Hi !
I’m new to the motif xf6 and really enjoying it.
However, I’ve been stuck on successfully making and loading my own samples. I’ve managed to make and save samples but can’t get them to load into the sequencer. I want to be able to call them up like any other voice for use in various song/patterns. I’ve been through the manual and all I can find in this forum. But nothing quite helps. If someone can walk me through this I’d be very pleased as I’ve been at this for over a month!
Thanks ? I have fl1 internal flash and a USB key loaded.

Hi,

On the Motif XF, the Integrated Sampling function can be used in different ways to achieve different things. There are many variables involved, with lots of parameters to learn and terminology to get to grips with. If what you want is a sampled Voice, that you can call up and play in a Song or Performance, let’s establish some ball park overview to start with:

First off, the process of sampling to create a Waveform is described on p.47-53 in the Owner’s Manual. Follow those steps, and you should be able to record audio and store it as a Waveform on your Flash board.

Your next step is to create a new Voice that uses your new Waveform. For this, you must familiarize yourself with Voice Edit mode. The voice is finally stored in one of the User (USR1-4) voice banks, from where it can be called up as needed. Voice Edit mode is detailed in the Reference Manual. While a step-by-step walkthrough isn’t included, you’ll find each of the menu screens and parameters explained. Particularly relevant in this case is the [F1 Oscillator] menu page (p.69); By changing the Wave Bank and Wave Number parameters, you can assign your newly created Waveform to an Element within the Voice.

Note: Your samples/waveforms are stored separately from the Voice data. A User Voice only points to the memory location (from the factory ROM wavetable or your Flash board) where the assigned waveform is stored.

- H -

Yes, thanks. I have no issues recording samples and saving them to flash. The issue remains how to use them in the sequencer.  If I’m in a pattern mode I select say track 5, and then want to use a sample from my flash. How is the done in the most efficient way ?

yja - 28 July 2024 03:33 AM

I’ve managed to make and save samples but can’t get them to load into the sequencer. I want to be able to call them up like any other voice for use in various song/patterns.

In order to play your sample on the keyboard (as a normal melodic voice or part of a drum kit) and then record or step-program it in Pattern or Song mode in the same way as the preset voices, you first have to program a Voice with that sample/waveform (Voice Edit mode), like I outlined in my previous post. Once the voice is stored in one of the User Voice banks, it’s a simple matter of selecting that bank and voice on the track/part in question. See this thread for links to related articles.

If you are instead looking to incorporate an audio clip into a song or pattern, you can load digital audio to a track/part in the Motif XF’s sequencer. Even here, audio tracks are handled by the Sampling function, i.e. as sampled Voices triggered by MIDI. A User Sample Voice is therefore created for you when you load an audio file in the sequencer. It is only available within that song/pattern, however, and cannot be selected elsewhere, such as from the User Voice banks. For more background, see this article.

..Or did you have something completely different in mind?

- H -

Yes, thank you. I have made some advances.  I have created and stored a waveform in the flash. I can play this within a specific pattern number. When I want to create a totally new pattern I’m unable to find it when doing a category search. From voice edit I assign it to an existing user voice but can’t find it to use in new pattern. From voice edit mode I can view the sample voice . It’s says user voice 001 A01. I can play it here fine but no clue how to get it into a track in the sequencer.  Nor can I change the name from ‘sample voice’.... I have read the related articles, thank you. I must not be understanding something in the terminology or process.

yja - 06 August 2024 08:51 AM

I have created and stored a waveform in the flash. I can play this within a specific pattern number. When I want to create a totally new pattern I’m unable to find it when doing a category search.

Category Search only works for voices, and not for waveforms. You can assign categories to a User Voice in the Common Edit section of Voice Edit mode.

yja - 06 August 2024 08:51 AM

From voice edit I assign it to an existing user voice but can’t find it to use in new pattern. From voice edit mode I can view the sample voice . It’s says user voice 001 A01. I can play it here fine but no clue how to get it into a track in the sequencer.

