Pros and Cons of the Yamaha MX88-Review

Colin Wiebe shares his pros and cons of Yamaha's MX88 keyboard.

Colin Wiebe is a Yamaha Artist who uses and performs with Yamaha products.

[Keyboardman]

Sold my Kurzweil PC2X in a Gator case because it was too heavy and too long to get into my Camry with the back seats down. Bought the MX88. Weight is very manageable, the Yamaha MX88 case fits perfectly and has handles place in convenient locations...AND...has wheels on one end. The keyboard is shorter than the "K" and I can get it in the back seat.
A lot of the sounds in the MX 88 are superior to the PC2X; however, the PC2x excels in orchestra sounds - strings, brass sections, and has some great vocal pads that the Yamaha can't begin to touch. The Yamaha has some great solo instruments. The jazz flue is fantastic..includes chaffing. The jazz soprano sax makes one thing that Ronnie Laws is in the house.
One mans opinion.

[LQ_]

Hi colin, I just bought this keyboard, I really love the rhodes affair sound from Robbie Buchanan, and I was wondering if I can get that same sound from the MX88.. Thank you

[officialWWM]

Curious, can the patches and sounds be controlled via midi? For example, I also play guitar and I use Onsong on my iPad to control the patches. When I change songs in onsong, it also changes the patch in my Headrush pedal unit. Can I do that with this keyboard?

[JA-lvuh]

Can you plug two monitors into it for a stereo sound? Which cable is used to connect it to a monitor btw?

[BLAzinStRipePiPes]

Hi! I have a P125, but I'm looking for a synth with a wider variety of sounds (which this obviously has) that is better in terms of portability. I'm on the fence between the MX61 and the MX88. The reason I might go with the MX61 is the size difference... I love 88 keys, but I don't want something that's too heavy. Is the MX88 lighter than the P125? Also, is there a significant difference in weight betweek the 61 and the 88? Thanks in advance!

[Keyboardman]

The flaw in the action is starting to show. After about a year of medium playing ( about 5-6 hours per week in the home) the keyboard starts getting sloppy and noisy. I've read other reports from people experiencing the same issue.  I contacted Yamaha about the issue. Since my piano was out of warranty they granted me a one time special warranty to get the keyboard repaired.  The tech at Cascio Music - New Berlin WI. ordered a whole new key bed and  did the replacement.  The older keys showed a lot of ware as the mechanisms are not made of the most durable materials.  If the keyboard were to be used professionally 5-6 nights a week, I'm sure it wouldn't hold up.

[keyboardz]

Plays MP3 files ?
Mine doesn't support that

[BillyBlaze]

thats just more incentive to learn the lyrics right?

[ZyroPapuchon]

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[stevend]

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem...ew... yesI said the "P" word! For decades I have chosen Yamaha because I rely on the quality and I've never had a problem...Well until I got an MX88. I feel the same way about Tascam. I don't know if it's just me or what but it seems these days everything is being made so cheaply. The tech is there but the hardware has gotten cheaper every decade. ANYWAY... I got my MX88 last June specifically to tackle a project I had planned for a year. Having previously had a few Motif's I'm familiar with what the MX has and for that...no surprises. The action is good, but I also have a P255 and these actions are supposed to be the same, but they are not. It's all about the feel. ANYWAY...right out of the box after getting everything setup to start the project I noticed a crackling noise every time I turned the MX on. Consistently on every power on with first note/chord strike. All on attack of the note. BUT... after a few notes it would subside. Knowing now... I should have immediately returned it, but anxious to get the project going I made the exception since the noise consistently seemed to subside upon playing. It was like it just needed to warm up. Fast forward to project completion. After weeks of practice and many out takes I had a track I was happy with. BUT as I began to listen more carefully readying for mixdown I began to notice there were STILL crackles within the track. Be they ever so subtle... they were there, all on the strike/attack of the note! Because this noise is specific to the strike/attack of the note I was able to work around it by playing a little less aggressively and was eventually able to get a keeper track. However some crackling was still there. I performed a number of tests to ensure it wasn't another piece of equipment or a bad cable and found unanimously my MX has a problem. So yesterday I boxed it up and sent it to the nearest service center and it should be interesting to see what they find. So that said... has anyone else noticed this dilemma?