yamaha moties e8 or the roland phatmon s88?

zenguan88

New member
hmm guys do u know of the above keyboard brand which do u tink is more worth for money? i m considering to buy a keyboard but i dono which to choose.. i will prefer one that have sufficient sounds to do in gigs and also be a decent tool for home recording.

are there ani options?

i m a pianist so graded keyboard is a plus :)
 
the motif es8 is considered the flagship synth Yamaha rite now.
the current flagship synth for Roland is Fantom X series, so the Fantom X8 is the current 88-key flahship synth from Roland.

The s88 is the previous flagship model.

Another alternative is to buy a good 88-key controller, the get the
rack modules of Yamaha es and Roland FantomX

Price of
Yamaha es8 - SG$6000.
Roland Fantom X8 - SG$5500-6000.

Yamaha es rack - SG$1950
Roland fantom xr - SG$2300
88-key midi contoller - SG$800-1500

if you intend to buy a Yamaha es8, you might want to consider
buying a es rack, fantom xr and a midi contoller which is the price of
one es8
 
Many factors to consider - of which was discussed in previous threads (which you will not be difficult to search for).

You will have to consider: type of music you are going to play (hence determine the type of sound), the necessity of a build-in sequencer (esp since you mentioned that you'll be doing home recording, which gives the further option of going software sequencing), the touch of the keys.

Since you mentioned you are a pianist and graded keys is important, the next question is how important is the feel of the keys to you (ie in terms of realism). Also, do you need after-touch? These will determine your choice. For midi controllers, some does not have after-touch (like the M-audio Keystation Pro etc). Also most midi controllers' touch is a far cry from realism - hence the low price of many controllers. The better ones cost much more and cannot get from Singapore.
 
actually i m quite new wif the keyboards but i wanna experiment wif sounds.. cos i might be using keyboards for gigs in future i m being told software is needed to also to make a specific sounds..

i think yamaha motif es8 had some quite updated sound such as enthic instruments and arabic tuning, i m also looking forward to sounds such as the erhu (a chinese string instruments)

i went to swee lee they told mi the roland x8 is actually out of stock and u guys should know how FAST they can upload their stock.

the s88 is actually selling at 3500 now!!!

swee lee advise mi to get the s88 and buy the sound module for x8 but i kinda think its a waste of cash i might as well get an x8 .

thks aniway guys.

lastly city music had a sythn selling at 12k i think its a korg model..

cannot imagine how awesome that thing is :)
 
zenguan88 said:
lastly city music had a sythn selling at 12k i think its a korg model..

cannot imagine how awesome that thing is :)

You must be talking about the Korg Oasys. It remains to see how long that unit stays in City Music...perhaps another few years...
 
if you're planning on doing gigs with the keyboard my advice is to get a 76key or 61key version cause 88keys of motif or fantom is really too big and heavy to lug around.
 
For hardcore keyboardists, portability usually comes as a second priority, although it is important. The most important are the sounds and features +/- touch. Despite our complains about weight etc, we're still happy to lug around stacks of modules and heavy keyboards if necessary. During my earlier days, I've brought large and heavy stuffs all over the island - even if that meant getting a taxi to Sentosa and setting up my gig for a short 20 minute section with group of chamber strings (just to make sure that I produce the right sound). It was painful, I complained a lot, but at the end of the day, the satisfication came from getting the "right sound" and people peeking over my shoulders staring at all the lights blinking my from modules and effects unit...

Anyhow, those days are over for me and perhaps for others, now that we can get more with software-based solutions.

So back to the subject - 88 keys are really OK, particularly for keyboardists with piano background.
 
If you don't need sampling and sequencing for your intended "live" play and will do that on a computer for your recording...

Consider the Yamaha S90ES and the Roland RD700SX.

Both are pro 88 key stage piano/synths with a good assortment of sounds and can form the anchor of a good live or studio rig.

I am also partial to the Kurzweil PC2x, but you get more bang-for-buck with the S90ES and RD700SX.

And like Cheez said... it is your instrument and feel and sound will outweigh portability issues. My bad back is testimony to that.
 
Ditto to the above. S90ES and RD700SX are the 2 you should seriously consider. For ethnic sounds that you mentioned, I find Roland to be better than Yamaha - particularly if you get their World Expansion card. I'm out of touch with hardware expansion cards - anybody knows whether there's an SRX update to the older JV World expansion?
 
Indigo_blues said:
someone brought a fantom to my church last week for a performance.. wow, nice sounds i must say..

Off topic - I wonder why manufacturers gave their keyboards names such as these.... not entirely "church-friendly" (particularly the church is one of their largest market). I wonder whether names such as "Fantom" or "Karma" wouldn't bring on some frowns. :D Maybe we should stick to the old Korg Trinity...
 
:lol:

Or Sequential Circuit's Prophet (...or False Prophet...).

OK ok, better stop. Getting really off topic...
 
not to mention the korg prophecy..

but u notice the stage pianos do not have such fancy names.. only the synths. lol. :lol:

kk off topic..
 
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