Author Archives: pj

About pj

Now (mostly) retired, I'm pursing electronics and computing just for the fun of it! I'm a computer scientist and engineer who has worked for AMD, Hewlett Packard and Siemens. I also taught hardware and software development at Case Western Reserve University, Tufts University and Princeton. Hopefully, you will find the information on this site to be helpful. Educators and students are particularly welcome!

PSR-EW410: Tour of its electronics

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Last August, I took an in-depth look at the internal design of Yamaha’s entry-level, low-cost keyboards.

Up until the last few years, Yamaha’s low-end keyboards were based around its proprietary SWL01 processor. The SWL01 is a high volume LSI part which combines a microprocessor, tone generation and DSP resources into a single integrated circuit. The embedded software program and sound waveform data (AKA “the samples”) are stored together in a single flash memory device. Polyphony is limited to 32 voices due to the relatively low memory transfer bandwidth between the SWL01 and flash memory.

Newer entry-level keyboards, such as the Piaggero NP-32 and the PSR-EW410, have received a boost in polyphony (and DSP effects) over their respective predecessors. This boost in spec is due to a new central processor, the SWX03:

  • SH RISC instruction set architecture (ISA)
  • Internal clock: 135.4752MHz (external 16.9344MHz crystal)
  • System/CPU bus interface
    • Bus clock: 67.7MHz
    • 24-bit address bus
    • 16-bit data bus
  • Parallel digital inputs and outputs
  • USB to Host interface (USB1.1 full speed)
  • USB to Device interface
  • Low resolution analog-to-digital conversion (ADC)
  • Serial I2S interface for incoming and outgoing digital audio

The digital I/O pins sense the key and front panel switches and encoders. They also send data to the LCD panel via an LCD driver. Yamaha designs typically sense the presence of AUX IN and PHONE connections, too. The ADC pins sense the front panel knobs, pitch bend wheel, master volume and battery condition. The SWX03 microarchitecture is shown in the block diagram below. [Click image to enlarge.]

The internal clock and bus clock are derived from an external 16.9344MHz crystal. 16.9344MHz is a multiple (384) of the sample word clock (44,100Hz). Digital audio is transfered serially in I2S format (24-bits per sample word). Thus, the CPU operates in lock step with the serial audio input and output interfaces.

The earlier generation SWL01U typically has a 33.8688MHz internal clock. Thus, the SWX03 is quite a bit faster. Yamaha must be taking advantage of fabrication process improvements that allow a higher clock speed while keeping power low enough for battery operation. The higher clock speed of the SWX03 supports greater voice polyphony and the addition of new features such as Quick Sampling and audio playback/record over USB (See the Yamaha PSR-EW410 site for details).

The USB interfaces are clocked by an external 48MHz crystal resonator. The USB interfaces operate at full USB 1.1 speed. The SWL01 required an external USB interface component. The SWX03 integrates the USB interfaces on chip and eliminates the external USB component. This change reduces cost, board real estate and wiring.

The I2S digital audio converters are external. Entry-level products typically use the Asahi Kasei AK4430ET 24-bit DAC followed by an RC filter.

The NP-32 and PSR-EW410 implement audio conversion and amplification differently. The NP-32 sends serial audio data to an AK4430 DAC. The analog signal is then sent to a TDA7266 analog power amplifier (2 x 6Watt). The PSR-EW410 sends serial audio data to a Yamaha YDA176 digital power amplifier, which handles conversion as well as amplification. The EW410’s AK4430 produces an analog signal for both the PHONES output and the stereo line out (OUT L/L+R, OUT R).

While on the subject of audio, the PSR-EW410 has, in addition, a PCD1803A 24-bit stereo ADC which converts the buffered, analog AUX IN signal.

Both the NP-32 and PSR-EW410 store the embedded software and waveform data in a single flash ROM device. The flash ROM device communicates with the SWX03 CPU on the system bus provided by the SWX03. Physical storage devices are quite small by today’s mega standard:

  • NP-32: 8M x 16-bit words (64Mbits)
  • PSR-EW410: 16M x 16-bit words (256Mbits)

The CPU runs code and fetches waveform sample data from the same flash storage device. Thus, code and samples share the available transfer bandwidth. The EW410’s PROG/WAVE memory is twice as large as the earlier PSR-E443 (128Mbits). Hopefully, Yamaha are using the extra space for better instrument samples.

The NP-32 is dirt simple. The only memory attached to its SWX03 is the PROG/WAVE ROM. The EW410 is more sophisticated having an 8MByte SDRAM and a 16MByte flash ROM.

I’d love to take a look inside the SWX03 and see how it ticks. The internal design of the Yamaha NSX-1 may have some clues and I need to revisit the NSX-1 documentation.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

The PSR-EW410 block diagram — in all its glory — appears below. Click the image to enlarge it.

Sampleson Reed200 and Markus88

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I like to give shout outs to companies and people who are doing unique work.

Sampleson® have developed and are selling two spectral modeled electric piano VST instruments:

They are modestly priced and I recommend giving them a listen.

