Main advantage
One of the greatest advantages that this product comes with is the price-performance ratio. Yamaha has accustomed its clients with the MO series which is a line focused on delivering affordable products and one of them is the MOXF8, even if it is one of the most expensive in the line.
However, it is the closest to the highest-performing products out there and it still comes at a somewhat affordable price, offering quality and a lot of great features that similar products that come at this price lack. This is a product that most professional musicians can use as a production station but also as a live instrument.
What is so great when it comes to performance is that it has a wide variety of inbuilt effects and presets that make it really easy for producers to efficiently manage their time and make it really easy for them to be creative because they can experiment with a large variety of sounds to create something unique.
Don’t forget that this is a great option for people who want to have high-quality production and live performance, so we could say that the price is more than affordable considering that the MOXF8 delivers outstanding performance on both ends.
Buy from Amazon.com for ($1999.99)
Main disadvantage
If you are a beginner when it comes to production workstations, you may find the interface a little bit complicated and not easy to manage. For most experienced users this will not be a problem, or so we hope, but beginners will find it pretty tricky.
We can tell you that it is worth the effort of learning how to use it because this workstation brings outstanding benefits for beginners and also has a great keyboard for beginners as you can practice everything that your teacher has taught you on the GHS keyboard with a lot of benefits and we assure you that you will not regret it.
Main features explained
Excellent for live performance
This aspect is offered by the combination of different features that make the MOXF8 a great keyboard for live performances. First of all, it is very easy to transport. This is a key aspect when it comes to the ease of transporting and installing the instrument for any live performer.
For the casing the manufacturers used a strong plastic that is very resistant to shocks, this is why it is lighter than its competitors, and this is why most musicians will absolutely enjoy using this keyboard as you know that keyboards, in general, are pretty heavy and it can be a little bit uncomfortable to transport them to live gigs.
The GHS keyboard sensitivity is great for live performances and mimics the use of a piano. If you are a beginner and don’t know what a GHS keyboard does, you should know that GHS comes from Graded Hammer Standard. This is the most suited keyboard for you due to the fact that it provides progressive resistance.
Furthermore, you can combine multiple instrument voices together on one MIDI channel, which is great especially if you want to provide layered live sound. You can combine up to 4 instrument voices together and you can use this feature even for solos.
Another great thing that will make your live performances amazing is that it has an arpeggio section that comes with 8000 phrases, which is pretty amazing if you look at the other products on the market that come at the same price. This is also very helpful when you use it in the sequencer mode.
Last, but not least, it provides a great quality of sound, and most of the people who have used it have been impressed by this aspect especially because it resembles the most expensive keyboards on the market. All these things combined make the MOXF8 one of the most sought-after products in this price line.
The possibility of creating complex pieces
One of the most wanted features that the MOXF8 has and something that most musicians look for in a music production workstation is the wide variety of presets and effects that this keyboard comes with. You will be pretty amazed by how many things you can do using it.
If you look at it from the production perspective you will find that the harmonic span is bigger and the 88 keys allow you to use both hands while recording which is great in terms of functionality. It is easier to play with 7 octaves than to use a single hand keyboard.
It comes with a wide variety of instrument voices which takes sound quality to another level. It also comes with a great sound engine and has a wide variety of waveforms that represent 741 MB worth of storage and it also provides expanded articulations. It has 9 types of reverb, 22 types of chorus, and 5 EQ bands.
All these features increase the number of combinations you can make to the maximum. The capacity of the sequencer is 226,000 notes and comes with a large variety of mixing templates. The great thing about it is that it can mimic a classical piano very well and you will actually be impressed with this feature.
You will be able to combine different instrument voices because it provides a vast collection that includes string instruments, orchestral sounds, or synth sounds, both modern and vintage. It has 136 new voices and you can find sounds from a variety of genres from hip-hop to orchestral.
In total, the MOXF8 provides 97 effects, which is pretty great for a keyboard. The fact that you can add multiple voices to a MIDI channel is great also for producing complex pieces that offer an ampler sound and a more elaborate piece.
Computer integration
The Yamaha MOXF8 is very versatile when it comes to the things you can do using it and, to enhance this feature, Yamaha has provided advanced tools for computer integration that allows you to produce masterpieces in your own living room.
There are a lot of software companies that have developed very complex production solutions; however, combining them with the MOXF8 will definitely surpass anything you can accomplish if you are not using this workstation. It has a production software that allows you to easily integrate it into Cubase.
You can achieve this easily by using a USB cable. You can connect the MIDI channels to your computer and you can also transmit the audio data using the same USB cable. This is great considering the fact that you have to do as close to nothing to connect it to your computer and make miracles by using them together.
Using the same input/output method, you will be able to integrate into your live performances a lot of VST real-time plug-ins. Steinberg Prologue VST is an interesting tool you can use. It is an analog synthesizer that allows you to go into full editing.
Another great thing is that you have the possibility of managing the DAW software using the remote mode. You will be able to record up to 48 MIDI tracks due to the software that this workstation provides and also 32 audio tracks. Using Cubase AI 7 you will be able to record sounds directly on your computer and connecting a mic will be as easy as Sunday morning.
In addition, if you want to learn more about how you can use the MOXF8, Yamaha provides great apps where you can learn a lot about editing like Voice Editor Essential, Multi Editor Essential, Synth Arp & Drum Pad, Yamaha Synth Book, and many more that will allow you to get better using it.
The memory of an elephant
A problem that many workstations have is that they do not have enough memory to store whatever you need on them. Many musicians like to have brainstorming sessions where they sit along with their band members or with other fellow musicians and make music together.
However, if you like to do that in your garage or at your log cabin during the weekend, bringing your computer with you might require more transportation space and not everyone likes to move all their stuff for one of these sessions. This is why a feature like large memory can be a huge advantage
Yamaha has designed the MOXF8 to have a relatively fair amount of internal memory, but the great thing about it is that the memory is expandable by the use of a memory card that you can add according to your needs. You can add whatever amount you want as long as you don’t go over 1GB.
Yes, you have read correctly, 1GB. This is a great feature especially if you consider that most of the workstations in this line available on the market rarely have the option of adding memory, you can connect them to a computer and sync them but you can not add memory.
The great thing about it is that you can add a lot of presets on this memory card and use them in your live sessions. This is a great asset that the MOXF8 comes with especially if you think of all the presets that you can use to enhance your live performance.
Together with the other features we have analyzed above, a large amount of memory you can add transforms this music production workstation into one of the most sought-after workstations on the market considering the price range it is in because it brings a lot to the table and will allow you to create masterpieces.
Buy from Amazon.com for ($1999.99)
