Tag Archives: GENOS

Free Performance Styles for PSR/Genos

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Been a while since I’ve posted. 🙂 That means I’ve been busy with a few hunker-down, wintertime projects.

At long last, I pulled together the second version of my “Performance Styles for PSR/Genos” collection. The second version has all of the V1 styles plus a dozen new V2 styles.

The V1 styles were translated from Motif XS/MOX Performances to Tyros/PSR. If you would like to read about the translation process, check these links:

These articles are still a good read if you are interested in creating original styles of your own. There is a short Getting Started With Style Files post, too.

The V1 style files target PSR-S950, which by now is old hat. So, the original V1 styles should be reasonably compatible with any post-S950 arranger.

The V2 style files take the collection into new territory. The V2 styles include contemporary genres like downtempo and make wide use of DSP insert effects. I developed the styles on Genos (gen 1) which supports a single insert effect on each style part. The V2 styles are compatible with Genos2. Some voices and DSP effects may not be supported by earlier arrangers. Genos1 still leads the pack in many dimensions!

Nonetheless, I encourage you to download the new collection. You might need to re-voice a style part or two and maybe redirect the DSP units which are available on your music machine. The styles are SFF1 even though a few new styles use Mega Voice. Being SFF1, you should be able to edit the styles with Mixmaster or any of the wonderful tools created by Jørgen Sørensen. I owe Jørgen a debt of gratitude since his CASM editor, OTS editor and Style Split/Splice programs are essential tools for any style developer.

Download Performance Styles for PSR/Genos (Version 2). The ZIP file includes a README text file. Be sure to check it out.

Copyright © 2024 Paul J. Drongowski

Yamaha Genos V2.0 Update

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The Yamaha Genosâ„¢ V2.0 update is available for download from your regional Yamaha musical instrument site.

Reading through the list of changes, the Yamaha engineers have changed many of the internal data structures and file formats in order to support new features. Thus, like the MODX update, you will need to save your user data before you install the update. Pay careful attention to these cautionary statements from Yamaha:

“After you’ve updated the firmware to this version, the System, MIDI, User Effect, and Registration data are initialized the first time you start up again.

  • Save the MIDI Setup File and User Effect Setup file before updating, and load after updating.
  • Save Registrations to a file before updating.
  • Even if you save the System Setup file before updating, it cannot be loaded after updating.
  • If you save the Backup data before updating and restore it after updating, the System, MIDI, User Effect and Registration data will not be restored.

Before executing the update, we recommend that you back up important data to an external drive using the backup function or data copy function, in case some trouble occurs.”

The list of changes and fixes is quite long and extensive. This is clearly a major update, if not an upgrade!

I keep everything backed up as I work. I put a lot of time and effort into voice and style programming, and just cannot bear the thought of doing it all over again. I honestly don’t mind making another back-up just in case.

While you’re at the download page, be sure to snag new copies of the Genos Owner’s Manual, Genos Reference Manual and Genos Data List. Also, grab the new version of Yamaha Expansion Manager (YEM) V2.6.0. You must use YEM V2.6.0 with Genos V2.0 firmware. Under the “Other Downloads” section, you’ll find a bonus playlist and documentation for the Genos V2.0 Superior Pack: Bonus Playlist for Genos V2.0 Superior Pack and GENOS V2.0 SUPERIOR PACK List.

A quick glance at the V2.0 Superior Pack List reveals the new EDM and bass voices from the PSR-SX900, the (expected) Super Articulation 2 (SA2) female voices, SA2 soft trombone, SA2 panflute, and a raft of “Alpen” voices. There are six new Mega Voices which signal new samples, too: Klarinette Mega, Trompete Mega, BariHorn Mega, Kontra Tuba Mega, Bass Tuba Mega and OberGtr Mega.

At the time that I’m writing this post (10AM PST), Yamaha have not updated the Genos pages to promote the V2.0 update. The European pages have info about V2.0 including a link to the V2.0 Superior Pack. If you can wait (!), here is a direct link to the V2.0 Superior Pack.

This is a lot to install and mentally unpack. Thank you, Yamaha!

Backed up, installed and running

It took a short while to fully understand Yamaha’s cautionary note. I decided to make a complete back-up file even though the System, MIDI and User Effect set-ups inside would not be reloaded by Genos V2.0. To fill the gap, I saved the MIDI Set-up and User Effect Set-up to files on a USB flash drive. Just to be ultra-safe, I copied my Registrations from the Genos internal USER area to the USB flash drive. I have a lot of time and effort invested in my Registrations and did not want to lose any recent edits. [I keep successive back-ups, so I can roll back to a previous, known-good state, if necessary.]

