Introduced in the XS/XF were Velocity Zone Arpeggios. There is plenty of background material here on YamahaSynth that gets into explaining this zoning of Arpeggio data. Each Element can be velocity limited, arpeggio data can be precisely targeting a specific velocity region.

Please see the following articles on these special Arp Types:
Velocity Zone Arpeggios and Velocity Limits
_ although written for the Motif XF you will appreciate that this is not new but was a feature of the previous models.

The 4-Track Arpeggio - MONTAGE
_ a tutorial from a 2016 with an example were each Element plays a velocity limited phrase.

wow, thank you, that explains many mysteries...and further complicates my life 😉

Also I´ve noticed that in the Motif performances from the OS 2.0 download autoselect does not work with the assignable knobs, when I want to look at what they are assigned to.

Yes it does. Remember I order to even see the Assign Knob per Part you must ensure two conditions.
1) You Select a PART
2) Make sure the [ASSIGN] button is lit when you want to see what is assigned to the [ASSIGN] Knobs, the Rotary Encoders may also be showing the upper left front panel “Quick Edit” parameters: TONE, EQ/FX, ARP/MS depending on which row is lit.

The XF did not have COMMON ASSIGN KNOBS, only PART ASSIGN KNOBS and it only had two per Part.
Once you light the [ASSIGN] button, touch the upper COMMON button, then touch [PART SELECT 1], [PART SELECT 2], [PART SELECT 3] and so on to see the PART ASSIGN KNOBs.

yes, indeed, the assign button wasn´t lit...it is by default deactivated on all the motif persormances I clicked on, and automatically on on almost all montage presets I clicked on. and off on some of my user presets. so one more thing to have to remember to look at - unless there´s somewhere where the button can be activated by default, globally? or maybe in a performance, to be saved that way?

well, actually, I think I need to learn more about those knobs - it´s still not completely clear to me. maybe I should stick to the superknob - 8 different knobs - by part - common - assigned or tone - a lot of multitasking - how does anyone really have an overview of all those assignments?
😮
or is it better to just go with the flow and play with the many knobs without really knowing what is going on?

yes, indeed, the assign button wasn´t lit...it is by default deactivated on all the motif persormances I clicked on, and automatically on on almost all montage presets I clicked on. and off on some of my user presets. so one more thing to have to remember to look at - unless there´s somewhere where the button can be activated by default, globally? or maybe in a performance, to be saved that way?

The data that is converted from the Motif XF quite naturally does not have the ASSIGN button (it did not have 8 Assign Knobs, nor did it have a Super Knob). The fact that you are surprised by it not defaulting to "On" means you were unaware of this fact, or that it would impact the data when ported to the MONTAGE... (no biggie)...

Now that you know the Motif XF did not have an ASSIGN button does it make more sense? -

Why would there be a need to activate this globally? Seriously, you make things harder than they need to be. The eight Knobs can be COMMON ASSIGN KNOBS or PART ASSIGN KNOBS ([ASSIGN] button lights), they can be PAN / VAR SEND / REV SEND knobs (when [MULTI] button is lit), or they can be QUICK EDIT Knobs (when TONE, EQ/FX, or ARP/MS lights are lit).

MONTAGE remains the way you set it when it is SAVED. They DO NOT default all one way. That would be unnecessarily restrictive. What if I want to have the KNOBS default to the ARP/MS 'Play FX' that offset the Swing and Velocity...? And then on another PERFORMANCE I want them to be EQ and Effects... and yet in another I want them to be the ASSIGNABLEs? Flexibility. What the KNOBS are doing when you recall a PERFORMANCE is at the preference of the user (that's YOU) and how you STORE them.

So no, NOT "one more thing to have to remember to look at" - as in its a big burden.... it's a feature! That if it was not available would be on your wish list (lol).

I highly recommend more time with the Manual,,,, here's a DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know... that reading the manual again, after months of just playing with the instrument, will give you new insights. Things that you did not understand the last time you read them (a year ago), will make more sense now that you have had a chance to learn by burning your fingers a few times actually using the instrument 🙂

Try it!

Also - meant to chime in earlier. Sometimes it's worth doing some experimenting. If you see some Performances doing something by default - and some doing something different (like the state of the [ASSIGN] button in this case) -- then it may be worth doing a "science experiment" if you want to quickly learn if this is indeed something you can set/change.

I would have taken a Performance that defaults with [ASSIGN] turned on - then pressed an alternate function button for the Knobs 1-8 (like [TONE] or [EQ/FX] ), then [STORE] a user performance and see if that newly created Performance saves the [TONE] or [EQ/FX] setting ([ASSIGN] would be off). Then press the [ASSIGN] button and overwrite the same Performance and see if the default goes back to [ASSIGN] "ON" by default. Then I would quickly learn how I could alter the default state of Performances -- either for those without [ASSIGN] as the default and how to make [ASSIGN] the default - or vice-versa.

I personally advocate referring to manuals supplemented by tutorials, videos, and "learning by doing" to reinforce.

As far as the global setting - for this feature I do not see a need (for my own use) to override the current behavior with another setting. There is likely a valid use case for doing so for some - I just don't fit into that population.

