Topic: Searching for Yamaha W5\W7\QS-300 preset voices

[Musicnik]

Hello everyone! I`m looking for the preset voices of Yamaha W5\W7\QS-300 keyboards/ As I know they`re in .vce format and might be read by modern keyboards. If someone could copy them, please give me the link

Thank you for advance,
Nick

[Joe H]

The .vce files are NOT the WAV files.  They are a MIDI file with setup info only. You would need the actual WAV files and have to install them with YEM as an expansion pack.

Joe H

[overover]

Hi Musicnik,

I don't think the W5/W7 models use the Voice Set format of Tyros/Genos/PSR-S/PSR-SX models. At least W5/W7 cannot save in .vce format (on floppy disk). According to the W5/W7 manual you can save all internal Voices (only the Voice Settings, of course) as an ".A1V" file. In such a file there are always ALL 128 Normal Voices plus 2 Drum Voices. (When reloading into the W5/W7 you can also load individual Voices if required.)

Quote from the W5/W7 manual, page 132:

VOICE (.A1V) - A W5/W7 Voice type data file
contains a complete bank of 128 internal normal
voices plus 2 internal drum voices. Voice data is
offloaded to floppy disk in a complete Internal voice
bank with elements, but can be loaded back into the
Internal voice bank either all voices at once (includ-
ing drum voices) or one voice into a specific Internal
voice number (excluding internal drum voices). If
the destination song memory location has a song
voice bank, you can load the Internal voice bank
into it, or you can load a single Internal voice into a
Song voice number.


The situation is similar with the QS300: All (User) Voices can be saved together as a ".Q3V" file on disk.

By the way, the term "VCE" appears occasionally in the W5/W7 manual. However, this is just an abbreviation for "Voice" and I don't think it has anything to do with the .vce Voice Set file format of our arranger keyboards.

Download W5/W7 manuals:
>>> https://uk.yamaha.com/en/support/manuals/index.html?l=en&c=music_production&k=w7

Download QS300 manuals:
>>> https://uk.yamaha.com/en/support/manuals/index.html?l=en&c=music_production&k=qs


Best regards,
Chris

[pjd]

Chris's explanation is quite thorough. Thanks, Chris.

The W5/W7 are ancestors of the current synthesizer product line. The synth products have their own voice/performance data representation which is not remotely compatible with so-called VCE files in the arranger product line. Please don't waste time on this wild-goose chase. 

The QS300 is an odd critter. It was designed when Yamaha still really cared about MIDI sequencing. The QS300 is cousin to the QY series of sequencer+tone generator modules. Unfortunately, Yamaha killed this product line dead -- it was perhaps the best hardware sequencer line ever made. Owning and using a QY-70, it has its own voice data format much like a SysEx memory dump.

The W5/W7 samples and sounds probably live on in some form today. Yamaha recycles like crazy.

Hope this extra info helps -- pj

[Musicnik]

Hi Musicnik,

I don't think the W5/W7 models use the Voice Set format of Tyros/Genos/PSR-S/PSR-SX models. At least W5/W7 cannot save in .vce format (on floppy disk). According to the W5/W7 manual you can save all internal Voices (only the Voice Settings, of course) as an ".A1V" file. In such a file there are always ALL 128 Normal Voices plus 2 Drum Voices. (When reloading into the W5/W7 you can also load individual Voices if required.)

Quote from the W5/W7 manual, page 132:

VOICE (.A1V) - A W5/W7 Voice type data file
contains a complete bank of 128 internal normal
voices plus 2 internal drum voices. Voice data is
offloaded to floppy disk in a complete Internal voice
bank with elements, but can be loaded back into the
Internal voice bank either all voices at once (includ-
ing drum voices) or one voice into a specific Internal
voice number (excluding internal drum voices). If
the destination song memory location has a song
voice bank, you can load the Internal voice bank
into it, or you can load a single Internal voice into a
Song voice number.


The situation is similar with the QS300: All (User) Voices can be saved together as a ".Q3V" file on disk.

By the way, the term "VCE" appears occasionally in the W5/W7 manual. However, this is just an abbreviation for "Voice" and I don't think it has anything to do with the .vce Voice Set file format of our arranger keyboards.

Download W5/W7 manuals:
>>> https://uk.yamaha.com/en/support/manuals/index.html?l=en&c=music_production&k=w7

Download QS300 manuals:
>>> https://uk.yamaha.com/en/support/manuals/index.html?l=en&c=music_production&k=qs


Best regards,
Chris

Thank you for your answer But can .a1v, etc. be converted to modern voice format?

[pjd]

Thank you for your answer But can .a1v, etc. be converted to modern voice format?

Sorry -- no.

Is there a specific W5/W7 voice that you need? Perhaps Yamaha has recycled the voice and its samples under a different name. Waveform memory was very small in those days: 8 MBytes. The waves probably got recycled.

-- pj