Yamaha MODX: Zone Master

Posted on October 18, 2022 by pj

If you mix and match your gear over MIDI, you will eventually need to send a program change message. Yesterday, I wanted to audition the sounds in my hacked Akai MPK Mini Play and needed to send a full Bank Select MSB (CC#0), Bank Select LSB (CC#32) and Program Change message sequence to the Akai MPK Mini Play.

Usually I scramble around looking for cables and hook up a MIDI controller like the Arturia Keystep or Keylab Essential. Inevitably, I scratch my head trying to remember how to send a full sequence of bank and program change messages from the controller. Maybe a trip through a PC-based control editor is required. It’s amazing that in this day and age, it is still difficult or impossible to send a full three message sequence in one go! [Grr.]

This time I said “Why not MODX?” and the best solution of all was in front of me.

The trick is to use the MODX Zone Master feature. I don’t intend to deep-dive Zone Master here and recommend the Mastering MONTAGE: Zone Master FAQ on the Yamaha Synth site. The MODX and Montage are enough alike such that the Montage tutorial applies to MODX, too.

The basic concept is simple. When Zone Master is enabled, a part in an MODX Performance can send MIDI messages over the 5-pin MIDI OUT. One needs to configure a few things before setting up a part and zone in a Performance.

For my experiment, I hit the UTILITY button and tapped the MIDI I/O tab under Settings. There, I made two changes:

I changed MIDI IN/OUT to MIDI in order to send MIDI messages through the 5-pin MIDI OUT. If this parameter is USB, you won’t send or see messages on the 5-pin port.
I turned Local Control OFF. If MODX isn’t connected to a powered speaker (or whatever), this step is optional.

Don’t forget to change these settings back to what they were when you’re done. MODX remembers them across power down and you may be surprised to find a silent MODX when you turn it on again.

MODX advanced settings (including Zone Master)

Next, tap the Advanced tab. Turn Zone Master ON. Zone Master is not enabled by default. If you don’t enable Zone Master, you will not see zone-related tabs and parameters when editing the Performance part.

Hit the EXIT button and click CATEGORY. We’re going to create a new, empty Performance. Tap the Init category button. Then tap Init Normal (AWM2). This creates a new empty (AWM2) Performance.

Cursor over to the part and hit the EDIT button. You should see two additional Zone Master tabs that normally aren’t displayed in Part Common Edit (i.e., when Zone Master is disabled). Tap the Zone Settings tab. Make the following changes:

Turn Zone ON.
Set the Transmit Channel to Channel 1 or your heart’s desire.
Turn MIDI Send ON.

Make sure Bank Select and Program Change are enabled (ON). Now you’re ready to send bank and program change messages to the target device. You did connect your target device to the 5-pin MIDI OUT port, right?

For those of you who are building a Performance to be saved and used in the future, check out the Internal Switch (Int SW) parameter. Turn it OFF if you don’t want MODX to send messages to the internal tone generator, that is, make this a locally silent part.

Cursor over to (or tap) the MIDI Bank MSB, MIDI Bank LSB and MIDI Program Number parameters to change values. MODX sends a full three message sequence when the Program Number is changed. So, if you change Bank MSB or LSB, you must send a Program Number to send the full sequence and make the actual patch change in the target device.

MODX bank select and program change example

In the screenshot above, Bank MSB 24, Bank LSB 0, and Program Change 5 selects the 60’s vintage electric piano (Wurli) in the Akai MPK Mini Play tone generator. Oh, you didn’t know the MPK Mini Play had a Wurli variation? Read on, below.

Conveniently, you can send MIDI volume (CC#7) and MIDI pan (CC#10) messages from this same screen. You can mess with local Octave Shift and Transpose. Pitch bend and mod wheel messages go out, too, and you can play away and freely audition sounds in the target device/module.

Overall, I find the MODX Zone Master method an easy way to experiment with a target device or tone module. If you’re a MODX owner, give it a try!

Hacked Akai MPK Mini Play?

In case you missed it, I added 5-pin MIDI to the Akai MPK Mini Play (Mk1) and gained full access to the Dream S.A.S. SAM2635 synthesizer chip within. The mod is fairly simple and relatively risk free as far as mods go. [Please remember that any mod has risk and voids your warranty.]

The MPK Mini Mod is functioning quite well and is stable. Just remember that only one source can send MIDI messages to the SAM2635 at a time, i.e., either the MPK Mini Play host microcomputer or the 5-pin DIN MIDI IN, not both. Messages are not merged and will collide electrically, leaving the SAM2635 confused.

The Dream SAM2635 is a full Roland GS implementation, not just General MIDI. The SAM2635 offers variation sounds including different organs and electric pianos. I really need to write a short run-down and review…

MODX screen capture

Just in case you’ve forgotten the steps to capture a MODX screen, here they are:

Insert A USB flash drive into the USB To DEVICE port on the back panel.
Press and hold the A/D INPUT ON/OFF button.
Press and release the AUDITION button.
Release the A/D INPUT ON/OFF button.

Simple, eh? And so easy to forget. 🙂 The screen shots are written to the USB flash drive in PNG files.

BTW, according to my web stats, my MODX split/layer tutorial remains popular. Take a look if you’re still puzzled about splits and layers. I also have a simple MODX Super Knob example.

Update about the updates

Posted on October 25, 2019 by pj

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.

Genos/PSR organ registrations

Posted on April 26, 2019 by pj

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!

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