I had MOTIF XF8 for 5 years and recently I upgraded to Montage 8. I have an ALL file type backup from XF including samples. Inside it there are some velocity switching waveforms which doesn't have any voice name or settings associated to them. Just plain waveforms.

If you mean by this that you have Waveforms in the memory of the Motif XF file that were not used in any normal Voices or drum kit Voices in the XF, but we're just "orphaned" Waveforms (unused); then when the Montage loads the data from that .X3A "ALL" data file the Waveform data that was used in XF Voices will each be imported to the Montage each as a Single Part Performance occupying 544 of the 640 potential Montage User bank locations.

The "orphaned" Waveforms quite naturally appear as "orphaned" Waveforms in the Montage. They are listed and ready to be used in setting up any AWM2 Normal or Drum PART. They naturally are not used in Montage either. But they were indeed, loaded in. Here's how to find them:

Say you want to use one of these previously unused Waveforms to build an AWM2 Normal Element.
Press [CATEGORY SEARCH]
Touch "INIT"
Select "INIT AWM2 Normal" > press [ENTER] to select this initialized template. It starts you with an initialized single AWM2 Element, with Factory Waveform 0001 assigned with an "organ" envelope (immediate on, immediate off shape), same as an INIT situation on the XF.

Press [EDIT]
Press [PART SELECT 1]
In the screen touch "1" along the bottom to select Element 1
Touch "OSC" to view the oscillator select screen

Make sure the Element is On
Touch the box with the default waveform 0001 assigned, a pop-in menu appears
Touch "Search"
Set the Bank = USER to limit your search to just your User Waveforms.
All Waveforms contained in your Motif XF .X3A "ALL" will be listed

Select a Waveform for Element 1...

Hope that helps.

Thanks for fast reply Phil.

As far as I understand from your answer:

1- the unused wave forms inside .X3A file will be be copied along the other contents to the montage memory and I just have to find them and use them.
2- there is no way that I can copy just the unused wave forms and not the whole content of .X3A file to the montage.

Right?

1- the unused wave forms inside .X3A file will be be copied along the other contents to the montage memory and I just have to find them and use them.
2- there is no way that I can copy just the unused wave forms and not the whole content of .X3A file to the montage.

Sorry, if I was not clear. When you load a Motif XF ALL data file to a Montage, the Montage will convert each XF Voice to a Single Part Montage Performance; it will load the USER Arpeggios, it will load all of the XF Waveforms, used or unused.

Voices, Arpeggios, and Waveforms. That's it. (No Songs, no Patterns, no Mixing setups, no Masters).

When you loaded your .X3A file the data automatically loaded, if you don't want certain data you can delete it.
No, the Montage cannot selectively browse the XF file and Import just a particular item. It Imports ALL data that it can use, you can then eliminate data you don't want to keep.

Once you load your XF ALL data file to the User memory of Montage, you can view and manage the data by going to UTILITY > "Contents" > "Data Utility"
Look in the *Performance* folder, the *Arpeggio* Folder and the *Waveform* folder... You can selectively delete the data you don't wish to keep.

Thanks Phil . I got it.

Hello Phil;

I said I got it but in practice I can not achieve what I want.

I have a .X3A file which is a back up of my MOTIF XF. The size of it is around 1.5 GB. Inside it there is some commercial libraries and some unused percussion waveforms. I want to do 3 things.

1- Create some new single drum parts using the unused waveforms
2- make some selection of the usable voices of the commercial libraries
3- make a new library containing the new drum voices that I made and my selection of voices plus all used waveforms.

At the end I want to delete the old .X3A file to make rooms for other stuff

The problem is that When I save the new drums parts which I made using the unused waveforms in a library and delete the .X3A library all the samples are gone. in other word I can not make my unused samples migrate from .X3A to montage library.

Please Help me as usual.
Best wishes

Sorry, you are having this difficulty, you will have to use the unused waveforms, eventually, knowing when will help you...

One way to proceed would be the following:
Take the Motif XF ALL data file, load it to the Montage USER Memory. This as you know loads all used and unused Waveforms. When Loading use the "Content Type" = User File

Think of the Montage User memory as your "work area".
Next, create the Parts you want. In other word, now is the time to "use" those unused Waveforms by placing them in new Drum Kit Parts, building them into playable sounds - be that in a normal Part or drum Part.
Store those new Parts to the internal Montage User memory. There are 640 Performances, each has 16 Parts...

