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Performance: SoftTenorSaxLegato. Is it sounding Legato? Why "Part SW" is not switched On?

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Bassam
Posts: 0
Eminent Member
Topic starter
 

Hello,

Need some clarifications here about Legato sounds.

It requires 2 very quick tests on the MODX:

Test 1:
Select "SoftTenorSaxLegato" Performance.
Play it in Legato.
Hear it.
Do you hear Legato or a Clear Re-Trigger?

Test 2:
Go to Edit. Same Performance as above.
Select Part 1.
Select Part Settings.
Select Pitch.
Switch "Part SW" to On.
Re-Play the Performnace in Legato.
Hear it.
Do you hear Legato or a Clear Re-Trigger?

My Opinion:
I am not a musician (just a simple keyboard player lol), or a Sax Player, but to me Test 2 sounds much more Legato than Test 1. Test 1 has a clear Re-Trigger.

My Question:
Do you agree with me? Did you hear the same thing?
Why such a sound clearly tagged as Legato not playing right in Legato?
Why the Preset Designer didn't switch Part SW?
We discussed previously the Legato issues in AWM2 imported user waveforms, but I did not expect to see the issue in some of the presets.

Cheers

 
Posted : 14/04/2022 3:40 am
Jason
Posts: 8259
Illustrious Member
 

Portamento is going to sound more legato. The extreme of portamento is a slide whistle with no breaths - just pitch gliding up and down. Although a sax player could apply some technique to "gliss" between notes - that's not generally a "normal" modality of playing. Legato playing for a sax player generally means you tongue the notes but keep the air moving. Still, transitions from pitch to pitch will be well defined without scoops or "gliss" between the notes.

I think portamento wasn't used because it's unnatural for most styles of playing the sax to have so much variation in pitch between different notes.

However, it's your instrument to do as you wish. Just because an instrument doesn't "naturally" or "usually" do something doesn't mean you don't prefer the sound - possibly signature sound for your arsenal. So feel free to allow your ears and musical sensibilities to be the judge rather than conventions or existing paradigms.

Current Yamaha Synthesizers: Montage Classic 7, Motif XF6, S90XS, MO6, EX5R

 
Posted : 14/04/2022 4:59 am
Bassam
Posts: 0
Eminent Member
Topic starter
 

Thanks Jason.

However, it's your instrument to do as you wish. Just because an instrument doesn't "naturally" or "usually" do something doesn't mean you don't prefer the sound - possibly signature sound for your arsenal. So feel free to allow your ears and musical sensibilities to be the judge rather than conventions or existing paradigms.

Can't agree more! At the end it is still a Digital Electronic Instrument.

I started my Keyboard Journey on Korg (both Arrangers & Synthetizers) and the Legato Function there fully blend the pitches together for a very smooth transition. Same for Yamaha PSR especially the latest A5000 (guess the same is the SXs). Agree it does not sound very natural in this way, it just works for the genre I play the most.

So far what worked best in the MODX is manually cutting any attack in the waveform (i.e. manual edit on the PC).
Also tried some FM-X sounds (I am brand new to FM) but Legato there is kind of part of the engine (automatically sounding).

Cheers

 
Posted : 14/04/2022 6:05 pm
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