Members Goofball Jones Posted January 30, 2008 Members Share Posted January 30, 2008 Is this considered to be a "ROMpler"? Or is it more than that? Such as Analog emulation? Or are the analog sounds just sampled? With the deals coming down for this board, it's looking to be like the "one" I've been looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members -groovatious- Posted January 30, 2008 Members Share Posted January 30, 2008 It's a ROMPLER. But a good one at that. The analog sampled sounds are done well and the filter is very smooth. You can get an expansion card which gives you TRUE analog modelling if you still need more analog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinHines Posted January 30, 2008 Members Share Posted January 30, 2008 Yes, the S90ES would be considered to be a ROMpler, since its primary sounds are based on sample playback (Sampling + Synthesis). http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/s90es/index.html However, given the S90ES can hold up to 3 optional "PLG" plug-in boards, it can also do more than sample playback:http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/s90es/options.html Some of the PLG boards use different synth technology than sample playback. For example the PLG150-AN and PLG150-VL use different synthesis technology. Given you mention "Analog emulation" the PLG150-AN might be a good optional purchase:http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/plg150an/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goofball Jones Posted January 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 30, 2008 Excellent! The S90es sounds better and better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goofball Jones Posted January 31, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 I'm wondering, on one of the plug-in boards...the PLG150-DR Piano it says in the info: "Adds 64 notes of polyphony to the host system dedicated just to these new piano sounds." Does this mean that it adds to the already 128 polyphony? Thereby making a 192 note polyphony piano? Just wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members -groovatious- Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 I'm wondering, on one of the plug-in boards...the PLG150-DR Piano it says in the info: "Adds 64 notes of polyphony to the host system dedicated just to these new piano sounds." Does this mean that it adds to the already 128 polyphony? Thereby making a 192 note polyphony piano? Just wondering. Yes, but just for the piano sounds on the card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dan88z Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 The stock piano sound on the S90ES is better than what is on that piano card, so don't waste your money on it. It's a good addition to a Motif or older S90 though. I'd rather get the analog card, and the voice card seems like it'd be pretty cool to play with. I'm real happy with my S90ES. There are a lot of good lead sounds you can use as a starting point for your own sounds, and there are quite a few free banks of S90 and Motif sounds you can get to experiment with as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GigMan Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 The stock piano sound on the S90ES is better than what is on that piano card, so don't waste your money on it. It's a good addition to a Motif or older S90 though. I'd rather get the analog card, and the voice card seems like it'd be pretty cool to play with. I'm real happy with my S90ES. There are a lot of good lead sounds you can use as a starting point for your own sounds, and there are quite a few free banks of S90 and Motif sounds you can get to experiment with as well. Hey Dan88z - just curious, when you got your S90ES did you also check out the Roland RD700SX & if so what swayed you to the 90ES instead? Those two + the soon-to-be-released Kurzweil PC3X seem to be the Holy Trinity of 88key digital stage piano/romplers for me - damn thing is, I don't know if I'll be able sit and compare all 3... stores near me have the Roland and Yammie 'boards but not the Kurzweil stuff any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cruciatus Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 also check out the Roland RD700SX FWIW i've played both for quite a while in stores and for my personal usage, which is more rock-oriented, the Yamaha pianos seem much more suitable. there's something missing in the attack of a Roland that just doesn't grab me. the Yamaha pianos seem brighter and crisper and. . .it's hard to define. I would throw neither out of my nocturnal domain for the consumption of crackers but I would be disappointed not to get the Yamaha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members akliner Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 I'm really looking forward to getting my Motif 8's keybed replaced so I don't have to look at 88 keys...for a while... Shopping for 88 keys is more stressful than shopping for a regular synth/ROMpler (for me) because so much is at stake (your entire piano tone) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dan88z Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hey Dan88z - just curious, when you got your S90ES did you also check out the Roland RD700SX & if so what swayed you to the 90ES instead? Those two + the soon-to-be-released Kurzweil PC3X seem to be the Holy Trinity of 88key digital stage piano/romplers for me - damn thing is, I don't know if I'll be able sit and compare all 3... stores near me have the Roland and Yammie 'boards but not the Kurzweil stuff any more. I did a cursory review of the 700SX but I didn't really consider it. It didn't have the features I was looking for in the synth department. I think the S90ES is a much more powerful unit in that regard. I was looking more for a good piano sound and a versatile synth. When the S90ES came out it was a perfect fit for my needs- sorta like the "last keyboard I'll ever need" type of feeling. We all know that's never true, but I think it's something I can base my rig around for quite