Learn Archives

Motif XS SONG Import to Cubase

Written by Bad Mister on May 16, 2018. Posted in Apps, 2000s.

Motif XS SONG Import
For this you must have installed the “Motif XS Extension” to your version of Cubase AI4 (or later)
This can be obtained at http://download.yamaha.com > select your country and do a search for items concerning your Motif XS

The EXTENSIONS add functionality to Cubase that will allow you to IMPORT a Motif XS Song directly into a Cubase Project. This is the most efficient way to move Song data from your XS to Cubase. It is a simple two-step procedure. First, your musical performance data (sequence) and then your mix data into a Cubase Project – where it will all be recombined and stored together in a Cubase (.CPR) Project file. This is very useful when you have started a project in your Motif XS and want to now continue work in the Cubase environment.

Since the Motif XS Editor VST runs inside of Cubase, it will be taking care of your Mixing and Voice data (everything you used will be accounted for) – so when you open this Cubase Project (.CPR) not only your MIDI and audio track data will be restored but every Voice, Mix Voice, and setting of your Motif XS will be restored, as well. This is part of the Studio Connections initiative whose goal is: true integration of hardware and software.

Save your Motif XS data to a USB drive as an ALL data file TYPE (.X0A). This ALL data file will contain all the information you need to move the data into your Cubase Project.

Step 1: Import the MIDI track data and sample audio track data (if any)
Step 2: Open the Mix data in the Motif XS Editor.

Cubase has been “taught” to open and import the SONG track data from a Motif XS ALL data file (.X0A). Of course, the Motif XS Editor can ‘open’ the ALL data file and import the Mix and the Voices.

Here is how it works:

Step 1:
All you need to do is place your USB drive with your ALL data file into your computer. (Alternatively, if you are storing directly to your computer via Ethernet, you only need to access the .X0A file on your computer)

_ Open Cubase
_ Under FILE in Cubase select IMPORT > Motif XS Song

_ Navigate to your Motif XS ALL data file (.X0A), highlight the file and click OPEN

_ Here you will be asked to create place for the Project. Make sure you direct it to your computer (not the USB drive). Select a target Directory on your computer for this new Cubase Project.
_ Click OK
_A dialog box will open revealing your “IMPORT OPTIONS”

_ Select the SONG by title (click on the small chevron in the corner of the title window to see the full list of Song’s contained in your ALL data file.

_ Click the “Select All Tracks” option to import all tracks – if the XS song contains any audio sample ‘tracks’ (they will be imported to an audio track in Cubase). Audio tracks are those recorded to the Motif XS’s INTEGRATED SAMPLING SEQUENCER and stored on the optional DIMMs – the audio will be captured and opened in Cubase as 16-bit/44.1kHz audio data and will be placed precisely where it belongs musically speaking.

_ Click OK. This will import each track to a separate track in Cubase, it will import any sample tracks to the audio pool and place the data on an audio track in Cubase.

Start the Motif XS Editor VST make sure it is communicating (ONLINE) with the Motif XS.
If you are using the Motif XS Editor VST, you go to DEVICES > VST INSTRUMENTS > EXTERNAL > MOTIF XS VST. Bring the Editor ONLINE

STEP 2:
Next you will want to import the MIX data and place it in the Motif XS Editor. In a similar operation you can use the Motif XS Editor to import the MIX data from the ALL data file… Just as Cubase deals with the MIDI data in the tracks, the Motif XS Editor will deal with the sounds and Mix data.

_ On the XS Editor’s menu bar go to FILE > OPEN…
_ Set the “Files of Type” option (or ENABLE in Mac-speak) so that you are looking for Motif XS ALL data file type (.X0A)

_ Navigate to and highlight the same .X0A file and click OPEN
A “SONG SELECT” dialog box will appear and allow you to see the songs contained in the ALL data file. Use the small triangular chevron to view a list of all song titles.
_ Select the SONG by title and click OK.

The Editor will open the file and find the requested data. This will take a few seconds… as it imports all the USER sounds, and the current Mix, including any MIX VOICES you have done (so all your possible edits have been imported as well).

Then the Editor’s AUTO SYNC window will appear and you can select to send the CURRENT MIX and the VOICE data (if necessary) from the COMPUTER => the Motif XS.

This will allow you to load the Mix and Voice data – every setting you made with the Motif XS. It is total recall.

Click START and the Mix and Voice data will be sent to the Motif XS. Now you have restored all your work created in the XS and opened it in Cubase. Now you can continue your work… add additional tracks; even change the audio interface your are using to record vocals or other microphone oriented tracks.

Getting Started with Editor VST and FW Connectivity

Written by Bad Mister on May 16, 2018. Posted in 2010s.

MOTIF XS Editor VST is a convenient tool which lets you edit and save the various parameters of your MOTIF XS tone generator. These include Voice and Mixing parameters (edited in the Voice or Mixing mode of the MOTIF XS) such as Volume, Pan, EG, and Cutoff and other settings. Thanks to its easy-to-understand graphical interface, you can edit various parameters of the MOTIF XS right from your computer—using the mouse to adjust the virtual knobs, sliders, and buttons and entering values from the computer keyboard. Alternatively, you can use the actual knobs, sliders and buttons of the Motif XS front panel – as instantly the software will reflect the changes of the hardware and vice versa. Finally, all the changes you have made can be saved to your computer or transmitted to the MOTIF XS instrument. The MOTIF XS Editor VST, based on the “VST3 technology” by Steinberg, works as a VST3 plug-in within Cubase or any VST3 compatible DAW. The MOTIF XS Editor VST also works as the same way as other VST instrument software, allowing you to save the edited settings of the MOTIF XS, or use them for another project. In addition, you can handle the MOTIF XS Voices in the MediaBay window in Cubase when using the MOTIF XS Editor VST with Cubase, allowing you to search for, listen, and play the MOTIF XS Voices within MediaBay/Sound Browser in Cubase. The MOTIF XS Editor VST provides a comprehensive and seamless music production environment—making the use of hardware and software both easier and much more efficient.

