Yamaha MOTIF-RACK XS Tone Generator Module
With 1,152 voices and 65 drum kits, this module gives you the MOTIF XS soundset in one rack space -- fully editable with the included Cubase DAW software.
Overall User Ratings (based on 27 ratings)
Submitted November 2, 2012 by David M
"Quality purchase"
I'm really glad I bought this module! It's a goldmine of great sounds, but it takes a little while to sift through them all!
My reason for buying it was to upgrade the soundset from my trusty Yamaha S90 workstation. Whilst it doesn't completely wipe the floor with all of the sounds on board my S90, there are several notable improvements - the organs in particular, sound much more like a Hammond. The string pads, grand piano, electric grand and guitars are noticably better as well.
The only minor disappointment was not having access to all the user voice parameters from the LCD display (even if it might have been a bit fiddly). You need to hook it up to a laptop for this.
Musical Background:
Mainly involved with church worship, plus the occasional gig
Musical Style:
Christian, pop, rock'roll, jazz, classical
3 of 3 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted January 21, 2009 by a customer from bellsouth.net
"Avoid if you need much actual note polyphony!"
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Sound
Do not be fooled by the 128 voice polyphony spec. I created a soequence using the Brush Drumset, Fretless bass, Vintage Rhodes, and Lyricon synthlead. I recorded the drums first. When adding the bass track, the bass tones were already being clipped! Polyhony actually refers to "Elements" not how many notes you can play at once. Apparently the brush drum set has multiple elements for each sound depending on velocity, whether or not it is stereo, what octave the note is in. So just a drum pattern and bassline used up all 128 elements. Sucks.
Ease of Use
Easy to get around.
Quality
Well made.
Value
I am considering returning the unit for a different product and manufacturer because of the polyphony limitations.
Manufacturer Support
Good support. The techs quickly worked on figuring out the polyphony situation.
Musical Background:
Professional keyboardist, keyboard service tech.
Musical Style:
Jazz fusion, Jazz standards
29 of 35 people (83%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted July 10, 2008 by a customer from sbcglobal.net
"An In-Home Orchestra"
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Sound
I've played the Fanthom XS, Triton, and Motif XS before buying this rack. I thought the Motif had the most authentic and realistic sounds on it. The Motif really shines when it comes to the guitars also. Awesome sound overall.
Features
Comes with Cubase, which is a great DAW that I've been using for years. Wish it came with the mLAN interface though that way you can transfer audio and midi signals with one cable.
Ease of Use
I consider myself computer savvy for the most part and it took me a couple hours to get this thing working the way I want it to. You have to download the drivers off the website for your specific operating system before you do anything else. You also have to unplug every usb device except the rack and keyboard and mouse to install the driver. Then I had to reinstall my midi controller. It could've been easier. Knobs, buttons and navigation is simple though.
Quality
Only had it a couple days so I haven't given it a chance to break yet. It seems sturdy though.
Value
A bit pricey but still worth the money
Manufacturer Support
Never needed them.
Musical Background:
Producer
Musical Style:
Hip-Hop, Rap, R&B
12 of 15 people (80%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted June 8, 2013 by Vanessa N in Prefer not to disclose, AZ
"Great sounds, very limited editing"
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I bought the Motif Rack XS after a lot of deliberating. I already have a midi keyboard controller with all the bells and whistles. Did I really need to pay 3K (+) for a Motif Keyboard?
The Motif Rack XS has tons of sounds, and the specs suggest you can modify and edit the sounds to suit your needs. It also comes with an OPTION to add a Firewire port (for an extra $280, sold separately) supposedly so you can open it up in your DAW for more extensive editing, as well as direct audio/midi functionality through a single firewire port.
The Motif Rack XS ships with Cubase software, which is compatible with the Motif Rack XS firewire connection and editing capabilities through some collaboration between Yamaha and Steinberg.
BUT ...
If you use ANY other DAW, you can forget about the firewire interface and any access to those more detailed editing functions. I would highly recommend an online search of various forums regarding this very problem. Seems like to date Yamaha has not developed any drivers or technology that will allow the Motif Rack XS to work with any system other than Cubase.
So if you've invested a lot of time and expense in Pro Tools, Logic, Sonar, or any other platform besides Steinberg (Cubase), the Motif Rack XS is not for you.
Unless you're okay with just running it through your interface as any other analogue source and are okay with not having the ability to edit sound parameters in any detail.
You can edit sounds and effects directly on the rack itself, but it's very limited in what parameters you may edit. You must have that firewire interface to allow both editing and direct audio transfers from your DAW ... assuming you're using Cubase.
For that reason, I cannot recommend this item to anyone unless they are already using Cubase. In fact, I may consider dumping mine off at Craigslist.
Musical Background:
Played keyboard, woodwind and guitar instruments for over 35 years.
Musical Style:
My preferred styles of music are Classical, Jazz, Progressive Rock and Blues.
5 of 6 people (83%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted May 9, 2009 by a customer from juno.com
"all in all it should be cheaper"
ill keep it for a while
Sound
Sounds are great for some things but not all. But what is? It has more "soft" sounds in it than those hard core raunchy sounds you might find in the M3. Better for hip hop and rnb and gospel than trance, breaks, techno or dnb. but mix it WITH other modules and your good.
Features
No sequencer? what??? the motif xs8 sequencer is awesome.
Ease of Use
easy to get to the sounds you need or are looking for . pretty straight foward
Quality
i could see it lasting for ever
Value
for the money it could be expandable
Manufacturer Support
na
The Wow Factor
its pretty i guess.
Musical Background:
musician
Musical Style:
all types
4 of 6 people (67%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted October 20, 2011
Yamaha MOTIF-Rack XS Customer Review
Sound
Wow!!!!! Very nice sounds ...... no "cheesy fillers"
Features
Came wiyth the power cord
Ease of Use
Haven't used the manual yet
Quality
Well made
Value
Couldn't ask for more
Manufacturer Support
Haven;t used it
1 of 2 people (50%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted October 14, 2009
"A fabulous keyboard with thousands of features that will drive you "Looney Tunes" trying to use it !!!!!!!!"
Like I said I am trying to sell it - compared to the other Yamaha keyboards I own this one is not usable for me. I can't fool around with this thing at a gig.
Sound
VERY GOOD
Features
It seems to have very good features -IF I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE THEM
Ease of Use
This keyboard is by far one of the worst keyboards I have ever purchased. I am a musician not a computer engineer. It is so complicated; if I had known how involved it is to use I wouldn't have purchased it. The instruction manual is great at telling about all the features but not how to implement them. I am going to try and sell this thing. If you play just for fun and like sitting in front of a computer buy this unique keyboard. If your a musician and want a keyboard with a lot of features that is EASY to use and play don't buy this piece of crap.
Quality
All of Yamaha products are of the highest quality - I know because I
have three of their other keyboards.
Value
Big deal the keyboard has all these features; but Yamah does not give you the tutorials or step by step instructions on how to use them. I found out after my purchase, from fellow musicians, to stay away from the Motif because it is to complicated to use.
Manufacturer Support
A Yamaha specialist offered to help me - I contacted him through an e-mail, he sent me his office phone number. When I tried to call him he
was nowhere to be found.!
The Wow Factor
Ugly color - It is not practical to use - I am trying to sell it!!!!!
Musical Background:
Hobbyist - musician - for 40 years
Musical Style:
Jazz, popular, classical, R&R
3 of 20 people (15%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Please wait.