For the curious, this information comes from the Yamaha Brand page for the NAMM replacement this year "Believe In Music". Under sessions are the following:

Sessions
New Yamaha Synth Product First Look
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM
New Yamaha Synth Product Integration
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM
New Yamaha Synth Product Playthrough
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM
New Yamaha Synth Product
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM

Times are in EST.

These are the only "Sessions" currently listed - so you can see focus will be on some "new synth product".

This could be new Reface products, as well as a new colour Montage &/or MODX (blue?) along with the announcement of OS updates 4.0 for the Montage and 3.0 for the MODX...

While we're speculating: I'm personally hoping to see a CS companion to the YC61 and CP88/73. 🙂

This could be lots of stuff. I haven't necessarily seen the same leaks I've tended to see this late before a major announce. Empty space can be filled with anything.

"New Yamaha Synth Product Integration" makes me wonder if this is MIDI 2.0. The "prototypes" for this were based on Motif XF and Montage. If it was a new synth or rack then MIDI 2.0 would provide a neat way to "integrate" between two or more keyboards. That may mean a firmware refresh to make the other synths in the family "talk" to the new one (using the more advanced configuration features in MIDI 2.0).

There's not a whole lot of confidence behind any of that being correct.

Integration may mean into the studio like usually we see that term used. Normal software interoperability with Cubase and the like.

"First look" seems to infer that we haven't seen it before. So only updates to Montage/MODX doesn't seem like that's what this is all about. But that's soft ground too.

It will be interesting to see what's in store. Not too long before the reveal and I guess plenty of time for a shadow/outline of the product to get pushed out still if it is new gear.

New hardware replacing Montage without a video teasing us all for at least a single week...?
Don't think so.

My guess is the update will be software based. If there was a hardware upgrade there are a lot of point for possible leaks being more 3rd parties are involved with hardware bring hardware to market. Software is internal process and a virtual NAMM makes keeping leaks under control much easier.

MY GUESS!

There's definitely a new synth coming, of some significance.

There's been a bit of a bout of "final" vids for the MODX and Montage, freeing up everyone on staff to focus on promoting the new synth.

Above the MODX but sort of 'under' the Montage, despite probably being 3/4 of its price.

Pads and some sort of Sampler type facility for them and a step sequencer that runs across the pads, and another synth engine that's more like a VA with digital oscillators that can blend.

Maybe even the FM-X engine as an oscillator for the VA-type synth.

So four sound sources. FM-X, AWM, Sampler and a sort of somehow modelled-like VA with better envelopes for more traditional amplitude control.

Expect programmable and step/sequence like motion control but not SuperKnob, just a third mod wheel or ribbon that does pretty much the same thing as the SuperKnob in terms of being a super programmable mod controller.

And a much better touchscreen.

Also a workstation-like editor available on the touchscreen, that's seemingly arbitrary in its limitations and suffers significant and irritating workflow issues. Safer to think of it as an arranger than a sequencer.

More portable than a Montage, less so than a MODX.

Plastic body like with the MODX, but a bit better quality, but same keyboards as the MODX, so it doesn't devalue the USP of the Montage.

Uses the same two CPUs as in Montage, so the upgrades and extra sound engines will probably be able to be added to the Montage, but not to the MODX.

Instead of integrating VA or other tech into Montage/MODX - could be a dedicated unit to drive up add-on sales. The CS80 was floated on ideascale by Yamaha R&D - which is a possibility. Seems like the market already has CS80 remakes out there so this wouldn't be so revolutionary in terms of what customers could get - it would maybe just be done "better". I still don't have enough clues to have any confidence in what the announce would be.

Well, it appears that the joke is on all of us...

According to Yamaha, the "New Yamaha Synth Product" is the already introduced YC73/88...

I am aware of YC's BHE and NW longer keybeds. It, the YC announce, doesn't quite resonate as something requiring all of those sessions. And doesn't seem the kind of "new" suggested. I could be wrong, of course, but do not see the YC news as the "new synthesizer product". Although, technically, these two new YC offerings do fit that description.

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My best guess is that there will be a full sized CS synth with MODX-like integration (DAW control, USB Audio+MIDI), including audio input for external processing. Hopefully related to the questions the R&D team did about a possible CS-80 inspired synth.

I personally don't think MODX/Montage or even Refaces will be replaced with newer versions, since the market for those is still going strong. Last christmas I was even considering a Reface CS, but settled on a SHS-500 as my first keytar.

But what I truly hope for is a brand new multi-color scheme for the MODX, in brand new bright colors: blue, white and green! 😀 (this is sarcasm)

So looks like I’m probably okay to start pulling the plastic off my new Montage? Yamaha “booth” info is about new features of firmware 3.5.

Not sure what would have you not pull it off. OS 3.5 was release around 6/1/2020.

I took delivery of it Wednesday of last week. I ordered it before I saw all the speculation of a new model. If they launched a successor this week it was going to get returned.