The Editor will save data, when you save separately, in a file type .X0E (Motif XS Voice Editor format). This file can contain the Global (Common MIXING) settings, current edited Voices (16 Mixing Voices, all 384 normal User Voices, and the 32 Drum User Voices). You can select to include your USER Voices and even your Favorites in each Editor file.

Current settings includes the latest settings of the Common and Element parameters for the Voice last assigned to each of Parts 1 – 16, as well as Mixing parameter settings such as Voice assignment, pan, volume and effect for each Part. Among the Voice Banks, only the Mixing Voice Bank data belonging to the Current setup. The MOTIF XS Editor VST lets you edit parameters (including Element parameters) of the Voice assigned to each Part and save the latest edit status as a file without storing it as a User Voice or a Mixing Voice. This means that you can easily recall the latest status of the previous edit simply by opening the file.

In the Motif XS EDITOR VST window go to FILE > SETUP and ensure that the Ports are setup for your particular mLAN DEVICE. Shown here the mLAN Device is the “Motif XS7”.

If you see “Not Assigned” or you see an “!” before the Motif XS(x) in the mLAN DEVICE area, you have a problem with your system.
Here’s what to do:
1) Go to the Motif XS and ensure that it is setup for MIDI IN/OUT = mLAN
__ Press [UTILITY] > [F5] CONTROL > [SF2] MIDI

2) Make sure your Motif XS is set to use the proper IEEE1394 Driver.
__ If you are using the Yamaha Steinberg Firewire Driver, go to [UTILITY] > [F1] GENERAL > [SF4] AUTO LOAD > make sure the IEEE1394 Driver = FW. If not, select FW, then press [STORE] and reboot the Motif XS

If you needed to make these changes, reboot Cubase so that it can properly find your driver.

Manual settings:
Make sure the “mLAN Monitor Setup” parameter is set so that you are working “WITH PC”. If you start playback of music data and you notice a “doubling” effect, this is most likely because you neglected to set this properly.

By setting the mLAN MONITOR parameter to “With PC” you hear the audio generated by the Motif XS only after it travels through Cubase (through the audio busing of the VST Editor). The reason for this is so you can hear any processing that we add in Cubase.

Most important about these settings is understanding WHY they are made. One of the advantages of using the Motif XS VST Editor is that it will allow you more options when it comes to processing your signal. If in this instance we had the mLAN MONITOR parameter set to ST-ALONE (stand alone), you would hear the audio generated by the Motif XS as soon as the MIDI data arrived plus you would additionally hear it post the VST Editor – thus the “doubling” effect. The “With PC” setting defeats the audio going directly to the Motif XS outputs and we are monitoring through Cubase.

Click “St-Alone” – Found in the lower left hand corner of the Editor’s main screen (circled above). Make sure you can identify this distinct sound… it is called “doubling” for obvious reasons. Switch back and forth between “St-Alone” and “With PC” until you can identify this sound… this way when you have to troubleshoot your setup you know how to eliminate this doubling effect. It will also be very important for you to know about this mLAN MONITOR parameter and what it is doing, because later, when you want to use your Motif XS without the computer you will wonder why you are getting no sound.

REMEMBER: the “With PC” setting defeats the audio going directly to the Motif XS outputs… it must travel through the PC (computer: Cubase) first. Therefore when using the XS without a computer, you want to set the mLAN MONITOR back to “Stand Alone”. Make sense?

One other manual setting you may need to adjust in the EDITOR:
• Go to FILE > VSTi SETUP
• Click “AUTO” – this will assign the 8 stereo RETURNS
• Click OK

Theory of Operation
To really understand the benefits of the Motif XS Editor VST we have to clear up a few points. And it seems since we mentioned it in the paragraph above, we might as well get it out of the way now: The significance of routing and audio busing. Those of you who have worked with recording consoles will know that there are fundamentally two ways to route signal through a mixing console when it comes to signal processing (effects) for individual channels. The effects can be inserted INLINE with the channel, or you can setup a SEND/RETURN situation where you have one or more AUXILIARY SENDS to route signal away from the channel, to a particular processor and then you return the composite signal later to the stereo bus just before the final output.

By now you should be familiar with the extensive and powerful effects available in the Motif XS. While in SONG MIXING or PATTERN MIXING mode eight of the PARTS can have Voices that recall their two INSERTION EFFECTS from VOICE mode. Additionally, all the PARTS have access to the SYSTEM EFFECTS via a separate auxiliary send/return type situation. This is very similar to what routing is like on any professional console.

When you route a PART to an individual OUTPUT (assignable mLAN output) it is removed from the SYSTEM functions. The reason you would route something to an individual assignable output in the first place is so that you can process it differently from the other PARTS. That would be the reason. If you are not going to process this signal separately, you gain nothing really from routing it to a separate audio output.

You might think you need to do so for level mixing – but that is not necessarily true because you can automate levels while the data is still MIDI. Your particular mileage will vary, as there is no one CORRECT way to work.