Hi John
I base all my performance arranger needs through styles and renaming custom styles to suit the particular song. Below is an except from the method I use with my Tyros 5 instead of using one registration bank per song.

Re: Do people use one entire registration bank for a single song ?

As most arranger players would use a registration bank per song, I take a totally different approach that works better for me. There is probably not one Tyros 5 voice, style, OTS or multipad that I haven't modified and customized beyond the default settings. I rather organize and play from a song list or modified styles and style names, while having access to two Voice registration banks.

My original concept of using two Voice Registration Banks was, I can select up or down, on-the-fly, between my favorite standard voice bank to a customized Ensemble voice bank. This has presently grown to four voice banks with each alternate registration bank being an Ensemble voice set ... or rather the identical duplicated Ensemble Voice Bank. The concept was using Registration Bank 1 for my best customized voices assigned to the LH,RH1-2-3 positions for each of the eight memory buttons. The RH-3 voice is always assigned to my MIDI Bass Pedals. While in my Ensemble Voice Bank, RH-3 also corresponds as the fourth Ensemble Voice which can be played as a fifth Ensemble voice by my MIDI Bass Pedals.

The idea is, I use registration button one of my first Voice Registration Bank to initialize all my settings and activate the freeze function. Now when I select and play from any of my custom styles, I am free to select any Voice preset from my four registration sound banks. Each registration up or down takes me in or out of my Ensemble Voice Bank while playing my Song Style. The other two Voice Registration Banks are setup mainly as frozen LH piano voice (with freeze button on) or a suitable frozen LH organ voice. I went from 2 main registration banks to 4 as I made more use of Organ World into my Styles and Songs.

Each of my songs is a customized style, modified and named to suit. Organized in folders, that are easily accessed, categorized and memorized to the eleven Style File Access buttons. Synced MIDI songs to certain styles/songs are in folders memorized to the four Song buttons. Way easier to instantly access all my song folders within 11 memorized Style buttons and 4 Song buttons visually in front of you on the Tyros panel then having to hunt through hundreds of registration bank saves through a single "J" button.

A customized style has customized voices locked into each of the four OTS slots with all Mixing Console parameters baked in. Each OTS slot can have a customized Multipad bank baked into that memory save. This is amazing power and versatility. Each of my Song Styles, easily accessed and selected through any of the 11 Style button memory saves can have customized OTS voices, so (LH, RH1, RH2, RH4) X 4, for a total of 16 customized voices selection automatically to the Style Main parts or manually through the OTS buttons.

Most people don't realize, but each OTS save can have a different Multipad linked and memorized to it. Also while one Multipad playing from a Multipad Bank linked to one OTS save, you can enter another OTS with a different assigned Multipad Bank and activate yet another multipad from the new OTS selection while the original Multipad is still playing. This overlap can enhance the transition from one category of OTS voices/Multipads to yet a totally different Voice/Multipad category assigned to a single custom song style. Even while I have access to all these customized preset OTS Voices/Multipads to my playing Song Style, I can easily jump into any of my 4 Registration Voice Banks. Yamaha allows us to save Ensemble Voices into OTS saves and I can both jump in and out of Ensemble or Organ World saves while the style is playing.

So for one customized Song Style save, I have of course manual access to the 4 Main Style variations/fills, 16 customized Voices through the linked OTS saves, 16 saved customized Multipad patterns or effects, and 32 customized voices per activated Registration Voice Bank X the four banks I can cycle through on the fly. This gives me more power and selection then relying on one Registration Bank per song. Easier for me to remember where voices are because I memorized my four default Registration Voice Bank through constant use. All the style voices are baked into the OTS. Sometimes I press the OTS INFO button in menu 1, to refresh my memory to what the OTS Voice names are before starting the Song Style. It would be nice to also see the four Multipad names as well, but I pretty much remember through practicing the songs.

About a third of my style songs are synched with a customized MIDI Song file through the Sync/Start function and a few also linked to an Audio Multipad. Again, easily accessed through folder saves to the 4 Song memory buttons or 11 style buttons. Only Yamaha arrangers (or specifically the Tyros 5) allows me this work flow, function, versatility, power, and amazing realistic voices/DSPs. With the upcoming Genos, if I upgrade I hope all my custom work is compatible or I'll be "ANGRY WITH YAMAHA". I can of course just stick with my Tyros 5 if the Genos doesn't suit my future needs.

Not sure if any of this is useful, but my system works well for me. When I update my gigging Tyros 5 via USB stick, I copy and overwrite the 11 Style Folders, 4 Song Folders, and my Custom Multipad folder on the HD, which is easily and simple while all the original File Access button saves remain intact. One folder and memory button link contains custom gigging Song sets by either copying custom Song Styles to that folder or renaming them in the order I will play them in a gig. Of course all this setup can be done through registration saves, but this system works out better for me.

Marcus