http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/index.php/viewthread/453666/, and some other things recently discussed here, got me thinking about something I had previously noticed. For a Voice, there are some control settings listed near the bottom of the screen such as MW, RB, etc. Among them are details of the Assignable Function button settings, AF1 and AF2. If an AF is set to control parameters such as volume, pitch, LFO depth, etc., that will be indicated, as in this example:
Pre1 : 001 Full Concert Grand
AF1: reverb send
AF2: AEG release

However, with many voices the screen just shows the AFs as:
AF1: - - - -
AF2: - - - -
While you might assume it means the AF buttons don’t do anything with that particular voice, that’s not always the case. Rather, it seems that when an AF button is used for eXpanded Articulation (XA) Control of one or more of the Voice’s Elements, the screen still shows “- - - -” for the AF. Why Yamaha chose to not indicate when an AF button utilizes XA Control, I don’t know. Unfortunately, the Data List doesn’t offer any help either.

If you find yourself with some free time, I’d suggest exploring what the AF buttons do on any voice that displays “- - - -”. (Or you could look at all the Elements of the voice while in Edit mode.) You might be surprised. By the way, not all are set up to latch the AF—some are momentary, and the button has to be held down. Examples:
--Subtle--
Pre1 : 011 80s Layer press AF1, AF2
Pre1 : 013 Piano Back press AF1, AF2

--Less subtle--
Pre1 : 015 Piano & Ooh Choir press AF1, AF2
Pre6 : 067 Club Finger press AF1

--Obvious--
Pre1 : 081 Guitarpsichord press AF1
Pre4 : 014 Medium Hall press AF1, AF2
Pre6 : 039 Tornado press AF1
Pre6 : 071 Progressive Attack press AF1, AF2 (momentary)

--Very Obvious--
Pre3 : 001 Oct FuzzPedalWah FC2 press AF1, AF2 (momentary)

man,I’ve been trying to understand that function for about 3 years now..Ceasersound makes voices in the sound section and often the AF1 and 2 are left blank and I always wanted to know how to assign things to it and the process of doing it..Your post did give me alittle understanding of it but I need more..

Please see the support area for the following articles and tutorials on XA CONTROL:

Tweak of the Week: Exploring “Vintage ‘74”

Expanded Articulation

VOICE Transitioning

Advanced Applications (Tutorial) Assigning Controller Functions

Would there be interest in a table that listed factory preset voices where depressing an AF button adds elements with XA, etc?

The list would show the affected elements, and cover voices where the display indicates “- - - -” for AF1 and/or AF2. Besides revealing which voices can do “more than meets the eye”, knowing which element(s) become active with AF allows corresponding sliders to be used to control their volume without guessing or using the edit function.

5pinDIN - 15 March 2011 06:22 PM

Would there be interest in a table that listed factory preset voices where depressing an AF button adds elements with XA, etc?

The list would show the affected elements, and cover voices where the display indicates “- - - -” for AF1 and/or AF2. Besides revealing which voices can do “more than meets the eye”, knowing which element(s) become active with AF allows corresponding sliders to be used to control their volume without guessing or using the edit function.

I, for one, definitely am interested :-)

The “- - - -” on the display just indicates that the corresponding Control (AF1, AF2, etc.) is NOT ASSIGNED as a Source in the Controller Set Assignment to some Destination. It does not mean that pressing AF1, AF2, etc. would have no effect. That can only be known by either going to the Element EDIT screen or by actually auditioning the Voice…

...unless, of course, you have a table giving you such information :-)

BTW, the screen on the XF has been changed to only indicate whether the particular Control is assigned or not. See the following thread:

http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/454649/

VikasSharma - 04 January 2012 03:44 PM

I, for one, definitely am interested :-)

Add me to the list as well.

VikasSharma - 04 January 2012 03:44 PM

The “- - - -” on the display just indicates that the corresponding Control (AF1, AF2, etc.) is NOT ASSIGNED as a Source in the Controller Set Assignment to some Destination. It does not mean that pressing AF1, AF2, etc. would have no effect. That can only be known by either going to the Element EDIT screen or by actually auditioning the Voice…

Yes, the problem is that “- - - -” leaves you wondering. Appending “AF1” and/or “AF2” to the Voice name, as is sometimes done, still doesn’t reveal what happens when an AF button is pressed.
.

VikasSharma -

...unless, of course, you have a table giving you such information :-)

BTW, the screen on the XF has been changed to only indicate whether the particular Control is assigned or not. See the following thread:

http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/454649/

Thanks for the link. It indeed seems that the XF display isn’t an improvement over the XS in regard to informing of Element usage related to AF button operation.

Although the table I made is based on the XS Voice Presets, the info in it should apply to the XF. I’ll need to clean it up and format it a bit, but a presentable version should be ready in a day or so.

As offered and requested - the ZIP unpacks to a 5-page DOC file:

[ EDIT: See my January 09, 2012 post in this thread for updated file.]

XS-XF AF1-AF2 Elements.zip  (File Size: 15KB - Downloads: 322)

Thanks, for sharing the result of your hard work!

Regards,
Vikas

VikasSharma - 06 January 2012 02:47 PM

Thanks, for sharing the result of your hard work!

Regards,
Vikas

You’re welcome, Vikas.

I don’t anticipate it, but please let me know of any discrepancies between what I listed (as found in the XS) and what’s in the XF.

VikasSharma - 06 January 2012 02:47 PM

Thanks, for sharing the result of your hard work!

Same for me 5pinDIN!

Yes, a big +1...Thanks for the sharing your hard work!! Will save a LOT of random key pressing LOL!!

Thanks a ton 5pinDIN. I too have noticed this for some time. I must take time and read the links. I think of noticed this with some of Dave’s libraries as well.
Stone

Thank you for your time and work...this is very useful..

Thanks a lot 5pinDIN. A brilliant, useful list.

Thanks for the kind words, folks. I’m happy to share. The way I see it, the time it took me to do the work initially benefitted only one person (myself). By sharing, those hours hopefully benefit other people as well, making the time spent seem more worthwhile. So, thanks for downloading!