Normally I wouldn't talk in riddles - but I previously (for the CK I think) posted a pre-announce cut/paste from a more major retailer that leaked the features before the launch. The way that played out influences what I'm doing today. At least before Yamaha spills the beans.

To continue with just speculation:

If there was a multi-segment ribbon controller then I wonder if this could be used as a way to achieve (the equivalent of) one hand's poly aftertouch. That the ribbon could have multi touch and each segment would apply to different notes played that map to "top" "top-1" "top-2". This could kind of soften the blow of the keybed letdown for the Montage 7M if a multi-segment ribbon controller could work like this. How I would use a ribbon like this would be to touch say at the very right of the ribbon and this would start modulating only the top note played (or ignored on a per-Part basis like today) and if I started to roll my finger right then the parameter assigned would increase and finger left would decrease. Less resolution per segment - but I think still manageable for what I'd use it for (and for what I'd use a "better" featured keybed for). I wouldn't expect all segments to be used at one time. My left hand only has the precision to probably deal with 3 at a time but more segments (in this dream of a feature that might not exist) would be useful so I have a choice on the note(s) to target.

[quotePost id=123521]"128 element AWM2 architecture" likely means 16 parts * 8 elements per part - so we get 16 parts addressable from the keyboard. Nice upgrade![/quotePost]
I'm not in the market to trade up, but if I were, this might be one of the main specs that would entice me to consider purchasing the Montage M8x. I could use an extra 2 or 3 PARTs in some songs under KBD CTRL. I had to do some workarounds and make do with the 8 PARTs that are possible on the Montage classic. The main reason is because these songs are Medley's with sections of 3 to 5 different songs woven together (a montage of sorts :p ), and have more different instruments/sounds than a typical song does, hence the need for more than 8 PARTs... Although I hope they don't mean AWM2 PARTs only can use 16 under KBD CTRL and FM-X is still limited to only 8 PARTs..!? I guess I could just make sure the FM-X ones are in the 1-8 range so not that big a deal if so... 😉

[quotePost id=123527][quotePost id=123521]"128 element AWM2 architecture" likely means 16 parts * 8 elements per part - so we get 16 parts addressable from the keyboard. Nice upgrade![/quotePost]
I'm not in the market to trade up, but if I were, this might be one of the main specs that would entice me to consider purchasing the Montage M8x. I could use an extra 2 or 3 PARTs in some songs under KBD CTRL. I had to do some workarounds and make do with the 8 PARTs that are possible on the Montage classic. The main reason is because these songs are Medley's with sections of 3 to 5 different songs woven together (a montage of sorts :p ), and have more different instruments/sounds than a typical song does, hence the need for more than 8 PARTs... Although I hope they don't mean AWM2 PARTs only can use 16 under KBD CTRL and FM-X is still limited to only 8 PARTs..!? I guess I could just make sure the FM-X ones are in the 1-8 range so not that big a deal if so... 😉 [/quotePost]

Finally !!!!

It was one of the reasons I went Fantom; non dimmable screen also in the list...

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[quotePost id=123530]
Finally !!!!

It was one of the reasons I went Fantom; non dimmable screen also in the list...

????
????[/quotePost]
Don't get me wrong. I would buy the Montage classic again over the Fantom in a heartbeat, as I do not like the pianos nor most of the sample based sounds on the Fantom, as well as the polyphony issues, the extra costs of subscriptions for modelling based engine(s) and the not so great way to save your settings like is possible on the Montage. So for me the Montage is still a far superior synth ... Awesome sounds(especially pianos) and no polyphony issues ever!! :p 😉

Speaking of Roland a few weeks ago they had an informal live stream where "big things" we're coming. Maybe it was just the GAIA2 that has dropped since but the main focus of the stream was Fantom centric. When I looked yesterday at the Fantom firmware page to see if I missed anything I was reminded of how long the update drought for Fantom has lasted. It's the first time (since several months ago) the last update was more then a year ago. For a platform initially advertised as having more horsepower than could be fully utilized in the initial offering it seems like the features additions are at the end of the road and reports of limitations seems at odds with that horsepower claim. Of course there could just be fatal design decisions that hamper Fantom from realizing whatever the initial suggested potential was.

We'll see what Roland brings to the table in the workstation category sometime soon. Soon to me is a year or less.

I do think Yamaha sounds better for what I use and yes, I'm obviously biased. I like what may be some advancements are this gen. I'm hoping that if there's more memory this round that would mean that weaker waveforms and assembled instruments have been updated with the same care that the pianos or EPs have received. It's a tale of two cities with Montage classic due to all of the legacy sounds that haven't been updated or at least added an alternative that's better while preserving the legacy stuff.

AN-X and the integration with motion sequence will likely be more inspirational for monophonic synthesized sounds. I'm going to have to schedule a good couple hours to sit down with the new M and put it through some paces.

I wonder if WXC compression is still not supported. Mostly I've made an argument not to look backwards but having more compatibility with Motif's promotional content (and also a Motif XF library I purchased) would be useful.

