I understand your position - customer satisfaction issues are predictable when you take away features from a product. Even more so when some of the features cannot be "added back" by some other free way. Sample Robot is actually slightly more than what Motif did -- so that, to me, is an OK replacement. Having to use a computer to clean up "quick and dirty" ARPs I may record while at a practice is slightly annoying. Wish I could do limited features like set all gate times to the same thing or other "JOB" functions. This is "acceptable" (to me) -- I just have to have a brick wall between the studio and anywhere else I may find myself with the keyboard -- and plan ahead or give up "on the road" inspiration. That's just me and one opinion -- others may feel different about carrying a computer. And customer research, according to Yamaha, found that hardly anyone makes custom ARPs.

The JM tools are not necessary, I assume, to get back most functionality at a BASIC level from Motif once Sample Robot is released. I'm not sure what the limitations may be -- so time will tell once we can play with that.

That, for over a year, Yamaha didn't fill the gap by somehow coming up with a licensing agreement with JM to provide the tools for some period of time was a drag. And that these tools seem to fill some gap not available from the Yamaha-native-provided-ecosystem is a bit troubling. But soon JM tools will (hopefully) be gravy that you can add or not.

To say Montage is a glorified dedicated MIDI controller is missing the mark a bit. I understand the points made - but hyperbole doesn't necessarily serve here. Montage has a very well respected tone generator, a feature not found in dedicated MIDI controllers. The enhanced automation and control features in Montage may not have gone "all out" - as we are given our fine Wine in sips and not gallons (limited # of destinations, not all parameters available, limitations in scenes, limitations in keyboard access to PARTs 9-16, etc... etc...) -- so we sometimes want more of a good thing. But there's a half full cup here (my opinion) not half empty.

Thanks, however, on voicing what improvements could be made for your usage.

Hello Axel - horses for courses ... nothing is ever going to be what everybody wants. There will always be improvements for each person's wishes. I did wonder why you bought a Montage in the first place? You may be better off with a Genos? But for me, the Montage is the nearest thing yet to what I want - a synthesiser rather than a music machine. But I have a 'wish list' a foot long ... !

On the contrary!

The Montage is very fast for spontanenous music.. if you know how to use the arps and know the patterns that are available -- you have to really look for them - over 7000 arps.. and with combination of real-time playing plus the wonderful sound of the effects and tone generator and assignable controls -- this beast an incredible music making machine and just makes me creative! i try to make all my music in this keyboard without introducing anything else in the signal path.. my montage straight to my speakers and it sounds way better and full of dynamics than putting it through my digital mixer.. i am really really with the montage.. best purchase ever..

I follow you Axel but I have a great respect for the work that have been done in the montage but may the montage will be one of the last hardware beast . I am thinking that the big companies doesn’t not enough understand what is happening in the field of new technologies. I think that soon all hardware will be replace by sensitive screen that give a full range of espresivity that classical keyboard cannot. Small start up find great way for making new music apps on portable device like the iPad , that open new fields of musical creation . I am not sure the big brand will follow that but they looks like lost on these new fields. Otherwise I love my montage even I feel it is already from another age.

Some of You players Are Good/Great players. Some R Brainiacs. And some R. Just good musicians.
These 2 types of players. Never want the same thing in a Flagship Keyboard. Never!

Then you have Korg, Yamaha and Roland.(Roland may or may not be considered.)
All/Any of these companies. Could make near the perfect Keyboard. But They will not do it.

The Flagship keyboard market. Is Very Small. It is in no Companies interest to Make a single Keyboard. That does Everything.
Sales Would saturate/Dry-up very quickly. And There Would not be Future sales of the Flagship Keyboard.
So these Companies. Make 1/2 to 3/4 of a perfect Keyboard. So the Door stays open for Future models and Upgrades. That is just business.

Let's Take The MoXF
R You getting a Motif XF for less than a third of the Price. In a MoXF. Hell no. They Use Different Filters on the MoXF. So That it can not sound as Good as The Motif XF. Plus other things they left out. You are getting 92% to 95% of the sound quality of the Motif XF.
Yes it is purposely crippled in this manner. So you will Buy a Montage or Piano based Yamaha Keyboard. For Sound Quality.

But in a Lot of ways. The MoXF is Better than a Montage. Because. It has All the Things missing from the Montage. That were in a Motif XF.
And You Can Also Run Karma with it.
Now With using Karma, A DAW And Great Soft Synths. You Avoid the Lesser sound quality. Of the MoXF.
And That is my current setup. Plus The Montage. But I do not think. I would want to Haul this setup around Playing out.

Now Let's Take The Montage.
Yamaha Could:
1. Add a 3rd midi option. And that Would Essentially. Turn the montage into A MotifXX
But A Motif XF. Would still be better in some ways.(Long list of things.).

Unless you are a person. That Likes Doing all the Work. To put a Great Performance together on the Montage.(1/2 of us are not).
And I Have Brainiak friend. Who loves doing this work. And He will tell U. There is nothing Spontaneous about the workflow.
You may see it different. Most don't.

2. Yamaha May be able to Add back the Sequencer.(?)

3. Hardware wise. Yamaha. Can not Fix the things omitted from the Motif XF. They Would have to Come out with a New Model.
As it is now. Both Hardware wise. and Midi. Karma Can never Run. On the Montage. And That Closes A huge Door on potential buyers.

4. Yamaha Could Retrofit the. Extremely Tight Key spacing of the montage. With the XF Keybed. This would also. Open the door to more potential buyers. Not Everybody has 'Piano Hands'.(Have both key-bed options.).

And On and On.......

Love not being able to EDIT!:o

And Yes
I would have bought a Used Motif XF over the Moxf.
But I missed that by 1 day.

So even in a Technologically Advanced Era.
We Still.
Have to have Multiple Keyboards setup.
And It just boils down to. What is the Best Setup for You.

I must admit that there are still many keyboard players who, despite recognizing the superiority of Montage, throw themselves headlong into the "old" MOXF. The world is beautiful because it is varied, is not it?

In my case. I need Karma.
I sometimes produce 45 min to hour long Pieces for(Well let's just call it background music LOL).
The Montage is simply not the Tool, but I wish it was. Montage is the best And has some very wonderful innovations. But some things
Have to be done. Outside the montage box.

But Tom, I was thinking: I own Karma and I find it very functional even if sometimes - let's say - it's a bit random as a musicality.
But, seeing the Montage, despite the absence of Karma, it seems to me that the same holds many "variations" in terms of interactivity. Both for the "scenes", similar and interactive as the Karma, both for the modulations that allows the Super Knob and its faders / knobs that even in addition to mixing the sounds allows you to control a rhythm and a groove of drums. It seems excellent as a thing. There is also to say that by default the Super Knob is almost never connected to the battery, but the sense is that the possibilities are many.
Even under the "Performance - Multi" speech I'm studying, the Montage between internal and additional libraries defends itself very well.
On Oasys, to put more meat to the fire, at the level of controls we also find a Vector Joystick and 8 Pads; in this case, I must admit that the challenge becomes more intense.

I did miss sequencer on the Montage sold it so so I got Kronos then I started missing arps on the Montage so I got Montage as well ?
Moral of the story there is no perfect keyboard the best option for the keyboard players who dont like messing with DAW is Montage and Kronos costly but effective .