Hello,

i need some help for a friend of mine.
He have Motif XF7 with fire wire boards and 2 GB of flash memory.
As we know the Cubase importing and opening the songs made on Motif without any problems, but is it possible to import a Cubase project with MIDI and some audio tracks back to Motif sequencer and how?

Thank you very much in advance!
I try to find solution in the forum but I can’t find any similar posts!

There is no automatic IMPORT function as there is going from the Motif XF to Cubase (IMPORT Motif XF SONG). Sorry…

MIDI data is no problem, you can simply EXPORT your MIDI data as a Standard MIDI File (.MID)
Go to FILE > EXPORT > MIDI FILE > set it to TYPE 0, 480 Pulse per Quarter Note.
Audio data can be exported as .wav files at 44.1kHz/16-bit.
Easy enough…

But you will manually have to configure your audio data. It is best to have anticipated that you ultimately want to export this data back to the Motif XF - because then you can ensure that you record your audio data so it easily lines up.

Here’s what I mean… recording audio in Cubase or any DAW, you have to pay attention to when audio recording begins. I’m talking about the precise Measure Beat and Clock. The reason, this information is used by the Motif XF’s Integrated Sampling Sequencer to place the MIDI Event that triggers the playback of that audio.

If your audio tracks are complete top-to-end recordings (stems) this makes it very easy to line up when moving data back to Motif XF - because then you can simply place a note-on event at Measure 001, Beat 1, Clock 000 - with a duration (Gate time) to precisely trigger and hold playback of the audio throughout the composition. The longest single stem can be 6 minutes and 20 seconds.

Any track in the Motif XF that you designate as an audio track can house as many as 128 audio stems (that is 128 complete top to end recordings) - each key can house a different audio recording. So it is unlikely that you will run out of places to put your audio.

Those are the basics - the specifics can vary per project - it will depend on your Project, how long the composition is, how you recorded your audio, and how you ultimately want to organize it in your Motif XF.

When you have more than 128MB (of data) you will need to transfer your audio to a FLASH board.
You will need to export your audio as 16-bit/44.1kHz .wav files - these can be imported directly to a KEYBANK and TRACK within the Motif XF - you can shuttle them over via USB stick or if you have established your Ethernet connection, you can simply load them from your Cubase Project Folder.

I mentioned “how you ultimately want to organize it in your Motif XF”: this is important. If all you want to do is playback the project you can simply RESAMPLE the whole thing as a stereo sample into the Motif XF. But if you want to keep things on separate Tracks you can do that as well.

Those are production decisions you will have to make. Hope that helps you get started thinking about what you want to do.

One of the wonderful things about the FLASH boards is that they let you take your backing vocals or other “studio created magic” on the road with you. Again - I have done it both ways: Recorded a Project in Cubase and then decided I wanted to export it to the XF, and I’ve recorded a Project in Cubase knowing full well I ultimately wanted to export it to the XF. The thing I learned is when you know you make different decisions.