On Yamahasynth.com the specification are :
master number 128, 4 zones.
Here on Motifator it’s write Master 128, 8 zones.

On the yamahasynth.com picture, by loocking in zoom, we can see that the MoX have 6 arp variation.

That’s a new thing beetwen the XS/XF series.

there are 4 Zones in the MASTER mode.
Yes there are [SF1]-[SF6] for ARP Types, also you will find that there are six SCENE memories in SONG mode.

Thank you Phill, so there is a other mistake on the specification list on yamahasynth.com and here on Motifator it’s write :

Scene Memory 5 per Song

Like you write it’s 6.

papaphoenix - 09 April 2011 02:16 PM

Thank you Phill, so there is a other mistake on the specification list on yamahasynth.com and here on Motifator it’s write :

Scene Memory 5 per Song

Like you write it’s 6.

problem might be the cut&paste;action from webmaster ;-)

More questions about zones…

Can the 4 zones on the MOX overlap?

Can a zone setup include sending a Program Change (and channel assignment) over MIDI so that the zone could integrate an external sound from an attached module? Preferably with a Volume Level setting and possibly an octave transposition?

Let’s say you have 4 zones set up with 4 different sounds across the MOX keyboard. Can you set up a fifth sound on a different MIDI channel and trigger it from another keyboard? Or more sounds even than that if you’re external keyboard is, itself, able to be split to send on different MIDI channels?

anotherscott - 09 April 2011 06:30 PM

More questions about zones…

Can the 4 zones on the MOX overlap?

Yes, you can set the velocity and note windows for each zone.

Can a zone setup include sending a Program Change (and channel assignment) over MIDI so that the zone could integrate an external sound from an attached module? Preferably with a Volume Level setting and possibly an octave transposition?

Yes, to all of the above.

Let’s say you have 4 zones set up with 4 different sounds across the MOX keyboard. Can you set up a fifth sound on a different MIDI channel and trigger it from another keyboard? Or more sounds even than that if you’re external keyboard is, itself, able to be split to send on different MIDI channels?

In Master Mode , you can call up Song or Pattern which has 16 Parts on 16 MIDI channels so yes, if your other keyboard can send out on more than 4 MIDI channels you could address up to 16 sounds on the MOX.

Bad_Mister - 09 April 2011 01:13 PM

Yes there are [SF1]-[SF6] for ARP Types, also you will find that there are six SCENE memories in SONG mode.

6 for the mid-line mo X and 5 for the top-line Motif XF. :(
What’s going on Yamaha? Should we expect things to get even in the next OS update?

Regards,
Vikas

Yamaha_US - 09 April 2011 10:49 PM

anotherscott - 09 April 2011 06:30 PM

Let’s say you have 4 zones set up with 4 different sounds across the MOX keyboard. Can you set up a fifth sound on a different MIDI channel and trigger it from another keyboard? Or more sounds even than that if you’re external keyboard is, itself, able to be split to send on different MIDI channels?

In Master Mode , you can call up Song or Pattern which has 16 Parts on 16 MIDI channels so yes, if your other keyboard can send out on more than 4 MIDI channels you could address up to 16 sounds on the MOX.

Sounds great, along with your “yes” to all my other questions!

Just to clarify this one, though (since I’m not familiar with the different modes)… It is possible to have 4 MOX sounds split and layered across the internal keyboard, while having another 4 being split and layered across a second keyboard, provided that that second keyboard can, itself, split and layer itself to send different sets of keys out to 4 different MIDI channels?

And as long as I’m asking questions here… Is there any chance there’s a way to run the YC-3B software on an iPad? That would be a much nicer option for bringing the organ out to a gig with me, as opposed to having to bring a laptop computer!

I’m trying to further understand zones and modes, can someone let me know if I have this right? The possibilities seem to be:

Voice mode = 1 zone (1 internal voice)

Performance mode = up to 2 (non overlapping) zones, each with up to 2 internal voices

Master mode = up to 4 zones, each with one internal voice, plus each zone includes the ability to control an external sound source over MIDI. Zones can overlap (including velocity switching). Also in this mode, additional voices can be triggered from another keyboard via MIDI.

Also, do I understand correctly that when you create 4 zones (with 4 sounds) on a Master mode setup, it still only “occupies” a single MIDI channel? So in theory, other boards could be set up to trigger as many as 15 different additional sounds on the other 15 MIDI channels? Although really, even if 4 zoned sounds in Master mode occupy 4 MIDI channels, having 12 remaining sounds/channels to trigger externally is still plenty! But it’s at least that, right?

Voice mode = 1 zone (1 internal voice)

Performance mode = up to 2 (non overlapping) zones, each with up to 2 internal voices

Master mode = up to 4 zones, each with one internal voice, plus each zone includes the ability to control an external sound source over MIDI. Zones can overlap (including velocity switching). Also in this mode, additional voices can be triggered from another keyboard via MIDI.

The word ZONE in Yamaha-speak is only used in reference to the MASTER mode. So technically speaking there are no ZONES in VOICE or PERFORMANCE mode.

