The price is for the awesome quality and new design work and for Yamaha to stay in business which I fully support. We don't get a full version of Cubase and have to go buy our own which is bad if you need it. 🙁 Yes, it's old sound production technology minus the sampler and the real sequencer repackaged in a nice shiny container. I enjoy my Montage but no it's not revolutionary but then I probably don't know how to use most of what it can do. It does sound better than anything else I've heard. Part of what it isn't is due to what it has become which is a stage performer with lots of motion production. I still grind my teeth not wanting to connect it to a computer but I know it's much better for work flow. I might even buy a second Montage since I have an 8 but prefer the synth style keys. As for the artificial analog AN production, I have gone to the Arturia Matrixbrute which is a dream machine real deal analog. It has (4) Macro knobs and not just one BTW. Oh and what it should be capable of at this price point is 16 parts under keyboard control. Plus the very limited SSS that only works under a very specific condition is rather disappointing. Montage ES is in the works I'm sure and like you mentioned the flash capacity is pretty minimal. They had a budget and this is what we've got.

I also though about "Montage ES", we`ll see if and when such an instrument will come out. If its true what you can read on some websites, namely that the new generation of tone generators (SWP70) used in Montage and other new Yamaha keyboards are -in principle- capable of handling much more flash memory than currently built-in, and have also computational resources left, it could happen sooner than expected. On the other hand I would see this as a bit unfair to the customers who just spent 4K on a Montage, to find out that in order to upgrade their wave memory and obtain a VA etc., they have to buy a whole new instrument. Yes, it might have been like this in the past, but today the competition is (e.g.) Native Komplete which costs about 500 EUR (or USD). And yes, for this you need a laptop, but you need that for Montage, too. So bottom line is, if I am willing to pay 4K for an instrument like Montage, I would expect that I receive a top-notch package with the latest technology and some sort of future expandability. 4GB Flash Memory, non-expandable, does not live up to this expectation in my view.

I'm sure some synth. want-to-know tech person has ventured under the hood of the Montage. I wonder if any expansion is possible. Usually someone figures out a way to double the memory size but that's been user expandable memory in the past.

Whether or not if there will be on short term. a new successor for the Yamaha Montage series ?? ok we must pay big price, not only for the amazing sound engine's and almost unlimited high quality sound effects processor engine and mix his options, we pay ofcourse also for the very good quality and professional keys - faders - knobs - which guarantee years user pleasure. !!. to cite as an example even after more then 10 years my Motif ES and XS user pleasure, not once and never a defect - no crack on knobs and faders keys screen sounds ore what ever on any of these boards. For example i also buyed a new Korg Krome and after a Korg Kronos these boards are also in the same prise catagory, First the quality of the keys is way lower , and after 6 monts the knobs and fader feels totaly miss used and cracks all ready . So now with the new Yamaha Montage all user parts feels awesome. the montage 8 in particula, the 88 high qualty keys feels realy amazing .and in addition, we regularly see and get for free new firmware updates. so Yamaha does a great job on quality on all the instruments , !! and it is well worth the price. !!. So thanks and compliments on the Yamaha synthesizer instruments designers ....!! 🙂 😉 🙂
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I'll tell you why I bought my Montage.

I owned a Native Instruments S88 and laptop. I hated it. Because it was not user friendly, excuse me, dummy friendly. Because it wasn't fast, I had to wait precious seconds for a song scene to load. Because I had to scroll and click a frigging mouse to change anything. That is extremely difficult at 130bpm with the left hand keeping the rhythm.

I realized all that the S88 was not for me. So, I bought a used XS-8. It was much better than the S88 for my needs, but still, very much lacking. I did not like the fact that I had 8 sliders but I couldn't control 8 parts simultaneously. I didn't like the fact that it didn't have SSS. That's a deal breaker when you're leading praise and worship.

Then one day, I stumbled into GC and onto a Montage 8. I instantly fell in love. I bought one shortly thereafter. It addressed every thing that I needed. Does it do everything I want? No. Does it do everything I need? That, and a bag of chips. I almost feel like the Montage was made for me.

I only have experience with the boards I just mentioned. I'm not learned on all of the different brands. But, I don't need to be..... I have Montage.

I think people are looking for more features for their money, for example the Kronos with it's 9 engines and sequencer offer more "value". That said, I just sold my Kronos 2 for the Montage 8. 😀

It is not my kind of discussion to contemplate about others strategies.