Note on the AN-X polyphony. I didn't realize it, but supposedly 16 note polyphony is quite good for a virtual analog modeling synth compared to others, so I guess the 16 is much better than I knew. I also didn't realize that the VA (AN-X) technology is somewhat different than Roland's V-Piano physical modelling technology, whereby the VA stuff is more processor/tone generator intensive..!?
Where's Paul when we need him to chime in on this stuff lol..? 😉

I think Yamaha still has the same 2 x SWP70's and didn't add any additional tone generator chips, and are using one for all the AWM2 polyphony and the second for both the FM-X and AN-X polyphony..!? Just my best guess at this point...

Where's Paul when we need him to chime in on this stuff lol..?

Not a doubt in my mind Paul is polishing his chimes even as we post.

You have to remember Paul has been using Analog Chimes for quite some time now and they tarnish a lot easier as they age. Not so easy to keep them in top shape.

Or might be SWP"71"'s with slightly bumped resources due to smaller silicon geometries that become more affordable over time.

I was thinking there would be two tone generators with each tone generator having AWM2 and either FM-X in one or AN-X in another. Now there would be wave memory hanging off of both. And since this rodeo has been visited before with MODX+ they don't "need" a second tone generator just to run FM-X (for example). How SSS works this time around is something interesting to learn. It seems to relate to DSP routing which would need to be improved over the past implementations to exceed Montage Classic's SSS capabilities (and using this kind of topology). Not sure if that can be done without a bump in SWP but who knows.

If this is right and even if the SWP70 is used again, I don't think MODX would add AN-X. I think it would could maybe technically be FM-X or AN-X. And then we know the control surface of the older generation isn't tailored for AN-X where those 6 new knobs that look like an EX5 probably come into play. I just think there are too many dots missing from the last gen to connect together a favorable AN-X experience. That said - it's just a wild guess.

My dealer told me that the M6 & M7 DO have polytouch so now we have conflicting information but this makes perfect sense that they would have it. The price gap makes more sense as well.

You'll find out what the "X" means in the M8X

And when are we going to find out? Tuesday?

That web page doesn't clarify it much - are you saying it narrows it down to:

1. New GEX action keybed? (whatever that is - I can't find a mention anywhere)
2. New AN-X sound engine?
3. Xtra heavy?

Would you expect the AN-X engine (with its 16 note polyphony) to be a new 'part' type like the other engines. AWM2, FM-X and drum are all separate INITs and you don't mix them within a part.

Seems logical for AN-X to be the 4th. None of the local stores here in the U.S. have any info yet from Yamaha but the 3 I contacted all said they wouldn't expect immediate availability. They said they would expect Yamaha to:

1. make an official announcement
2. provide retailers with detailed price and retail options (discounts, etc)
3. authorize retailers to take pre-orders for future delivery
4. announce a delivery date that will be sometime in the near future.

All of them said they weren't even certain they would be able to get a store floor model right away.

[quotePost id=123534]

Where's Paul when we need him to chime in on this stuff lol..?

Not a doubt in my mind Paul is polishing his chimes even as we post.

You have to remember Paul has been using Analog Chimes for quite some time now and they tarnish a lot easier as they age. Not so easy to keep them in top shape.
[/quotePost]

My ears are ringing. 😀

Or, as Lurch would say, "You rang?" 🙂

I almost posted this AM, but it's the last nice summer-like day in The PNW. Plus, the three ring circus -- P-525, Genos2 and Montage M -- is too much. Anybody read my post about SEQTRAK? 😮

Humor aside, I'm waiting for the official specs. The leaked "specs" don't quite ring right (chimes, again) -- maybe altered a bit by the dealer?

As to actual platform hardware, I'm keeping an open mind. I just wouldn't state assumptions (SWP70 can do anything, including AN-X) as determined, verified fact. Yamaha has never disclosed the internal micro-architecture, nor should they.

If I had to guess, the engineers needed to add a heavy-weight DSP to the micro-architecture for AN-X. I believe (assume) that SWP70 AWM2/FM-X are hardware pipelines, not a reprogrammable DSP like a TMS320 or SSP3. For that matter, they could add an SWX09 (SH-2 RISC) instead of an SSP3, as they did in Stage YC.

Thus, 16 voice AN-X wouldn't surprise me.

Anyway, if somebody actually buys one of these things, please open it up, void the warranty, and take high rez pictures. [You'll be a fool to follow that advice.]

Wish everyone the best, peace -- pj

Or Montage M ups the host CPU (ARM) to multi-core and runs plug-ins under Linux. First up, AN-X,

[quotePost id=123539]Anybody read my post about SEQTRAK? 😮
[/quotePost]
I've been waiting for some time to see what comes out of that trademark and your post resonates with my own speculations.
With the new Montage M launched in October, one wonders when would the rest of the launches (Seqtrak, Genos 2) happen, if they're supposed to be this year?

Let´s imagine M is for Modifiers.

Other people call them Scripts.

Say you could add a Modifier to a Zone (sorry, Fantom user) and make it behave differently.

Like....

https://www.yamahasynth.com/forum/own-script-ai-assisted-for-montage-modx-and-reaper-daw

but instead of in a DAW, in Montage M8X.

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It's just a little confusing that the first generation "Genos V2" (as in latest firmware as V2) will have a hardware update called "Genos 2".

Kind of faked me out when I saw the version 2 videos before looking that the video release dates.