So what’s a ZONE:
A ZONE is a function of MASTER mode where you can have the MO keyboard transmit on multiple MIDI channels simultaneously. Additionally you can define the MIDI Channel, whether the transmit is to the internal tone engine and/or to external device(s), you can define the note region and velocity region, activate/deactivate controllers, send Bank Select and/or Program Change messages per ZONE, etc.

A VOICE is the fundamental playable entity that can be made up of as many as 8 ELEMENTS (or multi-samples). A Voice can be one instrument emulation but on occasion is more than one, for example, you have VOICES that are Piano&Strings;, Acoustic & E.Pianos, Polyphonic and (legato) monophonic versions of the instrument, etc. Importantly, a VOICE is addressed on a single MIDI channel and you can play just one VOICE at a time when in VOICE mode.

A PERFORMANCE is a combination of multiple VOICES. As many as four can be combined on the keyboard for simultaneous performance. A PERFORMANCE can be a layer, can be a split, can be a combination Split/Layer… Each VOICE is place in an entity called a “PART” - the PART parameter is important to understand because it allows you to apply offsets to a VOICE so that it is convenient for this particular combination. For example, you want to combine a particular PIANO and a particular BASS, you want the piano from C3 and above and the bass B2 and below. It is the PART parameter that allows you to set this up without having to go to the original VOICE and chop each one in half. PART parameters allow you to address the piano above the C3… this parameter is called NOTE LIMIT. And while similar to one of the concepts of ZONE, is specifically called NOTE LIMIT in this context. Any four VOICES can be combined in a PERFORMANCE and importantly you are addressing them on a single MIDI channel and you can play just one PERFORMANCE at a time when in PERFORMANCE mode.

The MO keyboard transmits on one MIDI channel in all modes, except MASTER Mode - where you can set it to transmit on as many as four MIDI channels.

There is one other mode (not mentioned in your question) but to complete the thought we’ll add it here:

SONG/PATTERN MIXING mode - here you can place as many as 16 VOICES (one in each of the 16 PARTS) and assign the MIDI receive channel of each of the PARTS as you require. The SONG/PATTERN modes are for use with the sequencer but can double as a convenient place to organize VOICES to which you need quick access. By default PART 1 is on MIDI channel 1, PART 2 is on MIDI channel 2, and so on. You are free to assign multiple sounds to the same channel.

you change transmit channel (remember the MO transmits on a single MIDI channel normally) by pressing a button [1]-[16].

Now MASTER mode, as we said, allows you transmit on as many as four MIDI channels simultaneously.
If you point the MASTER mode to an internal VOICE - you can play 1 VOICE internally.

If you point the MASTER mode to an internal PERFORMANCE - you can play 1 PERFORMANCE internally.

If you point the MASTER mode to an internal MIXING program setup you can play as many as four internal Programs simultaneously addressing each on a separate MIDI channel. The significant thing about MIXING modes is you can setup 16 VOICES, and assign the MIDI channels as you require. So it is possible with a MASTER > MIXING setup to play all 16 PARTS simultaneously (although we don’t really see the value in such an endeavor)

Hope that helps

That is helpful, thanks.

Okay, so it sounds like what we generically call “zones” on most keyboards--an area of the keyboard that plays a different sound (voice) than some other are of the keyboard--is what Yamaha calls a “part”—except in Master mode, where it is called a zone, which is basically functionally the same as a Part except with a lot of additional possible attributes, is that right?

And I see that the idea of up to 4 voices being split/layered across the keyboard without those voice being assigned to different MIDI channels is an attribute of PERFORMANCE mode, not MASTER mode. Though one could call up a Performance from *within* Master mode. However, Master mode supports many other functions that Performance mode does not… like having more than one split point, and velocity-based Voice switching (as opposed to only being key-location based), and being able to incorporate MIDI functionality into the zones. Am I still on track here?

Bad_Mister - 12 April 2011 02:13 PM

The SONG/PATTERN modes are for use with the sequencer but can double as a convenient place to organize VOICES to which you need quick access.

And to get back to another aspect of what I was talking about, it sounds like this also doubles (triples?) as a place to assign sounds that you could trigger in real-time from another keyboard.

Bad_Mister - 12 April 2011 02:13 PM

If you point the MASTER mode to an internal MIXING program setup you can play as many as four internal Programs simultaneously addressing each on a separate MIDI channel.

When you say “as many as four internal Programs”—those Programs are, what, configured Master zones?

Bad_Mister - 12 April 2011 02:13 PM

The significant thing about MIXING modes is you can setup 16 VOICES, and assign the MIDI channels as you require. So it is possible with a MASTER > MIXING setup to play all 16 PARTS simultaneously

So then, it sounds like, using SONG/PATTERN mode in conjunction with MASTER mode and a MIXING setup, you could have up to 4 internal programs spread across the keyboard and up to 12 other--Voices?--that can be triggered from one or more external keyboards (or a sequencer), i.e. by driving, for example, MIDI channels 1 to 4 from the internal keyboard, and driving channels 5 through 16 from an external source. Or, if instead of 4, you only were driving 1, 2, or 3 programs from the internal keyboard, then you’d be able to drive 15, 14, or 13 Voices on other channels from an external source.

