Sounds can be assembled up to a maximum of 4 tones, each from a different tone generator.

Not exactly. You might want to check the Owner doc for the actual spec.

That was an excerpt from Wik not that all of that is totally accurate. I had one but I do not recall how many could be combined. If you did something in excess of said limits that dreaded message popped up "DSP Violation, you are restricted from further use of this product".

What is the point of posting inaccurate info when the accurate info is readily available?

That's poses a real credibility issue when you knowingly post false data.

You &/or Yamaha should go to Wik EX5 page and correct that information using the "Edit" option.

I wrote an analysis back in March:

http://sandsoftwaresound.net/awm-an-and-vl-in-one-yamaha-synth/

Here's the polyphony spec:

[code type=markup]
Voice Type EX5/5R Polyphony EX7 Polyphony
-------------- ---------------- -------------
AWM/Drum 126 64
VL+AWM 1+AWM
FDSP 16 8
AN(Poly)+AWM 2+AWM 1+AWM
AN(Layer)+AWM 1+AWM
AN+FDSP AN:1; FDSP:8
[/code]

-- pj

That proves how underpowered it was and the EX7 was almost useless. I've always wondered how many EX7s sold. Lots of variety but not enough of it combined. Realistically if they couldn't make it play all engines at once even in a mono mode I'm not sure why make it at all. I think you could loop the MIDI cable and double the poly.

However now they might have the DSP available to make a Montage-EX that can indeed play all the engines at once with some reasonable amount of poly remaining. AN is tricky because you can get up there in price on dedicated synths that only offer 8 total voices or only 4 in 2 layers. We don't want another unpowered system that only plays mono AN or if you select 8 voice AN nothing else works. You can almost guarantee it will have some sort of considerable limitation because it can't cost $8K.

This is why they should drop the keys and dedicate everything to a module that does it all with ease. I like the Iridium display option because you don't have to do math or guess because it shows you in real time the number of voices playing or dropping out based on your creation. Would be cool if Montage2 had a poly manager so you could quickly asses everything in one view and check/uncheck boxes to make adjustments in a hurry to free up poly or allocate based on circumstances or needs instantly.

Stereo poly is another item that uses it up. Also should be a way to switch the external control back to internal (MIDI loop trick) even if the SSS gets dropped to free up poly all part of the poly manager system. If you can't totally fix the limitation due to budget at least make a convenient way to manage it. Or have templates and auto controls that you can still manually tweak. No one needs a massive SSS poly reserve waiting in the background in case you decide to switch a voice. Make it smart like maybe you can signal a voice change and it reallocates back and forth in real time.