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I tried to post this thread today at Motifator.com, however I was unable to for some reason their forum submit is acting up. So many of the references are related to that forum. But I thought posting here might be informative as well to people thinking about buying a a Motif XS6.
Okay, so yesterday I went to my local guitar center and tried the XS and ES. They were actually displayed side by side, which made it very easy to make this comparison. I spent 4 hours total with both units (it was my day off
, and here is what I found (note all of this is my opinion and it is neither fact or the end all be all, I would love to hear other people’s honest comments):
WARMER OR COLDER
Regarding the ES6 being warmer sounding than the XS6, I'm sorry but I agree with all the comments so far: the ES6 does sound warmer and more lively than the XS6. This is not to say that the XS6 sounds bad, it just sounds a little sterile compared the XS6. However, the XS6 still sounds warmer than a Triton or Fantom in my opinion.
EASE OF USE
Regarding ease of use. This is going to be debatable, but I actually found the smaller screen on the ES6 easier to navigate than the XS6. As someone else mentioned, there are so many extra commands that pop up before making a move on the XS6 that you have to agree to before proceeding which slow the creative process down. Another example is the effects section. The effects section is easier to use on the ES6. On the XS6 there are subcategories for presets of all the effects, which make it slower to navigate and choose an effect. Also, visually, it's easier to navigate the effects structure on the ES. Lastly, the effects sounded exactly the same between both units. I didn't see any difference except the XS6 screen looked fancier. To make a relevant comparison here. I have both an XV5080 and a Fantom X6, and even though Fantom screen is bigger than the XV5080 and the Fantom X has fancy displays for the effects, the effects sound identical. I did not try the performance functions in depth on the XS6, so I cannot comment on that.
KEYBED
As for the keybed, I prefer the motif es6. Again, this is my opinion, I just felt it was faster and had smoother action than the XS6.
ABOUT THE SOUNDS
Before I get into discussing the sounds I would like to mention that Yamaha is a bit lazy when programming sounds. Did you notice that most of the sounds on the ES6 are on the XS6? And the last 2 banks of sounds are stupid sound effects and motion sounds which are pretty useless. When Roland created the Fantom series they created a brand new set of patches and performances. Why is yamaha selling a unit 4 years later with almost the exact voices/ patches as the ES6. Sure there are more megs, but that doesn't mean that the patches will sound better. All of us know that there were great patches made when workstations only had 8mb and 16mb worth of rom. As a result, adding more megs doesn't equate to better sounding patches.
SOUNDS:
Piano: I preferred the ES6's piano which sounded crisper and warmer.
EPs: I preferred ES6's ep's or wurlies because they sounded more lively and a little less produced.
Organs: Pretty much a tie between the two units
Bass: although the XS6 has more variety of basses, they do not sound better than the ES6s basses. And it seems like most of the new XS6 bass patches can be programmed on the ES6 as well to sound the same.
Guitars: no difference at all. however, there was some clever effects processing done on some of the new distorted guitar patches which makes them sound cool, however, again, if you purchase the AXXE sound set, the patches sound the same in there. Also, if you simply tweak the current ES6 patches you will get the same results.
Strings: I was looking forward to this one, but again, I was disappointed. There was no improvement in the string department.
Drums: they have improved the drums, this is the only area in which the XS sounds better than the ES6.
Woodwinds/ brass/solo/ orchestral: no improvement, even though I know that yamaha says there were many new megs added and samples added. Again, this did not help the patches sound more realistic or better than the ES6's patches.
Synth Patches: no difference, and I feel that the ES6's sounded warmer.
The above comparison is simply between the ES and XS. I did not want to include other manufactures in the mix. However, it is important to note that the XS6 does nothing to separate itself from Roland or Korg in terms of sounds or realism of it’s sounds since it sounds worse overall than the ES6. Now the ES6 itself still outshines Korg and Roland in certain patch categories in my opinion. But if you expect some sort of leap in realism acoustically from the XS6, you will be massively disappointed.
MOTIF XS6 IS A STEP BACKWARDS
The Motif XS6 is not a revolutionary nor evolutionary instrument when it comes to workstations. This is simply a rehashed version of the ES6 with a larger screen and a few new performance functions. Sadly, what has been lost is the great sound of the ES6 as well as the ES6’s expansion capabilities making the XS6 a step backward. The Korg M3 is a revoiced unit (with maybe sample synth engine), with a new expansion (radius) and has new functions compared to the Triton. It might not be a completely different instrument to the Triton, but at least they revoiced it, added some clearly new functions to it (pads, touch screen as a performance tool, radius engine, karma, etc...). The Motif XS6 on the other hand has nothing new. And I definitely do not recommend upgrading from an ES to an XS. Nor do I recommend upgrading if you have an original Motif to an XS. I would go get an ES instead because of the reasons already mentioned.
