Picked Montage 8 up this afternoon, and just hooked it up using the balanced out for the moment. (I’m on a Mac, and it will take a bit of research on my part to figure out how to create an Aggregate Device so I can use the Montage built-in audio interface along with my Apogee Symphony (for monitoring).

The touch screen is phenomenal. It simply works, with instantaneous response, and easy to read, even with my ancient eyes. 🙂 It’s true what they have said that you will be using it without even realizing it.

Although the action is supposed to be the same as the XF, I like it better. It seems quieter, smoother and tighter somehow.

The dynamic range is yuge (to coin a word that Mr. Trump uses).

I find that the FC-7 pedal (used to control the Super Knob) is quite light. I play pipe organ and so am accustomed to heavier pedals, I guess. I don’t know if the pedal tension can be adjusted.

I had planned to immediately turn of the blinking function of the Super Knob, but have already realized that it does (possibly) serve a purpose. For example, playing a pad type sound and then want to bring in the drums by switching on the arp - well, the blinking is helpful with timing, and perhaps less intrusive than a click track. It’s early, but for the moment I will leave it on.

Build quality seems fine, as I would have expected from a flagship instrument from Yamaha.

I do wish that Performances were numbered, and that there was a keypad for direct access. Yes, Live Set can be used as a workaround, but I’d rather it were otherwise.

From the sounds that I’ve tried so far, I’m very impressed and pleased. This seems like an “alive” instrument to me, not static. This is really yuge for me. (There's that word, again. 🙂 )

My local store - Long and McQuade, Burlington in Ontario, Canada got in a 6 and an 8 yesterday. The kindly put a hold on the 8 for me. (The 6 is their demo floor model). So, boasting rights - I got the first one from that location! 🙂

I do plan to make lots of demos of the various performances, but it will take some time to produce those.

Congratulations to Yamaha for producing this instrument. It's going to be a fun ride getting to know it and produce music using it.