At the 2016 NAMM Show, Yamaha has introduced the Montage, a new flagship synthesizer that offers twice the power of the Motif line, plus an advance FM synth engine.
The Yamaha Montage, available in 61-, 76- and 88-key configurations, features the Motion Control Synthesizer Engine, a powerful way to interact with and control sound.
The Motion Control Synthesizer Engine controls two iconic Sound Engines: Advanced Wave Memory 2 (AWM2) and FM-X:
- The AWM2 engine is compatible with previous generation Motif libraries, but is exponentially more powerful than the previous Motif XF flagship, with nearly ten times more wave memory, integrated flash, double the effects and twice the polyphony.
- Joining the powerful AWM2 engine is FM-X, a sophisticated pure FM (Frequency Modulation) synthesizer engine capable of producing classic ‘80s or cutting-edge EDM sound with incredible dynamic range, power and fidelity.
Here’s the official video intro:
Here’s an overview video:
The next video takes a look at the Motion Control Synthesizer engine:
Here’s a video that explores the development of the Yamaha Montage:
Montage also features a brand new user interface with color touch screen, endless rotary encoders and the ‘Super Knob’: a macro control designed for controlling multiple parameters simultaneously.
Here’s a playlist of audio demos for the Montage:
“Montage is the culmination of over forty years of synthesizer legacy and innovation.” says Nate Tschetter, marketing manager, music production, Yamaha Corporation of America. “Playing and experiencing Montage is, quite simply, inspiring.”
Pricing and Availability
The Yamaha Montage8 (88-key), Montage7 (76-key) and Montage6 (61-key) will ship in May 2016. Pricing is TBA.
That’s called a montage….
…. montage!!
Oh we want montage….
…. montage!!
And anything that we want to go from just a beginner to a pro,
You need a montage….
…. montage!!
Even Rocky had a montage…..
…. montage!!
I think Yamaha missed a great opportunity to use this song in their videos.
“Even Rocky had a montage…”
If we are talking the sports training part of Rocky that condenses the passage of time then that is technically called a ‘montage sequence’ or a ‘sequence of shots’.
A montage in the original french meaning is to edit the film strips into a scene, the modern process of a simple edit cut. The 1920’s Russian meaning of “montage” was the juxtaposition of imagery to imply meaning.
‘Montage’ is to edit, a ‘montage sequence’ or ‘sports montage sequence’ is something else. Technically a ‘montage sequence’ is also ‘montage’, but technically speaking the whole film Rocky is also ‘montage’.
A simple change to “Even Rocky had a montage sequence” would stop that reference from South Park/Team America from being so annoying.
Seems like I sold my Roland Fa08 at the right time;)
yeh you lost a full on sequencer and gained $2000+ worth of extra debt! …well done..yamaha love you!
Best FM synth ever?
sorry, not really convinced. some nice sounds, but very clean and sterile.
i do not understand why yamaha makes product videos like the music video style one. i mean, they target musicians, and the singer is not in sync a single time. and why is a singer’s voice covering up what i actually would like to listen to? strange…
I wish it was a straight up easy to edit Fm synth. But Yamaha doesn’t seem to be marketing this Synth to people like me based on those videos
seems to fill similar place as Roland Fa-06 so i expect it to be around £799 for the 61 key
Haha… you’re in for a major disappointment Steve…. It’s going to be more than £2k…
I have to say it will be worth it… but it’s major league money
yeh looks like it’s being pitched up at jupiter 80 and korg kronos prices….the jury is still baffled by lack of information if this keyboard HAS/DOES NOT HAVE a full on sequencer…
Don’t like the sound, at all. And the demos make me feel bored.
Massive overkill. Sounds great on it’s own, but how does it fit in context (always a problem with such elaborate presets)?
Many church worship groups will have one of these by Easter. They have the money and it fits their needs. A big customer base for these workstations…. bigger than you might think.
That’s not how you spell MORTGAGE.
Quite possibly the most brilliant comment about a synthesizer ever made 🙂
Ha! Finally a good joke without the South Park references
I won’t buy it at this price, but are musician so poor?
Zebra sounds better but the FM is difficult to ride
Does Yamaha make synthesizers anymore?
Dying to know what the 8op algorithms are. Don’t much care about the workstation sounds.
yeh i’d like to see a video showing just how approachable creating/editing 8 operator FM synth engine is with those faders, knobs, buttons and the touch display…rather than hearing a church organ or a EP.
Great FM hybrid, seems like Yamaha needed some rave sounds for those above…
needs rcm and a sequencer, then it can compete with the sy77 and sy99 range from 25 years ago 😉
seriously this is nice, but wow that’s some money, i’ll be sticking to oldschool budget yamaha gear for my fm needs, if money was unlimited i’d definitely want to pick one up though, much love for fm and awm
Yamaha should bring this synth also as an iPad app. A lot of musicians might be interested in 8-OP FM! The new iPads have more than enough computing power. Combined with a good master keyboard it could be much more versatile, more flexible and selling like hell!
They could sell the super knob as a gimmicky bluetooth accessory. Man, I should have started a career in marketing 😀
Well, its a beauty.
sounds ghastly like every horrible vst rolled into one for £2500!
its a big fat NO from me OB 6 ****S on this from a great height