It appears that Roland decided to use Yamaha's new roadmap strategy of keeping customers happy & costs down by extending the hardware life

I thought Yamaha was emulating Korg with this approach... 😀

I liked hardware units over software and DAW all the time but I’m afraid we will not see more hardware units ( epecially workstations like Kronos and Fantom) maybe in next ten years. Companies are now more conservative on creating new hardwares as they come with software updates. if you you have used new apple m1 silicon chip you can believe in me. The new chips has extremely strong near zero latency , very very low power consumption and very strong CPU power. For example you can play up to 20 layers of keyscape piano without any corruption. Moreover without power supply, I can study on heavy intense Logic project over 10 hours. Performance synths like montage and modx maybe survive over time but workstations like Kronos and fantom will be on the dusty shelf of history.

Hey, hey...leave my Fantom alone, please.

And well out and far from any disappearing chances.

Montage and Fantom are onboard that unsinkable ship...

Also, my keyboard is not the place where dust go to die, and yours?

@tolga The Kronos' lifetime steamrolls your argument.

Still selling a few units because it's a fully blown workstation (10+ years later!!!) is proving that idea wrong, as is the quality of the hardware. And they can now rest on it while they figure out if there's ever again going to be a touring musicians world to target, or if it's all at home and studio from now on, while they churn out ever more interesting mini synths...

btw, it's using an Atom CPU that was old and crap and underpowered at the time of release...

Folks joke about the little Raspberry-Pie like CPUs in the latest Korg WaveState, WaveMod and their FM thingy... wait until they bring out a master keyboard and workstation with all these engines in them... probably with just chained up small CPUs, meaning unique polyphony for each engine, and efficient production and servicing, and the ability to do modular firmware updates of each engine independent for the others.

The Fantom is defeating your argument, and the insane ease of use it offers for production endeavours, and seemingly endless expandability with the massively deep and wide integration of the ZenCore engine, which also spreads across many devices and formats of the Roland range, feeding back and up and around.

The Akai MPC range defeats your argument, which has just received a massive update, for a range that starts out barely cheaper than a good workstation, and more costly than a Mac Mini with a screen and DAW.

Have you seen the second hand price of Elektron gear? They're defeating your argument, too.

The M1 Chip, itself, defeats your argument, in a round about way, as it's proof that cheap, modern mobile processors not hampered by legacy operating systems and compatibility requirements can be immensely powerful, even without a fan, even running on a battery in a slim screen sized device!

Yamaha has missed a trick by somewhat under-powering the Montage, and taking a gamble on not needing to make a workstation grade marquee product, wherein they thought they could get away with a rather crap touchscreen in the era of the iPad. Might have been true if they came out with a killer iPad companion app. They didn't.

And Cubasis isn't nearly it.

Shame, really, as there's an ideal space to the right of the buttons on the Montage 8 (and MODX 7 & 8) to rest an iPad.

Fortunately, for Yamaha, the MODX has been selling well, and is priced right for what it is, an incredible value instrument.

All they really need do is make a companion DAW that's fun to use on an iPad and has great patch editing for the Montage and MODX (because that's NOT fun on the resistance touch screen with that Yamaha "OS"), and add a step sequencer tailored to the extraordinary powers of the Yamaha arpeggiator, so it's not a complete pain to make dynamic, creative user arpeggios for the most powerful arpeggiator in a hardware device, and they'll have made a legend that can live on until well after the release of the next Korg benchmark synth workstation... buying them time to think, too...

