Hi Dave, Welcome to Yamaha Synth!

Why can't I just chose from the CP4 sound banks,and then save them as performances in the order that I chose?

You can! Why can't you? I'm not sure, but we can help you get there! Perhaps you can give us an example of two or three 'sounds' you want to place in Performance location 1, 2 and 3 of the A bank group, and then you can take it from there. All 128 Performance locations ("sounds") can be customized by you to reflect what you would like to do. Those provided by Yamaha are only examples of what can be done... We expect you to customize and change them to YOUR a needs.

Please be specific. The more specific your information you provide, the more useful the response.
Let us know

Fortunately Avery Burdette was able to talk me thru the procedure....It seems that everything must go into performance mode to to be saved and manipulated..The voice banks are just rom banks to audition(or play) the sounds that you want to manipulate.......Much more counter intuitive than the CP5,where you could just drag any patch from any bank,be it Rom or User,and just pop them into a Performance slot in any order that you wanted,quickly......Of course,the lighter weight,and larger sound set of the CP4 is a welcome plus....I'm primarily a Jazz/Funk/Roots Music pianist and B3 player,who also plays Rhodes,Wurlitzer,Clavinet,and learned about synths during the golden age of Minimoogs,Arps,and Prophets....I'm a full time touring musician,and not Mr tech savvy....I've been with Santana for 5 1/2 years,and our touring schedule and constant new repertoire demands make it almost impossible to do any programming....I'll say that I miss the real time stereo vibrato controls on the CP5,,but that's the price you pay for progress,I guess..... My latest question is,what does the CP4 Auto Pan parameter F/R Depth mean? It doesn't seem to effect the sound in any way that I can hear...... Thanks,
David K Mathews.....
And yes,i don't really know how to use this site properly,I'll figure it out eventually....I'm more of a player than a tech guy.....

Me too. But you can't be "a player" in the age of technology without also being a bit of a tech guy! 🙂 No excuses! You wouldn't hire an electric guitarist who couldn't control their amplifier. Or a B3 player who couldn't work the draw bars or Leslie. So tech is a part of what you do and a part of just how good a player you are perceived to be by those listening. You don't have to be able to fix the electronics but programming is now, very much, a part of the playing! No worries, that's why we're here... so you can get the most out of your Yamaha gear. The best way to mastering the tech part is a little at a time!

Welcome to Yamaha Synth!

The AUTO PAN "F/R" changes the audio image from Front to Rear; when used with Left to Right movement you can create the illusion of the signal approaching and leaving as well as moving across the stereo panorama... Creating an "oval" type movement. Stereo being the adding of resistance to one channel so signal will seem to be coming more from one side of the stereo panorama than the other. F/R adds some phase difference to give the illusion of front to rear movement. Coming and going. So you will perceive a change in pitch and in loudness - just what the ear uses to determine if a sound is approaching or retreating!

It is only available when you have set the AUTO PAN's "Pan Direction" parameter to either "L turn" or "R turn" specifically - when you do, then the F/R DEPTH can be used and heard. (Obviously, this is best appreciated in a stereo sound system).

The "L turn" and "R turn" Pan Direction settings control the auto pan movement direction by starting in one place. The L/R Depth is clearly identifiable as you begin to now increase F/R you will begin to hear what is described as the "Doppler Effect". Doppler Effect is the illusion of pitch change as sound approaches you and then moves away. Like when we perceive a change in pitch of a fire engine siren coming toward us and a different pitch as it moves away. The F/R Depth will give your Auto Pan a definite "feel" of moving in an oval... Due to the Doppler Effect.

Try it on a Vibraphone sound. Make sure you set PAN DIRECTION = "L turn" or "R turn" specifically.
Then work with L/R DEPTH and F/R DEPTH to hear this oval movement.
You don't have to be a tech guy to have fun exploring and learning to use technology! It's actually the easier part of being a great player!

Hope that helps!