Per the manual, I understand that I can save/copy my LIVE SET along with its PERFORMANCES' parts and details to it (MODX8), about (20) song settings, to a USB thumb drive.

Yes - depending on what type of file you create: backup, user, library. Pages 201/202 describe the file types and what objects each type stores.

The ONLY one that stores 'songs' is a backup file.

What I want to do next is to travel to another MODX, happens to be MODX7+, insert this thumb drive into it, and load it onto the MODX7+ without over-writing perhaps a page or so of other Performances that already exist on it.

And therein lies the conundrum. Restoring a backup file, which has songs, destroys the entire user area which would include any user performances on the MODX7+.

Restoring a User file, which does NOT have songs, also destroys/replaces the entire user area and performances.

Restoring a Library file, which does NOT have songs, won't destroy anything.

It would be particularly useful if when loading the file with Performances/Live Set song settings from a USB drive onto any MODX, that one could identify a destination location, just like computers which ask for the same.

That isn't possible. The only 'destination' locations are the library area when you load a library and the user area when you load a backup or user file.

If you use Modx Connect you can transfer your data directly from a pc to the MODX7+. That would require you to use Modx Connect with the source machine to transfer the data to a pc with usb storage and then use a pc with Modx Connect at the target machine to transfer the data to the target machine.

Using a laptop you just need one pc to do the job. See the info here:

https://yamahasynth.com/community/modx-series-synthesizers/modx-song-file-transfer/#post-104173

If all of your Performances you want to copy to the MODX7+ are in the User bank of the MODX8:

1) [UTILITY] Contents -> Save, and save a Library File.  Name it.  This will create an X?L file on your USB thumb drive with the name you supplied.

2) On your MODX8, plug in the thumb drive and  [UTILITY] Contents -> Load, the library file 

That's all you need to do if you don't want to edit these Performances.  The Set List and all User Performances from the MODX8 will now be in a library of your MODX7+

If you need to edit either the set list or the Performances from the MODX8 then this isn't as easy.  Mainly because there's not a way using the keyboard to copy a Library's set list to your user area.   Here's what you would need to do:

3) On the MODX7+ [UTILITY] Content -> Library Import and select all Performances from the MODX8 installed library you want to place in the user area.   This is a safe merge feature which does not overwrite your user area.  And the only filesystem method of doing this.  

At this point, your Performances will be in the user area (and still in the Library).  The user area Performances can be edited.  There will be no Live Set entries for the imported (to user area) Performances.

4) Manually add Live Set entries for the imported Performances.

5) Assuming there is not content you want/need in the new library slot created, you can delete the library.  Otherwise, there will be duplicates in your Performance names in [CATEGORY SEARCH] which you would need to sort out by filtering by bank (user bank or library bank depending on your target).

Thank you for the responses, Jason and Toby.  Toby, should I likewise presume that transferring vis MODX Connect that the same rules apply, I will over-write the destination user area?  I will try both methods.  I would like to humbly suggest to the Yamaha synth design engineers that they consider more flexibility in saving individual Performances, or a specific Set List and when copying to another MODX, enable identifying a target destination which would not over-write other work already located there.  

Hello,

You might want to consider purchasing the John Melas Editor/Librarian for MODX and MODX+. Apart from being a Mac/Win computer based editor suite it allows you to move things around and easily transfer things like individual Performances. It's not super expensive and it's a great tool 

For feature requests and suggestions I would encourage you to join the YamahaSynth IdeaScale community. This will get your suggestion to our development team in Japan. 

Toby, should I likewise presume that transferring vis MODX Connect that the same rules apply, I will over-write the destination user area?

No - using Connect you select the items you want to transfer and it only transfers those items. It will replace items of the same name/type that already exist but you can copy what you want.

  I will try both methods.

That is REALLY the thing to do - get hands on. That is the best way to know what happens.

Before you do testing like that you should make a BACKUP file that will save everything. That way when you are done testing you can reload the backup file to put things back the way they were.

In particular you should test to see if the latest OS update includes songs and patterns in either user or library files. If not those will need to be dealt with manually which puts a wrinkle in things.

  I would like to humbly suggest to the Yamaha synth design engineers that they consider more flexibility in saving individual Performances,

Connect already allows you to save individual performances.

enable identifying a target destination which would not over-write other work already located there.  

As I mentioned that is NOT possible. There are no other destinations so there is nothing to identify.

When you get time look at the memory diagram on page 23 of the Modx reference doc. It shows the 'User Memory' area and it has three sections: 'For User', 'For Library' and 'Song'. There aren't any other areas to store anything to.

The Yamaha instruments really don't have the architecture to do 'object sharing' between instruments. It is mostly an 'all or nothing' load/save process.

The best (IMO) option for 'sharing' to a totally independent instrument is to create a library file. That can be loaded without affecting the user area the machine being loaded. 

If YOU control both machines then the best option is to keep them in sync so that you can always load a backup file to get what you need. Otherwise even if you load a small amount of new stuff you then have to either manually delete it or you need to load a backup of that machine from before you loaded the new stuff.

Best advice I can give is:

1. think hard about just what each machine needs

2. develop and test a workflow that lets you transfer what you need from one machine to the other (and back)

Connect and Soundmondo operate on the same data.  You can dump any performance into it's settings only.  These will not transfer user waveforms, user micro tuning, user curves, user arps, songs, etc.  However, if you don't need those and also don't mind one-by-one then using Connect or Soundmondo work the same way.  If you place all of your work under Private on Soundmondo then only you can access this.  

Either of these will merge into User so nothing is lost.

I've requested Yamaha make their file system more elegant and have done so in Ideascale.  It's really one of the weaker parts of the keyboard's user experience.  It shouldn't take a book to describe how to do some of these things.  Yet it does.

If you want to do more than one Performance in bulk then using Libraries and shuffling is the best way I know of.

Melas tools are there and help you organize things but I have no real world experience with them since I've never purchased these.