VED / VL Editor Version 1.08 Operating Manual(1) Introduction This VL Editor program (VED) was created as part of Yamaha's user service, and is provided at no cost. "Yamaha takes no responsibility, either legal or actual (including extended damages), for this software. Thus we ask that you take responsibility for making backups of the data files that you create." Also, Yamaha is not able to answer any questions regarding the use of this software, so please read this manual carefully before use. This program runs on the Macintosh(TM), but depending on the model, the version of the operating system, and the combination with other software, there may be cases in which it does not operate correctly. In particular, Apple Talk sometimes conflicts with MIDI-related processing, so we recommend that you turn it off before using this program. Please be aware that Yamaha is not able to answer any questions regarding such compatibility problems. This program edits and saves voices for the VL series synthesizers (VL1, VL1-m, VL7). This means that in order to use the program efficiently, you need to have a good understanding of how the voices of the VL series are organized. Please read this manual together with the manual of your VL series instrument.** Copyright ** Copyright of this manual and of this software belongs to Yamaha Inc. Copying, duplicating, or modifying any part of this manual or this software without the prior consent of Yamaha Inc. is forbidden. "Yamaha Inc. makes no claim, either explicit or implicit, regarding the quality or functionality of this software. Furthermore, Yamaha Inc. will not be in any way responsible for any damages, direct or indirect, that may result from the use of this software even when it is used in accordance with this manual."TRADEMARKS Macintosh(TM), MIDI Manager and PatchBay(TM) are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
OMS is a trademark of Opcode Systems, Inc.MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.(2) Connections This program runs on the Macintosh(TM), and transfers MIDI data via Apple MIDI Manager and Patchbay from the modem port or printer port. Connect both the MIDI IN and OUT of your VL series synthesizer to your MIDI interface, and connect the interface to the Macintosh(TM) via the modem port or printer port. If you are using OMS, you need to either stop using OMS, or make settings so that MIDI Manager is used from OMS. If neither MIDI Manager nor OMS is installed, the VL Editor program will perform MIDI data transfer on its own using the modem port.(3) Using VL Editor as a Voice Librarian1. Startup Double-click the VL Editor program icon, or double-click a file that was created by VL Editor. The VL Editor program will startup.2. Opening a file From the "File" pulldown menu, select "Open," select a file that was created by the program, and open it. The voice names of the file you opened will appear in a window. If you click on a voice name, the corresponding voice data will be transmitted to the edit buffer of the VL synthesizer, and you can listen to the voice.3. Copying voices Click to select a voice, and then select "Copy" from the "Edit" pulldown menu. The data for that voice will be placed in the paste buffer. Now click to select the voice number where you want to paste the data, and select "Paste" from the "Edit" pulldown menu. The voice data will be copied to the specified location. By dragging to select two or more voice names or by holding down the shift key as you click two or more voice names, you can select two or more voices at once. If you then select "Copy" from the "Edit" pulldown menu, the data for the selected voices will be placed in the paste buffer. Now you can select two or more destinations, either by dragging or by holding down the shift key as you click, and then select "Paste" from the "Edit" pulldown menu to copy the selected voices to the specified destinations.4. Creating a new file When you select "New" from the "File" pulldown menu, a 128-voice temporary file will be created. All of the voices in this temporary file are blank, and will not produce sound. You can copy existing voices into this file as explained in "3. Copying voices." In this way you can create a file that contains the voices you want.5. Saving a file Select "Save as" from the "File" pulldown menu. A window will appear, allowing you to specify the name with which the file will be saved. If you wish to save the file with its current name, select "Save" and the file will be overwritten over the existing file of the same name.6. Modifying the number of voices For the currently opened (currently active) file, you can freely set the number of voices (1--128) that the file will contain. Select "Voice number" from the "File" pulldown menu. Enter the desired number of voices in the popup window, and click OK. If your setting reduces the number of voices in the file, be aware that all the voice data beyond the specified number (i.e., beyond the last voice) will disappear.7. Loading voices from the VL synthesizer From the "Load/Send" pulldown menu, select "Load from synth." In the popup window, specify the range of voice numbers that you wish to load, and click Start to begin loading. A new temporary file will automatically be created to hold the voices loaded from the VL synthesizer. Unless you save this data as explained in "5. Saving a file," it will disappear when you exit the VL Editor program. Although it is possible to specify up to voice number 128 for loading, please be aware that the VL7 contains only 64 voices.8. Sending voice data to the VL synthesizer From the "Load/Send" pulldown menu, select "Send to synth." In the popup window, specify the range of voice numbers that you wish to send, and the first voice number of the desired destination in the memory of the VL synthesizer. At this time you can also specify whether or not