Hi All,
I bought a Yamaha MOTIF XF6, an iMAC and the Cubase 8.5 trial version.
My Aim: I want to record the audio(Tones and beats) from the MOTIF to the DAW and create a song.
Please NOTE: My iMAC does not have a FW port. Hence I think I cant be using the Yamaha FW16e firewire board.

Kindly let me know what else I need to buy to achieve my goals.

Thanks,
Heman

Hi Heman,
Welcome to YamahaSynth!

What ports does your computer have? If it has a Thunderbolt port, please the following link:
You'll need a simple Apple FW-to-Thunderbolt adapter and 6-pin to 9-pin FW cable.

An mLAN16e (Motif ES) will not work for the Motif XF.

You need either the "mLAN16e2" (updated) or an "FW16e" (current).

Hi Bad Mister.
Thanks for the response.

I have 2 Thunderports on my iMac.
Hence I need to buy
a) FW to Thunderbolt adaptor
b) 6 to 9 pin FW Cable.( Do give me a link for that so that i dont screw it up please)

Also many people have been talking about this FW16e which I guess I need to buy!
Please let me know which drivers I need to install as well.

Once all this is done, we can go over the setup on Cubase,iMac and the Motif. 🙂

Thanks.

So I found this at Walmart
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Belkin-6-FireWire-Cable-4-pin-6-pin/3756912

And also Amazon recommended me to buy this along for imacs. Please let me know if I need this.

Elago FireWire 400 to 800 Adapter (White) for Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, iMac and all other computers

The 6-pin to 9-pin cable is fairly standard and the number of pins is important.

A 6-pin jack is what you find on the FW16E
The 9-pin jack is what you find at the end of the Thunderbolt-to-FireWire adapter

So you need a cable that is 6-pin (male) to 9-pin (male)

Walmart (?) there is a 6-pin to 9-pin on that page: "StarTech.com 1394_96_6 6 ft IEEE-1394 Firewire Cable 9-6 M/M"
That's the configuration you want.

The FW Driver you need can be found at the Official Yamaha Download site:
http://download.yamaha.com

Select your country
Search by your product Model Name
When Search Results appear verify by clicking the product model name
A list of items for the Motif XF will appear...

Find the Yamaha Steinberg FW Driver that matches your computer type and current OS.

--Awesome, also what cable will be used from the MOTIF to the FW16E? Will it be provided along with the interface?

--Also if I want to use Mics either along with the MOTIF or seperately(i.e. if I want to record Vocals) is FW16E then a good choice?

--Also I hope El Capitan is favorable to all of this,

Thanks Bad Mister.

--Awesome, also what cable will be used from the MOTIF to the FW16E? Will it be provided along with the interface?

No cable is necessary. The FW16E is installed into your Motif XF. Please see your Owner's Manual page 75 for details. It is user installable. Make sure your XF is powered off and disconnected when installing the board.

--Also if I want to use Mics either along with the MOTIF or seperately(i.e. if I want to record Vocals) is FW16E then a good choice?

A single dynamic microphone can be plugged into the XF's A/D input, if you require multiple microphones use a mixer and connect the LeftRight output of the mixer to the A/D Input and set the XF to MIC/LINE = LINE.

--Also I hope El Capitan is favorable to all of this,

Yes, the El Capitan compatible driver was released 12/24/2015

Thanks Bad Mister.

There is a plastic sheet beneath the FW16E which is screwed in along with it. Do I have to remove that before installing it?

No, that is to keep the components on the bottom of the board from touching the chassis of your instrument. Please leave that in place and please read your manual before installing the FW16E. Turn Off your instrument disconnect the plug.

Hi Bad Mister.

I have installed the FW16e and also the FW connection to the PC. Could you let me know what settings I need to change on the Cubase 8.5 as well as on the MOTIF XF6!

Thanks..:)

In general you can follow this setup tutorial found in the RESOURCES area here on YamahaSynth (recognizing your version will be more recent and the screens may look slightly different)

Motif XF YAMAHA Steinberg FW Setup for Mac with Cubase