Hi.I just joined here.

I bought the mox f8 about 2 weeks ago.I’m getting used to it.Its got a lot of buttons on there.Straight out of the box and connected up to my Roland KC350 amp,it sounded quite good.I’ve since replaced that with a pair of KRK Rokits G3 active monitors.Good investment.I only play for home use.I got out of the home digital pianos and went for the stage piano 9 years ago when I upgraded from then to a Roland RD700sx which I had for 9 years,then a Korg then the Mox F8.

My problem is in the Voice mode-Keyboards.There is a sound listed as PRE 1-B07 R&B;Soft.On a video demo I love this sound.
I saw various youtube videos specifically on the MOX F8 first including a few non English videos.I found this one that demos that voice,it starts at around 45 seconds into the video.This was one of the biggest deciding factors for me buying the piano.And,that you can layer 4 sounds,etc.Everything else is a bonus.

Here’s the video demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7FTX5SYzr0
On my piano played through my KRK’s,that sound doesnt sound the same as the video demo.I’ve got the same piano,it should sound the same.

Is there something I need to do to get the sound right? The only thing I did to improve the sound a little was the adjust the Modulation Wheel. I did try to go into the equaliser setting but I couldnt figure that out.

I dont think this piano is faulty.I dont think my KRKs are faulty.I just need to get some idea what to do.

Has anyone encountered problems with theirs?

Thanks.

Chris.

Click thumbnail to see full-size image

Well, upgrading from the single Roland KC to a pair of KRK’s was certainly a good start.

There are literally dozens of tweaks that you have available to make this VOICE sound the way you want.  However, we really don’t know how it falls short when you play it at home, so how can we suggest any solutions?

We can hear the audio clip you like, but you must help us understand more specifically how the sound you are playing comes up short.

You have the stereo L&R;outputs of your keyboard going separately to each monitor, correct?

Have you tried listening to this electric piano VOICE through quality headphones?

cmayhle - 02 September 2014 08:08 PM

You have the stereo L&R;outputs of your keyboard going separately to each monitor, correct?

Have you tried listening to this electric piano VOICE through quality headphones?

I havent used the piano set up for recording so I’m still using my Tascam DP03 digital recorder mixer to do all my recording onto.
I run dual 2.5 leads from piano out to Tascam inputs.
I then run dual RCAs from L-R output on Tascam to a single 2.5 to each speaker(balanced).(refer attached photo).
The volume is at about 80% on the speakers,
LF level set at +2dB,HF set to 0dB.
HF level set at 0dB.
I use the volume on the piano to reduce/raise volume.

When I play the video on my desktop computer I get great stereo sound.I dont have any headphones.When I’ve recorded some audio of that sound it just sounds like any electric piano sound on a roland piano.If you tell me where to send the mp3 audio I can email it.

When I recorded the same piano sound it didnt sound like the demo.When I played the recording back through the KRKs it sounded the same as I played it.I havent altered any piano settings.

Chris.

Click thumbnail to see full-size image

Just a note on where your KRKs are placed in your first picture, which MAY have something to do with the stereo imaging you are missing out on...but it might not.

(you are basically missing some nice stereo imaging that you heard on the demo aren’t you?)

The KRKs are near-field studio monitors and as such are designed to be used quite close up, offering as little interaction with the room you are in as possible, but judging from your first picture, unless you are 3 feet tall, you appear to be sitting quite a way above them and I would expect that most of the stereo image and the sweet spot for it is lost on your belly, maybe even below that.

Have you tried getting your KRKs up to ear level?

Can you just run each of the Left and Right outputs of the MOXF directly into each of the monitors to get your sound set up?  Bypass the mixer/recorder for now and work on getting the sound you want.

If you have the monitors set up properly located, you should get the full stereo effect of that VOICE.

Can you borrow a set of headphones, to help really be able to hear the clean stereo separation of the effect?  I think headphones monitoring you playing live into them would be really helpful.

I would put recording on pause until you get the live sound right.

philwoodmusic - 02 September 2014 09:50 PM

Just a note on where your KRKs are placed in your first picture, which MAY have something to do with the stereo imaging you are missing out on...but it might not.

