You could argue that, when it comes to making music, it doesn’t really matter which synth you use - it’s all about your ideas and creativity. However, it certainly helps to have an instrument that will enable you to fully realise your potential, and that’s where Yamaha’s MODX comes in.
It might be lightweight and relatively compact, but the MODX is powered by much of the same technology as you’ll find in Yamaha’s flagship MONTAGE keyboard. Designed for gigging musicians, producers and anyone else who wants to make music, this is the instrument that will help you to make your ideas sound as good in the real world as they do in your head.
For a start, it’s a full FM synthesizer. What’s more, it’s a Yamaha FM synthesizer; this is the company that created the legendary DX7, the FM powerhouse that helped to define the ‘80s musical landscape. Times have changed, though, and the FM-X engine that sits inside the MODX goes far beyond what was possible 30 years ago, with massively improved dynamic range, power and overall fidelity. There’s an 8-operator FM architecture, 64-note polyphony and multiple filter types, while the Motion Control enables you to create unique evolving sounds and textures.
This isn’t just an FM synth, though: the MODX also contains Yamaha’s tried-and-tested sample-based AWM2 synthesis engine, which opens the door to an even wider range of sounds. There are 16 AWM2 parts, each of which features eight programmable synths with a filter (you can choose from 18 types), amplitude, pitch and envelope generators, nine LFOs, and a 3-band EQ.
You also get a wide selection of high-quality effects, which include everything from Beat Repeat, Vinyl Break and Bit Crusher processors to classic offerings including a compressor with sidechain, Analog Delay, VCM Phaser and a number of Amp Simulators. In short, you have what you need to craft everything from cutting-edge EDM to vintage sounds.
Want more? How about an audio input that enables you to process external sounds with the MODX’s effects and Motion Control system, or the option to use your synth as a 2-in/10-out audio interface? And then there’s the aptly-named Super Knob, a powerful control that enables you to adjust up 128 parameters simultaneously and shape the dynamics of an entire performance. There’s so much power in one control that it’s almost scary.
MODX owners can also access Soundmondo, Yamaha’s global platform that enables users to share their sounds.
Despite all this power, the MODX is surprisingly affordable, and comes in three sizes. The five-octave MODX6 will appeal to synthesists who want to design sounds, while the MODX7 has a larger keyboard for players and performers. Pianists, meanwhile, are catered for with the MODX8, an 88-note model with a hammer-action keyboard.
Whichever model you choose, you can be sure that you’re getting a synth that’s steeped in history but will take your music forward. Find out more on the Yamaha Synth website.