Yamaha Psr E443 Changing From One Voice To Another

[mark vaughan]

hi can anyone tell me the quickest way you can change from one voice to another on this keyboard ? say I am playing a medley of songs or same song and I want to go from say piano to strings as smoothly as possible whats the best way to do it ?

thanks mark

 

[SeaGtGruff]

The PSR-E443 has 4 registration buttons and 8 registration banks, so you can save up to 32 different panel setups-- which includes the three selected voices (main, dual, and split) and any edited voice parameters (volume, octave, pan, reverb depth, chorus depth, attack, release, cutoff, and resonance). You can also save the 32 registrations-- plus any user-recorded songs and user-selected (i.e., "registered") external styles-- in a "User" file, with the ability to save 100 uniquely-named User files (i.e., "USER001" through "USER100") on a USB thumb drive for later recall.

The quickest way to switch voices is to have a particular registration bank already selected, then you can instantly switch back and forth between the 4 registrations in that bank by simply pressing the appropriate registration button (1 through 4). So as far as (near) instant switching while playing a song on the keyboard, you've got 4 setups that you can quickly switch between.

If you need to use more than 4 setups, you'll have to select a different registration bank, which takes a little bit longer to do. Thus, the ideal situation would be to set up each registration bank with 4 setups to use for 1 or more songs-- e.g., setups for 8 songs, with each song having 4 setups; or setups for 16 songs, where each of the 8 banks has setups for 2 songs (if each song requires 2 setups); etc. However, if you're playing with a band and have an opportunity to pause for a little bit while playing a song, then you might have enough time to switch banks during a song, in which case you could use more than 4 setups in a given song.

If you need to use more than 32 setups during a gig, you'll have to load a User file from your USB thumb drive, which requires a good bit more time to do, since you have to call up and navigate through the File Function menu, not counting the time required for the selected User file to be loaded into memory-- so loading a new User file would best be done during a break when you've got more time to fiddle with the keyboard.

 

[pw_bodhi]

thank god I found this forum . I am using yamaha i455 and switching of voices is a problem I am struggling from a long time .

Problem 1: Real quick switching between voices / styles in multiple banks? I am playing bollywood songs and frequently need more than 4 voices. That means switching between multiple banks. This becomes very difficult and tricky as I lose the beat or point of switching. Do I have some solution for this in my current keyboard?

• I need some keyboard where I can switch between multiple instruments in a single button click or something like that. (Even if they are 10 to 15 in one song, doesn't matter).

Problem 2: Which Professional Arranger keyboard suitable for Bollywood should I select? Now I am looking for a good arranger keyboard (suitable for indian music especially bollywood) which eliminates the above switching problem 1 and also offers me inbuilt indian styles and voices (in addition to the large default variety of styles and voices. In addition, unlimited storage bank which allows me to load my own custom styles and voices will be great. I looked at yamaha PSR970, Korg 900PA In (indian edition) and Roland - E-A7. While the advanced features will definitely help me in my music career, cost at this point is also an important concern. I intend to use it for atleast 10 years, so need a good one (a little scalability like adapting to future trends of music will be surely a plus). Please help! your suggestions would be surely valuble

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Are you playing with splits-- one voice with your right hand and a different voice with your left hand? Or are you playing with one voice at a time?

If you are playing with only one voice at a time, then it's possible to switch between the Main Voice and the Split Voice with a single button press. To do this, set the Split Point to the rightmost key on the keyboard, C6. Then if you play with the Split mode turned off, you will be playing with the Main Voice. But if you press the Split button to turn on the Split mode, you can play on the entire keyboard (minus the topmost key, C6) using the Split Voice. If you press the Split button again to turn off the Split mode, you will be back to using the Main Voice. So in this way you can play either of two voices by pressing a single button, the Split button. And since the Main Voice and Split Voice are both stored in a single Registration, you can get two different voices from one Registration. Since there are four Registrations in a single Registration Bank, you can switch between eight different voices without having to change to a different Registration Bank.

There are a couple of other possibilities, but I'd like to try them out myself first before I make any suggestions, to be sure they would be useful.

As far as getting a different keyboard, I have no personal experience with any brands besides Yamaha, other than a very inexpensive Casio that I used to have. The PSR-S970 is the best arranger that Yamaha makes, with the exception of the more expensive Tyros 5. The PSR-S770 is less expensive but still very similar to the PSR-S970. The older models, PSR-S950 and PSR-S750, were very similar to the newer models but did not have everything that the newer models have, so you might consider them as well. However, for Middle Eastern music you might want to consider either the PSR-A3000 or the older PSR-A2000.

 

[pw_bodhi]

Thanks for your reply Sir! Much appreciated. I have not tried the splits and would surely try out the suggestions made. However, I am wondering in the type of Bollywood music I play, I frequently need to use wide range of tones, ranging from lower octave on the leftmost before the accompaniment to the right most higher octaves, all in the same voice at one time. In bollywood music, the instrument voice octave selected for one part may shift to higher octave on another voice (which may be either on the same octave or even on the further left). Still these are just my speculations. I will try the suggestions today and come back.

