Upgrading to Motif ES? Bad_Mister recommends you save your data this way...
Voices loaded into the Motif ES 6/7/8 may not produce the exact same sound as in the Motif 6/7/8 since the content of the preset Waveforms and the Effects structure are different between the two instruments. The Motif ES uses a very sophisticated “look-up” table and finds the waveform or an appropriate substitution waveform for each original Motif Voice. Even though waveform numbering is quite different in the Motif ES you can be assured that an appropriate substitution is made.
The Motif ES is a new synthesizer. User Voices, user samples, and Song and Pattern data converted to SMFs can be ported over to the ES from the original Motif. This article will take you through what is necessary in terms of preparing your data. Get a new SmartMedia card that you will use for the storing this data. And be as thorough and as organized as you can. User Voice data, user sample data and the MIDI data used in Patterns and Songs (saved as SMF) can be ported over to the Motif ES.
Phil Clendeninn
Senior Product Specialist
Technology Products
©Yamaha Corporation of America
- Save your VOICES in the ALL VOICE file format (.w2v). You will be able to load ALL VOICE files directly into the Motif ES including all the Samples used in Voice mode.
This will save all USER VOICES (Banks 63/8 Normal Voices; 63/40 User Drum Kits; This will also save any Samples that are used in the Normal User Voices or User Drum Kits. And also saved is bank 63/24, 63/25 and 63/26 - the User PLUG-IN Voices for PLG150 boards).
It will not save: Samples recorded directly into Song mode or Pattern Mode. It will not save: Custom Plug-in Voice Board Voices. Custom PLG Board Voice data files (.w2b) are totally compatible in whatever MSPS product they are loaded since they load to the board directly.
In order to ensure that Song Samples and Pattern Samples (63/50) are saved, it is recommended that you convert all Song Samples to User Voices (63/8) and all Pattern Samples should be named and saved in the ALL PATTERN file type - this will make organizing and reassembling your data much easier. See the paragraph on “SAMPLE DATA” for detailed suggestions for how to organize your data.
(Song and Pattern data)
- Save your sequence data as Standard MIDI File (SMF) .mid format.
Song (.w2s) and Pattern (.w2p) files are not compatible directly. Therefore you will need to use the universal SMF sequence format (.mid) to transfer your MIDI performance and tempo data. Your MIX data will have to be redone. Preset Voices are in different locations so your mix data would not translate.
Song/Pattern Data
Song and Pattern data can be converted to Standard MIDI Files (SMF) by simply saving in the SMF File type. Most sequencers on the planet, including the Motif ES, can read this universal file format (.mid) Type 0. It will convert all your performing gestures (note-ons, controller movements, tempos changes and tempo). Mix data is not compatible. If you have complex mixes you may want to write down the initial pan position settings, note limits, etc. although these will be easily enough redone on the Motif ES. You can write down the Volume settings if you like, but I have found that when re-Voicing any sequence that once you have selected a new sound you wind up changing the volume relationship anyway - so you may not want to bother with this task. Remember a lot of the decisions can be made when you get your Motif ES. What you want to preserve here is the SONG or PATTERN data itself, the MIDI performance - all things about the mix can be done later. When you export this data (save it as a SMF) you should take care to name each file properly. You should make a “Track Sheet” for each composition and make extensive notes. Make sure for each Motif ALL data load you write down what Song occupies Song location 1, 2, 3, and so on - and what Pattern occupies location 1, 2, 3 and so on. With Patterns you will need to save each Section as a separate SMF - so naming will be critical. When you export them as SMFs they will automatically be alphabetized by the filing system. They will not be in the order you have them in the Motif. Knowing what order the songs/patterns are in can come in extremely handy when reassembling the data in the Motif ES. With Pattern data you will want to come up with a scheme so that they stay together yet you can identify which Section is which. For example, if the Pattern is called “Groove” a good naming scheme for naming Sections would be “GrooveA”, “GrooveB”, “GrooveC”, etc.
Also, those of you with samples recorded directly into the sequencer will need to know what samples go with what sequence data. Our suggested sample naming strategy will utilize the Song/Pattern number rather than its name. Therefore, your Track Sheet should make a note of the Song number and Pattern number where the data is originally located.
Saving a SONG as SMF:
- Press FILE
- Press F1 CONFIG
- Press SF1 CURRENT
- Select the CARD or SCSI (as appropriate)
- Press F2 SAVE
- Select the SMF Type
- Cursor to the NAME area and name the File
- Press ENTER
- Set SOURCE to SONG and set Number of the Song you want to convert to SMF
- Press ENTER/Yes to execute
Saving a PATTERN SECTION as SMF: (you must convert each Pattern Section to SMF one by one)
- Press FILE
- Press F1 CONFIG
- Press SF1 CURRENT
- Select the CARD or SCSI (as appropriate)
- Press F2 SAVE
- Select the SMF Type
- Cursor to the NAME area and name the File
- Press ENTER
- Set SOURCE to PATTERN, set Number of the Pattern and the Section you want to convert to SMF
- Press ENTER/Yes to execute
Make a Track Sheet
Start with Song 1, write down its title and the fact that it is in location Song 1. Write down the Voice and Voice Category of each track. Remember to check for any in track Program Changes and make note of what measure they occur in and what they are - remember the kind of Voice is more important than the Voice number.
