Played one for about an hour at Guitar Center. I have a Motif ES for many years and know it's sounds intimately. I heard a lot of similar sounds between the two boards, although the MODX does have a few new sounds that are excellent. Mind you I focused on Guitar, organ, bass and EP and a few string sounds. I dabbled a bit with some other sounds, but not long enough to get a good feel. Perhaps there are bigger differences there. The feeling to me that the two sounded similar is not a bad thing at all. I love my ES to this day. If I no longer had it, I'd seriously consider this board. All in all, it sounds excellent.