The AWM2 Normal refers to the initial starting point when building a sound based on the sampled based technology. The term "normal" refers to the kind of instrument sounds that can be built up from here. Contrast "normal" with "drum" - AWM2 is Yamaha's proprietary method of storing and retrieving audio samples for musical instrument emulation. Advance Wave Memory 2nd Generation.

In our dealer training we often make the joke (to help people remember): just like there are "normal" musicians and then there are "drummers"... Drummers are special, we all know this! If you play in a band, this is not news! Drummers are complex, and so are Drum Parts in the Montage...

An AWM2 Normal Part can contain as many as eight Elements. An Element contains the building blocks to recreate a musical instrument that can be played across the keyboard, like a piano or a flute.

An AWM2 Drum Part can contain as many as seventy-three Elements. Each drum instrument typically occupies a single Key (although some can extend to multiple Keys, as in the hihat which occupies three Keys: F#1, G#1, A#1. Most drum instruments, however, occupy a single Key). A drum kit is an assembly of instruments that usually can occupy a single key.

An FM-X INIT Part contains the Montage's Frequency Modulation engine. Totally different tone generation source based on pure synthesis of the Waveform. Where AWM2 is a digital technology based on an actual recording of audio, FM is a holistic digital synthesis method where the interaction of tone sources is used to generate musical (and noise) results.

The INIT (initialized) or starting point give you a basic setup when you wish to program your own sounds from the ground floor up! Instead of turning all parameters to minimum, the engineers default the "starting pointing" for programming "from scratch" - a basic synth sound can be summed up as Tone Source (oscillator) > Timbre (filter/harmonics) > Loudness (amplifier).

The AWM2 Normal starts with a single (out of 8) Element active. That Element has Waveform 0001 as its oscillator, the filter is not engaged, the amplifier shapes the sound with what is called an "organ" envelope. The Amplitude Envelope (ADSR) describes how a sound begins, Attack, how it behaves immediately after that, Decay, and if the key is held, how it Sustains, and finally, when the Key is returned to neutral, Release which is how the sound ultimately disappears. And Organ has an immediate Attack, no initial Decay, it Sustains at full volume for as long as you hold a Key, and has a very rapid Release. This organ envelope works like a GATE (old analog term for when Open sound rushes through the circuit, when closed it stops) it's a kind of all or nothing type thing. When the Gate is open - like a bright light, it's just On Full - no shading or subtlety.

Contrast that ADSR behavior with an actual acoustic piano, which has not as fast an Attack, has a significant drop in loudness immediately following the Attack portion, and will sustain a bit if the key is held, and has a slower release time than the organ. So this "envelope" basically describes the loudness shape of the sound. How it starts, continues, and disappears. So even to make Waveform 0001 a decent piano, you'd need to adjust that envelope.

The AWM2 Drum INIT starts with a Snare Drum assigned to each of the 73 Keys, C0~C6. Each Drum Key can be made to respond entirely differently to a Key On. With the so called Normal instruments you hold and release the Key to control its loudness. As piano players we are so used to this, it is truly second nature. Drum and percussion sounds do not necessarily have to have a Key pressed throughout the period in order to make the entire sound play. In the INIT Drum the parameter RECEIVE NOTE OFF is On. This means you need to hold the key to hear the full sound, one of the things that makes Drums "special" is this very parameter - this can be set to OFF on a per Key basis. Now striking the key causes the entire sound (sample) to play from start to end. Even though the Crash Cymbal actually rings for several seconds, you are not required to hold your finger on the Key the entire time when RECEIVE NOTE OFF = OFF. Drums typically play the entire audio sample by simply triggering the Key. You can build a kit with your own samples or any in the Montage, or you can simply edit an existing Kit.

The FM-X INIT starts with a single Operator (the fancy name for the combination Oscillator-Amplitude Envelope Generator of an FM Synthesizer). This single tone source (Sine Wave) is given an "organ" envelope... Again meaning immediate on, stays at maximum level, until Key release at which time there is an immediate Release.

The only reason the AWM2 Normal has a piano wave to start is because it is Waveform 0001
The only reason the AWM2 Drum has a Snare to start is because it has been the convention (every one recognizes a Snare)
The FM-X starts building sounds up from the raw Sine, because all sound is sinusoidal by nature, it is the purest Waveform. All Fundamental, zero overtones. All FM sounds are built up from the Sine Wave.

Thanks for your explaination to help me understand the process

Tho