The purpose of this is so that you can make wise selections about re-voicing your data when you get your ES. You can check ahead of time to see if the Voices that you used are to be found in the Motif ES by checking the Voice Data List (posted on Motifator.com). If you are using a Voice that did not make the cut to the Preset banks of the Motif ES (fear not) simply store that VOICE to your Motif’s USER bank - remember any User bank Voice data will be loadable into the Motif ES. For example, the electric piano Voice “Vintage ‘74” is represented in the Motif ES so there is no need to copy this Voice to the User bank. However, if you cannot find your Voice listed in the Motif ES Voice List then simply make sure it is represented in your USER Bank - this will guarantee that you can load it into the Motif ES User bank and will be able to re-select it. This is also a great strategy for your sampled audio track data - by building a User Voice for each audio recording we will ensure that it will be loaded into the USER bank of the Motif ES automatically when you load the ALL VOICE type file.
Identify the Songs and Patterns that have sampled data in them. This is easy enough to do - each Song/Pattern that contains an audio track will have a waveform icon identifying it (shown above: track 3 is an audio track). Because the SMF format does not save any user sample data, we must ensure the integrity of this data manually. Song samples are easily converted to USER Voice data (outlined below). Pattern samples can be a bit more complicated because of the multiple Sections in Pattern mode.
If your SONGS or PATTERNS contain User Sample Voices:
User Samples in the Motif are divided into two types: those that are used in VOICE mode and those sampled directly into the sequencer’s Song or Pattern mode as audio phrases. User Voices in Voice mode are housed in Banks 63/8 USER Normal and 63/40 USER Drum Kits. Nothing special need be done for samples used in User Voices - they will automatically be saved in the ALL VOICE (.w2v) data file, as mentioned earlier.
User Samples recorded directly into the sequencer will be saved in a sample folder contained within the ALL SONG (.w2s) files and ALL PATTERN (.w2p) files and although these file types cannot be loaded directly by the Motif ES, you can ‘open’ them and load individual Samples from the ALL SONG and ALL PATTERN types. Make sure you document all your Motif sequence samples by saving these file types. Since User Voice samples are saved and converted and since the User bank from the Motif can be transferred as is to the Motif ES - it is by far the most convenient method to convert your data. Method 1 below describes how to convert your Song to User samples. Method 2 outlines how to convert all Voices used in your Motif Mixes to User Voices (thus making them available to the Motif ES). If you have Pattern data that you want to remain as Pattern data there is a special paragraph on converting Pattern data - because Patterns can be a bit more complex, there are special considerations.
Method 1: SONG MODE
Strategy Overview: Converting your Song Samples to USER VOICES.
Each track with sampled audio will have a small waveform icon associated with the track number on the main Song screen. This icon appears when a User Sample Voice (63/50) is associated with the track. You can convert these Sample Voices in the Motif to USER VOICES - this way they will be saved automatically when you save the ALL VOICE type file and the MIDI data to trigger them will be easy to realign with them. And you can be assured that the MIDI data that is triggering their playback will not need to be changed. It will still trigger them perfectly. For example, for this strategy (outlined in DVD-III Tips and Tricks: Mo’ Tips #2) locate the Song sample and create a new User Voice from it. Store the Voice in the normal User bank, then point your MIX at the USER Voice (63/8) rather than at the local Sample Voice (63/50).
Here is the step-by-step:
Call up the Song and select the first Track that contains a sample icon.
- Press MIXING
- Press F3 VOICE
- Identify the location (keys) that contain the audio sample(s)
- Press VOICE - to select Voice mode.
- Initialize a USER Voice location (select a Voice you are certain you will not need).
- Press JOB/ F1 INIT/ ENTER/ YES - to execute the initialization
- Press EDIT
- Press Track 1 to select Element Edit
- Press F1 OSC
- Press SF1 WAVE
Change the parameters here to select USER WAVE and select the wave that is the sample from the first Track.
- Press COMMON
- Press F1 GENERAL
- Press SF1 NAME - name the User Voice something that will help you identify where the sample is to be used. For example: “S1Tr8V1” for Song 1/Track 8/Voice 1
- Store the User Voice.
Next navigate to the Song Mix and substitute your new User Voice (Bank MSB/LSB 63/8) for the original 63/50 bank Voice.
