YAMAHA MODX6 61-Key Synthesizer Workstation

I love the simplicity of this piano. I always use Yamaha and this piano is travel sized but EXCELLENT quality of sound.

It has been quite a while since I had a nice keyboard/synth like this. Over 20 years, so I had high expectations that the Synths available now would be significantly better. In many ways, that is true. This synth has WAY MORE memory than the synth I had decades ago, and it cost about a third of what that synth cost.

But on the other hand, that synth had keys that felt like you were playing on a real piano. They were heavy (in the right way) and solid and not plastic and thin, the feedback was that you were playing a real piano. And the sound quality is incredible now, but it was quite honestly pretty incredible back then.

This is a smaller keyboard – I’d recommend going with the medium or large size unless you are strapped financially or strapped for space. Otherwise I can’t see a good reason to go with the smaller keyboard for a studio. For gigging, the smaller keyboard is easier to haul around. This keyboard/synth doesn’t come with a stand or carrying case or gig bag, so you are on your own there.

I also don’t like that it uses a wall-wart for power. That doesn’t feel professional to me. First off, when you are gigging, power outlet space is at a premium, so having to find space for a large wall-wart is a pain. Second, it means you are running a low power, skinny little cord from the power cable to your synth and that is a recipe for trouble. Just another sign to me that this isn’t meant for gigging so much.

For the good side of things, this will use gobs of memory on a flash stick, or at least up to about 70 minutes according to the manual. I’m a little surprised by that too. Seems like in this day and age, we shouldn’t be bucking up against arbitrary limits to storage. Also the USB requirements are a little restrictive and odd. You have to format it with the synth, and you are limited to the 71 minutes for some reason.

Also, to be fair, this comes with CUBASE software, which I am only familiar with to a limited degree. It is nice that the synth will interface with the PC software. But that isn’t really my focus. I’m more old school and will record tracks onto software multitrack and then mix it down myself.

So I am giving it some credit for being able to do a lot of stuff that I probably won’t touch.

What I was looking for was QUALITY sounds, and QUALITY presets so I could just fire it up and hear high quality horns, bass guitars, brass, synth pads, and more. You DO GET THAT. Yamaha has outstanding sound and samples. There are 15 pages of presets that are very good. But I found myself running through them pretty quickly and wishing for more.

I don’t know if their higher end models come with more presets, but I would like an easy way to populate the storage banks with lots more presets. I don’t have the time or inclination to create my own.

Now on to creativity. One thing I really like about this synth is the ability to sit down with the presets and come up with ideas. This REALLY sparks my creativity. I can throw on a dubstep preset (something I wish it had a LOT more of) and be off to the races with some creative ideas after just a couple of seconds of playing with the keyboard. For things like radio production, you can create your own hits, pads, stabs, and so on very easily. Lots of nice drum pads and kits too – although a more complete drum set preset would be nice too.

The touch screen is pretty good too. It is easy to read and pretty easy to use, but a little more complicated than I would like. The inputs and outputs seem fairly solid and I didn’t find myself wishing for more, or finding any fault there. I hooked mine up to a Crown Amp which is pretty much an industry standard and it was very, very clean going through the Crown Amp to the speakers. Headphones are fine too, no problems there.

In the end, I’m going to give this four solid stars. It is VERY GOOD and sounds REALLY GOOD. It just falls a little short of what I was hoping to get for my money in 2018. Yamaha is a solid brand that really does seem to care about the ART and QUALITY of the sound. But there are other companies out there that also care about those things. I’m a fan of Yamaha though, and this is a good solid synth. It just feels like it could be better too. So, four stars for being a REALLY GOOD SYNTH with a lot of options, but not quite five stars because it feels like it could be better.

Go buy the MODX +
The newer model

I have wanted to learn Piano all my life. As a lifelong drummer, I always paid more attention to the keyboards in modern music than I did to my own instrument of choice. I grew up loving PROG rock artists such as Yes, Genesis, ELP, Pink Floyd, etc… I always thought the keyboards were the most versatile and beautiful instrument in the mix of any one of these bands.
When I retired, I decided I could finally spend the money and time to dig in and learn. While I can’t say I’ve become a great piano/keyboard player, I will say that my Yamaha MODX6 (61 keys) has provided me with hours, days and years of fun and enjoyment learning all of the incredible functions this device provides and making simple music that sounds ethereal. Recording (to my FL Studio DAW), experimenting, playing along with the classics are all possible and enjoyable with this tool. I would NOT say it is an easy tool to learn because it is an incredibly complex machine with many, MANY functions and capabilities. However over the years I have learned a great deal about this device due to its popularity since there are MANY videos on youtube providing in depth instructions on how to use and get the most out of this incredible machine. I also find that the folks at Yamaha have provided a world of support and learning to add to the experience. I have even been able to update the software more than once to enhance AND correct some of the functionality of this keyboard. For my money, Yamaha is as good as it gets. ENJOY!