What’s New About The Yamaha MODX+
On September 1st Yamaha officially launched the “new” MODX+ or MODX Plus as some are calling it. But what is “new” about this update to the very successful original MODX?
We had been reporting on the MODX+ since August 23rd and made some predictions which turned out to be quite accurate.
What did we get wrong?
There was a lot of speculation that the new MODX+ would include a third synth engine in the form of AN-X however this was soon discounted when we saw an early release of the MODX+ user manual. There was no mention of a third synth engine and we updated our post to reflect this.
However, some are still holding out hope that a second SWP70 chip has been added to the MODX+ which may allow the addition of a third synth engine via a firmware update at some point in the future.
We will have to wait until someone opens an MODX+ before we know for sure if that secons SWP70 chip is present. The Montage has two of these chips. The original MODX has one.
What we got right?
The original MODX had acess to only 1 GB of internal flash memory and this has been increased to 1.75 GB for the MODX+ however, this memory is not new. It was always inside the original MODX so the increase has been achieved by unlocking it via firmware. This holds out the possibility that owners of the original MODX might gain acess to the extra memory at some point in the future. It is certainly possible via a firmware update.
The original MODX came with 128 note polyphony for AWM2 and 64 note polyphony for FM-X. We had stated that the FM-X side would see an increase to 128 note polyphony and this turned out to be the case. The MODX+ is now the same as the Montage in this respect.
The mod and pitch wheels are now rubber coated. The same as the Montage.
Conclusions
The MODX was already a fantastic keyboard. The perfect balance of cost vs benefits. And it sounded great too!
The MODX+ carried with it some big expectations. The biggest of which was the anticipated addition of a third synth engine. In many ways this was unrealistic. If any keyboard was going to be updated with a third synth engine it would have been the flagship Montage. But is it really needed? AWM2 and FM-X already provide endless potential for sound creation and many owners have not even scratched the surface of what these two synth engines are capable of. AN-X may come but for now, the MODX+ still represents incredibly value for money.
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