Hey All,

I currently own a Motif ES7 that I bought years ago when they were first released.  It’s been my workhorse for a long time but I think I want to move on.  Last year I bought a Kawai digital piano for my wife and after a year of playing on it I’ve decided that I’d like to go with a piano action keybed for my live board.  I play in a classic rock band so I stay mostly on piano and organ.  I use brass when the horn section is not with us and also throw in some strings here and there. 

So far I’ve been looking at the S70ex and Nord Piano 2.  I like the Nord for its sounds, keybed and its light weight (25lbs. for the 73 key) However, I think the Nord is out because it lacks a few things I’ve come to rely on with my ES7 like being able to split the keyboard in several places with 4 parts.  I’m also leaning toward the S70xs because it looks pretty much like my MO and the learning curve would be easier. 

I don’t need a workstation.  I’ve never even used the sequencer on my Mo. 
I’m looking for a live board that’s easy to move from sound to sound on the fly.
I’d like something with a lighter piano action if possible.  I use a lot of B3. 

Any suggestions or input?  What would I gain by going from my Motif ES7 to an S70xs? 

Lastly, from what I see, the S70xs is about 5 years in production. Are there any rumors about a new board like the S70xs ...... should I wait?

Thanks,
Kevin

I have an S90XS and S70XS :-) Never a problem with either.  Love the feel of the weighted keys on it.  I like being a one man band with my S90XS in my home studio. 

Lots of third party Voices and Performances available.  See http://www.easysounds.de for examples.  Also I like the John Melas software Libarian, Voice, Performance etc.. editors over the Yamaha editors.  The Melas editor can make setting up Performances easier, though I really have no problems using board by itself to do so either. 

Boogiebeau.com

Thanks for the input Boogiebeau.  I’ve been doing more research and have decided to go with either the S70xs or 90xs. 

Does the Performance mode on the S series work just like the Motif ES?  I would like to be able to create a performance with four parts and each part with it’s own split point. For example: 

a “Hit” sound on the lowest key
a “piano” from the second to lowest key to C3
an “organ” from C#3 to the second highest key on the board
a “bell” on the highest key of the board

Also are Performances easily called up like on the Mo?  (A-3 etc?????)

Yes, you can do all those things with the performance mode.

I have the S70XS in a hardcase - it is a fair weight getng in/out of a vehicle. Unless you really need the extra keys or are a serious pro musician, with a roadie, consider the extra weight of the S90XS in your decision.

Phil

Thanks for the replies.  I’m glad to hear that programing the S series is like my Motif ES7.  That feature alone has me not looking at any other brands and has locked me into either S70xs ro S90xs.

I’m just having a tough time deciding on the weigh and size factor between the two and the “do I really need the extra keys” thing. There have been times when I could have used the extra keys of a full size bed but for what I do I can probably keep getting by with what I’ve been using over the last few years.  At this point I feel that I’m leaning more toward the 76 key version.

Once again, thanks for your input.  If anyone else would care to add his or her opinion it would be greatly appreciated.  This is a big purchase for me and I want to be as sure as I can about which board to get ……. hopefully within the next few weeks.

Kevin

I’ve used an S90xs at church for about 5 years and love the action, the feel of the keyboard and most of the sounds.  The piano sounds are the best out there IMHO.  And for live performance being able to split the board into four parts and CONTROL THE VOLUME of each in real time is great. About a month or so ago I bought a MOFX8; same sounds as the MOTIF but weighs only 33 pounds.  The action is a little bit lighter than the S90 but that really helps out with organ runs if you set them at the top of the keyboard.  Volumes for each part in a performance can be controlled using knobs rather than the sliders on the S90.  That’s not as convenient but I’ve gotten used to it.

OK – I’m a bit confused now.  I just downloaded the S90xs/S70xs manual and it appears that what I really was hoping to be able to do, and was sort of confirmed in a response above, is not possible. 

Once again, I own a MoES7 and can create a Performance that can include 4 different voices all split in different places.  I can then store and name that new Performance to be recalled later.  This, I understand, I can do on the S90xs and S70xs.  It’s the recall I’m confused about ……..

Lets say for example (on my MoES7) I create a new Performance and name it KevinsSong1”. I like how it sounds so I store it on Performance B-10.  Now when I am at a gig and need KevinsSong1 all I have to do is press the buttons B and then 10 to recall and play that Performance.  KevinsSong1 is displayed in the window. 

