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It's almost that time. Yamaha has a few place holders for synth offerings. Some think it's the new PSRs (2) that were recently introduced. I saw "YC Mk2" as a thing at some point although seemingly just based on speculation. If the YC needed a refresh due to component EOL then it seems CP would need to follow suit. Then you have speculation or wishing of a dedicated AN synth. I guess reface is up for a refresh. We'll know soon enough.
Perhaps more interesting is what the rest of the industry has coming. Competitive products from Roland, Korg, Nord, etc ... may have some interest.
I do see the new PSRs have USB C connectors. So this is a good sign for future synth connectivity/speed and perhaps even power. Although legacy USB over USB C is a thing and I haven't dug into how this C connector is implemented on the PSRs.
Current Yamaha Synthesizers: Montage Classic 7, Motif XF6, S90XS, MO6, EX5R
Posted : 19/01/2026 6:45 pm
Yeah, I’m also thinking about some new refaces. Then again, not everybody was wild about the mini keys. And which synth will they “reface” then? I’m thinking/hoping in the direction of virtual acoustic (VL/VP). They have been covering those old synths repeatedly in their online content for the last year or so.
Also, I wouldn’t be surprised by a new high end master controller keyboard in line with the KX88. Their YC/CP88 keybeds have proven theirselves by now and with all the audio over USB possibilities this might make for an interesting competition with Studiologic and Korg and such.
Nice topic! We will know tomorrow!
Posted : 21/01/2026 9:51 pm
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Just saw a post this morning of the Yamaha booth at NAMM where Blake said "nothing new for synthesizers".
They featured the new firmware and ESP for MODX, Seqtrak new capabilities, CK new firmware.
The new PSRs were later shown and some new content releases. There was a new controller keyboard mentioned.
So ...
Current Yamaha Synthesizers: Montage Classic 7, Motif XF6, S90XS, MO6, EX5R
Posted : 22/01/2026 6:27 pm
Topic starter
... And yes, refreshing the "coming soon" NAMM new synth page shows the PSR-E483 and PSR-E583 as the hidden "coming soon" which was predictable because the coming soon icons redirected you before to the product page where these keyboards were already listed.
Current Yamaha Synthesizers: Montage Classic 7, Motif XF6, S90XS, MO6, EX5R
Posted : 22/01/2026 6:34 pm
Topic starter
Not sure I'm very excited about the ASM synth except it seems to be a reasonable controller if the price was right. That seems to be one of the main synths with folks pushing it. Other stuff was out there too. The Kurzweil SP8 is the successor to the SP7 with 11 less MIDI zones now versus the SP7. Kurzweil to me had always been the killer controllers since most anything you grab from them has 16 zones. Guess they're letting computers do that now or just backing off that marketing bullet. Roland's Zenology GX for iPad is kind of Roland's competitor to ESP since it's a portable software version of the engine in their flagship synth. I've wished ESP would go mobile since I already carry a tablet to every gig. Not sure if I'm motivated to buy into the Roland thing. Due to hitting a bug early with Fantom (pre-EX) - I kind of just stuck with Yamaha for gigs. There's other (keyboard/synth) stuff out there. The MIDI organization had the usual packed schedule. I didn't see anything Yamaha with a big focus. Most interesting news to me is the announcement that Microsoft Windows is going to roll out MIDI 2.0 to the public within weeks of the close of NAMM. So with that there will be native support across the board of major operating systems (the ones that companies steer you to). And then we wait for everything to start working together with whatever improvements the industry elects to put in the box.
Superbooth is in May. We'll see what happens.
Current Yamaha Synthesizers: Montage Classic 7, Motif XF6, S90XS, MO6, EX5R
Posted : 31/01/2026 1:25 pm