This exercise (converting local Song Samples to User Voices) will ensure that your song’s audio track will be saved when you save your VOICE data in the ALL VOICE (.w2v) file format. If you follow this strategy for each user sample used in your Songs, you can be assured that it will be available when you reassemble the mix in the Motif ES. By naming the Voice so that you can identify what track and song that Voice belongs to, it will be a simple matter to reassemble the mix. Following this strategy, if your mix is made up of all USER bank Voices you can be assured that all of your Motif sounds will be available in the Motif ES. The following Method outlines this strategy.
Method 2: Make all Voices User Voices
As an extension to the above, you can transfer each Voice that is used in your Motif MIX for a Song to a USER Voice. The advantage to this method is you will not have to hunt around for the Preset Voices when you get your Motif ES. All the Preset Voices will be in new locations, if they are in the Motif ES at all. But by changing all the Voices in your Mix to User Voice this guarantees that you can move them over to the Motif ES. In this method you will be organizing data in the Motif rather than leaving most of the work for when you get the Motif ES. To keep things organized we will use the USER Voice banks to position our sounds. This will work because the User banks of the Motif (63/8 and 63/40) can be transferred to the Motif ES. Banks 63/8 are the normal User Voices; 63/40 are the User Drum kits
Store the Voices used in your MIX as follows. For SONG 01 you will create a MIX that uses USER bank A01-A16. User A01 will be the sound on track 1 of Song 1, User A02 will be the sound on track 2 of Song 1, User A03 will be the sound on track 3 and so on. For SONG 02 store your USER Voices in locations B01-B16 and use the same outline track number that equals the Voice position. For SONG 03 in locations C01-C16, and so on. It is highly unlikely that you have more than 8 SONGS per ALL data load. And most likely you will not use all 16 Voice locations per lettered bank because you probably are using at least one drum kit and are not always using all 16 tracks. By storing the Voices of each composition to set locations of the USER bank, you will be assured that they will be available in the Motif ES. Drum kits are easy: Store and rename the drum kit you used for Song 1 in User Drum location 1, Song 2 in User Drum 2 and so on. While you are working in the Motif, remember you can use the unit’s ability to load individual Voices or Kits from your SmartMedia card. So do not worry about losing track of whether you are storing over a Voice that you will later need. Work with a back up file of your data - an ALL Data file - which gives you access to any User Voice or Drum Kit. You can load it individually to the location you need.
Once you import this data into your Motif ES, you can decide if you want to keep the Voice or perhaps you will find a better substitute among all the new Voices (it is highly likely that you will). Using this method you can even place Program Changes in your sequence data so that you can automate the selections of sounds. Here is what is mean by thist:
Since all Voices in your Song are now USER bank Voices and the Bank number is the same in the Motif ES 63/8, you can make a setup bar that will automatically reassemble your MIX:
- From the main Song screen press JOB
- Press F4 Meas
- Select Create Measure
- Insert 1 measure in front of the song
- Press ENTER/YES to execute
- Press SONG to return to the main screen
- In turn INSERT a Program Change event on each track that will recall the Voice: MSB-LSB-PC
PATTERN MODE Sample Data (special considerations)
As outlined earlier, you will need to convert each Pattern Section to SMF. The samples will be recovered from the ALL PATTERN (.w2p) file type that you will create to back up the Pattern Sample Voices. These can be directly restored to each SECTION as necessary in the Motif ES. Our strategy for Patterns will have to be a bit different. If you wish to keep your data in Pattern mode (for whatever reason) you will need to appreciate the difference in how samples can be configured in Pattern. In Song mode typically only one sample Voice occupies a track, however, in Pattern Mode a different sample Voice could occupy the track in each different Section A~P. So we will have to take a different tactic.
Understanding Pattern Sample Data
There are several ways to record samples into the sequencer while in Pattern mode. Let’s consider them so that we can be sure about how to proceed. One method is to designate a target or Destination track and a target note and then record, for example, a vocal part in Section A, track 1, note C3. Then you can, on the same track, target the next higher note (C#3) and overdub a harmony part. In this manner you can record several parts to different keys C3, C#3, D3, D#3 and so on, overdubbing parallel parts - all in Section A, all on track 1. The MIDI data would look like a chord cluster. All the different samples become one waveform. A second scenario is where each recording is done to a different Section with a new User Phrase for each recording…a verse in Section A, a chorus in Section B and so on. The MIDI data would be a single note-on held for the duration of the phrase.
In the first method the ISS is creating only a single USER Pattern Sample Voice with many waves in it and many notes simultaneously triggering playback, while in the second the ISS creates a new USER Pattern Sample Voice for each recording and a single note triggers playback.
