Maybe I'm missing something, but I thought for sure the "growl" on the Tenor Sax would be something you could control (take it in and out that is) or be something where the growl is Velocity sensitive (or could be programmed as such).

Now, to be honest, I know very little about Voice editing, or modifying the Set 1/2, Set 3/4, etc. I just want a Tenor Sax where I can make it "growl" on certain notes. The Tenor Growl Legato seems to have the "growl" all the time and the Tenor Growl AF1 only growls when you hit the AF1 button -- which SEEMS like the answer, but pushing that button is NOT a precise means to bring on the growl for one particular note and then instantly off again.

Surely this is not a pipe-dream.

Anybody?

We understand your request entirely. And it was as if you were sitting in on a meeting back when the follow-ups to the Motif XF and MOXF were initially being discussed. Many programming issues that were solved by velocity switching were limiting. For example, a Waveform for the ‘smooth’ tone could be triggered and at a certain velocity you could switch to the ‘growl’ Waveform… giving you the option to switch with playing style. What this didn’t allow was for the keyboardist to growl at any velocity.

Don’t know if you know of Gato Barbieri (Google him… growl and growl control was his thing). I can recall discussing solutions. Beautiful thing about engineers at Yamaha is they’re musicians (as well).
This kind of control was introduced in the Motion Control Synthesis Engine (MODX/MONTAGE), is one of the main differences from the previous generation synths (Motif XF/MOXF). The MONTAGE and MODX can accomplish this, by offering individual Element (Waveform) Level control by assigning it to a massive control matrix that allows individual response to your controlling gestures.

Each Part (equivalent to a Motif XF/MOXF VOICE) has 16 Control Sets, has 8 Control Assign Knobs, plus you can link as many as 8 Parts to one playable sound. You don’t necessarily need all of that — but let’s just say the possibilities are vast, indeed.

In other words, you assign the smooth Elements of the Tenor Sax (soft-medium-hard), to play covering the 1-127 range of velocities.
But also you assign the growl Elements to respond at all velocities.
This makes both smooth and growl tones available at all times…
But the icing on this cake-recipe is that you have a control matrix which allows you to control the Elements Output Level by adjusting the value of a Control Assign Knob. There are 8 Control Assign Knobs available per Part… one is used to turn up/down the smooth Elements, another Assign Knob is assigned to control the growl Element but set in the opposite direction…

The MODX/MONTAGE have a “Super Knob” (most people laugh, at first - then they realize it’s power for just this type of thing) it is tasked with making precise adjustments to the Control Assign Knobs - scalable on a per Knob basis. With this single Super Knob you can assign the direction of Element Level change, turning down the smooth Elements that are sounding while, simultaneously, it turns the growl Element up, and vice versa. The result is you can growl at any velocity/volume level. With a single controlling gesture, you, as keyboard player, control the Tenor Sax tone… the Super Knob position can be controlled with an FC7 sweep Foot Controller! So this all can be done hands-free!

This is just one basic example of the power of the new synth engines…

Extra Credit
Here's a post that illustrates, in detail, how this would be accomplished on the MODX/MONTAGE engines. And is one of many programming advancements previously not available in programmable sample-based synthesis engines.
Link — Tenor Sax Sound with or without Growl — Is that possible

Hope that helps.

What you can do with MOXF
I don’t want this to sound like I’m telling you your only option is get a MODX/MONTAGE — although it does kick open the doors to the next level of synth programming.

On the MOXF: You can set the growl Element to sound above a particular velocity. When you drop into Edit, you can program the LIMITs… which control at what Velocity and from which Notes each of the Elements will trigger. You can adjust the Velocity Limit

Let’s take the “Velo Growl Legato” — Element 1 and 2 are the normal attack soft and it’s legato mate. They are responsible for soft velocities 1-60. This means you can trill without the note re-attacking with each note-on.
If you strike a key with a velocity above 61-127, you switch to the Elements that will include the “growl” Element. So all notes with a velocity greater than 61 will include a bit of the growl. Edit the Velocity Limits to suit your playing style.

“Tenor Growl AF1” — uses the Assignable Function 1 button to bring in the growl Element, while the Assignable Function 2 button makes the Tenor polyphonic and all mellow

Thanks, Bad Mister. That worked. I did as you recommended and fiddled around with the Velocity and ended up setting the upper number to 38 and kept the lower at 64. I have NO idea what those cryptic abbreviated parameter descriptions means and I am too lazy to track things down in the Reference Manual. Too bad there's no way to include a little drop down tab on those. Or maybe they do with the Montage/MODX line.

Speaking of Montage/MDX. I have a lot of questions about how useful trading up would be. Considering how I use the MOXF in a live performance, with 50+ meticulously arranged and mixed Songs, the idea of having to convert all that material into proper MODX files is quite daunting. It seems, actually, like the MODX has jettisoned altogether features that I enjoyed and used every gig. Plus the sequencer that, even with it's limitations, was good enough to work directly at the unit and avoid interfacing with a computer and DAW. That one-to-one relationship was a huge part of the inspiration for me. And after a gig, I could sit down and tweak some things I wasn't happy with while it was fresh in my mind. Nothing had to be re-patched. I could sit and do it with nothing but headphones.

I read that sequencer software was added to the MODX in one of the last OS versions, but I'm not really sure what that means.

So with so much to love when creating AND performing, the idea of switching to the MODX has caused me to own 4 MOXFs, in hopes that at least one of them will outlive me.

It would be really dumb if it turned out I could do all the things on the MODX that I do now on an MOXF (just like the salesperson said!) with a minor and mostly pleasurable amount of adjustment. I am skeptical, but my mind is open and I know I'm not able to make a fair comparison without owning one of each.