Hi,

I have stored a few VOICEs and SONGs in MASTER mode for quick access when playing live. I want to setup the master EQ based on the external PA and room acoustics.

Scenario 1
I select a VOICE from the MASTER mode. I click UTILITY -> Voice -> MEQ. Now I can adjust the master EQ here and I can switch between various VOICEs stored in the MASTER mode while the Master EQ settings are retained between VOICEs.  This is perfect, since I can set the MEQ once and use it throughout the gig.

Scenario 2
I select a SONG from MASTER mode. However, this time when I click UTILITY, there is no setting for MEQ. The only place I can adjust MEQ is if I go to the SONG mode, click MIXING -> Effects -> MEQ and this master EQ gets saved into the song.

Looks like I would need to do this for each song for every gig… doesn’t make sense correct? I have read a lot of posts which compare the MIXING mode to a collection of individual instruments, along with their Insert Effects arranged into a band. And this makes sense. The System and Master effects are external (room dependent). Shouldn’t I be able to setup master effects once and use it across all modes throughout the gig? Am I missing something?

You’re not missing anything. Master EQ as set up in Utility mode affects all of the Voices in Voice mode. In a Song or Pattern Mixing (or Performance), Master EQ is applied on a per-Program basis. See the Master EQ section on page 9 of this support article:
http://www.motifator.com/storage/support/EFF101_MOX.pdf

While that might seem to be less accommodating than you’d like, it’s actually more flexible, since each group (Performance or Mixing) of different Parts might require a different overall EQ to sound its best. If Master EQ could only be applied globally in Performance/Song/Pattern modes (as is the case in Voice mode), then if the overall sound of a Program needed EQing you’d have to adjust each Part’s EQ separately. Having to do that to as many as 16 Parts seems more of a burden to me than setting the Master EQ once per Program.

You might want to find out if the John Melas Mix Editor for the MOX has a copy/paste function for Master EQ.

Thanks for the response. Using the software is fine if I am working at home/studio… but I need this for a live gig. Is there any other way/workaround I can use?

samson8884 - 19 November 2019 10:45 AM

Thanks for the response.

You’re welcome.

 

samson8884 -

Using the software is fine if I am working at home/studio… but I need this for a live gig.

I presume that these gigs are in venues where you haven’t previously performed, so there might be the need to adjust overall EQ “on the fly”. If so, I can understand why global adjustment of EQ in other than Voice mode would be convenient.

 

samson8884 -

Is there any other way/workaround I can use?

An external mixer having EQ could be a solution.

Thanks again for the response.

New venues or old, it would not make sense to save multiple instances of the same SONG with master EQ tweaked for a different venue or external speaker system. The implementation is kind of counter intuitive… it works perfectly in VOICE mode, but not in SONG. They should have at least given an option to save the master EQ to a SONG or have it global. This is implemented very well on the PSR arrangers.

Anyway, I am glad I understand the system and thanks for confirming this. I guess external mixer EQ is the only way to go.

samson8884 - 19 November 2019 02:08 PM

Thanks again for the response.

New venues or old, it would not make sense to save multiple instances of the same SONG with master EQ tweaked for a different venue or external speaker system.

Actually it’s not uncommon for performers to save different/customized “All” files for various venues. Of course, users should do whatever they’re most comfortable with that accomplishes their goal.

 

samson8884 -

The implementation is kind of counter intuitive… it works perfectly in VOICE mode, but not in SONG.

I don’t personally see it as counter-intuitive. In Voice mode, the global Master EQ applies to a single Voice at a time, while in other modes it would be applicable to different mixes of multiple sounds, which might not be an ideal situation. While I’m not privy to design decisions made by Yamaha, that may have been the issue they considered.

 

samson8884 -

They should have at least given an option to save the master EQ to a SONG or have it global. This is implemented very well on the PSR arrangers.

There are some significant differences between arrangers and Motif-family workstations. It’s a moot point anyway, since (for better or worse) Yamaha is unlikely to ever issue a new MOX OS. It is what it is.

 

samson8884 -

Anyway, I am glad I understand the system and thanks for confirming this. I guess external mixer EQ is the only way to go.

For your purposes, external EQ would seem appropriate.

Saving an ‘all’ file is a good workaround that I had not thought of. Thanks!