Hello all! I’ve had my Motif XS8 for over a year now and now have a Macbook Pro with Cubase 5. I am in desperate need of help as far as properly setting up both my Motif XS and my Mac & Cubase to properly sync together so I can start creating songs! I know for some, this may seem simple, but there are so many drivers and other things I need to do that I don’t know where to start or what to do.

I would really appreciate it if someone could help, and if possible, do this via share screen or Skype for step-by-step instructions. Thanks!!!

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Chris

Welcome to the forums!

Unfortunately, you did not mention how you wish to connect your Motif XS8 to your computer, nor did you hint at whether you are interested in recording MIDI or AUDIO or both.

In general you need to decide how you are going to connect to your computer:
USB is MIDI data only
Firewire is MIDI and AUDIO data.

Also information you should provide (if you are seeking specific help) is what operating system you are running your Mac Book Pro. Let us know.

Hey Bad_Mister,

Sorry for not specifying. I would like to record MIDI and AUDIO. Here are my Mac Book Pro specifications:

Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4

2.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
•
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM — 2x4GB
•
750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm

A quick setup guide to get going with Cubase and your Motif XS via the Motif XS8’s built-in firewire:

http://download.yamaha.com
Select your country
Type in your model number: Motif XS8
When the SEARCH RESULTS appear, verify Motif XS8
Items concerning your Motif XS8 will appear.

You can enter your Computer OS to further narrow the results

Download and install the following items:
_ Yamaha Steinberg FW Driver version 1.7.0 for Mac OS 10.5.8; 10.6.x; 10.7.x
_ Motif XS Extension version 1.6.0 for Mac OS X

The Motif XS Extension is an addition to Cubase that will allow it to recognize the Motif XS ports by name, and it will automatically do much of the audio and MIDI setup (like assigning Remote Control Device ports, and upon launch you will be asked if you want to use the Yamaha Steinberg FW driver as your ASIO driver, etc).

When you are using the Motif XS with the Yamaha Steinberg FW driver (YSFW) you need to verify the following settings in your Motif XS:

Connect via Firewire

Set the Motif XS to automatically load the following preference:
Press [UTILITY]
Press [F1] GENERAL
Press [SF4] AUTO LOAD
Set the IEEE1394 Driver = FW
You will need to [STORE] this UTILITY mode preference and reboot your Motif XS for this to take place. Once you have done this, the setting will remain until you change the setting or you load in an ALL data file that contains different UTILITY mode preferences.

Set the Motif XS to MIDI IN/OUT = mLAN. Here’s how:
Press [UTILITY]
Press [F5] CONTROL
Press [SF2] MIDI
Set MIDI IN/OUT = mLAN
Press [STORE] to write this to your Flash ROM

http://www.motifator.com/index.php/support/view/motif_xs_ysfw_setup_mac

Thank you Bad_Mister,

One question: You told me to also download the Motif XF Extension. I can’t find this extension under my Lion Operating System.

I’m assuming you were talking about the XS Extension Driver, which I downloaded. Now, my issue is when Cubase and my XS are transferring MIDI data, the song is playing differently than what is stored on the XS. It also sometimes changes certain Voices into “Full Concert Grand” Voice.

The XS has no capability to change VOICES on its own. It will change Voices when it receives a command to do so. Bank Select and Program Change messages can cause it to change its VOICEs. A General MIDI reset command can tell it to change to the GM bank. A Program reset can return Voices to an Initialized MIXING program condition - Full Concert Grand in all 16 locations.

But it is always some kind of message - most likely sent via the sequencer or in via MIDI that instruct the XS to change. it has no ability to do so on its own. So you need to determine where the message is coming from…

(Sorry about the XF typo, I meant XS, of course.)