Monthly Archives: October 2016

The long view

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Here’s some information attributed to Martin Harris from Yamaha. Martin is one of the key sound developers at Yamaha:

  • Better Pianos
  • New Strings – 70 piece Seattle Symphony Orchestra Mega
  • New Orchestral Brass – highly dynamic
  • New Tuned Percussion – Glock, Xylo, Marimba and Vibes (with motor on)
  • New Mega guitars – Telecaster with Finger and Plectrum
  • SA2 Celtic Violin
  • New Synth Voices
  • New Classical Choir – Cathedral ambience
  • New Gospel Choir – Various articulations and Ad libs
  • New Pop Vocals – 4 session singers, 2 male and 2 female
  • Singing many dynamics and many articulations (wave cycling)

Montage? No, Tyros 4. The “SA2” should be a clue as the Montage does not provide Super Articulation 2 (SA2) voices.

My purpose here is not to be tricky, but to make the case that sample-based workstations or synthesizers draw from the sound pool that is available at development time, much the same way that hardware designers draw on the pool of available components. Products cannot be composed of imaginary circuits (“sand”), software, and sounds, after all.

To better illustrate this point, here is a rough timeline for the Tyros and Motif product lines with a few mid-range products (S9xx and MOX) thrown in:

             Tyros                        Motif/Montage
----   ------------------  ------------------------------------------
Year   Model     Physical  Model     Physical  Uncompressed waveforms
----   ------------------  ------------------------------------------
2001                       Motif      48MB     84MB 1,309 waveforms
2002   Tyros      96MB
2003                       Motif ES   96MB     175MB 1,859 waveforms
2004
2005   Tyros 2   192MB
2006
2007                       Motif XS  128MB     355MB 2,670 waveforms
2008   Tyros 3   256MB
2009
2010   Tyros 4   512MB     Motif XF  256MB     741MB 3,977 waveforms
2011                       MOX       128MB     355MB 2,670 waveforms
2012   PSR-S950  256MB
2013   Tyros 5   768MB     MOXF      256MB     741MB 3,977 waveforms
2014
2015   PSR-S970    2GB
2016                       Montage     4GB     5.67GB 6,347 waveforms

I included physical wave memory size for each product. I also included the uncompressed total sample size and number of waveforms for each member of the Motif/Montage line.

Clearly, Yamaha know how to ride the memory technology curve. Memory technology has progressed to the point where it is no longer a significant hardware design factor. Rather, the amount of wave memory in a product depends more upon the ability of the sound designers to fill it with quality content and mid- versus premium-product grading (i.e., the target market segment and price point for the model). For example, note that the mid-range S970 has more than twice the physical wave memory than the Tyros 5. Although the “expansion memory” is reserved in the S970’s physical wave memory, the S970 waveform content is substantially smaller than the Tyros 5.

The other characteristic to note is how the Tyros and Motif lines tend to leapfrog each other. Generally, the Tyros line leads the Motif line in physical wave memory and content. This is partly due to the higher memory requirements of SA2 voices, which require many additional articulation samples.

Both the Tyros 4 and Motif XF were released in 2010. Both machines use two SWP51L tone generators. (Newer products like the Montage use the SWP70 tone generator.) The Tyros 4 has twice the physical wave memory capacity with respect to the Motif XF. Yet, the Tyros 4 has sample content which did not make it to a deliverable product in the Motif line until the Montage in 2016: Seattle strings, orchestral brass, Celtic violin, vocals (choir and scat), Telecaster guitar and suitcase electric piano.

Tyros 5 expanded this content in 2013. The Motif XF, on the other hand, received a significant update in January 2014. The V.150 update added the “Real Distortion” effects implemented by the Tyros 5. (A few Real Distortion effects actually premiered in the mid-range S950.) The V1.50 update and the “White Motif” color job were life-extenders for the Motif line. I’ve conjectured before that Montage development was late and this is further evidence.

So, what can we expect in the Tyros successor which I’m calling the “Tyros++”. (Yamaha have trademarked the name “GENOS” which may be the name of the follow-on. Only Yamaha really knows.) Personally, I’m hoping for the new orchestral woodwinds from Montage. These are superbly expressive voices. I’m also expecting improved electric pianos, again, of comparable quality to the Montage.

SA2 voices will probably remain exclusive to the Tyros line. Many folks hoped that Montage would have SA2 and it didn’t. SA2 is an important product differentiator — kind of like the premium “Natural” piano voices are to the Clavinova line. I suspect that FM voices will be a differentiator for the premium Montage line in years to come as well. Yamaha tends to think of these three product lines as distinct, so cross-over is carefully controlled and limited.

