Yamaha MOXF8 How to Set Up to 4 Voices in different Regions on the Keyboard

This is an important Yamaha MOXF8 Keyboard "How To" video showing how to, essentially, split your keyboard into 4 regions, assigning each region its own voice, octave, and even key. This is done creating an Initialized Performance that you can save and name which will allow you to have 4 different voices, each assigned a highest and lowest note, and its own octave.

[@carlstockmal]

This is clear and easy to follow. And you tell us what you're doing - a miracle of modern KZbin teaching, vocal instructions! God has blessed us with you and your talents. Thanks, Cathy.

[@stompitt]

You are great at explaining how it works. I´m learning a lot from you, thanks

[@hamid0207]

the only one video that shows how to change the octave for the perform mode..big thanks

[@austinmoore4432]

Church bass player is out this morning, so this helped me beef up the bottom end. Thank you!

[@tracyferguson3982]

Cathy! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I've been trying to figure this out FOREVER! Especially the way to set the octaves. In fact I contacted you about this and you sent me some literature on it but THIS is a HOME RUN! Keep up the good work!

[@cathyt6773]

You inspired me to learn it . . . plus . . . I needed to get up to speed for an upcoming gig I have which will require this function.

[@Knight2Bee]

Thank you for your video's. I had my MOXF for two year's and never got this deep into it. Now I have get deeper and really learn it. I enjoyed them.

[@apollopeter]

Thank you for sharing this. I find your tutorials very helpful

[@trevorsmith8950]

Yamaha owes you money

[@DanioPaskal]

Thanks! This is really helpful as I was looking how to limit the sounds by region

[@evastone6561]

You Rock Cathy T. Very nicely done. Thank you for hours of my life.

[@chazsinger]

Thank you so much Cathy! I perform for a living and have sold Yamaha synths and keyboards for a living. This one really needs a better manual! Great job!

[@EyeGotSoul]

Great Vid. Well explained and easy to follow. Thank you

[@TheTrinirocker]

This was very helpful, thank you.

[@josiahsylstra8827]

Thank you so much for this!!!

[@thebenjamins1314]

Thank you! Concise and precise

[@nowproductions5219]

Awesome, thanks Cathy

[@myronn369]

Thank you Cathy, this was another great video.

[@cathyt6773]

Glad you liked it. If you can think of a better name for it, let me know. . . a name that is more "searchable."

[@goluiajohnson5565]

Thank you girl! You're a life saver!❤

[@TheWicoguitars]

Thank you for this. Very helpfull! Very nice videos

[@_musicminded]

Thank you so much for this video!!!

[@The_Light_Bearer]

Thank you Kathy your videos help me very much

[@cathyt6773]

Happy to help!

[@saulcabral7534]

You are The best.!!

[@IVANLEEespinosa]

Thank you so much!!!!

[@theleftymonster]

Thank you. 🙏

[@ttcexpress]

THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!

[@normanmaynor5705]

Thank you Cathy your videos truly outstanding and very helpful, the funny thing is I’m the guitar player in the band but the keyboard player thinks I’m better at understanding setting up his keys lol or he found a way to let me do it so he won’t need to worry about it, Thank you and have a great safe week, oh by the way all the songs I’ve written and recorded are here on KZbin norms musicshop Thank you, norm

[@cathyt6773]

I took a listen to some of your songs. Sound great!!!

[@normanmaynor5705]

Thank you, I really love writing and recording my songs one day soon I hope I will get the band to record some of my songs but till then I’ll lay all the tracks myself, norm

[@Terzi490]

Thanks

[@scottg7628]

Hi Cathy, thank you so much for your videos! They are so helpful. I am looking into buying a MOXF6 and your videos are really helping me figure out if it will be able to do everything I am hoping it can do. I have a question regarding this 4 voice performance mode split...When choosing which voices to put into each part, can a previously custom made voice be placed into one of the 4 parts? If so, once a 4 voice "performance" is saved, can that saved performance then be placed into one of the "favorites" buttons in the master mode? Thanks for the videos!