A NOTE TO YAMAHA
Yamaha, what disturbs me is how you are telling people how to listen to this unit. As if the members of this forum are amateurs or idiots. Many people in this forum have tons of professional equipment and have been playing synths for years. They know what they want and they know what sounds good and what doesn’t. We also know how to test and audition synths and have been doing that for years as well. We all have our own ways of auditioning synths, and that is okay, because we all have different needs and tastes. So there is no right way to audition a synth. The lackluster reviews so far simply reflect the fact that the Motif XS6 is no better sonically or ergonomically than the ES6. In some cases the ES6 has advantages over the XS6 (and I am not even talking about the expansion capabilities of the ES6 over the XS6).
I feel it is also sad that a manufacturer as large as Yamaha needs to be quoting it’s customers in this forum to show other potential buyers how great their unit is. The unit should stand on its own and shouldn’t need any extra overly sensational comments about how great it is from the manufacturer. I mean don’t you think that is a little sad that Yamaha needs to be quoting snippets of individuals’ comments in order to combat every single negative comment that is made on this forum regarding the XS6. I mean seriously, who cares. Let people state their opinion and don’t question what type of monitors or headphones they used when auditioning the unit. It’s patronizing, and I am surprised that the people on this forum are being so pleasant to Yamaha. It’s like they are talking to us like we are a bunch of newbies buying our first keyboard.
BOTTOM LINE
Bottom line is that I will be purchasing an ES6 because it sounds better and is easier to use than the XS6. Just because you add a larger screen to a unit doesn't mean it is easier to use. The core system of editing and sequencing is very similiar to the ES6's, so suddenly adding a larger screen does not change how the editing or sequencing is done, it simply adds more things at once to the screen.
And please Yamaha, stop inserting your opinions into this forum about how great the XS6 is. Your job is to help customers in this forum troubleshoot issues they have with their Motif keyboards, not question their opinions regarding the keyboard. You are not here to judge us, you are here to help us in terms tech support.
Okay, so yesterday I went to my local guitar center and tried the XS and ES. They were actually displayed side by side, which made it very easy to make this comparison. I spent 4 hours total with both units (it was my day off
, and here is what I found (note all of this is my opinion and it is neither fact or the end all be all, I would love to hear other people’s honest comments):WARMER OR COLDER
Regarding the ES6 being warmer sounding than the XS6, I'm sorry but I agree with all the comments so far: the ES6 does sound warmer and more lively than the XS6. This is not to say that the XS6 sounds bad, it just sounds a little sterile compared the XS6. However, the XS6 still sounds warmer than a Triton or Fantom in my opinion.
EASE OF USE
Regarding ease of use. This is going to be debatable, but I actually found the smaller screen on the ES6 easier to navigate than the XS6. As someone else mentioned, there are so many extra commands that pop up before making a move on the XS6 that you have to agree to before proceeding which slow the creative process down. Another example is the effects section. The effects section is easier to use on the ES6. On the XS6 there are subcategories for presets of all the effects, which make it slower to navigate and choose an effect. Also, visually, it's easier to navigate the effects structure on the ES. Lastly, the effects sounded exactly the same between both units. I didn't see any difference except the XS6 screen looked fancier. To make a relevant comparison here. I have both an XV5080 and a Fantom X6, and even though Fantom screen is bigger than the XV5080 and the Fantom X has fancy displays for the effects, the effects sound identical. I did not try the performance functions in depth on the XS6, so I cannot comment on that.
KEYBED
As for the keybed, I prefer the motif es6. Again, this is my opinion, I just felt it was faster and had smoother action than the XS6.
ABOUT THE SOUNDS
Before I get into discussing the sounds I would like to mention that Yamaha is a bit lazy when programming sounds. Did you notice that most of the sounds on the ES6 are on the XS6? And the last 2 banks of sounds are stupid sound effects and motion sounds which are pretty useless. When Roland created the Fantom series they created a brand new set of patches and performances. Why is yamaha selling a unit 4 years later with almost the exact voices/ patches as the ES6. Sure there are more megs, but that doesn't mean that the patches will sound better. All of us know that there were great patches made when workstations only had 8mb and 16mb worth of rom. As a result, adding more megs doesn't equate to better sounding patches.
SOUNDS:
Piano: I preferred the ES6's piano which sounded crisper and warmer.
EPs: I preferred ES6's ep's or wurlies because they sounded more lively and a little less produced.
Organs: Pretty much a tie between the two units
Bass: although the XS6 has more variety of basses, they do not sound better than the ES6s basses. And it seems like most of the new XS6 bass patches can be programmed on the ES6 as well to sound the same.