Spectral modeling came into light through the Yamaha CP1/CP40 and the Yamaha Reface CP. Spectral modeling admits a nice continuous controlability without audible velocity switch points. A lot of folks would love to see Yamaha Spectral Component Modeling (SCM) electric pianos in their synth and arranger products. SCM includes spectral modeling, of course, as well as Virtual Component Modeling (VCM) effects.

Spectral modeling breaks a sound down to its harmonic components. The “sample size” is insanely small by modern standards. The Reed200 is just 30MBytes and the Markus88 is 25MBytes. I like the modeling approach because I really don’t want to deal with gobs and gobs (gigs and gigs!) of sample data. I’m currently using AAS Lounge Lizard EP-4 for that reason alone.

If you’re interested in spectral modeling, please read this short summary.

Additionally, Sampleson have a number of inexpensive recreations: Electrix EP (Hohner Electra T), Melox PRO (Melodica), etc. $20 USD a shot! The Melodica demo is totally Stevie…

Sampleson offer a free Dyno MOD effect (“Dyno my Rhodes piano”) which you can add to your signal chain. Download it here.

Winter NAMM 2019: Random Youtube videos

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I’m going to post a random selection of Youtube videos here as I stumble into them.

First up are a couple of Yamaha Sonogenic SHS-500. The first video featuring Gabriel Aldort from Yamaha is funny, but shows the essence of the Sonogenic — a fun instrument to play along with tunes. One tidbit — Android support is coming down the line. Does this mean a version of Chord Tracker for Android? Chord Tracker is an important ecosystem cornerstone for several Yamaha digital instruments.

The second Sonogenic video is in Polish. The demonstrator is clearly having fun and there are a few snippets of the instrument sounds. Gratefully, they ducked the vocal and ambient noise during the snippets so you can hear how the SHS-500 really sounds. The drums and eleectric piano aren’t bad.

Everybody’s main man Katsunori UJIIE gives us the run down on the Yamaha MODX synthesizer. Also, check out this blast from the past: UJIIE’s Reface CP demo. Man, that guy is creative! Can’t wait for his demo of the new Yamaha CP73/CP88 digital pianos. It’s no wonder that the street price on the CP and YC have remained firm while the DX and CS are heavily discounted from their initial price. The Reface CP is still a quick and cheap way to get SCM electric pianos (Spectral Component Modeling).

BTW, UJIIE has really mastered those Reface mini keys. I still use the Reface YC at rehearsals. So easy to schlep! I can set up and be ready to go in 60 seconds. Just give me a music stand with the Reface YC across my lap.

On February 12, Frank Ventresca at AudioworksCT hosted a Yamaha Genos™ demonstration and workshop featuring Yamaha Product Specialist Heratch Touresian. (Heratch was assisted by Maio Obregón, Yamaha District Manager.) Frank has posted the video on Youtube. It’s almost three hours long! Thank you Heratch and Frank.

Full disclosure: I purchased an PSR-S950 and Genos from Frank. A great experience both times.

Overall, you get a terrific overview of Genos and current owners will learn new tricks. The last half-hour or so shows off Genos as a songwriting tool. Today’s arrangers — especially Genos — are not your grandfather’s boom-chukka.

If you’re new to Genos, check out my Genos quick start. Also, click on the Genos tag to find all the other Genos-related content on my site.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Yamaha SHS-500 follow-up

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The Yamaha SHS-500 Sonogenic keytar won a Winter NAMM 2019 Best In Show “Gotta Stock It” award. Congrats!

The for-real (PDF) Yamaha SHS-500 Owner’s Manual and Reference Manual are available on Yamaha’s Web site. Yamaha just published text manuals at launch. Now that I can see pictures (!), there’s a few things worth mentioning.

The SHS-500 does not have a 5-pin DIN MIDI connector. It has a multi-pin MIDI terminal to which you connect a MIDI breakout cable — just like Reface. So, the SHS-500 supports both 5-pin MIDI IN and MIDI OUT.

Side comment: I hope the MIDI manufacturers do not butcher MIDI 2.0 with ridiculous complexity. I like 5-pin MIDI because of its simplicity, both messages and electrical signaling. MIDI over USB, to me as a hardware/software developer, is a nightmare.

The SHS-500 has both headphone out and LINE out. The LINE out is 1/4″ mono. Plugging into the LINE out does not silence the internal speaker. The volume knob does not change the LINE out level.

In the nerd humor department. The Reference Manual recommends “Use audio cables and adapter plugs having no (zero) resistance.” Get out your superconductors.

The display format is clear and simple once you see an explanation of the icons (shown below). [Click images to enlarge.]

The keytar neck puts numerous controls under the hand:

  • OCTAVE buttons INC and DEC
  • TRANSPOSE buttons INC and DEC
  • SONG CONTROL: Fast reverse, Play/pause, Fast forward
  • JAM button (enables JAM function)
  • SUSTAIN button
  • PITCH BEND wheel
  • MODULATION wheel
  • FUNCTION button

I don’t see any lefties playing the SHS-500 like Hendrix, i.e., left-handed and upside-down. If you’re a Yamaha PSR person, you know that the FUNCTION button is your gateway to MIDI settings, etc. Some of the other things you can change are the tuning, EQ type, pitch bend range, portamento (ON/OFF and time), DSP type, MIDI port (Bluetooth, USB, wired), MIDI channel, local control ON/FF, audio loop back, battery type and auto OFF.

