Overall User Ratings

"motif es - the way forward, for real quality & fast music production."

Feature:
fully packed with tons of editing capabilities,think the editing screen would of been better a larger size,like fantom s.love the ribbon controller,and hey,the mod pitch wheels have leather look!!

Quality:
fairly heavy this one,massive box to! its got real nice metalic silver finish,i love the back looks super powerfull,but then it is!

Value:
sounds are wat wins for this,but no internall memmory to store songs or samples,but found u can save song sample data on smart media card,128mb card purchased seperatly.

Desirability:
well,the slots a bit small for me!!!,but yes the sex appeal is pretty high,as it is 4 me for fantom s access virus c.

Sound:
superb synth sounds,pads are amazing! and real world sound superb to,try the 12 string guitar mega voice,complete with string friction slide!,so realistic.

Support:
had a prob,so contacted motifator.com,they have good fast responce,and usefull answers to,plenty of info available from this site,as well as buying variouse add ons.

Overall:
think thats it,wont need much else now,does sampling really well,seq works well,built in sounds are amazing!im actually selling alot of my gear now as they have becom obselete.u can also upgrade the internal sounds via plg boards ther are now 6 i think,so mab 7 8 9 soon.y would u need more synths!!!!!????.

"BEST OUT THERE, HANDS DOWN"

Feature:
VERY FEW ACCESSORIES.. the good news is that once u buy DIMMS/ storage/CD rom drive, this puppy will make u have thoughts about getting rid of your computer or at least not use your software for making music..( I DID and I'm a long time LOGIC user... but sense overuled. The Motif ES is great but will not replace software .)...for the hobbiest or semi pro who does not use software to create, The ES is DEFINITELY the way to go... For the Pro the Es is the way to go...It will even control your software!!! the downside there is that to get the surface control working is not ez -esp. for Mac users... would be nice if the ES had a burner...i give it a 9 here because of the hard time i had getting the Es to control my audio faders in Logic the KNOB/SLIDER controllers r the best, on par if not better than the K2600!!THE RIBBON IS A NICE TOUCH. the built in EQ section is very nifty and high quality the FX are better than in the 'Classic' Motif and outshine all other boards Except the KDFX unit in the Kurweil series.. However if u don't own or have very few Fx gear the built in Fx R top quality.. one gripe: the Master FX r kinda lame except the Multiband eq...but this is made up by the 16 channel eq and 8 bus fx in song/pattern main eq came with some CD's with stuff on it these were cool...

Quality:
all i'm gonna sayhere is that The ES is built like a MACK truck... a 10

Value:
worth every penny .. penny for penny a way better buy than Fantom,Triton/Kurweil/Korg

Desirability:
A strong 10 ... better looking than the dull grey of the classic. The ES is a technical marvel...no exaggeration. I've been buying boards for long time.. nothing comes close... the closest would be the veneralble Korg M1, which for it's time it was THE board to own..

Sound:
No other board comes close in sound quality...NONE !! THE on board sequencer is great ( a hefty learning curve but worth it)... the Sequencer will not replace a software one but will enable you to take a project from start to finish because of it's amazing intergration of audio and MIDI... Triton and Fantom R good but this ES series is great..

Support:
i've not had to dealk with the company EVER as every Yami product I've owned never made me have too. but of GREAT HELP WAS the keyax online forum 'motifator.com'. yamaha is activily engaged to the forum and listens and responds VERY quickly to users.. an 8 here.. because I've never had a problem

Overall:
i'd wear this out for at least five years...tech will eventually make me buy something else - i never dreamed i'd get rid of the M1 -but i did. I know i'll never sell the ES, but I know something will eventually cause me to add to it.. right now my sound palatte is full....i chose the ES over the competition soley on the quality of the sounds . The sequencer and controllers were iceing on the cake. if i -God forbid- no longer had this unit I WOULD REPLACE IT STRAIGHT AWAY. GO THE THE BANK -GO THE THE STORE OR ONLINE- RIGHT FAST AND IN A HURRY ...... I like the overall intergration of audio and MIDI/quality of sounds best i least like the learning curve..but it's worth takeing the time. u won't regret it..