Smooth OTS transition on the PSR S950

Hi friends,

I have a S950 keyboard and am very pleased with it. But one thing I am not able to figure out is : How to smoothen the voice changes[OTS linked voices] when switching from one variation to another? For voices with longer decays the switch to another voice makes the transition sound either way too loud or abrupt.
Is there a setting where you can smoothen the voice change without it sounding abrupt ? I know that arranger playing requires the timing to be spot on in order to ensure the continuity feel of the song & make it sound harmonious.

Appreciate any help from PSR S950 owners out here.

is your OTS sound set to the same volume on all variations within the style? or another way to do it is to setup separate registrations for each variation of the song for seamless changing by pedal, or finger.

It's actually the change in effects that is causing the glitch. If you release the note briefly before the change, it will eliminate it. No other workaround that I know of.

Alternating what voice is in Right 1 is agood workaround for OTS or registrations.

For Example...

OTS 1 : R1 Jazz Trumpet... Right 1 Part light on...other Right parts off.

OTS 2 : R2 Orch Flute... Right 2 part light on...other Right parts off.

OTS 3 : R1 JazzSax ...Right one part light on...other Right parts off.

OTS 4 R2 Live!Strings Right 2 part light on...other Right parts off.

You can change between OTS 1 and OTS 2 with no glitch, even though they are sustaining type sounds.

Same between OTS3 and OTS4....same goes for OTS 1 and OTS 4 or vice versa.

So, you can probably see the setup pattern...as long as the voice you are playing is not in the same voice part as the one you want to go to, it works pretty smoothly.

For layered voices there is also the option of using a combination of R1, R2 and R3 in the proper configuration.

Not what I call an elegant solution, and far from perfect either, but it works.

I use it especially when recording in Quick Record.

You can temporarily change OTS if you don't want to have to store the style...just press NO when it asks if you want to save each OTS change...it will be lost if a new style is selected, however. Bummer.

Hopefully Yamaha will get it right on the next bunch...the other companies, Roland and Korg, have had it for some time now.

Strange, because the smooth voice switching was on my older Yamaha arrangers, the PSR-2700, for example. For some reason, they dropped it.

As DonM said above, it's mainly the switching of many simultaneous and different effects that causes the glitch, and it can still hiccup occasionally (depending on the number and kind of effects in use), even on Roland and Korg gear.

Ian

Yes, it's pretty much a universal problem with all the brands.

Thank you Don, Donny and Ian for your inputs.

Ian, your solution is a very clever one It never really crossed my mind. Thanks.

This is one area where the arranger manufacturers can improve. I remember Rich Formidoni mentioning smooth patch transition in one of the Kronos videos. Hope to see a similar feature, albeit complex, in the arrangers too.

Thanks Jez...just to add, since you have three Right Voice slots, and only four OTS slots, you can usually manage to set things up pretty good.

Still, it would've been nice to have that feature already, but, I figure no sense me cryin' over it, as that won't solve anything, and I really love the Tyros4 for everything else it does so well, so I'll be happy with the workaround.

Certainly, I suspect a solution might involve some sort of extra cost these companies want to avoid, unless they get enough complaints.

Well, you and I are at least two complainants...it's a start, I suppose...ha ha!

Ian

Nowadays, it's mostly the Insert Effects...

If you can either do away with them, or use the same one for all sounds, sounds morph quite nicely. But if one is say an amp simulator and another is a chorus, you always get a bit of a hiccup as you change.

Ian's system works pretty well, too, if your machine can do it.

On the whole, Roland has the best seamless Tone change, but even these can get a slight hiccup if the insert effects (MFX) aren't planned out carefully.