Although there is an EFFECT CONTROL knob for adjusting the currently selected DSP effect, effect control can be assigned to the MODULATION wheel. Just one of those things that you can change using the FUNCTION button. EFFECT CONTROL aside, the MODULATION wheel is assigned to Vibrato Depth. No other options.

The MIDI connection diagram shows that Yamaha is thinking ahead to Android support.

The specifications describe the keyboard as “37 HQ (High Quality) Mini Keys.” They must be using the Reface key bed.

The SHS-500 can send audio over USB to a receiving computer/device. Funny, the $5,000+ Genos still cannot do this.

There is no voice editing per se other than effect control. You can control the filter (cutoff and resonance) and keyboard dynamics (touch sensitivity). The SHS-500 appears to have a three stage effects chain: Reverb, chorus and DSP. You can control only the reverb and chorus depth, not type.

There are nine DSP effect types: Distortion 1, Distortion 2, DSP chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, Rotary speaker, Low pass filter and high pass filter. Each effect type has one type-specific parameter under user control.

I can make a practical case of the Sonogenic even if I never prance and jeté with it. The SHS-500 is like a polyphonic, sample-playback Reface. I play a Yamaha Reface YC at rehearsals and often wish for other voices like flute or strings. The Sonogenic would be excellent as a very light-weight rehearsal instrument — something that’s easy to throw into the car.

Interested? Then check out these postsl about the Sonogenic:

The Yamaha SHS-500 Sonogenic is based on the Yamaha VKB-100 Vocaloid™ keyboard:

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Yamaha piano voice programming

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Most of my live playing adds orchestral instruments or B-3 organ to our liturgical church group (synth plus 12-string guitar plus grand piano). Thus, I don’t dip into either acoustic piano or electric piano too often.

Recently, we prepared a number of gospel tunes in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. Rather than jump to B-3, I decided to practice a few songs on electric piano. The release of the new Yamaha CP73/CP88 was nearly coincident, and naturally, I became curious about the implementation of acoustic and electric piano on MODX, the closest cousin to the CP73/CP88. It also gave me a chance to explore EP on Genos™ and to try using Genos as a controller for MODX.

MODX acoustic pianos

First, a dive into MODX acoustic pianos. Montage and MODX essentially have the same sound engine, modulo differences in polyphony and a few other details that aren’t relevant to this discussion. Therefore, anything I say about MODX should apply to Montage, too.

The basic voice programming unit in MODX is a Performance. A Performance is a versatile “container” for up to 16 Parts. Parts can be split, layered, mixed and so forth. Each Part is itself a powerful programming unit consisting of up to eight Elements, where each Element is a mini, sample-playback synthesizer. (Yeah, yeah, or it could be FM.) That, in a nutshell, is the hierarchical programming breakdown. In Yamaha-speak, each Element plays back a Waveform.

The deal is, contemporary high-quality piano voices need several levels of velocity switching in order to generate the wide dynamic range and timbre of an acoustic or electric piano. These voices are sometimes called “multi-strike” because each note is struck and sampled at several, carefully controlled velocities.

In the Yamaha voice architecture, each strike level is encoded in a Waveform. One Waveform (i.e., the samples associated with a single strike level) is assigned to an Element.

Let’s say that you want to create a highly detailed acoustic piano (e.g., Yamaha CFX) with nine strike levels and key-off sounds. Right away, you need more Elements than a single Part can provide! Thus, Yamaha implement the piano as a Performance consisting of multiple Parts.

Take the Montage/MODX CFX Concert Performance, for example. This Performance consists of four Parts:

Part 1 (six elements)

    El#  Waveform       VLo  VHi  NLo  NHi
    ---  -------------  ---  ---  ---  ---
     1   CFX ppp St       2   25  C-2   G8
     2   CFX pp St       20   35
     3   CFX p St        36   45
     4   CFX mp St       46   59
     5   CFX mf St       60   74
     6   CFX f St        75   92

Part 2  (three elements)

    El#  Waveform       VLo  VHi  NLo  NHi
    ---  -------------  ---  ---  ---  ---
     1   CFX ff St       93  110  C-2   G8
     2   CFX fff St     111  125
     3   CFX ffff St    126  127

Part 3 (eight elements)

    El#  Waveform       VLo  VHi  NLo  NHi
    ---  -------------  ---  ---  ---  ---
     1   CFX pp St        2   35  C-2   G8
     2   CFX p St        36   45
     3   CFX mp St       46   59
     4   CFX mf St       60   74
     5   CFX f St        75   92
     6   CFX ff St       93  110
     7   CFX fff St     111  125
     8   CFX ffff St    126  127

Part 4 (one element, XA control: Key Off)

    El#  Waveform       VLo  VHi  NLo  NHi
    ---  -------------  ---  ---  ---  ---
     1   CFX KeyOff St    1  127  C-2   G5

That’s 18 Elements total. The Elements in Part 3 are a layer on top of the Elements in Parts 1 and 2. The Elements in Part 3 have different filter programming (and maybe something I haven’t discovered yet…)

Perhaps the voice programmer could have squeezed everything into three Parts, but in for a penny, in for a pound. In terms of versatility and re-usability, it makes sense to split the Elements (and their Waveforms) into four Parts.

