MOX6/MOX8 Reference Manual
5
Drum Voices
Drum Voices are mainly percussion/drum sounds that are assigned to individual notes on the keyboard.
Unlike Elements, a Drum key is equivalent to the corresponding note, meaning that you cannot change
its range. Drum or percussion sounds are assigned to each Drum Key. You can create various types of
Drum Voices by changing the drum or percussion sound assigned to each key and edit the parameters
such as pitch and EG.
Expanded Articulation (XA) is a specially designed tone generation system of the MOTIF XS that
provides greater performance flexibility and acoustic realism. This feature, adopted from the MOTIF XS
synthesizer, allows you to more effectively recreate realistic sound and natural performance
techniques—such as legato and staccato—and provides other unique modes for random and alternate
sound changes as you play.
Realistic legato performance
Conventional synthesizers recreate a legato effect in the mono mode by continuing the volume
envelope of a previous note on to the next one. However, this results in an unnatural sound different from
that of an actual acoustic instrument. The MOX6/MOX8 more accurately reproduces a legato effect by
allowing specific Elements to be sounded when playing legato and other Elements to be played
normally (with the XA Control parameter settings “normal” and “legato”).
Authentic note release sound
Conventional synthesizers cannot adequately produce the sounds of notes on acoustic instruments
being released. The MOX6/MOX8 reproduces these special, characteristic sounds by setting the XA
Control parameter of certain Elements to “keyOffSound.”
Subtle sound variations for each note played
Conventional synthesizers attempt to reproduce this by randomly changing the pitch and/or filter.
However, this produces an electronic effect and is different from the real sound changes on an acoustic
instrument. The MOX6/MOX8 more accurately reproduces these subtle sound variations by using the
XA Control parameter settings “waveCycle” and “waveRandom.”
Switching among different sounds to recreate the natural performance on an
acoustic instrument
Acoustic instruments have their own unique characteristics—even specific, unique sounds that are
produced only at certain times in a performance. These include the flutter tonguing on a flute or the
playing of high harmonics on an acoustic guitar. Conventional synthesizers (before the MOTIF XS
series) could realize such sounds, for example, by triggering them through high (strong) velocity. The
MOX6/MOX8 recreates these by allowing you to switch between the sounds while you play—using the
ASSIGNABLE FUNCTION [1]/[2] buttons and the XA Control parameter settings, “AF1 On,” “AF2 On”
and “all AF off.”
NOTE
You can turn the ASSIGNABLE FUNCTION [1]/[2] button on or off also by transmitting the Control Change
number specified as “AF1”/”AF2” (
) in the Utility CTL ASN display from an external device.
New sounds and new styles of playing
The highly versatile functions above can be applied effectively not only to acoustic sounds but also to
synthesizer and electronic Voices as well. The XA feature opens up enormous potential for realizing
authentic sounds, performing expressively and coming up with creative new styles of playing.
Expanded Articulation (XA)
C0
C1
C6
Individual drum sounds
(different for each key)
