Yamaha MOTIF Rack XS Sound Module

Inspiration can strike at any time, but there's no need to wait for it. The new MOTIF Rack XS is packed full of inspiring sounds, exciting rhythms and expressive control that spur your creativity to new heights - any time, any place.

The compact MOTIF Rack XS gives you an enormous selection of Voices based on the popular,professional-level MOTIF XS, studio-level effect processing,five real-time Control Knobs for tweaking 20 different parameters as you play,a wide-ranging library of convenient Multi-part presets,thousands of automatic Arpeggios at your fingertips, and seamless hardware/software integration.

Never before has such comprehensive control, music-making versatility and sheer sonic power been combined in such a small, easy-to-use package.This little powerhouse has all you need - effectively doing the work of several tone generators and processors. Simply hook it up to a laptop or a keyboard workstation and you've got an entire studio's worth of sounds and effects at your fingertips - plus a whole world of inspiration you can tap into.

Wealth of Voices For Every Application
Utilizing the very same Voices and the same tone generation architecture as the famed MOTIF XS, the compact MOTIF-RACK XS gives you everything you need for your studio productions and live performances. Boasting a full 1,152 Voices and 65 Drum Kits, this versatile tone generator is packed full of luscious grand pianos, realistic sounds for virtually every instrument in the orchestra, vintage organs and electric pianos, expressive guitars, powerful basses, synthesizer sounds of every stripe, from classic to cutting-edge contemporary, ethnic instruments, as well as a huge variety of drum kits and percussion sets to perfectly match any music style.

What's more, the MOTIF-RACK XS has a synthesis engine filled with 355 MB of waveform data, for a total of 2,670 separate waveforms - an amazingly broad selection of building blocks you can use to create your own Voices. These can be saved to the three User Voice banks, letting you store up to 384 of your original Voices on the instrument itself.

Versatile Multi-Mode For Full Music Production
The Multi presets provide a convenient library or multi-instrument settings you can instantly call up when composing or arranging. Each has several different Parts pre-programmed with special Voices and other settings for a variety of music genres and applications, such as R&B, hip-hop, jazz, film soundtrack, electronica, Latin styles, ballad, rock and much, much more. Just select the template you want, and instantly start recording your own song demos or full-fledged recordings. Up to 128 of your own original User Multis can be stored, too.

Studio-Quality Effects
The awesome sonic power of the MOTIF-RACK XS continues with the comprehensive, professional-level effects. Providing eight Insertion effects, two System effects, a Master effect block, as well as independent Part EQ and Master EQ, this instrument gives you more processing power than any other rack module. While the System effects (Reverb and Chorus) let you sweeten each instrument Part in the overall mix, the Insertion effects (53 available types) let you enhance or transform individual instruments as needed. The MOTIF-RACK XS also has various newly developed VCM effects, reproducing the sound of vintage processors and expensive effect units.

Previewing Voices with the Audition Feature
When selecting sounds, the name of a Voice doesn't always tell you enough about the sound - you need to actually hear it. With the Audition feature, you can hear Voices before you select them, and not even have to play a connected keyboard to do so. For example, you can use Category Search to call up a list of electric bass Voices, select one that interests you, then press the AUDITION button to hear a special riff or phrase using that Voice. You can even keep the AUDITION button on and press the up/down keys to select other Voices, and instantly hear what they sound like!

Powerful Category Search Feature
With the enormous amount of Voices to select from, you need a way to easily and quickly get the Voices you want. That's where Category Search comes in. The convenient push-and turn knob to the right of the LCD lets you instantly call up main instrument categories (such as Piano, Guitar, Bass, Strings, Pads, etc.), select sub categories if needed (such as acoustic, electric and synth within the Bass category) then quickly scroll through a list of all the Voices that match. For super-fast selection, you can compile a Favorite category that contains just those Voices you use the most.

Ultra-Convenient Real-Time Sound Control
There's an enormous amount of music making power under the hood of the MOTIF-RACK XS and there's no easier way to get at that power than with the five Control Knobs. These convenient knobs let you tweak the sound of the instrument in real time - saving you the hassle of having to wade through several display pages to get to the parameter you want to change. Need to adjust the reverb level for the selected Voice? Press the SELECT button to call up the fourth row of parameters, then turn Knob 2. Want to quickly change the tone of the Voice, such as taking a little bit of the high end off of a piano Voice? Call up the third row and adjust the various EQ bands - using Knob 5 to the highs. Or boost the bass of a Voice with Knob 1. If you want to adjust the volume of the selected Voice, call up the first row and turn Knob 5. Two of the knob settings are even assignable, letting you choose your own favorite parameters for custom control.