Yet a third scenario exists…you have placed an audio clip on a track and have sliced it using the ISS’s SLICE function. This can create up to a maximum of 128 different samples in one waveform. It would have a series of notes (chromatically mapped and precisely timed) that would be responsible for playing back the audio slices - reassembling the audio. This creates a single Voice and is very similar to the first method described above - in that all the samples are contained in a single waveform (one User Pattern Sample Voice), although this time they are triggered one after the other.
When you sample into the sequencer directly, the ISS (Integrated Sampling Sequencer) creates a new USER SAMPLE VOICE for each new recording. The SAMPLE+NOTE and SLICE+SEQ sample mode types can automatically create a MIDI note-on or a precisely timed chromatic MIDI phrase to guarantee the integrity of the playback of the data. This MIDI data will be converted to a SONG and saved as a SMF. We will reunite with the User Pattern Sample Voice data when we import the data into the Motif ES. The USER SAMPLE VOICE is ‘local’ to the pattern that it is recorded to and the Voice is kept in a special bank. This bank is designated 63/50. In Pattern mode the USER (Pattern) SAMPLE VOICE will be automatically recalled as long as the TRACK VOICE/PHRASE VOICE parameter is ON (the default condition) - this function will keep the association between each sample and the MIDI Phrase that goes with it. It will be important to make sure your MIDI Phrase data gets associated with the correct audio data. Write down the Pattern, the Track, the Section (you may also want to make note of the intended Length of each Section, this will help you later when you are dividing the Song back into Sections) and Voice number of each audio sample. Then go to INTEGRATED SAMPLING mode and verify and name each sample for identification. This way it will be easy to import the samples to the correct locations when you reassemble the data in the Motif ES.
Fortunately, you are given 10 characters to name your samples. If you are like most users with Pattern mode sampling, you have not taken the time to NAME your samples. This was not necessary in the Motif because it automatically kept track of all the data and where it went. If you only have a sample or two then the following will not be necessary but if you have several Patterns that have sample phrases you will need to know what Pattern each of the samples goes in. It is recommended that you name each sample with the following convention:
Naming the Pattern Samples:
If, for example, you have a vocal in Pattern Style 01, on Track 1, of Section A, and it is in bank 63/50 location 1 then name the sample as follows: “P1_T1_A_1”. A sample on Track 10 of this same Pattern Style, in Section B, location 63/50 Voice #2 would be “P1_T10_B_2” and so on.
Be fastidious about your Pattern Samples…be sure you check every Pattern and each Pattern Section for samples. Once you have identified a sample, by the wave icon, select its track, then go immediately to INTEGRATED SAMPLING and press EDIT. There it will be in the edit buffer for you to audition. Now Press JOB, then F2 and select the NAME function. By naming your samples in this manner, it will be a breeze to import them to the correct location when you get your Motif ES. One thing to remember is that you must write down the names of each Pattern and what number they are - because later when they appear on the list of SMFs as SONGS they will only be listed alphabetically. Make sure you re-save your data after you have named the waveforms.
This can be tedious but is a lot less work than redoing all the samples. After naming your samples save a .w2p file and keep it in a safe place.
Reassembling the data in the Motif ES
Fast forward - you now have your brand new Motif ES and you are ready to restore your data. On your SmartMedia card you have ALL VOICE, ALL SONG, ALL PATTERN and a group of SMF type files that will allow you to recreate your Voice, Song and Pattern data in the Motif ES.
- Load the ALL VOICE file - this will make your USER 1 bank (63/8) the same as the USER bank of your Motif (63/8).
- Get out your Track Sheet (do not rely on your memory) and load the SMF SONGS back to their original Song number locations.
- If you used the ‘all’ User Voice method, start to recreate your MIX data.
- Select the “Sample Voice” file type and open the ALL SONG file format and restore your User Song Samples Voices to their proper Song-Track-Voice number. Having named the sample properly you know exactly what Song number, what track, and what Song Sample Voice number to load it back to.
- Load your SMF Pattern Section back to their original Pattern number and Section.
- Select the “Sample Voice” file type and open the ALL PATTERN file format and restore your User Pattern Sample Voices to their proper Pattern-Track-Section-Voice number. Having named the sample properly you know exactly what Pattern, what Track, what Section and what Pattern Sample Voice number to load it back to.
The Motif ES has a new Voice location for each normal Voice in a special bank 63/60, called the MIX VOICE bank (256 total locations). When you load the song data for a composition into the Motif ES it will be an easy thing to restore your mix from your Track Sheet and, as mentioned, the new MIX VOICE function will allow you to move these Voices into the MIX VOICE bank (63/60). This will mean that you can move every sound you used in the Motif to the Motif ES and that you will not have to lose any of the new Motif ES Voice locations. Although initially you will load your User Voices into USER 1 of the ES, you can then move these into the MIX VOICE location allowing you to reload the original ES sounds to their USER 1 locations. |
