Montage is a performance based instrument with a great canvas of sounds built in.

I'd be sorely disappointed if Yamaha go back on their design decisions in this regard to do a rack.

a rack version removes all control, which is essential for something like the Montage
if I were a decision maker I would say no go.

Rack control depends on implementation.

There can be as little or as many knobs and buttons on a rack system as you want. But having less is no problem, you just need to pair the rack with a capable MIDI controller which has enough knobs and buttons and sliders and joysticks/etc to map to what the rack offers.

Some folks would rather maybe spend a bundle on a MIDI controller with a nice keybed and vast array of controls - then switch out rack units as new synth technology comes along without having to change the control surface beyond a sensible mapping they assign for the new hardware.

For me, I thought about this route but like the keyboard and synth tone generator together - and just change less frequently.

I do not really agree that rack means loss of controls. The strategy to rack or not will ultimately become a marketing decision.

Eyal wrote:

a rack version removes all control, which is essential for something like the Montage
if I were a decision maker I would say no go.

How does it remove all control to put Montage in a rack? Super Knob on the front panel. Foot switch connector on the back panel. Probem solved. I would love to see Yamaha make a rack version of Montage.

My Wife is already jealous of the time I spend with the Montage, I can just imagine if I was talking about how Sweet the Montage Racks were..... 😀