The System Settings are more of a problem. Genos V1.4 has a way to save the System Settings to a file, but V2.0 will not load pre-V2.0 save files. I followed Yamaha’s advice and studied the Parameter Chart in the Genos Data List PDF. The data stored with a System Set-up are clearly identified. I wrote down a short list of the parameters which I most likely had changed:

  • Compressor
  • EQ
  • Score, Text, etc.
  • Arpeggio
  • Registration Sequence
  • Metronome
  • Live Control
  • Assignable (Home shortcuts, Foot pedal, assignable buttons)

Your list might be different, so I recommend scanning the System Set-up column in the Parameter Chart. I wrote down the current settings in a text file using a personal computer.

After all of this prep, I was ready for the actual installation. I started with a blank USB flash drive and copied the Genos V2.0 update file (GENOSSETUP.PRG) to the USB drive. I plugged the USB drive into the rear HOST TO DEVICE port, held down the Style Control [START/STOP] button, and powered up. Genos found the update file and kicked into the installation process. Several minutes later, the installer said it was OK to power down and I did so.

On power up the first time, I saw a message like “Improper shutdown. Back up data … have been lost.” Gulp! That’s the Genos start-up code checking the consistency of the set-up data. As we were warned by Yamaha, the set-up data was initialized by the installer. After that, load the saved set-up files from the USB flash drive and ran through the System Settings, and started playing. Oddly, my assignable buttons were preserved, but I wouldn’t count on that happening to you. Back up before installing!

All appears to be good. I have music to rehearse, etc., and will eventually post about the Genos V2.0 Superior Pack, the Chord Looper and other new Genos features. I also need to install YEM V2.6.0, a prerequisite for the Superior Pack. Busy, busy.

Don’t forget auto power shutdown. I just heard Genos turn itself off…

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Update about the updates

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Yamaha Genos V2.0 is on the way

Yamaha have updated their short video about the Genos V2.0 update. The release date is now specific: 15 November 2019. There was considerable squabbling on the forums as to what “Winter 2019” meant. I’m glad that Yamaha has put the question to rest.

The other big tidbit from the new video as to do with the “Genos V2.0 Superior Pack.” The new content will include 50 new styles and 68 voices including Super Articulation 2 voices. I’m not a big style hound, but new voices are always welcome! I’ve still got plenty of room in expansion memory and can’t wait for the new content. I’m looking forward to the Chord Looper, too.

[Update] The Yamaha Europe site has further details. The Genos Version 2.0 Superior Pack includes SArt2 Premium voices such as “Pan Flutes,” “Female Vocals,” and “Trombone.” The page shows thumbnails for the Yamaha Musicsoft Premium Expansion Packs of the same name. This might be a little disappointing to users who already own these packs. I have “Female Vocals” already. Of course, that’s just icing and we still need to taste the whole cake.

Improvements have been made to expansion pack installation (Yamaha Expansion Manager). Yamaha have also improved Genos Style Creator, which was looking rather long in the tooth. Other improvements include new portamento functionality, sorting playlists alphabetically, and an increase in the number of USER effects which can be stored.

Additional improvements flash by near the end of the video. (Look for the flying boxes!) Unfortunately, the English is a little rocky and its hard to tell what some of them actually mean! One useful improvement is the addition of USER voices to FAVORITES. (?) I hope they allow USER styles in chord step record because I didn’t see this mentioned.

Yamaha are listening. They cite user feedback as the source for many of these enhancements.

BTW, some folks have noted an increase in the USA Minimum Advertised Price (MAP). Please remember that all dealers cannot publicly advertise below MAP as part of their dealership agreement with Yamaha. That doesn’t mean selling at MAP because that would be illegal price fixing in the USA. If you want a good deal, be sure to call around, especially smaller focused dealerships like Audioworks CT. The large on-line retailers don’t have as much incentive to negotiate or to offer a better price below MAP. Smaller dealerships are often more flexible.

Yamaha MODX update V2.0 is here

Yay! The MODX V2.0 update has dropped! I’m downloading now and will be installing shortly.

Yamaha have posted a new MODX Supplementary Manual and a new MODX Data List PDF in the downloads section of the MODX Web pages. You’ve probably already seen the list of new features as implemented in the most recent Montage update:

  • New effect types have been added: VCM Midi Filter, VCM Mini Booster, Wave Folder.
  • 52 new Performances have been added.
  • The Pattern Sequencer function has been added.
  • You can now play songs, patterns and audio files from the Live Set display.
  • Super Knob Link has been added to the data that is recorded in the Scene function.
  • Keyboard Control has been added to the data that is recorded in the Scene function.
  • Increased the range of the LFO Speed parameter.
  • You can now connect MIDI equipment via the USB TO DEVICE terminal.
  • The Global Micro Tuning settings have been added.
  • The Audition Loop setting has been added.
  • Improvements have been made to the user interface.
  • The sequencer storage capacity (total User Memory) has been increased from about 130,000 to about 520,000 (for Songs) and about 520,000 (for Patterns).

The new Performances are listed on page 17 of the new Data List PDF (version c0). The new Performances are numbered from 2144 to 2195. Laser Trumpet?

