A monster synth that inspires players to new heights.
Pride
The extruded aluminum body strikes an attractive, yet sturdy profile so you can focus all of your attention on the performance.
Revolutionary
A rear silhouette that shows off its design from every angle and will not fail to impress the audience with its style.
Professional
The keyboard—your personal space—is fully protected by the robust structure. The sides of the body flow into the back and are cut off at dynamic angles for an imposing shape.
Dual-View
The unique shape of the Super Knob lends itself to smooth, confident movements that only increase the audience's connection with the performance.
Kunihiro Takei
Designer
Yamaha Design Laboratory
A dynamic form that draws the player in, adding power to their performance.
The MONTAGE was released as a new series of synthesizers from Yamaha.
This new synthesizer features a “hybrid” sound engine combining the AWM2 and FM-X sound generation technologies, along with Motion Control, a new interface that gives you command of diverse control sources for dynamic sound modulation and rich expressions.
Previous Yamaha keyboard and synthesizer designs tended to give a more static impression. For the MONTAGE, however, we felt that a dynamic style was necessary to allow the instrument could positively express the power and sound of on-stage performances. This design concept is most true for the back of the synth, which is the side that the audience directly sees. Here, the aluminum allows for a deep, concave surface that catches the stage lights and sets off the static Yamaha logo against a background of deep shadows.
Meanwhile, the control panel maintains Yamaha's logical design to ensure intuitive use. The layout of the knobs and sliders gives very direct access, while their concave shape provides a natural fit for your hands. In terms of functions, the highlight is the Super Knob, which changes colors at different compass points. Its luminance is carefully designed so that it still looks solid when powered off.
There is a photograph that was a particular inspiration for me when designing MONTAGE. The image depicts a huge, but empty, stadium with Keith Emerson focused intently on playing the GX-1. Soon to be buried in fans, the pressure of the gaping space behind Keith bears down on him, but the GX-1 never budges as he pushes it full throttle. This scene makes me think of the instrument and its player as a single unit. MONTAGE fuses with the artist on stage to feed the potential of both, and forges an awesome partnership.
