In brief, I would accomplish this goal: moving from a performance to another while the overall volume, controlled by the FC7, remains the same. Is this possibile?

Not with an FC7 pedal and the CP4 Stage. We'll explain below.

As far as I can see, moving from a Performance to another makes FC7 inactive until it's pressed.

Actually, when a PERFORMANCE is recalled, the default for the Foot Controller 1 (and Foot Controller 2) devices to is *reset* to maximum volume (or 127). This is handled by a standard MIDI message called RESET ALL CONTROLLERS.

Typically, the VOLUME setting will be determined by the PART setting within the Performance. The physical position of the FC7 will not be in affect - and its actual position may, in fact, be out-of-sync with the VOLUME value, until you move the pedal.

Is there a setting similar to the one found on Motif and S90ES that retains the volume setting?

No, there is not. You are referring to the CONTROLLER RESET parameter which can be set to either "RESET" or "HOLD".

RESET works so that when a new Program is recalled a RESET ALL CONTROLLER command is applied globally. On the Motif/MO-series and S-Series synths, you can opt to set this CONTROLLER RESET parameter to HOLD - which allows you to move from program to program with the physical controllers maintaining their current (live) setting. That function is not available in the CP4 Stage.

If you wish to have a pedal that remains "live" for overall VOLUME, you can opt to purchase a Yamaha FC9 pedalThis can, when connected, in line, to the LEFT/RIGHT (unbalanced) main outputs can act as a traditional external Volume pedal system. It handles stereo in and connects between the instrument and your sound system. It's position will always control the overall volume of your CP4 Stage.

Bad Mister

Thanks for your detailed and exhaustive reply- 😮

I don't know whether a Reset All Controller command selectable to either Reset or Hold would have beeen useful also for the CP4. All in all CP4 is not just a wonderful stage piano, it was claimed by Yamaha as the best stage piano ever built. Although I'm very satisfied of CP4, being also a 4 zones masterkeyboard, I would expect also that moving from a Performance to another it let me precisely tailor the Part volumes with a FC7, not only a FC9 - apparently out of production.

Thus, is it preferable setting all the Performance volumes in advance and just recalling them at will... in this way FC7 would be useless. Any clue?
Thanks

Thus, is it preferable setting all the Performance volumes in advance and just recalling them at will... in this way FC7 would be useless. Any clue?

I'm not really sure what you are trying to say here. The FC7 pedal is not useless, it is used to change volume levels during a playing performance. It defaults to sending cc011 Expression which means you can program the maximum output level for the toe-down position. The main Volume is set by the VOLUME parameter as controlled by the Control Slider... This sets the maximum level for the associated PART and represents the FC7 sending cc011 in the toe-down position.

Example, you are playing a piano + strings layered, by setting the FC7 to Expression, the relative balance of Piano to Strings will remain constant.
If the piano's main a VOLUME parameter is 100 and the strings are 75, when the FC7 is moved toward heel-down, as the piano is reduced the strings will remain in relative proportion in volume... Such that, when piano is reduced to approx 80 the strings would be approx 60.

Say your layering piano and organ, and when piano is 127 you want the organ at 92 as your "proper" balance... you've set the piano NOT to receive any Volume change via the pedal, only the organ... The cc007 VOLUME parameter setting will be the maximum the Part can achieve... So if the organ VOLUME is set to 92, then the FC7 in toe down position will never get any louder than 92. This allows you to use the Expression to control just the organ without worrying about its relationship to your piano volume level. Even with the pedal fully toe-down, you will not exceed the maximum proper balance between the two.

The FC7 is not (ever) "useless". Perhaps you have not found a use for it (yet) but this does not render it any where's near "useless" 🙂

Thanks again for the two examples you provided. Anyway there's another side that needs to be examined further. 🙂

Say you're playing with Performance 1 (Piano & Strings) and the song ends with a heel down position, i.e. Piano volume 25 Strings 00.
After song 1, song 2 must be played after a blink of an eye... Thus you recall Performance 2 that retains maximum volume. No problem until here... but what if you need to create a crescendo in the organ part volume? FC-7 is heel-down now. If you move it Performance 2 will drop from volume 92 to the corresponding position you set between heel-down and toe-down. In other words, organ part will make a volume jump and this is far from desirable.
I hope you got the point.

I think I understood what you were asking. My response was to your comment (perhaps an overstatement) that the FC7 was "useless". It clearly is not, as the examples I gave hopefully point out.

Now a situation where "in a blink of an eye" you need to make a change is really not a situation where you would want (ideally) to move to another Performance (given the lack of a Controller Hold parameter). You are, or should be in the same program for rapid changes ... Not switching programs. It's "the blink of an eye" statement that is the problem here. Ideally you would recall a new Performance when you have a new Song to perform, not a medley (where more than one composition is played continuously without a traditional end and new beginning).

There are other ways to do that organ crescendo and I would recommend that if the change is necessary THAT FAST, that you seek out a different method to accomplish the crescendo for the organ part.

Are there going to be examples where you cannot accomplish something? ... Undoubtedly, but necessity being the mother of invention, some times one must find other methods to accomplish the goal.

I do understand that a CONTROLLER HOLD parameter is a solution found in the Motif, MO, and S-series synthesizers and would work nicely here, in the CP4 Stage, we'll send a message to engineering and see what the possibility of that in an update.

Until then.... store the Performance 2 with the organ Volume at 0, crescendo the organ with the associated CONTROL SLIDER or simply practice what you need to do to re-activate your FC... You can switch either the MAIN or LAYER to Organ in your current Performance. Or you can _ as already mentioned get a regular inline Volume pedal like the FC9. (One of the problems with programmable pedals is they come with rules to program them). 🙂

Any way we'll see what we can find out about a Controller Reset/Hold update.

Thanks Bad Mister

I'm so grateful you took into consideration my humble words 🙂