VL series System data will be transmitted as well. If System is also transmitted, it will be sent first, and the voice data transmission will be processed according to the System settings. This means that you need to be aware of whether the Memory Protect setting (in the System data) is ON or OFF. (Even when the VL synthesizer's System settings set Memory Protect ON, if the System data being transmitted contains a setting of Memory Protect OFF, the voice data in the VL synthesizer's internal memory will be overwritten and lost. Conversely, even when the VL synthesizer's System settings set Memory Protect OFF, if the transmitted System data contains a setting of Memory Protect ON, the voice data transmission will result in an error.)9. Loading voice data into the VL synthesizer via floppy disk If your Macintosh(TM) is able to handle 3.5 inch MS-DOS format floppy disks, you can copy a file created by the VL Editor program onto a disk formatted by a VL synthesizer, and then read that file from the floppy disk drive of the VL synthesizer to load the voice data into the VL. In this case, do not copy Mac Info. Also, you must set the filename extension to "ALL" regardless of the number of voices. Please be aware that MS-DOS allows a filename to consist of up to 8 uppercase characters and the filename extension to consist of up to 3 uppercase characters. (Example: VLVOICE1.ALL)10. Reading data from a VL series floppy disk If your Macintosh(TM) is able to handle 3.5 inch MS-DOS format floppy disks, you can insert a VL synthesizer floppy disk into your Macintosh(TM), copy a VL voice data file onto your hard disk, and then load that file into the VL Editor program. In this case, the File Type must be TEXT. On the other hand, the fact that this is possible also means that the VL Editor program will also go ahead and open even a file that has nothing to do with the VL series, as long as the File Type is TEXT. However doing so may cause the program to malfunction, so please avoid opening unrelated files. The VL series synthesizers read and write several types of files; All, System, All Voice, 1 Bank, and 1 Voice. However the VL Editor program is not able to handle 1 Voice files or System files. We recommend that when saving from a VL synthesizer onto floppy disk, you save the file in All format. Also, if you load a file of other than All format into the VL Editor program, complete your editing operations in the VL Editor program, save the file, and then load that floppy disk directly into the VL synthesizer, remember that the VL Editor program creates files in All format, and that you must be sure to change the filename extension to ALL. (Refer to "9. Loading voice data into the VL synthesizer via floppy disk.")(4) Voice editing functions1. Opening an edit window Select the desired voice in the list window, and either double-click the voice name or click the "EDIT" switch to open an edit window for that voice.
2. Switching edit pages When you open an edit window, the Common/Miscellaneous page will be displayed. When you click "<Miscellaneous>" which is located in the upper left of the edit window, a pulldown menu for the other pages will appear, allowing you to select the desired page. For the meaning of each parameter, please refer to the operating manual for your VL synthesizer. A boldface ">" symbol at the right of a parameter value indicates a parameter that uses key scaling. When this symbol is clicked, a key scaling window will open. The VL Editor program allows you to open pages for two elements. However since the VL7 has only element 1, operations in the element 2 page will have no effect on the VL7 (they will be ignored).3. Storing after editing When you finish editing, click the box located in the upper left of the edit window. If changes have been made, a popup window will appear, asking whether you want to save the changes into the list window. Click OK, and the edited voice will be saved into the voice list. However if you exit the VL Editor program at this point, the voice list itself will be lost, so be sure to use the procedure of "(3) 5. Saving a file" to save the file.4. Quick store during editing If you use the procedure described above in section 3, the edit window will close each time you store. Here's how you can store without closing the edit window. From the "File" pulldown menu, select "Voice Update." A dialog will appear allowing you to select the voice number you wish to store. Specify the desired number and click OK, and the edited voice will be stored into the list. As in the procedure described above in section 3, if you exit the VL Editor program at this point, the voice list itself will be lost, so be sure to use the procedure of "(3) 5. Saving a file" to save the file.5. The temporary memory function When you press the MI switch (Memory In switch) located in the upper right of the edit window, the current status will be stored in temporary memory. Once the status is stored, the MR switch (Memory Recall switch) located beside the MI switch will become available. If you continue editing and later decide that you want to return to the settings at the time that you pressed Memory In, you can press this MR switch to recall those settings.6. Edit compare During editing, the voice in the front window is always transmitted to the VL synthesizer. By clicking in the list window to bring it to the front, you can cause the data of the voice selected in the list window to be transmitted. In this case, the original data will be transmitted even if editing is in progress, so by moving between the edit window and the list window you can compare the edited voice with the original voice.7. Copying parameter groups Edit windows can be opened for two or more voices. Parameters in the edit window are organized into groups. If you click the group name, the parameters in the group will be