I want to play piano on my S90 but also have a layered bass set for all notes below say middle C.

Is there a way of setting the bass line so that it comes out monophonic - but with a preference to sounding with lowest note you hit on any chord you play with your left hand?

Re: bass line

Your question is unclear. You want a bass sound layered with a piano sound in Voice mode, and you want the bass sound to be monophonic and independently “intelligently” shift with you left hand chords?

A voice cannot be both poly and mono, even if it has layers. It’s one or the other.

You can set up a Performance on the S90 with a split, so there’s a mono bass sound on the left and piano sound on the right.

Re: bass line

Thanks for your reply Dave.  Just to clarify what I am planning to do, it is this:

Using performance mode:  One layer is piano - using all 88 notes.  The second layer will be a monophonic bass set to range from the bottom of the keyboard to middle C.

When I play a chord with my left hand - say a C major triad below middle C, there would be a piano triad sound but one of the piano keys will also play a bass note at the same time.  I presume the bass note that will play will be the note that I hit a tiny fraction of a second before the other 2 in the chord - because I presume no chord is going to be hit perfectly at the same time. 

Can the bass layer be programmed either in voice mode or within the performance mode settings to prioritise so that it plays the lowest note in the chord? 

Hope this makes sense.  I know what I mean but it is difficult to put it into words! 

Re: bass line

Can anyone help?

Re: bass line

When I play a chord with my left hand - say a C major triad below middle C, there would be a piano triad sound but one of the piano keys will also play a bass note at the same time. I presume the bass note that will play will be the note that I hit a tiny fraction of a second before the other 2 in the chord - because I presume no chord is going to be hit perfectly at the same time.

No, your presumption is not correct. I’m sure by now you have tried this but as you can tell, it is the exact opposite; the bass note that will play will be the note that you hit last. It is last note priority. It does not make the assumption that you do not want the other notes to sound.

Re: bass line

Thanks for the clarification Bad Mr.  I hope that one day, keyboards will be more ‘intellegent’.  It would be great if there was a system of rules where you could specify different sounds for different parts of a chord.  This would not only be great for bass lines but also brass where you could set it so that a trombone plays on the lower note, a sax on the middle note and a trumpet on the top.

Re: bass line

As soon as you figure out a way to get this done, let us know… /forums/images/icons/smile.gif alt=

Along those lines, back in 1994, when the VL1 first hit the market this was under study. The VL (Virtual Lead ) synthesizer was one of the first Physical Modeling tone engines on the market. It was a mathematical representation of what happens in a single-pipe column of air musical instrument or a single bowed string. By its very nature it supported one note at a time… same as a column of air or bowed string would…

The VL1 was actually two monophonic engines - each capable of reproducing a single tone… you could assign one to track the high note and the other to play the low note - so if you were playing a Tenor Sax and Trumpet, it would always be the case that the Tenor Sax was the low note. As you realize samples even set to monophonic mode do not do this… There is not any kind of “intelligent” musical decision… If you combine a mono Sax sample and a mono Trumpet sample - they both play mono and both always play the same note. Playing two notes where one intelligently plays its part is not possible.

There are ways around this, to be sure, however, until musicians (and I’m talking “keyboard players” in particular) can appreciate the glorious expressivity of monophonic instruments, a company would be hard pressed to successfully market such an instrument. Traditionally these find only a small niche market.

Currently it would still be quite expensive to pull off. The VL70-m (half-rack unit) has a mode where you can stack multiple VL70-m units and assign each to be monophonic with a separate instrument. For example, if you stacked four units you could set the first to be 1 of 4, and the next to be 2 of 4, the next to be 3 of 4 and so on…

You could stack up to 32 units… but the issue and the thing that we will wait for you to figure out (and let us know when you do)… if as you say:
“so that a trombone plays on the lower note, a sax on the middle note and a trumpet on the top.”
1) How will it know what to do with the middle instrument when you play a two note chord? I would imagine it would have all three horns play the same note when you play a single note, and when you play 3 - it will do as you say… but what about when you play 2 notes???
2) Do you think keyboard players will be able to control (’intelligently’) three instruments. In other words, play just three note chords to control three separate horns (I doubt it). Keyboard players are usually reluctant to change much about their “piano” approach…
3) This is still quite a different issue from your original idea of the bass being just the lowest note in a region - you do see the difference, right? Seems that note would be jumping around quite a bit.

I spent quite a bit of time (more than most) attempting to master playing two horns with VL and it is a challenge to pull off just two. When I hear a request for 3 or more instruments and a keyboard player wanting (or thinking they could) control them… I am brought back to my experience of controlling just two. I remember how difficult it was to really pull off a convincing musical phrase… oh there was a sense of accomplishment when you did, but… by the time you add a third you start to have to admit to yourself that you were no longer really controlling it - it was sounding, yes, but controlling it… not so much.

Your wish for one day keyboards being more “intelligent” - I would say: Count on it. If you get a chance stop in your local Yamaha dealer and play a Tyros 3 - simply for the experience of controlling the “Super Articulation 2” Voices. Each Super Articulation Voice is made up of some 400 samples which can be controlled by how you interact with the keyboard… You have different attacks, transitions, and releases that can be controlled in a variety of ways - including how you touch and are phrasing on the keyboard. It is, guaranteed, a new experience. (Expensive, but guaranteed a new experience).

At least this will give you an idea of where things could possibly go.

Re: bass line

Thanks Bad Mr, this is very interesting.  I’ll certainly have a go at the Tyros 3 if I can find a music shop (They keep closing down lately - none near me any more and fewer in London).