EDIT: I asked Roger to move this topic to the Genos Board since we now know Genos has an arpeggiator. Thank you Roger
I thought I'd move this topic over to Other Features rather than the Genos board because the S770 and S970 arrangers already offer an arpeggiator and real-time control. Though these functions are far more limited in their implementation than they COULD have been. It's a beginning and a sign that Yamaha is listening to its customers.
I fully expect that Genos has at least one arpeggiator, but could very well have inherited the dynamic 4-arpeggio technology from the Motif line, which has evolved and advanced over the years.
Many arranger players have little or no experience using arpeggiators so it might be worthwhile opening this discussion with some basic information on what arpeggiators are... and how they can be used.
I'm sure that some people have the impression that arpeggiators are for Electronic Dance Music (EDM) only. But this is not the case at all. In fact our arranger styles and Multi Pads are recorded arpeggios. With the Motif line of workstations, Yamaha incorporated 4 LIVE arppegios which offer far greater dynamics and variation in a performance than stagnant pre-recorded arps can... which are used to create our styles and Multi Pads.
Here is a brief overview of Yamaha's evolving development of the arpeggio from it's early "broken chord" form to a very sophisticated Pattern Generator form that no longer resembles the original definition of arpeggio. The following is a summary from the Motif Rack XS Owner's Manual.
I've also attached a PDF version of this summary for download.
Arp Categories
Acoustic Piano & Keyboard
Organ
Guitar / Plucked
Guitar for Mega Voice
Bass
Bass for Mega Voice
Strings
Brass
Reed / Pipe
Lead Synth Lead
Synth Pad / Musical Effect
Chromatic Percussion
Drum / Percussion
Synth Sequence
Chord Sequence
Hybrid Sequence
Controller
Mega Voices and Mega Voice Arpeggios
Normal Voices use velocity switching to make the sound quality
and/or level of a Voice change according to how strongly or softly
you play the keyboard. This makes these Voices respond
naturally.
However Mega Voices have a very complex structure
with many different layers, and are not suitable for playing
manually. Mega Voices were developed specifically to be played
by Mega Voice arpeggios to produce incredibly realistic results.
You should always use Mega Voices with Mega Voice Arpeggios
(included in GtMG and BaMG category).
Sub Categories
Rock Z.Pad Zone Velocity for Pad*
R&B Filter
Electronic Expression
Jazz Pan
World Modulation
General Pitch Bend
Combination Assign 1/2
Zone Velocity*
Arpeggio types belonging to the Sub Categories marked with an asterisk
(*) contain some velocity ranges, to each of which a different phrase is
assigned. When a type of these categories is selected, it is a good idea to
set the Velocity Limit of each Element to the same range as below.
Velocity ranges of each Arpeggio type
2Z_*****: 1 90, 91 127
4Z_*****: 1 70, 71 90, 91 110, 111 127
8Z_*****: 1 16, 17 32, 33 48, 49 64, 65 80, 81 96, 97 108, 109
127
PadL_*****: 1 1, 2 2, 3 127
PadH_*****: 1 112, 113 120, 121 127
Arpeggio type ES
These Arpeggios created for use of Normal Voices will be
played back matching the played notes
Arpeggio type XS
These Arpeggios created for Normal Voices use a newly
developed chord recognition technology to determine what
notes should be played back by the Arpeggio.
Arpeggio type with a normal name (example: UpOct1)
In addition to the above types, there are three other playback
types:
1. Arpeggios created for use of Normal Voices and
played back using only the played notes and their octave notes
2. Arpeggios created for use of Drum Voices
3. Arpeggios containing mainly non-note events.
It is my hope this information will both inform and stimulate some useful discussion on the value of adding arpeggiators and real-time control features to all future mid-range and top-of-the-line arranger keyboards.
Joe H
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