1. Somehow, despite what I've been told, expand the sequencer memory, preferably to ten times or more its current size.

Not going to happen as the memory is fixed.

2. Find a way to easily export and store and quickly recall patterns and songs individually, with no arbitrary capacity limit.

Definitely doable. Although the SAVE operation saves all Songs or all Patterns, you can load individual Song or individual Patterns. Load time is about two seconds, literally, about two seconds.

You can only play one sequence at a time so it's not going to be necessary to have every song and/or every pattern in memory at once. Since they load as individuals so rapidly, this may prove to be your solution.

Instead of loading ALL set the File TYPE = "Song", highlight your All (.X0A) or All Song (.X0S) file, hit [ENTER] to view a list of the Song titles

Instead of loading ALL set the File TYPE = "Pattern", highlight your All (.X0A) or All Pattern (.X0P) file, hit [ENTER] to view a list of the Pattern titles.

Doing this will allow you load a single title to any target location. If the slot is already occupied this will overwrite it.

3. Deploy an external sequencer (software or hardware) that can access the Motif's sound library remotely, preferably while I play along. Even better, since the sequences are MIDI data, continue to create sequences on the Motif and export them to the external sequencer for playback with minimal editing.

Your XS came with Cubase AI - Cubase AI can open your Motif XS Song files directly from a Motif XS All data file .X0A using the MOTIF XS SONG IMPORT feature.

This, however, will not necessarily help you with Patterns (not knowing how you use them when playing along).

Dear Bad Mister,

Thanks for your quick reply.

You're quite correct that the patterns and songs load quickly. My concern is about organizing them properly, and the Motif's file management is limited in that it cannot save individually. In my mind this can get complicated very quickly, especially since I periodically edit my patterns and songs for improvement and I want to grow my library aggressively. I may still be able to figure an acceptable workaround, but I'll leave that for a later time.

Your comments regarding Cubase AI are intriguing. All the patterns I create are configured and played back as chains. I've avoided converting them to songs due to space constraints, but I can easily do so. I think it might work.

I am not the original owner of my Motif, and it did not come with any software, but I'm not averse to spending some money to address this problem. Is there a way to obtain a license for it, or will a retail version of Cubase also work as you describe? Will it work over a USB connection, or is FireWire required? Also, I use track 8 for a click track which I direct to the assignable left and right outputs. Can I preserve this function with Cubase?

Thanks again for your help.

Joe

Yes, all Cubase versions can be made to IMPORT Motif XS Song data... You need to download and install a Yamaha Motif XS Extension (from the official Motif XS download page: download.yamaha.com). This Extension is a bit of software code that 'teaches' Cubase how to navigate the Motif XS ALL data file, and extract the MIDI and AUDIO data (recorded to the Integrated Sampling Sequencer) and place it on the appropriate type of track, you can also import the MIXING setup so that everything you need will be in Cubase.

you can then access your Songs quickly and one of the computer's strengths is organizing data. So you will be able to organize your songs and things quickly and easily.

Hope that helps

Dear Bad Mister,

Thanks a lot for that information; it is most helpful. I have just purchased and installed Cubase LE AI Elements, so the timing is perfect.

Is there an area on this forum (or another forum) that deals with questions about Cubase and other software, or is this the best place for newbie questions like the following?

1. SInce I'm hoping to use Cubase strictly as a sequencer in place of the Motif's on board sequencer, can I assume that a USB 2.0 connection is sufficient?

2. As I mentioned earlier, most of my sequences are Pattern Chains (to save space). Can these be imported directly, or must they be converted into Songs first?

All help appreciated. Thanks again,

Joe

1. SInce I'm hoping to use Cubase strictly as a sequencer in place of the Motif's on board sequencer, can I assume that a USB 2.0 connection is sufficient?

Yes, its fine.

2. As I mentioned earlier, most of my sequences are Pattern Chains (to save space). Can these be imported directly, or must they be converted into Songs first?

Yes, you must Convert them to a SONG, then Save in a Motif XS ALL data file (.X0A)

Motif XS Song Import