Workstations (I need a good one to learn piano on)
 

Guys, Ive come to realise that the next ?2000 I have lying around wont be going on a synth but needs to go on a workstation and music lessons. Ive been programming synths for 5 years and now I need to address the next hurdle......music theory (does that include composition? I hope so!) and performance. So what I need is a good professional workstation with a great onboard piano sound and realistic hammer action. I was tempted by the Roland Fantom X8 but have since gone off it......too many sucky reviews just dont instill confidence. So, now Im looking at the Motif ES8 and Triton Extreme88. Which of these two contenders would you guys most like to own. I figure since im not a pro pianist either of these boards would be good enough for me in terms of authentic sounds and feel. What do you reckon?

For some reason im drawn towards the Triton Extreme.....I dont know why....perhaps because its more widely used and I do like owning things that can be seen on TV from time to time (im shallow!). Are there any of you here who own a Triton Exteme?

Just as a side note I went to the Yamaha website to take a look at the Motif ES demo video....and I got to say its the MOST INTENSE SALES VIDEO ive ever seen :lol: . You guys should definitely check it out.....this man is intense....and heavy on those buttons....

INTENSE MOTIF ES VIDEO

Any help or opinions plz - remember.....im after a good alround workstation....with realistic action and decent piano sound to practice on

Cheers

DS

Go triton! :D The stock piano is a bit poor but overall i think its the best workstation of the two.

hey ds, I am not sure if this will help or not. Both of those keyboards are really good, but I went about learning piano a little bit differently. I bought an 88 key weighted hammer action controller - a Studio Logics SL-880 and then went out and bought a Yamaha C7 sample set for my Kontakt sampler. The sound of the C7 is stunning and I get about 80 to 100 voices on my P4 3.0ghz machine (more than enough for most if not all piano pieces). The great thing is, that the C7 and the sl880 together cost about $700.00. Just a thought.

You should reconsider the Fantom X. It has great piano sounds (and a lot of other great sounds too of course). I have a Fantom X7 and i love it (of course i can?t say if the feel is good since only the X8 has hammer action keys)...

Thx for your input. Its soul destroying......I looked up a Japanese site and Triton Extreme 88's cost the equivilent of ?975 out there. Here in UK they retail for ?1, 995. Hmmm......why does it cost a staggering ?1000 more in this rip-off country. Thx Tony Blair u bastard

DS

Triton Extreme is ok, but some of the ROM samples are weak and a bit 90'shy (weird artifical sound). This actually means that to get all joy out of Triton Extreme you'll have to use the sampler board.

Motif ES8 is great, but has crappy orcestral sounds and acoustic pianos are bit weak. Also the touch of that keyboard seems a bit spongy, so it's not a hammer-action at all.

Fantom X8 would be the best option for piano's because it has the same hammer-action keyboard and piano samples as Roland SX-series stage pianos. It also has some interesting sampling features, which makes it very good for loop-munging. I'm not sure what kind of problems there have been with X-series. I have two friends with X-series synths and they haven't had any trouble (except one, who first had a faulty unit, which he traded instantly to a new one in the store).

I'd say Fantom X(x) aswell acctually.

Or if you are low on cash; Fantom Xa/Yamaha MOx (http://yamahasynth.com/products/mo/index.html - the new Motif ES "budget" workstation)

How about Alesis Fusion ?

Ok package. Great VA-engine. Ok samplings with few pearls. A bit restricted UI. I'm not sure of the touch of the full size keyboard though. Could be the same as in QS8, which is average piano touch.

Yamaha MO8 could be a great investment, but alas the Yamaha piano sound is a bit weak - too bright and "steely".

But I would say that getting a stage piano wouldn't be a bad option either. Roland RD 300-SX is _awesome_ for its price. If you want more, with some extra you can get the RD 700-SX, which is more like a total stage workhorse easily competing with workstation solutions due its two SRX expansion slots.