Yamaha S90 ES Quick Start Manual

What you need to know about the S90 ES and the new Piano feature innovations:
Half Damper
function that lets you finely control the decay of the sound—and expressively recreate
the complex characteristics of acoustic instruments, especially piano and stringed instruments.
When the Half Damper switch is turned ON, you can use the Half Damper function with an optional Foot
Controller FC3 connected to the FOOT SWITCH SUSTAIN jack. The Half Damper function requires the
optional FC3 pedal (sold separately). The FC3 sends sustain data values 0 through 127 for cc064, which
is different from the FC4 or FC5. The FC4/5 are simply sending "On" or "Off" (0 or 127) values. But more
than just the FC3 is required for a keyboard to respond to the half damper. In other words, plugging an
FC3 into a keyboard does not necessarily give you half-damper response – the keyboard must be capable
of the feature. Mo6/8, Motif and Motif ES, for example, do not have this functionality and cannot use the
FC3 pedal at all for any sustain type function. P-series pianos (P60, P70, P90, P120, P140, P250) and PF-
series pianos (PF500, PF1000) have this function.
When the Half Damper function is set to ON (only FC3)
By connecting an optional FC3 foot controller to the back panel SUSTAIN FOOT PEDAL jack, you can use
the Half Damper feature. The Half Damper feature reproduces the fine control of an acoustic piano's
damper pedal to control the sustain over time: pressing the pedal fully down makes the sound last
longer, while letting up on the pedal part of the way slightly mutes the sustained sound. Effective use of
the Half Damper feature lets you play piano sounds more expressively and realistically.
When the Half Damper function is set to OFF (regular sustain)
By pressing the footswitch (sustain) on/off, you can control whether the sound is cut off or continues
playing, even when the keys are released. Keep in mind that some sounds may not be suitable for use in
all situations with the Sustain footswitch. For example, for organ sounds that have no natural decay, the
sound continues at the same level when holding down the Sustain footswitch.
sounds benefit from the use of Sustain, such as piano, which has a natural decay when a note is held.
This is all dependent on the AEG (Amplitude Envelope Generator) for the Voice's Elements. If the
envelope is programmed to return to 0 level it will eventually decay completely even with a sustain pedal.
You can switch the Half Damper function ON or OFF in the following parameters:
• Press [UTILITY]
• Press [F4] CTL ASN
• Press [SF3] FT SW
• Select "SusPedal" =
Settings: FC3 (Half On), FC3 (Half Off), FC4/5
If you are using an FC4 or FC5 sustain pedal set this parameter to "FC4/5." You cannot use the half
damper function with the FC4 or FC5.
y S90 ES
Half Damper Function and Damper Resonance Effect
FC3 (Half On)
1
On the other hand, many