Not going to the gym today… 🙂

Installing the MODX V2.0 update

The first thing to note: This is a major update.

I don’t just mean that as a compliment to Yamaha. The software engineers had to touch many, if not all, of the major internal data structures. You must perform a complete back-up before attempting installation as you will need to initialize all data and then reload your back-up file.

Please read the installation directions before starting. The directions clear state that all of User Memory (Library Data, User Data, etc.) will be initialized. Be sure to do a complete back-up following the directions on pages 60-61 of the Owner’s Manual and pages 201-202 of the Reference Manual. You want to write a back-up file, also known as an “ALL file” or “X8A” file by its extension. A back-up file saves the whole shee-bang including your libraries.

Follow the steps in the installation guide. The installation process takes about 4 to 5 minutes. If everything is successful, you will see messages like:

Searching for the updater ... OK

MODX updater 2.00.1

Preparing ... OK (current version 1.10.0)
Updating ... OK
Verifying ... OK
Finish.
Please turn off.

Turn MODX off, remove the USB drive with the updater, and turn MODX on again. Navigate to the System Settings by pressing [UTILITY] > [Settings] > [System]. I pressed the “Initialize All Settings” screen button first and then pressed the “Initialize All Data” button. (Deep breath.) Yamaha’s installation directions should be a little more specific here as to which buttons to press.

The initialization steps will, of course, wipe everything clean. Next, insert the USB drive with your back-up file. Navigate to the load contents page, i.e., [UTILITY] > [Contents] > [Load] and select the “Backup File” content type. Find your back-up file on the USB drive and re-load your content. If all goes well (modulo power failure, cosmic debris, pulsars, etc.), you should be good to go again.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski (excluding excerpts from Yamaha’s announcements)

Genos/PSR organ registrations

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I’m deep in another one of those “cross-platform” projects in which I share voice programming between Yamaha Genos™ and Yamaha MODX. In this case, I’m recreating some of the PSR/Genos “organ flutes” registrations on MODX.

“Organ flutes” is Yamaha-speak for drawbar organ emulation. Genos and S-series PSR arranger workstations implement two kinds of drawbar (Hammond B3) organ voices: normal sample playback voices and organ flutes voices. The organ flutes have their own drawbar user interface where the user can move virtual footage drawbars, including percussion. Organ flutes voices make use of a rotary speaker DSP effect while sample playback organ voices may have the rotary effect sampled-in instead of using a DSP effect. The chief disadvantage of sampled-in is the inability to smoothly change rotary speaker speeds (i.e., ramp up or ramp down between speeds). The abrupt speed change is very unrealistic. Of course, you can’t change the drawbar setting of a sampled-in voice either.

Everyone loves new organ registrations, so here is my go-to table of Yamaha presets. Vibrato is OFF in all cases.

Preset         Drawbars     VOL  RESP  4' 2 2/3'  2' LENG  Rotary effect
-------------- -----------  ---  ---- --- ------ --- ----  -------------
OrganFlutes    78 6600 000   8     0   8     0    0    6   DUAL ROT BRT
USDSmile       87 4323 468   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
ReggaeBars     70 0000 008   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
WarmTheatre    80 0605 000   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT WRM
OrganPops      70 8000 000   8     0   8     0    0    8   DUAL ROT BRT
RockOrgan      65 5444 644   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
SoulPercussion 70 0000 530   8     0   0     7    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
GospelTruth    87 6000 568   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
PadOrgan       00 8520 000   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT WRM
FullOrgan      88 7677 788   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT

StringBars     48 0787 532   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
LatinSpin      70 0003 443   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
ShadyBars      68 8600 000   8     0   0     0    0    7   DUAL ROT BRT
FunkOrgan      83 5035 788   8     0   0     0    0    7   DUAL ROT BRT
BalladOrgan    86 7300 000   8     0   0     0    0    7   DUAL ROT WRM
RichBars       63 8457 530   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
TrumpetBars    06 0786 540   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
SoulBars       80 0050 578   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
ClariBars      08 0080 760   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT
JazzSquabble   80 0008 888   8     0   0     0    0    0   DUAL ROT BRT

These are the registrations for Yamaha’s preset organ flutes voices.

The RESP, 4′, 2 2/3′, 2′ and LENG columns control envelope and percussion. The manual describes these parameters in the following way:

  • Response (RESP): Affects both the attack and release portion of the sound, increasing or decreasing the response time of the initial swell and release, based on the Footage controls. The higher the value, the slower the swell and release.
  • 4′, 2 2/3′, 2′: 4′ is second harmonic percussion level and 2 2/3′ is third harmonic percussion level.
  • Length (LENG): Controls the length of the percussion sound.

There is also an Attack switch to apply percussion to the first note or each note. For realism, I apply first note. Always.

The registrations above use the older rotary speaker effect algorithm which had two PSR/Genos presets: DUAL ROTARY BRIGHT and DUAL ROTARY WARM. I recommend trying the “new” rotary speaker algorithm if you got it (Montage, MODX, Genos).