(you are basically missing some nice stereo imaging that you heard on the demo aren’t you?)

The KRKs are near-field studio monitors and as such are designed to be used quite close up offering as little interaction with the room you are in as possible, but judging from your first picture, unless you are 3 feet tall, you appear to be sitting quite a way above them and I would expect that most of the stereo image and the sweet spot for it is lost on your belly, maybe even below that.

Have you tried getting your KRKs up to ear level?

I just put the speakers up higher by 5 inches.That in itself made a nice improvement.Thank you for the suggestion.I had a few spare phone books.

Click thumbnail to see full-size image

cmayhle - 02 September 2014 09:54 PM

Can you just run each of the Left and Right outputs of the MOXF directly into each of the monitors to get your sound set up?  Bypass the mixer/recorder for now and work on getting the sound you want.

If you have the monitors set up properly located, you should get the full stereo effect of that VOICE.

Can you borrow a set of headphones, to help really be able to hear the clean stereo separation of the effect?  I think headphones monitoring you playing live into them would be really helpful.

I would put recording on pause until you get the live sound right.

I did the following:
1)I put the monitors up 5 inches higher now.Its sounds better than it did.Then,
2)set up monitors direct from piano by bypassing the Tascam.
Didnt sound any different from when the Tascam was connected up.

As for headphones I cant find anyone who has any.

I did find having the speakers up higher sounded nicer.

In your first post you mentioned the MOD wheel.  That will adjust the insertion effect that makes this VOICE happen.  Have you experimented more with that now that you have the monitors pointing at your ears?

cmayhle - 02 September 2014 11:52 PM

In your first post you mentioned the MOD wheel.  That will adjust the insertion effect that makes this VOICE happen.  Have you experimented more with that now that you have the monitors pointing at your ears?

I’ve adjusted the sound with the mod wheel.Didnt change it much.It got rid of the wah-wah.

Denv12 - 03 September 2014 12:06 AM

cmayhle - 02 September 2014 11:52 PM

In your first post you mentioned the MOD wheel.  That will adjust the insertion effect that makes this VOICE happen.  Have you experimented more with that now that you have the monitors pointing at your ears?

I’ve adjusted the sound with the mod wheel.Didnt change it much.It got rid of the wah-wah.

That is tremolo, not wah.  In any event, at this point can you describe how the sound falls short of you expectation or reference example?

There is a large amount of adjustability to this effect (or any effect) within the machine.  No doubt your YouTube reference example authors have adjusted the sound to their taste, and now your task is to emulate that.

This effect is meant to be intensified by good stereo separation of the speakers.  Do your computer speakers have more pronounced stereo separation placement than you instrument monitors?

cmayhle - 03 September 2014 12:36 AM

Denv12 - 03 September 2014 12:06 AM

cmayhle - 02 September 2014 11:52 PM

In your first post you mentioned the MOD wheel.  That will adjust the insertion effect that makes this VOICE happen.  Have you experimented more with that now that you have the monitors pointing at your ears?

I’ve adjusted the sound with the mod wheel.Didnt change it much.It got rid of the wah-wah.

That is tremolo, not wah.  In any event, at this point can you describe how the sound falls short of you expectation or reference example?

There is a large amount of adjustability to this effect (or any effect) within the machine.  No doubt your YouTube reference example authors have adjusted the sound to their taste, and now your task is to emulate that.

This effect is meant to be intensified by good stereo separation of the speakers.  Do your computer speakers have more pronounced stereo separation placement than you instrument monitors?

My computer is just your basic computer,nothing special.My pc speakers are about 2 feet apart on the pc table here.They are average stereo pc speakers.Good for listening to the online radio,cds,etc.The KRKs are futher apart than the pc speakers.

I cant describe how the sound falls short.You need to hear my recording of that sound and compare it to that demo.Then I need someone to give me advice how to get that sound.

As for the sounds,I have converted the video so its shortened to the 1st and 2nd demo to demo sounds.I converted that to mp3.
I also have an mp3 recording of me playing the same sound on my piano.

I left a message on youtube to ask them about if they did anything to that piano to get their piano to sound like that.

