Yamaha MM6

Hey all. Was just looking around at picking up a 3rd board and stumbled across the Yamaha MM6. Anyone know much about it? $600? Get what you pay for or is this a decent board?

I know it hasn't "officially" come out yet, but could use some opinions...

Currently, I use a Triton LE and an Alesis Micron, but am looking at adding a 3rd board. Possibly to replace my Triton for gigs, keeping the Triton at home for practice and as a backup board. (The band i play in is an 80s rock/hair metal cover band called Rockfist!)

Otherwise, i'm pretty sold on the Roland Fantom XA. Honestly, i could use the Micron for an entire set, if only it had good pianos on it, something the Triton has really lacked, in my opinion.

Thoughts?

The MM6 is apparently a hybrid between the Motif series (where it gets most of it's sounds) and Yamaha's "arranger" boards (where it gets it's sequencer). If the sequencer isn't important to you it's mostly a question of whether the MM6 actually sounds any better to you than the Triton LE.

I've used the LE and I agree the LE pianos sound weak but piano sounds are very subjective.

If you think the Micron is good enough for your gigs (you can get by with only 37 keys?) why not just buy a piano to go with it...Casio Privia, etc.

Yes, good point. With the 37 keys the Micron has, I couldn't use it for an entire gig. It was more a statement of how in love i am with the sounds, although i could probably just get an ION and have the Micron around as a backup. But that really wouldn't help me with my piano issues, i suppose.

I'd get a digital piano, but i do some sequencing in our sets. Never been a fan of the arranger-style boards, so I'll probably move on.

Thanks!!

Like previously said, it's based around the MOTIF albeit with a smaller ROM size, I'm not sure if its the ROM of the original MOTIF or a selection from the MO/ES/XS.

It does look like a great board to me... but y'know sometimes the actions on these boards are terrible... lets hope thats not the case here!

Skip the MM6 and get a Korg X50. It's only $100 more.

The ROMs in those lower end Motif keyboards (the MO and the MM) are very good but the snythesis engine is really bad. I had a MO6 and the sounds were paper thin. I couldn't stand it. Sent it right back to zzounds.com the next day. Absolutely unacceptable for the price.

The X50 seems alright, but i imagine it sounds an awful lot like my Triton LE. Same engine, i believe. Plus, i'd prefer a sequencer.

...and now I've stumbled upon the Fusion 6HD. Intriguing...

hell no, I would much rather go for the MM6....thats a good price for motif sounds. Looks like a great board to me.

One big caveat of the MM6, at least to me, is the 32-voice polyphony.

But, if you'd be using it more as a supplemental board, that may not be too much of a problem.

Even at 32 voices, those Mo sounds are still killer.

Yeah 32 voice doesn't thrill me. Yes, it would be used as more of a complimentary board, but maybe i should spend the extra $$ to go with the Fantom or Fusion. Leaning more towards the Fantom though. A local Music Go Round has one, but they're selling it for $999. Heck, i can get a new one for $949! Needless to say, i'm trying to talk them down...

32 voices? Wow ... That's certainly a throwback for a ROMpler.

Good luck using the sequencer with that "firepower."

As for an "expansion module," it's too big and way too blah-looking for only 32 voices ...

If you really want Motif sounds ... I'd say you're just better off getting a used Motif rack or buying a classic for a few hundred more.

And you know that keybed is going to blow big-time (straight from the PSR line, probably.)

This is strictly for noobs who'll be impressed to hear it has the "same sounds as the pro-level Motif."

I guess for what it is, it's fine ... But I'm a little puzzled how anyone HERE could be getting bunched up in the pants regarding this.

$999 For a Fantom X? Dude, go for it! Aside from some of the MM's soundset, there's absolutely nothing about the two boards that's comparable.

The Fantom X is a real, full-featured workstation with quality construction, great keybed, color screen, audio tracks, great soundset, 16 trigger pads; still the best piano (under 8k); and a lot of other stuff.

The Fusion is nice, too. But between the two, I'd take the Fantom X first.

Ditto on that. You're not going to get a better price/performance than that.

Hit it like the fist of an angry god.

Actually, it is a Fantom XA that MGR has, if that helps.

I usually go with my gut and the Fantom has been on my mind for weeks now. I like the Motif sounds, but since posting this and receiving some good responses, as well as my own research, it clearly won't fit my needs. And you're right: i imagine it does have the crappy PSR keys. Boooo!

Well, I'm not as jazzed about the Xa (had one; returned it for an X7) ... the piano isn't so great ... no audio tracks ... and the keybed is a step down in quality and no aftertouch ... smaller, monocrome screen .... only one SRX expansion ...

I'd still take it in a heartbeat over the MM6 ... (the Xa does have the full Fantom X sound engine, ability to create multisamples, sequencer, skipback sampling, trigger buttons ... and truthfully, it wasn't so much the Xa that I didn't like as the 61 keys-only configuration).