Here are a few bonus registrations, just for grins:

Preset      Drawbars     VOL  RESP   4'  2 2/3'   2'  LENG  Rotary effect
----------- -----------  ---  ----  ---  ------  ---  ----  -------------
SmithPlus   88 8800 000   8     3    0      4     0     0   DUAL ROT WRM
Simmerin    83 0000 378   8     0    0      0     0     0   DUAL ROT WRM
MellowDee   80 4600 000   8     4    0      0     0     0   DUAL ROT BRT
Shoutin     66 8848 588   8     4    0      0     0     0   DUAL ROT WRM
WhistleStop 88 8000 008   8     3    0      0     0     0   DUAL ROT WRM
WhiterShade 68 8600 000   8     0    4      0     0     8   DUAL ROT WRM

If you want to ditch the sampled-in voices and use organ flutes instead, many of the Yamaha organ flutes presets are equivalent to a sampled-in voice. You just need to decode the names: WhiterBars → ShadyBars, Curved Bars → USDSmile, GospelOrgan (Legacy) → GospelTruth, etc. Save the registrations as Genos or PSR USER voices and use them in place of the sampled-in voices. Then, enjoy the rotary speaker ramp up and down!

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Yamaha MODX gospel organ

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I’ve been woodshedding an up-beat gospel tune, “Stop By, Lord” by Doris Wesley Bettis. It needs a brighter B3 registration than my typical church registrations. So, I turned to Genos™ for inspiration.

Two Genos voices stood out: GospelOrgan and UpsideDownSmile. They are similar and the drawbar settings form an arching curve (i.e., the upside down smile). Here are the registrations:

Genos GospelOrgan

     16   5 1/3  8    4   2 2/3   2   1 3/5  1 1/3   1   Perc
    ----  ----- ---  ---  -----  ---  -----  -----  ---  ----
      8     7    6    0     0     0     3      4     5    No

Genos UpsideDownSmile

     16   5 1/3  8    4   2 2/3   2   1 3/5  1 1/3   1   Perc
    ----  ----- ---  ---  -----  ---  -----  -----  ---  ----
      8     7    4    3     2     3     4      6     7    No

The UpsideDownSmile voice is at essence a brighter version of the GospelOrgan voice.

We need to translate the drawbar registrations (range [0:8]) into MODX Element levels (range [0:127]). The MODX factory patches use a range from 0 to 104. My own patches are using the range 0 to 127. Below is a table mapping each drawbar setting to the equivalent MODX Element level:

    1 * 13 =  13   1 * 16 =  16
    2 * 13 =  26   2 * 16 =  32
    3 * 13 =  39   3 * 16 =  48
    4 * 13 =  52   4 * 16 =  64
    5 * 13 =  65   5 * 16 =  80
    6 * 13 =  78   6 * 16 =  96
    7 * 13 =  91   7 * 16 = 112
    8 * 13 = 104   8 * 16 = 128

Take your pick: soft or hot.

I decided to implement each voice in its own MODX Part. Thus, we need to drop one of the drawbar harmonics in order to shoe horn the registration into eight Elements, the maximum number of individual elemental tones per Part. (Each Element is a drawbar footage.) A quick experiment on Genos found that I could drop the 2 2/3′ bar from the registrations without much sonic effect. It was pretty much buried in the harmonic mix.

The next table shows the Element levels for each MODX Performance.

Genos GospelOrgan

     16   5 1/3  8    4   2 2/3   2   1 3/5  1 1/3   1 
    ----  ----- ---  ---  -----  ---  -----  -----  ---
    104     91   78    0     0     0    39     52    65
    127    112   96    0     0     0    48     64    80

Genos UpsideDownSmile

     16   5 1/3  8    4   2 2/3   2   1 3/5  1 1/3   1 
    ----  ----- ---  ---  -----  ---  -----  -----  ---
    104     91   52   39    26    39    52     78    91
    127    112   64   48    32    48    64     96   112

The upper row in each case contains the Element levels over the range [0:104]. The lower row shows the Element levels over the range [0:127].

Starting with one of my church Performances, I created a three Part MODX Performance. There is one Part for the GospelOrgan setting and one Part for the UpsideDownSmile setting. The third part handles rotor noise, etc. I programmed two Scenes, one for each registration setting. Scene 1 mutes the UpsideDownSmile Part and Scene 2 mutes the GospelOrgan Part. Thus, I can switch between registrations by switching between Scenes. [In my next experiment, I’m going to try the SuperKnob to morph between registrations.]

