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YC Series Backline Guide

Written by Blake Angelos on September 6, 2024. Posted in YC Series.

You know the saying about there being two kinds of people: those who have lost data and those who will. This article will give you the step-by-step process of backing up your YC Series Stage Keyboard. It will also share how to execute a Factory Reset and update the OS. This is great if you’re playing a backline or borrowed instrument.

Backup File

Connect a USB flash drive to the USB [TO DEVICE] port.
Press [MENU] and turn the Encoder Dial to “File” and press [ENTER] (press down on Encoder dial).
Select “Back Up File” from the list and press [ENTER].
Choose “Save”, select “New File” and press [ENTER].
Name the Back Up File using the letters “YC” “YYMMDD” format (e.g. “YC251208”). See the graphic below for character entry instructions:

Naming tip: here’s a quick tip that we use. It helps if you have multiple backup files on a single drive as everything will alpha sort by instrument and the most recent save sorts to the end.
- YC for “YC Series”
- YY = two-digit year, MM = two-digit month, DD = two-digit day
- Followed by short descriptive text like “Jazz,” “Cookies,” “Brian,” whatever helps! Example: YC240813 BA Jazz

Factory Reset

IMPORTANT: BEFORE EXECUTING A FACTORY RESET, CREATE A BACKUP FILE! All User Live Set memory will be deleted, and YC will be restored to its original out-of-the-box state. BACKUP first to avoid losing content.

Press the [MENU] button.
Turn the Encoder Dial to “Job” and press [ENTER] (press down on Encoder dial
Turn the Encoder Dial to “Factory Reset”, press [ENTER] and select “Reset”. Press [ENTER]

OS Update

You can download the latest YC OS version here. The update procedure outlined below is from the “Read Me” found in the YC OS .zip file:

NOTICE: All the Live Set Sounds and the settings of MENU screens and SETTINGS screens will be initialized by this updater. Please make sure that you save all User data to a USB flash drive before performing this update.

Required Items: One USB flash drive of over 2GB capacity formatted on YC. A list of confirmed USB devices is provided on the product download page. Use a different USB flash drive than the one used for Backup Files.

After downloading, copy the uncompressed file “8T25OS_.PGM” to a USB flash drive that has been formatted on YC61. No other files should be present on the USB flash drive.
Power off YC. Connect the USB flash drive prepared in step 1 to the USB [TO DEVICE] terminal of YC. Power on YC while holding down the [MENU] and [STORE] buttons until the “YAMAHA” logo appears on screen. In this step, do not press any buttons other than the [MENU] or [STORE] buttons.
YC OS updater will begin with the “Now loading” message below:

———————

Updater

Current Ver : *.**.*

New Ver : *.**.*

[ENTER]: Start

[EXIT]: Reboot

———————

Note that “Current Ver” indicates the current version of YC, and “New” indicates the updater version. Press the [ENTER] button to start the update. Press the [EXIT] button to cancel.

After the [ENTER] button is pressed, the following message will appear.

———————

Updater

All User memory

will be initialized.

[ENTER]: Continue

[EXIT]: Reboot

———————

Press the [ENTER] button again to execute the update. All the Live Set Sounds and the settings of MENU screens and SETTINGS screens will be initialized. Press the [EXIT] button to cancel the update.

The following message will appear when the update is completed. Confirm that the Current Ver is the updater version:

———————

Updater

Current Ver : *.**.*

Completed.

Please turn off.

———————

NOTICE: DO NOT power off or remove the USB flash drive from YC until the “Completed. Please turn off.” message appears. If power is accidently interrupted while running the updater (by disconnecting the AC cord, eYC .), the unit may become inoperable. If this happens, run the updater again. If the unit still does not function after doing this, please contact your nearest Yamaha service center.

Turn off YC and remove the USB flash drive.
Power on YC.

This completes the update process.

MONTAGE M Backline Guide

Written by Blake Angelos on September 6, 2024. Posted in MONTAGE M.

You know the saying about there being two kinds of people: those who have lost data and those who will. This article will give you the step-by-step process of backing up your MONTAGE M. It will also share how to execute a Factory Reset and update the OS. This is great if you’re playing a backline or borrowed instrument.

Backup File

MONTAGE M Backup File saves the entire contents of the instrument to a single file. This includes User and Library memory and any associated waveforms.

Here’s how to save a MONTAGE M Backup File:

Connect a USB flash drive to the USB [TO DEVICE] port.
Press [UTILITY] button located below the [PERFORMANCE (HOME)] button.
On the left side of the Touch Screen below “Settings,” touch “Contents.”
In the column to the right of “Contents,” touch “Save”.
Under “Content Type,” choose “Backup File”.
Touch on the Drive Icon and choose “[Save As New File”].
Now you’ll see the “New File Name” screen with a keyboard for entering characters. A good naming process is useful here.
- Naming tip: here’s a quick tip that we use. It helps if you have multiple backup files on a single drive as everything will alpha sort by instrument and the most recent save sorts to the end.
  - MM for “MONTAGE M”
  - YY = two-digit year, MM = two-digit month, DD = two-digit day
  - Followed by short descriptive text like “Jazz,” “Cookies,” “Brian,” whatever helps!
  - Example: MM240813 BA Jazz
When backup is complete remove flash drive. The file can be copied to a computer as a backup of the backup!

Factory Reset

There may be an occasion when you’re working with a backline instrument that isn’t yours and you’d like to begin work with a clean MONTAGE M. That’s when a Factory Reset might be useful.

IMPORTANT: BEFORE PERFORMING A FACTORY RESET, CREATE A BACKUP FILE! A factory reset deletes all user content and restores MONTAGE M its default state. BACKUP FIRST to avoid losing content.

Here’s how to execute a Factory Reset.

Press [UTILITY].
In the Touch Screen, touch “Settings” on the left.
In the second column, touch “System”
In the far-right corner touch “Initialize All Data”

OS Update

You can download the latest MONTAGE M OS here. It’s good to keep the latest with OS on a USB flash drive along with the Backup File.

NOTICE: All User memory (Library data, User data, User sample and so on) will be initialized by the updater. Please make sure that you CREATE A BACKUP FILE before performing this update.

Required Items: One USB flash drive of over 8GB capacity formatted on MONTAGE M. Use a different USB flash drive than the one used for Backup Files.

After downloading, copy the uncompressed file “8O42OS_.PGM” to a USB flash drive that has been formatted on MONTAGE M. It’s best practice to use a clean USB flash drive no other files present.
Power off MONTAGE M.
Connect only the USB flash drive prepared in step 1 to the [USB TO DEVICE] terminal of MONTAGE M. Power on MONTAGE M while holding down the [Cursor UP] and [UTILITY] buttons until the “YAMAHA” logo appears on screen. At this time, please do not press buttons other than [Cursor UP] or [UTILITY] buttons.
The MONTAGE M OS updater will begin with the message “Waiting for USB storage …” and “MONTAGE M6/7/8x updater *****”.
When the message “Update completed.” appears, turn off MONTAGE M and remove the USB flash drive.

WARNING: DO NOT power off or remove the USB flash drive from MONTAGE M until the “Update completed.” message appears. If power is accidentally interrupted while running the updater (by disconnecting the AC cord, etc.), the unit may become inoperable. If this happens, run the updater again. If the unit still does not function after doing this, please contact your nearest Yamaha service center.

Power on MONTAGE M.
Execute the “Initialize All Data” function ([UTILITY] > [Settings] > [System]).
This completes the update process.