In Multi Mode; Background - Yamaha S90XS Manual

In MULTI mode:

The Tone Generator block can have a total of up
to 16 synth Parts, plus an A/D Input Part. The
DUAL INSERTION EFFECT can be activated on any
eight Parts from the internal XS (1-16) or the A/D
PART. Each Part will have an individual send to
the System effects. And finally, all signal goes
through the Master EFFECT, the Master EQ and
then on to the main stereo outputs.
We will mention this here because it is important
to understand that while both PERFORMANCES
and MULTIS deal with VOICES placed in PARTS,
the difference between a PERFORMANCE and a
MULTI is that a PERFORMANCE allows you to play
all four synth Voices simultaneously. You are
addressing them on a single MIDI communication
channel. A Multi gets its name because you are
placing the Voice in PARTS and each PART could
be on a different MIDI channel. You typically can
only transmit on one MIDI channel at a time, so
Multi mode is typically used with an external
sequencer or the internal playback sequencer.
You can see how a PERFORMANCE can be copied
to a MULTI – because all you would need to do is
address the four synth Voices on the same basic
MIDI channel to accomplish what you do in
PERFORMANCE mode. A Multi exists so that you
can place sounds on different MIDI channels, as
necessary to accomplish your goal. Conveniently
the PART SELECT buttons, [1]-[16] allow you to
transmit to a particular PART. So an alternate use
for MULTI mode is to place your favorite Voices in
the PARTS of a MULTI and then you can easily,
quickly and without sound interruption, select
between them.
For example, say on a gig, you need to play
strings on the introduction of the song and you
need to hold the last chord of the string intro,
switch to piano and begin the groove section with
a to fisted piano riff. Then later you need to switch
to a lead sound, then back to piano and finally to
strings again. You could place these sounds in a
MULTI and easily accomplish this by pressing the
PART SELECT button associated with where you
placed these Voices.
And with a little imagination you can see that this
can be used to call up complex splits and layers as
well – because
segregated to specific regions of the keyboard,
can be stacked on the same MIDI channel where
necessary. So your imagination is your limitation.
The reason you can switch between PARTS
without sonically interrupting the sound (i.e., the
strings sound in PART 1 can be held with your
fingers or with the sustain pedal while you switch
to the piano sound in PART 2) because you do not
have to change or interrupt the intimate routing of
the effect processing. It is because the XS effects
are so very powerful that you cannot switch from
VOICE to VOICE
interruption of sound. If all you have is external
(System Effects) it would be simple – as the
routing would therefore be simple.
This use of the MULTI is very powerful for those of
you on stage who need several sounds within one
song and are trying to figure out how to
accomplish this goal. We discuss it here in the
article on Effects because it is very much related
to the Effect processing capabilities.
Since 8 of the PARTS can recall their dual
Insertion Effects from Voice mode, you can
customize your sounds as you require. A little bit
of planning and programming should not scare
you off – you
programmable synthesizer and you are expected
to customize things to your liking. There are 128
MULTIS for you to program. The 32 MULTI
occupying locations 001-032 are provided so you
can learn from them. Please feel free to customize
them to your own use.

Background

The algorithms (a fancy word for 'recipe' or
specific arrangement) in the XS Effects are deep.
Please refer to the DATA LIST booklet to see the
4
PARTS of a Multi
in Voice mode
purchased an extremely
can be
without