By the way, the Montage/MODX CFX Concert Performance employes the Damper Resonance DSP effect, which is the same algorithm (effect type) as Genos. Damper Resonance is [u]not[/u] the same as Clavinova’s Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM). VRM is a step up. This is another topic which comes up frequently in forums.

On the other hand, the single part MODX CFX Stage Performance consists of eight elements:

    El#  Waveform       VLo  VHi  NLo  NHi
    ---  -------------  ---  ---  ---  ---
     1   CFX pp St        2   35  C-2   G5
     2   CFX mp St       36   59  C-2   G5
     3   CFX f St        60   92  C-2   G5
     4   CFX fff St      93  125  C-2   G5
     5   CFX ffff St    126  127  C-2   G5
     6   CFX mf St        2   59  G#5   G8
     7   CFX fff St      60  127  G#5   G8
     8   CFX KeyOff St    1  127  C-2   G5

Please take note of the key ranges. Up to G5, the CFX Stage has five strike levels. Above G5, the CFX Stage is a two strike piano. Good enough for rock and roll.

The Genos voice programming structure is more restricted than MODX. Each Genos voice has eight Elements. Thus, there is a fundamental limit to the number of strikes in a single Genos voice. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Genos CFX Concert Grand voice has similar programming. Proving this hypothesis would require carefully controlled experimentation and A/B listening.

Using Genos as a controller

Genos has a rather nice FSX action keybed which is better suited for acoustic and electric piano than MODX6 or MODX7. A weighted action is even better, of course. [I did rather enjoy playing the MODX8.] I don’t play piano often enough to deal with the extra physical weight of a hammer action keybed. You make your own bed and have to lay it in! With Genos on hand, it’s worth exploiting its FSX action as a controller.

MODX assigns a MIDI channel to each Part. The CFX Concert Performance has four Parts on MIDI channels 1, 2, 3 and 4. [This assignment is sometimes a source of frustration when sequencing with multi-Part Performances, but that’s a topic for another day.]

If we want to use Genos as a controller, we need to know the MIDI transmit channel assignments. By default, the Genos sends RIGHT1, RIGHT2, RIGHT3 and LEFT on MIDI channels 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively, all on Port1 (AKA “MIDI A”).

First, connect the Genos MIDI A OUT to the MODX MIDI IN using a standard 5-pin DIN MIDI cable. Select the MODX Performance. Next, turn on the Genos Parts (RIGHT1, etc.) which will send MIDI data to the MODX, using the PART ON/OFF buttons in the left right corner of the Genos front panel. Finally, play.

If you get surprised by what you hear, i.e., sounds are missing, then check the Genos MIDI transmit settings and the MODX MIDI receive settings. Use the Transmit Monitor on the Genos side to make sure that you are transmitting on the correct channels via MIDI A (Port 1).

When I connect Genos to MODX, I can the first three MODX Parts in the CFX Grand Performance by sending RIGHT1, RIGHT2 and RIGHT3 on MIDI channels 1, 2 and 3. You get a pretty decent concert grand. You won’t hear any of the key-off sounds because the Genos is not transmitting on channel 4.

MODX electric piano

Let’s take a brief look at one of my favorite MODX Rhodes piano Performances: Case 73 Soft. The Case 73 Soft Performance has two Parts:

Part 1 (eight elements)

    El#  Waveform       VLo  VHi  NLo  NHi
    ---  -------------  ---  ---  ---  ---
     1   Rd73 p           1   49  C-2   G8
     2   Rd73 mp         50   85  C-2   G8
     3   Rd73 mf         86  108  C-2   G8
     4   Rd73 f         109  119  C-2   G8
     5   Rd73 ff        120  127  C-2   G8
     6   Rd73 KeyOff      1  127  C-2   E3
     7   Rd73 KeyOff      1  127   F3   C7
     8   EP2 Hard1+     107  127  C-2   G8

Part 2 (five elements)

    El#  Waveform       VLo  VHi  NLo  NHi
    ---  -------------  ---  ---  ---  ---
     1   Rd KeyNoise p    1   84  C-2   G8
     2   Rd KeyNoise mf  85  116  C-2   G8
     3   Rd KeyNoise f  117  127  C-2   G8
     4   Rd KeyOff mf    86  116  C-2   G8
     5   Rd KeyOff f    117  127  C-2   G8

Part 1 produces the main Rhodes sound while Part 2 adds the key noises. Part 1 is probably good enough by itself for sequencing. Performance Rd73 has similar programming, but adds bark when struck hard.

In order to play this two part MODX Performance from Genos, turn on RIGHT1 and RIGHT2 in order to send MIDI data on Port 1 channels 1 and 2.

Just for grins, here’s the basic programming for the Neo R&B Clean Performance — another favorite.