While in Song or Pattern mode, you can create settings for each part by pressing the [MIXING] button. From this screen, select the correct part, press the [PROGRAM] button and then select your voice using the front panel buttons, like in Voice mode.

yja - 06 August 2024 08:51 AM

Nor can I change the name from ‘sample voice’....

A Sample Voice appears if you load a Waveform directly to your track. Instead of doing that, please create a Voice using your Waveform, and then assign this Voice to your track in Mixing mode, like described above.

- H -

Thanks very much. I’m so close I can almost taste it ! So from my flash...where the waveform is, how does this become a voice to be named and stored ? Forgive my slowness please.  I’ve looked at page 69 and beyond and fail to see a clear way to do this

Hi again,

I’m unfortunately not the right person to take you through every detail of the process, since I don’t have the same instrument in front of me. I understand that you’re new to the Motif XF, but perhaps we can chip away some possible misconceptions if you let us know what type of synthesizers or samplers you’ve used in the past?

yja - 06 August 2024 11:09 AM

So from my flash...where the waveform is, how does this become a voice to be named and stored ?

You’re litterally looking at this backwards. Here’s how to get started:

- Press the [VOICE] button to go to Voice mode.
- Call up the [USER 1] voice bank.
- Select a voice that you no longer need and feel comfortable overwriting.
- Press the [JOB] button and select the [F1 Init] menu.
- Check the “All Parameters” box, and press the [ENTER] button.

You have now reset all parameters of the selected voice, and turned it into a basic piano voice named “Init Voice”. This is a blank slate for you to start editing.

Now press the [EDIT] button, to enter Voice Edit mode.

In this mode, the [1]-[8] buttons will display parameters for each of the eight elements that constitute a voice on the Motif XF, while the [9]-[16] buttons will mute/unmute each element. The [COMMON EDIT] button takes you to parameters that are common for all elements, such as naming your voice, etc.

Now open the [F1 Oscillator] menu and press the [1] button to open the “Edit - Elm 1” menu. On the screen, you’ll notice that the piano sample you’re hearing is Wave Number 0001 from the PRE Wave Bank. Instead of it, select the FL1 or FL2 Wave Bank (these are your Flash boards), and then select the Wave Number that matches your sampled waveform.

Once everything is edited to taste, remember to press [STORE] to call up the Voice Store screen and store your edited voice. When you’re ready to record in Song mode, call up this voice on one of your MIDI tracks using the [MIXING] function.

There may still be lots of details to sort out, but I hope that this can serve as a starting point. You can read this article to get up to speed with the voice architecture of the Motif XF, and this article about the Flash boards in particular. Use the Motif XF Reference Manual as an overview of the various menus and parameters.

- H -

Thank you very much. It’s becoming more clear to me. I spent 25 years with Ensoniq sampler sequencers. There I built sound libraries of ‘samples’ and strung together sequences. I want to use the xf in the same manner. I will follow your last post. I realized I’m approaching it backwards. I’m not creating an initialized voice before going into integrated sampler.

Thanks for all of your help. I’ve managed to make and store my own samples. The only issue remains is renaming them from ‘sample voice’ to what I’d like them to be called.  I’ve followed your method of how to do this but can’t find the function to perform this operation....

Hi,

The terminology used in the Motif’s system and documentation is very different to that of an Ensoniq sampler. I’m not sure whether Sample Voices (the term specifically refers to audio that is recorded in the sequencer and stored with a Song or Pattern Mix) can be renamed or not.

Voice programs, on the other hand (which corresponds to “Instruments” on an Ensoniq EPS), are renamed in the Common section of Voice Edit mode.

Waveforms can also be renamed in Integrated Sampling mode by clicking the [JOB] button and then going to the [F2 Waveform] screen.

- H -

Ok. That’s odd. I initialized a voice (in voice mode) prior to entering the integrated sampler. So is there no way to rename it from here ?

Voices and Waveforms are easy to rename. A Sample Voice is a different thing altogether. Like I said, I don’t have the same instrument in front of me (I have the considerably older Motif ES, which doesn’t have Flash sample memory), but you could perhaps try from File mode instead.

- H -

Hey ! I figured out how to rename from voice/edit mode. Thanks for taking the time to help, it’s very appreciated! All the best.