Hi thelittlegumnut,

did you know that -when storing samples/waveforms on a Flash Board- you don't need auto-load in your Motif XF at all (at least not for just re-loading your sample data)? With the Flash Boards (you can install two of them at once in the Motif XF, for a capacity of up to 2GB...as opposed to the 128MB of volatile RAM), all of your samples/waveforms will be maintained permanently between power cycles, without the need to reload them ever again...

Best regards, 🙂

Jo

I never use Autoload on my XF, but I used it all the time on my old ES to reload samples.

An Auto-Save feature could be very dangerous, too easy to lose something you really didn't want to.

I can't say that I find pressing File -> Save -> All to be such a problem, especially when overwriting an existing file. I used to make dated copies of my Autoload files just in case I accidentally overwrote it. You can't be too careful with your data :p

Just a tip...if you are not using Ethernet or WiFi to mount a computer drive for storage, you should look into it. I stopped using USB storage altogether once I got Ethernet working. Since my computer drive is being backed up automatically, it saves me the trouble of having to manually back up a USB drive.

Brian wrote:

I never use Autoload on my XF, but I used it all the time on my old ES to reload samples.

An Auto-Save feature could be very dangerous, too easy to lose something you really didn't want to.

I can't say that I find pressing File -> Save -> All to be such a problem, especially when overwriting an existing file. I used to make dated copies of my Autoload files just in case I accidentally overwrote it. You can't be too careful with your data :p

Just a tip...if you are not using Ethernet or WiFi to mount a computer drive for storage, you should look into it. I stopped using USB storage altogether once I got Ethernet working. Since my computer drive is being backed up automatically, it saves me the trouble of having to manually back up a USB drive.

Excellent points, Brian!

An Auto-Save, as you point out would be very dangerous; and not just for saving Waveform and Sample data. In musical performance the synth's condition at any time does NOT remain the same. When you first call up a Voice it is in one condition, as you perform with that Voice you are bending, modulating, filtering, portamenting, and effecting the sound such that it might be very different from when you started. Saving should be done only when *you* command.

An Auto-Save, if done at a specific time interval, could/would be disastrous. Since the most recently STORED condition gets SAVED to the file, you may still need to update the most recently stored condition or you may need to reset the current condition before saving. What is implemented instead of an auto-save is the ability of the XF program to return to your *purposefully* STORED condition, when you recall the Program (be it a SONG or a PATTERN, or a VOICE or a PERFORMANCE) - so even if you've been modulating it during performing, it can return to its initial customizable start condition. In the SEQUENCER's SONG mode you can set a parameter to "chase" Controllers, Program Changes, and Pitch Bend, which allows you to start at any measure and the XF will "lookup" the most recent change in condition of the selected parameters before beginning playback. This way if you start in the middle of a pitch bent phrase, it will sound properly. Or if a different Voice selection was made by that measure, the tone generator can start with the correct Voice without actually having to 'trip over' the Program Change Event.

Press [SEQ SETUP]
Press [F4] OTHER
Set the SONG EVENT CHASE as you require.

Auto-Save may seem like a thing to ask for, but when it comes to the FLASH BOARDS you are not changing the information that you install to them as often as you may think you will before you work with it. Once you do start working with it, you realize that what you are actually doing is selecting specific Waveforms (and the Samples they organize) and adding them to your "permanent" accessible WAVE ROM. This occurs only when you have purchased a NEW Library (which is not everyday) and are adding new Voices to your list of favorite sounds. And you want to definitely be proactive in this process. Auto Save could mean you are duplicating Waveforms.

"Duplicating Waveforms" is part of the rites of passage when it comes to Flash Boards... Everyone who owns a Flash Board will at some point learn (the hard way) about duplicating Waveforms. It is something you do until you learn Not to... 🙂

You learn "not to" by carefully reviewing your OPTIONS when working with a FILE. Knowing why there is an option to direct data with the "NONE" selection - which is literally the number of changes you want to make to the data on your Waveform List. More often than not, when loading Voices NONE is the right a choice. But you want to be able to always REVIEW your settings before you execute Saving or Loading a FILE. Trust me. 🙂

The SAVE option must be set "with Sample" or "without Sample" and just as with installing data to the Flash Board (which is a Load Option), the SAVE option must also be carefully considered when making a File. Do you need to Save a full backup every time you Save...? No, of course not. After a while it hits you: the Sample data does not have to be fully backed every time you make a file. Again you want to be proactive (involved) in this decision on a case by case basis. On your computer do you make a full backup every time you need to save a file...? Of course not. You want to decide *what* gets saved and *when* it gets saved.

Backing up a fully loaded XF could take quite a while - it is not trival, it cannot happen in the background while you continue to play - so the very first time Auto Save kicked in when you didn't want it... We'd be hearing the primal screams of irate musicians... No thanks! 🙂