do you just basically accept what the manufacturer has given you with out stripping down EACH style and make it YOUR own sound?...

Ohhhhh. good question Donny! I'll throw in...., how many do "detailed" editing of their sounds (beyond simple adjustment such as touch response, and DSP)? How many get in there and make more detailed use of the ADSR, filters, and LFO settings?

Let me be the sacrificial lamb, lol...

The only tweaks I've done to my T1 & T2 were the global EQ suggestions made way back when.

As far as editing styles and beyond...nothing...not my bag, I'm not overly inclined that way and there aren't many tunes I've ever tried to perform but couldn't find a nice pre-made style either on the board itself or on the web...



------------------
Bill in Dayton

I spend a lot of time customizing styles so that I will have my own stamp on the music I play.

Having said that...when I do an official Yamaha demo/clinic I always use the on-board factory styles, and like Bill, I have yet to find a tune that I can't find a great style for.

As far as programming/editing sounds...when your arranger already has terrific sounds, then there is no need...my T3/S900 are fine as is, no complaints...pianos, guitars, saxes, strings etc. are all excellent.

I have my old Jupiter 8 back again...that gives me lots to play with as far as programming cool sounds.

Ian



[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 11-11-2008).]

Letting the manufacturer dictate "YOUR SOUND" is not my idea of being an arranger KB player. And this is why many sound well how can I put it "Canned" Putting your own tag on styles as Ian states in his post is spot on...Squeak is on the money also....I have never heard a arranger kb sound ready for the stage that came "Out of the Box"....
I personally take EVERY SINGLE STYLE & SMF and completely strip it down and rebuild it up to my standards Part By Part...with every editable feature I can find if necessary. This is why when I hear people say this sounds bad or that sounds weird....I know they haven't taken the time to DIG into te OS and make it sound the way you want....or maybe some people don't know how or are too lazy & dont care? Or may they think it sounds good until someone says something? Playing an arranger KB goes way beyond just turning it on and hitting a few sounds & styles which many do you are in command of a whole band & need to know how to orchestrate every single part as if the band was next to you on stage.
does it take time YES......is it fun....YES....is it worth it YES.....will they do it?... that's up to the individual who wants to sound great not just "Out of the Box" On top of this you need the play well also....& please SAVE everything you edit 3x or you'll be a very unhappy camper if you lose it all...All these KBs have the ability to tweak some better then others but in some way its in there...Go For It

All you are doing is editing the part that someone else played, though, Donny... before you get ALL worked up about it.

Take a commercial SMF or style, and then part by part replace out completely the original with your own playing, and THEN you can lay claim to it being your OWN work...

OK, leave in the drums if you have to! Personally, I don't have good drummer chops, so if I edit a commercial file, I often don't do much more than add in a bunch of ghost notes and flams, etc., although the dynamics I jack around with a LOT...

Most commercial SMF's, styles and web-found stuff was all programmed before keyboards started having multi-velocity drum sounds. Tweaking those until the hit the cross points correctly is a lot of work, but worth it, IMO...

Sure, OK, spending ANY time editing SMF's and styles is perhaps more than a lot of people here do, but there is still a whole lot further you can take them, if you want to REALLY call them yours...

When you edit SMFs, do you change patches too so that they aare keyboard specific as opposed to GM or XG? My thought is that would be the best use of editing for me besides essentials like volumes and pans.

If so, you obviously have to keep a master SMF file available so that you can start all over with the next new arranger, right?

How much TIME do you spend editing styles & sounds on your arranger? As much as necessary.

Lets get realistic here. Most performers use 10 to 15 onboard styles at best, and some performers, particularly those that use lots of SMF files and MP3s, use even less. The vast majority don't know how to tune styles and SMF files, and for the most part, they don't care to crack an instruction manual to find out.

Most days I use a mix of onboard styles and third-party styles, all of which range from good to excellent. The manufacturer doesn't dictate which style to use, or how it sounds--YOU DO! You have all the controls at your fingertips--it's just a matter of learning how to use them to YOUR advantage. If the styles and midi files sound good to both you and your audiences, that's all that matters. If they don't sound good to you or your audiences, open the instruction manual and learn how to use the keyboard's onboard programs and features.

Gary

Hi Donny,
I spend lots of time messing round with styles, for me it's just a hobby.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dnj:
[B]

Diki...I've done this many times recording my own parts into styles & smf when needed for a certain song it is very effective to get just the right sound you desire. The main thing is to mix & match and DIG In to your sound IMO.