How far can you make a MODX work like an arranger?

[pjd]

There's no mystery behind this. Montage and MODX have eight Scenes. Each Scene has a button. A single Scene can playback multiple musical phrases ("arpeggios" in Montage terminology) where each phrase is assigned to an instrument voice. If you stack enough phrases within a Scene, you can get a fairly sophisticated arrangement. The phrases (arpeggios) follow left-hand chords, too.

What you don't get is AUTO FILL. Please watch the player's left hand in the video. He manually switches fill patterns in and out by pressing the appropriate scene buttons.

The Montage/MODX in-built phrase library is partly based on deconstructed Tyros and PSR styles. The library also contains phrases from old Yamaha drum boxes, synthesizers, etc. as well as recent creations. Don't bother to look for foxtrot -- you won't it. The library is decidedly tilted toward contemporary styles, being especially strong in EDM, hip-hop, downtempo, chill, etc.

I've built Scene-based Performance like this on MODX. It takes a lot of button pushing although it's not rocket science.

All the best -- pj

[J P Morgan]

The modx has every part of every song waiting to be found..HVe spent a couple of years digging, and can promise you it goes way beyond what I wanted to find.the arps morph in to arrangements when used with motion control and sequencing.You have to use a second midi controller keyboard to complete the performances.Be prepared to really dig in to the settings.Look at the way inserts are set logically.But I can assure you it has it all.you just need to dig to find it 😊

[mikf]

The strength of the MODX is in the quality of its voices, and ability to manipulate these to make exciting 'new' sounds. Even the best arrangers fall short of this. But I seriously doubt that the improvement over top end arranger voices is significant in live playing when they are not the lead but part of the accompaniment style. And it is really easy to midi the two machines to get the best of both worlds in live playing using the MODX lead and the arranger styles. That hardly takes any effort at all, just the funds to buy both.
I emphasize 'live playing', because for highest quality recording the full arrangement can - and probably should - be made using multi tracking from a MODX. You don't need styles, you play the parts.  And this is the approach you would take to get a top quality studio recording. No one would ever use a style for a top end recording.
I respect that some people get a lot of fun from finding new ways to use the synths and arrangers, but for the majority of us the beauty of the arranger is not that its perfect, but that it allows us to play songs at a decent level almost instantly.
Mike

[groovyband.live]

Back to the original question (at least from what I understand as original question - "If ModX can serve as standalone arranger")

Definitely yes. And possibly even better than a traditional HW arranger. With almost the same "play it immediately out of the box with no fuss" factor.
We have developed a program to do exactly that: transform a MODX/Montage into an (HW) arranger!! Check www.groovyband.live/modx for all the details. Further expansion packs are in the pipeline and will be added over time.

You can also look at a few videos to see it in action, listen to many audio demos, and also read the manual. Of course you can download a fully functional demo and play with the bundled styles, so that you exactly know what you get (and hopefully best appreciate the software).

Only a few highlights here:

* 1800+ top quality preset sounds (no fillers here!!) with 2 variations each, further perfected and integrated from the stock Montage sounds. Native FMX synthesis. Massive use of DSPs (up to 32 inserts all at once, 24 on MODX). Arranger style (= simplified) editing to create unlimited user sounds.
* 8 Variations styles (including 3 intros/endings and 2 breaks). 8*2 OTSes (with smooth, glitch free, transition).
* 2nd keyboard + pedalboard (or 3rd keyboard) sounds (programmable split/layers) + line-in DSPs managed directly from style setting.
* You can use many MODX/Montage buttons, sliders, knobs to trigger actions (i.e.: fill-in, variation change, ...) + any external MIDI controller (up to 4 midi inputs).
* Touch enabled, high resolution, user interface that seamlessly scales to any screen size/pixel density.
* The software uses only the MODX/Montage performance buffer (a volatile memory location used to load and play the "current" performance), programmed on the fly trough USB. So absolutely NO internal memory location is overwritten. When you shut down Groovyband Live! the MODX/Montage is exactly as it was before. The synth<-->arranger transformation is perfect and takes only a few seconds!!

You can also upgrade any existing Yamaha XG arranger (PSR S/SX, Tyros, Genos, and others, including digital pianos) to this feature set. Check www.groovyband.live/xg.

[janamdo]

Can this software als be used on other arrangers other than for yamaha ?
What makes this software so special ?

Thanks 

[groovyband.live]

Can this software als be used on other arrangers other than for yamaha ?
What makes this software so special ?

Thanks

The software comes in 2 versions:

A) For XG tone generators (Yamaha arrangers, digital pianos, and generally speaking all keyboards not classified as "synths"). This version is on the market since the end of 2018.
B) For MODX/Montage tone generators. This version has been launched on September 2021 (~3 months ago).

Since both XG and MODX/Montage tone generators require proprietary (non-standard, nobody else uses) SY*** messages to exploit all their features, then our software does not work with other tone generators. Also not all XG tone generators are born equal, some are more equal (= more capable) than others. Our software requires capabilities at least at the level of a PSR S770, otherwise it will run with reduced functionality (probably you have to remap some sound or dsp effect, but still with higher functionality than the stock Yamaha firmware the hardware is equipped with).

In case of a MODX/Montage the usefulness is obvious: you get a full fledged state of the art arranger where you had nothing with these capabilities.

In case of an XG arranger you get more features. Some highlights are listed in the home page (www.groovyband.live/xg), but the list of improvements is really long: you can skim through the manual to get a broad idea. Anyway, the real difference can only be heard by playing it. There is a free demo with 906 styles to try, and possibly compare with what you have.

[janamdo]

Thanks for the extensive answering.
Seeing this working in a youtube example is the best.

[J P Morgan]

There is nothing on YouTube showing you what is actualy really possible with the modx.not even the video where blake plays a famous 80s song..The actual performance for that when its finished is epic.Was scratching my head for well over a year.the missing part of the puzzle was a midi keyboard.It allows the modx to play its arps uninterrupted by chord progressions and bass lines played on the midi keyboard.what makes it much easier also is being able to copy parts from the 8 part performance(some of which are specifically de tuned/ panned etc)to the parts used in the midi keyboard.Am not saying you will get a perfect performance from 3 hours of programming.but once you get in to it you could do a song a day 😊