Montage for live performers!

We all view the world from our own perspective. It is interesting you feel that the keyboard was some how designed for you, or with you in mind. But you are here seeking, perhaps, what no one can give you, but you: A reason to buy the instrument. We can only help by correcting some incorrect conclusions you seemed to have drawn. The Montage is an instrument. Don't let the bells and whistles confuse the central point.

First, the Montage is a synthesizer. Most will play it, some will record with it, some will not. In your view everyone will record with it. Fine. A large portion of the intended customers are going to be recording with it. In your view everyone will be using a DAW to record with it. Fine, again, I think it's true that large portion of those recording with it will be using a DAW. (but even within that group will be a wide array of workflows).

The workflow to do all of this seems to be primary in your thought process. This is natural. Moving data from the Montage to the recorder you take as a "work-in-progress", but it could be a finished composition. See, right there, you have a branch of customers that perhaps you are not considering. For you, moving data to the computer is a single link, the first, in a chain of events that includes doing more work in the computer. You probably find working and editing in the computer a very natural thing - you spend the majority of your time, face in the DAW. (I speak to as many that do find this natural, as don't - some find it natural, others find it tedious). Allow for this.

And the step of moving the data back to Montage, is only necessary for those who want to take the instrument and the finished production with them (say, to a gig). Again, some will never do this. Allow for this.

There are many directions for you, as a user, to go. And all I'm trying to do is make you realize that Montage is no more about making a particular type of music as it is about a single workflow. And the fact that you can state "most of modern EDM, Dance, Dubstep... music" is made a certain way, is all the more reason for a hardware product to upset that cart. We're hopeful that those who want to blaze their own trails get Montage. No matter what type of music.

It's a unique combination of tools designed to appeal not just to the 'typical' modern music producer, but to those of them that are particularly and principally keyboard players. Much of what is compelling about Montage is not about using the "Preset" arp content, but about interconnecting the Montage engine with whatever you dream up to link it to. If you are or are even considering buying it based on the preset arp content, you are looking at it like you look at software packages with content and nothing more. That's one view, I'm not at all sure how many of the target audience is doing only that. If that's all you look at, if that is all you see, indeed, why buy Montage?

It's a playable keyboard, one that allows the performer new ways to interact with the sounds they are performing. I think the trend in the preset content, used by some as backing accompaniment, simply has been expanded to include more "modern" music genres. This does not necessarily mean the same thing to every potential customer. The music genres that are popular at the time a synth comes to market often influence the products as much as the products, in return, cause changes in the music genres that adopt them.

Some will do very traditional things with this content. Some will do very non-traditional things with this. How and what you do is a decision you have to make. But recognize that some will not use the record capability at all.

If I have to work completely in my DAW to produce modern electronic music, why should I buy the Montage for 3000 – 4000 €?

That's a question based on partial information. Until you actually sit and create inside the box (this time meaning inside Montage) can you know what the DAW is even going to be required to do. You may find it greatly reduced.

Example, I find, in the six months that I've had Montage, that I find myself recording more audio. Less and less fiddling with MIDI. Oh, it was a big curiosity in the beginning to look at what was happening, but performing (actually playing) became the key again. I find the DAW becomes more of a tape recorder than an editing tool. More so than in the past. Less of a central thing rather than more. I know that sounds strange to you. Your mileage will vary. But I find that time spent programming a sound to perform properly happily INCREASED; what DECREASED proportionally was the time spent fiddling/editing with the recorded data after-the-fact.

I find myself recording MIDI only as a level of "undo" (as a safety) and playing, once again, has become central. So I'll do-it-over, rather than edit Midi data, record direct to audio. Use the DAWs audio handling capabilities far more than editing MIDI. But I'm not making a point that everyone or anyone needs work the way I've found convenient for me. The point I want to make is: to each their own.

The Performance Recorder is designed to capture every nuance of the players interaction with the synth. This is, in many cases, easier to do onboard. You just press record and play. If you are a user that wants to fiddle with the MIDI, or add more stuff, drag and drop into your DAW and go...

Once you've programmed the Performance you're going to play, capturing it is what the main purpose of the on board record function.
It has 16 tracks for those who wish to playback full compositions using the engine as tone generator.

It's a synth! Programming it is now an activity that is more to the front.

Bottom line here: We don't want every customers, only those who can hear the difference. Take your time. Content is a bell/whistle, don't buy it just for the content of the arps.... Buy it because it is a compelling instrument to *play*.

Im an new user with the name John! It seems, that here it is possible that more than one user can have the same name? 🙂

And we'll have to let each one of them decide for themselves exactly how Montage will work for them! 🙂

Hope that helps.

