Db50Xg Overview And Features - Yamaha DB50XG Owner's Manual

DB50XG Overview and Features

The DB50XG has 32-note polyphony and is 16-Part
multitimbral, which means it can play up to 16 different
instrument Parts (one Part per each of the 16 MIDI chan-
nels), each Part having its own Voice. Up to 16 different
Voices can be sounded simultaneously.
The DB50XG features both XG and TG300B performance
modes. Normally the DB50XG plays in XG mode. How-
ever, since it automatically recognizes which mode to se-
lect based on incoming MIDI data, you can easily change
the mode by MIDI System Exclusive messages that you
program in sequencer data, at the head of your composi-
tion.
Please note the following:
• Starting up your computer will automatically initialize
all DB50XG settings, or parameter values.
• Since the DB50XG requires about half a second to
change modes when it receives a mode change mes-
sage, be sure to insert at least one blank measure at the
top in order to allow enough time for the mode to change
before your actual music data begins.
XG Mode
In XG mode the DB50XG will play XG-compatible
multitimbral data, as well as multitimbral data created for
the GM System Level 1 format.
In XG mode the DB50XG can:
• Play up to 16 Parts.
• Choose from 480 Normal Voices and 11 Drum Voices.
TG300B Mode
In TG300B mode the DB50XG will play multitimbral
music data created for TG300B-compatible tone genera-
tors. TG300B mode also provides compatibility with the
GM System Level 1 format.
In TG300B mode the DB50XG can:
• Play up to 16 Parts.
• Choose from 579 Normal Voices and 10 Drum Voices.
Voices and Elements
A DB50XG Voice can be made up of one or two elements
(i.e., sounds), depending on the complexity of the Voice.
Many Voices are made up of only one element. Two-ele-
ment Voices are made up of two one-element Voices, and
may be configured in a variety of ways.
The number of elements in use determines the maximum
number of simultaneous notes (polyphony) which the
DB50XG can play at any given time, depending on the
amount of incoming MIDI Note data. For details about the
number of elements used in each Voice, see the XG Nor-
mal Voice List on page 32.
4
Normal Voices and Drum Voices
The DB50XG has two types of Voices—Normal Voices
and Drum Voices. (In this Owner's Manual, in general the
word Voice refers to a Normal Voice.)
The distinction between a Normal Voice and a Drum Voice
is as follows:
• A Normal Voice is simply a pitched Voice which can be
played on a musical scale from low to high, such as a
piano or trumpet. The DB50XG has 676 Normal Voices.
• A Drum Voice is a complete set of drum and other per-
cussion sounds, each sound having a fixed pitch. Each
sound is assigned to a specific MIDI Note number
(which also corresponds to a key on a MIDI keyboard).
The DB50XG has 21 Drum Voices.
Maximum Polyphony
The DB50XG can play a maximum of 32 notes polyphony
at once. However, the actual number of notes that will play
at any given time is determined by the number of elements
in use across the 16 Parts.
For example, if you use only one-element Voices, you can
achieve the full 32 notes maximum polyphony. If you use
one or more two-element Voices, however, maximum po-
lyphony will be reduced accordingly.
The DB50XG is a last-note-priority tone generator, which
means that if it receives more than 32 notes of MIDI Note
data at any time, earlier (first) notes will automatically cut
off to accommodate the most recent (last) incoming notes.
Part Priority
Each of the DB50XG's 16 Parts corresponds to each of the
16 MIDI channels (1 – 16). If incoming Note data exceeds
the maximum polyphony, the DB50XG will prioritize
which Parts are played first, in the following order, from
higher priority to lower:
• Channel 10 (Drum Part), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11,
12, 13, 14,15, 16.
Therefore, if you are creating your own music data using
sequencer software, you should assign your most impor-
tant Parts (such as melody and bass) to higher priority MIDI
channels (i.e., lower MIDI channel numbers) in order to
preserve the integrity of your composition. Note that with
the GM System Level 1, the Drum Part is always assigned
to MIDI channel 10.