Introduction - Yamaha TX 816 Owner's Manual

INTRODUCTION
The Yamaha TX816
FM
Tone
Generator
System
basically consists of eight identical
TF1 modules,
mounted on
a
MIDI
rack frame. This rack frame supplies the
power
to
the TF1
s,
and
provides
COMMON
MIDI
IN/OUT
terminals
so
that
all
eight
modules may
be
controlled
by
a
single
MIDI
signal,
or they
may
be controlled independently.
The
TX216
contains
two
TFIs,
mounted
in
the
same MIDI
rack frame,
and you can
easily
install
further
TF1s
into the
TX21
6
whenever you
like,
with the
possibility of building
up
to exactly the
same
system astheTXSI
6.
The
instructions
for
adding
further
TF1s
to
your
TX216
are
given
in
the section
entitled
ADDING A
TF1
TO
YOUR
TX216.
The
tone generating
unit
incorporated
into
each TF1
module
is
equivalent to the
one
incorporated
into
the
Yamaha
DX7
Digital
Programmable
Algorithm Synthesizer,
which
has completely revolutionized the
world
of digital
music.
And,
just
like
the
DX7, each TF1
contains
a
memory
bank which can
store the data
of
32
different
1
6-note polyphonic
voices.
However,
these
compact modules
are actually
more
sophisticated
than
a
DX7,
because,
as well as
being
able to
store
the
145
parameters
relating to
each
voice, they
can
store
25
function parameters,
for effects
such
as
portamento,
glissando,
modulation wheel
setting,
and
so
on,
which
can be
individually set for
each
voice.
All
the voices
and
functions are available for editing
and
modifying, so
that
on
the
TX81
6
you can have 256
different
voices,
which
can be considered
as
32
sets (or
"combos")
of
8
voices. This aligns
particularly
well with the
Yamaha
QX1
Digital
Sequence
Recorder,
which can
store
32 banks
(or
"songs")
each
containing eight tracks of
music
data.
Yamaha's
FM
Digital
Synthesis technique enables
you
to
produce amazingly
lifelike
acoustic
sounds,
as well as
the
more
"conventional" synthesizer tones. For the
user,
it
requires a
completely
different
approach
to creating voices.
There
are
no
voltage controlled
oscillators,
amplifiers or
filters
(VCOs,
VCAs
or
VCFs).
An
entirely
unique tone
generating technique
is
used,
employing
six
sine-wave
"operators",
each with an envelope
generator, that
can
modify each
other
in
billions of
ways
to
produce
the complex,
moving
structures that are characteristic of
any acoustic
sound.
A
full
description of
FM
Digital
Synthesis
is
given
in
the
DX
series
systhesizer
owner's manuals.
All
the voices
in
the
TF1 modules
are controllable using
MIDI
signals
from
the
DX
series synthesizer,
the
KX
series
Remote
Keyboard, the
QX
series Digital
Sequence
Recorder,
or
the
Yamaha
CX5M
Music Computer. MIDI
in-
struments
made
by
other manufacturers
may
also
be used
to control the
TX816,
but editing voices
is
only possible
with
the
Yamaha DX7,DX5
or
DX1
synthesizers.
Through
the use
of state-of-the-art
microcomputer
circuitry,
the
wide
range
of
functions can be
controlled
by
just
three buttons
mounted
onl the front panel of each module. Each
of
these buttons
fulfills
a variety of functions,
and
together they
control
all
the sophisticated
circuitry
incorporated
into
the
TX816
and TX216,
with ease
and
efficiency.
A
superb
example
of
Yamaha's aim
to
make
state-of-the-art
digital
music technology
available to
all.
The TX816, and
all
Yamaha's
digital
instruments, are
MIDI
compatible,
and
may
be
joined together
in
a variety
of
configurations so
that
each
unit
may
either drive, or
be
driven by,
the
others.
Explained
in
detail
in
the
HOW
THE
MIDI
SYSTEM
WORKS
chapter,
MIDI
(which
stands
for
Musical Instrument
Digital Interface)
is
basically a
universal
language
that has
been
created
in
order to allow
digital
music
instruments
to
control
and
drive
each
other.
As
the
name
suggests,
digital
music instruments convert
all
musical information
into
numbers,
which
are easily
handled by computer
circuits,
and
easily
transmitted from
one
device
to
another. Using extremely simple connections,
highly
powerful
digital
music systems
may
be
easily
assembled.
There
are four basic
modes
of
operation-
-
Play,
Edit,
Store
and
Utility.
These
are
selected by pressing the
selector
button
on
the
front
panel
of
each module.
This button
is
also
used
to select the sub-
modes,
of
which
there
are
14.
The
LED
Display
on
the
front of
each
module shows you
at a
glance
which
mode
or
sub-mode
the
TX816
is
using. We'll describe
them
briefly here,
and
in
more
detail
in
subsequent
chapters.
But
first,
here's a brief description
of
what goes on
inside a
TF1 module: