PLG150-AP Saga - Part Two

Last week when I posted my review of the PLG150-AP here I also crossposted it in the Motifator Plugboard forums. One of the reps from Yamaha immediately replied that the PLG150-AP will only play the raw sample data from the AP card - no voice data was included for the 9000 Pro. As soon as I had the chance, I installed the card in my Motif ES 8 and my faults with the sample transitions disappeared. In fact, the AP card in the Motif ES 8 sounds great - better than either it's own native "Full Grand" triple strike or the PLG150-PF. It's a beautiful mellow grand piano sound that I really like... good news for ES owners. The bad news is that the PLG150-AP sounds unpredictably different in other host instruments, unlike the PLG150-PF piano expansion card which sounds the same whether it is installed in a Motif ES or a 9000 Pro.

Clearly Yamaha knows the PLG150-AP won't sound good (or at least as good as it should) in the 9000 Pro but they market this card for use with this instrument anyway. The skimpy AP owner's manual doesn't tell you what to expect from each host instrument that is supposed to be compatible with the AP. Yamaha is practicing deceptive marketing here that borders on legal liability. It's one thing to stop supporting a discontinued keyboard but entirely another to make 9000 Pro owners believe they can add the kind of high-quality triple strike grand piano that they can get for the Motif ES. I would swear they have some kind of grudge against 9000 Pro owners.

If there is any gratification from all this besides having a nice update for my Motif ES 8, it is that a lot of Yamaha non-arranger customers feel the same way I do - many on the Motifator forum said that the PLG150-AP board should work fully in the 9000 Pro right out of the box if Yamaha is going to market the AP board for it. Yamaha reps haven't replied and I don;t expct that they will. I still recommend the PLG150-PF to 9000 Pro owners (I reinstalled mine) but as for any other PLG cards, including the PLG150-AP, buyer beware!