Tech Talk: MONTAGE M Introduction 

Not only that. The effect section should enhance for complete vocal processing, a more sophisticated vocoder with different band counts and more control over the carrier source. And vocal harmony of course. The user interface should be completely renewed, not only in parts. The fiddly handling of arppegio patterns should definitely improved. Keyboard control for all 16 parts without MIDI routing tricks. And there're still a lot more to make it the perfect and complete workstation synth.

If you own a MONTAGE you’ll find the ‘classic’ Arpeggio Types by using Arpeggio Category Search (purple) MainCategory = SynCp, SubCategory = General, starting with Arp Number #5972 “MA_Up Oct1”… you’ll find ‘Up Oct2’, ‘Up Oct3’, ‘Up Oct4’, Down, Up/Down, etc., etc., etc. In the new MONTAGE M __MainCategory = SynCp, SubCategory = General, starting at #6467…

I appreciate the reply, Phil. I recall many of your posts on the Yamaha Synth forum trying to navigate frustrated users through the complexities of the original Montage. It has to be challenging to communicate so many design technicalities, workarounds and limitations. While I applaud the new MIDI channel liberation and straightforward implementation as a (potential) master controller on the new series, the blatant lack of a simple arp menu will continue to be the dead horse I beat. It’s what truly keeps it from being a master controller (for me). I’m aware of the endless catalogue of arp numbers, but there is nothing fast nor convenient about them. Nor are they flexible in any way for real time performances. Is there a note order arp I’m unaware of that will play the notes in the order I play them? Say I play a Cmaj7 starting with G then to C, B, E and then switch the order to E first, etc. Note Order is available on almost all basic synth arps. And how about time divisions? Can I change the arpeggio on the fly from 1/16th to 1/4T or 1/32nd synced to tempo? If so, that would be fantastic, but given I’ve had the Montage 6 since it was released in 2016, I’ve never been able to find or conjure such settings. If a simple to use menu isn’t front and center as a starting place for arps on this new M series, it should definitely be implemented in a firmware update. I’ll take the basic arp patterns I can change on the fly with the twist of a knob or push of a button any day over the whopping 11k convoluted patterns. Who wants to audition thousands of generic arps to figure out if they’ll work? Not me. The classic arps (especially note order and random) can be played and manipulated real time to come up with very satisfying uniquely played phrases in the moment. If it’s a matter of tediously programming a preset with all these said simple arps available at the touch of a button and it can be done with a bit of elbow grease, perhaps that could be a preset you all put together for a future firmware update? It’d still be a far cry from the dedicated menu that should’ve been there from the outset. The only real solution I can see for such a possibility with Montage is to add a MIDI controller with these basic arp features to the USB port. But then, it still wouldn’t allow for the Montage to assign such basic patterns to external gear as a master controller, would it? But more so, additional hardware to perform these simplicities for such a high end piece of gear is a real shame. Again, I appreciate your reply in this matter. I’m simply venting seven years of frustration and now renewed shock that this was still overlooked by all the Yamaha technocrats when engineering their latest and greatest feat of ingenuity. I can honestly say if this is eventually rectified, I will definitely be picking one up. Until then, it’s a hard pass for me.

Brava!

It is there, just in a second part. You would have to use part 1 for the 8 bars and part 2 for the final bar. The performances I’ve seen also do not reverse the faders like drawbars on the second part which means you raise the fader to turn it up as opposed to lowering the fader from part 1….

They are already in the UK now. Played it today!! Excellent board !

Very wait for MODX+ update with AN-X.

Or a standalone (reasonably priced)unit for us poor modx users without enough memory

@@paulmutter8301 Something like Reface CS desktop ver.

Would be great if they are to update the MODX with the ANx engine to do that for the whole line, not only for the plus version, but for the original and regular one as well.

@@victoratanasov6390 I think its possible for MODX and MODX+. Just need 16 notes of polyphony for AN-X (reduce FM-X polyphony).

How will that change the sound? I don’t see how wooden keys is necessary as long as the action is decent, and it would also add unnecessary weight.

really??? wooden keys. are you just making up stuff to complain about? some people are never satisfied.

each performance has a built in sequencer - create a performance with instruments of choice and record

@@herunderwear what other issues does this board have?

Maybe in a coming firmware update. We should not forget that they developed this new line of Montage with the vision of upgrading it over time, just like they did with the original Montage and Modx series. And I think a lot of people will be buying this board, to me it seems a big upgrade from the original Montage series.

​@@luucdentoom6955 You sound hopeful.. ive mentionned that i had already sent this report to the japanese staff by email & they denied it, it wouldn't have taken them so much to even insert the programing code of the event editor of motif into the montage M's rom. the way people play will produce displaced notes that a score editor will never put on the right place or guess in the place of where exactly humans wanted specific notes to be. without proper scores, plagiats occur, you can't rely on music only in terms of juridiction. & people in a musical osmosis can't amuse themselves going to their computer to verify all midi controls without human memory issues, a computer is not a music instrument in appearance either, u loose the feel of musicality & when people are in a racks system, moving a chair to another desk to go play with a computer is tiring over time. Also copy / insert is missing & number of times for merging, transpositing, changing velocity.. I'm sceptical about the montage staff adding this missing midi controls into the board. big upgrade or not, it remains a sound bank without control over all actions: "midi records edition"....... If they neglected these sequencer missing reports since YEARS, don't expect it in another upgrade since the first montage. & i won't play the card of moving my ass from my chair to go see how it looks on a computer, but wait for a major new keyboard from Korg.

@@herunderwear I get the point, but at the same time I’ve never seen a producer or orchestrator here on RU-vid who had to move his chair from his keyboard to his computer. These people tend to have desks with all their gear in one place as much as possible.

@luucdentoom6955 See, you don't give a toss about a possible update either. Why not stripping buttons from a synthesizer next time & telling ppl there are computers for that... . & you think the laptop should be over the synthesizer ? or under ? it's either on their left or right, they still have a chair motion, if i wanted to do music on a laptop, i'd toss all my racks to the trassh can. i already have an ipad for the biggest softwares/plugins/vst hoster in the world "seelake as-overview" i don't need to use a computer or ipad where to trash what every gear can't support because of stupîd companies downgrades. if yamaha doesn't want a full control over midi data on their keyboards, like i said, i'll be more than happy to wait for a futurist korg workstation, cuz they dont seem to disregard clients at Korg. Since centuries, synthesizers arrived with a rec button, which was called sequencer & evolved over time, & i'm not gonna go play with a computer & loose the feeling of musicality because yamaha decided that a specific part of the os should be tossed. It's like selling shoes without laces & having the seller telling you "can't you find shoe laces in the actual market or afford it ?". I don't use computers for music, besides my ipad & won't play their game.

@@herunderwear some people have an area with a desk with a computer on it. sorry if you dont' . go buy a roland fantom or fantom o. fantom o can do it for half the price as the Montage M. If not don't buy a Yamaha, buy something else.

these are marketed to all styles. not specifically to gospel.