[@cathyt6773]

Any voice you create and name and assign a number (i.e. USR 1:13) should be available to you to use as one of the 4 parts. Once you have saved a "New Performance" (be sure to give it a name) you should be able to access it and save it in Master Mode. Please watch my video about using Master Mode, if you haven't already. To pull up a voice, you might need to use the "Bank Select" buttons (Dec - decrease and Inc - Increase) and the "Data" wheel to find exactly where the voice is.

[@lorensisley9090]

Cathy i love your videos. very complete and easy to understand. I am still learning my moxf8. I have a question: how do you transition from performance to performance without a sound break? I play in my worship band and set up a performance on (ex-a5) at the end of the song, any then press the next performance (ex-a6) but it sounds bad because the sound break. I've had to use the volume control to draw down, change the performance, then draw volume up. there is places in songs that change dramatically. it would be great to move to the next part of the performance without a break. You probably have produced a video, but I didn't know how to search for that query. thank you

[@cathyt6773]

There is going to be a break when you shift from performance to performance. However, if you are just switching from voice to voice, you can avoid the break by setting up your voices on the 16 tracks in Song mode. Watch my video "How to switch voices quickly in live performance." You can smoothly switch between voices in song mode by using the sustaining pedal or holding your fingers down as you push the button for the next voice. If you are in Master Mode, however, there will be a break when you move from voice to voice or from performance to performance. Sorry. No way around it, as far as I can tell - - unless you are in Song mode.

[@ptortland]

Thanks for the great tutorial! I followed your instructions and everything worked great. But I can't figure out how to go back and edit the different voices, including changing the High/Low limits and octaves.

[@cathyt6773]

Okay, I just played around with this. So let's say you have done everything I showed in the video - - named it and hit save. Now if you want to edit it, you hit Performance and get to it with its new name (dial up the Usr number where you saved it). Now hit job then hit Edit and then hit the #1 key on the RH side of your keyboard (in the "part select" area). It should open up the window with the four parts showing and now you can edit the voice or the "limit". See if that works.

[@ptortland]

Thanks! I'll give it a try. The keyboard is at church, so I won't have a chance to check it until rehearsal Thursday night.@@cathyt6773

[@dunapeta6806]

Thank you so much..Hi does any one know how to turn off the split sustain pedal? I need the to play only on my piano voice but not on m bass, thanks..mox6

[@cathyt6773]

Are you playing a layered voice? I tried layering piano and bass and using the sustaining pedal and, you are right. The bass line also sustains. The bass I was using (Dark Bass) sounded fine in spite of the pedal. Perhaps you can choose a different bass that is more articulated and less muddy? Some work better than others with the sustaining pedal on. Keep researching this. OR . . . you could pre-record the bass line in song or pattern mode and then play along live with it. The sustaining pedal won't interfere with the pre-recorded bass line because you will be playing on a different track and the pedal will only command the track you are one. I'm not sure exactly what you are trying to do but hope this helps a little. Sorry I don't know more.

[@kandacecleland5068]

Thanks for your help with this keyboard. My question on splits is how do you change volume level on the various voices. I see where to do it while you setting regions, but when I do, some of the notes cut out. Thanks much.

[@cathyt6773]

You should be able to just hit F2 (output) and then use your data wheel to adjust the volume of the different voices.

[@kandacecleland5068]

@@cathyt6773 Thank you so much! We appreciate your help.

[@normanmaynor5705]

Thank you after you have gone thru all the parts and named it and saved it can you go back and edit or change a part sound with out loosing all the other parts and the edited name Example part 2 is a organ now I want to edit it and make it a different organ sound can I edit just that part then re-save it Or will I have to start all over from the beginning Thank you norm

[@cathyt6773]

Sorry to take so long to respond, Norman! I just played around with this. So after you have set up your four voices the first time, you hit "Store" and assign your "Initialized Performance" to a USR bank. You can then hit "Edit" then hit "Common" and give it a name. You should then be able to bring up that specific performance (with your 4 voice regions) when you push the numbered buttons to the right of the keyboard. IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE ONE OF THE VOICES, go to the main Performance screen and hit "EDIT" (make sure the "Common" button is NOT lit up). You will see the four regions and you can reassign the voice (BANK) by going to Bank and then Category Search and choosing the new instrument. When you are done, hit "Store" again. The name of the performance should still be there and you will have just changed the one voice. You don't have to start all over from the beginning.

