Is it possible to import custom voices to the DGX-670?

[ba117]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I don't know much about Yamaha keyboards but this place seems very knowledgeable about them.

I am a self-taught pianist that enjoys recreating songs I hear from films, games, etc. Recently, I've been wanting to try recreating songs from 90s Nintendo games - specifically Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask. While the DGX-670 has a long list of voices, none of them quite replicate the N64 soundtrack of those games.

I have since heard about "soundfonts", but don't quite know what those are or how they work. I have found some people online that have created soundfonts based on Ocarina of Time, but upon downloading a soundfont, what can I do with it? Is it something that I can plug into the DGX-670 and play?

In general, I'm wondering if it's possible to import custom voices to the DGX-670 and what that would entail. And if anyone knows how or with what software/keyboard/etc I could play the N64 voices, that would be great.

[BogdanH]

Soundfont is a file which contains audio samples of one or more instrument. Imagine it as a zip file with many folders, where each folder represent one or more keys (notes); each folder contains a wav sample and associated settings (i.e. loudness or effects) for that sample. Soundfont is used as virtual instrument that you can load in dedicated (DAW) program and play. That is, it has the same purpose as voice on keyboard.
I don't have DGX-670, but to my knowledge you can not add additional voices in DGX-670. And that means, you also can't use soundfont that way.

Soundfont files can be usable for arranger keyboards, though. Arranger keyboards have software called "Yamaha Expansion Manager" (YEM) and by using YEM, we can create custom voices either by importing samples manually or by importing soundfile. Finally YEM generates so called "install pack" which is then loaded into arranger keyboard.

DGX-670 owners will probably give more specific answer.

Bogdan

[pjd]

Bogdan is quite correct -- it isn't possible to add new voice samples to the DGX-670.

It is possible to edit existing voices. Please see Chapter 2, Voices, in the DGX-670 Reference Manual, page 12. You can modify some of the basic characteristics of a preset voice and save the new voice within the DGX-670 memory or on a USB flash memory drive.

Since you can load user voices from a USB flash memory drive, you may be able to load a user voice created on a different Yamaha arranger keyboard. (A user voice file is a Standard MIDI File in disguise, by the way.) The DGX may not recognize certain aspects of the user voice, however. The DGX may not support the preset selected in the user voice file, nor unsupported DSP effects.

User voices do not contain samples, being a MIDI file after all.

Hope this info helps -- pj

[Divemaster]

I can't help feeling that you'd be better off with a true arranger keyboard.

I bought a DGX-660 when it first came out.... All I can usefully say is that it almost completely failed to live up to expectation, and the menu system was very hard to navigate.

Keith

[Graham UK]

I have DGX670 and agree the menu system is a challenge with a number of button presses but I'm now fine with it.
The main benefit for me is the key-bed is a joy to play and I would not go back to an arranger without weighted keys.
Main part of playing enjoyment is the quality of a Key-Bed.
The Voice samples provided are excellent and overall DGX670 outperforms it's asking price.
Many of the Yamaha styles can be used.
Some interesting Voice Edites (VCE) are available to download from this PSR site.