Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor: What It Is and How It Works
Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor Full Version
If you own a Yamaha keyboard and want to customize its sounds, you might be interested in Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor. This is a convenient software that lets you visually edit the onboard voices of your keyboard on a personal computer. You can also create your own voices by combining elements from different factory sounds or by adding your own wave files. In this article, we will explain what Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor is, how to use it, and what benefits it can bring to your music production.
Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor Full Version
What is Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor?
Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor is a free PC desktop application that enables users to install and manage Expansion Packs as well as transfer to specified Yamaha Digital Keyboard. An Expansion Pack is a collection of voices, styles, songs, and other data that can enhance the functions and sounds of your keyboard. You can download various Expansion Packs from Yamaha's website or create your own using Yamaha Expansion Manager.
Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor allows you to edit the voices in the Expansion Packs or the onboard voices of your keyboard. You can change various parameters such as volume, pitch, filter, envelope, effects, and more. You can also assign different elements to different key ranges or velocity levels. You can preview the edited voices on your keyboard or on the software's virtual keyboard. You can then transmit the edited voices to your keyboard or save them on your computer as a Pack Installation File (.ppi) or a Pack Project File (.ppf).
Features of Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor
Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor has many features that make it a powerful and versatile tool for editing voices. Some of these features are:
It supports various Yamaha keyboards, such as Genos, PSR-SX900/SX700/SX600, PSR-A5000, PSR-S970/S770/S670, and more.
It can import SoundFont files (.sf2) as contents. SoundFont is a popular file format that contains multiple samples and settings for creating musical instruments.
It can export selected content as a Pack Project File (.ppf). A Pack Project File is a file that contains only the data that has been edited or added by the user. It can be used to share or backup your custom content.
It can be used both as a software plug-in for OPT supported sequencers and as a stand-alone software. OPT (Open Plug-in Technology) is a standard that allows software applications to communicate with each other.
How to use Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor
To use Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor, you need to follow these steps:
Download and install Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor
You can download Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor from Yamaha's website. The latest version is V2.9.0 for Windows 11 / 10 / 8.1. The system requirements are:
OS: Windows 11 / 10 / 8.1 (64-bit)
CPU: 166 MHz or higher; Intel Pentium/ Celeron processor
Memory: 32MB or more
Hard Disk: 15MB or more
To install Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor, you need to unzip the downloaded file and double-click Setup.exe. Then follow the instructions displayed on the screen. You may need to uninstall old versions of Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor prior to V2.4.0 before installing the latest version. The uninstallation does not affect your existing user data.
Connect your Yamaha keyboard to your computer
You need to connect your Yamaha keyboard to your computer using a USB cable or a MIDI interface. Make sure that your keyboard is turned on and recognized by your computer. You may need to install drivers for your keyboard if they are not already installed.
Launch Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor
After installing and connecting your keyboard, you can launch Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor by double-clicking the icon on your desktop or in your Start menu. You may need to connect your computer to the Internet before launching the software. When you launch the software, you will see a window like this:
The window consists of several parts:
The menu bar at the top contains various commands and options.
The toolbar below the menu bar contains buttons for quick access to common functions.
The library area on the left shows the contents of your computer and your keyboard.
The workspace area on the right shows the details of the selected content.
The status bar at the bottom shows information about the software and the connection status.
Edit the onboard voices of your keyboard
To edit the onboard voices of your keyboard, you need to select them from the library area and drag them to the workspace area. You can also double-click them to open them in a new tab. You will see a window like this:
The window consists of several parts:
The name field at the top shows the name of the voice.
The element list below the name field shows the elements that make up the voice. An element is a basic unit of sound that can be edited individually.
The common tab below the element list shows the common parameters that affect all elements, such as volume, pan, reverb, chorus, etc.
The element tab below the common tab shows the element parameters that affect each element separately, such as pitch, filter, envelope, effects, etc.
The virtual keyboard at the bottom allows you to audition the voice on your computer.
You can edit any parameter by clicking on it and dragging it up or down, or by right-clicking on it and entering a value directly. You can also copy and paste parameters between elements or between voices using the buttons on the toolbar. You can preview the changes on your keyboard or on your computer by pressing keys on either device.
Transmit or save the edited voices
After editing the voices, you can transmit them to your keyboard or save them on your computer. To transmit them to your keyboard, you need to select them from the workspace area and click on "Install Target" button on the toolbar. You will see a window like this:
You need to select an installation target from the list of available keyboards connected to your computer. You also need to select an installation mode from the following options:
"Normal Installation": This mode installs all the selected content to your keyboard at once.
"Quick Installation": This mode installs only the data that has been edited or added by the user to your keyboard incrementally using a USB flash drive. This mode is available only for compatible keyboards with the latest firmware.
You can also specify an installation location for each content type (voice, style, song, etc.) by clicking on "Installation Location" button. After selecting an installation target and mode, you need Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor as a plug-in. You can then edit the voices in Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor and sync them with your sequencer software. You can also record and play back the edited voices using your sequencer software.
How do I update Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor to the latest version?
To update Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor to the latest version, you need to visit Yamaha's website and download the latest version of the software. Then unzip the downloaded file and double-click Setup.exe. Then follow the instructions displayed on the screen to install the latest version of Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor. You may need to uninstall old versions of Yamaha Expansion Voice Editor prior to V2.4.0 before installing the latest version.