible to include all the nuances of an instrument in the sample. Motif ES integrates seamlessly with a DAW via USB connection to computer to function as control surface It also has a USB 'To Device" port for connection to USB storage devices.
You will be hard pressed to find a better unit with weighted keys. The sequencer is awesome and it's use is limitless. A great piece at a great price.