Next up is the rotary speaker effect. Genos applies the REAL ROTARY effect:

                            USD Smile   Gospel
                            ---------   ------
    Drive                   2.5         4.0
    Tone                    8.5         10.0
    Low/High Balance        L<H1        L<H9
    Output Level            100         100
    Mic L-R Angle           180deg      120deg
    Input Level             +6dB        +6dB
    Modulation Intensity    63          63
    Slow-Fast Time of Horn  1.13        1.13
    Fast-Slow Time of Horn  0.97        0.97
    Woofer Speed Slow       43.5 RPM    43.5 RPM
    Horn Speed Slow         47.3 RPM    47.3 RPM
    Woofer Speed Fast       403.7 RPM   403.7 RPM
    Horn Speed Fast         464.3 RPM   464.3 RPM

REAL ROTARY is the “new” rotary speaker effect added in Montage. On MODX, this effect is called “Rotary Speaker 2”. The Tone parameter seems to function like a high-cut filter, BTW.

I prefer to slow the horn and rotor (woofer) down. Here is my LeslieChurch USER EFFECT preset on Genos:

    Woofer Speed Slow         40.2 RPM   0.67Hz
    Horn Speed Slow           48.0 RPM   0.80Hz
    Woofer Speed Fast         343.2 RPM  5.72Hz
    Horn Speed Fast           403.8 RPM  6.73Hz
    Slow-Fast Time of Woofer  47
    Slow-Fast Time of Horn    20
    Drive Low                 17
    Drive High                42
    Low/High Balance          L=H
    EQ Low Frequency          100Hz
    EQ Low Gain               -2dB
    EQ High Frequency         14kHz
    EQ High Gain              -12dB
    Mic L-R Angle             162deg

When moving between MODX and Genos, be prepared to convert RPM to Hertz and vice versa! Divide RPMs by 60 to get Hertz.

To complete the picture, let’s take a look at the MODX Rotary Speaker 2 presets. The MODX (Montage) has five presets:

  • Clean and Wide
  • Vintage Mono
  • Slow and Dirty
  • Full Drive
  • Broken Motors

The following table shows the parameter values for each preset.

                       Clean     Vint Mono  Slow Dirt  Full Dr  Broken
                       --------  ---------  ---------  -------  ------
Drive                  0.0       1.9        4.6        10.0     1.9
Tone                   6.0       4.4        5.4        8.0      7.5
Low/High Balance       R=H       R=H        R7>H       R=H      R<H11
Output Level           111       111        111        111      111
Mic L-R Angle          180deg    0deg       90deg      120deg   180deg
Input Level            +1.5dB    +1.5dB     +1.5dB     +1.5dB   +1.5dB
Modulation Intensity   63        20         25         19       63
Slow-Fast Time Horn    0.95      0.78       0.98       0.98     0.95
Fast-Slow Time Horn    0.92      0.78       0.92       0.92     0.92
Horn Speed Slow        42.3rpm   40.4       33.4       42.3     59.9
Horn Speed Fast        398.7rpm  403.7      398.7      398.7    270.0
Slow-Fast Time Woofer  1.22      1.43       1.38       1.21     1.33
Fast-Slow Time Woofer  1.86      1.78       1.87       1.87     2.00
Woofer Speed Slow      40.1rpm   39.4       30.6       40.1     22.7
Woofer Speed Fast      323.0rpm  338.1      323.0      323.0    254.9

If you have a Genos, you might want to give these a spin. As of Genos update v1.3, it isn’t possible to set the Slow-Fast and Fast-Slow times for the woofer. I hope that Yamaha fix this oversight.

With respect to the gospel organ Performance, I started with the “Clean and Wide” preset values, then dialed in a few tweaks.

Changing the effect algorithm affected the rotary speaker speed control routing. I needed to drop into the Part Common Mod/Control parameters to select the Mod Wheel source and to set its destination to “InsA SpdCtrl”. (Insert A is the rotary speaker effect algorithm.)

If you’re looking for a gospel organ sound on MODX (Montage), I hope this information will help you out.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

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

MULTI FX: It’s for organ, too!

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Every now and again, a question pops up on a forum that is worth reposting here. A member of the YamahaSynth.com MODX forum inquired about distortion effects for drawbar organ.

Yamaha has introduced new DSP effects with every generation of synth and arranger. Unless you don’t have a life (and I resemble that remark), you’re probably not steeped in the history of Yamaha effect algorithms (AKA “effect types”.) Some of the amp simulations (e.g., AMP SIM 1) have been around a loooooong time.

When it comes to distortion or overdrive, I start with the effects added with the Motif XF version 1.5 update:

    US COMBO
    JAZZ COMBO
    US HIGH GAIN
    BRITISH LEAD
    MULTI FX
    SMALL STEREO
    BRITISH COMBO
    BRITISH LEGEND

Of course, you’ll find these effects on Montage and MODX, too. BTW, These same effect types (algorithms) are available on Genos, Tyros 5 and a few other Yamaha arrangers. On arrangers, they are called “Real Distortion.” The arranger presets are voiced differently to fit the needs of arranger styles.

