Synth DB

The Ultimate Synthesizer Database

Filter on ALL, SYNTH, DRUM, SAMPLER or MISC

Total list currently 2405 items in 330 Brands

Yamaha | MO 8

Description

Targeted to semi-professional musicians and home/project studio owners as well as songwriters and performers, the MO provides a full set of authentic sounds and comprehensive music-making features-including an emphasis on contemporary styles and voices. Highly portable and compact, the MO also serves as an ideal keyboard for live performance situations. Two models are available: the 61-key MO6 and the full 88-key MO8.

From Acoustic to Analog – the MO has it all!

The heart of the MO series is the same massive 175 MB wave ROM and synth engine found in the flagship MOTIF ES. Complete with expressive, multi-velocity acoustic pianos and EPs, MegaVoice guitars and basses that capture all the subtle nuance of the real thing and a vast selection of string, brass and other acoustic sounds, the MO is ready for any type of music production. A huge selection of different drum kits instantly inspires new beats and grooves. Whether you need realistic rhythm tracks or orchestral backgrounds, the MO has all the sounds you need in one place. But don't be fooled, the MO is not just for acoustic emulations. The 4-oscillator Voices feature multi band filters and snappy envelopes so there's also a complete selection of analog and digital synth sounds from funky basses, silky leads to atmospheric pads. Realtime controls and an advanced modulation matrix, let you easily shape those sounds to fit your production needs.

The MO also includes advanced effects processing including Reverbs, Chorus & Delays, 16 individual Part EQs and powerful dual Insertion effects that can be applied to up to three parts in a Mix or Performance. The Insertion effects feature some of the most creative and unique DSP processing on the planet including lo-fi, digital scratching, slicing, and beat change.

If you're looking for the most expressive acoustics sounds from pianos to drums, the widest selection of the freshest synth basses, leads and pads and the most powerful DSP processing available, you'll find that nothing in its price range has any MO.

The MO Goes with the Flow

As a musician these days you find yourself in lots of different situations–live gigs, song writing collaborations, studio sessions and computer music environments loaded with DAWs and SoftSynths. The MO series was designed to adapt to each of these different applications with their own special demands and provide just the right feature set for each situation. The responsive Voices and real time controls allow you to express subtle emotions in live performance. The Performances are not only live ensembles with splits and layers, but many use the MO's Phrase Factory Arpeggios and are complete grooves to instantly inspire new song ideas. But most important of all, the MO series was designed to be not just a keyboard, but the center of a computer based music production studio. It offers a DAW remote control mode that gives you full hands on remote control of DAW and SoftSynths. The Studio Connections compatibility let you treat the MO as a VST SoftSynth inside Cubase SX 3.1 and Nuendo 3.1. The special Utility Quick Setups let you easily change from one style of working to the next. So no matter how you like to work, the MO series adapts to fit your workflow and lets you be more musically productive.

The Perfect Song Writing Partner

Some people might wonder why you need a built-in sequencer in a workstation keyboard when there are so many powerful computer software programs like Steinberg's Cubase products available today. But the MO's Song and Pattern sequencer was actually designed to be a creative scratch pad to let you quickly and easily get your song writing ideas down. Much of today's music is looped based and having a Pattern sequencer let's you work in sections that can be easily chained together to try different song arrangements. So when working on new song ideas, it's often faster and easier to use the MO's on board sequencer to get your ideas down quickly while inspiration is still fresh.

The new Utility Quick Setups also let you transfer from the internal sequencer to your computer with a single button press. Because the MO is a complete self contained system – including a keyboard, tone generator and sequencer. It's great when you want to be on the move and collaborate with friends.

The MO6 and MO8 are light in weight and extremely portable so they are great for live performance situations. The MO8 features a Balanced Hammer action keyboard like that found on the MOTIF ES8.

Both the MO6 and MO8 feature hand on knobs and sliders for real time controls and a full compliment of pedal control inputs as well. The MO series also features full multi zone MIDI capabilities for controlling external tone generators, SoftSynths and other keyboards in your rig.

With it's high quality built-in DSP effects, the MO sounds great going directly into your band's PA mixer. Light in weight and heavy on features, the MO series is a working musician's dream.

Project Studio – Controlling your DAW with your MO

Today's project studios are centered around the computer and the MO series total integration with computer production systems is what really separates it from the competition. It features both USB "TO HOST" and USB "TO DEVICE" ports. The "TO HOST" port lets you connect multi-port MIDI to your computer with a single USB cable. The "TO DEVICE" port lets you connect USB storage devices like hard disk drives and thumb drives (USB flash memory) directly the MO for saving voices, performances and songs and backing up files to your computer. Digital Audio connectivity is standard with a stereo coaxial digital output for noise free digital recording of your MO to your computer sound card, a DAT or CDR.