YAMAHA MOXF_cut_part5.mp3  (File Size: 1493KB - Downloads: 278)

TEX000_1.mp3  (File Size: 6303KB - Downloads: 327)

“3 sound engineers” working on it!

The MOXF won´t sound the same at your home!

You also have to do very much adjustments.
Velocity setting: hard?,soft?… (Internal MOXF setting!)
EQ settings!(also global Master EQ setting!!!) (Internal MOXF setting!)
Effect settings!  (Internal MOXF setting!)
etc.

AND YOUR “loudspeakers” and amp has to be superb!!!

Then the MOXF probably sounds like the “selling demo video”!

Purcell, I don’t understand why you are complaining about additional equipment you are not willing to buy for yourself. Of course, the final sound quality will always depend on the setup you’re using for monitoring your own work. There’s no need to involve “3 Yamaha engineers” to check out the right settings. You just have to dig into the possibilities and capabilities of the MOXF, and of course you also have to invest some money for additional studio gear. Otherwise it’s like you are connecting a blu-ray player to an old TV set and are wondering and complaining why the final picture is not presented in “HD”.

Btw. setting up the velocity curves, general EQ settings etc. has been implemented by Yamaha to let the machine be perfectly adapted to your individual playing style (as the final user), or to the environment where you are playing (in a studio or a big hall). So, having control over all these settings is rather a big advantage than a drawback as you are describing it. You just have to try what fits your needs best.

Denv12 - 03 September 2014 03:02 AM

...I cant describe how the sound falls short.You need to hear my recording of that sound and compare it to that demo.Then I need someone to give me advice how to get that sound.

As for the sounds,I have converted the video so its shortened to the 1st and 2nd demo to demo sounds.I converted that to mp3.
I also have an mp3 recording of me playing the same sound on my piano....

A couple of thoughts after listening to your example:  You only play with the tremolo on for a few seconds at the beginning of the clip, and it doesn’t even sound like it is in stereo.  Did you roll off the tremolo with the MOD wheel a few seconds in?  That effect...in stereo...is a very important part of the VOICE you are playing.  You should hear a profound alternating amplitude back-and-forth between your ears if the effect is being captured correctly.

Since the bulk of the clip does not even have the effect present, it is no wonder that the sound is very different than the YouTube example.  They have a powerful tremolo going in their whole clip.  Without that, it is a garden-variety mellow Rhodes sound that has a very different feel.

As I mentioned, even for the few seconds at the beginning of your clip that has the effect present, it really sounds like it is centered in the mix.  Please check the pan position on each of the (2) channels of the Tascam you are using.  (1) should be hard panned left, the other should be hard panned right.  If they are both centered, you will get the watered-down mono tremolo that I am hearing at the beginning of your playing.  If they are stereo separated, you will hear the ping-pong back-and-forth that is noteworthy in the internet example.

EDIT:  See attached image of Pan knobs.  If they are centered as shown on both of the input channels, you will not get a stereo tremolo! (Sorry about the large size of the attachment)

Tascam Pan Knobs.pdf  (File Size: 14603KB - Downloads: 183)

Same voice, no tweaking or editing,

MOXF8

Recorded by me tonight via analogue outputs direct to an audio interface.

R&BSoft_MOXF.mp3  (File Size: 1318KB - Downloads: 542)

philwoodmusic - 03 September 2014 03:48 PM

Same voice, no tweaking or editing,

MOXF8

Recorded by me tonight via analogue outputs direct to an audio interface.

There’s nothing like a good demo to make the point. Thanks Phil.

Based on my XF, which should have the same Voice as the MOXF:
The Tremolo+Rotary Auto Pan effect is applied via Insertion B. The L/R depth is set to 109 (out of a maximum of 127). If the Modulation Wheel is turned up, the L/R depth is decreased, and if the Assign 1 control is turned up, that depth is increased.

If anyone isn’t hearing the effect with the MW turned down on their MOXF, there’s something wrong.

Well Phil nailed it if you ask me superb, that’s why I have joined this site. And thanks for those settings for the Motif XF, I will make a note of them, I love that sound too.Some good tips about speaker placement too which makes sense. lilchris