Voice Guide Files

[Henry Millbrook]

When is a wav file not a wav file?
I downloaded the Voice Guide. It might be fun if I could get it to work. I discovered that all the phrases are files in WAV format, according to my computer. So, instead of using the Voice Guide, one could use the files as Audio Links, assign them to MPADs and press the the button for use in as an announcement. Just like Viv Stanshall and Alan Rickman did in Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells.

The Genos doesn't recognise it's own preferred file format! What's going on? Yamaha should rename their description of this flagship keyboard as a "Won't-workstation"!

Audacity, QuickTime and iTunes recognise the files, but an old Tyros didn't. I'm completely baffled.

[EileenL]

The voice guide is an aid to partially sighted people and will tell them what section they are in and what they are selecting on the screen. It works from a USB stick and you need voice guide turned on.
  It is not meant for any other use. Don't blame the keyboard read the instructions.

[Toril S]

Henry😀 I wonder if you can test the voice guide feature for me and find out how well it works? I do not have a Genos, and the reason is that I am visually impaired and feared that the touch screen interface would be difficult to navigate with minimal eyesight. To be usable, the voice guide has to read all the things you set your finger on. On all pages, in all menues!

[EileenL]

Hello Toril,
  I have just tried it for you and it tells you everything you are touching including the buttons Menu pages ect. To me it is very good.

[DerekA]

Not all .wav files are the same - they have different internal sample rates.

Genos does not work with all .wav files.

The manual will tell you what .wav format Genos likes. You could then run the wav files you have through a conversion utility to change the format. There's probably one online. Then they could be used in audio multipads as you suggest.

[Toril S]

Thank you so much Eileen! That is very, very good news!!!

[JohnS (Ugawoga)]

A wave file is not a wave file when it is a Mp3 or Flac , AAC , M4a, Ogg  UGGGG!!!

[Toril S]

 

[tyrosaurus]

Hi Henry,

The individual voice guide audio files are indeed 16 bit .wav files, sampled at the correct Yamaha rate of 44.1 kHz, but they are Mono!

Yamaha keyboards will only play Stereo .wav files in the audio player or as audio link multi pads.

You can convert the files to stereo if you like as long as you don't change the other parameters, and they can then be played by the audio player or linked to a multi pad.  Of course this will double the size of each file.

To check this I used Audacity to make a stereo track of two copies of one of the guide files on different mono tracks after importing them into the program.  The resulting stereo version plays correctly in the audio player and as a multi pad.


Regards

Ian

[Toril S]

Where did you download the voice guide files? I will load them to a USB flash memory and try them on the Genos in our store. If they are good, as Eileen states, then I might consider upgrading to Genos soon, or wait for Genos 2. In Genos 2 Yamaha should consider incorporating the files in the Genos, so they are always there, and also adding a separate socket for earphones so the user can hear the voice guide, but not the audience, or else it may get embarrasing on gigs!

[tyrosaurus]

Hi Toril,

It's probably a good idea to first download the Voice Guide Tutorial from the following link...

https://uk.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/2/1202622/genos_voice_guide_en_tu_a0_text.zip

This file is a text file so it should play on your text reader - there are some notes about using a text reader with it early on in the file.

The above file contains the URL for the actual Voice Guide audio files, but it is not an active hyperlink so I have added it below.

Note that the file is around 507 MB even as a zip archive, which extracts to 677 MB, so unless you have a fast broadband connection, it could take a while!

https://data.yamaha.com/keyboards/arranger_workstations/genos_en_voice_guide_wav.zip


I actually purchased a Genos a couple of weeks ago.  As I feared, I'm not overly impressed with it so far, and some of that is due to the difficulty of actually seeing the non illuminated black buttons, knobs and sliders against the black case (black on black - very sensible  ).  I  have cataracts forming in my eyes, but they are at an early stage.  I was using my Tyros4 in exactly the same location at exactly the same light levels and had no problems seeing all the panel controls, but I will need to use brighter light levels to use Genos!  I am getting used to where to find the panel buttons but it would be so much easier if the panel was a more sensible colour!  So maybe I will need to use the Voice Guide myself at some point.

Maybe the much anticipated firmware update will sweeten the Genos pill a little, but one thing is for sure - it won't change the colour of the thing! 


Regards

Ian

[Toril S]

Thank you so much Ian. The ideal thing with low vision is to have buttons. It is easy to learn the position of all the buttons and hit them without seeing them. It sounds difficult, but is indeed possible. But on a touch screen it is not so easy to hit spot on. You must also tap twice, when you use voice guide, once to hear what you are touching and then again to comfirm. It is a little more challenging, but absolutely possible.

[Henry Millbrook]

My reference manual, version 1.3,  doesn't say the Audio Link file must be STEREO it says:
"You can create a new Multi Pad by making the links with audio files (WAV format: 44.1 kHz sample rate, 16 bit resolution) in the User drive and USB flash drive"
Anyhow thank you  Ian Tyrosaurus with much useful advice.  I've started to make the MPADs announce various voices in a tune; and why not start with a version of The Bell? I'll tell you why not: the lady who spoke the voice names is fine until she got to "manno-lin". She's dropped her glottis down into the depths whilst I'm hunting for this new-fangled instrument. Perhaps Yamaha could use a Bostonian in the next version of Voice Guide? So Toril S, if you are not a West Coast American, you might find it difficult to understand what the Guide voice actually says.

[tyrosaurus]

Hi Henry,

If you have a microphone you can easily record your own 'phrases' on the built in audio recorder to use with audio link multi pads.  These will automatically be in the correct Yamaha format for the song player or multi pad audio link player.

Alternatively you could use a program such as Audacity on your computer and record them using the computer's built-in mic.

I don't think that you actually want to use the Voice File function, but using Audacity, you could even record them at 16 bit, 44.1 kHz in mono, which would allow you to substitute them for the equivalent original phrase in the actual Voice Guide.  Then if you turn on the Voice Guide function, when you press a button for which you have substituted a phrase, you will hear your own dulcet tones announce the action!

There should be an Excel spreadsheet included in the zip download for the Voice Guide wave files which tells you exactly which file links to each individual button/screen object.


Regards

Ian