The “All 9 Bars!” Performance insert effects perform distortion and rotary speaker emulation. The effect routing is:

    Insert B --> Insert A

where Insert B is MULTI FX and Insert A is Rotary Speaker 1.

MULTI FX is effectively a chain of guitar pedal effects and is quite versatile. The effect parameters for “All 9 Bars!” are:

    1  Comp. Sustain   2.0
    2  Wah SW          Off
    3  Wah Pedal       0
    4  Dist SW         Clean
    5  Dist Drive      1.8
    6  Dist EQ         Hi Boost
    7  Dist Tone       1.5
    8  Dist Presence   5.0
    9  Output Level    100
   10  --
   11  Speaker Type    Twin
   12  LFO Speed       7.738Hz
   13  Phaser SW       Off
   14  Delay SW        Echo 1 St
   15  Delay Ctrl      40
   16  Delay Time      48

The Compressor Sustain stage is always on. Here, the Wah and Phaser are turned off. So, after the compressor, the rest of the chain applies distortion, amp simulation (Twin) and delay. Arranger people might want to try the MULTI FX with these parameter settings in order to spice up the rather polite drawbar organ voices. Then, crank the parameters!

There’s plenty to tweak here. I recommend reading Phil’s blog covering the new effects in Motif XF version 1.5:

https://yamahasynth.com/blog/exploringmotifxf15guitareffects

If MULTI FX doesn’t get the sound that your looking for, then maybe one of the other “Real Distortion” effects will get the job done.

Copyright © 2018 Paul J. Drongowski

Blazin’

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Baby, I’m amazed at how fast I have pulled together enough MODX Performances to take MODX to my gig tomorrow. This is definitely a set up record and testimony to efficient workflow through the touch screen user interface. Of course, being familiar with the Yamaha AWM2 synthesis architecture (and its many parameters) is a big help.

There were only a few sticking points like how to delete a Part from an MODX Performance. It works like a right-click context menu — hold SHIFT and touch the Part that you want to delete, etc. The MODX pops a menu.

I did a little A/B testing between MODX and Genos™ as a sanity and ear check. I compared my MODX Performances against the Genos registration settings that I crafted for my church sounds (mainly orchestral instruments/layers and B3 organ).

I was surprised to hear the difference between the MODX and Genos drawbar organ. The MODX was grungier and I had to find out why.

All 9 Bars!

It’s worth unpacking the “All 9 Bars!” Performance simply to learn about MODX Performance (and voice) programming. Please remember that MODX (and Montage) Performance structure is relatively flat. A Performance consists of Performance Common data and one or more Parts. Look inside Performance Common for Variation, Reverb and Multi-effects (MFX) effect routing and parameters. These are the system-level effects that affect all Parts in the Performance.

Each Part contains Part Common data and one to eight voice elements. A voice element is either a mini AWM2 or FM-X synthesizer depending on voice type. Part Common is where the Insert A and Insert B effects are defined. They affect one or more voice elements depending upon insert effect switch status. In “All 9 Bars!” the Insert A and B effects are “Rotary Speaker 1” and “Multi FX”, respectively. Please see my last post for more details.

The MODX does not have an explicit Voice (capital “V”) object type; voice (lower case “v”) information is contained within a part. I will use “voice” (lower case “v”) at times in my writing. Please keep the distinction in mind.

“All 9 Bars!” consists of two parts. Part 1 handles the first eight drawbars:

Element# Waveform
1 Draw 16′
2 Draw 5 1/3
3 Draw 8′
4 Draw 4′
5 Draw 2 2/3′
6 Draw 2′
7 Draw 1 3/5
8 Draw 1 1/3

Expanded Articulation (XA) is “Normal” meaning that all of the elements trigger with a key press. This chews up polyphony pretty quick. Good thing the MODX has 128 AMW2 voice polyphony.

Part 2 has the ninth drawbar (1′) and special effects goodies. Think of “All 9 Bars!” in the same way as a multi-part piano voice with key noises, etc.

Element# Waveform Purpose
1 Draw 1′ 1′ drawbar
2 Percussion Percussion
3 Rotor Grit Rotor noise
4 Rotor More rotor noise
5 Draw 8′ Key click
6 Draw 8′ Key click

If you want to clean up the sound or turn off key click, look into Part 2.

The SuperKnob is programmed to control the amount of distortion drive in the Insert B “Multi FX” effect. The MOD wheel and Assignable Function button 1 (AF1) controls the rotary speaker speed.

Why the Genos B3 is soooo polite

The Genos B3 is too polite and clean, especially for rock and grungier forms of jazz, funk and gospel. Both the MODX and Genos have the same rotary speaker effect. The MODX, however, has a longer effects chain and includes a “Multi FX” distortion with top boost effect. After shutting down “Multi FX,” the MODX is still grungier. That’s why I decided to deconstruct “All 9 Bars!”.

