Groovyband does its best to convert a Yamaha style into a native style. This automatic conversion, lacking the judgment and expertise that only an human can have, although acceptable, is not perfect. If you want to approach perfection, or anyway improve the computer result, you have to edit the style yourself.
Depending on your skills and the effort you want to spend in the task, you can certainly obtain remarkable results that easily surpass the same style played on an Yamaha arranger. In the following sections we may refer to Yamaha styles and voices as "XG": this is a Yamaha proprietary standard similar to GM (General Midi) or GS (Roland General Standard) which is the base upon which all Yamaha arrangers and styles are developed.
The need for human editing arises from two reasons:
- There is not always a perfect match between voices and DSP effects. The volume/dynamic of XG voices (including drumkits) do not always match their MODX counterparts.
- XG styles are more simplified and less versatile than Groovyband's. So, if you want to match Groovyband's factory styles, you have to add the missing content yourself (for example additional OTSes and Variations).
In the sections below we give you some advices to edit the styles and fill the gaps the easy way. Since there is always room for improvements and since development is an inherently iterative task, you start applying some of the advices we give, then you iterate, and finally you stop when you decide that enough is enough. After all not all the styles you might want to use should have/need 8 variations or 8x2 OTSes, or have every single parameter of every single DSP edited to exhaustion.
You have also to consider that even the most advanced/costly HW arranger Yamaha sells for big bucks, has only styles with 4 variations, 4 OTSes, very few DSPs, and that's it!
Groovyband Live! has been designed to allow an easy editing in a way that is unthinkable on HW synths/arrangers, which usually have tiny screens and poorly designed/old/legacy firmwares.
Sometimes, people used with HW devices do not even think that there is a better way to perform many things. It is therefore higly recommended to become proficient in the software before attempting the editing of a massive number of styles.
You are encouraged to read the manual, maybe many times, test what you read so that it becomes second nature, and excercise, excercise, excercise. There are no shortcuts. Only then you will be enlighted and as productive as possible.
Voices
Groovyband Live! knows the documented voices built-in all Yamaha arrangers (~2000) and hence can display both the midi bank/program change and the name of those voices. Additionally it has conversion tables for more than 1000 voices (the most used, that cover > 95% of practical cases you are likely to encounter).
If you load a Yamaha style that targets the stock Yamaha voices (as it is the case with preset styles and most third party styles) you have a good chance that everything is perfectly converted to the most similar voice available in our MODX soundset. We have developed our soundset with this compatibility in mind, and among the many other improvements over stock voices, we have also included drumkits and megavoices specifically tuned for playing Yamaha styles in the most realistic way.
Having the most similar voice assigned by default is only a first step to get you started. Our MODX soundset has many more voices, and of better quality, than the typical Yamaha arranger the style was written for. You therefore have many choices to swap the predefined converted voices with something different that might better suit you.
If the XG voice has no predefined conversion, you can use its name (and its midi bank/pc), to easily look for a replacement by hand. This is enormously helpful since you immediately know from the name if you should be looking for a suitable synth lead, a string section, a guitar, a sax, ...., or an electric piano.
If the style you are converting references a non standard voice, such as those contained in expansion packs, then you are presented only its midi bank/pc. You can therefore reference the expansion pack documentation to see what kind of voice is that, or you can just guess and try some suitable substitution. The mixer's track the voice belongs to might also be of help, infact by convention they are used as follows:
DR: main drumkit.
PC: auxiliary drumkit/percussions.
BS: bass.
CH1/CH2: chordal parts, usually guitars, pianos, strings.
PAD: pad type (sustaining) sounds, strings.
PH1/PH2: melodic phrases, brass, woodwinds, saxes, synth leads.
![XG to MODX voice conversion.]()
By right clicking (long pressing) the ACMP VOICES you toggle between the two views (left/right). On the left (normal view) are shown the native MODX voices (with their bank/pc and type). On the right (alternative view, useful for editing) the native MODX voices are still shown, but below in a smaller typeface you can see the original XG voice for which the pattern has been encoded ("XG Pat").
Since the pattern might depend on the chord, to see the XG voice you might need to start the sequencer and key-in a chord. The XG voice might also be different for different sections. The original XG voice is a property of the pattern (sequenced data), and hence each time the pattern changes (different section, possibly different chord) the XG voice might change as well (although this is the exception rather than the norm).
Looking at the original XG voice is useful when manually finding a suitable MODX substitute: if the pattern was encoded for a guitar, then it probably would not work well if used for a trumpet! This information is always available, also when the style has been converted to the native format. So, even after months, you can revise your editing and change voices while still having a reference to the original XG voice.
- This is a voice that has been successfully automatically converted: PremiumPad (XG) → Light Pad (MODX).
- This is a voice that has been identified but NOT automatically converted: WireLeadMillennial (XG) → ??? (MODX). As long as it is in the undefined state (???) this part will NOT sound. You have to choose yourself a suitable voice.
Since the original XG voice was a Lead, then you could start searching in this category. Just select more or less randomly lead voices until you find something that sounds good and blends well with the style. Then you can refine your choice (voice/dsp editing).
This voice has NOT been identified: we only know its bank/program change (104:33:38). Of course no automatic substitution has been attempted. If you have some documentation about the style (maybe a voice list of the expansion pack the style belongs to) you could retrieve the name of the voice and manually find a substitute.
If you know nothing, you might notice that the voice is in the BS part, and hence it is probably a bass voice. If the style is a ballad you might try in the electric bass category. If it is a dance style maybe a synth bass would be a better match.
Anyway there are no hard rules: everything that sounds good (even if radically different from the original) is good.