Guitars: no difference at all. however, there was some clever effects processing done on some of the new distorted guitar patches which makes them sound cool, however, again, if you purchase the AXXE sound set, the patches sound the same in there. Also, if you simply tweak the current ES6 patches you will get the same results.
Strings: I was looking forward to this one, but again, I was disappointed. There was no improvement in the string department.
Drums: they have improved the drums, this is the only area in which the XS sounds better than the ES6.
Woodwinds/ brass/solo/ orchestral: no improvement, even though I know that yamaha says there were many new megs added and samples added. Again, this did not help the patches sound more realistic or better than the ES6's patches.
Synth Patches: no difference, and I feel that the ES6's sounded warmer.
The above comparison is simply between the ES and XS. I did not want to include other manufactures in the mix. However, it is important to note that the XS6 does nothing to separate itself from Roland or Korg in terms of sounds or realism of it’s sounds since it sounds worse overall than the ES6. Now the ES6 itself still outshines Korg and Roland in certain patch categories in my opinion. But if you expect some sort of leap in realism acoustically from the XS6, you will be massively disappointed.
MOTIF XS6 IS A STEP BACKWARDS
The Motif XS6 is not a revolutionary nor evolutionary instrument when it comes to workstations. This is simply a rehashed version of the ES6 with a larger screen and a few new performance functions. Sadly, what has been lost is the great sound of the ES6 as well as the ES6’s expansion capabilities making the XS6 a step backward. The Korg M3 is a revoiced unit (with maybe sample synth engine), with a new expansion (radius) and has new functions compared to the Triton. It might not be a completely different instrument to the Triton, but at least they revoiced it, added some clearly new functions to it (pads, touch screen as a performance tool, radius engine, karma, etc...). The Motif XS6 on the other hand has nothing new. And I definitely do not recommend upgrading from an ES to an XS. Nor do I recommend upgrading if you have an original Motif to an XS. I would go get an ES instead because of the reasons already mentioned.
A NOTE TO YAMAHA
Yamaha, what disturbs me is how you are telling people how to listen to this unit. As if the members of this forum are amateurs or idiots. Many people in this forum have tons of professional equipment and have been playing synths for years. They know what they want and they know what sounds good and what doesn’t. We also know how to test and audition synths and have been doing that for years as well. We all have our own ways of auditioning synths, and that is okay, because we all have different needs and tastes. So there is no right way to audition a synth. The lackluster reviews so far simply reflect the fact that the Motif XS6 is no better sonically or ergonomically than the ES6. In some cases the ES6 has advantages over the XS6 (and I am not even talking about the expansion capabilities of the ES6 over the XS6).
I feel it is also sad that a manufacturer as large as Yamaha needs to be quoting it’s customers in this forum to show other potential buyers how great their unit is. The unit should stand on its own and shouldn’t need any extra overly sensational comments about how great it is from the manufacturer. I mean don’t you think that is a little sad that Yamaha needs to be quoting snippets of individuals’ comments in order to combat every single negative comment that is made on this forum regarding the XS6. I mean seriously, who cares. Let people state their opinion and don’t question what type of monitors or headphones they used when auditioning the unit. It’s patronizing, and I am surprised that the people on this forum are being so pleasant to Yamaha. It’s like they are talking to us like we are a bunch of newbies buying our first keyboard.
BOTTOM LINE
Bottom line is that I will be purchasing an ES6 because it sounds better and is easier to use than the XS6. Just because you add a larger screen to a unit doesn't mean it is easier to use. The core system of editing and sequencing is very similiar to the ES6's, so suddenly adding a larger screen does not change how the editing or sequencing is done, it simply adds more things at once to the screen.
And please Yamaha, stop inserting your opinions into this forum about how great the XS6 is. Your job is to help customers in this forum troubleshoot issues they have with their Motif keyboards, not question their opinions regarding the keyboard. You are not here to judge us, you are here to help us in terms tech support.
Oh well, I'm still gonna buy an XS! 
Anyways, I know the differences between ES / XS wouldn't justify (selling the ES and) getting the XS (unless you really like color screens), but I have a "Classic" .... and the new features (2.0 USB [instead of Smartmedia], vocoder, ribbon, lesser weight [2 kilos off], 4 arps at the same time [instead of 1], 6000 phrases [instead of 128])
... well.... good 'nuff for me.......:thu:
Anyways, I know the differences between ES / XS wouldn't justify (selling the ES and) getting the XS (unless you really like color screens), but I have a "Classic" .... and the new features (2.0 USB [instead of Smartmedia], vocoder, ribbon, lesser weight [2 kilos off], 4 arps at the same time [instead of 1], 6000 phrases [instead of 128])... well.... good 'nuff for me.......:thu:
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