Arps can be confusing because so many of the parameters which control ARPs are found in at least two other places for non-ARP notes. Look at the arpeggio common screen for ARP velocity and note limits.

"Arpeggio" -> "Common" left-hand menu tabs then "Velocity Limit"

This screen is taken from the Montage Arpeggio 101 Series: https://www.yamahasynth.com/montage-category/arpeggio-making-101-montage

I am trying to set up an arpeggiator that runs only when I exceed a set velocity. I have tried to set velocity on both Common and Advanced pages, but no luck; it runs regardless. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Call up the “Concert Flute”
Activate the [ARP ON/OFF] button

The flutes and piccolos typically have a “trill” Arp assigned.
Press [EDIT]
Press [PART SELECT 1]
Touch “Arpeggio” > “Common”

Set the Velocity Limit to the value that you want the trill to happen.
The trill Arp will play only when you exceed that Velocity value.

If you hit and hold the key, the first trill will play the note you triggered, the second trill will up +1 Octave.

Once the Velocity has been exceed the Arp is On.
If you only wish the Arp phrase to play once, set the “Loop” = Off

Thanks for your helpful responses!

I'm not sure if you have experience with past Yamaha gear - but the menu system was much more buried than Montage. The old ES series structure - it wasn't always easy to see that different note limit and velocity limits were not somehow the same. The text was just less verbose and menus more buried.

Now you can pretty much trust your instincts because items are fairly well organized and easy to see. Press "Arpeggio" menu for all the arpeggio items -- look through the 3 "Common", "Individual", and "Advanced" pages - pretty much in that order - to find what you're looking for.

The tutorials spell out most parameters - so you can consult those and search for terms.

The documentation isn't bad. The reference manual and parameter manual are good resources for Arpeggios (or any advanced feature). The reference manual explains things in terms of the interface and the parameter manual is more of a glossary of terms. Page 48 of the parameter manual starts all of the Arpeggio items. Various options are summarized.

This is what is said about Apreggio Velocity Limit (in the Parameter Manual):

Arpeggio Velocity Limit Determines the lowest and highest Velocity that can trigger Arpeggio
playback.

This lets you set the Velocity range with which you press the key to trigger
Arpeggio playback. You can also create separate low and high trigger
ranges for the Arpeggio playback, with a Velocity “hole” in the middle, by
specifying the maximum value first.
For example, setting a Velocity Limit of 93 - 34 lets you play the Arpeggio
from two separate Velocity ranges: soft (1 to 34) and hard (93 to 127).
Notes played at middle Velocities (35 to 92) do not play the Arpeggio.

It doesn't tell you where to find this in the interface. Enter the reference manual.

Searching for "Arpeggio Velocity Limit" in the reference manual brings up a couple hits.

1) Page 37. This is one place you can set the velocity limits. Note picture says view needs to be set to "range" to see this (as opposed to "Category" or "Number" )
2) Page 75. This is another place - common to all arps. Note all of these parameters refer to a picture on page 73. Parameters all follow a picture of the screen where to go to set the parameters in the reference manual. This is where the thread had instructed you to go.

NOTE2: What's very interesting about the parameter menu is that it reveals something interesting I hadn't really internalized. Normally, I use ranges with small to big numbers. Velocity 1-127 or 64-127 or 1-63 (etc). I hadn't considered if you flip the numbers, you get a very interesting opportunity. If the bigger number is first - then this means you are defining a velocity range between the small and big number which are ignored (small number + 1, big number -1). Anything from 1-small number, the first region, is part of the velocity recognized - then anything from big number-127 is recognized as the second velocity region. Very cool.

The parameter manual tells me note regions work the same way. This is fairly neat. I cannot shift one region differently than the other (note shift the lower region differently than upper) - so this doesn't help the cases where I am using multiple PARTs to program a "hole" in the middle of a region and have the same sound on both sides. Usually I want a repeated area in terms of octaves. But still, this may open up new doors.

@Jason
? Not sure why you are picking on the Motif ES in this discussion, but it was pretty much the same there, as well.

This is what is said about Arpeggio Note Limit and Velocity Limit in the Motif ES Manual...

Arpeggio Note Limit
Determines the lowest and highest notes in the Arpeggio’s note range. Notes played in this range trigger the Arpeggio.
Settings: C -2 ~ G8

note: You can also create a lower and an upper trigger range for the Arpeggio, with a note range “hole” in the middle, by specifying the highest note first. For example, setting a Note Limit of “C5 - C4” lets you trigger the Arpeggio by playing notes in the two ranges of C -2 to C4 and C5 to G8; notes played between C4 and C5 have no effect on the Arpeggio.
note: You can also set the range directly from the keyboard, by holding down the [INFORMATION] button and pressing the desired low and high keys.
note: Please keep in mind that no sound is produced when the KeyMode is set to “sort” or “thru” and notes are played outside the Note Limit setting here.

Arpeggio Velocity Limit
Determines the lowest and highest velocity in the Arpeggio’s velocity range. This lets you control when the Arpeggio sounds by your playing strength.
Settings: 1 ~ 127

note: You can also create separate low and high trigger ranges for the Arpeggio playback, with a velocity “hole” in the middle, by specifying the maximum value first. For example, setting a Velocity Limit of 93 - 34 lets you play the Arpeggio from two separate velocity ranges: soft (1 - 34) and hard (93 - 127). Notes played at middle velocities between 35 and 92 do not play the Arpeggio.

Pretty much exactly the same as it ever was.

Not sure if I should or should not take pictures of the LCD screen to illustrate how the menus are different in order to defend that Montage is more organized and straight-forward due to the larger screen real estate afforded by the touch-screen.

I do agree that the guts of the two boards are largely the same in terms of core features, parameter values, etc - which is a great thing for those who have legacy experience.

Those with legacy experience remember that there was a major shift in the Arpeggiator functionality when the Motif series transitioned from the ES (2003) to the XS (2007). The number of Arp phrases jumped significantly and the addition of the MegaVoice Arp and the MegaVoice changed the focus of the Arpeggiator as it functioned within the Synthesizer.

The XS added multiple Arpeggiators which kicked the door open for all kinds of new roles for the function within the Music Production Engine. Jump starting song construction by assembling a backing rhythm section made up of chord intelligent flexible musical phrases.

In the XS, they took the STYLE engine of the Arranger, broke it open to make the individual musical phrase content available in a selectable/ adjustable format. Real-time Quantize, timing and Velocity offsetting made the phrases useful in various situations for Music Production. Rather just presenting the data in preformed Styles, as in the Arrangers, the phrases were presented to help keyboard players in constructing realistic strumming and finger picking parts... especially for use when constructing and sequencing music... special attention was placed of chord intelligent guitar phrases and bass parts. Strums and thumbs...

The concept was to construct the ultimate metronome; a time conductor with feel that could provide inspiration for the composer. Rather playing with just a click, why not avail the player of the drum phrases in a new way... The focus of the Pattern Mode changed, instead of Preset Drum Patterns, the Drum Content was placed in the XS as Arpeggio (fixed note) Phrases. Arp Play FX allowed adjustments to timing and feel.

So the ES was necessarily organized quite a bit differently from the XS, XF, and later models. The role of the Arpeggiator changed substantially. More advanced chord recognition functionality, and the simultaneous Arp engines. No need for screenshot, we’ll stipulate that there are major differences from that standpoint... it did quite a bit less, back then.