OK - so here’s the deal: I may be asking some newbie questions here despite having been on this forum for a number of years.  That’s because I had a Motif keyboard a while back. Now I have a Motif Rack ES going optical spdif into a Fireface 800, going firewire into a macpro running Logic 8.

I thought I would go all software instruments - because it makes everything so much easier, but I have to say that many times I can find a sound I want on the Motif that I can’t find in all the software instruments I have. It’s a great tool - but I find it tear your hair out frustrating trying to use it with Logic and getting everything to work the way you would expect it to work.

That’s not an indictment of Logic - but rather of Yamaha for not making it easier to use these things in the way that they are likely to be used. It’s a sound module. It’s either going to be used in the studio with a DAW or live on stage. I would guess that 80 - 90% of usage is (home) studio with DAW. There is only a limited number of popular DAWs. One of them, Cubase, is clearly now well served by Yamaha since they liked the product so much they bought the company. But - hey - lot’s of people that buy these things will not be Cubase users. At the very least these things should ship with a Logic environment on a CD in the box - and the equivalent for Pro Tools and Digital Performer.

People that have shelled out good money to buy a great tool like this should not have to scour forums like this for the information they need in order to get it to work in the way that it is obvious they would expect (and have a right to expect) it to work.

OK - now I’ve got that off my chest I would like to ask a question:

Do I need to predefine the multis I use with the voices I want to use or can I just turn to an empty multi and set the individual voices by using MIDI/insert instrument MIDI settings as events at the start of the tracks in Logic?

I would like to be able to do that - but have not yet succeeded. I have a multi instrument defined in Logic’s environment and I have got all the right voices and can select them on an individual basis - and actually get the right ones out - but I can’t get several voices to play together in a consistent and reproducible way. Do I have to pre define the multi with the voices I want in order for this to happen?

Hello,
first let me say that having owned a Motif, a Motif Rack ES and now an XS8, these products rock and they can easily do what you want them to do. It’s just a matter of knowing how to get them to do it. They may not seem simple because they are so powerful and can do so many things, and after a few reps, you ‘see’ the logic behind what the do- pun intended…

I was working on a answer and then I realized I am a little confused about which multi you are referring to. When you mention the “need to predefine the multis”, are you referring to Logic’s Multi-Instrument or the ES Multi,

I’ve been using a Motif xs-rack and Logic.  I’ll start with a multi which inspires me, and go from there. You can of course start with an ‘init’ multi and make changes as you need.

I’m finding the Yamaha studio manager to be invaluable. It lets you run the motif XS software right along with Logic, I jump back and forth. You don’t need to actually deal with the hardware. I believe there is an ES editor also.

You can create, modify your multi and save the patch with your Logic song, so you can duplicate it later.

I wholeheartedly agree. But, since I had already established mutli’s on my ES Rack, it was easy for me to use them as my basic building block and tweak them from there…

When I owned a Rack ES, I had four basic Multis-1) for JAZZ-Based (Grand Piano, Fretless or Acoustic Bass, Rhodes, Trumpet, Soprano sax, Organ, latin percussion, etc...) 2) for BALLADS, (Grand Piano, Fretless or Moog Bass, Rhodes, Strings, pads, lead, synths, etc...) 3) for R&B;based, rhodes, funk bass, horn sections, guitars, clavs, etc...) 4) Gospel, (Grand Piano, Fingered Bass, clean and distortion guitars, Horn Section, ‘Gospel Organ’, etc...) They contained the foundation of each style I was going to employ and I only had to substitue an instrument here and there usually… And, when needed, you always have the option of program changes from within Logic or the studio manager / editor as agelonyc has posed above…

Thanks Guys.

Re motif8mine’s query back to me on what I mean by the need to predefine the multis - yes, I am referring to the Multis in the ES. I do have a multi instrument defined for the MRES in Logic - which is working.

To put my question a little more clearly:
In order to have a song using several voices from the ES load up consistently and reliably with the right voices every time, do I need to define and save a multi (Using Studio Manager) or can I just load an empty multi and use program change commands in each of the Logic tracks to set the instrument for each track?

I can see that using Program Manager to define a multi with the right voices is not too much hassle - but it still means that you have to go back in and change it and save it each time you decide to use a different voice and remember which multi goes with which song. Not a big hassle, but from a workflow and ease of use point of view it would be better just to be able to set the voices of the multi from within the Logic song by sending program change at the start of each track. That way all the config is kept in one place - in the Logic song. That seems to me a better way of doing things - but I haven’t managed to get it to work. Is this because it cannot be done or because I am doing something wrong?

Angelonyc - thanks for the tip on saving the multi patch with the Logic song. That solves the problem of knowing which multi goes with which song.

I’m guessing from the fact that both of you do use pre-defined multis that that is the way to go and that it must not be possible to set the voices of the multi from within the song - but I can’t understand why…

You could call up a program from Logic directly to Motif and not use SM. 

I never did it, I got confused by bank numbers, LSB, etc. I’d rather see, the multi editor and all the patch names right in front of me..

@Mo Teef,

Hi, Do you still have the Motif Rack ES Multi with all the banks and names in it? If so, i would be so grateful if you would send it to me. Thx a lot.

Personally I have a template multi with pre-defined effect settings (Trance lives from long light reverbs). In my Logic template I’ve got a multi instrument that sends bank and program changes to the Motif (or S90 ES in my case), the Logic mixer does the mixdown and effect senda, and I’ve got a custom Logic Environment layer that manages the EQ settings for the six Motif tracks I’m using that I transmit to the Motif using a predefined shortcut after opening a project. It’s a step more but it’s pretty much total recall without having to save a new Multi for each song.