a while. I liked the Motif ES but didn't need sampling or the sequencing features, and the S90ES gave me the sounds from the Motif ES with the upgraded piano at a better price. I felt the 700sx synth capabilities were only slightly better than other digital pianos, where you get some nice presets but not as powerful of an engine behind it. If I were to consider a big Roland, I'd go for the Fantom. One of my buddies got one and it's nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jercat Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 Speaking of the S90ES, I've got a controller question. I've got a S90ES and a hammond X1 module. I love them both, I was thinking about getting an analog synth to use as a sound generator and as a unweighted controller for the hammond. Now I'm considering (due to expense) the Analog plug in board and an inexpensive controller for the unweighted feel. My question is: If I plug the unweighted controller into the S90ES "in" midi jack, will the hammond unit connected to the "out" from the S90ES still pick up the signal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GigMan Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 I did a cursory review of the 700SX but I didn't really consider it. It didn't have the features I was looking for in the synth department. I think the S90ES is a much more powerful unit in that regard. I was looking more for a good piano sound and a versatile synth. When the S90ES came out it was a perfect fit for my needs- sorta like the "last keyboard I'll ever need" type of feeling. We all know that's never true, but I think it's something I can base my rig around for quite a while. I liked the Motif ES but didn't need sampling or the sequencing features, and the S90ES gave me the sounds from the Motif ES with the upgraded piano at a better price. I felt the 700sx synth capabilities were only slightly better than other digital pianos, where you get some nice presets but not as powerful of an engine behind it. If I were to consider a big Roland, I'd go for the Fantom. One of my buddies got one and it's nice. Aye - I kind of get that sense that the S90ES is deeper in all it's additional, non-piano sounds - both in synthesis power/capability and just in sheer amount of really good presets, which is up my alley since I have no time/patience/interest to be programming sounds from scratch. I just wonder how the S90's non-piano sounds (synths, horns, strings) will stack up against the Kurz. PC3X - as well is the bread & butter acoustic+electromechanical pianos and organs. Not to mention I may wind up going w/whichever is easier to navigate on a dark stage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Audacity Works Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 The S90ES is kinda like the Roland XV-88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 Yeah... I'm a big Roland fan, but not of the RD series because you just can't roll up your sleeves and get in there with it's OS like you can with Yamaha's S series. Jercat, I don't believe there's a MIDI merge option on the S90ES which is what you would need. But before you get the PLG-AN, have you spent any time learning the synthesis engine of what you have? I have a similar Motif ES7 and I found it capable of getting a wide variety of very convincing analog sounds once I started programming them. The only big categories missing are X-mod (which I don't have any use for doing stage work anyway) and sync-sweep. But there's a great sampled waveset for general purpose syncs. PWM is the same thing. The stereo samples (I wonder how they did that?) often sound better than what my analogs produce if it's for pads. They're huge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dan88z Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 Aye - I kind of get that sense that the S90ES is deeper in all it's additional, non-piano sounds - both in synthesis power/capability and just in sheer amount of really good presets, which is up my alley since I have no time/patience/interest to be programming sounds from scratch. I just wonder how the S90's non-piano sounds (synths, horns, strings) will stack up against the Kurz. PC3X - as well is the bread & butter acoustic+electromechanical pianos and organs. Not to mention I may wind up going w/whichever is easier to navigate on a dark stage! I have no idea how they sound compared to the Kurz, but they do sound pretty darn good. Even horns, which are the bane of many workstation type boards, sound good in a mix. The strings and pads are one of the stronger parts of the board in my opinion. The EP's and other electromech sounds are also very strong. I use the S90ES EPs pretty much exclusively now. They are dynamic and very playable and there are plenty of variations to choose from. Wurlie, clav and CP70 are all good as well, but not as good as the Electro. I'm sure with some tweaking you could even them up some, but I never had the need since I have the Electro midi'd in. The only weakness are the organs, though they are definitely passable. I've said many times before here on the forum, if you only play a couple organ sounds a night, they are fine, but you wouldn't want to do an ongoing organ gig on it. I play a lot of organ so the Electro along with the yamaha covers all the bases for me. I've been using my S90ES live since I got it. It sits under my Electro, so it's in a shadow even with lights on, and I have no problem navigating it. I use the Master mode, where you can call up any voice, performance, or multi/sequence setup with the touch of a button, and arranged all my patches by type- pianos, eps, pads, leads, strings etc. 1 or 2 button presses is all you need to get to the next sound, and all the buttons are lit up. I've never been on the Kurz bandwagon. I've always liked the Roland and Yamaha sounds better, but, I haven't checked out any Kurz stuff in the last few years so maybe I would like them better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GigMan Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 yeah, the S90ES probably is the closest thing out there to a "cover all bases" 'board - designed w/gigmen like you & me in mind... I'm not so much on the "Kurz bandwagon" but I do know they have some fantastic sounds: the strings in my 13yr. old Kurz. MicroPiano beat anything I've ever heard on any other keyboard & the acoustic pianos are still decent even though they're from the early 90's - though the Yam. S90's acoustic piano is by far the best I've heard yet. 