The Genos does not have the rotor noise or key click components. Each of Genos’ RIGHT1, RIGHT2, RIGHT3 and LEFT parts are what MODX folks would call single Part Performance. RIGHT1, etc. each implement a single voice consisting of one to eight elements. Even though an “Organ Flutes” voice behaves like a multi-Part Performance, you cannot extend it or reprogram it. “Organ Flutes” is a closed black box.

One could, however, construct a Genos organ FX voice with percussion, rotor and key click elements and then layer the organ FX voice with an Organ Flutes voice, i.e., assign an Organ Flutes voice to RIGHT1 and assign the organ FX voice to RIGHT2. One would have to build the organ FX voice in (Yamaha Expansion Manager) YEM — totally do-able. I wish Yamaha published a waveform list as the necessary samples may already be hiding in the Genos waveform ROM.

Seen it, done that

Here’s a peek at the Live Set for Sunday. This is an experimental layout. I hope that I can poke the buttons on the fly. [Click images to enlarge.]

I took what I learned about the “All 9 Bars!” Performance and build a new Performance called “B3 Church Scene PJ”. The Performance uses scenes to switch in additional drawbars. I have three signature settings that I use every Sunday. I start out with a basic church sound and then add drawbars to it as the hymn (or whatever) progresses.

BTW, I have the EQ low dialed way down. Too much bass gets in the way of our pianist. Also, thankfully, Performances remember the state of the selected knob parameters. I make occasional EQ changes on the fly.

The MODX Scene mechanism seems to be built for this kind of voice switching. Plus, the Scene buttons are so close at hand. I successfully put the AF1 and AF2 buttons to work this way on the MOX6. Building a new MODX Performance from “All 9 Bars!” was a good learning experience and it got me ready for Sunday. Maybe I can make orchestral combinations with Scenes and maybe, gasp, put the SuperKnob to work? Stay tuned.

Copyright © 2018 Paul J. Drongowski

And we’re off!

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The exploration begins!

Starting in with a new keyboard is like landing on the Moon. What should I explore first?

First stop: Reverb

Effects are critical to good sound. I’ve fallen in love with the Genos™ “Real Small Hall+” effect preset. It just sounds nice to my ears and I want to incorporate it into Performances as I port my MOX voices to MODX. The “Real Small Hall+” preset has a mid-range bump around 700Hz to 800Hz which adds presence.

First off, what the heck is the equivalent effect algorithm on MODX? The Genos “Real Small Hall+” uses the Genos “REAL REVERB” algorithm. Quick comparison between the Genos Reference Manual (RM) and the MODX RM reveals that “HD Hall” is the same as “REAL REVERB”. Frankly, I don’t know why Yamaha names effects differently on different product lines. Slightly bonkers.

MODX provides three presets for “HD Hall”:

  • Large Hall
  • Medium Hall
  • Bright Hall

The “Medium Hall” preset is the closest to “Real Small Hall+”. It’s not the same, so there will be some extra editing ahead. In case you’re wondering, here are the parameter settings for “Real Small Hall+”:

Number Parameter Value
1 Reverb Time 1.3s
3 Initial Delay Time 22.1ms
4 High Damp Frequency 8.0kHz
6 High Ratio 0.8
13 EQ Low Frequency 700Hz
14 EQ Low Gain +6dB
15 EQ High Frequency 800Hz
16 EQ High Gain +4dB
— Return Level 64

I would love to make a MODX user effect preset with these specific parameter values. Would sure save a lot of editing…

Of course, I tried these settings and so forth. In the course of investigation, I found it easier to navigate with the MODX cursor keys instead of poking the touch screen. As I mentioned in my last post, the small size of the MODX widgets requires care and precision when tapping the screen. I also noticed that more finger pressure is required than the Genos touch screen. Widgets along the edge of the screen are the most troublesome and maybe I’ll need to re-calibrate the touch panel.

Next step: Rotary speaker effects

One big, lingering question in arranger-land is how to make the PSR/Genos drawbar organ more realistic.

I need to port my B-3 patches, so it made sense to drop into the “All 9 Bars!” Performance. “All 9 Bars!” is a 2-part Performance which marshalls 14 voice elements into a pretty decent B-3 plus Leslie emulation. Part 1 implements the first eight drawbars and part 2 implements the 1′ bar plus some other goodies.

I’ll have more to say about the part programming in another post. In the meantime, here is a screen shot showing the insert effects routing for “All 9 Bars!”. [Click images to enlarge.]

The MODX “Rotary Speaker 1” algorithm is what we could call “the old algorithm.” “Rotary Speaker 2” is the “new algorithm” debuted in Montage. The rotary speaker effect (Insert A) drives the Multi FX (Insert B) algorithm before everything hits the 2-band EQ (flat).

The following screen shot shows the parameters for the “Rotary Speaker 1” effect.

The “Rotary Speaker 1” algorithm includes its own 2-band EQ which gives a kick at 200Hz and 4.5kHz. Thus, the 2-band EQ at the end of the Insert A to Insert B chain is flat.