Someone above confirmed that this can be done but in the PDF manual I just downloaded it says … “Selecting a Performance is done in basically the same way as selecting a Voice. The Category Search function is available also in the Performance Play mode. Note that the S90 XS/S70 XS has no Preset Performances and provides only three User Banks. “

So what I’m reading is that in order to recall my Performances at a gig I’d have to press Performance then scroll to find the one I want.  This seems a step back from what I’m used to.  Now, between songs all I have to press is two buttons to get what I need.  B-10, A-7, H4 etc. 

Any more help??

I guess that would be me that misled you (the dangers of a quick reply).

My normal practice, is that I set up my playlists in Master Mode (noting that you can save your synth ALL as an easy way to store various set lists).

Each patch in the Master Mode can recall a voice, or performance, or multi - think of it like creating a shortcut to access your favourites sounds for a particular song. In that mode, yes, you can use the panel buttons (B-03) for a quick recall. Of course, Master Mode can do much more than that, acting as a sophisticated controller of other gear.

Hope that assists,

Phil

Hi!

You wrote:
“Lets say for example (on my MoES7) I create a new Performance and name it KevinsSong1”. I like how it sounds so I store it on Performance B-10.  Now when I am at a gig and need KevinsSong1 all I have to do is press the buttons B and then 10 to recall and play that Performance.  KevinsSong1 is displayed in the window.”

That’s no problem on the s90xs. You can do that! That’s the simplest and sometimes easiset way to select a performance. If you only use a few different performances you can store them as favourites in Performance mode.

If you like to set up a playlist with many different performances (or a few performances and a few voices anda a few multis)that can be done with master mode. In master mode you can point each patch to a voice, a performance (with arpeggois or not) or a multi.

I do not use master mode currently but I’m planning to set up 100 master-patches since we have 100 numbered songs in our band. Some of the patches vill point to a voice, some will point to performances with two parts or more, some will point to multis when I need seamless switching between many different sounds in one song.

I recommend the s90xs, it can do almost anything you want!
It’s big and heavy to haul around but a joy to play!
If you decide to get a hard case I can recommend the RC21730, it fits even though the measurements of the case says it’s too short. The s90xs fits as well as my cabels, pedal, notestand, micstand and keyboardstand, all in one case!
Heavy like h-ll, yes - but it has wheels so it makes it a little bit easier.

Good luck with your choise of keyboard!
Kind regard from Sweden

kevin - 24 November 2014 08:59 PM

[...]in the PDF manual I just downloaded it says … “Selecting a Performance is done in basically the same way as selecting a Voice. The Category Search function is available also in the Performance Play mode. Note that the S90 XS/S70 XS has no Preset Performances and provides only three User Banks. “[...]

That section of the Owner’s Manual isn’t particularly well written, and can easily be misinterpreted.

There are four User Banks for Performances, each having 128 locations. When the S90/S70 XS is new or after a factory reset, the first three of those Banks are filled with “example” Performances, while the fourth has initialized Performances. You can store your own Performances to any of the locations in any of those Banks - none of them are “Presets”.

A Performance can be selected in the same manner as a Voice. Category Search isn’t the only way to select a Performance, it’s just an alternative method. A difference between your ES and the S90/S70 XS is that the ES has dedicated buttons to select Banks, while the S90/S70 XS uses two buttons to DECrement or INCrement the Bank. See page 11 of the Owner’s Manual.

I have an S70XS and love it. It has never let me down. Still finding things I didn’t realize it could do after years of steady gigging. I’m not sure I would buy one NOW however. The waiting game is on to see what Yamaha has up their sleeve. The latest MOXF leaves the current XS behind in an incremental sort of way. If you accept that the MOX line is the bottom tier of pro keyboards from Yamaha and it exceeds the current mid tier then you can expect things are ripe for change.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my posts.  After clearing up that question I had about the Performances it seems that the S70XS or S90XS is the board I’d like.  With that said, pdiddy responded to something in my original post that is also weighing on my decision .... the possibility of Yamaha coming out with a new board soon.  I’ve been out of it for a while but it seems that a 5 year cycle is reasonable and maybe there is new board in the making.  Man ..... I remember with buying a keyboard was as simple as saving up the money and choosing between a Rhodes or Wurlitzer electric piano!  Maybe a Mini Moog or Arp....

Thanks again for all of your replies!!
Kevin