Part 1 (five elements)

    El#  Waveform       VLo  VHi  NLo  NHi
    ---  -------------  ---  ---  ---  ---
     1   EP3 Soft1        2   80  C-2   G8
     2   EP3 Soft2       81  101  C-2   G8
     3   EP1 Med        102  127   F2   G8
     4   EP3 Hard1      102  127  C-2   E2
     5   EP Key Off       2  127  C-2   G8

Part 2 (five elements)

    El#  Waveform       VLo  VHi  NLo  NHi
    ---  -------------  ---  ---  ---  ---
     1   Rd KeyNoise f  119  127  C-2   G8
     2   Rd KeyNoise mf  76  118  C-2   G8
     3   Rd KeyNoise p    1   75  C-2   G8
     4   Rd KeyOff f    119  127  C-2   G8
     5   Rd KeyOff mf     1  118  C-2   G8

You can see that Part 2 is essentially a ready-made patch for dropping in key noises. I love the shimmering auto-pan coupled with the ensemble detune effect.

Genos commentary

These experiments invite comparison between Genos and MODX, of course.

The featured Genos electric piano is a Rhodes Suitcase. You get the same Rhodes in darker and brighter timbres, and processed by a variety of effects (tremolo, phaser, etc.) You need to dig back into the Legacy EPs to find other Rhodes-like variations. The MODX effects give it the edge over Genos; Montage/MODX allow a longer effects chain. The Genos Suitcase EP is good, but sounds like a one-trick pony after a while. The MODX offers a broader range of Rhodes sounds immediately.

Piano aficionados on the PSR Tutorial Forum sometimes complain about a “lack of depth” in the Genos CFX grand voices. Their complaints may be grounded in fact. A Genos voice is equivalent to an eight Element MODX Part. (Warning, the mix of product terminology may becoming confusing here.) Thus, Genos is limited to the complexity of the single-Part CFX Stage Performance, lacking the “beauty layer” (Part 3) of the CFX Concert Performance. This layer would add depth to the sound as it unrolls dynamically.

Given what we know about the CFX Concert programming, Yamaha could release a full CFX expansion pack for Genos. The full CFX voice would need RIGHT1, RIGHT2 and RIGHT3 to handle all of the extra elements and their layering. Only three parts are needed if the CFX key off waveform is moved to the second part which currently has only three active elements. The Genos player would need to enable RIGHT1, RIGHT2 and RIGHT3 to make all parts active, but this is a small price to pay and could be easily configured into a registration.

Summary

Well, there you have it. I hope that my analysis will help you to understand and better appreciate both MODX and Genos piano voices. The MODX waveform set is quite rich in EP sounds, so get cracking!

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Yamaha SHS-500 Sonogenic (pre-review)

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[I had a chance to think about yesterday’s SHS-500 Sonogenic announcement. Please think of this blog post as a pre-review.]

The Yamaha SHS-500 Sonogenic is a fun instrument for people without musical training. It could very well be fun for musical amateurs and pros, too!

The SHS-500 is an interesting alternative to arranger keyboards. With an arranger keyboard, one typically uses the left hand to play chords which drive auto accompaniment. The right hand carries the melody or some kind of sweetener. Even though some pros like to denigrate arranger keyboards, truly entertaining and creative use of an arranger keyboard takes serious skill as well as knowledge of chords and harmony. [Click images to enlarge.]

Let’s face it — most ordinary folks just want to play along with popular hits. [A “popular hit” depends upon your musical era!] With auto accompaniment, you need to play the harmony either by ear or following a lead sheet. Sure, you can also play along with an MP3 or WAV file, but neither the MP3 or WAV file is analyzed for chords, nor are derived chords displayed such that you can follow along as you play.

The SHS-500 has a different approach. [I’m going to refer to it as “SHS” for brevity and easy of typing.] The SHS communicates with Yamaha’s Chord Tracker app. Chord Tracker not only plays digital audio files, Chord Tracker analyzes the song within and displays its chords. With an SHS attached to your smart device, Chord Tracker sends the chord information to the SHS where it is displayed. Even cooler, the chord information determines the (musically allowable) scale tones to be generated by the SHS.

Bottom line: An untrained user can plays along with their favorite hit. They can flog away at the keyboard and the SHS figures out the correct notes to “play” given the current chord in the song. Cool! You can also record audio data to Chord Tracker.

This is the SHS “Jam mode.” There are five jam modes: 1 Finger, Melody A, Melody B, Melody C, Backing.

Three buttons on the neck control song playback in the app: [Fast Reverse], [Play/pause] and [Fast Forward]. Pitch bend and modulation wheels are also on the neck.

One can connect the SHS to Chord Tracker through USB or wireless Bluetooth. I suspect that Bluetooth will be the dominant option as who wants to dance and play while tangled up in a cable? Same for battery power over AC adapter.

Yamaha priced this product right. Although the MSRP is $499, the street price will be $300 USD. Yamaha initially priced the Reface series models too high and eventually the price was lowered depending upon depend for specific models. (You can tell which models move well and which don’t.) Reface pricing settled around $300. The SHS is targeted for the youth market and a high price would be a turn-off or out of the financial reach of most teens.

Yamaha can sell at a lower cost because they repurposed hardware from the VKB-100 Vocaloid keytar. The VKB-100 is sold mainly to the Japanese market since the player “sings” in Japanese. Yamaha made a smart decision here by repurposing the VKB-100 for the world-wide youth market. Essentially, it’s the SHS’s software which is brand new.

