Yamaha MOTIF XS6, MOTIF XS7, MOTIF XS8

Basic Structure

MOTIF XS Owner’s Manual 57

Basic StructureBasic Operation

Connections

Basic Section

normally (with the XA Control parameter settings “normal”

and “legato”).

Authentic note release sound

Conventional synthesizers are not good at realizing the

sound produced when the note of the acoustic instrument

is released. The MOTIF XS realizes the sound produced

when the note of the acoustic instrument is released, by

setting the XA Control parameter of a certain Element to

“key off sound.”

Subtle sound variations for each note played

Conventional synthesizers attempt to reproduce this by

randomly changing the pitch and/or ﬁlter. However, this

produces an electronic effect and is different from the real

sound changes on an acoustic instrument. The MOTIF XS

more accurately reproduces these subtle sound variations

by using the XA Control parameter settings, “wave cycle”

and “wave random.”

Switching among different sounds to

recreate the natural performance on an

acoustic instrument

Acoustic instruments have their own unique

characteristics—even speciﬁc, unique sounds that are

produced only at certain times in a performance. These

include the ﬂutter tonguing on a ﬂute or playing high

harmonics on an acoustic guitar. The MOTIF XS recreates

these by allowing you to switch between the sounds while

you play—using the ASSIGNABLE FUNCTION buttons and

the XA Control parameter settings, “AF 1 on,” “AF 2 on”

and “all AF off.”

New sounds and new styles of playing

The highly versatile functions above can be applied

effectively not only to acoustic sounds but also to

synthesizer and electronic Voices as well. The XA feature

opens up enormous potential for realizing authentic

sounds, performing expressively and coming up with

creative new styles of playing.

To create sounds such as those described above using

Expanded Articulation, refer to page 113.

Elements and Drum Keys are the smallest “building

blocks” in the MOTIF XS that comprise a Voice; in fact, only

one Element or one Drum Key could be used to create a

Voice. These small sound units can be built, enhanced and

processed by a variety of traditional synthesizer

parameters, such as Oscillator, Pitch Filter, Amplitude, and

LFO (shown below).

Oscillator

This unit outputs the wave which determines the basic

pitch. You can assign the waveform (or basic sound

material) to each Element of a Normal Voice or each Key of

a Drum Voice. In the case of a Normal Voice, you can set

the note range for the Element (the range of notes on the

keyboard over which the Element will sound) as well as the

velocity response (the range of note velocities within which

the Element will sound). In addition, the XA related

parameters can be set in this unit.

Oscillator related parameters can be set in the Oscillator

display (pages 112 and 129).

Pitch

This unit controls the pitch of the sound (wave) output from

the Oscillator. In the case of a Normal Voice, you can

detune separate Elements, apply Pitch Scaling and so on.

Also, by setting the PEG (Pitch Envelope Generator), you

can control how the pitch changes over time.

Pitch related parameters can be set in the Pitch display

(page 114) and Pitch EG display (page 115) of the Voice

Edit mode. Note that Pitch related parameters of a Drum

Voice can be set in the Oscillator display.

Filter

This unit modiﬁes the tone of the sound output from Pitch

by cutting the output of a speciﬁc frequency portion of the

sound. Also, by setting the FEG (Filter Envelope

Generator), you can control how the Cutoff Frequency of

the Filter changes over time.

Filter related parameters can be set in the Filter display

(pages 117 and 131), Filter EG display (page 119) and

Filter Scale display (page 121) of the Voice Edit mode.

Amplitude

This unit controls the output level (amplitude) of the sound

output from the Filter block. The signals are then sent at

this level to the Effect block. Also, by setting the AEG

(Amplitude Envelope Generator), you can control how the

volume changes over time.

Elements and Drum Keys

OSC

(Oscillator)

Waveform

(AWM2)

LFO

Low Frequency

Oscillator

PITCH

Controls the

pitch of the

sound.

Pitch EG

(Pitch

Envelope

Generator)

FILTER

Changes the

tonal quality of

the sound

output from the

PITCH unit.

Filter EG

(Filter

Envelope

Generator)

AMP

Controls the out-

put level (ampli-

tude) of the sound

output from the

FILTER unit. The

signals are then

sent at this level to

the Effect block.

Amplitude EG

(Amplitude

Envelope

Generator)