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I don't like the terms "Flagship synth" or "Studio centrepiece" because music should be centre, not the tools, but if ever there was such a thing, this would be it. The keys feel fantastic. I already own over 6 semi-weighted Fatar keybeds which are my main way of playing. A Polybrute with an unweighted keybed that's great for fast synth parts or pads with after touch. The M8x is my only 88 fully weighted keybed and nothing else inspires to write a grand piano song like this one does. I think the keys are not too lightweight for me and they feel premium. A bit sluggish because of the hammer action, so for faster parts I switch back to my other keyboards. The After touch on the M8x is superb. Infinitely better than that of my Fatar Keybeds, that feel like you're pressing a button once you hit the after touch, while the M8x (and Polybrute) are smooth and gradual.

The sound is great and very inspiring. Even though everything is digital, it never sounds dull. The designers did a great job bringing the sounds to live and make the raw and gritty of emotional and evolving. They all have a lot of depth to them. This is a premium sound worthy of high end productions. The only downside is that it's not quite my own sound. I often use a more lo-fi worn out sound. The Yamaha sounds are often a bit too high end and overbearing. I often find it difficult to match the sounds of the Yamaha and the sound of the other instruments I use in my mixes. That's a challenge.

The virtual analogue sound is very good. Much better than in any of the previous Montage and MODX instruments. I still prefer to use real analogue instruments, but I shouldn't try to avoid the virtual analogue in the M8x. If it works it works. The wave table instruments sound very impressive. I prefer Kontakt libraries or other soft samplers, but the samples on the M8x are very usable in a production. The FM engine is great as it has been since the early 80s. There's an effect section that's better than ever before. You can put these effects on any external instrument as well, which doesn't quite fit my workflow. I prefer to use a computer. But for live situations this could work very well. The best thing about the sound though is when all of these elements come together. I'm just completely blown away by the sounds that can come only out of this instrument. It's also just very nice to have one instrument that can basically do every type of sound there is. If you don't have a specific instrument or sample or you don't know how to create a certain sound on a synthesizer, you can always fall back on this instrument. That's also good to have in a live setup. To have all the sounds you need at your fingertips. In that sense it really is a "flagship synth".

I haven't completely figured the instrument yet, but so far the UI is a lot more intuitive than my Fantom EX and certainly more than any Elektron gear that I have. I will be able to learn this instrument and do a lot with it eventually.

I just got this keyboard used from Guitar Center and I am having great first impressions. It's responsive and very versatile. I love it. The only problem is the keys are a little gummy, but for the price, it's expected.

I use this for my Montage M8x. I already own 2 K&M spiders, but the M8x is probably too big and heavy to put on the. I really like K&M though, so I bought a K&M that can hold more weight, specifically for the M8x. It didn't look too great on the pictures, but in practice once the synth is put on, it looks as good as is possible. It was quite easy to assemble at first and is even easier once you're used to it and need to take it to gigs (just like with the spiders).