displayed in inverse video, indicating that they are selected. Select "Copy" from the "Edit" pulldown menu. The parameter values of the selected group will be placed in the paste buffer. Now open an edit window on a different voice, and select the same parameter group name so that it is displayed in inverse video. Select "Paste" from the "Edit" pulldown menu, and the parameter values from the previous voice will be pasted.8. Editing system data Located in the upper left of the list window is a switch marked "System" or "New Sys." When you click this switch, a system data edit window will appear. When this window is opened, the system data will be transmitted to the VL synthesizer. This means that if the transmitted system data includes a setting such as Device Number = Off, further editing from the VL Editor program will become impossible, so please be aware of such potential problems. If such a problem occurs, make system settings on the VL synthesizer to set Device Number = All or some other appropriate setting. The parameter structure of the system data differs between each VL model. The VL Editor is able to edit the system data for all models, but you need to check which parameters are valid for the model of VL synthesizer that you have. For the system data parameters "Greeting Message," "Micro Tuning 1," "Micro Tuning 2," and "Program Change Table," you can double-click inside the rectangular frame to open a special edit window.9. Microtuning The VL synthesizer itself allows you only to select from the preset microtuning tables. However by using the VL Editor you can edit the two internal microtuning tables that are part of the system data. Double-click inside the rectangular frame to open the microtuning edit window, and make the desired settings.(5) Explanation of the Preferences pulldown menu1. Parameter Mask This allows you to disable editing for parameters which are currently ignored as a result of other parameter settings. (Example: the Polyphony Controller setting when the Key Mode is set to Mono.) Since it can be confusing to be able to edit a parameter that is currently not having any effect, we recommend that you leave the Parameter Mask function on. The function is on when a check mark is displayed at the left of "Parameter Mask." The on/off setting will be toggled each time you select this menu item.2. Key Scale (Large -> Small) or (Small -> Large)Select the size of the key scaling window; large or small.3. K.S. Normalize For parameters that use key scaling, you can edit the base value to raise or lower the overall value without affecting the shape of the key scaling. The K.S. Normalize function automatically converts this base value, setting it to the central value of the key scaled width. This conversion takes place when the key scaling window is closed. Conversion will be done if this item is checked. Checking this item will not affect the sound.4. Key Scale B.P. (Fix -> Unfix) or (Unfix -> Fix) In the key scaling window, you can click the mouse to grab a break point and move it to the desired location. The Key Scale B.P. function allows you to restrict the range of movement at this time so that a break point cannot be moved past an adjacent breakpoint. With a setting of "Fix" movement is restricted, and with a setting of "Unfix" movement is unrestricted. Since an adjacent breakpoint that you previously set could be moved inadvertently if "Unfix" is selected, we recommend that you leave this function set to "Fix."5. MIDI When you select this item a popup window will appear. Inside the window you can specify whether the VL Editor program will operate using the MIDI settings of a file that it opens, or whether it will operate independently of the settings of the opened file. If "Prog. change with system" is checked, system data from the voice file will also be transmitted each time you switch between voices. This is convenient in cases when you have opened two or more list windows each containing different system data, and are selecting voices alternately from different windows. However in most cases there is no need for this item to be checked.(6) Keyboard/Switches window When you select the "Keyboard/Switches" item from the "Window" pulldown menu, a window containing a graphic of the keyboard and switches will appear. This window allows you to produce Key-on messages so that you can listen to the sound as you edit voices on a VL1-m. If you are using a VL1 or a VL7, you should use the keyboard and switches of the VL instead. In particular, the switch located at the right side of this window is only for the VL1-m, and should not be used with a VL1 or VL7 since this may cause malfunctions. The functions of these switches are valid only when the VL1-m is in edit mode, and the VL synthesizer will automatically be switched to edit mode when this window is opened. If at this point you operate the VL synthesizer to switch it to a different mode, the status of the VL Editor software will not match the status of the VL synthesizer, so please be aware of such potential problems. The Key-on messages etc. will be produced on the MIDI transmit channel specified by the setting discussed in "5. MIDI" of section "(5) Explanation of the Preferences pulldown menu." Please check to make sure that this setting matches the receive channel setting of the VL1-m. In particular, if you have made settings so that the VL Edit program uses the MIDI settings of the system data of the file it opens, and if you have opened two or more files whose system data contains different MIDI settings, the transmit channel will change each time the active window changes. If such a problem occurs, make settings as discussed in "5. MIDI" of section "(5) Explanation of the Preferences pulldown menu" so that the VL Editor program uses a specific transmit channel and device number regardless of the settings in the file.
