Tag Archives: Yamaha Montage M

Montage M (emulated)

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Thanks, again, to Saul at Yamaha Musicians Forum. Quoting:

Yamaha has created a software version of the Montage M. This is a 1:1 emulation with all features present.
My understanding is that the software will come free with the purchase of a new Montage M but that it will also be available as a standalone purchase.

Of course, this raises many questions about capabilities, end user licensing, distribution, pricing, yada-yada. We’ll know soon. BTW, only n00bs launch a new product on a Monday. 🙂

Back in April, Steinberg announced a “rent-to-own” partnership with Splice. Could the new partnership bring the emulated Montage into fruition?

Will the emulated Montage M interoperate with Yamaha’s new control surface?

Flash: Major leakage

A few highlights from the Hispasonic article.

The Expanded Softsynth Plugin (E.S.P.) provides an “in the box” version of Montage M. Available in January (at no cost to Montage M users), E.S.P. provides hardware and software integration (editing, use of sounds, etc.)

AN-X polyphony is 16 voices (as rumored). The basic voice architecture includes 3 oscillators, noise source, double filter section, ring and FM modulation, autosync, PWM, 2/4-voice unison modes.

Each AWM2 part of a performance can stack up to 128 elements. AWM2 polyphony is doubled. The 8-part limit on Seamless Sound Switching (SSS) remains.

Montage M factory AWM2 preset sounds (7,620 multi-samples) occupy 10GB of memory when converted to 16-bit linear format. USER flash memory space is 3.7GB (presumably uncompressed). The article refers to an additional 128 voice polyphony when playing from USER flash memory — which is similar to Genos (gen 1).

FM-X polyphony remains 128.

Yamaha Pure Analog Circuit (PAC) is improved with better mids and bass.

As rumored, only the M8x model gets polyphonic aftertouch. The M6 and M7 have channel aftertouch. (Probably FSX keybeds as before.)

Overall, the Hispasonic article repeats, confirms or amplifies the most recent leak. I’m still waiting to see the manuals, especially the Data List PDF. The analog cultists hate everything already.

A few other random comments. A separate leak claims “VCM Rotary Speaker effect and realistic drawbar behavior deliver authentic organ control and sound.” Well, as far as eight sliders will take you, anyway. I think this means flipping the slider behavior. Maybe Yamaha ported the Stage YC rotary speaker effect to Montage M? That would be welcome on both Montage M and Genos (mark 2).

Wonder where all the preset waveform memory went? The “Best of Montage M” screen lists four pianos: CFX Concert, Ballad Piano, Hamburg Grand and Imperial. Pianos notoriously chew through sample memory.

The pictures aren’t up to Yamaha PR quality (resolution). Seem kind of home-brew. That carpet is hideous. I tore out one like it from our first house — 30 years ago. 🙂

Copyright © 2023 Paul J. Drongowski

 

Montage M: More early info?

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Congrats to Saul and the folks at Yamaha Musicians Forum for snagging leaked Yamaha Montage M specs. We won’t have to wait too much longer for details. Maybe next week’s Yamaha Tech Talk will explain all?

Caution is recommended at this stage. Some of the numbers in the leaked specs don’t add up for me and the grammar doesn’t read like smooth marketing-speak. The dealer — who is now in trouble with Yamaha — might have transmogrified the original specs while copying them to their Web site. For example, Yamaha usually state whether wave memory size is physical capacity or “converted to 16-bit linear format.” [The latter is their current practice.]

The polyphony spec looks a little off, too. Yamaha avoid specifying polyphony in terms of notes, knowing that it’s number of active elements that matter.

As to pricing, the leak claims:

  • Yamaha Montage M6: $3,999.99
  • Yamaha Montage M7: $4,499.00
  • Yamaha Montage M8X: $4,999.00

MSRP? MAP (street)? The cents aren’t consistently stated either. Perhaps another transcription error?

For $5,000, the M8X had better have piano features comparable to Yamaha’s best (VRM, Grand Expression, etc.) I’m primarily chasing a good piano playing experience, so my needs probably don’t match yours — and that’s cool. 🙂

Have fun. Exciting times!

Copyright © 2023 Paul J. Drongowski

Yamaha synthesizer sneak peek

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Blake comes through! [Thanks, Blake.] If you’re interested in Montage M, go direct to the official sneak peek on YamahaSynth.com. Do not pass GO. Save $200 for your new Montage M, if you collect it. 🙂 The sneak peek page has Soundcloud audio demos.

Check out the large subdisplay on Montage M!

The “Vegas nightline” shots pretty well confirm the leak pictures. I loves that subdisplay above the knobs and sliders. It’s much bigger than Genos, can handle graphics, and will prove to be more informative than Genos. I wonder if GENOS2 will get the same subdisplay? That would be grand!