I’m sure there will be people who scoff at the SHS-500. I, for one, love any product or instrument that encourages the love of music. Music education in the USA has taken a big hit due to testing mania and back-to-basics. I’d really like to see more young people take up musical instruments and the SHS-500 Sonogenic might be the ticket. [Plus, I’d really like to have one. :-)]

SHS-500 effect types

    Dist.1     Distortion
    Dist.2     Distortion
    DSP Chrs   Chorus
    Flanger    Flanger
    Phaser     Phaser
    Tremolo    Tremolo
    RotarySp   Rotary Speaker
    LPF        Low Pass Filter (cutoff adjustable)
    HPF        High Pass Filter (cutoff adjustable)

There is also a filter function with adjustable cutoff frequency and resonance.

SHS-500 voice list

The Yamaha SHS-500 has thirty voices. Here is a table from the reference manual.

    No.  Voice              Display   MSB  LSB  PC1  
    ---  -----------------  --------  ---  ---  ---
    001  Saw Lead 1         SawLead1  104   20   91  [Gemini]
    002  Saw Lead 2         SawLead2    0  104   82  [RS SawLead1]
    003  Quack Lead         QuackLd     0  112   85  [Portatone]
    004  Bright Decay       BriteDcy  104   21   85  
    005  Square Lead        SquareLd    0  112   81  [Square Lead]
    006  Under Heim         UndrHeim  104   51   88  
    007  Analogon           Analogon  104   52   82  
    008  Synth Brass        SynBrass    0  113   64  [Ober Brass]
    009  Electric Piano     E.Piano   104   28    5  
    010  DX Electric Piano  DXPiano     0  112    6  [DX Modern]
    011  Electric Guitar    E.Guitar  104    3   31  
    012  Jazz Guitar        J.Guitar  104    0   27  
    013  Acoustic Guitar    A.Guitar    0  117   26  [Steel Guitar]
    014  Electric Bass      E.Bass    104    6   34  
    015  Slap Bass          SlapBass    0  112   37  [Slap Bass]
    016  Synth Bass         SynBass     0  112   39  [Resonance Bass]
    017  DX Bass            DXBass      0  118   40  [DX100 Bass]
    018  Piano              Piano       0  112    2  [Bright Piano] 
    019  Piano & Strings    Pno&Strs  104   39    1  
    020  Piano & Pad        Pno&Pad   104   40    1  
    021  Air Choir          AirChoir    0  112   55  [Air Choir]
    022  Strings            Strings     0  116   49  [Bow Strings]
    023  Brass              Brass       0  117   63  [Pop Brass]
    024  Trumpet            Trumpet     0  115   57  [Trumpet Sweet!]
    025  Flute              Flute       0  115   74  [Flute Sweet!]
    026  Alto Sax           AltoSax   104    2   66  
    027  Tenor Sax          TenorSax  104    3   67  
    028  Harmonica          Harmnica    0  112   23  [Harmonica Sweet!]
    029  House Kit          HouseKit  127    0   65  
    030  Power Kit          PowerKit  127    0   88  [Power Kit 1]

Voices number 029 and 030 are drum kits. Bank select and program change values which match PSR (Tyros, Genos) are noted.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Winter NAMM 2019: Yamaha Sonogenic

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Drop what you’re doing right now and take a look at the Yamaha Sonogenic SHS-500.

[Update: Yamaha SHS-500 Pre-review]

“Sonogenic SHS-500 is a new type of instrument from Yamaha that is perfect for music lovers who want to participate in making music, but maybe haven’t learned how. This Keytar (“Key”board + Gui”tar”) gives you the freedom to dance, jump and move around while you play!” [Click images to enlarge.]

“Jam Mode – Play with your favorite music on the spot. Thanks to Jam Mode you can instantly enjoy playing along with your favorite songs. Simply connect the instrument with the free app Chord Tracker, and play along with songs stored on your smart device. No matter which keys you press, the notes automatically match the song, so you don’t have to worry about hitting the wrong notes, fingering technique or even knowing the proper scales and chords.”

The tutorial video is interesting because it implies (shows?) Chord Tracker sending scale information back to SHS-500 as the happy teen whacks away at the keyboard as if it’s a Guitar Hero controller. At least the player is human and not the dog in the overview video! Poor Yamaha is going to take a thwacking for that video…

Here are some brief specifications including USA pricing:

  • 37 keys
  • Pitch bend, modulation, control knobs
  • USB audio interface: 44.1kHz, 16-bit, stereo
  • AWM2 tone generation, 48 note polyphony
  • 30 voices
  • 9 DSP effects plus 4 Master EQ presets
  • 5-pin MIDI OUT in addition to USB-B
  • Wireless Bluetooth (including MIDI)
  • Battery power (six AA cells) or adpater (PA-130)
  • 3.3 pounds (1.5kg)
  • MSRP: $499, Street: $299.99

Oh, yes, it bears repeating: 5-pin DIN MIDI OUT.

If you lusted for the Vocaloid VKB-100 keytar simply because, the Sonogenic SHS-500 is (maybe) your axe. Yamaha alluded to an electronic instrument in a new category. This is it.

