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Sweetwater Exclusive

Hundreds in Add-on Sounds and More!

The Motif XS Rack you buy from Sweetwater gives you valuable extras! The Sweetwater Bonus CD-ROM is filled with presets from the Motif ES in XS format, presets from the MO8 in XS format, advanced XS Tricks with loadable XS files, all current Mac and PC Drivers, PDF copies of all Manuals and Guides plus XS tutorials and Tweak Tips, and more!

Yamaha MOTIF-RACK XS

Item ID: MotifXSRack

Rackmountable Synth with 1000+ Voices, 65 Drum Kits, 355MB Wave Form Data, Cubase AI Software, and USB

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From Our Research Team:

The MOTIF-RACK with FREE Sweetwater Extras!

Sweetwater has given the Yamaha MOTIF-RACK XS the XSpert treatment, with dozens of FREE additional tools! This powerful synthesizer gives you the power to create, using the Xpanded Articulation Synth engine's 355 MB of WAVE ROM, real-time control knobs for adjusting your sound as your record or perform, and Virtual Circuitry Modeling effects to fire your imagination. What's more, there's also a powerful MOTIF-RACK XS Editor for tweaking in-depth parameters right from your computer. The creativity-inducing, sonic power of Yamaha's flagship MOTIF, in a convenient rackmount synth - that's what you get with the MOTIF-RACK XS.

Sweetwater's MOTIF-RACK XSpert Features:
  • A Cubase AI Tutorial DVD with 23 high-quality videos for Mac/PC

  • Plus, A SW Bonus CD-ROM filled with:
    • Presets from the Motif ES in XS format
    • Presets from the MO8 in XS format
    • Advanced XS Tricks with loadable XS files
    • All current Mac and PC Drivers for the XS Rack
    • PDF copies of all Manuals and Guides
    • XS Tutorials in PDF form
    • XS Tweak Tips in PDF form
    • All X Factor Songs in .mp3 format
    • Analog XS Instrument file

    Yamaha MOTIF-RACK XS Synthesizer at a Glance:
    • Wealth of Sounds
    • Store Your Favorite Settings
    • Studio-quality Effects
    • Quickly Find and Preview Voices
    • Real-time Sound Control
    • Ready to Use with Your DAW
    • Edit Parameters from Your Computer
    • Comes with Cubase AI 4 Software

    Wealth of Sounds
    The heart of the MOTIF-RACK XS is its incredible set of voices for every application. It uses the same tone-generation architecture as the acclaimed MOTIF XS - just in a compact rackmount unit that's easy to take to the gig and back. It boasts a full 1,152 voices, and 65 drum kits to start heating up your creativity: luscious grand pianos, realistic sounds for virtually every orchestral instrument, vintage organs and electric pianos, expressive guitars, powerful basses, synth sounds of every stripe, ethnic instruments, and a massive variety of drum kits and percussion sets. In whatever musical direction you tend to lean, the MOTIF-RACK XS has the sounds you want - and the sounds you'll want, should you get into another style of music.

    Store Your Favorite Settings
    First of all, you can store a whopping 384 of your original voices on the instrument itself, which you'll create from the MOTIF-RACK-XS's 2,670 separate waveforms! There's also a multi-mode library of multi-instrument settings that you can call up immediately when you're composing or arranging. This collection has several different parts pre-programmed with voices and other settings, to fit a variety of genres and applications, such as R&B, hip-hop, jazz, film scoring, electronic, Latin, rock, and more. Just select a template, and you're well on your way to composing and recording your own demos or full-on recordings. Plus, up to 128 of your original multis can be stored to memory.

    Studio-quality Effects
    Eight Insertion effects, two System Effects, a Master Effect Block, and independent Part EQ and Master EQ - the MOTIF-RACK-XS gives you an incredible amount of processing power. Sweeten your overall sound with reverb and chorus system effects, while you use insertion effects (53 available types!) to enhance or transform individual instruments, as needed. Plus, the MOTIF-RACK-XS has various newly-developed VCM (Virtual Circuitry Modeling) effects - reproducing the coveted sound of vintage processors, and premium effect units.