Side note: I'm happy Yamaha added the feature (many f/w revs ago) to save the default PART-level vs. Common-Level behavior of the faders a while back (not as global, but Performance-level setting).

I haven´t been playing with the 8 knobs enough. I found the superknob with the footpedal so much more convenient than fiddling around with 8 knobs with my hands while playing. So, I ignored those knobs for a year...only now am I realizing what they really do and that they are as much fun as the superknob.

Awesome!

Going thru the velocity lesson right now, and here is what´s happening with "Festival of Harmony" in the Montage

https://yamahasynth.com/component/k2/velocity-zone-arpeggios-and-velocity-limits

"• Now turn the main Arpeggio ON/OFF button OFF.
• Play the keyboard manually and attempt to trigger a note in the velocity range 112-119.

Now you will see/hear that only when you play a note-on event that is within the narrow velocity range of 112 through 119 will this Element make sound."

actually, I don´t hear anything. even if I change the velocity to full range, no sound comes from elements 1 and 2 with arp turned off. but elements 3 and 4 do sound. so, I don´t understand why.
this is what I mean when I say I´m often stuck not understanding what´s going on and therefore it´s very hard to work on presets.

but besides that one thing, very interesting article, amazing, thank you!

Please try again. The point is that you must hit the key between 112-119 and the point is — how difficult it is to hit a Key specifically within that narrow a velocity range, on purpose.

If you cannot hear those Elements when you extend the velocity, then you are probably not hitting the keys with any energy at all. Element 1 for example, requires a good amount of Velocity in order to sound. The Filter EG is set so that the filter will not open unless you apply significant velocity. Try hitting the keys or a key repeatedly increasing the velocity with each strike. Notice that lower velocities do not open the filter, but as you strike a key harder the sound appears.

Try again. Don’t be afraid to hit the keys.
Solo Element 1 with the Arp, then turn the Arp Off and try to mimic what you heard the Arp doing... use the same amount of energy... let us know.

Since I'm not loading up the Motif XF stuff - it's easier for me to deal with presets. The "Mega" guitars are all built with the velocity/ARP idea. If I load "Mega Jazz Guitar", then turn off the ARP (turn the ARP button to OFF) then I have many narrow windows of velocity to hit and can go through all the elements 1-6 which have narrow velocity bands. I'll hear the normal guitar sound at one velocity, the softer "thump", a louder "thump", the hammer on, the slide, and at 127 the harmonic.

The element has to be ON. It helps, in Montage, to look at the "All" screen which shows both velocity ranges for each element and the element switch (on or off). On the XF screen in the tutorial, it shows the note range as being across the entire keyboard - but worth checking on Montage that the note range covers the note you're hitting.

I'm not sure what you're seeing there with the Festival of Harmony translated performance.

hi Bad Mister, yes, true, when I really mistreat the Montage keys I can finally hear elements 1 and 2.

but since I´m talking about preset editing difficulties and preset mysteries, I cannot see the reason for the existence of scenes 6, 7 and 8 in "festival of harmonies". Arp changes stop at scene 5 and I sure can´t hear any other changes between scene 5 and 8. why are they there then?

Jason, I tried your suggestion, thanks, cool, I didn´t really understand what megaarps really do besides making very realistic guitar arps, but this velocity thing makes it clearer.

but since I´m talking about preset editing difficulties and preset mysteries, I cannot see the reason for the existence of scenes 6, 7 and 8 in "festival of harmonies". Arp changes stop at scene 5 and I sure can´t hear any other changes between scene 5 and 8. why are they there then?

They are there because MONTAGE expanded on the basic concepts introduced in Motif XF. “Festival of Harmony” was original programmed in the XF which had only 5 Scenes, 5 Arps per Performance... MONTAGE has 8 Scenes, 8 Arps per Performance. You can add three Scenes of your own creation... try it!

"Mega" Performance parts are those that are constructed with sounds that respond to specific velocities. There are usually many specific ranges of velocities - making the performance "impossible" to perform manually. Therefore, an arpeggio is used since the arpeggio can be programmed to target very specific velocities at any given time during the arpeggio's phrase. Guitars mainly use the "Mega" designation since there are many aspects to generating a more realistic guitar sound (pick scrape, harmonics when moving your hand across the strings to change hand position, hammer-on noises, slides, etc). Instruments with coordinated "noisy bits" are good candidates for the "Mega" style approach.

Since the discussion here deals with the same concept - having an arpeggio play specific velocity ranges and dealing with learning that - I know an easy way to find similar content is to look for "Mega" content and deconstruct it.

https://yamahasynth.com/component/k2/montage-motif-xf-performance-free-fall/963-montage-motif-xf-performance-free-fall

When you hear the arpeggio Phrase "play" this same Part, you quickly realize the purpose of these MEGA Guitar sounds. They are designed to be used with the "technology" of the arpeggiator, which can, like a sequencer, playback a musical phrase with precisely accurate velocities, on demand. You will find Mega Parts and Mega Gt/Bs ARPs for both Guitars and Bass.