Jason’s labelled flow diagram (from YamahaSynth.com)

I’m trying to make sense of the fuzzy screenshot which looks like an effects routing diagram. Yamaha have clearly done some user interface work, here. Maybe the boxy icons open into parameter tables?

[Update: Jason at YamahaSynth.com did everyone a service by labelling the fuzzy flow diagram. It is the classic synth signal flow. At Yamaha Musicians Forum, a member noted the AN1x color scheme, and then Saul let on that AN-X is included in the M. Good times ahead!]

I don’t see texturing on the white piano keys (in the picture with the ribbon controller). I suspect that the “spy pictures” are an earlier prototype or sound development ‘board. I still have hopes for a decent 88 keybed. The grand piano audio snippets have that distinctive CFX brightness and clarity. The fusion-y “bass effect” audio example is 70s cool and I dig the playing.

The organ Soundcloud snippet has many pulses running fast — my own included. Dare we hope for Stage YC technology? I’ll settle for the improved, Stage YC rotary speaker sim. Yamaha must and will keep reserve special tech in order to differentiate product lines (Montage M vs. Stage vs. P-series).

The Soundcloud examples skew toward bread and butter sounds. The selection of examples will not please the synthbois. Maybe Yamaha is holding AN-X fire for the full Montage M announcement?

This is the way to create excitement for a product instead of boga-zoid teaser videos. The Genos (gen 1) pre-announcement teaser, for example, had nothing to do with the actual instrument — it was a promotional video for some idiotic, boring producer. I hope the GENOS2 roll-out is intelligent, too. Customers are not stoopid.

Now we have something to look at! See you later… If info is slow to appear on my site, it’s because WordPress has suddenly decided to inflict the Gutenberg UI on me. 🙁

Copyright © 2023 Paul J. Drongowski

 

Montage M preseason

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Forum folks are picking over the Yamaha Montage M leak photos, so no need to duplicate that here! Wish we spent as much attention on world peace. 🙂

Many comments — my own included — are reading personal hopes and dreams into the new boxen. My own special hope is a decent keybed action for piano practice. I’m seriously looking for a practice digital piano in order to work out arrangements and get ready for Sundays when I need to sit down at the Petrof acoustic grand. That’s why my own guess of “X” for “escapement” is an act of wishful thinking. Dare I hope for Virtual Resonance Modeling?

The time period between leak and reality is much like football preseason. Right now, it’s the perfect season. Your team looks pretty good, no major injuries, and “Superbowl here we come!” Then, like a perennial Browns fan, your hope is slowly extinguished week by week. [Well, that was bleak.]

When I saw Yamaha’s parting gift — the character pianos — I thought, “We’ll be seeing these, again, shortly.” So, I won’t be surprised to find CFX, Bösendorfer, U1 Felt, U1 upright, Nashville C3 and friends in Montage M. Even if the pianos aren’t factory installed, there’s always expansion flash memory. Could I hope for the CK pipe organs? Same answer.

The most striking features in those horribly blurry, low-rez, leak pictures are the textured keys, six new knobs below the main touch screen and a new subdisplay above the bank of eight knobs and eight sliders. The subdisplay is a feature borrowed from Genos. On Genos, it’s called the “Live Control” subdisplay. Instead of fixing internal parameters to TONE, EQ/FX and ARP/Motion FX, the user can assign internal parameters to knob/slider groups and switch between groups in real-time. The subdisplay tracks current parameter values, updates and so forth.

Of course, the big question is “What are the internal engines?” AWM2 and FM-X are givens. Wishes include AN-X and the YC stage tonewheel organ. More engines means more parameters, so that Live Control subdisplay seems like a really good idea™.

The more I contemplate functional details, a larger question arises: “How will Yamaha keep the Montage M, Stage CP and Stage YC in their own lanes?” Yamaha need to make Montage M inviting while keeping the CP and YC specialists special. I think Montage M will follow the Montage line and remain a jack of all trades, integrating multiple engines into motion control, sequencing and studio audio/MIDI channels. Sound designers and players who need a generalist keyboard will still turn to Montage M.

Organists and pianists will turn to Stage YC and Stage CP. The simplified, focused user interfaces have proven successful — little or no menu-diving required. Yamaha have learned a lot after introducing the Stage CPs at January NAMM 2019. [The Stage CP tech is even older; check dates in the manuals.] The Stage YC interface is an improvement on the Stage CP. Hopefully, some of this experience has trickled over to the Montage M.

Which brings me to my concluding question. Even if we see AN-X in Montage M, will we eventually see an AN-X specialist keyboard, a Stage AN? Montage M would need to fit AN-X into its generalist usage model and I don’t think that will satisfy analog purists/players. [How ’bout alternate MPE control, too?] I think there is an open lane for a control-studded Stage AN specialist.

Copyright © 2023 Paul J. Drongowski