Hi, fellow Yamaha owners.

So, I was reading in my ES manual that its internal battery needs to be replaced approximately every 5 years. So, what are the indicators/symptoms that you need to replace your internal battery?

I bought my ES brand-new when they first came out, so I’ve owned it about 6 years now? Let me describe a problem I just started having that I *think* might be related to needing a replacement battery.

In PERFORMANCE mode, I LAYER my 4 sounds that I’m controlling with my 4 sliders. But, it seems to take the ES a bit more time for this save to take hold. For example, immediately after I set my 4 layers up, I play the ES, however despite all 4 sliders being in the off (down) position, some of the patches are still audible. I wait a bit more, and slide the sliders up and down a few times, then it seems the saved performance finally takes hold and the sliders again control the audio.

This is frustrating when switching between VOICES and PERFORMANCE mode during a gig, and not having the Motif recognize the PERFORMANCE set-up quickly. So, my patches are not usable immediately after switching to PERFORMANCE mode.

Is this related to needing a new internal battery? I’m guessing so? Nothing else has ever gone wrong with my ES, and I’ve only used it a few dozen times since new.

Thanks for your help.

First, the Control Sliders (CS) are not in the OFF position when they are all the way down. That is not a true statement. And your issue is that you are not sure when or where the CS are in an “OFF” position.

When you recall a PERFORMANCE, the VOLUME of each PART is recalled as stored by the PERFORMANCE data. The actual position of the CS has nothing (whatever) to do with the VOLUME of the PART. The CS are inactive - no matter where they are when you recall the program. They are inactive whether they are all the way down, all the way up or somewhere in the middle.

The CS become active as soon as you move them and reach the stored value. Here’s what that means, say the CS1 is all the way down, and you recall a PERFORMANCE where the VOLUME of PART 1 is 99… You will need to raise the CS1 until you reach the position that corresponds to “99”, it is at this point that the CS “hooks” the stored value and the CS becomes active.

If, on the other hand, your CS1 is all the way up, and you recall a PERFORMANCE where the VOLUME of PART 1 is 99… You will need to lower the CS1 until you reach the position that corresponds to 99, it is at this point that the CS “hooks the stored value and the CS becomes active.

Symptoms of your battery going dead would be a messages that says “Low Battery… please replace”.

Just FYI: the DX7 came with a similar approx. 5 years battery life - many of them lasted 10-15 years or more. Relax and when it goes, you’ll know. The battery is responsible for STORING your UTILITY mode settings, your USER VOICES, your PERFORMANCES, your MASTER setups, your User Arps. It is not responsible for your Control Sliders - at all, has nothing to do with their operation.

Hope that helps.

My ES is 7 years old and still no “message”.

Anyway .... no reason not to make an ALLfile backup now!

;JOOP!

Bad_Mister, thank you VERY MUCH for your reply. I was expecting an e-mail to notify me of a reply; I would have thanked you sooner had I known.

This is VERY HELPFUL information; many, many thanks. I never knew that’s how the CS’s worked. Fascinating.

Re: the battery, I have not received any “Low Battery” or similar message, however tonight at rehearsal, I tried to store on to my card a new voice saved in one of my PATTERNS, and it took several attempts to save and recall it; at other times, the ES refused to save another/different voice. I didn’t do anything different re: how I stored on to my ES. So, I don’t understand this variance.

Again, thanks for your help, and I hope you can help me problem solve this second issue.

So you got a problem with your card, NOT YOUR BATTERY.

The battery has nothing to do with storing/saving,
especially when power is on:

!!! when power is on, the battery is out of any question !!!

;JOOP!

Correct. Not the ES battery issue. Have to look at the SmartMedia card itself or (keep your fingers crossed that it is not) the actual card reader/writer in the Motif ES.

SmartMedia cards I’m sure have a life cycle. If you are nearing the end of it or if there is physical damage to the card (they are so exposed) there can be issues. It is really an unknown… go back 12 years and no one even knows what a SmartMedia card is - so this may just be the card.

I’d start making duplicates of your data. Get a new card as a backup, and if it happens on a new card, have your ES checked at an authorized repair center.

And from now on make your saves from the ES8 on a USB stick.
A bit slower, but secure.

;JOOP!

You guys are awesome and incredibly helpful. Many thanks!

I didn’t even know about these smart cards having a certain life span, but should have. The one in my ES is about 7 years old, which may or may not be a problem. I do trust USB flash drives more than the flimsier smart cards, so per your Rx I will likely switch over. Again, thanks for the Rx.

Here’s what I figured out just an hour ago while in PATTERN mode.

I wanted to play a PATTERN (grand piano) while performing a second patch/program (horn section) live. Once I set this up, I saved to my smart card. The PATTERN saved perfectly, BUT the instrument that I wanted to play in another track did not.

