Yamaha MOX8
Yamaha MOX8 88-Key Synth
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Yamaha’s new MOTIF XF is sending shockwaves through the music world for a single reason – It’s extremely powerful, and with it musicians are given a level of flexibility never seen before from a Yamaha product. The Yamaha MOX8 synthesizer workstation let’s you take advantage of that power in a budget friendly package.
Coming in at under $2,000, the is sort of like the little brother to the popular MOTIF series of synth workstations. Yamaha has done a pick-and-choose of the most powerful features of the MOTIF, and decided to package them together in cost-saving bundle that we now refer to as the Yamaha MOX8.
1200+ Preloaded Voices
Just so you know, that’s about 355 MB of wave form data all taken from the MOTIF XS. You have the best of the best all at your fingertips, and each of these voices is fully customizable through the XA (Expanded articulation) tone generation system.
Even if nothing else, while you’re playing you can adjust your music via a pitchbend, modwheel and 8 different assignable knobs. That’s what I call flexibility! You can use any (or multiple) of the 97 different effects to alter your sound as well.
This synth workstation has a 64 note polyphony, so you shouldn’t have trouble running multiple complex samples through this synthesizer.
124 Note MIDI Sequencer
The Yamaha MOX8 wouldn’t be a workstation without the powerful on board sequencer. With MIDI you’re given even more control, as now you can play your sound with any of the 1200+ voices. The Yamaha MOX8 also has an arpeggiator for advanced performances.
Searchable User Interface
Now, with 1200 tracks you might think that it would be difficult to navigate and find your way through the wide array of sounds available to you, however, Yamaha took that into consideration and created a nice searchable interface for the Yamaha MOX8, so you’ll never have difficulty finding that ‘One’ sound.
88 Keys with Hammer Action
One of the main reasons that many people choose to pick up an 88-key keyboard is because it mimics the full range of an acoustic piano. If that sounds like something that’s important to you, then the Yamaha MOX8 will satisfy you with graded hammer action integrated into the keyboard.
Lightweight Chassis for Gigging
If you plan on performing a lot, then you need a keyboard that’s easy to take on the road, and durable enough to hold up over lots of shows. Fortunately the Yamaha MOX8 is extremely light weight, and makes a perfect roadside companion to any musician.
Other Features of the Yamaha MOX8:
- Seamless PC integration (Mac works too)
- Direct performance recording
- 6720 Preloaded Arpeggiator patterns
- Built in USB / MIDI interface
To conclude, the Yamaha MOX8 88-key workstation is a force to be reckoned with. Yamaha defends its respect by giving musicians everywhere a budget considerate instrument suitable for both performance and studio situations, complete with a full 88 awesome keys. I highly recommend that you do what you can to get your hands on this piece of synth goodness, because the Yamaha MOX8 is a joy to work with.
Just took delivery of a MOX8 yesterday and can’t stop playing it!
It sounds fantastic and has so many things going on you could never get bored of playing around and changing sound effects, arpeggios,etc!
I would say to anyone looking for an affordable 88 note synth with onboard recording facility and high quality sounds to choose this as it is so simple to use compared to some of the competition. Even the 61 note MOX6 holds it ground well!
A tutorial from Yamaha would be helpful though just to give it an edge like they did with the Motif.
For the money and for someone who needs a lighter weight, 88 note weighted keys keyboard with a good piano sound and complete and superior sound set, this board hands down knocks it out of the park. It’s 33 pounds, it’s black (yes…no silver!!), it has those great and up to date Yamaha Motif sounds, it’s intuitive and easy to navigate, deep editing, has a sequencer for catching ideas and what not, it’s not that bulky like some Yamaha boards have tended to be, it has controller and though some don’t like them above the keys, I do because it reduced the length and the MOX8 can actually fit in the trunk of my car! I could not fit the S90ES (XS) into my car at all let alone in the trunk. The accompaniments are fun. I can jam on them for hours. The only drawback may be the 64 note polyphony but the method they now employ for note stealing once polyphony has been reached and with the sustain peddle depressed, there are no audible clicks and pops like I used to hear on the S90 (which I loved) but that beast still weighed in at over 50lbs. Unless you are a classical player who plays tons of arpeggios or you layer 4 sounds and then need to play 8 note chords, the lack of 128 note polyphony really should not affect you. This board is a mid class board but it sounds high end all the way. Even with a few less layers and effects, what it has on board is meaty and sufficient. I’ll take the plastic casing for the reduced weight but I do recommend you have a good padded bag when moving it in a van or what ever as it isn’t made quite like it’s big brother the Motif XF8. Finally… a lighter weight, weighted keys keyboard with a complete, hight quality sound set including a decent piano sound that is portable, powerful, and reasonably priced. Thank you Yamaha…
Once you set up a layer on the MOX8 can you easily adjust the volume of the selected instruments in the layer? It would be nice to be able to decrease/increase some sounds that make up the level so that for instance, a synth pad doesn’t over ride a nice piano in a passage. Is this possible with the MOX?
As mentioned above, some Motif XS features are gone like the 128 notes down to 64, but it is more practical to carry around as it is quite a bit lighter than most keyboards, so yu are really getting the great Motif XS sound in an easier to handle form.