'Cept of course I haven't heard the Kurz. PC3X... and may not ever get a chance to! One other cool thing about Kurzweil's setup is that if you change patches but are holding the previous one with your sustain pedal - it will continue to sustain even when you start playing the new patch. That's really cool & I've not seen it on other 'boards... perhaps not a total deal-closer but still a very nice feature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 I believe you've got it in Multi mode on the S90ES Gary. And I'm with you. Wouldn't gig without it. This comes natural with all Rolands and is possible on my Motif ES7 in Mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members akliner Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 Yeah...Yamaha ROMplers of that generation (Motif 8/S90 Motif ES8/S90ES) are the kings of bread and butter sounds + fantastic piano. Even with my fancy new Triton Extreme, if I could only choose one board to take to a gig...it would definitely be my 6.5 year old Motif 8. ^trut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tusks Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 My question is: If I plug the unweighted controller into the S90ES "in" midi jack, will the hammond unit connected to the "out" from the S90ES still pick up the signal? There's no midi merge in the S9ES. You could get a midi solutions box to do that: http://www.zzounds.com/item--MSLMERGER You might not enjoy triggering the organ voices with this keyboard. It's a pretty good 4 zone master controller if you plan to use it to store your organ settings however. I use the VL card with my S90ES. Adds a lot of timbral depth even though it adds only a monophonic voice. The AN card will add 5 VA voices, and the DX card will add 16 voices of FM. That covers most of the synthesis waterfront, leaving only a handful of things like wavetables and re-sampling unaddressed. The only issue will be setting up the PLG cards so you can control sounds live. I don't think you can really do justice to all that sonic depth with the four sliders in the S90ES. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jercat Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 There's no midi merge in the S9ES. You could get a midi solutions box to do that: http://www.zzounds.com/item--MSLMERGERYou might not enjoy triggering the organ voices with this keyboard. It's a pretty good 4 zone master controller if you plan to use it to store your organ settings however.I use the VL card with my S90ES. Adds a lot of timbral depth even though it adds only a monophonic voice. The AN card will add 5 VA voices, and the DX card will add 16 voices of FM. That covers most of the synthesis waterfront, leaving only a handful of things like wavetables and re-sampling unaddressed.The only issue will be setting up the PLG cards so you can control sounds live. I don't think you can really do justice to all that sonic depth with the four sliders in the S90ES.Jerry Is there in existence a midi controller that has two midi outputs? As there are tones I would prefer to play unweighted on the S90ES itself as well (ie:strings, pads) I've got a merge box, but I would like to control both simultaneously or independently depending on the patch. Maybe I'm feasting on a 'wish' sammich! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 I think I understand what you are trying to do. And yeah you could do it. But not in Yamaha's Voice or Performance modes which only address one MIDI channel. You'd have to set it up in a Multi. Maybe a Master Zone does this too. I don't use Masters because you lose smooth program changes there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tusks Posted January 31, 2008 Members Share Posted January 31, 2008 Is there in existence a midi controller that has two midi outputs? As there are tones I would prefer to play unweighted on the S90ES itself as well (ie:strings, pads)I've got a merge box, but I would like to control both simultaneously or independently depending on the patch. Maybe I'm feasting on a 'wish' sammich! Hmmh, you got me a little confused. Just one tone generator and the S90ES correct? Why would you need two midi outs? Roland's RD700SX has two midi outs. I think the MIDI through is switchable to a midi out in some Kurzweil units. As to controlling both keyboards from each other at different times. I believe it is done in master mode, but not having done it ... I don't want to mislead you. I'd suggest posting at S90.com if no-one at HC answers your question. Cheers, Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niacin2.0 Posted February 2, 2008 Members Share Posted February 2, 2008 Aye - I just wonder how the S90's non-piano sounds (synths, horns, strings) will stack up against the Kurz. PC3X - as well is the bread & butter acoustic+electromechanical pianos and organs. Not to mention I may wind up going w/whichever is easier to navigate on a dark stage! The B's Knees and Organimation soundsets will sort you for organs, and the Vintage Keys set has some great clavs and eps of a different flavour to those already onboard: http://www.sninety.com/S_Mart/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goofball Jones Posted February 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 2, 2008 How are the expansion boards on this? I've heard some pretty negative things about the PLG150-AN board....some people really are giving it harsh reviews. Also, how will this keyboard compete with the Kurzweil PC3x when (and if) that ever comes out? What's missing on the S90es that the PC3x will have? Other than a smaller price-tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.