The sounds are nice. Still going thru alot of them. I I use live and in recordings. I owned a Fantom, the Motif Classic 7, Hammond Organ, Fender Rhodes, and other boards. The emulation of the sounds is just fantastic. Rhodes and organ sounds send left to right in speakers. I play mine through a Peavey KB300 and Traynor 100 amp running through a mixer. IT is then run via mid into another keyboard that I use to play the Motif organ sounds. This keyboard is plugging into my chopped Leslie 25. Organ sounds much better than way. I use the Combo preamp pedal to send into the leslie. One thing I noticed is that the brass is not as "fatt" as the Fantom's.

Very easy to use. I owned the Classic prior to it and there was not that much of a learning curve between the two. I have been messing with the XS, but cannot validate enough of a reason to upgrade. The ES is just great. I added memory so I can sample sounds and add vocals on tracks. The Manual explained what I needed to do, but I am an online guy, so I just went online and there are tons of videos and explanations on how to do what u need. I am getting ready to create some sounds tonight and will figure out what works best with my talkbox. This board is just GREAT! I am the Music Leader at church and I will occassionally record drum loops in Pattern Mode to perform live and keep musicians on beat. so easy to use.

This is the one downfall I have with it. I had 2 keys that got loose moving from church to studio. I have it in a case and it is WELL PROTECTED AND HANDLED. I am the only one who carries/handles it. It wasnt even a year old when the keys got loose. the board still functions fine, but the clicks were annoying. Too bad Yamaha couldnt make a sturdier key.

Granted I only paid $1000 for this 2 years ago, the ES was worth every penny. It is just a beast and there is not another board on the market (except the XS) that can piss in the same toilet as the ES.

N/A never called support for anything.

The sounds!! The 4 volume faders!! The Arpeggiator!!! WOW!

Active musician,

Jazz, R&B, Gospel, Classical, Inspirational

Excellent work on the voices - the instruments sound like the real thing... Nylon String Guitar = +, Trumpets = + etc... very well done.

This unit came with a mLAN16 card - but there is a software issue and getting/finding support? Well, good luck.

The manual for this thing could be easier to read. There is a learning curve to using this because it is so capable - which translates into: There are many, many options.

Well built and solid - no problems there at all.

Reasonably priced for the features.

This is part of the question that drove this response->... the sheer genius of its design or features...<- Sheer genius? I don't think so, accessing the features is not entirely intuitive, the manual reads like a tech manual - not a smooth flowing guideline - too much jumping around from section to section.

Hobbyist

Rock, Alternative, Jazz, Techno

It is very clean, and the tones and sounds give you plenty of options to choose from.

It has all the bells and whistles.

Very easy to get great sounds. For the most part it is very intuitive, considering it does so much.

It seems very strong and reliable.

Basically....

Not needed

Its actually got a nice look to it....

Active Engineer, musician etc

All - Jaz, Blues, etc

The sounds are very realistic. My drum sounds sound like an actual drummer because of my programming......I'm a drummer first

I wish they could have included some of the features from the Yamaha DJX. The factory patterns are kind of dated. I can't speak on all patterns but that is not funk in the funk settings. Yamaha if you need some funk....email phunknc@yahoo.com I've been told by many musicians and producers to contact you concerning this.......well?

I can modify the sounds but that's not the keyboards fault. I'm slightly computer stupid.....and the manual is crazy

I wish I had a back-up and thinking about getting one. Not because the product id inferior but because I love it so much and I'm scared something will happen. I have a one man show and I sound like an eight piece band and the gigs are coming through.....eventhough my b-flat is stuck and it was NOT misused

I think you get the bang for the buck

Yes....I had some questions and they answered my first questions very quickly......but more questions seemed to have made them say...."look buddy, you've used up your wishes"

It's beautiful and I bought a flight case for it to protect it.....and doggonnit....the flight case screw on the inside scratched it on both sides

Professional musician, producer, music director, high school music teacher, marching and jazz band director, recording artist, c

FUNK / R&B / Contemporary Jazz / Gospel / Rock / Big Band and Swing Jazz

Sounds way better than triton studio(cant speak for extreme or roland fantom cause i never owned them)

it has nice feat. remix mode is hot. but its a lot of stuff i never used probley cause i didnt get the manual with it.

its very reliable. yamaha makes there instuments out of the same thing as they make there motorcycles with.

yes well worth it.

never tried contacting them

whatever music u make or whatever equipment u have if u get a motif es it will be a major addition to your set up.

Hobbyist

Hip hop and RNB

today when i was at school thay had one so i played with it and the sound from it made me say wow. all the things that the keyboard does makes u want to buy it so u can do more things when u play.

the damper stayed in place and it didnt move like most/ others i've used.

hobby

gohsple

Most of the stuff on here sounds pretty good, however they couldve sounded even better if you had more options in the effects send.

I wasnt too happy with the features, you have to use some discontinued smart media cards. No 2.0 USB and its a pain to save.

Harder than the Triton or the Fantom, but it does sound better

I would have gave it a 9 if it had a bigger screen

its worth it

I was told its good allthough i never needed to call them...

it could look way better

Producer, Active Musician & Recording Engineer

all kinds

The most realistic sounds I've yet heard from a keyboard. Great drums too. I make hip hop and r&b beats and this works perfectly. Great for live use too. I saw Alicia Keys using it just the other day. Some sounds just feel useless to me but there are many of them.

An awesome digital recorder is built in. The keyboard records audio and can use plug-in boards to expand the sounds. It can also sample if you add RAM. Not as powerful as computer software though.

Built like a tank. However, it scratches easily and the scratches really show on its silver color.

This thing is a little expensive.

Never needed it. Is that good enough?

By far the best sound quality AND variety you can find on a workstation. However the ES lacks cool sitar and indian sounds that the classic MOTIF has. Excellent piano, electric piano, and strings.

I have owned the MOTIF ES for a couple of weeks now and I am still learning new things about it everytime I play it. The appregiator is what makes the ES shine...bar none.

It is built like a tank!!! Very heavy and solid.

It is worth every penny.

No problems so far.

Rating not based on timbre of waveforms - this is subjective, really. The sound is crisp and clean, though, and the effects are "professional" sounding to me. Outputs are extremely quiet, both to my ears and according to the input level meters in my software. In certain setups, ES created (?) a ground loop whereas other synths in the same place in the studio did not.

Software included is best that is bundled with a workstation - you even get a good software sequencer! Effects routing is tremendous. Sequencing in Pattern Mode is highly intuitive and makes sequencing a breeze. Timing is perfect. Unlike Kurz workstations, it has unbalanced analog outs. No digital out standard.

Looks great, built solidly.

hobbyist

rock/pop/electronic