Greetings, everyone,

I just bought a used Motif Rack XS. I want to transfer the 80s Pop/Rock Soundset to it, for live performance. My band is actually playing “Magic” and “Summer of ‘69” next month. As you may already know, the soundset has voices for them.

I’ve unfortunately experienced many problems in successfully transferring the soundset data, and would appreciate any assistance.

First, some information:

--I am running OS 1.04 (is this the most up-to-date version to use for the rack?)

--I’m fortunate in that I have both a Macbook Air (running Yosemite) and a Windows 7 64-bit system to try to make this work.

--I have successfully installed the latest drivers and software in both systems. For the Mac, that means V1.32 for the USB-MIDI driver, and Motif XS Editor V1.6.5. For Windows, that corresponds to V3.13 for USB-MIDI driver, and Motif XS Editor V1.6.3.

--I downloaded and installed the latest version of Studio Manager 2 in both systems, and activated the Yamaha Motif-R XS-1 and Yamaha Motif--XS-4 ports. (Is this part still necessary, even though the editors seem to be standalone programs?)

--On both Mac and Windows, I make what seem to be the correct USB-MIDI assignments with the XS-1 and XS-4 ports, as specified in the editor manual.

--I import the 80s Pop/Rock soundset as an .X0A file. Using the editor, I drag a voice from the soundset to a user voice slot.

--I then attempt to do a data sync. My Rack XS freezes. The LCD display does not change when I move the knob. I have to turn the Rack XS off and on again for it to become responsive again.

I appreciate any advice. I am happy to provide more details. Thank you so much.

Ben

Welcome to the forum.

OS version 1.04 is indeed the most recent for the Rack XS.

I presume that for both Mac and Windows you downloaded the Motif-Rack XS Editor - the Editors for the keyboard XS model aren’t the same.

Yes, the recent Editors are able to be run standalone. I would suggest that you try doing so, not under Studio Manager. The port assignments should be done as detailed on page 41 of the PDF manual, although it seems you may already have them properly set.

If you still have difficulty, let us know.

Thanks so much for your reply. Yes, I have downloaded the rack editors and am using them.

I’ve spent a few more hours trying to determine the problem and get things to work.

I’m now working with the Rack XS editor within Cubase 8 for the Mac. It’s integrated very nicely,

Here’s what’s happening:

When I try to write the 80s Pop/Rock soundset voices to the Motif Rack XS, the Rack inevitably freezes. I have to turn off the unit, and reload the factory presets. Importantly, I can sometimes play a selected 80s Pop/Rock soundset voice for a little while before the Rack freezes, so this suggests that the soundset data is not corrupt, at least completely. But when I try to move to another one of these newly stored voices, the Rack freezes.

With the editor, I’ve tried to do other simple edits that do not involve the 80s soundset. For example I’ve changed the name of one of the Motif factory user voices, and it doesn’t seem to be posing problems. I’ll have to test this more thoroughly.

With the 80s Pop/Rock soundset, I’m using an X0A file for the Rack XS. (80S_XS.XOA) It’s 1 MB in size. It appears to be loading perfectly well on the editor and as I mention, I can play a selected voice just fine for a few moments.

A few questions/possibilities:

--Is there still the possibility of something being wrong with the file, or in the way that the Rack is handling the 80s Pop/Rock voice data?
--Is there possibly a faulty memory unit of some sort on the Rack XS, which manifests itself when I try to store a new voice?
--In the event I cannot diagnose/fix this issue on my own, where could i find a Motif authorized service center? I just find a dealer list on the Yamaha website.

Thank you!

Ben

I did some research, and apparently this has been a known problem.

See these threads…
http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/449575/
http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/450306/
http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/453331/
...especially the last one, where apparently a workaround was found by a Motifator member.

I hope that helps. Please let us know.

5pinDIN,
The workaround completely fixed the problem. I’ve loaded in the sounds I need. Thank you so very much!
Ben

benonemusic - 04 July 2015 08:55 PM

5pinDIN,
The workaround completely fixed the problem. I’ve loaded in the sounds I need. Thank you so very much!
Ben

You’re very welcome - thanks for verifying that the method works.