On the buying decision, I am eyeing s970 and I guess it will come with indian expansion packs. But will need to confirm it meets all my requirements. I am really fan of yahama for the quality sounds, especially the accompaniment chords

 

[SeaGtGruff]

If you need to play with the accompaniment then I don't think using the Split Voice as a second voice will work, at least not without hacking the Registrations in a User File.

I'll try a couple of other ideas to see if they work before I suggest anything else.

As for the PSR-S970, I don't think it comes with any voice and style expansion packs, but you can certainly buy them, and there are usually some which are free to download and install.

 

[pw_bodhi]

Sure. Thanks a lot. I will wait and am looking forward eagerly for more ideas.
thanks again. Talk to you soon

 

[pw_bodhi]

Little concerning review about yamaha's for Bollywood...
https://www.quora.com/Which-arranger-keyboard-should-I-buy-Yamaha-PSR-S970-or-KORG-PA900
please have a look

But even though the above may be true, but one cannot deny that the expansion packs for yahama are much more easily available and large in number than anyone else. that kinda inclines me to 970

 

[Fred Coulter]

one cannot deny that the expansion packs for yahama are much more easily available and large in number than anyone else. that kinda inclines me to 970

www.yamahamusicsoft.com

 

[pw_bodhi]

Hello all,

Any updates on the techniques?

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Here's what I've got so far...

(1) Select Voice 000 (i.e., the OTS or One Touch Setting voice).

(2) Put the keyboard into Song mode (i.e., press the SONG button so it lights up).

(3) When you select a song, the Main Voice will change to the voice that the song uses for channel 1.

(4) By pressing the +/YES button while you're in Song mode, you can advance to the next song.

I've written a program to create a set of MIDI files for all of the voices for a particular keyboard, using a sort of patch list data file for that keyboard. I've included only the unique voices-- i.e., the ones that don't use the Dual function to layer other voices together, or Harmony or Arpeggio or Split. Each MIDI file contains simply a Bank Select MSB, Bank Select LSB, and Program Change message to select the desired voice, plus a Meta Event that shows the number and name of the voice-- e.g., "001 Harmonium 1 (Single Reed)."

When I tested them on my PSR-E443, I didn't expect the Main Volume to change. However, it looks like when the keyboard responds to the Bank Select and Program Change events which select a given voice, it sets the Main Volume to the default or preset volume that's associated with that voice. I haven't tried adding Channel Volume messages to the voice files yet to see whether they will override the preset voice volumes, but my prior experience at trying to set other voice parameters that way (e.g., Attack Time, Release Time, Cutoff Frequency, and Resonance Level) didn't have any effects.

Anyway, the attached ZIP file contains 671 MIDI files for the unique voices of the PSR-I455. The names of the files are simply the voice number-- e.g., "Voice001.MID." I suggest storing the original files somewhere handy, and using copies of them as follows:

(1) Make a note of which voices (i.e., voice numbers) you want to use during a particular performance, in the order that you want to use them. If you want to use the same voice multiple times, write it down the same number of times in the list, as in the following example:
100
62
13
100
89
100
89
204
5
etc.

(2) Going down that list, copy the MIDI file for each of those voices to new MIDI files named "Song9999.MID," where "9999" is a number that reflects the order you want to use each voice in. For instance, going back to the example above, you would do the following:
100 -- Copy "Voice100.MID" to "Song0001.MID."
62 -- Copy "Voice062.MID" to "Song0002.MID."
13 -- Copy "Voice013.MID" to "Song0003.MID."
100 -- Copy "Voice100.MID" to "Song0004.MID."
89 -- Copy "Voice089.MID" to "Song0005.MID."
100 -- Copy "Voice100.MID" to "Song0006.MID."
89 -- Copy "Voice089.MID" to "Song0007.MID."
204 -- Copy "Voice204.MID" to "Song0008.MID."
5 -- Copy "Voice005.MID" to "Song0009.MID."
etc.

(3) Put the new "Song" files on a USB flash drive that you know will work with your keyboard. (Most should, but sometimes a particular USB flash drive will be incompatible, possibly due to the file system it uses.) Plug that USB flash drive into your keyboard and wait for the "USB" indicator on the LCD screen to stop blinking.

(4) Select Voice 000, then switch to Song mode.

(5) Use the panel controls to navigate to the first MIDI file ("Song0001.MID") and you're ready to play.

(6) When it's time to switch to the next voice, press the +/YES button to advance to the next song file. Note that you'll need to give the keyboard a moment to finish switching voices.

Try that and see what you think. I'll keep experimenting to see if I can get any other messages to work with the OTS voice.

EDIT: PS -- You don't have to use names like "Song0001.MID," but the file extension needs to be "MID" and you should make sure the file names will come up in the order you want to use the voices in.

 

[pw_bodhi]

thanks a lot! I am so gratefull!! Let me try it out. Eager to get home to try this out WIll keep you posted on how it works

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I still need to experiment further to see how many other settings besides the voice number can be changed this way. I was surprised to discover that the keyboard seems to respond to the Bank Select and Program Change as though you'd selected the voice from the panel, such that it changes the Main Volume and other Main Voice settings to the factory presets for that voice. Yesterday wasn't a good day for getting things done, as there was too much going on at home, but today should be better.

 

[pw_bodhi]

Great!! Good to know. I would be very happy to learn more from you I am still experimenting with the methods you provided above. How do i get the accompaniment going in the song mode?