Yamaha PLG150AN Analog Synth Plug-In Expansion Board

Feature:
The fact that all editing takes place on the computer saves time and sapce. Also, the plug-in itself has its own arpeggiator, which is good since the Motif won't allow you to use its own arpeggiator with plug-in cards. (At least, not with this one and the PLG-150 DX). Just wish the Motif had a bigger screen (like the Roland Fantom) so that all parameters could be edited without the copmuter.

Quality:
This is a very sophisticated instrument best suited to people with at least some previous experience with analog synthesis. All editing is done on the computer so be aware of this. (There is some editing available on the hardware itself, but it is limited and unsatisfactory). Sounds a lot better than purely software-based emulations and has zero latency issues.

Value:
This product is based on a previous product of Yamaha's (the an-1), that was an extremely faithful emulation of Sequential Circuit's Prophet 5, one of the best synthesizer's of all time. Patches written for the an-1 are compatible with this card. It also adds other capabilities the Prophet 5s lacked, however, giving it a much more modern sound. It's not an exact duplicate of the Prophet 5, in other words, but in many instances, surpasses it. If you want a real vintage sound, this would not be the product to get. If you want a clean, excellent modern analog sound, though, purchase this product,

Desirability:
Like I said, it's not a real classic analog, only an emulation. It's also a plug-in card, so nobody can see it, they can only hear it. I like it because it turns my Motif ES from being a sampler/workstation into being a sampler/workstation/synthesizer. For what it is and does, there aren't a lot of options. Just looking at a Motif with one installed, you would never guess all the sounds it's capable of. Thus, it defintiely makes the Motif sexier. If only Motifs came with them pre-installed!

Sound:
Veratile and intuitive operation. I only wish it were a real analog, but it's not. Other than that, am satisfied with the sound quality. Sound is very sharp and clean.

Ease of Use:
Very easy to get good sounds. Love spending time just monkeying around with the various parameters until I get a sound I like. I've heard a lot of people complain how they have to load their sounds every time they boot, but this does not bug me as this is much qicker than loading samples. Only takes 1-2 minutes at most.

Support:
Never had to deal with Yamaha's support. Their products are all pretty self-explanatory.

Overall:
I get bored easily and quickly with everything I have, so I don't this purchase will be my last. For what it is, I am satisfied.

It worked for bass sounds very well, as well as true analog type synth sounds, but pads were not possible due to 5 voice poly (unless you play 2 note pads with short decay and release envelopes).. I like it and would buy it again for my Motif, but I wish it had more poly and also I wish that Yamaha gave the board support withing the synth instead of via a program.