[@paulathorne6493]

Hi Cathy, great videos. Recently purchased a moxf6. First time in 20 years so I'm a bit rusty on the setting up. Can't find what I need in the manual, just watched your video on setting up four voices as a performance which was just what I needed. When saving a performance I'm worried that it will take the place of a preset one. eg. it asks me to save to 'bronchial wobbling' will this delete that preset in preference to the new one? if not how do I find the new and original.

[@cathyt6773]

Please watch my video How to Use Master Mode. The Performances that are already given places in the User Banks are just place holders. I found this information: All the USER Voice slots are conceptually blank, in that they are all copies of voices that are elsewhere in the PRESET banks, so you can over-write those without worrying about losing anything. That's not true of PERFORMANCES, though (which are, basically, combinations of Voices, sometimes with arpeggiations). If you find a particular Performance combination of theirs useful, you should avoid over-writing it. Paul, you should check this link out to learn more. www.yamahasynth.com/ask-a-question/how-to-avoid-overwriting-performances If you worry that you have lost some performances that you wanted, you can always do a Factory Reset and restore your keyboard to how it was when you took it out of the box. Do this by hitting "Voice" - "Utility" - "Job" - Enter. Of course you will lose everything you have personally stored on the keyboard.

[@paulathorne6493]

Thanks Cathy, keep up the good work.

[@wildnites558]

Great! Now my next question is --- can you set a particular octave of each patch/voice in each of the regions? Or is the lowest voice for example, always confined to only low bass notes? Thanks for any input.

[@cathyt6773]

I think if you watch the whole video, you will find the answer to your question and how to do it. The answer is YES! Keep watching.

[@indrayanidixit1706]

Hi Cathy, I have Yamaha synth - MOXF8 and I recently bought it. I am trying to figure out how to set rythm on the background ? E.g slow rock . Truly appreciate your response.

[@cathyt6773]

Not sure exactly what you want to do but try this: 1. Hit "voice." 2. Then hit "Drum Assign" (upper RH side of the keyboard - white buttons) 3. You should see "Drum/Percussion" and the "Category Search" button will be flashing. Hit Category Search again and it will open up many drum loops. Touch a key and they will start. Keep scrolling through them and listening for what you want. (maybe Synth Pop Kit??? or Oak Custom Kit????). 4. When you find one you like, hit "Enter." (Remember you can change the tempo later by hitting "F5" -arp edit). You now see that you have created a "NEW PERFORMANCE." 5. You can play along with it. If you want something other than piano, like an electric piano, hit F2 (voice) and go up to Pre:1: and dial through the voices to the one you want. 6. If the drums are too loud, hit the "tone" and "EQ" buttons at the same time. All of the tone and effect lights should be lit, and if you look at the screen, you will see that the four knobs on top now control the volume for the first four voices. On my keyboard the drums were the 4th voice, so I use the 4th black knob to dial down the drums. Watch all of my videos. They cover some of this stuff! Hope this helps.

[@alyciamcclurg4219]

Cathy, How do I change a voice in an Initialized Performance once I've stored and saved it? I don't like the organ I used and want to change it. I pulled up the Performance, hit f2, and used the wheel to select the voice. I'm pushing all the buttons but can't find one that will take me to where I can change the voice.

[@cathyt6773]

Pull up your Initialized Performance, hit F2 (voice) and then use your arrow keys to select the voice you want to change. Then hit Category Search and choose the voice you want. Hit Enter and it should appear as the new voice. Hit Store when you are all finished to save the performance.