The MO series also features a DAW Remote Control Mode that allows full hands on control of popular DAW software including Sonar, Logic, Digital Performer and the full range of Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo products. You can control Volume, Pan, Solo, Mute, Track Arming, Track Select and many other track specific functions. The Transport controls on the MO series can be setup to stop, start and return to zero your DAW projects. You can even edit and control VST/AU plug-ins and see their parameters displayed in the LCD display of the MO. Total control over your DAW and SoftSynths from your hardware synth has never been easier.

Home Studio – Controlling your MO with your DAW software

Perhaps the most exciting part of the MO series is the powerful cross platform software that can be downloaded from www.yamahasynth.com. Full Voice and Multi Part Editors are available that let you edit and store MO setups via your computer. Even more amazing, using the latest versions of Cubase SX or Nuendo, you get all the benefits of full Studio Connections compatibility. No more trying to remember what Voices you used in that project you were working on three months ago. Just launch the project and Studio Connections "Recall" will reconfigure your MO to exactly the settings that were last used in the project.

With Studio Connections "Audio Integration", you can even turn your MO into a Virtual Synth complete with phase accurate latency compensation and add VST effects directly to your MO inside your VST mixer. Imagine the convenience of Freezing a track on a hardware synths and then being able to continue working on your project even when the hardware is not connected.

Total Integration = Total Control

Total control over your DAW and SoftSynths with the MO's DAW Remote Control Mode has never been easier. Total control of your hardware synth from your DAW software with the MO's Studio Connection compatible software has never been easier. Now you can utilize all the power of the total computer integration in the MO series to make more music.

What is Total Recall?

Total Recall is the first phase of the Studio Connections project. The Voice and Multi Part Editors for the MO Series are Total Recall compatible so they work inside the Studio Manager system available in the latest versions of Cubase and Nuendo. Studio Manager can be opened directly from inside your Steinberg software and contains editors for a variety of Yamaha synthesizers, mixer and effects. Saving a project in Cubase and Nuendo saves all your Studio Manager editor settings right along with your project file. Just open your project file again and Studio Manager will restore your MO (and the rest of your MIDI Studio) to the exact same settings as when you last worked on that project.
BrandYamaha
ModelMO 8
DeviceSynth
TypeKeys
Engine TypeDigital
EngineAWM2, Sample
Voices (max)64
Multitimbral16
Oscillators4
Engine DetailedAWM2 (sample playback). 175MB Waveform ROM (1,859 mutisamples and drum samples).
Sampler4MB (expandable to 64MB via 32MB SIMM x 2 Slots); Sample Rates: 5.5125 - 48kHz, 20-bit stereo. Formats: Akai S1000/3000, Yamaha A3000/4000/5000, AIFF, WAV.
Filter (VCF)1 4-pole resonant multi-mode with 21 types.
Envelope (VCA)4
FXReverb, Chorus, Insertion FX types, Master Effects section, Master Equalizer (5 bands).
Memory640 presets + 64 kits, 256 user + 32 kits, 256 performances
Sequencer1024 patterns; 128 ROM/256 user phrases
Arpeggiator256 Preset Patterns, 128 User Patterns.
Recording16-Track, 110,000 notes, 64 songs 480 ppqn; 
Keys88
Key typeKeys
VelocityY
AftertouchChannel
MidiI-O-T
Extra infoModular Synthesis Plug-in System boards.
Produced:2005
Legend: Obvious Y: Yes, N: No, N/A: Not Applicable
VCO Voltage Controlled Oscillator DCO Digital Controlled Oscillator
LFO Low Frequency Oscillator Sub Sub Oscillator
VCF Voltage Controlled Filter VCA Voltage Controlled Amplifier
Velocity As with a piano, the harder you hit a key, the louder the sound, unlike most organs which always produce the same loudness no matter how hard you hit a key. Aftertouch Pressing a key after you activated it. Channel Aftertouch, no matter which key, it will send a Channel message. Poly Aftertouch, sends the pressure per key instead of the whole channel.
Values for OSC, LFO, Filter, Envelope are per voice unless stated otherwise.

Facebook

If you like to discuss or talk about synths in all forms (including VST and modular), you are welcome to join the Facebook group "The Hard, The Soft and The Modular".

My music

Interested in music from "Synthisfactory" or "SX Instrumentals"?

Visit our website.

Contact Us

Did you find an error in the info or do you have an item to list? Go to the Contribution page, fill out the form and I'll see what I can do.