Having said that,being an old-school live keyboard player (that is the 88 black and whites) I have had them all. Starting from a modified stand-up acoustic piano, via rhodes,hohner, moog, etc. up to the 15.000 euro Yamaha CVP grand piano (just a modified Tyros with a great sound). So the price-tag is in the eye of the beholder. I would have gladly spent another 1.000 euro on top of the 4K for some extras.

When performing I just want not to be limited by my gear. That is where Montage kicks in. It does pretty much what I require, having just two hands and a foot. Sure, the programming is a bit tedious, but once done, the beast takes over all worries on stage. Just a single click on a live-set-button and all of my equipment (another additional 5K) is handled by Montage. All I have to do is to focus on my playing. It's like flying an airplane. Create you flight plan, collect weather information, calculate needed length of the strip and you're ready to take off. The sky is the limit. Why would you settle for a cheaper bike?

And regarding all the tweaking and twisting knobs, Cubase, sequencers, and other artificial sounds while on stage. Don't think that anyone cares. They want a groovy beat, a good show, and not a DJ with a headphone on his shoulder. Those nuances won't be correctly amplified over the PA, and are a waste of time. Just the Super knob / FC7 is capable of doing everything the audience longs for.

In conclusion: do not compare a studio computer setting to a live machine. Sure, there are improvements and expansions you can think of. But to me the Montage is in my opinion the best live machine available in 2017.

If you, the player, can earn an income - either primary or supplemental - by using Montage, then Montage is a commercial success. I'm going to leave the business and board-room stuff up to Yamaha corporate. It's just not my gig to look at market share, profit margins, option attach rates, warranty cost (for margin derating), portfolio cannibalism, supply chain/channel, etc.

In the here and now match your needs with features and cast your vote with cash or save up for the next best thing.

The issue regarding the strategy of whether the Montage is a commercial success or not is I believe very relevant to current owners because an unsuccessful product could possibly indicate issues with the design / work flow of the equipment or even that it has failed to address consumer wants. We as the consumer/owner are very aware of just how much the Montage suits our needs and this is a forum which we can air our concerns and seek help.

Although a rather small sample size what I am reading is that the Montage is very useful for live performance which ironically is typically not a studio setting. In fact much of the initial outcry from the early adopters and previous Yamaha Motif community was the removal of several on board recording and editing functions. These said functions had been frustratingly moved pretty much exclusively to the computer domain. It was as if the folk at Yamaha were trying to solidify and confirm the Montage as being an integral part of an individual’s studio set-up.

One huge problem for this studio integration vision was is that programming the Montage is not for the faint hearted. It is not as intuitive as say a VST (familiar with most producers) which I think is a criminally missed opportunity considering the Synth was released in 2016 and not 2010. I mean despite Yamaha marketing the instrument as having really great studio integration and novel sound design techniques , they have actually not released a video that shows the inexperienced /average users how to program timbres that take advantage of the Montage processing power or unique combination of sound engines. That surely does not make much long-term sense when you want to attract buyers to your product. One such theory for this lack of product exploration speculates that a Yamaha produced sound design video would highlight the cumbersome nature of programing sounds on the Montage in comparison to say modern VST – which would potential deter potential buyers. I would love to hear from Yamaha as to why they have not released any sound design videos ?

Today the quality of sample based libraries are amazing for example the new Keyscape piano library from Spectrasonic (if you have a powerful enough PC) makes those from Korg and Yamaha sound inferior. As the technology evolves and musicians feel more confident about doing live shows armed with a keyboard controller and laptop hosing their sample libraries, what need will there be for boards like the Montage or Kronos ? Not much. Here I would argue that the folk at Yamaha have tried to release a product that attracts the studio user and the live artists however they have failed miserably at studio integration and I only have to reference the Montage Connect that was introduced several months after the synths release bringing some vital and standard functionality (such as saving patches directly in a project etc.) to an alleged flagship product for the studio. So I think it is right that we discuss the implications of poor commercial success because currently the people launching the Montage are not addressing the obvious changes that could translate to a better customer user experience and potentially increased sales.
Currently I have felt the need to purchase Keyscape simply for its Rhodes. The Rhodes on the Montage are not great. The Organs on the Montage are quite frankly terrible and with a greater internal SSD these short comings could have been avoided. I have felt the need to purchase another couple of VST synths because I find the AWM2 a pain to program. The Montage doesn’t have a vast arsenal of ins and outs and so it’s hardly the studio centre piece that its marketing people covert and so those who have the board who are not liver performers may feel hard done by.

These discussions hopefully filter back to folk who are tasked with picking up sales on the Montage.