All of this talk about samples and wave memory size is overly reductionist. The three main (DMI) product lines — Tyros, Motif/Montage, Clavinova — have distinct personalities and features. Motif/Montage is a synthesizer for stage and production studio. Clavinova is primarily a home or church piano. Tyros serves double duty as a home keyboard and as a workstation for performing professionals. (Oddly, many USA customers scoff at this latter role.)

Although these are all fine instruments, the personalities have quirks. Upper-range Clavinovas are Tyros-in-disguise except for multi-pads, third RIGHT voice (i.e., only two voice layers in the right hand), and no expansion memory. Tyros does not have the deep editing or modulation features of the Motif/Montage. The Motif and Montage — strangely! — do not have a tonewheeel organ mode. This latter omission is hard to understand since the Montage competes against other “stage” products like the Korg Kronos and Nord Stage.

Having compared voice programming between PSR-S950 (Tyros 3 without SA2 voices) and MOX (Motif XS sound set), the product lines are voiced (programmed) differently. Motif/Montage effect programming has a harder edge than the Tyros, which is oriented toward oldies, pop and jazz standards. (Yes, Virginia, the Tyros does have latent EDM potential to be tapped.) If the Tyros++ includes the orchestral woodwinds, for example, they will probably be programmed rather differently than Montage. Tyros++ four-part divisi ensembles with the new orchestral woodwinds would be simply brilliant. Can’t wait to see and hear what happens!

One finally editorial comment. The world is filled with product reviews. Publications like Keyboard magazine, Electronic Musician, etc. focus on individual products and rarely present a deep, long-term perspective on products. Sound On Sound reviews occasionally give historical background — usually for esoteric, retro studio pieces. As consumers, we need the long view in order to make the most informed choice.

Rainy day ramblings

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A rainy New England day and the leaves and pine needles are piling up. Can’t do much of anything outdoors today, so off to GC. (Not that I really want to do yard work.)

No real agenda. I’ve been thinking about Yamaha Montage vs. Tyros 5++ vs. Nord Stage 2 ex vs. Electro 5d. That’s all “long term” as I’m having a lot of fun and staying busy with the S950 and MOX.

I really could use a “lap piano” for rehearsals. (A distant relative of “floor melodica?”) My body ached so much last Wednesday before rehearsal that even an eight pound Korg Triton Taktile was too much to schlep. So, I sang with the group, hoping to internalize the melodies of the new music for the week. This isn’t such a bad idea in any case, since it’s good form to sing along in one’s head while playing — improvisationally or not. A good reminder that, yes, hymns actually have words.

So, the issue of mini-keys rises from the grave like Joan Crawford. About one month ago, I sought and found a Yamaha Reface to try again. As it seems for most interesting music tech, one needs to drive a zillion miles or take two or more trains to find and play Reface, Montage, Korg Arp Odyssey and so forth. And thus it was to play a Reface DX. I had a fair chance to plink away and the DX provided a wide range of solid sounds. But, still, no love for the Reface mini-keys. I simply cannot imagine playing a Reface at rehearsals and even remotely enjoying the experience.

Today’s journey was inspired by a favorable review of the new Korg MicroKorg S in Sound On Sound magazine. What a pretty picture it is; Korg’s industrial design may ape Arturia, but they took the best! The review mentioned the larger mini-keys (what an oxymoron!) of the Microkorg XL+ and I decided to find a comparably equipped Korg.

Happily, today’s trial was the Minilogue, which proved to be a fun time indeed. It’s got a pretty sweet sound for an inexpensive polyphonic analog synth. With the right programming, I could even warp the Minilogue into a “lap piano” good enough for rehearsals. A built-in speaker a la the new Microkorg S would be nice. However, I could easily run it into the JBL Charge 2 that serves as the battery-powered amplifier for the Triton Taktile 49 (my usual rehearsal ax). It’s a shame that the Minilogue isn’t battery powered, too, as it would make a terrific portable instrument.

The Minilogue’s oscilloscope is a real treat and is totally entertaining. It’s also a reminder that I need to add a mini-/micro-oscilloscope to the dining room lab one of these days. The oscilloscope display is a small OLED screen much like the screen in the Triton Taktile.