While you're at this, delete any data you don't wish to keep. In other words, *work* on your data in the User memory, until you have it exactly as you would like for use in Montage. For example, if there are Performances, Arpeggios and/or Waveforms you no longer wish to keep use the [UTILITY] > "Contents" > "Data Utility" feature to Delete that data.

You will find the currently loaded data is represented in Folders. The Performance Folder, for example, contains your currently loaded User Bank Performances. You can mark them and delete the ones you no longer require. Do the same for any Waveforms you don't wish to keep. ("keep" here refers to the transfer to ROM).

The goal is to have the User memory contain just the data you wish to keep, assigned and used by Montage Parts.
When you have everything exactly as it should be...
Press [UTILITY]
Touch "Contents" > "Save/Store"
Make sure the "Content Type" = Library File

Touch the box that will allow you to create a new Library File.
This will create a .X7L File on your USB stick that represents your new Montage Library.

When the file is completed saving... Now, if you wish, you can initialize the User memory, you do so as follows:
[UTILITY] > "Settings" > "System"
The third box down on the right side of the screen is "Initialize User data"

Finally, install your .X7L file to a Montage Library
[UTILITY] > "Contents" > "Load"

Make sure the "Content Type" = Library File
This will install your newly create Library into the next available Library slot in your Montage's Read Only Memory. They now have the same status as the Factory Presets in Montage architecture. Each Library File can contain as many as 640 Performances.

Let us know.

Thank you very much Phil

Why should the file systm in Montage be this much complicated.? The Motif XF was a lot easier

If I understand it correctly I should
1- put .X3A in USB flash

2- set the data to user file

3- Load the .X3A file to montage

At this point if I go to contents tab I should see different stuff in its related folders( wave forms, performances,arpeggios.....)

4- I make my parts using the unused wave forms inside the .X3A and then delete what I don't want in contents tab

5- make a new library file and this should automaticaly moves the wave forms from the .X3A to new montage library.

after saving the new library in USB flash . I can delete the Montage user memry and load the new library and every samples that I used will be there

That's it???!!!!!

I question if XF was easier. You had to direct things certain places. Here you load to User > Edit > Save > Install.

I recommend you clear the User just so you don't confuse yourself with what's in User and what's installed in the Library. Because until you embrace using the CATEGORY SEARCH feature, you might see the same item listed multiple times.

Your reference to .X3A makes me a bit nervous... It ceases to be .X3A once it is loaded to Montage (could just be semantics, but you understand .X3A refers to a Motif XF "file"? Right. Once the data is in Montage refer to it as being in "User" memory.

Please forgive me for being such a stickler for the correct terminology, but it helps when you try to support yourself with the Manuals. After doing this type of support thing for more than two decades, I've learned much about musicians struggling with figuring out musical gear and their manuals... One observation: most of the time they have not embraced the product's terminology. It is important to accept it and learn to use it.

If you finally accept the terminology your steps would look like this:

1- put .X3A on a USB flash stick

After saving the new library in USB flash. I can initialize the Montage User memory and then load the new Library and every sample that I used will be there.

🙂 . Thanks Phil

I'll give it a try. Some of the things which are confusing to me and maybe to some others are:

1-We have load tab and we also have import tab (what is the exact difference?)

2-loading the library into Montage make all the voices inside the that library available for usage without occupying the user voices( how on earth? )

Best Wishes
Sarmad

1-We have load tab and we also have import tab (what is the exact difference?)

Excellent question. Once you understand the internal structure you will be able to answer the second question yourself. Forgive the length, but this is a very important thing to grasp. USER memory / LIBRARY memory

Data loaded or imported to the internal User memory - can be thought of as being in the "work area" - it's in an area where you can edit it and store those edits to Parts of a Performance. There are 640 potential Performances available in this User work area.

Factory Presets, there are 1,920 Performances in permanent memory. Permanent as in you cannot possibly ever lose these Performances. They are installed at the Factory and are there forever. You cannot lose these, ever. This is the Factory ROM. (Read Only Memory) you can edit them but any changes to these must be stored to the "work area" = USER Bank.

Say you just unboxed your Montage. There are 1920 Performances in the Preset Bank, 0 Performances in the User Bank, 0 Performances in the Library Banks.

Example
You recall "CFX + FM EP" and edit it by changing one of the Insert Effects assigned to the FM electric piano Part.
You press [STORE]. Montage will offer the first blank location in the User Bank to document your change. This becomes 001/640 - the first of 640 possible Performances in your User Bank. (The original Performance remains unchanged in its original Preset location). This is why it is important to give your creation a different name (even if you only add your initials). If you don't you will see it appear twice on the list - even though they are different.