    Quickly Category Search and Preview Voices
    On the MOTIF-RACK-XS, there's a powerful Category Search feature so you can easily and quickly get the Voices you want. Plus, you don't even need a keyboard connected to audition voices. With its Audition feature, you can just use Category Search to call up a list of bass Voices, for example, and when you find one that interests you, just press the AUDITION button and you'll hear a riff or phrase using that Voice. If you leave the AUDITION button on, you can press the up and down keys to instantly hear what other voices sound like. Ultimately, with the MOTIF-RACK-XS, if inspiration strikes, and you have a sound in your head that you want to use - you can find it and implement it immediately, rather than laboring through patches and losing both time and creative energy.

    Real-time Sound Control
    The enormous power under the hood of the MOTIF-RACK-XS is literally at your fingertips, thanks to its five Control Knobs. You can tweak the sound of the instrument in real-time, instead of wading through display pages of parameters. You can use the SELECT button to call up whichever row of parameters you want, and the knobs immediately change roles. The end result? A faster path to making and applying your creative decisions. And, two of the knobs are even assignable so you can choose your own favorite parameters for custom control.

    Ready to Use with Your DAW
    All you need is a USB cable to use the MOTIF-RACK-XS with your computer-based music production system. You'll enjoy seamless, bi-directional communication for recording and playback. Plus, if you're after even more I/O flexibility, Yamaha's optional mLAN16E2 interface lets you connect the MOTIF-RACK-XS to your computer via FireWire, communicating 16-out/16-in audio, in addition to all of your MIDI data - all in a single FireWire cable. With the optional interface, you can record 14 individual parts, along with the main stereo output from the instrument, all to your computer at once. You can also route three stereo busses from your DAW right back to the MOTIF-RACK XS for monitoring, and additional effects processing without adding an extra load on your computer's CPU.

    Edit Parameters From Your Computer
    With the MOTIF-RACK-XS, you have comprehensive control over all Voice, Multi, and Drum settings from your computer, via the powerful MOTIF-RACK XS Editor software - it even lets you access detailed parameters that aren't available from the front panel. Tweak settings easily by just dragging-and-dropping, and rest assured knowing that the software will in work perfect sync with the hardware - both immediately reflecting your changes.

    Comes with Cubase AI 4 Software
    Get creative right away using the included Cubase AI 4 software that's bundled with the MOTIF-RACK XS. You'll enjoy extensive recording and production capabilities, plus an entire suite of VST effect plug-ins giving you all the tools you need to lay out your songs, and create fully-fledged, professional demos.

    Yamaha MOTIF-RACK XS Features:
    • 160 x 64-dot graphic backlit LCD
    • Tone Generator - AWM2, with Expanded Articulation
    • Polyphony - 128 notes
    • Wave - 355MB (when converted to 16-bit linear format), 2,670 waveforms
    • Voice - Preset: 1,024 Normal Voices + 64 Drum Kits
    • GM: 128 Normal Voices + 1 Drum Kit
    • User: 128 x 3 Normal Voices + 32 Drum Kits (Both of the User Voices are selected and copied from Preset bank)
    • Multi - User: 128 Multis
    • Reverb - 9 types
    • Chorus - 22 types
    • Insertion A - 53 types (up to 8 blocks available in the Multi mode)
    • Insertion B - 53 types (up to 8 blocks available in the Multi mode)
    • Master Effect - 9 types
    • Master EQ - 5 bands (High, High Mid, Mid, Low Mid, Low)
    • Part EQ - 3 bands (High, Mid, Low)
    • Arpeggio Type - 6,633 types
    • MIDI Sync, MIDI transmit/receive channel, Velocity Limit, and Note Limit can be set.
    • Front Panel - PHONES
    • Rear Panel - USB To Host, MIDI In/Out, Digital Output, Assignable Output L and R, Output L/Mono and R, DC/IN, mLAN (when the mLAN16E2 has been installed)
    • AC Power adapter (PA-301, PA-300B or an equivalent), Owner's manual, Data List, Disk x 1 (containing DAW software)
    • Comes with Cubase AI Software
    • Digital Output - 44.1kHz, 24bit (COAXIAL)
    • Weight - 9.25lbs

    The MOTIF-RACK-XS gives you the ultra-powerful MOTIF voices - all in a compact rackmount synth!

