Hi!
I also like the Motif ES. I chose it over a lot of other workstations (Kurzwell,Roland, Korg) and I'm quite happy with it. Overall sound and FX setup is great. Sounds work together very well and are easy to edit. Plug-in boards are excellent. Very versatyle. There are some silly things about it's user interface and system setup but I can say so for the Phantom and Triton as well. They all have issues and problems. So it's just a matter of which problems you don't mind dealing with and which you'd rrather not.

I think all today's workstations are beautifully designed and all offer something unique. Personally however I'm totally unimpressed by some features of Roland Phantom workstations (at least the features that Roland are trying to use as a strong selling point). There are some sounds that I like but it's not an ideal workstation for my needs. FX setup is nothing special and the quality of some FX is definitely not great.
With some tweaking Phantoms can sound like a million bucks but factory presets do not do them justice.

Right away I can tell you that there are quite a few people that I know who will totally disagree with me. That's the way it should be though.

So there's no such thing as "the best synth" since it really comes down to one's individual needs and taste. Use what seems right to you. Everything else is a complete waste of time.

-ED-

[This message has been edited by 3351 (edited 12-02-2005).]