It will be called Parts (vs Voice) and I sure hope and expect that function is in Montage. I'm guessing there will be alot of One Element (cough ... voice) Performances for the stock APs, EPs, Organs, Synths, etc ... this machine has to come loaded with great presets.

Still sorting out the new architecture conceptually - i see some things in it that are absolutely awesome and perfectly address some of my limits / laments in XF Voice/Performance design. Other aspects - still unclear, will have to see one and learn. I expect this is a MUCH BETTER machine for performers, which is what I am. I have never "produced" a thing on my XF - I just want to be able to play.

David wrote:
I'm guessing there will be alot of One Element (cough ... voice) Performances for the stock APs, EPs, Organs, Synths, etc ... this machine has to come loaded with great presets.

I was specifically asking about copying an ELEMENT of an existing PART (formerly known as Voice) of a PERFORMANCE to the PART I'm currently editing.

Elements can be copied and/or exchanged, as required.

Thanks. I bet the reference manual is just around the corner! 😉

So is Montage 😉

This functionality is not yet described in the currently available reference manual, is it?

No, it's described in the Supplemental Manual for version 1.10.x due momentarily.

Thanks!

Seems like Yamaha are releasing increasingly unfinished synthesizers these days! You'll find the engineers have added the element copying function by holding down SHIFT and EDIT. I can't see any way of copying an element from a different sound though...

Exactly WHY there is no COPY button, and that the EDIT button often doesn't work, is anybody's guess. Once again, a Yamaha synth that isn't properly finished off 🙁

Hope this helps!

Rudy.

Can't copy effects, nor save effects settings as presets, either.

Pen and paper.

Unfortunately, part of the functionality seems to rely on 3rd party software to get the most out of the instrument. Saving effects and other features not on-board are available using at cost tools not bundled with the instrument or downloadable freely. This also requires a computer attach which, for me, means it is better in the studio and not so great out and about.

Those with the chops are able to design their own personal tools that cost time. The system is well documented enough to realize this - but is not of much use to most.

Generally it is true that pen and paper or cellphone photos is what I use (the hard way).

The interface could certainly be better. And I do think the simplification pendulum and design philosophy to flatten the instrument went a tad too far.

I can't see any way of copying an element from a different sound though...

In order to copy an element from a different sound, you have to go through a 2 step process. This also seems like part of the design philosophy. If there's a way to do it - even if requiring extra steps - it seems Yamaha feels the the extra steps are OK. Abstracting operations to "hide" the complexity is a rarity. This is a weakness with a long legacy.

The two step process would be to merge in any part(s) from the different sound (different Performance) into your current Performance first then execute the element copy. Optionally a 3rd step would be to clean up the merged material after the copy by deleting the excess. This works as long as you have one Part free for the shuffling. If you happen to be using all 16 Parts then you would need to add more steps to save your Performance then "kill" one Part to bring in another Performance's Part, do the element copy, then restore your saved Part that was "killed" by doing a Performance merge (source: choose a single Part) using your saved copy as a source and select just that killed Part. That's a corner case you won't run into often but does demonstrate some soft spots.

There's a way to get it done - and how much overhead this presents depends on how often you employ this kind of thing in your workflow. For occasional use it's manageable. I could see the extra steps adding up quickly if it's a feature often used. In this case I would probably consider investing in the 3rd party tools and use computer assist.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unrealised opportunities for streamlining actual usage.

It feels exactly as Rudy says : unfinished, on many levels. The more you dig, the more you find that's just not done, done wrong or done very badly.

On other levels, it feels like dark patterns were employed out of spite for the users.

@Jan
Yamaha did an awesome job at designing the OS and PART/Element Coping. I especially love the ability to choose whether to Copy or Exchange the PART / Element.
I use both all the time and it's so quick and easy to use. Just press the PART on the screen, press Copy and choose whether to Copy or Exchange. Or even better without touching the screen, select the PART button on the right, and press SHIFT + EDIT..!

For Elements, select the PART, then select the Element, and press SHIFT + EDIT ... same deal, except you can Copy or Exchange the Element from a PART to a different Element on that same PART, or to the same/or different Element on completely different PART.

Love it! 😉

Can't copy effects, nor save effects settings as presets, either.
Pen and paper.

Don't forgot taking a picture with your phone camera! :p
This is a perfect example of something that could be submitted to 'IdeaScale' 😉