It appears that Roland decided to use Yamaha's new roadmap strategy of keeping customers happy & costs down by extending the hardware life

I thought Yamaha was emulating Korg with this approach... 😀

To a certain extent you are right, in terms of extending the life of the hardware (although the Kronos has had several variations in hardware over the past 10 years) ... I don't think the Kronos is getting new features & enhancements at the rate that the Montage/MODX are getting them. Now Roland are taking a page from Yamaha's roadmap and releasing new features, enhancements & engines at a much faster rate than Yamaha is. So it will be very interesting to see what Yamaha might have in their back pocket as a response to Roland! 😉

However, while I eat my popcorn & enjoy the show (& any possible benefits that may come from it), I will also remain fully satisfied with my Montage & continue to enjoy it... 🙂

@Andrew
Folks joke about the little Raspberry-Pie like CPUs in the latest Korg WaveState, WaveMod and their FM thingy... wait until they bring out a master keyboard and workstation with all these engines in them... probably with just chained up small CPUs, meaning unique polyphony for each engine, and efficient production and servicing, and the ability to do modular firmware updates of each engine independent for the others.

I'm sure Korg have something big up their sleeve as well that will replace the Kronos, maintain all the current engines & functionality, as well as add new ones. And it will likely be far more powerful in terms of CPUs, but they will also have to weigh the cost of CPUs, so while the polyphony will likely be far greater, realistically I can't see them giving each engine it's own CPU (plus they may add additional engines with a new hardware model).

Korg could name their next new workstation/synth the 'Kong' and if they were smart enough to release a light version of it at half the weight & cost in order to compete with the MODX, they could call it the 'KongyX' or 'DonkeyKong' :p

Yamaha has missed a trick ... and taking a gamble on not needing to make a workstation grade marquee product, wherein they thought they could get away with a rather crap touchscreen in the era of the iPad. Might have been true if they came out with a killer iPad companion app. They didn't.

All they really need do is make a companion DAW that's fun to use on an iPad and has great patch editing for the Montage and MODX (because that's NOT fun on the resistance touch screen with that Yamaha "OS"), and add a step sequencer tailored to the extraordinary powers of the Yamaha arpeggiator, so it's not a complete pain to make dynamic, creative user arpeggios for the most powerful arpeggiator in a hardware device, and they'll have made a legend that can live on until well after the release of the next Korg benchmark synth workstation...

That seems like a great idea to be added to IdeaScale, if it hasn't already: https://yamahasynth.ideascale.com
Create a Montage/MODX Companion App for iPad

Also, I am a bit surprised that I don't see many new ideascale ideas requesting a Step Sequencer. I'm sure that idea is already up there from a year or two ago, but maybe there are enough people who would still see it as a make or break feature!?
I would never use it myself, as I don't use the current new sequencer either since my workflow is 100% DAW and all my sequencing, ARPs, etc. are via Pro Tools; However seeing what the Roland are currently doing with adding new Engines at a crazy pace, it might be wise for Yamaha to flip the script & get people who may have once said 'no' to the Montage (or MODX) because it didn't have a Step Sequencer, to change their minds, by adding a Step Sequencer!?

But first things first, I think a new VA engine is most likely what we'll see in the next update. Although, at this point, I wouldn't put anything past Yamaha, as 4.0 may be their greatest feature/enhancement filled update yet, and they may come through with far more than anyone would have guessed...

But first things first, I think a new VA engine is most likely what we'll see in the next update. Although, at this point, I wouldn't put anything past Yamaha, as 4.0 may be their greatest feature/enhancement filled update yet, and they may come through with far more than anyone would have guessed...

Would love this to be true, but I don't think there's enough horsepower in the Montage to do VA and incorporate it with the filters, envelopes, effects and motion control. I think this horsepower limitation is also the reason for the relatively simplistically shaped ADSR envelopes... far less computationally expensive than curved and customisable ADSR envelopes... two things that are super useful with VA, too.

From my limited Assembly and C knowledge, and even lesser DSP knowledge, everything I see in the Montage/MODX is designed to be as efficient as possible on the CPU, and the differences in polyphony and effects between the Montage to MODX map closely to the lesser powered chipset's reduction in hp. So they might well be close to what's possible.

As to them making an iPad app... if they didn't start making it 3 year ago, it's not going to make it into the world in the lifetime of these products. Look at SoundMondo, and that's a relatively simple web app posing as an app... they don't have the software skills. Nor, seemingly, the ability to outsource successfully (see this website and forum and the ever failing links and logins).