Yamaha Motif XF series

[Stig Eliassen]

I'm thinking of buying the XF8 for my live gigs, and I also wonder how it would work in the studio. Has anyone tried to connect it to a CPU for streaming into PT via FW?

Is it possible to increase the sampling time? 6min 20 sec @ 44.1 isn't very much.

[albee1952]

wonder how it would work in the studio. Has anyone tried to connect it to a CPU for streaming into PT via FW? Not sure this will work. It won't in PT8 at all, but might work in PT9.

Is it possible to increase the sampling time? 6min 20 sec @ 44.1 isn't very much. Look in the manual and see if you can add memory

I love my es8 so I can only imagine that the XF model should a be great studio keyboard

[Stig Eliassen]

wonder how it would work in the studio. Has anyone tried to connect it to a CPU for streaming into PT via FW? Not sure this will work. It won't in PT8 at all, but might work in PT9.

I'm on 7.4, so that's a no-no.

Is it possible to increase the sampling time? 6min 20 sec @ 44.1 isn't very much. Look in the manual and see if you can add memory

It is possible to add up to 2 GB of flash memory from what I've read. I asked Yamaha support about this, and the answer I got was "320 sec is the limit". And since my question was something like "is 6min 20 sec a "one-shot" limit @ 44.1kHz, or can I sample, say, multiple 3min pieces as long as I stop the recording after each piece?", the answer from Yamaha was totally pointless.

I often prefer to ask users. They know what's what. Thanks.

[tripstation]

Hi,
Using firewire ASIO with PT 11HD.
Works like a charm.
It also has Hui control.

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by PT Lover

I'm on 7.4, so that's a no-no.


It is possible to add up to 2 GB of flash memory from what I've read. I asked Yamaha support about this, and the answer I got was "320 sec is the limit". And since my question was something like "is 6min 20 sec a "one-shot" limit @ 44.1kHz, or can I sample, say, multiple 3min pieces as long as I stop the recording after each piece?", the answer from Yamaha was totally pointless.

I often prefer to ask users. They know what's what. Thanks.

Hi

I asked one of the interns here and they tried on one of our keyboards and I got the answer that you can use it several times up until the 6.20 min is full. You can edit and cut and paste so it can't be a one shot deal

We hardly use it but as far as I heard it's a fine piece of gear.

Christopher

[jryser]

I have an XF and absolutely love it. Of course I'm old school and just go USB in and midi. The sounds are very nice and once you hook it up as a slave it follows tempo changes in PT, etc. I love what I do with it as a complimentary instrument in the studio as well as a master for all of my VIs.

[DonaldM]

The XF, likes its older brother the XS makes a nice MIDI controller for PT. Its my main keyboard in my set up. I use the FW for all things MIDI plus, you can use it as an alternate ASIO hardware interface. Doing that will allow you to record audio directly from the XF to an audio track in PT. (Or multiple tracks at once, ie an XF performance or a multi-tracked song on the XF. You can transfer up to 14 mono and 1 stereo at once, or 8 stereo, or any combination thereof. You just set the outputs of the XF accordingly. You will need to set up the audio I/O in PT to recognize the audio inputs from the FW when you use it that way.

Of course, depending on your interface, you can just send the audio out of the XF directly to PT audio tracks through your usual interface. You can send out either a mono, a stereo or up to 4 outputs (ie, each track in a performance can have a sep audio output from the XF).

Very versatile. Also, the controllers map nicely to PT tracks as well...PB, MW, aftertouch, velocity etc.

And with a ton of great sounds on board, PLUS the amazing editing capabilities..it is one mean keyboard for live or studio use.

[Stig Eliassen]

Originally Posted by tripstation

Hi,
Using firewire ASIO with PT 11HD.
Works like a charm.
It also has Hui control.

Thanks for the info, Tripstation.

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

Hi

I asked one of the interns here and they tried on one of our keyboards and I got the answer that you can use it several times up until the 6.20 min is full. You can edit and cut and paste so it can't be a one shot deal

We hardly use it but as far as I heard it's a fine piece of gear.

Christopher

Thanks for checking this out, Chris. What I meant by "one-shot" was if I could do several pieces within 6:20 each, or if 6:20 is the total sample time. Kinda like the preference that used to be in Pro Tools where you could set a time limit for each unique recording.

Originally Posted by jryser

I have an XF and absolutely love it. Of course I'm old school and just go USB in and midi. The sounds are very nice and once you hook it up as a slave it follows tempo changes in PT, etc. I love what I do with it as a complimentary instrument in the studio as well as a master for all of my VIs.

Thank you, Jryser. Good to hear it's working out for you. I've done my last 4-5 gigs with Clavia pianos. I use mostly grand pianos and hammond organs, and I really like the sound in these boards.
We'll see what I end up with. I've just blown my savings on HDX and the HD I/O, so a new master keyboard is pushed back… again.

Originally Posted by DonaldM

The XF, likes its older brother the XS makes a nice MIDI controller for PT. Its my main keyboard in my set up. I use the FW for all things MIDI plus, you can use it as an alternate ASIO hardware interface. Doing that will allow you to record audio directly from the XF to an audio track in PT. (Or multiple tracks at once, ie an XF performance or a multi-tracked song on the XF. You can transfer up to 14 mono and 1 stereo at once, or 8 stereo, or any combination thereof. You just set the outputs of the XF accordingly. You will need to set up the audio I/O in PT to recognize the audio inputs from the FW when you use it that way.

Of course, depending on your interface, you can just send the audio out of the XF directly to PT audio tracks through your usual interface. You can send out either a mono, a stereo or up to 4 outputs (ie, each track in a performance can have a sep audio output from the XF).

Very versatile. Also, the controllers map nicely to PT tracks as well...PB, MW, aftertouch, velocity etc.

And with a ton of great sounds on board, PLUS the amazing editing capabilities..it is one mean keyboard for live or studio use.

Thanks a lot, Donald. Very informative post.

Yeah, I still consider the XF. My current master keyboard only has pitch bend and modulation, and the mod is just a short-travel upward movement on the pitch bend, which I absolutely hate.

Great to hear more about the XF, and how it works. Thanks again.