However, comparing the Xa to the Fusion is a tougher proposition ... in fact, I may lean toward the Fusion because it has a better piano, audio tracks, a better keybed with aftertouch ... Not to mention the things the Xa will never have like the VA, FM and PM sound engines ... 8 input simultaneous HD recording ... a hard drive for practically unlimited song, audio and program information.

Talk them down as much as you can on the Xa ... it's good, but it also never really caught on (hence the Juno-G) and I think for legitimate reasons ...

I'd go for the Xa if it were $800 ... (which may be optimistic ... but they are wanting to get rid of it, you may just have to stand your ground to get your price.)

If the MM6 has a good keybed, that will make all the difference. It is either a good deal or a peice of {censored}, and it all comes down to the feel of the keys.

How does the Fusion compare to the QS series? I was never too impressed with them, but the features on the Fusion really peak my interest.

I really do miss the PurpleB patch from the QS, but other than that, i didn't dig those at all.

Never played a QS ... I'd have to assume the Fusion has a better sample soundset (obviously the VA and FM patches will blow away anything similar in the QS) ... but then again, the orchestral samples in the Fusion aren't exactly its strong point ... which is where a Fantom Xa might edge ahead (esp. if you add SRX-06 Complete Orchestra) ...

The Fusion soundset is really all over the place ... which I guess is part of its charm ...

but then again ... with its HD storage ... if you really want new samples, the sky's pretty much the limit with the Fusion ...

as for features, the QS doesn't really compete with the Fusion .... really, very little does other than the Oasys.

the Xa can do multisamples, too, but its not as flexible/efficient due to its CF storage and old-fashioned file system (a Fantom weak-spot, to be sure, but it's not a deal killer, at least for me ... as most other workstations still operate similarly ... and I can always do something else if the Fantom's being time-intensive with loading/saving ... )

Sounds like it will just come down to auditioning both units extensively. I have yet to play the Fusion, so we'll see.

Thanks for all your help!

by the way guys I just bought a MO6 and while I have been enojying it - I was wondering if I should have just gotten the Motif classic 6 instead ... what do you all think, I am still within my return period ...

What don't you like about it?

Isn't the only major thing the MO is lacking is the sampling function, which doesn't seem very intuitive/useful on the Motif.

The MO has the newer soundset; that's a plus ... I imagine it has slightly inferior build quality; but that's for you to decide.

What do you think you'd get with a Classic? Are they less expensive used than a new MO?

well once I got home and started tweeking with the MO I really was pretty so so on the piano sounds ... seeing as thats the primary funtion of the keyboard (for me) it didn't seem worth it to drop a grand and not at least get good pianos ... they sounded fine in the store but the more I started playing them they felt a little to brittle ... other than the electric pianos there didn't seem to be much reason to keep it ... initialy I thought the Motif classic would at the least offer me the ability for a really nice expansion pack for pianos and the motif 6 is about 200 cheaper (plus the other functions it has) ... any way I realized last night wht I needed to do ... and there was no reason for me to spen a grand on somehting that I 'kinda liked' ... so I took the MO6 back and got the Fantom x6 plus expansion ...

I finally just said 'hell if I am gonna spend a thousand might as well just see if I can find a fantom (the board I originally wanted and love) for 14 or 15 hundred (out of my price range but I figured 1500 for somehting I love is better than a thousand for somehting I am so so on) ... plus my favorite pianos and acoustics where always on the fantom (not to mention the ease of the interface) ... and luckily they had them marked dow at GC for 1699 and I got my buddy who works there to knock it down to 1500 ... I am really pleased with it so far and I love the pianos and acoustics ... plus the other sounds and capabilities are just great and the more I play with it the more I feel like the awesome pianos are just a bonus compared to the other capabilities which are are incredible ... the board feels really solid and I actually like the 61 key bed MUCH better than the MO or Motif's I've played ... to me everything about it makes it obvious but it took me realizing I needed to spend that much to get what I really wanted ...

Congratulations with your upgrade.

There is no perfect workstation right now, but for the money, I think the Fantom X comes close.

Enjoy ... I've had mine almost two years and still find myself turning to my other boards just to give it a break.

I think you summed up the Motif piano very well:

"brittle."

I played Roland Juno-G over the weekend. Nice board. The action really reminds me of the XP30, which i wasn't all that thrilled with, but this may be the one I pick up. Too bad i didn't have my tax return back yet, because GC had one for $799. Sale ended sunday, of course. Bah!!

If your primary need in a keyboard is piano, why spend $1500 on a workstation with 61-key synth action when you can get an Yamaha P-90 for about $900?

Apparently my local Guitar Center has the Fusion 6HD for $499. I'll be picking that up!