What I found out was if I wanted to save that 2nd patch in track #__, I had to record something with the 2nd patch into the PATTERN, otherwise it wouldn’t save along with the sequence/PATTERN.

Is this your understanding of how this works, or is my ES screwy this way?

SECOND QUERY:

Is there any way to play a PERFORMANCE while in PATTERN mode? I have my control sliders set for 4 crucial instruments that I need for a song (grand, elec. piano, strings, and soloing synth), but I’d like to be able to access this PERFORMANCE while also having a PATTERN play in the background.

Is this possible???

Again, many thanks, guys. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help.

Regarding your second query, the answer is well, sort of.

Open a blank Pattern
Press Mixing
Press Job
Press F5 ‘PFCOPY’
Using the Arrow keys and Jog Wheel, select the Performance you want.
Select the desired musical features from that Performance by putting an x in the box by using the inc/yes button
Press Enter
Press Yes
Press the Mixing button
Press STORE - ENTER - YES

Your performance and the selected musical attributes are now in the first four parts of your Pattern. BUT.... you no longer will have individual control of their volume because all four parts have been set to the same Receive Channel. You will find that CS 1 will control all four parts. Why is this?  A Performance allows you to play 4 parts at the same time while maintaining the ability for individual part control. You cannot accomplish this same behavior in Song or Pattern mode.

You could add additional parts (your current Pattern data for example) to the unused tracks and record drum parts or whatever so they would play along with the Performance data, thereby accomplishing the Performance and Pattern at the same time. But with the important distinction of the first four arts on the same Receive channel.

A better solution might be to build your own Patterns!

Each pattern has 16 parts, or tracks.

Let’s say your pattern is using 4 tracks (or parts), so 12 remain unused. Place your 4 voices on any of the unused parts in your Pattern.  As your pattern plays, select the part you want to play yourself by pressing the Track Select button on the right side of the ES, then select the Track number that corresponds to that track.

As you will see, planning becomes an important part of this. For example, eight of these ‘parts’ in your Pattern can have the dual insertion effects applied. These effects are associated with each individual voice, and represent things like a rotating speaker, distortion, etc. Many voices do not use insertion effects, but if yours do, then take care to place those on tracks where the dual insertion effects are enabled.

You will also want to plan all your Patterns to behave in the same way, so always put your drums on the same tracks, your lead voices on the same tracks, etc. This way, no matter what Pattern you grab, you will know where things are without examining the pattern mixing screen.

My patterns are fairly simple, so I like to place the voices I want to control individually on the first four parts. The Control Sliders are automatically mapped to these first four parts, so I don’t have to manage them for each pattern.

As an example:
Part 1 - Piano
Part 2 - EP
Part 3 - Strings
Part 4 - Lead Synth
Part 13 - Drums
Part 14 - Drums
Part 15 - Bass
Part 16 - Background synth sound

I plan out the Pattern for the number of ‘Sections” I will need (Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Outro). I figure out what rhythms or bass lines I want to have for each section. I can use the built-in arpeggios and record their output one track at a time, or I can play them in myself. I choose how many measures each section should be. I decide the time signature and tempo. I select my voices. By default, these same voice assignments will be implemented for all sections of the Pattern. You can change this, but I suggest you get a good handle on things before doing that.

A quick note - as you select your voices in your Pattern, be sure to STORE them to the mix. If you don’t then the voice assignments will be lost. This may be the problem you’re having in your first query. Once you do this, then SAVE the Pattern to the media card or USB. 

Hit play, and all parts run their pre-recorded data. I can change sections as needed (for example, play the chorus over and over if I want) The Control sliders will control the volume of the first four parts while the overall Pattern level is determine by the master volume control.

You have a lot of power in your hands with a Motif ES. It will take some time to wrap your head around it, but just look over the book and ask questions here.

Have Fun!!

SpongeBob, many thanks for your help! I was out of town and just got back to find your reply today! Wonderful, hands-on advice/suggestions that I can definitely use!

I owe you guys! Have a great weekend!

Well I don’t understand the question as according to Yamaha at

http://faq.yamaha.com/us/en/article/musical-instruments/keyboards/synthesizers/motif_es6/731/8990/

only the original motif series uses an internal battery. ES onwards, no internal battery to replace.

QUOTE :

“ Last Update: 01/15/2016

Motif 6, Motif 7, Motif 8 : Does the Motif Have an Internal Battery ?

The only Motif series that had an internal battery was the 2001 Motif 6/7/8. The lithium battery is a CR2450. This battery supports the user memory.

There is no battery on the newer Motif series’ ES, XS or XF. “

END QUOTE.

billnineo - 18 August 2016 08:25 AM

Well I don’t understand the question [...]

Welcome to the forum.

Yes, there had been some confusion over which models have a backup battery. Only the Classic Motif used one. For that model, see:
http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/475256/