Yamaha DX7II FD User Manual download pdf (Page 2)

selection beforehand. If you don't like the results of your tempo track, you can either re-record it or erase it. Note that the final value of a tempo track

will control the patterns which follow, unless a new tempo track is encountered.

Each track of a pattern can play up to 16 notes simultaneously, and a pattern can be from one to 64 bars long. The initialization of a new pattern

includes choices of time signature, pattern number (corresponding to the 32 patch buttons on the front panel), and number of bars. Time signatures

range from 1/2 to 16/16 (the numerator increments by ones, the denominator by twos). Unfortunately, a truncating function is not provided, so you're

stuck with the total number of bars you choose at this time.

Probably the most important data screen in E! is the track assign menu. In Octal or SE!quencer, track assign is responsible fora specific track's

patch (DX or MIDI), transposition value (-24 to +24), and velocity response and level. Velocity response choices include normal, POS1, POS2, and

NEG. POS1 outputs a higher velocity than that actually played, compensati ng for the DX's i n herently low maximum velocity output, while POS2

emphasizes the low and high velocities. NEG reverses the response, so that playing softly sounds loud and vice-versa. Using one voice with normal

or a positive response and another with negative response, you can cross-fade between the two depending on how hard you h it the keys. Velocity

level allows you to control the volume of an internal DX patch or an external MIDI device that responds to velocity information. level settings range

from 01 to 08 (an increase in value corresponds to a greater velocity output).

Performance modes featured bye E! are: Normal, which is the original DX7II performance mode; Track Hi, in which all notes play the Track 1 voice,

and the highest note also plays the Track 2 voice; FlotSplit, a floating split mode which attempts to separately follow your hands and assign Track 1

to your left hand and Track 2 to your right hand (more on this below); 8-Way Split, which has eight programmable keyboard split points (but no

layering); Chords and Player (see below); and 4-Way layer. This last mode allows you to stack tracks 1 through 4, each of which can be either

playing an internal sound or transmitting over MI DI. If only internal voices are used, a fou r-layer stack will be limited to four-note polyphony. In

FlotSplit, if you move your left hand up to within a minor tenth of the highest right-hand note, the voice is switched to the upper sound. The internal

logic of Flot Split may seem confusing at first, but once you understand it, you can use it effectively in performance.

Chords and Player are auto-accompaniment performance modes, similar to functions normally found on home organs and consumer keyboards,

which can be triggered by hitting a single key in the bottom octave of the DX's keyboard. Using Chords, you can arrange 16-track multi-timbral

chords. in Player, you can create 16-track arpeggios and ostinato patterns. Both Chords and Player can send data over eight MIDI channels in

addition to controlling the DX multi-timbrally. Each track of a Chord or Player pattern can feature its own volume and velocity response parameters,

so the real-time control you gain is marvelous. For example, you can program the bass guitar track so it really gets rambunctious when you pound

the control keys, but settles down as you hit the keys more softly. You can also program each key to have an alternate setting, which is triggered if

the key is struck at the same time as a note below it. So you could have Player set up to play an arpeggio in a major key normally, and the alternate

could be in minor. The chord types and accompaniment patterns are preset, nowever.

One thing that we noted while playing with Chords and Player is that you must play very cleanly. If you don't completely let up a note before hitting

the next one, E! will read this as two notes and play the alternate selection I or the u pper key. 1 n Chords mode, if you change keys too quickly, you

can end up with no chord playing at all.

Each time you enter the record mode in SE!quencer, you're asked if you want to initialize the pattern or song (depending on which function you're

working on). If you've already initialized your memory work space, you can answer "no" to the request and continue. After you initialize the pattern,

you must decide whether you want the click track to count down a lead-in prior to the start of recording. The lead-in can be from one to eight beats,

and will remain part of the pattern until you irreversibly delete it. Note that the lead-in and the click track are performed by Track 16, so you must

designate a voice for the cl ick track. The f irst click of each measure is higher-pitched than the rest of the beats in the measure. Besides the audible

click track, a single dot blinks in sync on the left LED readout.

Once you've recorded a new track, you can preview it, quantize it, erase the lead-in, strip controller data from the track, or keep (compile) the track.

If you choose to preview the track. you'll hear only one repetition of what you played on that track (and the click track, unless you temporarily defeat

the latter). The single-voice mode select button will toggle SE!quencer between record and play modes. so if you want to hear all tracks of a pattern,

you can quickly switch to play mode for an audition. In this play mode, E! will loop the pattern until you stop it. You can also solo a single track in

play mode.

Quantize values range from a quarternote to a 32nd-note triplet, and the process is note-length-coherent. Once you've quantized a track. you can

preview it. If you don't want the quantized version, the original recording will be restored.

While we're talking about copying tracks, one really cool feature is that you can insert an offset value for the new track. The new track can be shifted

from -64 to +63 clocks in relation to the original track-great for pre-echo, chorusing, or echo effects. You can also copy an entire pattern, but you

can't copy a region of one track or pattern to another.

There are a number of editing functions missing from SE!quencer. It doesn't have an option to merge tracks. With 16 tracks to work with, this might

not be critical, except that you also can't punch in to replace a small portion of a track. Another editing function which isn't provided is the ability to

truncate or extend the length of a pattern after it's been initialized.

When you accept a freshly recorded track, E! compiles it into memory and automatically advances to the next track for recording. This can make the

recording process quicker and easier. if you exit record mode to edit a just-recorded track, remember to check the display to make sure you're

working on the right track.

Two edit modes are provided for working on a pattern: event edit and step record. Event edit allows you to step through a track from one event to

another. E! displays the current position in bar, beat, and clock numbers; key-on events as note name, octave number, and hexadecimal values for

velocity and duration; and controller data as to its type and hexadecimal value. The DX's key set buttons allow you to step forward or backward from

event to event. You can either delete an event or edit its parameters, but you can't insert a new event. In the case of a note event, you can change

the note name, its velocity, or its duration, but you can't change its starting time. You can change the value of a controller event, or change the

controller number itself. Granted, changing a single controller event to an entirely different one isn't something you'd commonly

do, but the capability

is there if you want to get exotic. After you've made any changes, you can preview the track (from the beginning of the pattern) to check out your

edit. If you don't like what you've done, you can choose not to keep the track, and the track will be restored as it was (sort of an "undo" command).

Step recording allows you to enter note data on a track at specific time locations. E! displays the bar, beat, and clock numbers, and step increments

from one clock to note values of a 32-note triplet to a quarter-note can be adjusted with the data slider. Controller data won't be recorded in step

record, but after-touch and velocity are stored along with note data.

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Yamaha DX7II FD User Manual Page 2

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