I'm looking to simply record an existing voice (Melting Steel AF 1&2, PRE9:078 E14) into the onboard sequencer. When in SONG mode only elements of the voice are retained. How do I capture all elements of the arpeggiated voice when recording?

The answer is a complex one. The short answer is to edit the sound to separate the arpeggiated Elements from the Pad Elements; Build two Voices (one with the Arp'd Elements, the other with the Pad Elements); Combine them in a Performance - record the Performance. Read on...

The "Sort+Direct" Arpeggio KEY MODE
The Voice you have selected combines both an arpeggiated Element (Guitar) and several Pad Elements. This is accomplished because the Guitar Element (Element 1) is Velocity Limited to a Range of 103-127. While the Elements 2, 3 and 4 are Velocity Limited to a Ramge of 1-102. All the Arpeggio generated Notes are above 103.

Because these Pad Elements only respond to lower velocities, the Arp Phrase (which has been Velocity Offset to higher velocities) only triggers Element 1. This Arp “Key Mode” is called “Sort+Direct”. The Arpeggiator has several different Key Modes which determine how the Arps behave... do they block or not block the trigger notes.

The typical case the notes you press are filtered (sorted) and instead of you hearing the keys that you pressed directly, you only hear the output of the arp phrase. Key Mode = Sort. The phrase is preset to play. Your trigger notes are blocked.

When your key presses are allowed to pass, this is called a Key Mode = Direct. Your trigger notes are not blocked

The Voice you have selected is using an Arp Phrase in the “Hybrid/Control” Category of Arps. It combines both Notes “sorted” by the Arpeggiator, and Notes allowed to go “direct” to the Tone Generator without being sorted by the Arpeggiator.

The Tone Generator has two different input pathways: one from the Keyboard (Direct) and the other from the Arpeggiator.

The Conundrum
If you attempt to Record this Hybrid (Velocity Zoned) Arp that uses KEY MODE = “sort+direct” to a MIDI Track, you will discover that when you attempt to play it back you do not always get the results you expect. The “Direct” path to the Tone Generator from the Keyboard is no longer happening during playback... So to the Tone Generator all the Note-Ons appear to be coming from the same place. It has no way to differentiate.

At the same time the Pad sound should be playing middle C as a held whole Note... the Arp “sorted” data says play middle C as a staccato plucked Note on the guitar... that is not going to happen.

A MIDI Track can record either your Direct Key presses (as usual) or it can record the Output of the Arpeggiator... but not both.

What to do?
Make two Voices from this program.
Edit one for the Guitar and Arp Phrase, (turn Off all both Element 1) store the Voice
Edit the other to contain just the Pad Elements, (turn Off Element 1 and turn the Part Arp Sw = Off)
Place these two Voices in a Performance...

Use the Direct Performance Record feature to record to the Song or Pattern Mode.

We have the following tutorial articles on these unique Velocity Zoned Arpeggios...
MOXF: Velocity Zone Arpeggios

If you need specific help in building the Performance, let us know. It sounds way more complex when described, than it is to do. Basically, you just Store an extra copy of the Voice and separate the Elements. Let us know.

Wow. I started on an SQ-80 in the late 80s and I've produced using the Juno G more recently, but this all seems unnecessarily convoluted.

I appreciate your thorough answer. As someone who dabbles in production, I recently bought Presonus Studio 4, which will also be my introduction to DAW software. Does DAW production mitigate some of the complexities encountered through the use of on-board recording/mixing? My skills are dated, but I'm fairly tech savvy.

Does DAW production mitigate some of the complexities encountered through the use of on-board recording/mixing? My skills are dated, but I'm fairly tech savvy.

That is the question... what it definitely does is broaden the options available. The entire operation is scalable... and that is the most important thing to grasp.

In other words, how much is done with the MOXF is up to you. If all the gear you own is a MOXF, a laptop and a pair of good Monitor speakers or headphones, you can record a create a session. The MOXF is a synth with the computer interface built-in. You can plug in a microphone and record external audio sources through the MOXF. It can act as the principal item in a small home recording studio.

But what if you are an actual recording facility, setup to with separate vocal booth, control room, etc., and are able to isolate things acoustically. The role of the MOXF in such a situation changes. You may not require it to act as your only audio interface device... you may now have options to record your tracks with an entirely different workflow. Perhaps the role of the MOXF is not the majority of the music tracks, perhaps you can overdub musical parts as audio, perhaps you are adding tracks as MIDI first, or adding MIDI tracks to existing data.

The MOXF can sync to external clock, allowing you to add Arpeggiator or real-time tracks to existing DAW tracks.
Because the MOXF is hardware, it’s resources are always available... each Part has its own EQ, and you have tons of Effect processing available. Even in 16 Part multi-timbral Mode the MOXF offers a 3-band EQ per Part — to even activate the equivalent in software would overtax the computer’s CPU.

It’s not that the MOXF is more powerful, it is focused on being just what it is... so in answering the question.... the computer can make things simpler or more complex... it offer different workflows, when it comes to recording Arpeggios... the same conundrum will exist.

When an Arpeggiator is taking instructions from you pressing keys... what gets sent to the Tone Generator and to the record track... appears as two sources, as if there were two keyboard players. You and this other guy “Arp”. Inside the keyboard itself it’s easy for the Tone Generator to know the Direct key presses which arrive from one path, and those that are generated by the Arp which artive on another path.

But the external device and recorder just see the data generated by both... even though they may contradict each other. The keyboard says hold middle “C” as a whole note, the Arp says play middle “C” as a staccato note repeated several times in a rhythmic manner... once recorded and played back both arrive as MIDI data (the keyboard no longer enters data)!