1. We need tighter studio integration – Think on screen GUI similar to the most sort after current VST synths i.e. Halion 6, Omnisphere etc. I need to not have to touch the Montage if I do not want to and control everything simply by using the mouse.
2. We need tutorial videos that take us through sound design of popular timbres that are relevant to music currently in the charts. The sound design videos should be official Yamaha because you can use your own product specialists to walk us through the techniques – If implemented correctly this could make the board more attractive to younger studio owners.
3. We need an ANALOG synth engine. It does not matter if polyphony is reduced. Most synth / vst have this functionality and the Montage could attract potential customers for whom that would be attractive. I don’t think having an analog synth engine would deter consumers

Tyron wrote:

1. We need tighter studio integration – Think on screen GUI similar to the most sort after current VST synths i.e. Halion 6, Omnisphere etc. I need to not have to touch the Montage if I do not want to and control everything simply by using the mouse.
2. We need tutorial videos that take us through sound design of popular timbres that are relevant to music currently in the charts. The sound design videos should be official Yamaha because you can use your own product specialists to walk us through the techniques – If implemented correctly this could make the board more attractive to younger studio owners.
3. We need an ANALOG synth engine. It does not matter if polyphony is reduced. Most synth / vst have this functionality and the Montage could attract potential customers for whom that would be attractive. I don’t think having an analog synth engine would deter consumers

Totally Agree !

These are key points that will greatly improve the Montage's popularity (and Sales) , will make using it much more rewarding, and fun.

I should add to this list :

4. We need a Waveform Editor software to be able to produce our custom sample based Montage Patches. (Hopefully John Melas will have a Montage Editor soon !)

The Montage is most probably a stepping stone or a transitional synth. It's a learning tool for Yamaha to move in another direction. What's next will be obviously better but perhaps very different. Hopefully it won't follow too tightly the usual trend of the "ES" and "XS" and simply doubling the capacity and size of everything. Yamaha reps once said that they would never have a touch screen. The market demanded that change and so it was. Synthetic analog is never going to be what real analog is but perhaps it will find it's way into the next Montage GenX with AN1X-X. I'd like to have some FDSP processing as well.

Falk wrote:

- 4GB (physical) non-expandable Flash Memory (of which 1.75 GB are reserved for user) is too small in 2017

Do you have any idea how much 4GB of fast memory like in the Montage costs? this is not your usual PC ram.

the Montage has virtually zero boot time.

the Kronos, with its 130GB SSD takes more than 2 minutes to load, and I know, because I had one. and if you load more sounds, more the boot time!
most Kronos libraries are anything but efficient. throughout synthesizer history, it was proven that amazing sounds can be made with 512kb of ram! and when you'll hear and PLAY the Montage you'll find out that its amazingly playable, more than anything else available today (at least in my opinion it is).

I once loaded 10GB of saxophones into the Kronos. I must tell you, that the sax sounds on the Montage kills those every day.

it obviously sounds as if you don't have a first hand experience with one.

PS -
regarding midi implementation - I actually really like what Yamaha is doing and I think its a great step in the right direction. also as far as banks/presets go.

I don't think its relevant to speak about the "next" Montage in the next 4 or 5 years.

the Motif Classic was sort of a step "back" from the previous EX5. but with the Montage its different, years of R&D was put into this synth which is really stellar. we should (and for very good reasons) be very content with what it is!

oh, and just another quick note. performance based possibilities are implemented in the Montage in an absolutely fabulous way, the Super Knob is not just your average macro knob, its integrated beautifully into the entire set up.
the FM aspect of the Montage is something that needs to be heard, really next level stuff.
You may not like it, but this is not the 90s anymore, "new" synthesis methods are hardly being invented. and what we have here is a real achievement, working inside a great GUI which is better than anything from the past.

I did see several Montage 8s in the ebay sales history go for $2,275 and $2,575 something! That is seriously devaluing what I paid some $1,400 more for. I guess anyone can go nuts and just give them away but dang did someone get a stupid deal. Speaking to the quality of the M8's fit & finish and controls it is unparalleled. Yamaha makes quality gear and doesn't usually cut any corners to save a few cents here and there.

david wrote:

I did see several Montage 8s in the ebay sales history go for $2,275 and $2,575 something! That is seriously devaluing what I paid some $1,400 more for. I guess anyone can go nuts and just give them away but dang did someone get a stupid deal. Speaking to the quality of the M8's fit & finish and controls it is unparalleled. Yamaha makes quality gear and doesn't usually cut any corners to save a few cents here and there.

David,
Where did you find that good price for Montage 8, What I saw is Montage 6 and they're all used not brand new with that price, But if you are lucky you can get 16% off from the Original price for Montage from some of online stores.