The next screen shot summarizes the parameter settings for the “Multi FX” effect.

BTW, both the Multi FX and HD Hall reverb were introduced in the Motif XF version 1.50 update. Multi FX is supported in the PSR-S950 (and later) mid-range arrangers, Tyros 5 and, of course, Genos.

The effect routing diagram illustrates one immediate advantage of the Yamaha synth effect architecture over the Genos effect architecture. It is possible to chain two insert effects on Genos, but you need to stand on your head to do it. Also, it’s not easy to chain a distortion effect into the PSR/Tyros “Organ Flutes” mode. These limitations are due to legacy software and the XG voice/effect architecture — and they stick in everyone’s craw like a bad burrito. Yamaha, please?

MODX screen capture

About those screen shots!

Like Montage, the MODX has a double-secret Easter egg for capturing screen shots.

  1. Insert a USB flash drive into the USB TO DEVICE port.
  2. Press and hold the A/D INPUT ON/OFF button.
  3. Press and release the AUDITION button.
  4. Release the A/D INPUT ON/OFF button.

The MODX writes screen shots to the USB flash drive with names such as “DSNAP_0.png”. I don’t know why Yamaha hides this capability. We live in a modern, visual age, after all, and people need to share screen shots through (anti-)social media.

Here’s two tips. 1. To save wear and tear on the USB TO DEVICE port, I plug a short extender cable into the port and then plug the USB flash drive into the extender cable. The cable brings the port to a place where I can easily reach it and it reduces wear on the port connector. 2. The screen capture procedure doesn’t provide any visual indication that the capture was successful or complete. Use a USB flash drive with an activity LED (e.g., the Kingston Data Traveler Elite G2). You should see the drive’s LED flash when the PNG file is written. Naturally, do not remove the drive when it is active!

Copyright © 2018 Paul J. Drongowski

Montage update v2.5

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Just when the summer seemed truly boring, Yamaha drops the Montage v2.5 update.

I think Yamaha engineers have heard many user comments and requests. They have continued to beef up legacy (Motif XF) Performance support in Montage, providing all of the original Motif XF Performances as presets. The legacy Performances have Super Knob assignments. Good to see and hear! The release video mentions “512 new Motif XF Performances.” Too soon to know how this breaks down — spiffed up old versus brand new. [Kind of like “new” vs. “new old stock.” 🙂 ]

The Motif XF Performances are a lot of first rate content. Coupled with the new Arpeggiator recording modes, one can use a Montage as a songwriting tool much like the earlier Motif XS/XF and MOX/MOXF.

Another gap between the old and new was the lack of integrated control between Montage and DAW. Montage has a new REMOTE mode, “DAW Remote Control:”

  • Mix your DAW tracks using the MONTAGE faders and knobs
  • Use the MONTAGE transport to start, stop, record, rewind, fast forward and return to zero
  • Select, arm, mute and solo DAW tracks with the MONTAGE right-hand buttons
  • Edit and control virtual instruments
  • Use the MONTAGE Data Wheel as a jog/shuttle wheel
  • Customize the [SCENE] buttons to perform various DAW functions

[Above list quoted from the Yamaha Synth web site.] This is more like the old “AI integration” in Motif. Cubase, ProTools, Logic, and Live are supported.

The Yamaha Synth site reminds everyoe to “BACKUP and SAVE YOUR DATA before updating to OS v2.5!” This is good advice in general. Are you ready for a media failure? A worn out back-up battery?

The update is available today, 31 July 2018. Looks like the team met their quarterly milestone. 🙂

Genos™ people on the PSR Forum want to feel the love, too. Genos and Montage updates are on separate schedules. However, I do hope that Yamaha engineers have been listening as carefully to Genos users. A fair number of us would like to see similar DAW support/integration for Genos along with bug fixes. We are using Genos in our studios and need the same kind of DAW control and VST integration.

Yamaha had to restructure the old Tyros/PSR OS to run on Linux and to interact through the new user interface (UI). I occasionally run into an issue where a setting gets lost when switching “modes,” e.g., going into and out of MIDI song multi record. Or, most recently, the rotary speed control (both front panel and pedal) is lost and becomes unresponsive. This tells me that more “integration level” software testing is needed. Software may be passing its unit tests, but errors are lurking when modules/subsystems interact with each other.

The Yamaha Synth folks have created a “Yamaha Synth” group on IdeaScale.com. The purpose is to collect product ideas and suggestions for the synthesizer product line. Members also cast votes in favor of suggestions made by other people. This has got to be better than the mish-mash of proposals, flames and tirades posted in the forums — and much easier for Yamaha marketing to cull. I’ll be making a suggestions or two myself… One lucky member already won the lottery with the new DAW support in v2.5!

Hope your summer is going well! I’ve been busy with tracks and charts, so there hasn’t been as much new content here. Soon, soon.

Copyright © 2018 Paul J. Drongowski