My PLG150AN arrives later today. Slightly confused as to which of the support documents on this site is the most recent. If I am reading them correctly, I have the following options (assumes a Slot 1 install):

- Install the PLG card. Upon boot up the Motif will give me access to 64 voices in VOICE mode in the PLG1PRE1 bank without doing anything else (eg Instant Gratification!). There will also be 64 duplicate voices (placeholders) in the PLGUSR bank. To access the Board voices, I would need to address them using MSB/LSB Bank Select commands, which in VOICE mode one can do by hitting F2 Memory, and scrolling up and down though the Banks (PLGPRE1, PLGUSR, 036/000, 036/001) before selecting a voice (more or less). Is that correct?

All told, the PLG150AN board has 256 voices in total, in two banks of 128. 64 of them were selected by the Motif designers as worthy of easy access (PLGPRE) and the Motif’s audio routing and effects. The remaining 192 voices are for the user to play with. Is that a more-or-less correct statement? 

- The PLGHELP (PLUG_IN.W2P and PLUG_IN.W3P) file on Motifmart’s Expansion Board page is essentially a PATTERN template that adds your PLG voices to a part 1 of a MIX. That is the template that the document “Assigning PLG150 boards in a Mix or Performance” suggests you create. Is that correct?

- There is also a file called SLOT1.ZIP on the Motifmart Voice Data page. I enjoyed Phil’s History of Analog PDF file, but can’t figure out why one would need the associated files (set1slt1.w2e, etc). 

Lastly, let’s say I come up with a voice I would like to share. Am I correct in thinking the voice file will work in another Motif ONLY if the AN card was in the same slot?

Thanks for your time and patience.

Dave

Re: PLG150 AN Installation

Got it, installed it, and answered most of my own questions after playing around with it last night. For the benefit of the masses without an AN card, this is what I found out:

- Instant Gratification. Yes! Plug it in play away. You get 64 voices in the PLGPRE1 bank, and the full compliment (256 voices) if you go into the Board voice banks.

-PLGHELP file. Still don’t know, but think I am correct. Have not yet tried to assign an AN voice to a MIX or PERFORMANCE. That is one of my projects this weekend (that and enabling/syncing AN arp and step sequencer to the Mo’s).

-SLOT1.ZIP file. Only use I can think of for this file is if one uses Voice Editor for file management. I don’t yet, but will.

Opinion after four hours of playing with it? If you have a spare $230 and are a fan of “synth” sounds, the AN card is a must-have. Yes, I could have picked up a used AN1x for a bit more, but I am limited to a two keyboard setup (currently a P80 and a Mo7).

Two PLG slots left. What to do… What to do…

Re: PLG150 AN Installation

Dave,

Good job. The Slot 1 file is if your board is in slot 1 because it makes a difference. The host product (Motif, S90, S80, CS6, etc) can address the board and apply controllers to it - this host Voice data is married to the PLG1, PLG2 or in the case of the Motif and S90, PLG3 slots. If you where to try and load the data intended for slot2 with your board in slot 1, the host Voice data would load but it would not find the waveforms (which are on the PLG150-AN board)

So it is particular to the slot. That is why there are 3 files, one for each of the possible slots. It is important (if/when) you get other boards that you have a consistent layout for the boards - as your Voice data will need to be directed at a slot. When the Files were made we didn’t want someone to have to place the board in a specific slot to use the free Voices - just load up the appropriate data for your slot.

The PLGHELP file is for when you are using the board in a MIX - there is an article on that very subject. If you have trouble with assigning your AN board in a Mix or Performance use that file to help set you up.
Enjoy....

Re: PLG150 AN Installation

Thanks BM. Two quick follow-up questions to you are anyone who is in the know:

- Are the voices in the SLOT1.ZIP file different than the Board voices? Thought they were one and the same and as such have not loaded that file yet. Looking to try the AN1x voices in the London, Midlands, Vintage sets, which leads to my second question

- How to do a PLG BULK dump from a Smart Media card to the PLG Board using the internal sequencer? I believe I followed the instructions you provided to another user a few months ago, but without success. In FILE mode I loaded LONDON.MID into SONG 1. Went into SONG mode, toggled to the PLG screen (where you have three tracks instead of 16), set the PLG1 track to MIDI recieve CH1, hit PLAY, waited a few minutes until the metronome LED stopped flashing, and then nothing. Could’t find anything new in the banks. Am I missing something?

It is inconvenient for me to have my laptop hooked up to the Mo’ full time so I try to do as much as I can with Smart Media cards. Next project is using the AN Expert Editor (with the USB umbillical to the Mo’), but the PLG BULK option seems a quick and easy way to preview the hundreds of free AN1x patches available from Yamaha and elsewhere… if I can figure it out!

Again, many thanks for your time and patience.