Yamaha MM6 "Mini Mo" Reviews

4.6/5.0 based on 10 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Mike Hammond

The MM6 is a super-value deal for anyone in search of a high-quality keyboard and a wide variety of sounds! I spent some time with the Mini Mo and was extremely impressed with the instruments ranging from acoustic to electronic. This is a great choice for a gigging musician, the studio, or as a first professional keyboard for yourself or your deserving loved ones!

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Customer Reviews

Gabrielle Silva
from Boulder CO
April 3, 2013Music Background:
Professional jazz musician

The Magnificent "Mini Mo"

I have to say that this little hummer has far exceeded my expectations. I LOVE the rhythm bits that give me the freedom to improvise endlessly in time. It's really easy to learn using the DVD "Making Beats on the Yamaha mm6". So creative. Buy this.

Mike Dennis
from Concord, NC
October 25, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist

MM6 Review

I am a guitar player that has always played solo. I was looking for something that would help me create a backup band so I could work on my chops in a combo setting. Problem is, I hardly play the guitar since I got the MM6.

I've had it for a couple of months now and I spend much more time playing 'piano' than guitar now. So many features and the sounds are great. I'm sure I haven't even scratched the surface yet.

Excellent buy. It will take me years to outgrow this machine.

miami producer aka J-audio
from miami,cali,ny,atl
August 16, 2012

OMG

REALLY if the price was a 1,000$ i would still buy it.. geesh this thing is awsome dawg

Charles Walker
from Macon, Ga
May 19, 2011Music Background:
keyboardist for local band (Fire and Ice)

Great board for a little green

The MM6 is awesome packed with sounds that rival more expensive syns. Any musician on a budget should really give this board the once over you will be more than pleasantly pleased. if weight is an issue then, this is the answer to your problem. Lighter than the toy boards, as powerful as a board twice it's price. Yamaha has high the mark with the
MM6.

Goran Kjellgren
from Northern Arizona
April 2, 2011Music Background:
Composer

Ok, but could (and should!) be much better.

This board was exactly what I was looking for, a great sounding board that it is easy to use! Just a couple of buttons to press, and off you go. I don't want a manual the size of a phone directory to get started. So this was perfect., or so I thought. To be sure, a bunch of the sounds ARE pro quality, mega sounds and all that, but the majority are basically the same as on their $100,00 boards, that is, useless for any serious musician. Why Yamaha even puts them in, I don't know. If you get a nice, high quality voice like , for ex, "Sweet Tenor Sax", what possible use do you have for a whole bunch vastly inferior, low quality, GM saxes? Just give me 150 usable, high quality voices, and forget about the rest, they just take up space in the menu. No "Sweet Muted Trumpet"(??) which I got with my DGX 620, but a totally useless GM muted trp. Arrrghhhhh. Other gripes: Not a single arp compatible with 3/4 time?? One,( that is, ONE!) pattern that is not 4/4?! tons of patterns in straight 4/4, but few in shuffle. Very, very limited. Yamaha should keep this board the way it is, but have, say 150 good, high quality sounds, junk the GM sounds, and leave it at that. Not necesarily more, but more VARIED patterns and arps. 32 note poly, and 8 track sequencer doesn't bother me, the unit comes with Cubase, and that's where you will record anyway.
Would I buy it again? Possibly, but only because there currently is nothing else like it really, and it comes with Cubase, all for $600.00.
But it wouldn't cost Yamaha any more to make it an outstanding instrument, and that's frustrating. I think that Yamaha deliberately made it less of an instrument than they could, in order to "steer" customers to more expensive boards after getting fed up with the MM6's seemingly deliberate limitations. But their higher end boards are much more complicated to use, so that defeats the purpose. As it is, the MM6 is a curious mix of a "Pro" and "Home" board without really being either. Maybe the arrival of the Casio WK7500 will make Yamaha see the light, and actually make products that meet the needs of the market rather than trying to "steer" it.

Michael T
from south Louisiana
March 29, 2011Music Background:
Old geezer musician getting back into the music scene.

Easy To Use w/Great Sounds!

I was looking for an affordable keyboard to add to my growing collection. Most of my keyboards are ventage synths like the Ensoniq TS10 & TS12 which were great and easy to use. I was a bit apprehensive about its ease of use because I am blind but this keyboard just blew me away with great sounds and easy navigation even without being able to see the unit. You can't go wrong. Now I REALLY want the Motif that I can't afford. LOL

DONALD PARISH
from HOPEWELL, VA
December 29, 2009Music Background:
PRO MUSICIAN FOR PAST 34 YEARS; TRAINING BETWEEN 1963-1976

PRO SOUND WITHOUT THE PRO PRICE

I've owned an MM6 since 10/29/09. I was blown away by its size. At 11 lbs, it weighs less than most toy keyboards! The Voice Category buttons make on-the-fly voice settings a snap. MOTIF-based voices without the MOTIF price tag! For best results, you'll need to "play around" with the sounds in addition to actually PLAYING them. Four synth control knobs on the left side of the instrument give unique touches to many of the settings. In 34 years of playing, I've never seen any keyboard like it (other than 3 1/2-grand MOTIF XS58. For someone who wants great sound and feel without having to take out a bank loan, this is the way to go.

David J
from Nashville, TN
March 25, 2009Music Background:
Songwriter, worship leader , producer

MM6 - Homerun in studio and on stage!

I purchased the MM6 to use primarily in my home studio, but I have recently used it in a couple of live settings. In every situation, it shines! The sounds are incredible and many of the higher-end features and sounds have been nice to use, especially knowing I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for them! Hearing this board in a 3,000 seat room last Christmas was amazing!

If you need a pro board, but you're not making "pro money", this is your board. I have a friend that has the MM8 and likes it as well. Me, I'm fine with the 61 non-weighted keys! Thanks, Yamaha!

jetropo
from Georgia
December 11, 2007Music Background:
Pro Musician/Producer

The Yamaha MM6 will THRILL You!!

Just received this synthesizer very recently, it is all that I expected it to be, very light weight which is a major plus, if fact, lighter than my old YAMAHA PSR. the sounds are just WOW in your face!! . I have read many reviews online before buying this extraordinary instrument. I started playing right out of the box, although you will need to browse through the manual for recording on the 8 track sequencer, this is only to avoid losing information stored. Some reviews are expecting this MM6 to have all of the features of the very expensive synthesizers out there on the market. The Yamaha MM6 is made what it was meant to do, satisfy the average to pro musician who appreciate the great sounds from the MOtif engine in a smaller package, that is why it is called the Mini Mo because of its uniqueness, you would love to haul this baby around, the configuration is easy on the eyes. This synthesizer suits me well because I already have a 16 track recording studio mixer so I don't need what all the high end models have. The most important thing that I look for in a keyboard synthesizer is sound, I can compromise most things outside of sound. As they say the YAMAHA MM6 will THRILL YOU!! By the way, the drum kits, pianos, Live Orchestra, etc, are awesome!!!

Jeff Miller
from Chehalis, WA
November 6, 2007Music Background:
Recording Eng., Pro Musician, Hobbyist

One cool keyboard - for the price

My problem is I can't afford what I really want to buy. I want a MOTIF XS. The wife says no to that, so on my limited budget I "settled" for an MM6, or so I thought.

The MM6 has many of the Motif sounds and wow does it sound great. Really I only needed a MIDI controller but the many extra sounds and other terrific features (especially "Performance Memory") suit what I will use this for just fine.

What I also like about this keyboard is that it's LIGHT and easy to pack home from the studio for practice.

Yamaha didn't scrimp on this keyboard - it's "Motif lite" but worth far more than the price they ask.