Both the Montage 8 and the DS88 are truly remarkable products. One is specifically known for its enchanting sound quality while the other is known for basically all of its positive characteristics – from sound quality to features, and so forth. Are these two models comparable? I certainly believe so. Though the Roland JUNO DS88 is staggeringly cheaper than the Montage 8, it somehow snuck in the elite class of greatest synths. This gives the Yamaha workstation a slight advantage since the budget to build that device was quite visibly larger than that of the DS88, though that is just a testament to how great the Roland JUNO-DS88 really is. It competes with keyboards which are four times more expensive than it is.
Looking at the Yamaha
The Yamaha clearly has quite a bit going on, especially at first glance (interface appears quite hectic and full). It would be safe to assume that this keyboard can do a little bit more than the Roland might be able to, and you would be correct if you assumed this (you can know for sure by reading my reviews). Pound for pound the Montage 8 completely obliterates just about any other synthesizer in the price range of the DS88, and it quite effortlessly blows it out of the water. If you take value into account and what these keyboards are sold for, then you can say that the Roland does come with quite a bit as well.
Looking at the Roland
This keyboard is obviously not as jam-packed as its competitor. It shouldn’t be judged and/or compared as such because it is sold at a significantly cheaper price than the Montage 8 and even the Montage 6. Why is this? Well, it starts with the internals. The DS88 just doesn’t have the same power and versatility that you get with the other synthesizer, and this is all because internally it was not built to be as strong. When you compare it to any other basic synthesizer workstation though, you can tell quite easily that the Roland keyboard is quite unique and far better than the average.
Which is better at what?
Not much analysis needs to go on here; the Yamaha Montage 8 is pretty much better than the DS88 at everything. It gets close when you’re discussing sound quality because Roland always makes some of the best sounding workstations but as far as features, build quality, and aesthetics go, the Montage 8 is superior. The Roland JUNO-DS88 is better than the Yamaha if we’re talking value though – you can’t beat a synthesizer of that quality in that price range and that makes it a great value product. Yes the Yamaha is better at most things, but when you consider how much more expensive it is, you may not jump the gun on purchasing it right away.
Which is the better keyboard?
Head to head, pound for pound Yamaha’s keyboard is quite drastically superior to its competition here so if you’re just looking for the more powerful synth, you know which one to go with. However, if you’re looking for the best value synth and understand that although one might not have as much fire power it is certainly a great deal at its respective price, then you might want to go with something like the DS88 or even the smaller version of the Montage 8. Learn how to choose a synthesizer to make this process go more smoothly. Speaking strictly from a buyers standpoint, the DS88 is the better deal.