The User memory remains between power cycles, meaning if you power down and back up, your edited version in the User bank will still be there. But, and this is important, but if you were to load in a User File, you will receive the warning that the current data in User memory will be overwritten. User data can be overwritten by loading another User File.

The 1920 Factory Performances, of course, are still there (they never go anywhere), but your edited version of the "CFX + FM EP" that is in User, will be lost forever.... Unless you make a backup User File to a USB stick. This allows you to restore it later.

When you set the UTILITY > Contents > Store/Save to create a USER FILE, the current contents of the Montage User Bank is written to that file.
A User File (.X7U) can be restored to memory whenever you desire.

Loading it will overwrite the current User bank.
"User" replaces "User".
A User File, when loaded, will overwrite the internal User bank. Replacing any Waveforms and Samples that were a part of that data.

Pause for reflection. Take a deep breath.

Again, I'll state, think of the User bank as your "working area". You can assemble data from multiple sources in the User memory and create a Library.
I gave you an example where you have 001/640 Performances in User. It would not be economical to create a "Library" with just one sound in it.

So what is a Library. The difference between a User Bank File and a Library Bank File is this:
A User File can overwrite the User bank in memory
Nothing can overwrite a Library.

A Library is technically, a user defined Bank of Montage data that has the same non-destructible status as the Factory Presets. You will never overwrite it by mistake, you will never see a Load warning about the data being overwritten. In order to remove a Library, you must either INITIALIZE ALL DATA in the Montage or selectively DELETE the data. A simple file transfer will not harm your installed Library.

So things you've purchased or sounds you've invested time and effort into, and want to store permanently (well, semi-permanently) you install to a Library.

It's your personal Set of data. So instead of having access to just the 1920 Performances Yamaha gives you, and the 640 you can have in User. Each of the eight Library locations can contain an additional 640. It's you personal ROM.

So how do you assemble data to construct a Library (and this is the genius behind this whole scheme)?
You assemble the data into an initialized User Bank... Then SAVE to a USB stick as a LIBRARY FILE.

The designation is .X7L.
Once data is installed to a Library location, very much like the Factory Preset data, if you then Edit it, you must store that edited data to a USER location. You cannot simply rewrite the data by overwriting it where it is (in Read Only Memory). The process of creating this non-volatile Read Only Memory (I refer to as "installing" data) encodes it so that it is always going to be there, and is written with particular information that identifies it as ROM data.

The act of IMPORTING data from one of the eight Library locations places that data into the "work area" (User bank) with a special code that says: if you now create a backup of the User bank, the file you create will include the Waveform and Sample data. You could take that file to another Montage and load it.

Say I've already installed the Bosendorfer Library to my Montage as Library 1 (it's a couple hundred MB of Waveforms/Samples with 16 Performances) and say I would like to add the Chick Corea Mark V electric piano to the same Library location.
I could install the Chick Corea Mark V as Library 2.

Libraries cannot simply be added to, they are assembled and burned to Flash memory in the INSTALL process. You assemble the data you would like in the Library first to the User work area. Then you create a Library file - that includes the special code to install data to the flash ROM

The procedure would involve LIBRARY IMPORT -
select the Performances from the Bosendorfer Library I would like to include and mark them for importing to User. You could select individuals or Select All. This would copy the data from the Library area, with a special flag that would allow you create a new Library.
Select the Performances from the Chick Corea Mark V Library marking the ones you want to include. Coincidentally it is 16 Performances

Now you will have 32 Performances (032/640)
With both the Chick EP data and the Bosendorfer data in your User Bank, create a new Library File "Bozy+Chick.X7L"

Now you can initialize those Libraries, clearing out everything.
Finally, take your new Bozy+Chick.X7L and install it.

This is about a half hour of work, but you now have a Montage that will always have the Bosendorfer and Chick Corea pianos in memory.

And you have 0/640 in your User Bank.

Library files .X7L can only be loaded to one of the 8 Library locations of the Montage.
If you set the "Content Type" = USER FILE notice you cannot even see the Library files (those with the extension .X7L)

Sarmad wrote:
Why should the file system in Montage be this much complicated? The Motif XF was a lot easier

I never had a Motif XF but a MOXF. But my understanding is that the data handling was very similar or the same. And I have to say that I absolutely like the file system in Montage. Much better than that of the MOXF. It's way simpler and more effective for me! Just my 2 cents.