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I'm searching for a suitable arpeggio for a 'Mega 60s Phaser' guitar part. Many guitar arpeggios have [Mg] at the beginning of the type name. These do not produce any sound in my performance, probably because "they are for using with a Mega Voice". The Reference Manual says that "you should always use Mega Voices with Mega Voice Arpeggios", but I can't find any information on how to find/select these Mega Voices. Can anyone help please?
Posted : 06/02/2022 11:53 am
Clues can be found in Perf Cat Search... type "Mega".
You will get a list of mainly Bass and Guitar Performances.
Open one of them up, edit a Part, click "All" in bottom right of screen, then select the Osc Tab. This will list all Elements in the Part.
The "Mega" voices are elements named things like "String Slap", " Thumb Slide", "String Pop" etc...
These are extra voices played by the Mega Arpeggios to make the "instrument" sound more real.
Its a big subject.
General consenus... just choose a ready-made Preset Performance.
Posted : 06/02/2022 12:58 pm
Have a look at Performance "Mega Slap Bass"... as described above.
Also ... Part Edit -Arpeggio - Individual.... note the [Mg] prefixed Arpeggios.
Posted : 06/02/2022 1:08 pm
Topic starter
Thank you. What confuses me is that I did use a Mega Voice (Mega 60s Phaser) which didn't work with these [Mg] guitar arpeggios. I'll further explore based on your clarification.
Posted : 06/02/2022 5:34 pm
The Data List booklet - will tell you the name of the PART was used in the creation of each ARPEGGIO (See the column labeled "Sound Type" -- these are recommendations. You can use any Arp with any Part.
A Mega Part might have different Velocity swaps - for example, the "Mega Steel" Guitar has different guitar specific articulations mapped at different velocity ranges... The arps are designed specifically to go and get the appropriate articulation to recreate an authentic sounding guitar phrase:
Extra Credit:
You can see how the Mega Arps [Mg] work when assigned to the "Mega Steel" guitar in the following tutorial article;
Link -- MONTAGifying Motif: Free Fall: An Arpeggio Study
you can download the Motif XF Performances referenced in the article from the Official Yamaha MODX Download page - see bottom of the page "Other Downloads"
Posted : 06/02/2022 5:51 pm
Also... read up on XA Control in the Manuals. XA = eXpanded Articulation.
Briefly... XA allows you to play the not-so-accidental-as-it-seems "pops, squeaks and whistles" that makes an instrument sound more real (example: a "string slide" or "fingering noise" on a Guitar), but, you have to play the keys purposefully in a certain way... e.g. play really hard, or really soft (velocity switches), or play while holding down an Assign Switch (XA elements assigned), or play legato etc.
The "Mega" Voices are those that are pre-fabricated for XA and ready/programmed to be "played correctly and realistically" by a Mega Arpeggio. The thing is... the Performances/Parts are not always named/labelled "Mega".... but they are "XA Ready" none-the-less... you will stumble across them from time to time.
Posted : 07/02/2022 10:16 am
In the case of the Mega 60's Phaser.... straight from the factory, no tweaking
play these chords.... descending
Dm 2 beats
Cmaj 1 beat
Bbmaj 1 beat
A7 4 beats
Then play a F... Csus4... Bb.... Dm
They're the Sultans.... They're the Sultans of Swing.
The Mega Arpeggio is playing Semi Muted, Up and Down Strokes on whichever chord you play ... easy enough on Guitar... its a bit of a Nightmare on Keys.
So... the Mega Arpeggio is doing its job so well you think its "doing nothing special".
Turn the Arp Off. Now try playing those chords again free style and see how you get on sounding like David Knopfler 😉
Posted : 07/02/2022 10:38 am
