While fans have suspected it for quite some time now Yamaha has officially announced that they are discontinuing the MONTAGE. In a post titled “MONTAGE Sayonara” the company revealed that as much as they would have liked to they cannot develop the current MONTAGE any further. The Yamaha Montage was launched in 2016 and quickly became a favorite among many musicians. However, with stock levels dwindling and the company being very vague about the future of the keyboard, there was lots of speculation that it was the end of the road for MONTAGE. 

Yamaha did have some good news for MONTAGE owners too as they are providing a final set of content free of charge. The company thanked MONTAGE owners for their support and the passion they show for Yamaha Synthesizers. The final content pack contains three acoustic pianos:

Yamaha U1 Upright: The U1 Upright is one of the most popular pianos in the world and features a vintage nostalgic character that is perfect for delivering a solid upright piano vibe and sound.

Yamaha C3 Grand Piano: Also known as the “Nashville Grand” this small but rich grand piano was engineered in conjunction with the Yamaha Sound Design and Artist Relations teams. Yamaha recorded the Nashville C3 in their Yamaha Entertainment Group Studios and processed it with real analog tape for a vintage sound. 

Felt Piano: The Felt Piano is a U1 upright with felt that is placed between the hammer and strings. It was recorded in the Yamaha speaker test lab using a proprietary sampling robot which made it possible to reproduce the ultra-precise note velocities and smooth dynamic layers. 

 MONTAGE owners can download the free pack from the Yamaha website (https://shop.usa.yamaha.com/en/p/downloadables/sound-expansion-library/synth-voice-libraries/character-pianos-montage). In addition, Yamaha has revealed that the next-generation MONTAGE synthesizer is coming in October.