Number of Voices

The XV-88 is able to play up to 128 notes simultaneously. The following paragraphs discuss what this means, and what will happen when more than 128 simultaneous voices are requested from the XV-88.

Calculating the Number of Voices Being Used

The XV-88 is able to play up to 128 notes simultaneously. The polyphony, or the number of voices (sounds) does not refer only to the number of sounds actually being played, but changes according to the number of tones used in the Patches, and the number of Waves used in the tones. The following method is used to calculate the number of sounds used for one Patch being played.

(Number of Sounds Being Played) x (Number of Tones Used by Patches Being Played) x (Number of Waves Used in the Tones)

For example, with a Patch combining four tones, each of which uses two Waves, the actual number of sounds being played comes to 16. If you are using the XV-88 in Performance mode to play an ensemble, count the total number of Tones used by all the Parts using the following formula.

How a Patch Sounds

When the XV-88 is requested to play more than 128 voices simultaneously, currently sounding notes will be turned off to make room for newly requested notes. The note with the lowest priority will be turned off first. The order of priority is determined by the Voice Priority setting.

Voice Priority can be set either to LAST or LOUDEST. When LAST is selected, a newly requested note that exceeds the 128 voice limit will cause the first-played of the currently sounding notes to be turned off. When LOUDEST is selected, the quietest of the currently sounding notes will be turned off. Normally, you will set Voice Priority to LAST.

Note Priority in Performance Mode

Since Performance mode is usually used to play an ensemble consisting of several Patches, it is important to decide which Parts take priority. Priority is specified by the Voice Reserve settings. When a note within a Patch needs to be turned off to make room for a new note, the Voice Priority setting of the Patch will apply.

Chapter 1. Overview of the XV-88

Voice Reserve

The XV-88 has a Voice Reserve function that lets you reserve a minimum number of notes that will always be available for each Part. For example if Voice Reserve is set to 10 for Part 16, Part 16 will always have 10 notes of sound- producing capacity available to it even if a total of more than 128 notes (total for all Parts) are being requested. When you make Voice Reserve settings, you need to take into account the number of notes you want to play on each Part as well as the number of Tones used by the selected Patch. (p. 53)

It is not possible to make Voice Reserve settings that would cause the total of all Parts to be greater than 64 voices.

Chapter 1

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Roland XV-88 owner manual Calculating the Number of Voices Being Used, How a Patch Sounds, Overview Voice Reserve