    MOTIF-RACK XS Image Gallery

    Specification Detail
    Sound Engine Type(s) ROM
    Polyphony 128 Notes
    Number of Presets 768
    Expansion FireWire Card Available
    Number of Effects 280
    Effects Types Reveb, Chorus, EQ, Etc.
    Arpeggiator Yes
    Sampling No
    MIDI Sequencer No Sequencer
    USB To Host
    Number of Audio Inputs 0
    Audio Input Types No Audio Inputs
    Number of Audio Outputs 7
    Audio Output Types 6 x TS, 1 x TRS (Headphone)
    Number of Digital Inputs 0
    Digital Input Types No Digital Inputs
    Number of Digital Outputs 1
    Digital Output Types 1 x S/DIF
    MIDI I/O In, Out, Thru, and USB
    Height 1.73"
    Width 18.9"
    Depth 14.66"
    Weight 9.04 lbs.
    Power Supply Power Supply Included
    Manufacturer Part Number MOTIF-RACK XS
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    Reviews

    based on 6 reviews

    Very Nice Rack Synth

    by Gene from Houston,TX
    August 29, 2011
    Music Background: live sound, hobbyist, praise & worship
    Pros
    1. Many very useful voices right out of the box.
    2. Very flexible and easy to maintain favorites list. Understand they are sorted by bank plus voice number.
    3. With 5 encoder... read more [+]s * 4 groupings, you can access 20 key parameters at performance time. 2 of these are assignable.
    4. Category search is good but a properly maintained favorites may be faster for performance use.

    Cons
    5. I do not yet see a method for control input of Leslie speed from the master controller. There are no hardware control inputs on the rack that can be used. This is where the Motif or S90 would have an advantage.
    6. The MIDI filters could be expanded / enhanced. Even though Program change is disabled, some parameters are changed with changes from the master controller.
    7. This rack does not have a feature called patch remain. I.E., the currently sustained chord will drop out when switching voices.

    Overall, this is great way to add voices to any configuration you may have. Most voices are good without any edits. This little box may make me into a pure Yamaha convert with regard to keyboards. close [-]

    BUY THIS....

    by from Toledo, Ohio
    April 18, 2010
    Music Background: Hobbyist, someday-recording-engineer
    The title says it all. The motif rack is just as good as the full sized motif: you get all the patches, effects, and MIDI latency is pretty much nonexistant. The instruments sound great, especially th... read more [+]e guitars.
    And the effects are amazing. I don't think most people realize how realsitic the effects are on the motif, but the vcm compressor and EQs are dope. It actually sounds like I'm patching through an 1176 or 550: for example, driving the compressor hard will cause a nice distortion if you're looking for that.


    Trust me, if you're looking for a keyboard, BUY THE MOTIF RACK!! You'll get the best features of the full size version for a third of the cost. close [-]

    This Rack Has Exceeded My Expectations

    by Patrick Warren from Houston
    November 27, 2009
    Music Background: better that you hear it for yourself-> www.myspace.com/settexasfree
    I had an Oxygen 61 Midi Controller and wanted to get a new sound module. I like to keep my studio as compartmented as possible so I can switch out pieces rather than buy entirely new units. This way... read more [+] when I bang on the keys, if the keys break I can just go get a new Midi controller for about $200 instead of buying a $2500 keyboard.

    I sequence and record with Pro Tools 8 LE and use the Yamaha software interface that comes with to control the Motif Rack. Long gone are the hours of trying to call up presets or save things manually, now I just conveniently call up any multi-voice setting whenever I want and save them as a file into a folder on my computer.

    The voices and the sounds are really good. As with most modules or boards I've used there's that group of quality sounds you'll be attracted to. This rack has plenty. The Motif Rack XS is good for the electronic musician, great for techno, rap, hip-hop, and even can be used in rock music too.

    I don't usually write reviews so it really takes a lot for me to say all this- but I feel obligated from my positive experience and the value which far exceeds the price tag. close [-]

    Wow

    by Marvin Querido from Philippines
    January 20, 2009
    Music Background: Arranger, Producer, etc.
    Just got mine yesterday. Extremely useable sounds. Get yourself one. It's not very likely that you'll regret it.

    SWEET

    by EAP-Entertainment CO from Washington, DC
    November 7, 2008
    Music Background: engineer, producer, pro-musicians
    Man this is Sweet... I was told that this wasn't all that but it's nice.. I know there are the Fantoms and the M3's out there but if you already have a keyboard and looking to get some dynamite sounds... read more [+] then I would recommned this.. I went through all the sounds and they are unbelievable (in a good Way)... I love it and I'm glad to have it.. get one and enjoy... close [-]
    Read more reviews

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    See Also: MIDI Modules , Yamaha , Yamaha Sound Modules

    Yamaha MOTIF-RACK XS

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