Welcome to Yamaha Synth!

I bet by simply pushing a button you can change the four instruments faster than any four musicians could in real life! 🙂

If you are "under time pressure" there is no perfect solution for you, sorry. Time pressure, we imagine, means you would like to think it and make it so! Instantly - so that there is no interruption in the sound at all. This can be achieved, but only if you plan for it.

Please see the following article for ideas on how to PLAN AHEAD!

Using a [MIXING] Program for Quick Access to Multiple Sounds in a "Live" Setup

You don't really say what sounds (specifically) you need to move between, so our answer can only be "in general" but if you want to get into specifics - let us know!

You could arrange them in Master mode, which can point to any existing voice, performance, or song patch you have (either preset or user).

What I do is just create a Performance for every song, even if it only has one Voice. That keeps me in Perf mode throughout my set, easier for me (as I've not mastered Song/Mix mode).

Master Mode has additional capabilities, such as ability to utilize multiple zones for different MIDI channels. That's beyond my need and ability but its there. There's so much "there" in your XF, you'll find as you learn it that it is capable to do more than you are ready to do for quite a long time. You can use Master mode just to combine Voices and Performances into a single "bank".

If you want to mix / switch sounds live and seamlessly without any interruption in sound within a given program, you need to either utilize Badmister's advice to use Song/Pattern mode, or you can create custom voices that selectively turn elements on and off using AF1/AF2. I do the latter for the few songs I need to do this on and use a foot switch to trigger the changes. The advanced XF users utilize the much more powerful Song/Pattern modes.

The next thing you'll want to consider is how do you re-arrange / re-order your voice and performance programs easily. Most of us recommend John Melas Library Manager for this. Google him to find his website.

See page 35 of the owners manual if Master Mode interests you, this will solve your immediate question. With over 500 User Performance program options, I don't bother with this, I just put a single Voice into a Performance, then I order my Performances to our set lists (User1-A1 = song one, User1-A2 = song 2, etc ...) before each gig using Melas Library manager, it takes less than 5 minutes to re-order. Playing live in dark venues is easy as I can see the button that is lit and I just press the next one in the row for next song. I don't even take a set list, my XF is my set list. Outside in sunny venues, its hard to see any buttons on the XF so I have to be more careful.

The primary shortfall I see in Master mode is its limit of 128 unique programs. My multiple bands have more than 128 songs 🙂

The primary shortfall I see in Master mode is its limit of 128 unique programs. My multiple bands have more than 128 songs

Not a shortfall and not even limited to 128 songs. We think you might want to explore it before concluding this. While you are planning ahead, discover that many of your Songs can utilize the same exact setup. And remember that as a Master has 8 Zones, and a Song/Pattern Mixing can have 16 Parts, multiple songs can be played without even switching the Program.

For example, a piano layered with strings and brass, can coexist in a Mixing program with an organ/pad layer split with an acoustic bass. That's only six Parts. Multiple Setups can take place within a single program... As you begin to assemble things you start to realize the potential for getting more from a single program. But just because you have more than 128 songs that you play does not necessarily mean you need 128 Master Setups... Not at all. The wonderful thing about music and a band is the same instruments can be used on many of the songs (it's almost expected).

Your suggestion of using Performances even though it might be a single Voice is a very good one. Many folks overlook the convenience of the PERFORMANCE's Part parameters acting as offset settings... Part parameters are exactly the same in Song/Pattern Mixing with two additions: you can set MIDI Channels per Part and you have 16 of them instead of four.

Another powerful function on the XF (added at 1.40) is the ability to activate and deactivate Zones on-the-fly.

You can create a SONG/PATTERN MIXING with your eight favorite go to Voices, each recalling its dual Insert Effect.
Associate that with an 8 Zone MASTER setup transmitting internally on channels 1-8
Press [PERFORMANCE CONTROL] from the main Master screen.
Now numbered buttons [1]-[8] act as Zone On/Off button.

The thing is each method may or may not work in every situation. If you need to overlap sounds, then the Song/Pattern MIXING channel switching method is ideal. If you don't need to overlap but like to have access to your favorite sounds instantly, the Song/Pattern Master mode Performance Control method may appeal.

If you simply need to fade one sound out while fading another in, placing them side by side in a Performance makes sense. The thing is to explore ALL of the modes and options and customize it to your needs!