I was pondering how to make fills smoother, and it dawned on me that SOME of the parts in a Variation don't REALLY need to change, sometimes, during a fill, while others do.

Now, you can write these into the Fills by replacing the Part, but then you don't have as much variation when you DO want it. What's a boy to do?

Then it occurred to me... How about a Part Fill Lock button, so that pre-designated Parts keep playing the Variation, while those not 'tagged' go to the Fill? A front panel button or pedal choice to engage this, and now you have doubled the 'variation' in your fills!

What do you think?

So, you're effectly playing the Var. and the Fill at the same time? Too complex just to get some variation on your fills. Let's talk about a way the get some versitility without merging variations on the fly.

OK... let's talk.

How would you suggest we get more variety in fills and variations..?

Personally (and I've posted this a few times), I think that, if you want the smoothest fills, each possible variation to each possible variation, in a four variation arranger you need 16 fills (including Fill-to-Self). Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? But it has one HUGE advantage for the style maker (who you would think would hate the idea of having to make 16!)...

The hardest thing about making fills is trying to make something that works for a variety of destinations. Make it too complex, to fit in a Var. 4-3 scenario, and it works poorly from 4-2 or 4-1. Likewise, a fill from 1-2 doesn't work well going 1-4 or 1-3. But if there is an individual fill for each and every destination, the style composer has a MUCH simpler task. He knows exactly how the fill starts ('cause he knows where it's coming from) and he only has ONE destination, so he can make it transition perfectly.

Another thing I'd like to see is a Break/Fill per Variation. You STILL only hit the one button, but it makes a Break/Fill appropriate to the level of complexity you are currently in.

Both of these things are transparent to the user (no change from how they work now) but offer more variation in the fills than currently implemented...

How think you?

BTW, that 'Part Lock', though complex, wouldn't necessarily be JUST for fills. It could add variety to Variations, as well, by allowing a transition to the destination variation, but SOME parts could optionally remain the same...

In fact, didn't some arrangers in the past have a 'Part Lock', or am I just confusing it with another feature?

T Y R O S 3

That's one of the things that have kept me away from the Pa2x (although I do own one). The other thing is that when I hit a variation I can't cue it to start at the first measure of the variation... My custom styles are on Yamaha are built to specific songs and I need them cued up properly. Is there a way to cue now with the new system?

Chony great website
http://simchatunes.com/Site/Home.html