Fine tuning drumkits
Drumkits are often the most critical part to get it right, especially if the original style uses an exotic drumkit. They are the most prominent part of most styles, and having them sound they way they deserve is crucial. With Groovyband you are well covered.
If the automatic conversion is unsatisfactory, start substituting the kit with another that might have a more correct mapping of drum pieces and/or a more similar dynamic (correspondence between midi velocity and loudness). Then you have to pay attention to the dynamics of the drums/cymbals. Are they too weak or too strong? You can adjust them separately by applying a midi compression/expansion (check the voice editor). Often a bit of EQ is also of much help.
Lastly there is the atomic bomb that only the pros know and use: Multiband compressor as insert Dsp. This touch will often give the punch, presence, and sparkling character you were looking for. Correctly setting a compressor is an art of its own, which is beyond the scope of this manual, but you can get started by checking the provided presets.
When checking/editing voice substitutions you have to keep in mind the concept of voice customisation. Yamaha styles too might have programmed different voices for some parts in some style sections. These are converted into customised voices/dsps.
Check every style section for possible customisations (green background) to review. Besides Mains, Intros and Endings, you also have to look at Fill-ins and Breaks!!
DSPs
Dsps are a key component for shaping and enriching the sound. Groovyband unlocks the tremendous power available in your MODX/Montage, giving you possibilities simply not available anywhere else in the HW realm, and never heard in HW arrangers, at any price point.
On the other hand, existing Yamaha styles have been developed when Dsps where a rarity/luxury and simply use them only sparingly. To add insult to injury, this is true even today with the latest HW arrangers, that although being a little better than their predecessors, do not even use the few improvements brought to the table (the bulk of the styles they ship with are still the old ones).
So if you want to radically improve the sound and bring it to a complete new level you have to add the missing Dsps by yourself!!
Fortunately with Groovyband this is extremely easy and painless: as simple as clicking one button. Let us see how.
Most of the sounds we provide have been programmed with suitable inserts dsps. When Groovyband loads a sound (either by hand, or automatically when converting a Yamaha style) it also loads its preprogrammed Dsps. To be faithfull with the original style they are not enabled though (if the original style did not use any)! You just have to switch on the insert Dsp button for the part you want to be effected, and you are done. Sure, you can replace and edit the effects at will, but you have with no effort a solid base to start with.
Just keep in mind that with the MODX you can apply effects to a maximum of 4 ACMP parts (no limits on LEAD/AUX voices). The Montage has no limits across the board.
4 (double) inserts are plenty for most uses. Since you still have EQ on all parts for free, 2 system effects with sends on all parts, + a global effect and EQ, you often struggle to find a valid reason to add them all!
Usually the first obvious target for inserts effect are electric guitars, which greatly improve with them.
Please be sure to have understood the concept of voice/dsp customisation and how they interact.
Most of the time if you customise a voice you also want to customise its insert dsp. If you forget to do so, you might end up with the unintended behaviour of loading a customised voice and having its dsps applied globally to all the style sections. Do your homework and master how this machinery works.
Do not forget to check the system effects and the sends to them. As a bare minimum you would want to adjust the reverb time (just this single parameter!), it does make a noticeable difference for the general feeling of your style.
Adding content
If you applied all the advices we gave you so far, you already have a style that sounds better than it did on the original HW. You should be proud of your result: your "MODX/Montage arranger" is second to none. But if you want to take firmly the lead and leave all the others far behind, stay with us!
Groovyband's styles have up to 8 Main sections, to give you a great variety/choice to arrange any song. Yamaha styles have only 4 Mains. The task here is to forge the missing 4 variations, the easy way and yet obtain high level results. As you will see, this is surprisingly easy and will not require any programming/composing skills, but just some musical good taste and will to experiment.
Adding MAIN variations
The idea is to reuse the given musical material (sequenced patterns) and compose it in a different way. Usually for each part you have 4 different patterns (one for each of the 4 main variations), you just have to remix them in a different way.
You take a drum pattern from Main2, add a bass pattern from Main4, a guitar riff from Main1, maybe mute the pad track, ..... You have got the idea. You have forged a new variation that did not exist before, and that can sound as little or as much different as you wish.
To further spice up and differentiate things among variations you can play with voice and dsp customisation, as well as any other mixer parameter customisation. Often you will be surprised to see how much different a style could sound! And you are not limited to add 4 more variations, you can also edit the 4 original ones and further improve them.
Of course while editing the whole style, to easily source material and keep things logically organized, you can copy and reorder the Main sections, as well as use buffers to store voices.
Adding OTSes
The final step to build a perfect style is to add the missing OTSes.
Yamaha styles have only 4 OTSes, each one having 2 or 3 voices (depending on the original arranger they came from). Groovyband has 8 OTSes, with 4 voices and 2 variations each. There is a lot of material to add if you want to!
Sometimes you would like to copy an existing OTS from the same or other styles, maybe to slightly modify it. There are temporary memory locations for material to keep around and easily source from: you can save whole styles, whole OTSes, as well as single voices (memory slots).
Do not forget the harmony function. This feature works both for single standalone voices and for whole OTSes where each voice is thought as a piece of a bigger puzzle. This is another dimension to explore to further enrich your style.
We have covered a lot of ground and as you have seen the editing possibilities are extensive, although always simple enough to be affordable for everyone with basic musical good taste. You certainly can reshape most styles much further their original scope, to be richer, more verstaile and better sounding than ever.
Bringing a barebone Yamaha style to a full featured Groovyband Live! style level might take a lot of time (practice will reduce this). How much time you want to invest and hence how much improvement you want to obtain is up to you. The capabilities are there, but results never come for free (this applies in every aspect of life).