The Minilogue’s keys are far more playable than the Reface. The keys are longer than typical mini-keys and the black keys (sharps and flats) are narrow. This combination makes for a surprisingly effective keyboard design. I wouldn’t want to play a gig with these, but they are suitable for plinking out melodies and such at rehearsal. (See this article at Synthtopia for a good analysis of the Minilogue’s key size.) Several other Korgs have the same key design: the Korg Arp Odyssey and the “Natural Touch” microKEY, to name two.

I’ll say this for Korg. They may miss the mark sometimes, but these folks are actively innovating at a fast pace!

After messing with the Minilogue, I revisited the Nord Stage 2 ex. This is a fine instrument and is in the same premium range as the Yamaha Montage. Having also revisited the Montage in recent weeks, the Nord’s string and woodwind voices just don’t come up to the same level as Montage. The Montage voices live and breath. Although the Nord is quite good, these voices sound like “sample playback.” Kudos to Yamaha.

I will have more to say about Montage in a forthcoming post. In short, is it time to spring for Montage or wait for the successor to the Tyros 5 (“Tyros++”)?

Time for a cuppa…

Dr. Synth and the SC-33: An appreciation

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Every now and again, we poke around in the closet and rediscover a lost gem.

So it is with the Boss DS-330 Dr. Synth. The DS-330 dates back to 1994 (!) and is an almost (maybe) GS-compatible Sound Canvas. It is the smaller brother to the Roland SC-33 Sound Canvas which is GS-compatible. The SC-33 has the same sound set as the SC-55mkII (226 tones) while the DS-330 has a subset (156 tones depending on who is counting.)

I fell so hard for the DS-330, again, that I bought a second hand SC-33. The SC-33 is little bit beat, but I intend to use it with my Nord Electro 2. I won’t have any qualms about dropping it into my gig bag.

roland_sc33_e2

Neither the DS-330 or SC-33 will win any awards for sound quality based on modern standards. The sample format is 16-bit 32KHz and the wave ROM size is 2MBytes. That’s right, 2MBytes. However, both machines are good General MIDI playback devices and quite a few of the preset voices are decent enough to play live, especially when they are layered and tweaked.

With old gear, there are always a few compatibility issues. When I drive the modules from a Triton Taktile 49, I get the occasional “MIDI Off Line” error. From the circumstances, I think this is due to incorrect handling of MIDI running status. No problems with Cubase, a Roland SK88Pro or the Nord, however.

The DS-330 and SC-33 share a common physical package and user interface design. And therein are the jewels.

Both units are about 8.5 inches wide and 6.5 inches deep. They sit flat with the display, buttons and volume control on the top, unlike the half-rack form factor and mounting style of virtually all other tone modules. This means that you can set the DS-330 or SC-33 on an open spot on a keyboard (controller) and easily hit the buttons while performing. (Please click on images to get higher resolution.)

roland_ds330

Good Golly, how I wish that manufacturers would adopt this form factor again! I’d love to see a Reface in this physical package. I would also love to see a decent ROMpler in this format, too, as an expansion module for digital pianos and B-3 clones.

Software-wise, the user interface has two major modes: single play mode and multi mode. Multi mode is for sequencing and since I’m pitching the module for live performance, I’ll concentrate on single play mode.

Once you’re in single play mode, navigation is a breeze. Menus are triggered by dedicated buttons and the menus are not super deep or long. Roland also thoughtfully provided a BWD button to move backwards within a menu. Ever skip over the menu item you wanted and had to do a “go round?”

The best part of the overall UI design is the sixteen buttons/pads that select tones. A button selects a tone category and a favorite tone within the category which the user has “registered.” That may sound complicated, but it is very natural. All you need to do to register a tone is to hit the catgeory button after selecting the tone. There isn’t any explicit WRITE or STORE operation; the software automatically captures any changes and updates the internal parameter memory. (Like many devices from that era, parameter memory is battery powered, not flash.) The closest thing to WRITE or STORE is the simple act of leaving a menu by way of the EXIT button. That’s it.

Tones can be layered (DUAL) or split (SPLIT). Splits and layers are insanely easy to create and edit. All editable parameters, split status/level, dual status/level and more are saved with each of the tones. You never have to think about the separate concept of a user performance memory or whatever. The parameters are just part of the tone and selecting a tone recalls the last saved edit.

Single play mode has a DRUM submode. When in this mode, the 16 buttons are now pads that play drum sounds from the selected kit. Sorry, no velocity sensitivity since this is 1994!

These little boxes were thought out very well. If you’re a manufacturer and looking to build and sell a piano-top (clone-top, whatever) module, here’s your exemplar!