XG works was a staple program for me when I had the PSR740. The XG editor allowed me to edit voices to great detail, and the 740 itself has virtually no edit capabilities from within. It also allows me to edit the sounds of my AN150 and VL150 Motif plug ins, but storing these voices within the Motif is a hassle. The PSR2k allows for more editing power than the 740 did, and although it doesn't allow the detail available in Xg edit, it is often enough that I can modify it's voices to my liking.

Lack of support for the 2k and the voice storage problems has led me away from the program to an extent. I use Sonar so much more because of the dxi / midi effects plug in capabilties along with the abiltiy to add user instrument files. It's unfortunate too, because in some aspects, although the XG works sequencer is not as advanced as the on in Sonar, it's interface is in some ways more user friendly and easy to access.

I really enjoy my Yamaha boards ( Motif and PSR2k ), but this is another case for me of Yamaha just doing whatever it wants to and not considering the needs of it's customers. I have similar issues though with my PA80 too though, so this isn;t just a Yamaha thing for me. Korg gave us many new user styles ( free ) and some decent software to convert styles, etc, but the one major thing lacking is a software voice editor that can unleash the editing power of the board in an interface ( ie. computer screen ) that is easy to work with. Scrolling through all of the screens when editing a voice on the PA80 is maddening at times. I've tried using external generic patch edit applications such as Midi ox .. etc, but really it seems to be more trouble than it's worth. Software that is dedicated to the board itself would be a lot more helpful. It sems to me that in a lot of cases as soon as a board is released, these companies are so busy working on the next greatest and latest that they tend to almost ignore the product they just put out, leaving the users to their own devices.

By the way James, I remember reading somewhere ( maybe it was here even in an old thread ), that someone had devised or was working on a way to add user patches to XG works. If I could only remember who and where or better yet figure it out myself...

AJ