Members The Pro Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Just thought I'd get some opinions... I have a chance to swap my Access Virus TI Polar even for a Yamaha Motif XS6. The Virus is like new, the XS6 is slightly damaged (an LCD monitor fell on it and did a tiny cosmetic dent on the far left, right where the end cap meets the chassis... the dent is on both the plastic and metal and is about 1/4" wide). Otherwise both keyboards work perfectly. The XS6 comes with 1gb of RAM, Cubase AI4, dvd, some voice content. Both units have original OM's. Is this a good deal? Both instruments seem evenly priced on the used market as far as I can tell. Truth is I use the Virus very little (studio only) and have never found a suitable case for it, plus it's heavy and it's sound is boring me. The XS6 may actually be useful on stage for me and has lots of interesting sounds and features. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members plaid_emu Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Do whatever makes you happy but in my opinion you're a madman for even considering it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dreamtronix Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mildbill Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 I like the Virus TI a lot, but from your comments, it sounds like you might be happier doing a swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted July 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Yeah, I'm a little torn over this decision but I really don't use the Virus much (honestly, all my Virus patches sound more than a little alike) and was wanting to get a feel what others thought of the XS6. To be honest I had a Motif ES8 at one time and I really didn't like it but that had a lot to do with the interface/screen which has improved, so the XS seems enticing. Doesn't it have any fans? I played the XS6 and 8 today and was really not impressed with the "improved piano" or the organ/leslie sound but the spacey synth sounds and arps were cool and the sounds are much easier to call up than on the Virus so stage use is more likely. 61 keys would be handier than the Polar's 25. I could get a good amount of use out of the XS6, but am I THAT nuts for swapping a Virus TI Polar for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Son of HuHefner Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 I thought you were a ' pro " ? you can load the great s700 sample in the XS I don;t like the damage on the XS6 Not sure why you are so excited about this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zzzxtreme Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 (misread) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wa2C Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Not a good deal because of the damage alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CfNorENa Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 I don't think it's unreasonable to replace a TI with an XS, but this particular trade doesn't seem like the best way to do it. Instead of swapping and then selling the damaged XS, as zzzxtreme suggests, why not sell the TI and then give yourself a blank slate to get whatever you want? M3 might be worth a look, for example... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members plaid_emu Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Put this in perspective 5-10-15 years from now. Ask yourself this question: Would you currently get more use from an old Korg M1 or Triton (which sound dated by today's standards) or would you find an old VA like the original Nord Lead or JP-8000 more useful? My point is that ROMplers come and go but VAs/analogs are always "in style" if you know how to program them in the context of contemporary music. Also, the Virus is capable of a massive range of sounds. I have a hard time understanding how every patch you're making sounds similar. Have you truly explored the Virus and spent a weekend or two tweaking? Not calling you out or anything. Just asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gribs Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Damage to XS6 == BAD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Damage to XS6 == BAD What The Pro is describing is cosmetic, superficial damage. My JV1080 had a monitor fall on it and has quite a dent, but it works perfectly. My cat jumped off of one of my KRKs and that sucka crashed down. Then again, it would hurt resale, so if you trade it is yours for life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted July 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Actually I spent several weeks filling the Virus TI Polar with nothing but my own original patches and storing them in Cubase, and when the newer OS permitted they became the default patches for my Polar, but any of those sounds plus the sounds that came with it still have that "Virus-sound". Anyone who's spent time with the Virus knows what I mean. Considering I only use that sound in the studio and have Reason 4 and a Novation X-Station I can duplicate that sound in many ways. You made a good point about rompler vs. synths in the long term, probably the best argument yet. But considering how little I use my Virus I might do as well to pick up a Snow later if I really miss the hardware. And I want to emphasis that the damage to the XS6 I'm consideirng is extremely minor. It's just unfortunate the damage is not just to the easily-replacable plastic end cap. I thought I'd hear from some XS fans but maybe there's fewer than I thought. And used XS6's are already well into the sub-$1500 range on eBay. My Virus could sell for more than that. The only reason I considered this trade was because I have an immediate use for the XS with my church group, but this will take more thought. I appreciate all the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 But considering how little I use my Virus . Dump it. Get the XS since you have a use for it with the church group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seamonkey Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Bad trade..cosmetic, maybe..you never know if a circuit board has hairline cracks and moving it in the future could exacerbate the damage and as others have said it affects the resale value.Sell the Virus, pick up a used Motif and use the change to buy something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 . Sell the Virus, pick up a used Motif and use the change to buy something else. That's good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moog man Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 I would sell the Virus and then consider something you really want. Do you want another rompler? Are you sure that is an XS? You should still consider the M3 and Fantom. Maybe you just need to sell it to downsize and then find you are glad you have that money later when something really sweet hits the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted July 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 I dunno... I have lots o' gear and don't like or need the M3 or Fantom (the Fantom least of all). The only reason I'm considering the XS6 is portability (32 lbs) and it's wide range of sounds that I can tolerate. There's not much on the market I like honestly - I barely like the Motif XS (I grew to hate the former Motif ES8 I owned). My normal gig rig these days is my Kawai ES4 piano and Hammond XK3c organ. I have a Yamaha CP300 and Novation X-Station in my studio. I also own two Yamaha 9000 Pro rompler/arrangers and plan on keeping one for studio and selling the other - that's the keyboard I use for my worship band now... it's too big/heavy and too limited in the synth area. The worship music I play is the Chris Tomlin/Hillsong variety of contemporary Christian music - that means synth intros and arpeggios with piano and/or organ for the body. I actually bought a Casio PX320 for the bottom tier piano and the XS6 would serve as the second tier keyboard and sometimes as the entire key rig when we do outreach concerts. And there's my access Virus TI Polar which gets light use in my studio and probably should go somewhere it would be more appreciated. Even if I sold the Virus I would most likely buy an XS6. But at nearly $2400 for a new one - ugh. I'd almost rather buy a used one to save money and not give another sale to Yamaha. So I'm back where I started. But maybe I would feel bad having a dented synth... none of my others have any blemishes at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike Conway Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 There's not much on the market I like honestly - I barely like the Motif XS (I grew to hate the former Motif ES8 I owned). Aack! I think you need to sell the TI and hangout at music stores for the next year, until you find something you really like. Though the thought of a Virus Polar leading a worship band would make for a sight that I would love to see!! No Fantom, no M3 and you barely like the Yamaha. Have you thought about the Kurzweil PC3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted July 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 A quick closing note to this thread... I did make the swap for the Motif XS last night. A difficult decision but I feel good about it. I included my wife in the process and she agreed... she even likes the color of the XS which is something we'll just have to agree to disagree about, but that color screen is much better on the eyes than those ultra-bright Polar LED's. Seriously there's just more sounds in the palette of the XS for my needs than in the Virus TI. It turns out the damage was entirely to the plastic end cap which made it look like the metal chassis had been damaged too... it hadn't. I was thrilled to find that out. So all I have to do is order that end cap and the XS6 is like new. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. This is what I like about this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flat earth Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 ..... A difficult decision but I feel good about it. I included my wife in the process First time I read that, it sounded like you traded her in too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike Conway Posted July 24, 2009 Members Share Posted July 24, 2009 Ha ha! That's what I thought, too! Good luck with the Motif XS. It's one sexy board! Nice to hear that damage was just to the endcap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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