The VKB-100 included 13 non-vocal instrument sounds as I describe in my overview article on the VKB-100. Sound quality is like an entry-level Yamaha PSR arranger. In fact, I’m sure that a few of the voices (if not all) were taken from the PSR-E4xx series. The SHS-500 is like the VKB-100, except Yamaha threw away Vocaloid and added more musical instruments. I guess Yamaha have given up on selling non-Japanese Vocaloid products.

Yamaha basically creating a fun keytar for the non-Japanese speaking world. For that, they are smart cookies!

In case you aren’t fast enough to read the video frames as they flash by, here are the SHS-500 voices and drum kits:

    001 SawLead1    011 E.Guitar    021 AirChoir
    002 SawLead2    012 J.Guitar    022 Strings
    003 QuackLd     013 A.Guitar    023 Brass
    004 BriteDcy    014 E.Bass      024 Trumpet
    005 SquareLd    015 SlapBass    025 Flute
    006 UnderHeim   016 SynBass     026 AltoSax
    007 Analogon    017 DXBass      027 TenorSax
    008 SynBrass    018 Piano       028 Harmnica
    009 E. Piano    019 Pno&Strs    029 HouseKit
    010 DX Piano    020 Pno&Pad     030 PowerKit

So far, this is very similar to the non-vocal instruments in the VKB-100.

Other announcements

Elsewhere in Yamaha key-related news, Yamaha announced the Pianica, PSR-E360, a slew of YDP digital pianos for the home, and the N1X AvantGrand for mucho dollaro (MSRP: $10,999). The Pianica is a breath-blown reed instrument so you can get your Jon Batiste on. The PSR-E360 is an entry-level arranger keyboard with faux wood grain. And naturally, the previously announced Yamaha CP73/CP88 stage pianos are featured at NAMM.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski (except quoted excerpts).

Winter NAMM 2019: You Komplete me

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Native Instruments are trolling the low end and that ain’t bad.

I haven’t jumped into the deep end of the NI pool. Over the holidays, I downloaded the free player versions of Guitar Rig 5, Kontakt and Reaktor 6. I believe in the low end theory which says that you can make good music without dropping a lot of change.

Native Instruments have announced KOMPLETE START, “a new collection of sounds, instruments, and effects that’s 100% free; and new software integration that puts millions of loops and samples from Sounds.com at your fingertips.” The latter part of that message steals a page from Loopmasters’ Loopcloud. This builds on the success of NI’s Sounds.com site.

The KOMPLETE START page promises:

  • Produce and perform with over 2,000 studio-quality sounds — for free
  • 15 pro-grade synths and sampled instruments, plus effects, loops, and samples
  • Browse, preview, and play it all in your recording software with KOMPLETE KONTROL

KOMPLETE START includes over 6GB of instruments, effects, loops and samples. Synths are: TRK-01 Bass, Mikro Prism, Lazerbass, Carbon 2, Space Drone and Newscool. Sampled instruments include World, Band, Synth, Vintage, Urban Beats, Kinetic Treats and the Play Series Selection. Guitar Rig 5 Player is included (17 cabinet emulations and 13 effects) plus the Supercharger tube compressor.

Now, a lot of this sounds like the old free bundle and you would be right. There’s a few new freebies here and there. If the first taste is good, you can upgrade to Komplete 12 Select for $99 USD.

NI have new low-end hardware, too. The Komplete Kontrol M32 is a keyboard controller (32 mini keys)with OLED display, touch strips, knobs and NKS integration. Street price is $129 USD. Ableton Live 10 Lite is bundled in, just in case the ten copies that you have aren’t enough.

Komplete Kontrol M32 features are:

  • Play Smarter: Chord progressions and arpeggios
  • Eight touch sensitive knobs premapped for presets
  • Buttons for DAW control
  • Octave transpose buttons
  • Two touch strips
  • A four-direction push encoder for navigation
  • 10GB of content including the Scarbee Mark I
  • USB MIDI (USB bus powered)
  • TRS pedal input (assignable to sustain)

This sounds like an inexpensive way to get familiar with NKS integration. Not bad. I like these kinds of introductory packages because I can try the software and donate the microcontroller if I don’t like it. There is always some deserving youngster…

NI also announced the Komplete Audio 1 (one channel) and Komplete Audio 2 (two channel) audio interfaces. Street price is $109. Specs for the Komplete Audio 2 are:

  • 2 inputs: 2x combi-XLR/jack inputs with 48V phantom power and individual gain control
  • Outputs: Stereo jack out
  • VU-meter for adjusting levels
  • Direct monitoring for blending audio playback while recording
  • Big volume knob
  • Headphone out with high power output and volume control
  • USB 2.0 bus powered
  • Audio quality: Premium quality at 192 kHz and 24 bit
  • Included software: Ableton Live 10 Lite, MASCHINE Essentials, MONARK, REPLIKA, PHASIS, SOLID BUS COMP, and KOMPLETE START

Per Internet tradition, let’s gripe before we’ve even seen product. I wish it had 5-pin MIDI IN and OUT. The new Mackie and PreSonus interfaces one-up the new NI interfaces in this regard.

