P.S. The underlying question of comparing Motif as synthesizer with other synthesizers is somewhat anachronistic today. Since I’ve bought it, DSI has released Prophets 6 & 12, OB-6, Mopho X4, and DeepMind has been announced, and Prophet ‘08’s price has been reduced a bit, and it’s knobs updated.
And Kronos.

All that said, I did want an instrument that could do a bit if everything. A ‘hardware Kontakt’ coupled with a basic sequencer. I settled on the known & unknown pros/cons of the FSX so that I could easily do shows with it- and to better address my drums desire.

I did not get an XF to be a synthesizer. Not at all. I am surprised I could imagine it that way. It is definitely more than a simple sample player.

I guess I’d say it’s a deep sample player, with great amount of storage, and with its own blend of synthesis-style capabilities that makes it way more than a sample player. And this AWM2 are well geared for a performing keyboardist.

dsetto - 09 December 2016 03:35 PM

[...] I did not get an XF to be a synthesizer. Not at all. I am surprised I could imagine it that way. It is definitely more than a simple sample player.

I guess I’d say it’s a deep sample player, with great amount of storage, and with its own blend of synthesis-style capabilities that makes it way more than a sample player. And this AWM2 are well geared for a performing keyboardist.

Even from the time of introduction of the Moog modular synths, there were those who wanted to emulate real-world acoustic instruments. That trend became more pronounced when FM synths became available - factory voices were named “Piano”, “Trumpet”, “Harmonica”, “Guitar”, etc. So even though analog or FM synths could produce interesting, musical sounds that were not “real”, for many the quest was still to come as close as possible to band/orchestral instruments. It’s not surprising that once technology made it practical, sample playback became the next logical step.

I’ve still got my Fender/Rhodes Chroma Polaris, a microprocessor-controlled analog synth based on CEM chips, but it hasn’t been turned on in quite a while. Then there’s the Yamaha YS200, 4-operator FM, for which I came up with banks of sounds that are nothing like acoustic instruments. Next, a Korg T3 ROMpler (the M1’s “big brother"), which I upgraded with PCM memory. A couple of Roland rack units followed, and then two Yamaha rack samplers. Finally, the XS6 and XF6.

You might wonder why I listed my gear. I did so because it shows a kind of evolution. My XF6 gets vastly more attention than any of the rest. Even with the resurgence of interest in analog, I think the XF is capable of making sounds that are relevant and contemporary. Yes, it has its limits, but I’ve found that the Motifs aren’t as restrictive as I had thought when I first got the XS.

I think that if you have the time, continue to dig in and see what can be done - familiarity with Voice creation can be useful even if it doesn’t always lead to the exact sound you’re striving for. Oh, and have fun!

5pinDIN - 09 December 2016 05:13 PM

… I think that if you have the time, continue to dig in and see what can be done - familiarity with Voice creation can be useful even if it doesn’t always lead to the exact sound you’re striving for. Oh, and have fun!

Here’s an example.

Some good raw tones there. I suggest trying more use of the filter envelope, if not also more keyboard velocity/aftertouch to the filter, in order to give it some more life.

Also play with combinations of the synth waveforms that have offset phase versions of the same wave.

Thank you. I’ll check out those tips. I was wondering how I was going to employ the different phase Sawtooths.