Not that this matters (for if a utility will or should be developed) - but I'm curious if there are repositories of AN1X patches out there.

https://www.presetpatch.com/synth/yamaha-an1x

That's one. With .MID format and .AN1 files. I wonder if there are a lot more patches available in the public domain.

There are editors for AN1X for various platforms including open source. So maybe you can open AN1X patches with an editor and figure out how to map them over.

Wondering if Yamaha will release an AN1x converter for the AN-X engine like they did with the FM Converter for the Montage.

I'm not sure that is possible. I've looked at the AN1x manual and played around with the Editor and my sense is that the AN1x has functionality that isn't available on the M models.

You might want to look at those yourself - they are still available on Yamaha's site. This is the doc
https://usa.yamaha.com/products/contents/music_production/downloads/manuals/index.html?l=en&c=music_production&k=An1x

And this is the editor.
https://usa.yamaha.com/support/updates/52100_en.html

You may need to download a windows help file utility if you want to use the online help for the editor since it uses a 'hlp' formatted help file. I downloaded and installed it on Win 7 and it enables the onlline help for the editor.

Whether an AN1x voice can be translated likely depends on the features used by the voice.

Review the info on page 47 for the Free EG functionality.

Using The Free EG
The Free EG is a special 4-track recorder for
recording real-time knob position movements,
one parameter per track. Subsequently, when
you play the voice, the data of the parameter
assigned to each track will automatically change
in accordance with the way you recorded it

That sounds suspiciously like the process used for those special 4-track arpeggios you can do.

Page 81+ provides a LOT of detail about how to record FREE EG data and how it operates. What I don't know is how you would extract that data from an AN1x voice so that you could try to convert it to a 4-track arp.

I also don't know if that 4-track arp would play the same way on the M. If you can find and post some AN1x samples that use the FREE EG functionality we could load it and look at it in the AN1x editor. The editor has a 'FreeEG' button that displays a large graph area where it looks like you can see the track details and even make modifications.

Then we could try to recreate a simple 4-track arpeggio on the M and see if it appears to play properly. Got to caution you though - That editor, and Free EG allow you to create some REALLY WILD dynamic and freeform waveforms that make me wonder if you could even replicate that in a way to get it into an M.

I found this article by Bad Mister about how to create a 4-track arpeggio. But arpgeggios are limited to 16 unique notes.

https://yamahasynth.com/learn/montage/montage-the-4-track-arpeggio?_ga=2.267519753.666580034.1666042081-1762977864.1666042081

I can provide an image of what I mean about hte FreeED graphs the editor supports if someone can provide a link to upload it to.

Another wrinkle with the FreeEG data is what it says on page 84

Free EG Base Position
Knob positions are recorded in a Free EG track as increases
(positive values) and decreases (negative values) to the
“base” position of the knob, or the position at which the
knob is located when you first move it. After Free EG
recording, if you change the knob parameter, you also
change the base position accordingly. For example, if the
knob base position is set too high, the Free EG data changes
may occur out of the range of the assigned track parameter.
Therefore, take care not to set the knob base position too
high

That almost reads like you will get different results if the knob positions when you start the play of the Free EG aren't the same as they were when you recorded the Free EG.

I suspect that might just mean you should SAVE the performance/voice before you record the Free EG in order to ensure the knob values are correct when you reload the performance/voice

It would be consistent with the FM converter if the hypothetical AN converter didn't convert over a slew of features not supported by Montage.

The DX7, similarly, has features that didn't make it into FM-X and so the converter just does its best and ignores what's not supported.

How long did Yamaha wait after the release of the Montage in 2016 before they provided the FM Converter? Or was it there from the beginning?

Unless there is an overwhelming number of Ideascale requests and they are the highest Up Voted ones, I wouldn't hold my breath on an AN1X converter from Yamaha. How many AN1X synths did they sell compared to all the DX7, DX7II, SY, etc.? I have a feeling that it made sense to provide an FM-X converter because there were so many people who have or have had a DX. I'm not so sure the AN1X had nearly as many who owned one..!?

Wondering if Yamaha will release an AN1x converter for the AN-X engine like they did with the FM Converter for the Montage.

If you have anky AN1x patches could you make a couple available for download? Then we can take a look with the editor to 'see what we can see'. They need to have an 'AN1' extension for the editor to load them.

Montage (classic) was introduced at the end of Jan 2016 and the FM converter was available at the end of May 2016.

[quotePost id=124489]

Wondering if Yamaha will release an AN1x converter for the AN-X engine like they did with the FM Converter for the Montage.

If you have anky AN1x patches could you make a couple available for download? Then we can take a look with the editor to 'see what we can see'. They need to have an 'AN1' extension for the editor to load them.
[/quotePost]

I don't have any personal AN1 files, but I do have ones I've downloaded off of the internet. There are banks you can download for free.

I've looked at some Banks and Patches through Yamaha's "AN1xEdit" program, but parameters - by just eyeballing them, are not 1:1. Quite a steep learning curve. Surely it's possible though.