The Komplete Kontrol M32, Komplete Audio 1 and 2 are pre-order items. NI are projecting March 6, 2019 availability for the M32.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Winter NAMM 2019: Super fly

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In the portable amps category, Blackstar are launching the Super Fly mini amp: two 3 inch speakers, 12 Watts, Bluetooth, battery power (eight AA cells), tilt back stand, optional rechargeable battery pack. [Click image to enlarge.]

Mini amps are usually designed for electric guitar. So, if you’re a keyboard player looking to put your synth or digital piano through one, don’t expect a clean sound. I was super excited by the original Blackstar Fly until I ran a synth into it. Of course, if you’re looking for grunge, that’s fine.

What gives me hope about the Super Fly: The Super Fly has two channels: an XLR/jack combi input for microphones and line level instruments and the usual instrument input for guitars, including overdrive. Potentially, Blackstar have paid attention to the clean sound and not simply “clean” in the sense of clean guitar (still colored!) There are separate, per channel EQ and reverb controls. As I said yesterday, when it comes to mini amps, definitely try-before-buy.

Musicradar has the UK price at 199£. We should expect a USA price at about $259 USD.

IK Multimedia have pumped steroids into the successful iLoud Micro Monitor and will be shipping the iLoud MTM: 100W RMS, 103dB SPL, 40Hz to 24kHz frequency range, $349.99USD. They will be available during the second quarter of 2019. Each monitor unit has a pair of 3.5 inch woofers and a 1 inch tweeter. The “MTM” means a midrange-tweeter-midrange symmetrical design. The iLoud MTM performs built-in acoustic self-calibration using its built-in ARC™ reference microphone.

The original iLoud Micro Monitor sounds damned fine and I’m looking forward to hearing the iLoud MTM when it’s available.

Looking for an 88-key controller? Test the Akai MPK Road 88: 88 keys (duh!), fully weighted hammer action, aftertouch, pitch bend and mod wheels, class-compliant USB, 5-pin MIDI IN and OUT, 2 expression pedal inputs, 1 sustain pedal input, 4-output USB soundcard, 67 pounds (shipping weight). Street price: $899.

The board is fairly slim although 67 pounds is scary if you don’t have your personal road crew. Best yet for touring — it has a detachable hinged cover. At least you won’t have to put this beast into a road case!

BTW, I think we should expect more from Yamaha at Winter NAMM 2019. Their NAMM preview press release hints at portable keyboards, hybrid pianos, combo instruments and band instruments.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Winter NAMM 2019: Today’s catch

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Given all of the on-line resources and forums, I don’t really try to cover the music tech universe. Sites like MusicRadar, etc. have staff for that. I prefer to take note of products that I will visit again in the future. Shucks, my memory ain’t so good anymore.

One product worth another look is the McDSP APB-16 Analog Processing Box.

McDSP have a solid record as plug-in providers. Now it looks like they are venturing into the hardware realm. Digital DSP is no biggy, but McDSP are promising programmable analog processing — sixteen analog channels controlled by a Pro Tools plug-in. Other specs from the press release are:

  • Premium analog components
  • Multiple analog saturation options
  • APB-ready software plug-in bundle
  • Sample accurate automation
  • AKM 32-bit DAC and ADC
  • Thunderbolt 2 and 3 compatible

The press release is an announcement, so details and technical information are scant. The APB-16 is scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2019. No price, of course.

I’m always a sucker for small, cute, practice amps. The IK Multimedia iRig Micro Amp grabbed my attention: 4 inch speaker, 15W RMS (adapter), 7.5W (battery), iOS/USB interface (24-bit up to 96kHz), battery-powered (6 AA cells), 3 band EQ, 2.8 pounds (1.26kg). Of course, it integrates with AmpliTube. $149.99USD.

It’s definitely try-before-buy with these tiny amps, especially when putting a keyboard through them. I’d like to run Reface YC into it. It would definitely be cool to add AmpliTube Leslie into the signal chain. IK Multimedia have a winner in the iLoud Micro Monitor, so I’m hopeful. The price is right, too.

IK Multimedia are hawking their NAMM sale (40% off popular software titles). That’s a good reminder to watch for NAMM specials. I snagged Toontrack EZKeys on a holiday special and I’m looking to expand. Oh, gosh, I should really write up a mini review! I really had to try EZKeys to “get it.”

Loopmasters are pre-announcing version 4 of their Loopcloud sample management tool. Version 4 will be available during the first quarter of 2019.

The Loopcloud Version 4 loop editor will “slice, edit, bounce and save”, apparently allowing definition of patterns that can be applied again and again to other samples.

I’ve been warming up to the Loopcloud concept and workflow having purchased a library or two during holiday sales. Although I still like having big local libraries, there is simply too much material to sort through. And, we’ve all had the experience of buying a library and then using 0.0001% of it. Much better to buy incrementally unless you really, really love an entire library.

Loopcloud is quite generous with new sounds for trial, too. The trial sounds are the same as the Loopmasters’ Taster Packs, but it’s possible to try sounds in a musical context of your own making.

Here’s a few more very quick hits:

Wow, it’s like Winter NAMM 2019 has already happened — and the show still hasn’t opened!

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski