I’ve always appreciated the workmanship that Yamaha puts into their pro audio gear, and the Yamaha MOTIF-RACK XS is no exception… and all in one rackspace. Incredible. It comes fully loaded from the factory with awe-inspiring sounds, drum kits, effects and arpeggios. You can’t help but just be creative right away with the MOTIF-RACK XS. This instrument is ready to go right out of the box, and the ease of front-panel stand-alone editing is remarkable.

If you really want to hear what this baby can do, just fire up the factory-loaded demo songs. You can even audition each of the 1,000+ voices as to how they sound or how they should – or could – be played.

Link this up with a full load of effects, over 6,000 types of arpeggios, and drum kits. Yamaha has created what are called “multis:” performances that use all the tools of the MOTIF synth engine to create practically any musical style or genre, including ambient, orchestral, rock, R&B, blues, dance, trance, hip hop and house, film-scoring, Latin, world… well, you get the idea.

One way-cool thing about any rackmountable gear is that it’s cheaper than having to buy the version that includes the keyboard. If any serious musician, from hobbyist to pro, has a keyboard that he or she have been playing for years, it’s a whole lot cheaper to by the rack unit. And this rack is all (and in many respects even more) than the keyboard versions in the MOTIF Series.

I used my “vintage” Yamaha KX88 in my home studio, and it was like being re-introduced to an old friend. My experience with the Yamaha MOTIF-RACK XS is almost that it “guides” and inspires you to go out on musical adventures you never dreamed possible… and you’re the one doing it. I’m still looking for the bottom of this thing and I haven’t found it yet!

And this is just for the rackmount all by itself. I can only imagine what it will be like to drill down into the inner workings of the MOTIF RACK XS hooking it up to a computer-based DAW… endless possibilities.