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So, this morning I was at the office earlier than usual and this rather imposing keyboard feels like it’s watching me in the way a hungry cat watches you when you arrive home.
It’s expecting something, or rather the possibilities it offers expect something of me. I’m a musician for Pete’s sake and I’ve got one of the best tools for music making, sat on a stand, plugged in and ready to play. I go and have a seat with nothing in particular in mind to play at first. But, boy, the major thing which keeps me coming back to Montage – and it’s little bro the MODX – is that it kinda meets your creativity half way.
As you can see in this video, i’m not really playing anything complicated. In fact, i’m only playing rather basic patterns. But this beaut of a keyboard gently pours a soft mist of a pad over your hands as they play, or the deep reverb on the tinkle of a note will seize your body with mood – maybe a dark one, maybe a light one, but you’re stopped in your tracks and you’re moving along some kind of creative path. And all this is so nourishing to your expression as a musician and a human being. That’s why we musicians really play, isn’t it? It’s not about notes and software, it’s about expressing emotions. What’s that quote from some great composer? ‘The piano says things I can’t with words’. That quote may not be 100% accurate but you get the gist.
Anyway, back to Montage and I guess I should talk about those rather more practical things like hardware and software. It’s beefy this piano. It’s large and personally, I wouldn’t want to lug it around on my own. I could manage it but I’d rather have a rodie carry it. However, if you are planning on keeping the thing in one place then it doesn’t feel….. temporary. It very much feels like a fixture. The chassis is solid and angular much in the Yamaha style-e. Which is really retro cool. The writing of the Yamaha logo and MONTAGE on the panels is sexy, and the knobs/buttons, etc are all build they they intend to last multiple gigs in the hands of roadies (no offense, roadies). This particular model, Montage M8x, is Yamahas’ pro-level stage piano. It’s the one you’ll see on stage at Glasto and the like. And, naturally, there’s a cost to this cos it really is built tough. But it’s a buy once and use the damned thing for 20 years type instrument. Aren’t you glad someone’s buiding something like this these days in our throwaway culture? I am.
So, a little about what I’m doing in the video. In short, I’m going through the piano presets. I’m not tweaking anything – they’re all as you hear, straight from the KB library, and only the piano section. I put together a number of the ‘weird’ piano sounds which intruiged me (can never spell intruige…. ), and saved them on a single LIVE SET, as it’s called, for easy recall. It’s now going to make part of my regular showroom demonstration routine, but also my pre-opening hours tinkle-ette which is where I make so many enjoyable discoveries about the Montage and what it’s got hidden under the hood. Note, I’m occasionally pressing those blue SCENE buttons which give a slight variation on each preset sound. Those along with the SUPER KNOB (great name, Yamaha team) give you 2 very easy ways to throw a bit of variation into your playing without changing what you’re actually playing. Again, this is an example of the keyboard meeting your creativity half way. You play as you normally do, the sounds and effects will inspire you further, twiddle a knob or press a button, and you get diverted down a new pathway of creativity – sometimes to places you couldn’t possibly have anticipated going in!
For me, that’s the beauty of this model and the MODX M models. Hope that word salad has been insightful if you’re considering buying a Montage. I’m trying to offer some real human reflection on these models for my fellow (skint) musicians around the world as you budget away your precious income.
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These items are sold on behalf of Yamaha, and are sent to us on a per-order basis, typically within 5-7 working days, unless an ETA is otherwise stated.
We'll contact you the moment your purchase arrives with us to organise delivery, based on your selected option.
Example products: Yamaha DGX670, Yamaha P-525, Yamaha YDP-S55, Yamaha Clavinova.
These items must be sent with a heavy-goods courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via Dachser.
Tracking will be provided by the haulier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
*If you have included the optional £180 "Yamaha Premium Service" home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will contact you regarding arrangements after purchase.
**The Yamaha CSP Series, Yamaha CVP905 & CVP909, Yamaha CLP875, 885 & 895GP, and Yamaha NU1Xa are all sold on behalf of Yamaha and arrive with us on a per-order basis. As soon as your piano has arrived, we will contact you to organise the appropriate dispatch method. ETA for stock is shown on the product page for those items.
***If you have included the optional £99 home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will send your details direct to the installation team, who will contact you within 48 hours to make arrangements.
Depending on which option is most appropriate, we will either contact you to discuss a bespoke ePianos delivery surcharge for goods we can’t package for a 3rd party courier, or otherwise dispatch goods via FedEx or APC.
If a courier is used, tracking will be provided by them directly, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
Example products: Yamaha PSR-SX920, Yamaha P-225, Yamaha NP-15.
These items will be sent via courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via UPS or Parcelforce.
Tracking will be provided by the courier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
Smaller items, such as books, discs, etc, will be dispatched via Royal Mail second class.
After purchase, you can download the file either from the order confirmation page or the "Downloads" tab in "My Account".
If you have selected the option to receive a pre-loaded USB stick, then this will be dispatched via Royal Mail.
We will contact you regarding any pre-ordered items, and let you know when they arrive so as to arrange delivery with you at a convenient time.
Used items can also be purchased using either of the following options (minimum loan amount of £250 after deposit):
Total amount payable: £893.32
Available finance options are displayed at checkout. Alternatively, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to discuss the options, or email a finance application to you. Find out more by clicking here
Our seasonal opening hours are as follows:
We are closed on all bank holidays, therefore the processing of sales and deliveries will be delayed.
For orders of any stock displaying a 7-10 day lead time, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
This is a special order "agency" item, and comes to us directly from Yamaha on a per-order basis.
It typically takes 7-10 days for this item to arrive with us, whereupon we'll contact you to discuss the arrangement of delivery.
For any pre-orders, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you, and update you with an ETA.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
*Cashback amount varies product to product, as indicated.
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