Yamaha MOX8 Reference Manual - Page 4

Tone Generator Block The tone generator block is what actually produces sound in response to the MIDI messages received from the Sequencer block, Controller block, Arpeggio block and from the external MIDI instrument via the MIDI [IN] terminal or the USB [TO HOST] terminal. The MIDI messages are assigned to sixteen independent channels, and the instrument is capable of simultaneously playing sixteen separate Parts, via the sixteen MIDI channels. However, the sixteen-channel limit can be overcome by using separate MIDI "ports," each supporting sixteen channels. The tone generator block of this instrument can handle MIDI messages over Port 1. The structure of the tone generator block differs depending on the mode. Tone Generator block in the Voice Mode Part structure in the Voice mode Only one MIDI channel can be recognized in the Voice mode because only one part is available in this mode. This status is referred to as a "single timbre" tone generator. A Voice is played from the keyboard, using a single part. To set the MIDI receive channel for single timbre operation (Voice and Performance modes), use the "BasicRcvCh" parameter (page 148) in the Utility MIDI display. In the Voice mode, the instrument recognizes only data over MIDI Port 1. NOTE If you want to play Song data on an external MIDI sequencer or computer consisting of multiple MIDI channels, make sure to use the Song/Pattern mode (page 76). Voice A program that contains the sonic elements for generating a specific musical instrument sound is referred to as a "Voice." Internally, there are two Voice types: Normal Voices and Drum Voices. Normal Voices are mainly pitched musical instrument type sounds that can be played over the range of the keyboard. Each Voice consists of up to eight Elements (Normal Voice) or up to 73 keys (Drum Voice). An Element or Drum Key is the basic and the smallest unit for a Voice. This means that only one Element or key can produce a musical instrument sound. In addition, a Normal Voice can produce even more realistic sound or various types of sound by combining multiple Elements. Each Voice is created by editing parameters unique to each Element/Key (Element Edit parameters/Key Edit parameters) and parameters common to all the Elements/Keys (Common Edit parameters). NOTE For instructions on editing a Normal Voice, see page 30. For instructions on editing a Drum Voice, see page 47. Basic Structure Functional blocks Tone Generator block A/D Input block Sequencer block Arpeggio block Controller block Effect block Internal memory Reference Voice mode Performance mode Song mode Pattern mode Mixing mode Master mode Remote mode Utility mode Quick setup File mode Appendix MIDI Normal Voices and Drum Voices Normal Voices This is a Voice which is played conventionally from the keyboard, with standard pitches sounding for each key. A Normal Voice consists of up to eight Elements. Depending on the settings in the Voice Velocity Element 2 Element 1 Element 4 Element 6 Element 3 Element 5 Edit mode, these Elements are sounded simultaneously, or different Elements are sounded according to the note range, velocity range and the XA (Expanded Articulation) settings. The illustration is an example of a Normal Voice. Since the six Elements here are distributed across both the note range of the keyboard and the velocity range, a different Element sounds depending on which note you play and how strongly you play it. In the velocity distribution, Elements 1, 3 and 5 sound when playing the keyboard softly, while Elements 2, 4 and 6 sound when playing it strongly. In the note distribution, Elements 1 and 2 sound in the lower range of the keyboard, Elements 3 and 4 sound in the middle range, and Elements 5 and 6 sound in the higher range. In the velocity distribution, Elements 1, 3 and 5 sound when playing the keyboard softly, while Elements 2, 4 and 6 sound when playing it strongly. In a practical example of this in use, a piano Voice could be composed of six different samples. Elements 1, 3 and 5 would be the sounds of the piano played softly, over the respective note ranges, while Elements 2, 4 and 6 would be strongly played sounds, for each respective note range. Actually, the MOX6/MOX8 is even more flexible than this, since it allows up to eight independent Elements. MOX6/MOX8 Reference Manual 4