I was skeptical at first but I am finding that I think my workflow is on the path of being similar to Bad Mister. For example he states, "I find the DAW becomes more of a tape recorder than an editing tool". . . This paralleled my thinking exactly. My only problem is I don't know how to hook it up to the daw yet hahaha. But in terms of the Montage, the sounds are pretty crazy, so I am finding that I will probably be creating and editing on the montage and mainly use the DAW for recording tracks and sequencing. It just seems that I can shape the sounds enough and to my liking on the Montage solely. Just thought I would chime in from a "new user to a DAW's" perspective.

First, thank you very much Bad Mister for your great explanation! You are right, since a long time the DAW is my main tool for everything, midi, audio, sounddesign with VSTs and mix and mastering, too. I can produce songs completely only with software and my masterkeyboard with many knobs and pads. But I'm looking to the Montage because I'm searching for the magic there, which could enhance my workflow with things I can't do easy in my DAW. And I only want one big hardware machine for that job because I already have many good VST Synthesizers and I don't want start to collect hardware machines again like in the past. So one of Montage magic seems to be the FM-x Engine but I'm still searching for more magic. 🙂

I don't know what magic you are looking for but this keyboard is amazing. After setting up the Montage in my studio I did the usual thing of playing around with presets and was blown away. I recorded me playing around with this one: https://soundcloud.com/user-772639405/montage-first-go it's literally me just holding down middle C and playing around with the Super-knob and scenes. I can do the same thing with Ableton and the APC40 but it takes a lot of effort.

The hands on control and sound morphing capabilities of the Montage are astounding and that's just the top level. When you start getting into part design and realising just how deep the rabbit hole goes your head will pop.

Hm, I'm really sorry, but for me your example doesn't show synthesizer magic? And it's not Abletons fault, when it takes a lot of effort for you, to create the same there? Every DAW has the possibility to create basic user templates with all knobs, VSTs and tools prepared. So you have to do this only once and then you have endless Superknobs and VST Synths, drumkits and samples directly on hand with only on click! To compare the Montage with a DAW like Ableton ist not really good for the Montage because it's not its job. And I'm not using Ableton because I don't like that DAW, too. 🙂

Ok, it's nice to have the prepared Superknob in the Montage if you want only use presets there for a live gig or one / some tracks in a song for example but for a professional production, you will have more work in the Montage, too, to get the sounds and arps good integrate in the rest of the song. And this work you have also to do in your DAW or in the attached Cubase DAW. So, if I have to work in my DAW I can use my prepared template with directly playable VSTs, drumkits and so on and can do the same and much more.

I think, the Montage is a very good live machine, where detail working is not as important as in a song production. And it has some nice natural sounds there, too. So I'm thinking about to buy one for that and for the FM-X engine but not really for its everywhere presented EDM and Dubstep presets, because against VST plugins like Sylenth, Dune2, Massive ... the Montage has in this area no chance for me!

John, What type of synthesizer/workstation do you work with, prior to montage? Have you tried out a korg kronos?

I worked a long time with the Korg M3 (great sequencer with piano roll!) and Trinity V3, JD990 and many hardware synths as I was a full hardware user but that was a long time ago. I tried the Korg Kronos several times and it has some great features and synthese power but sadly its DAW Integration with the editor wasn't really good for me and some other things, too. But DAW integration seems to be much better in the Montage and that's one of the reasons I'm still interestedly. So, please don't get me wrong, the Montage has some very interesting features! But I only want a new hardware machine which enhances my workflow and doesn't hinders it.

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hey John how did you get on... i bought the montage and am finding the workflow tricky. I was hoping for full automation on all parameters in a DAW if the montage coud do that it would be even more of a beast! maybe a future update??

Gary wrote:

I was hoping for full automation on all parameters in a DAW if the montage coud do that it would be even more of a beast! maybe a future update??

Gary,

I'm more than sure Montage sends out just about every midi parameter you could wish to record. The trick is to have your DAW setup to accept them. I would check and make sure you are not filtering them out..

I think there is no better other motion control direct audio wave recording performance edit mix combine Synthesizer for EDM or wat ever music styles music productions then the Yamaha Montage on the market >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6eZ5BORqvg&list=PL2SwSLjBVGA58M6TtEPYZWux2kvQYs-4y&index=1

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You have everything you need to do music on your DAW and still you thinking of Montage why is that maybe your software is not giving you inspiration any more?
I usually buy new instrument to get inspiration with that new thing new voice new workflow that is why I got Montage it fells real ,I use software synth to do music for years it just doesn't feel fun to me anymore but that is me you have to decide for yourself.