Hello All,
I have an opportunity to upgrade one of my keyboards.
I currently have a Motif XF6 and a PA900.
My usage is at home have fun, and create background scores for shortfilms that I work on as a hobby , jamming with friends etc.
I now have around 1500-2000 to burn.
and I am thinking of selling one of the keyboards and upgrade.
If I sell either of those, I can get around 1500.
that will give me a total of 3000-3500 to spend.
upgrading which one makes more sense?
#1)should I sell motif and get Montage (keep PA900)
#2)should I sell PA900, keep the XF and buy PA4X

so bottom line is which combination is better for my usage
(A)Motif XF & PA4X
(B) Montage and PA900
thanks in advance for your suggestions

Ask yourself this: between the XF and the PA which do you use more? What features of each do you find most important?

That will help you decide which one to sell.

Workstation versus arranger.  They really are two different beasts in many ways, as well as the Montage being in a class of its own as well. 

I do, however, envy the opportunity to burn 3k on a new piece of gear!  Whatever you decide I’m sure you’ll enjoy! 

Let us know what you decide and good luck.

richie1027 - 27 July 2016 06:30 PM

Workstation versus arranger.  They really are two different beasts in many ways, as well as the Montage being in a class of its own as well. 

I do, however, envy the opportunity to burn 3k on a new piece of gear!  Whatever you decide I’m sure you’ll enjoy! 

Let us know what you decide and good luck.

thank you Richie.
I do have both an arranger and a workstation. I enjoy the combination. the question really is , what is a better choice for upgrade. is upgrading PA900 to PA4X or Motif XF to Montage a better value for the money.
that is the dilemma for me.

meatballfulton - 27 July 2016 04:07 PM

Ask yourself this: between the XF and the PA which do you use more? What features of each do you find most important?

That will help you decide which one to sell.

Thank you! Fortunately/Unfortunately I use the combination ... so hard to tell which one I use most. even if I like one better than the other, I will only be upgrading that equipment ... so won’t miss features as much. making my decision more difficult… :( hence thought of picking your brain.

Vaanampadi - 27 July 2016 10:05 AM

[...] so bottom line is which combination is better for my usage
(A)Motif XF & PA4X
(B) Montage and PA900
thanks in advance for your suggestions

Here’s how I see it…

1) Do you tend to use the workstation capabilities of the Motif XF?
--- or ---
2) Do you use a DAW like Cubase for most of your projects?

If #1, then the Montage might not be a good choice for you, because it’s not a workstation.

If #2, then the Montage could provide some performance capabilities you might like.

Plenty has been written on the pros and cons of the Montage, and I’m not going to rehash them here - and since I’m not especially familiar with arrangers, I won’t comment on that aspect of the issue.

The Montage loses the Motif’s sequencer. Do you use that a lot?

The Montage cannot sample, although it can load samples created externally. Do you use the Motif’s sampling capabilities including the slicing functions?

5pinDIN - 27 July 2016 11:21 PM

Vaanampadi - 27 July 2016 10:05 AM

[...] so bottom line is which combination is better for my usage
(A)Motif XF & PA4X
(B) Montage and PA900
thanks in advance for your suggestions

Here’s how I see it…

1) Do you tend to use the workstation capabilities of the Motif XF?
--- or ---
2) Do you use a DAW like Cubase for most of your projects?

If #1, then the Montage might not be a good choice for you, because it’s not a workstation.

If #2, then the Montage could provide some performance capabilities you might like.

Plenty has been written on the pros and cons of the Montage, and I’m not going to rehash them here - and since I’m not especially familiar with arrangers, I won’t comment on that aspect of the issue.[/quote

Thank you. I do use the workstation capabilities. and do use the sequencer.
looks like I might be better off keeping the motif.

meatballfulton - 28 July 2016 07:30 AM

The Montage loses the Motif’s sequencer. Do you use that a lot?

The Montage cannot sample, although it can load samples created externally. Do you use the Motif’s sampling capabilities including the slicing functions?

Thank you. I do use the sequencer on board and don’t use the computer as much.
I don’t use much of sampling( atleast not yet)
looks like I might be better off keeping the motif.
thanks!