[@georggrech5924]

Hello Cathy! I've been thinking of getting the MOXF6 as a first workstation. However I need to know, is this keyboard any good for replicating 80s synth with the default voices? Bands like OMD and ELO's Time Album specifically

[@cathyt6773]

I think you should find a Guitar Center or some music store near you that sells the MOXF6 and listen to and check out the voices. I have the MOXF8 and many of the voices are "vintage." For instance, in the keyboard category are many vintage voices, including some entitled: "Early 70's," "1983 MW+AS1," "80's Boosted," etc. I can't really answer your question other than to recommend you find an MOXF6 and listen to the voices.

[@buckneva]

Hi Cathy. I was hoping to assign a handclap to the top note of the board, part 4. The only hand clap I can locate is on F# of a percussion patch called Illhiphop. It seems I am unable to load any drum sounds to a part, much less reassign the note. I am hoping I am wrong and just missing something. Your thoughts would be most appreciated.

[@cathyt6773]

I will have to look into how to do this. In the meantime, maybe you can make some sense from this forum discussion: www.yamahasynth.com/ask-a-question/assign-a-key-to-a-percussion-sound. Let me know if you figure it out!

[@buckneva]

@@cathyt6773 it's a good start, thanks, I'll keep you posted.

[@buckneva]

I placed a handclap in part 1 on D#0, voice PDR A01, note shift +12, then started part 02 on E0. Not exactly what I wanted, but quite usable.

[@mysticman07]

at 7:52 which button did you press to get to the voices?

[@cathyt6773]

Hit F2 below where it says "Voice" on the screen. If you don't see that on the screen, hit the "performance" button to get back to the main "Performance" screen and then hit F2.

[@agnesr.4664]

Okay, I have a problem. What do I do wrong?! So, I have already prepped a sound, base and key and two pad sounds, my split is base and three other sounds at a certain note. What if I just want to move the split point? For some reasons I can not get into the display where I can work on the voices... Maybe even switch a few sounds and maybe even set more than one split point. I tried numerous times and failed each time. Also, I do not want to rewrite by initializing the performance all the time. It is so frustrating! Can anyone help out here? Thanks sooo so much!

[@agnesr.4664]

To be clearer, I have trouble to change the Limit-L and Limit-H - for that F1 and SF1 need both to show 'voices'. It doesn't at least when I try, it always shows 'General' and 'Name'. 😢

[@cathyt6773]

@@agnesr.4664 I'm not exactly sure if this will help, but try the following: If you pull up your Performance and then hit F2 (Voice) then using the data wheel, select the voice you want to edit. Then hit F5 (Arp Edit). Then hit F4 (Limit) you should be able to edit it. Let me know if this helps.

[@agnesr.4664]

@@cathyt6773 Thaaaank you sooo so much for your quick and helpful reply. It helped so much! Thank you!

[@alyciamcclurg4219]

I've stored an initialized performance but made my low limit on one if the voices too high. How do I edit this? I went to the Perfomance, then to Voice, then highlighted the voice I need to edit. I see Limit L under S4, but nothing happens when I push that button. Do I have to start all over?

[@cathyt6773]

So, if you pull up your Performance and then hit F2 (Voice) then using the data wheel, select the voice you want to edit. Then hit F5 (Arp Edit). Then hit F4 (Limit) you should be able to edit it. Let me know if this helps.

[@alyciamcclurg4219]

@@cathyt6773 It does!! Thank you so much for your help and your videos. I've had my keyboard for years and have never been able to follow the instructions on other videos. Your instructions are so helpful.

[@cathyt6773]

@@alyciamcclurg4219 Glad they help.

[@suzannebarnhart1823]

Thank you for sharing. I am trying to learn how to use the different options to sound more professional with our worship team. Playing just one part is not very exciting.

[@cathyt6773]

You are so welcome!

[@mysticman07]

where is the Initialize button?

[@cathyt6773]

Can you explain what it is you are trying to do and maybe I can help . . . If you are in "voice" and "job" the Initialize button is F1 . .

[@lorensisley9090]

Cathy,)=performance

[@Mr.Cockney]

Thanks a lot again, Miss Cathy. The manual sucks.