Am I at least close? :-)

anotherscott - 12 April 2011 03:34 PM

Okay, so it sounds like what we generically call “zones” on most keyboards--an area of the keyboard that plays a different sound (voice) than some other are of the keyboard--is what Yamaha calls a “part”—except in Master mode, where it is called a zone, which is basically functionally the same as a Part except with a lot of additional possible attributes, is that right?

A PART is NOT the same as a ZONE.

A PART is a sort of placeholder for VOICE in a PERFORMANCE or SONG or PATTERN, each with its own parameters. In the PERFORMANCE mode you can address all the PARTS on single MIDI channel only. You cannot assign different MIDI channels to the PARTS of a PERFORMANCE. In the SONG/PATTERN you CAN do so, if you wish.

The MASTER mode can be used for two purposes.

You can use it to ORGANIZE your programs (Voice, Performance, Song, Pattern) into a single Bank. From this single Bank, you can then choose between a Voice, a Performance, a Song or a Pattern WITHOUT the need to switch modes. This is convenient in a Live situation, for example.

You can also use the Master Mode as a Master Controller where it can address your internal as well as external Tone Generators using different MIDI channels over what are known as ZONES. You can send Bank Select and Program Change messages over these Zones. There can be up to 4 zones in mo X and up to 8 zones in the Motif XF. So, a single ZONE may point to either a Voice (over one MIDI channel) or a Performance (having up to 4 PARTS but addressed through a single MIDI channel only).

This is AFAIK (from reading various posts/articles by who else but the great BM). If you need more light, ask more questions and someone here on this wonderful forum would definitely help. :)

Vikas

motif XF 8 zones? I Remember my xs6 in master mode can support 16 keyboard zones. can anyone confirm?

I don’t have a Motif XS, I have an XF6. My board only has 8 Zones.

Also, the tech specs confirms it.
http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/synthesizers/motif_xf/#specification-anchor

Maybe someone else would be able to better comment on the XS. And then, if your XS6 does have 16 Zones, you should be really happy about it. It has double the number of Zones in my XF6.

oh yeah according to the manual, the XS supports 8 keyboard zones

vsharma.india - 13 April 2011 02:26 AM

A PART is NOT the same as a ZONE.

I understand that. I was saying that it sounds like a PART is analogous to what some other manufacturers may call a Zone, i.e. simply defining a certain area of the keyboard for a certain sound. I do understand from BadMister that in Yamaha terminology a ZONE is something different, apparently something that incorporates the key functionality of a PART (i.e. being able to define a certain area of the keyboard), but also has a lot of additional functionality.

But although the terminology might have been wrong, I think I at least got the concept right that, in Voice mode there is no keyboard split; in Performance mode you can have one keyboard split point (creating two “regions” of different sounds); and in Master mode you can have up to 3 keyboard split points (creating up to 4 “regions” of different sounds). The fine point was that the regions are called Parts when you’re in Performance mode (and they are all on the same MIDI channel), and the regions are called Zones when you’re in Master mode (where they are on different MIDI channels, and can encompass many more parameters). I was using “zone” (little Z, if you will) the way I am now using “region”, a generic description of a range of keys, as apposed to “Zone” (big Z, as Yamaha uses it in their manual) the way they specifically use the term, but I think I have it straight now!

This redefinition of words in the context of different manufacturers can get confusing. Traditionally, a PART has been something that corresponded to a MIDI channel. That is, people would create a sequence and assign Piano to MIDI channel 1, Bass to MIDI channel 2, etc., and each of those would be called Parts. But obviously, PART has a different meaning in Yamaha terminology. In fact, almost complete opposite, in that a Yamaha PART is specifically on the same MIDI channel as another sound, whereas the older common use was that a part was specifically something on a different MIDI channel from any other sound.

I wonder if some of what has given Yamaha their reputation for complicated operation is this kind of confusion in terminology. It might have been better if they did use a word like “region” that did not already have another common use in the MIDI world. Or maybe instead of calling the two variations of region-creating “Parts” and “Zones,” they could have called them “Zones” and “Super-Zones” (since it seems like, functionally, a Zone can do everything a Part can do in terms of placing different sounds across the keyboard, but also a lot more). But I guess if they made any change to their terminology now, they would just confuse the existing users, they can’t win!

vsharma.india - 13 April 2011 02:26 AM

The MASTER mode can be used for two purposes.

You can use it to ORGANIZE your programs (Voice, Performance, Song, Pattern) into a single Bank. From this single Bank, you can then choose between a Voice, a Performance, a Song or a Pattern WITHOUT the need to switch modes. This is convenient in a Live situation, for example.

Ah, that’s an interesting additional use of MASTER mode that I did not see referenced in the Owner’s Manual. Thanks for the info.