Easy USB connection
One USB cable is all you need for MIDI integration between the MOTIF-RACK XS and your computer-based music production system or DAW. Simply set your software to recognize the MOTIF-RACK XS port, and you have seamless, bi-directional communication for recording and playback.

Optional mLAN16E2 interface
For those who want even more input/output flexibility, Yamaha's optional mLAN16E2 interface lets you connect your MOTIF-RACK XS to your computer via a Firewire and communicate 16-out, 16-in audio in addition to all of your MIDI data via a single Firewire cable. This allows you to simultaneously record 14 individual Parts along with the main stereo output from the instrument to your computer. You can also route three stereo busses from your DAW back to the MOTIF-RACK XS for monitoring and even additional processing using effects (with no extra load on your computer's CPU).

The AI Driver is a peer to peer driver. It allows you to simplify setup between one computer and one MOTIF-RACK XS. Extensions for Steinberg DAW will even automatically setup all your audio and MIDI connections to Cubase making it incredibly simple to add the MOTIF-RACK XS into your Cubase system.

MOTIF Rack XS Editor
This special Editor software provides comprehensive control over all Voice, Multi and Drum settings on the MOTIF-RACK XS - and even gives you access to detailed parameters not available from the front panel. The graphic display lets you conveniently tweak the settings by simple click-and-drag operations. What's more the software stays in perfect synchronization with the hardware - any changes you make on one device are immediately reflected in the other. The Multi section uses a graphic mixer interface for comprehensive, intuitive control over the 16 Parts of each Multi. It offers enormous editing power and simplicity, since the MOTIF-RACK XS effectively becomes an integral part of your computer music system.

The MOTIF-RACK XS Editor can be used stand-alone within the Studio Manager program (both of which can be downloaded for free from the Yamaha website below). Moreover, if you're working with Steinberg's Cubase or Nuendo, these programs can be used as part of the comprehensive Studio Connections system - hardware/software solution that adds even greater power and versatility to your computer music system.

Cubase AI4 Software Included
The Cubase AI 4 software bundled with the MOTIF-RACK XS Tone Generator provides a set of advanced software tools that are easy to use while delivering extensive recording and production capabilities. In addition to advanced audio recording and editing, Cubase AI 4 offers a range of MIDI sequencing capabilities, an entire suite of VST effect plug-ins, and a HALionOne sample player featuring selected waves from the famed Yamaha MOTIF synthesizers.

Technical Info

Tone Generator
Tone Generator: AWM2, with Expanded Articulation

Polyphony: 128 notes

Wave: 355MB (when converted to 16-bit linear format), 2,670 waveforms

Voice:
- Preset: 1,024 Normal Voices + 64 Drum Kits
- GM: 128 Normal Voices + 1 Drum Kit
- User: 128 x 3 Normal Voices + 32 Drum Kits (Both of the User Voices are selected and copied from Preset bank)

Multi - User: 128 Multis

Effects
Reverb: 9 types

Chorus: 22 types

Insertion A: 53 types (up to 8 blocks available in the Multi mode)

Insertion B: 53 types (up to 8 blocks available in the Multi mode)

Master Effect: 9 types

Master EQ: 5 bands (High, High Mid, Mid, Low Mid, Low)

Part EQ: 3 bands (High, Mid, Low)

Arpeggio
Arpeggio Type: 6,633 types - * MIDI Sync, MIDI transmit/receive channel, Velocity Limit, and Note Limit can be set.

Jacks and Terminals
Front Panel: PHONES

Rear Panel: USB TO HOST, MIDI IN/OUT, DIGITAL OUTPUT, ASSIGNABLE OUTPUT L and R, OUTPUT L/MONO and R, DC/IN, mLAN (when the mLAN16E2 has been installed)

Others
Display: 160 x 64-dot graphic backlit LCD

Supplied Accessories: AC Power adaptor (PA-301, PA-300B or an equivalent recommended by Yamaha), Owner's manual, Data List, Disk x 1 (containing DAW software)

Power Consumption:
- When the AC power adaptor is connected to both the MOTIF-RACK XS and the AC outlet, and the VOLUME knob is in the STANDBY position: 0.3 W
- When the power is turned on: 15W
- When the power is turned on and the optional mLAN16E2 has been installed: 20W

Digital Output: 44.1kHz, 24bit (COAXIAL)

Dimensions (WxDxH): 480 x 379.4 x 44 mm

Weight: 4.2 kg

Audio Samples

Add MOTIF expression to your rig with this rackmount version. Includes 1,152 voices, 65 drum kits, and 355MB of wave data to build and store your own patches. Preview voices with the audition feature, add studio-quality EQ and effects, and tweak in real time with onboard control knobs. USB port for easy integration. Includes Cubase AI4 recording software.