Montage owners are in for a treat thanks to Yamaha as the company recently announced the release of the Chick Corea Mark V Sample & Performance Library for this synthesizer. Included in this epic library is 16 brand new Performances, all of which were created using the data that was sampled directly from the customized Mark V electric piano played by Chick Corea.

Fans of Chick Corea will already be aware that he worked with Harold Rhodes in 1984 to create the Stage 73 Mark V electric piano. This piano was then developed over the next ten years by Corea along with his team into what they called the “Number One.” It was a process that involved everything from developing custom electronics to replacing hammers, all in an effort to mold the piano into an instrument that is able to keep up with the innovation and talent of Corea. They were able to achieve a type of clarity and punch for the treble notes that is impossible on a standard Mark V thanks to these changes. The standard neoprene hammers at F# above Middle C were modified to wood and this signal was then sent from the keys to a separate pre-amp which boasted a specially designed EQ.

However, by 2009 the keyboard simply became too fragile to be taken on the road anymore as the many years of use began to take their toll. While the keyboard was then shipped into storage, Corea and his tech team did take the time to sample every single note it had at Mad Hatter Studios in Los Angels. After spending a lot of time trying to find the perfect technology platform, Corea entrusted industry-leading sound designers with the massive amount of data. They then took this data and developed Chick’s Mark V Sample Library for the predecessor to the MONTAGE, the Yamaha MOTIF XF. 

Now owners of the MONTAGE synthesizers can finally incorporate this library, which is truly a piece of musical history, into their own synthesizers. They allow for the perfect combination of the expressiveness of the MONTAGE along with Chick’s unique Mark V. Best of all, there is no cost involved and the library can be added completely free of charge.

What makes the sampling session so unique is the direct involvement of Chick Corea in the process to ensure its authenticity. Extreme care was taken to capture pristinely balanced velocities across the entire keyboard scale using a specially developed vorsetzer player-piano mechanism. The end result is a library with all of the original samples that were recorded during the sampling sessions. Not only does it have 12 unlooped velocity layers and note offs, but care was also taken to maintain the full, natural sustain of every single note.

Owners ofYamaha MONTAGE synthesizers running MONTAGE OS V1.51 or higher can visit the following link (https://www.yamahamusicsoft.com/synth/chicks-mark-v-montage) to download the Chick Corea Mark V Sample & Performance Library for free. It loads directly into the MONTAGE integrated flash memory.