Yamaha MX61 Music Production Synthesizer, 61-Key, Black

Excellent pro keyboard (the blue one looks & sounds great). I wanted a compact great sounding board & this is it. I thoroughly researched all the 49-key boards & the mx49 dominates by far, especially in the sample/sound quality.In the 80s I used to gig with pro boards like the DX7 & Roland D50. This little beast blows em away.TIP: I always set it one octave down (easy to do w/button) for best sound.Pros:+ breathtaking sample quality & choice. strong piano, ep & synth patches, & lots to choose from.+ it looks awesome in blue+ hardware 4 knobs excellent for realtime pitch shifts+ performance mode w/drum tracks & arpeggiator brings it to life+ USB card port makes it easy to tweak & save many different setups; works great. tip: save factory defaults into usb file as well; vs job/restore fxn+ total pro patches; same as on $2k+ synths; it sounds Awesome and its a great valueCons:- no looper/sequencer (I bought a digitech pedal looper)- no layer & split simultaneous mode- no aftertouch or weighted/semi weighted keys; though keys are still excellent- almost no 3rd party patches for this available (!); I only found 4- I'd like more dance/EDM style soundsI have lots of fun with this; its easy to use; very smart design engineering; classic high quality Yamaha synth. Update: this works great with the Digitech JMSXT Jamman Solo XT Stereo Looper Phrase Sampler Pedal... must-have gear; i use it w/alto or behringer mixer. I hate DAWs; the idea of using software in front of a pc is ridiculous to me (I'm oldschool); using a hardware pedal looper works great. Last night I jammed for 2 glorious hours with this keyboard + looper. Tips: use auto-quantize mode on looper, and set tempo in looper & MX49 to match performance (120 or 106bpm etc). record 8-16 bars or whatever of mx49 performance drums & bassline into looper, then store as main loop. Next i added lots of mx49 percussion bits one loop at a time. then bg chord comps with clav or pads. so it stacks /overdubs til it sounds fantastic. then i play over it with organ or synth lead patch for improv. Huge difference in fun vs playing over performances alone.Question: why do so many patches play just one note max at a time? like synth leads... I like playing 2-3 notes in chords; am i missing something? tiato the music,kenUpdate 2/2019 The more I play this, the more I like it. I play along with music videos on youtube with a mixer. HIGHLY recommend this keyboard; also I love the patches in the 3rd-party "mx dance pro" download (under $50); those are what I use primarily to play along w/edm like tiesto umf etc; stunning quality that beats the built-in patches (thx Peter).

Good: Just about everything. Physically solid, sits nicely on a standard X-style stand. Wide variety of voices, many of which are an absolute joy to listen to, even with my horrible playing. The keyboard has a natural, acoustic-piano feel to it; key action is smooth and solid, glissandos don't feel like you're about to break a finger as with some keyboards; velocity sensing sounds natural. Lots of bells and whistles (figuratively and literally) to play with and tweak up the canned voices. I count the lack of built-in speakers as a plus; this beast deserves good headphones and/or a good external amp instead of tinny, low-powered built-ins. Generally looks, feels, and sounds like it should cost more than it does.Bad: If anything, the keys seem to me to be a little *too* heavily weighted; this may well be more a reflection of my own lack of conditioning than anything else. Would be nice to have some dedicated preset buttons for voice changes instead of the rather awkward method used. Also, my stand has straps and bolts to secure an instrument to it. It looks like a standard method, but the MX88 makes no provision for such. Mind you, the keyboard rests well on the stand, and I don't plan on channeling Keith Emerson any time soon, but accidents do happen.Ugly: Nothing; a very attractive and professional-looking instrument.Bottom line: After being away from keyboards for 30-odd years, I wanted something I could grow (back) into. I found it. The minuses above are nit-picks; this is an outstanding instrument for the price. Five stars.

There should be more synths like this MX49 and Korg Kross 2. A joy to perform with. Additional sounds are available for free, and make sure to make use of MX Tools by Mr. Melas to edit the tones down to waveform level.Connect ot a computer with USB, and audio plays on the keyboard, practice along silently using headphones. Takes a whole lot of tasks from the computer away like effects, mixing, EQ, thus unburdening the computer..I recommend read the manuals that come with it, and buy two of these instead of one 61 or 88 keys, switching between upper and lower and splitting is easier than plugging it in.Saves/loads from USB pen drive and USB connection both, and also makes a heck of a MIDI controller. Does have the the standard 5 pins DIN for in/out, through is missing though.Instead of getting a flight case, I took the factory bag, cost about $125 extra. The bag comes in blue only, while the keyboard can be black, blue, or white.AND, don't forget to download the free B.O.M.B version 2 for free: Best of Motif Banks.Making/saving/exporting sounds and songs are easy, system file format is .A5X Sounds from certain S series synths can be edited and loaded in it.